Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys
One of the most striking examples of self-organization in landscapes is the emergence of evenly spaced ridges and valleys. Despite the prevalence of uniform valley spacing, no theory has been shown to predict this fundamental topographic wavelength. Models of long-term landscape evolution can pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Nature Publishing Group
2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64681 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0404-8701 |
| _version_ | 1811085039307325440 |
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| author | Perron, J. Taylor Kirchner, James W. Dietrich, William E. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Perron, J. Taylor Kirchner, James W. Dietrich, William E. |
| author_sort | Perron, J. Taylor |
| collection | MIT |
| description | One of the most striking examples of self-organization in landscapes is the
emergence of evenly spaced ridges and valleys. Despite the prevalence of
uniform valley spacing, no theory has been shown to predict this fundamental
topographic wavelength. Models of long-term landscape evolution can produce
landforms that look realistic, but few metrics exist to assess the similarity
between models and natural landscapes. Here we show that the ridge-valley
wavelength can be predicted from erosional mechanics. From equations of mass
conservation and sediment transport, we derive a characteristic length scale at
which the timescales for erosion by diffusive soil creep and advective stream
incision are equal. This length scale is directly proportional to the valley spacing
that emerges in a numerical model of landform evolution, and to the measured
valley spacing at five field sites. Our results provide a quantitative explanation for
one of the most widely observed characteristics of landscapes. They also imply that
valley spacing is a fundamental topographic signature that records how material
properties and climate regulate erosional processes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:01:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/64681 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:01:57Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/646812022-09-28T11:35:10Z Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys Perron, J. Taylor Kirchner, James W. Dietrich, William E. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Perron, J. Taylor Perron, J. Taylor One of the most striking examples of self-organization in landscapes is the emergence of evenly spaced ridges and valleys. Despite the prevalence of uniform valley spacing, no theory has been shown to predict this fundamental topographic wavelength. Models of long-term landscape evolution can produce landforms that look realistic, but few metrics exist to assess the similarity between models and natural landscapes. Here we show that the ridge-valley wavelength can be predicted from erosional mechanics. From equations of mass conservation and sediment transport, we derive a characteristic length scale at which the timescales for erosion by diffusive soil creep and advective stream incision are equal. This length scale is directly proportional to the valley spacing that emerges in a numerical model of landform evolution, and to the measured valley spacing at five field sites. Our results provide a quantitative explanation for one of the most widely observed characteristics of landscapes. They also imply that valley spacing is a fundamental topographic signature that records how material properties and climate regulate erosional processes. National Science Foundation (U.S.) University of California, Los Angeles. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration 2011-06-27T16:06:54Z 2011-06-27T16:06:54Z 2009-07 2009-02 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0028-0836 1476-4687 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64681 Perron, J. Taylor, James W. Kirchner, and William E. Dietrich. “Formation of Evenly Spaced Ridges and Valleys.” Nature 460.7254 (2009) : 502-505. Copyright © 2009, Nature Publishing Group https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0404-8701 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08174 Nature Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ application/pdf Nature Publishing Group Prof. Perron |
| spellingShingle | Perron, J. Taylor Kirchner, James W. Dietrich, William E. Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys |
| title | Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys |
| title_full | Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys |
| title_fullStr | Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys |
| title_full_unstemmed | Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys |
| title_short | Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys |
| title_sort | formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/64681 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0404-8701 |
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