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Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys

Author

Listed:
  • J. Taylor Perron

    (Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA)

  • James W. Kirchner

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
    Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)
    Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH))

  • William E. Dietrich

    (University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA)

Abstract

Landscapes explained Seen from above, it's clear that in many hilly landscapes the ridges and valleys appear uniformly spaced. Current physically based models of landscape evolution produce realistic looking topography, but cannot predict the 'wavelength' typical of evenly spaced ridges and valleys in natural landscapes. Taylor Perron and colleagues use equations of mass conservation and sediment transport to derive a characteristic length scale that is directly proportional to the ridge–valley wavelength in models of landform evolution and at five field study sites across the United States, including Nappa Valley in California and Point of the Mountain in Utah. The findings provide a quantitative explanation for one of the most widely observed characteristics of landscapes and suggest that valley spacing records the effects of material properties and climate on erosional processes.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Taylor Perron & James W. Kirchner & William E. Dietrich, 2009. "Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys," Nature, Nature, vol. 460(7254), pages 502-505, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:460:y:2009:i:7254:d:10.1038_nature08174
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08174
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    Cited by:

    1. Roeland C. van de Vijsel & Jim van Belzen & Tjeerd J. Bouma & Daphne van der Wal & Bas W. Borsje & Stijn Temmerman & Loreta Cornacchia & Olivier Gourgue & Johan van de Koppel, 2023. "Vegetation controls on channel network complexity in coastal wetlands," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Alexey Victorov & Veronika Kapralova & Timofey Orlov & Olga Trapeznikova & Maria Arkhipova, 2022. "Research into Cryolithozone Spatial Pattern Changes Based on the Mathematical Morphology of Landscapes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Zeng Zhou & Yizhang Wei & Liang Geng & Ying Zhang & Yuxian Gu & Alvise Finotello & Andrea D’Alpaos & Zheng Gong & Fan Xu & Changkuan Zhang & Giovanni Coco, 2024. "Cross-shore parallel tidal channel systems formed by alongshore currents," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.

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