dc.creator | Doane, Tyler Hill | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-08-22T17:29:44Z | |
dc.date.available | 2014-07-26 | |
dc.date.issued | 2014-07-26 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/etd-07162014-153401 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1803/13078 | |
dc.description.abstract | Mathematical descriptions of sediment transport are essential for our understanding of the evolution and form of Earth's surface. Recent work has highlighted the potential strengths of a nonlocal mathematical description of the hillslope sediment flux in steepland settings. Theory for nonlocal hillslope sediment transport has largely outpaced field or empirical studies designed to inform it. Here I present topographic data from tectonically and climatically diverse regions that is largely consistent with theory from nonlocal sediment transport. I use these data to show how one may extract the ratio of uplift rate to transport activity, which is the central factor in determining relief. I further isolate transport activity and show a direct connection between transport mechanisms and mean annual precipitation. This ultimately offers a physically-based connection between climate, sediment transport mechanisms, and hillslope relief. A second part of this thesis explores the stability behavior of hillslopes evolving by nonlocal sediment particle motions. A stable system unconditionally returns to an initial condition whereas an unstable system amplifies perturbations at characteristic wavelengths. Results suggest that nonlocal formulations of sediment transport with non-uniform entrainment rates are unstable. Numerical analyses suggest that hillslope roughness scales of 1-4 meters may be caused by instability introduced by nonlocal transport. Indeed these scales are consistent with $approx10$ meter scale roughness observed in natural settings. This result has implications for how geomorphologists interpret spatial variability of soil thickness which may reflect unstable hillslope behavior. | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.subject | Hillslope Form | |
dc.subject | Landscape Evolution | |
dc.subject | Hillslope | |
dc.subject | Sediment Transport | |
dc.subject | Nonlocal Transport | |
dc.title | Hillslope Characteristics and Behavior in Relation to Nonlocal Sediment Transport | |
dc.type | thesis | |
dc.type.material | text | |
thesis.degree.name | MS | |
thesis.degree.level | thesis | |
thesis.degree.discipline | Earth and Environmental Sciences | |
thesis.degree.grantor | Vanderbilt University | |
local.embargo.terms | 2014-07-26 | |
local.embargo.lift | 2014-07-26 | |
dc.contributor.committeeChair | David Jon Furbish | |