Effects of orographic precipitation variations on the concavity of steady-state river profiles

Research Article| February 01, 2002 Effects of orographic precipitation variations on the concavity of steady-state river profiles Gerard H. Roe; Gerard H. Roe 1Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Box 351360, Seattle, Washington 98195-1360, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David R. Montgomery; David R. Montgomery 1Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Box 351360, Seattle, Washington 98195-1360, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Bernard Hallet Bernard Hallet 1Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Box 351360, Seattle, Washington 98195-1360, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2002) 30 (2): 143–146. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0143:EOOPVO>2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 19 Jun 2000 rev-recd: 04 Oct 2001 accepted: 24 Oct 2001 first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Gerard H. Roe, David R. Montgomery, Bernard Hallet; Effects of orographic precipitation variations on the concavity of steady-state river profiles. Geology 2002;; 30 (2): 143–146. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0143:EOOPVO>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The concavity, or curvature, of river profiles has long been taken to be a fundamental indicator of the underlying processes governing fluvial erosion, and thereby of landscape evolution. However, erosion laws have generally been derived without accounting for the strong orographically driven gradients in precipitation typically found in mountainous regions. In addition, field measurements have found discrepancies between the form of measured stream profiles and theoretically derived values. Introducing a simple physically based feedback, we find that orographically induced variations in precipitation strongly affect the curvature of steady-state river profiles. This feedback complicates efforts to infer the form of erosion laws from observed profile concavities, but could help explain discrepancies between observations and theory. Our results demonstrate a strong feedback through which climate influences the form of river profiles and show how such climatic effects act to limit the relief of unglaciated mountain ranges. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.