ON THE SENSITIVITY OF DRAINAGE DENSITY TO CLIMATE-CHANGE

Drainage density reflects the signature of climate on the topography a nd dictates the boundary conditions for surface hydrology. Hence defin ing the relationship between drainage density and climate is important in assessing the sensitivity of water resources and hydrology to clim ate change. Here we analyze the equilibrium relationship between drain age density and climate and estimate the relative sensitivity of drain age density to climate change. We conclude that the sign of the result ing change in drainage density depends not only on the direction of th e change in climate but also on the prevailing climatic regime.