Some suggestions of experiments that might throw light on the use of non-local treatments in
landscape models
Vaughan R. Voller, University of Minnesota
Due in a significantly large part to previous STRESS meetings there is a keen current interest in
modeling landscapes that use non-local treatments to account for transport. Whereas such
models have been very successful in explaining observed landscape forms in both erosional and
depositional environments there are still some critical open questions. Two questions of
particular interest:
How can the parameters that determine the extent and direction of non-locality be associated
with measurable attributes of the landscape?
How can non-local effects be untangled and distinguished from non-linear effects?
In this presentation we will report on recent activity in our group to identify simple
experimental systems, which in conjunction with simple “toy” models might provide (i) clear
evidence of the presence of non-locality in landscapes and (ii) information on how such nonlocality can be quantified.