DYNAMICS OF A MEANDERING RIVER

We present a statistical model of a meandering river on an alluvial pl ane that is motivated by the physical nonlinear dynamics of the river channel migration and by describing heterogeneity of the terrain by no ise. We study the dynamics analytically and numerically. The motion of the river channel is unstable, and we show that by inclusion of the f ormation of oxbow lakes the system may be stabilized. We then calculat e the steady state and show that it is in agreement with simulations a nd measurements of field data.