Topography and flow model files for the Platte River, Nebraska, 2016-2017

Abstract

Automated techniques for extracting channels from topography are well developed for convergent channel networks, and identify flow paths based on land-surface gradients. These techniques—even when they allow multiple flow paths—do not consistently capture channel networks with frequent bifurcations (e.g., in rivers, deltas, and alluvial fans). The project uses multithread rivers as a template to develop a new approach for channel extraction suitable for channel networks with divergences. This data set includes topography and flow model data used to demonstrate this new approach for automated identification of channels on planetary surfaces. The data set accompanies a 2017 publication in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface.