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River meanders in a tray

Nature volume 395, pages 111–112 (1998)Cite this article

Meanders are a feature of some of the world's noblest rivers, but laboratory models have failed to meander convincingly. A new experiment succeeds, promising us a refined understanding of this familiar but vexing phenomenon.

In the pursuit of science it sometimes happens that an energetic amateur succeeds where specialists have repeatedly failed. Such is the case with the experimental replication of river meandering on a small scale reported by Charles E. Smith in the October issue of Geomorphology1.

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Figure 1: The meandering Fly River, Papua New Guinea (flow from top to bottom).
Figure 2: The braided Aichilik River on the north slope of the Brooks Range, Alaska, USA (flow from top to bottom).

References

  1. Smith, C. E. Geomorphology 25, 19–30 (1998).

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  2. Parker, G. & Andrews, E. D. J. Fluid Mech. 162, 139–156 (1986).

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  3. Murray, A. B. & Paola, C. Nature 371, 54–57 (1994).

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  4. Jin, D. & Schumm, S. A. in 1st Int. Geomorphology Conf. (ed. Richards, K. S.) 680-691 (Wiley, Chichester, 1986).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. St Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, Mississippi River at Third Avenue, Minneapolis, 55414, Minnesota, USA

    Gary Parker

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  1. Gary Parker
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Parker, G. River meanders in a tray. Nature 395, 111–112 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/25832

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/25832

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