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| Titel |
Thermodynamics, maximum power, and the dynamics of preferential river flow structures at the continental scale |
| VerfasserIn |
A. Kleidon, E. Zehe, U. Ehret, U. Scherer |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1027-5606
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ; 17, no. 1 ; Nr. 17, no. 1 (2013-01-22), S.225-251 |
| Datensatznummer |
250017687
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/hess-17-225-2013.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| The organization of drainage basins shows some reproducible phenomena, as
exemplified by self-similar fractal river network structures and typical
scaling laws, and these have been related to energetic optimization
principles, such as minimization of stream power, minimum energy expenditure
or maximum "access". Here we describe the organization and dynamics of
drainage systems using thermodynamics, focusing on the generation,
dissipation and transfer of free energy associated with river flow and
sediment transport. We argue that the organization of drainage basins
reflects the fundamental tendency of natural systems to deplete driving
gradients as fast as possible through the maximization of free energy
generation, thereby accelerating the dynamics of the system. This effectively
results in the maximization of sediment export to deplete topographic
gradients as fast as possible and potentially involves large-scale feedbacks
to continental uplift. We illustrate this thermodynamic description with a
set of three highly simplified models related to water and sediment flow and
describe the mechanisms and feedbacks involved in the evolution and dynamics
of the associated structures. We close by discussing how this thermodynamic
perspective is consistent with previous approaches and the implications that
such a thermodynamic description has for the understanding and prediction of
sub-grid scale organization of drainage systems and preferential flow
structures in general. |
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