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2.2: Classroom Activity

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    46507
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    Scaling Analysis of Savanna Farm Drainage Network

    Map showing a coastline with marked locations and detailed topographical features.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): a, The complete drainage network. Numbered dots indicate the location of phytolith profiles. b, Detail of the digital elevation model of the northern part of the drainage network. Dashed lines represent the forest–savannah boundary, showing that a great deal of the drainage network is presently covered by forest. Scale bars, 1 km (a), 500m (b). (From Lombardo et al. 2025.)

    The work by Lombardo et al. (2025) states that the drainage canals for seasonal flooding have dimensional differences classified into three orders (or levels) of sizes. This indicates that the canals form a hierarchically ordered network, like the modern water distribution network. In hierarchically ordered networks, the dimensional measures are non-linearly scaled across levels, meaning that the amount of any network property as measured by a particular parameter (such as length) increases disproportionately with network level. Consider the data provided in the paper for the drainage network parameters listed below. Make reference to Fig. \(\PageIndex{1}\).

    Table of network parameters versus canal level.
    Canal Level Total Length (m) Cross-Sectional Area (m2) Perimeter Length (m)
    1      
    2      
    3      
    3 (>1.5 km from lake)      
    1. Based on data reported in the paper, what is the total canal length for each of the three levels of the drainage network?
    2. Based on data reported in the paper, what is the canal cross-sectional area for each of the three levels of the drainage network?
    3. Based on data reported in the paper, what is the average canal cross-section perimeter length for each of the three levels of the drainage network? (The cross-section perimeter length is the equivalent of the circumference of a circle.)
    4. Plot the data in the table with canal level on the x axis and length, cross-sectional area, and perimeter length in the y axis.
    5. Observe the non-linear scaling of the three dimension parameters with canal level.
    6. Consider the natural stream network patterns described in Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\):
      1. Name each of the natural stream network patterns shown in the figure.
      2. Describe how the canal network discovered on the Casarabe savanna is different from the natural stream networks. How this difference can be used as a basis for claiming that the Casarabe canals are a manmade infrastructure.
    Six natural drainage patterns.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Common natural drainage network patterns. (Drainage network; CC BY-SA)

    This page titled 2.2: Classroom Activity is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Likwan Cheng.