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Quantitative geomorphology

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Geomorphology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Science ((EESS))

(I) Introduction

Under the impetus supplied by Horton (1945), the description of drainage basins and channel networks was transformed from a purely qualitative and deductive study to a rigorous quantitative science capable of providing hydrologists with numerical data of practical value. Horton's work was developed in detail by Strahler (1950, 1952, 1956, 1958) and his Columbia University associates (Melton, 1957; Morisawa, 1959; Schumm, 1956).

Footnote 1

This section treats quantitative land-form analysis as it applies to normally developed watersheds in which running water and associated mass gravity movements, acting over long periods of time, are the chief agents in developing surface geometry. Emphasis is upon the geometry itself, rather than upon the dynamic processes of erosion and transportation which shape the forms.

(II) Basic Concepts

(A) Open Systems and Steady States.

Of fundamental importance is the concept of a drainage basin as an open system tending to achieve a steady...

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Notes

  1. 1.

    [Modified from “Handbook of Applied Hydrology” edited by Ven Te Chow, Copyright © 1964 by McGraw-Hill, Inc. Used with permission of the Editor and McGraw-Hill Book Company.]

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Authors
  1. Arthur N. Strahler
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© 1968 Reinhold Book Corporation

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Strahler, A.N. (1968). Quantitative geomorphology . In: Geomorphology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31060-6_304

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31060-6_304

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-442-00939-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31060-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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