The steep slopes and pronounced asymmetry of great
escarpments and erosional cliffs make them striking examples of
landscapes far from equilibrium. As such, surface processes are
expected to gradually erode these features. Yet escarpments
often exhibit persistent morphologies and surprising longevity.
This apparent contradiction has motivated decades of research,
but the processes governing the long-term evolution and
persistence of escarpments remain poorly understood.
This talk will present a series of recent studies demonstrating that
a particular mode of drainage reorganization, known as drainage
reversal, plays a key role in shaping the morphological evolution
of escarpments and cliffs. We will also show how drainage
reversals can be used to quantify, for the first time, the
intermittent dynamics of migrating water divides, potentially
revealing an unexpected link to changing climatic conditions.
LOCATION: TRANSP:OPAQUE URL:https://www.weizmann.ac.il/EPS/events END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR