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Notes:
In this section the use of landscape-scale simulation models is discussed. The focus is on quasi 3-D (areally-explicit) models. Following a brief treatment of simulation procedures, the focus will be on steady-state landscapes, that is, landscapes in which the rate of erosion is uniform everywhere and the geometric form of the landscape is unchanging. This occurs either in headwater areas remote from basin level control or in landscapes undergoing a constant rate of uplift. The form and geometry of slopes and channels changes depending upon the mix of processes acting on the landscape. The final topic for steady-state models will be a discussion of factors controlling the scale of the landscape.
Most landscapes are subject to climatic changes, complicated histories baselevel changes, inhomogeneous lithology, differential tectonic movement, or vegetation disturbances. The next topic focus on the transient landscape evolution in such cases. Unlike with steady state landscapes, there are an infinite number of possible transient evolutionary scenarios, so only a few can be considered here, including effects of initial conditions, simulation of fans, deltas, and pediments, landscapes with partial exposure of bedrock, simulation of the erosional history of a specific landscape, and models of gully growth.
