HIERARCHY OF SMALL DRAINAGE BASINS

Fractal analysis of drainage basins on Mars

[1] We used statistical properties of drainage networks on Mars as a measure of martian landscape morphology and an indicator of landscape evolution processes. We utilize the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data to construct digital elevation maps (DEMs) of several, mostly ancient, martian terrains. Drainage basins and channel networks are computationally extracted from DEMs and their struc...

Channel-reach morphology in mountain drainage basins

A classification of channel-reach morphology in mountain drainage basins synthesizes stream morphologies into seven distinct reach types: colluvial, bedrock, and five alluvial channel types (cascade, step pool, plane bed, pool rime, and dune ripple). Coupling reach-level channel processes with the spatial arrangement of reach morphologies, their links to hillslope processes, and external forcin...

Drainage basins and channel incision on Mars.

Measurements acquired by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on board the Mars Global Surveyor indicate that large drainage systems on Mars have geomorphic characteristics inconsistent with prolonged erosion by surface runoff. We find the topography has not evolved to an expected equilibrium terrain form, even in areas where runoff incision has been previously interpreted. By analogy with terrestr...

A Mathematical Model for Analysis of Mountain Drainage Basins

Tiling Properties of Drainage Basins and Their Physical Bases

Fractality of drainage basins is shown by their tiling properties with subbasins and interbasin areas. Drainage basin forms projected on the two-dimensional plane have mathematical properties similar to those of one-dimensional quasicrystals. Fractal drainage basins are divided into self-similar subbasins and interbasin areas to the infinitesimal limits of their sizes while one-dimensional quas...