Landscape reorganization under changing climatic forcing: Results from an experimental landscape

摘要: Understanding how landscapes respond to climate dynamics in terms of macroscale (average topographic features) and microscale (landform reorganization) is interest both for deciphering past climates from today's predicting future view recent climatic trends. Although several studies have addressed macro-scale response, only a few focused on quantifying smaller-scale basin reorganization. To that goal, series controlled laboratory experiments were conducted where self-organized complete drainage network emerged under constant precipitation uplift dynamics. Once steady state was achieved, the landscape subjected fivefold increase (transient state). Throughout evolution, high-resolution spatiotemporal data form digital elevation models collected. The shown possess three distinct geomorphic regimes (unchannelized hillslopes, debris-dominated channels, fluvially dominated channels). During transient state, reorganization observed be driven by hillslopes via accelerated erosion, ridge lowering, channel widening, reduction relief as opposed base-level reduction. Quantitative metrics which these conclusions based included slope-area curve, correlation analysis spatial temporal increments, wavelet spectral evolving landscapes. Our results highlight response increased seems follow “an arrow scale”: major change initiates at hillslope scale driving erosional regime intermediate scales further cascading changes time evolves.