Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Bedrock Channel Geometry Along An Orographic Rainfall Gradient In The Upper Marsyandi River Valley In Central Nepal, William Craddock, Douglas Burbank, Bodo Bookhagen, Emmanuel Gabet

Faculty Publications

Pronounced rainfall gradients combined with spatially uniform exhumation of rocks at Quaternary timescales and uniform rock strength make the upper Marsyandi River valley in central Nepal a useful natural laboratory in which to explore variations in bedrock channel width. We focus on small catchments (0.6–12.4 km2) along a more than tenfold gradient in monsoon rainfall. Rainfall data are gathered from a dense weather network and calibrated satellite observations, the pattern of Quaternary exhumation is inferred from apatite fission track cooling ages, and rock compressive strength is measured in the field. Bedrock channel widths, surveyed at high scour indicators, scale as …