Longitudinal Distribution of Total and Specific Stream Power: Methodological Proposal Based on Free Software
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Abstract
The capacity of a river to perform geomorphic work is determined by the stream power equations. Despite the wide influence of these rates of energy over distinct aspects of fluvial systems, few works in Brazilian geomorphological literature have evaluated its distribution from a longitudinal perspective. The purpose of this article is to present an adaptation of a methodological proposal to obtain spatial gradients of total stream power and specific stream power. The procedures involving the proposal were applied in the context of the Aguapeí river basin (SP); it is based on the use of Digital Elevation Models and the extraction of data in a Geographic Information System and its manipulation in an integrated development environment for statistical computing. The evaluation of both total and specific stream power for the Aguapeí river (SP), based on the longitudinal disposition of bankfull channel width and discharge as well as channel slope, showed that these three variables are prominent in the energy gradients configuration. Also, we verified the existence of a nonlinear pattern of stream power distribution derived above all from lithological variations that produce anomalous slopes along the river. In general, the results demonstrated the high potential for replicability of the present methodological proposal due to the use of free and open-source software and the possibility of use without great restrictions regarding the peculiarities of the fluvial system.
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