A criteria-based methodology for determining the mechanism of transverse drainage development, with application to the southwestern United States

Research Article| March 01, 2009 A criteria-based methodology for determining the mechanism of transverse drainage development, with application to the southwestern United States John Douglass; John Douglass † 1Department of Geography, Paradise Valley Community College, 18401 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85032, USA †E-mail: knickpoint@gmail.com Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Norman Meek; Norman Meek 2Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, California 92407, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ronald I. Dorn; Ronald I. Dorn 3School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870104, Tempe, Arizona 85287-0104, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mark W. Schmeeckle Mark W. Schmeeckle 3School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870104, Tempe, Arizona 85287-0104, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information John Douglass † 1Department of Geography, Paradise Valley Community College, 18401 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85032, USA Norman Meek 2Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, California 92407, USA Ronald I. Dorn 3School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870104, Tempe, Arizona 85287-0104, USA Mark W. Schmeeckle 3School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870104, Tempe, Arizona 85287-0104, USA †E-mail: knickpoint@gmail.com Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 20 Oct 2006 Revision Received: 19 Nov 2007 Accepted: 07 Dec 2007 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2009 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2009) 121 (3-4): 586–598. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26131.1 Article history Received: 20 Oct 2006 Revision Received: 19 Nov 2007 Accepted: 07 Dec 2007 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation John Douglass, Norman Meek, Ronald I. Dorn, Mark W. Schmeeckle; A criteria-based methodology for determining the mechanism of transverse drainage development, with application to the southwestern United States. GSA Bulletin 2009;; 121 (3-4): 586–598. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B26131.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The study of how rivers cross obstructing mountains, once popular in the early twentieth century, has seen a dramatic resurgence in the last decade. Since Hutton's scholarly introduction to a possible cause for transverse drainage, however, no single study has compiled all of the various criteria that can be used to discriminate among the four possible mechanisms of antecedence, superimposition, overflow, and piracy. This paper presents the first such compilation and related methodology to apply these criteria both in tabular and graphical formats, as well as an online interactive tool in the data repository. Combining nominal and ordinal data sources, this methodology generates an objective, reproducible assessment for the mechanism most likely to have established the transverse drainage at five ordinal levels of confidence. When applied to southwestern U.S. sites, randomly selected through an objective spatial procedure, four general observations emerged on the relationship between the development of transverse drainage and landscape evolution. (1) Streams persisting through lengthy periods of extension develop antecedent canyons. (2) In order to reestablish through-flowing channels, streams overflow closed basins as active extension wanes. (3) Following a drop in base level related to the newly developed trunk channels, streams tributary to the trunk channels incise into basin-fill deposits—sometimes leading to the development of superimposed drainages. (4) Tributaries eroding headward, in response to the integration of two or more closed basins, can capture and redirect drainage; this permits transverse drainage through both piracy and superimposition upstream of the capture event. Because extant criteria use nominal and ordinal data almost entirely, considerable potential exists to refine this approach through future strategies that incorporate interval data. Future use of a criteria-based method has the potential to inform on prior geomorphic studies by providing a new perspective with which to study how basins evolve in active tectonic regions, the analysis of related basin sedimentation, the hydrological and biological aspects of drainage evolution, and transverse drainage found in Martian crater fields. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.