Stream systems function as integrated units from the zero-order basins at their heads to their terminations at the sea. Interior adjustments to changes in their headwaters or along their lengths occur in a variety of ways, some of which leave sedimentary deposits that provide important information with regard to the sensitivity of the systems to disturbances of various magnitudes and with respect to the nature of past disturbances. The former type of information is crucial to reliable interpretation of paleoflood deposits and the latter knowledge is essential for testing hydrologic predictions derived from climate models. In order to interpret fluvial deposits properly, however, an extremely accurate knowledge of stream system mechanics [...]
