Modeling Catchment Evolution: From Decoding Geomorphic Processes Signatures toward Predicting Impacts of Climate Change

Abstract

AbstractNumerical models of landscape evolution facilitate quantitative understanding of the causal linkages, interactions, and feedbacks between geomorphic processes and landscape morphology under climate and tectonic forcing. Numerical modeling progressively becomes a crucial component of Earth sciences for decoding the signature of the past history, and predicting the future of observed landforms. The past 15 to 20 years have seen major advances in landscape evolution model development and confirmation against observed topography. In this article, first leading geomorphic transport laws are reviewed and their imprint on landscape morphology are discussed using prime examples of numerical model predictions reported in the literature. The article continues with discussing the relevance of the existing geomorphic transport laws and landscape evolution models to address the current and historic climate change impacts on landforms. This article ends with the opinion that climate‐driven variations in environmental variables affecting geomorphic processes will need to be represented in numerical models of landscape evolution for improved predictions of climate control on sediment yields, the natural environment, and landforms.