Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers
Thesis: Ph. D. in Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2017.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113794 |
| _version_ | 1826218031394586624 |
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| author | Yi, Robert Sngho |
| author2 | Daniel H. Rothman. |
| author_facet | Daniel H. Rothman. Yi, Robert Sngho |
| author_sort | Yi, Robert Sngho |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis: Ph. D. in Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2017. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T17:13:04Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/113794 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T17:13:04Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1137942019-04-11T05:13:58Z Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers Yi, Robert Sngho Daniel H. Rothman. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. Thesis: Ph. D. in Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2017. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-107). Groundwater-fed rivers form stunning geometries over a range of scales. These rivers grow as water from an underground aquifer reemerges and erodes the overlying topography. Both the aquifer and the overlying topography generate flows along diffusive gradients. We study three features produced by these gradients over different scales: the shape of the valley that forms around a single stream, the network-averaged planform stream shape, and the shape of the drainage basin. First, we identify a new feature in stream valleys - a spatially variable diffusivity - that gives rise to a theoretical valley shape that agrees with the shapes of real valleys. Next, we present evidence and theory for a 120° opening stream confluence angle as a result of lateral rearrangement of streams in response to the pressure field generated by the aquifer. We then study how this mechanism exerts itself on the scale of the network. Finally, we widen our scope and analyze river planform morphology on a continental scale. We identify how branching angles can predict a river basin aspect ratio. We find a relationship between this aspect ratio and river basin scaling exponents with local climate. by Robert Sngho Yi. Ph. D. in Geophysics 2018-02-16T20:06:05Z 2018-02-16T20:06:05Z 2017 2017 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113794 1022851464 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 107 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. Yi, Robert Sngho Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers |
| title | Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers |
| title_full | Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers |
| title_fullStr | Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers |
| title_short | Emergent geometries of groundwater-fed rivers |
| title_sort | emergent geometries of groundwater fed rivers |
| topic | Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113794 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yirobertsngho emergentgeometriesofgroundwaterfedrivers |