Diffluence

The characteristics of the soils, vegetation, desert varnish, slope of the stream channel, and drainage texture are used to confirm the location of the primary diffluence.

Some of the sediment transported during runoff is deposited locally, and a lobe of deposited sediment is formed downstream from the diffluence.

Usually, however, confluence is associated with an increase in air velocity and diffluence with a decrease. In the intermediate case, confluence is balanced by an increase in wind velocity and diffluence by a decrease in velocity.

This flow exhibits diffluence and stretching and hence divergence, but no curvature or shear and hence no vorticity.