Journal article
Nonequilibrium geomorphic processes and deterministic chaos
Geomorphology, Vol.5(3-5), pp.311-322
1992
DOI: 10.1016/0169-555X(92)90011-C
Abstract
Disequilibrium is a common if not dominant condition in geomorphology and other environmental sciences. Because disequilibrium in a system implies a time lag, time steps and time delays in simple deterministic equations may reflect process, and such equations have been shown to result in chaos. After examining some models of hillslope and catchment development, we present an oversimplified model of a hillslope in which we calculate the elevation of a point at time t + 1 as a function (we consider both linear and nonlinear terms) of the difference in elevation between it and the next uphill and downhill points at time t. We show how this simple hillslope model will not produce chaos under one set of limiting conditions that do not include nonlinearity, but, without proof, we note that in most conditions the hillslope mode is so similar to other models in which chaos arises because of disequilibrium that chaotic behavior is a likely possibility. A formulation wherein the time step is in a weathering and/or erosion coefficient rather than the elevation is also proposed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Nonequilibrium geomorphic processes and deterministic chaos
- Creators
- George P. MalansonDavid R ButlerKonstantine P Georgakakos
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Geomorphology, Vol.5(3-5), pp.311-322
- DOI
- 10.1016/0169-555X(92)90011-C
- ISSN
- 0169-555X
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 1992
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering; Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
- Record Identifier
- 9983557267502771
Metrics
40 Record Views