Power law between the apparent drainage density and the pruning area

초록

Self-similar structures of river networks have been quantified as having diverse scaling laws. Among these, we investigated a power function relationship between the apparent drainage density rho a and the pruning area Ap, with an exponent eta. We analytically derived the relationship between eta and other known scaling exponents of fractal river networks. The analysis of 14 real river networks covering a diverse range of climate conditions and free-flow connectivity levels supports our derivation. We further linked eta with non-integer fractal dimensions found for river networks. Synthesis of our findings through the lens of fractal dimensions provides an insight that the exponent eta has fundamental roots in the fractal dimension of the whole river network organization.

키워드