Open AccessInformation flow in a landscape has a direction
Author(s) -
Balcerak Ernie
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo100013
Subject(s) - sedimentary depositional environment , upstream (networking) , downstream (manufacturing) , point bar , upstream and downstream (dna) , geology , point (geometry) , flow (mathematics) , sediment transport , sediment , geomorphology , computer science , fluvial , geometry , mathematics , engineering , computer network , operations management , structural basin
Sediment flux and other properties in a landscape are often influenced by landscape properties at points away from the point of interest. How does information flow from these distant points to the point of interest? Voller et al. developed a mathematical model of sediment transport that includes this nonlocal nature. They found that in erosional landscapes, information flows downstream—points upstream influence points downstream—whereas in depositional landscapes, information flows upstream—downstream points influence upstream ones. The study could be useful in providing a richer interpretation of features in the sedimentary record. ( Geophysical Research Letters , doi:10.1029/2011GL050265, 2012) —EB