Keeping the edge: an accurate numerical method to solve the stream power law

Abstract:

Bedrock rivers set the base level of surrounding hill slopes and mediate the dynamic interplay between mountain building and denudation. The propensity of rivers to preserve pulses of increased tectonic uplift also allows to reconstruct long term uplift histories from longitudinal river profiles. An accurate reconstruction of river profile development at different timescales is therefore essential. Long term river development is typically modeled by means of the stream power law. Under specific conditions this equation can be solved analytically but numerical Finite Difference Methods (FDMs) are most frequently used. Nonetheless, FDMs suffer from numerical smearing, especially at knickpoint zones which are key to understand transient landscapes. Here, we solve the stream power law by means of a Finite Volume Method (FVM) which is Total Variation Diminishing (TVD). Total volume methods are designed to simulate sharp discontinuities making them very suitable to model river incision. In contrast to FDMs, the TVD_FVM is well capable of preserving knickpoints as illustrated for the fast propagating Niagara falls. Moreover, we show that the TVD_FVM performs much better when reconstructing uplift at timescales exceeding 100 Myr, using Eastern Australia as an example. Finally, uncertainty associated with parameter calibration is dramatically reduced when the TVD_FVM is applied. Therefore, the use of a TVD_FVM to understand long term landscape evolution is an important addition to the toolbox at the disposition of geomorphologists.