Landscape instability in an experimental drainage basin

Research Article| December 01, 2000 Landscape instability in an experimental drainage basin Leslie E. Hasbargen; Leslie E. Hasbargen 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 310 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0219, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Chris Paola Chris Paola 1Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 310 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0219, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2000) 28 (12): 1067–1070. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)282.0.CO;2 Article history received: 14 Apr 2000 rev-recd: 23 Aug 2000 accepted: 25 Aug 2000 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 Leslie E. Hasbargen, Chris Paola; Landscape instability in an experimental drainage basin. Geology 2000;; 28 (12): 1067–1070. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)282.0.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 Do drainage basins develop static river networks when subject to steady forcing? While current landscape evolution models differ in formulation and implementation, they have the common characteristic that when run for long times at constant forcing, they evolve to a static steady-state configuration in which erosion everywhere balances uplift rate. This results in temporally stationary ridge and valley networks. We have constructed a physical model of a drainage basin in which we can impose constant rainfall and uplift conditions. The model landscapes never become static, and they are not sensitive to initial surface conditions. Ridges migrate laterally, change length, and undergo topographic inversion (streams occupy former ridge locations). Lateral stream migration can also produce strath terraces. This occurs without any change in external forcing, so the terraces must be considered autocyclic. The experimental drainage basin also exhibits autocyclic (internally generated) oscillations in erosion rate over a variety of time scales, despite constant forcing. The experimental landforms are clearly not perfect analogs of natural erosional networks, but the results raise the possibility that natural systems may be more dynamic than the current models would suggest, and that features like strath terraces that are generally interpreted in terms of external forcing may arise autocyclically as well. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.