Path selection in the growth of rivers
River networks exhibit a complex ramified structure that has inspired decades of studies. However, an understanding of the propagation of a single stream remains elusive. Here we invoke a criterion for path selection from fracture mechanics and apply it to the growth of streams in a diffusion field....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108681 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7997-0119 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4243-5478 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4006-7771 |
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| author | Devauchelle, Olivier Szymczak, Piotr Cohen, Yosef Seybold, Hansjorg Yi, Robert Sngho Rothman, Daniel H. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering Devauchelle, Olivier Szymczak, Piotr Cohen, Yosef Seybold, Hansjorg Yi, Robert Sngho Rothman, Daniel H. |
| author_sort | Devauchelle, Olivier |
| collection | MIT |
| description | River networks exhibit a complex ramified structure that has inspired decades of studies. However, an understanding of the propagation of a single stream remains elusive. Here 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. 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:45:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/108681 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:45:46Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1086812022-09-30T16:41:17Z Path selection in the growth of rivers Devauchelle, Olivier Szymczak, Piotr Cohen, Yosef Seybold, Hansjorg Yi, Robert Sngho Rothman, Daniel H. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Lorenz Center (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Cohen, Yosef Seybold, Hansjorg Yi, Robert Sngho Rothman, Daniel H River networks exhibit a complex ramified structure that has inspired decades of studies. However, an understanding of the propagation of a single stream remains elusive. Here 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. 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. United States. Department of Energy (Grant FG02-99ER15004) 2017-05-04T23:13:47Z 2017-05-04T23:13:47Z 2015-11 2014-07 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0027-8424 1091-6490 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108681 Cohen, Yossi et al. “Path Selection in the Growth of Rivers.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.46 (2015): 14132–14137. © 2015 National Academy of Sciences https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7997-0119 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4243-5478 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4006-7771 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1413883112 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) |
| spellingShingle | Devauchelle, Olivier Szymczak, Piotr Cohen, Yosef Seybold, Hansjorg Yi, Robert Sngho Rothman, Daniel H. Path selection in the growth of rivers |
| title | Path selection in the growth of rivers |
| title_full | Path selection in the growth of rivers |
| title_fullStr | Path selection in the growth of rivers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Path selection in the growth of rivers |
| title_short | Path selection in the growth of rivers |
| title_sort | path selection in the growth of rivers |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108681 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7997-0119 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4243-5478 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4006-7771 |
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