Figure 10 . Illustration of potentially misleading spatial
patterns that arise among channel steepness, rainfall, and erosion rates
during transient adjustment to a change in rainfall pattern,
particularly when erosion rate and morphometrics are averaged at
catchment scale – see section 5.1.2 for detailed discussion. a) Shows
time slice at 0.5 Myr into transient adjustment of Case 3
(t2 in Figure 5). For clarity, a subsample of ten data
points is shown for each model dataset; connecting dashed line is
populated from full model. Thick colored bands (red = trunk, blue =
tributaries) show final steady state upstream-averagedksn pattern toward which the modelled catchment
is adjusting. Position of trunk knickpoint, defined as upstream extent
of quasi-equilibrium adjustment, is shown by red solid line, and zones
describing morphological characteristics of tributary catchments are
shown across the top axis (compare both with panel c). b) Modelled
steady state ksn and trunk erosion rate pattern
of hypothetical catchment experiencing a bottom-heavy rainfall gradient
and a spatial gradient in uplift rate that matches the
catchment-averaged erosion rate pattern recorded by the tributary
network in a). c) Shows planform development of localksn , ksn-q , and erosion
rates at initial and final steady states, a transient time slice from
Case 3, and steady state pattern from (b). Downstream is to the left.
Transient time slice and tributaries are the same as in panels (a & b).
Note that trunk and tributary profiles are not illustrated to scale
(Table 1).