Title: Path selection in the growth of rivers

Abstract

River networks exhibit a complex ramified structure that has inspired decades of studies. But, an understanding of the propagation of a single stream remains elusive. In this paper, we invoke a criterion for path selection from fracture mechanics and apply it to the growth of streams in a diffusion field. We show that, as it cuts through the landscape, a stream maintains a symmetric groundwater flow around its tip. The local flow conditions therefore determine the growth of the drainage network. We use this principle to reconstruct the history of a network and to find a growth law associated with it. Finally, our results show that the deterministic growth of a single channel based on its local environment can be used to characterize the structure of river networks.

Authors:

Cohen, Yossi ^[1]; Devauchelle, Olivier ^[2]; Seybold, Hansjörg F. ^[1]; Yi, Robert S. ^[1]; Szymczak, Piotr ^[3]; Rothman, Daniel H. ^[1]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Lorenz Center, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139,
2. Institut de Physique du Globe, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France,
3. Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland

Publication Date:

Mon Nov 02 00:00:00 EST 2015

Research Org.:

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

OSTI Identifier:

1235183

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1348906

Grant/Contract Number:  

FG02-99ER15004

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Volume: 112 Journal Issue: 46; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; river channels; principle of local symmetry; harmonic growth; Loewner equation; fracture mechanics