In the Swiss Alps ( photo credit: B.A. Roy)

Kirchner group publications arranged by topic   Last updated 15 September 2011

• Watershed travel times and hydrologic response inferred from chemical, isotopic, and hydrometric time series
• Chemical transport and isotopic fractionation in snowmelt
• Long-term dynamics of watershed recovery from acid deposition
• Sulfur isotope dynamics in highly polluted Czech catchments

Climatic and topographic controls on long-term rates of physical erosion and chemical weathering

Riparian vegetation, river bank erosion, and woody debris

Non-linear mechanisms of hillslope erosion

Measuring the effectiveness of remediation of an abandoned mercury mine

Macroevolutionary dynamics inferred from the fossil record

Evolutionary ecology and genetics of host-pathogen interactions

A skeptical view of the Gaia Hypothesis

Many of these papers are available as PDF reprints.
(*=current or former student)

 

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Watershed hydrology and geochemistry

Stony Creek Fan near Orland, California

Watershed travel times and hydrologic response inferred from chemical, isotopic, and hydrometric time series

Neal, C., B. Reynolds, D. Norris, J.W. Kirchner, M. Neal, P. Rowland, H. Wickham, S. Harman, L. Armstrong, D. Sleep, A. Lawlor, C. Woods, B. Williams, M. Fry, G. Newton, and D. Wright, Three decades of water quality measurements from the Upper Severn experimental catchments at Plynlimon, Wales: an openly accessible data resource for research, modelling, environmental management and education, Hydrological Processes, doi:10.1002/hyp.8191, 2011.  [PDF]

Teuling, A.J., I. Lehner, J.W. Kirchner, and S.I. Seneviratne, Catchments as simple dynamical systems: Experience from a Swiss prealpine catchment, Water Resources Research, 46, W10502, doi:10.1029/2009WR008777, 2010.  [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., D. Tetzlaff, and C. Soulsby, Comparing chloride and water isotopes as hydrological tracers in two Scottish catchments, Hydrological Processes, 24, 1631–1645, 2010.  [PDF]

Godsey, S.E.*, W. Aas, T. Clair, I. Dennis, H. de Wit, I. Fernandez, S. Kahl, I. Malcolm, C. Neal, M. Neal, S. Nelson, S. Norton, M. Palucis*, D. Tetzlaff, B.L. Skjelkvaale, C. Soulsby, and J.W. Kirchner, Generality of fractal 1/f scaling in catchment tracer time series, and its implications for catchment travel time distributions, Hydrological Processes, 24, 1660–1671, 2010.  [PDF]

McDonnell, J.J., K. McGuire, P. Aggarwal, K. J. Beven, D. Biondi, G. Destouni, S. Dunn, A. James, J. Kirchner, P. Kraft, S. Lyon, P. Maloszewski, B. Newman, L. Pfister, A.  Rinaldo, A. Rodhe, T. Sayama, J. Seibert, K. Solomon, C. Soulsby, M. Stewart, D. Tetzlaff,C. Tobin, P. Troch, M. Weiler, A. Western, A. Wörman, and S. Wrede, How old is streamwater? Open questions in catchment transit time conceptualization, modelling and analysis, Hydrological Processes, 24, 1745–1754, 2010.  [PDF]

Godsey, S.E.*, J.W. Kirchner and D.W. Clow, Concentration-discharge relationships reflect chemostatic characteristics of US catchments, Hydrological Processes, 23, 1844-1864, 2009.  [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., Catchments as simple dynamical systems: catchment characterization, rainfall-runoff modeling, and doing hydrology backward, Water Resources Research, 45, W02429, doi:10.1029/2008WR006912.  [PDF 3 MB]

McDonnell, J. J., M. Sivapalan, K. Vaché, S. Dunn, G. Grant, R. Haggerty, C. Hinz, R. Hooper, J. Kirchner, M. L. Roderick, J. Selker and M. Weiler, Moving beyond heterogeneity and process complexity: A new vision for watershed hydrology, Water Resources Research, 43, W07301, doi:10.1029/2006WR005467, 2007. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., X.H. Feng, and C. Neal, Catchment-scale advection and dispersion as a mechanism for fractal scaling in stream tracer concentrations, Journal of Hydrology, 254, 81-100, 2001. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., X.H. Feng and C. Neal, Fractal stream chemistry and its implications for contaminant transport in catchments, Nature, 403, 524-527, 2000. [PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF]

Neal, C. andJ.W. Kirchner, Sodium and chloride levels in rainfall, mist, streamwater and groundwater at the Plynlimon catchments, mid-Wales: inferences on hydrological and geochemical controls, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 4, 295-310, 2000. [PDF]

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Snowmelt sampling near Gothic, Colorado (photo credit: B.A. Roy)

Chemical transport and isotopic fractionation in snowmelt

Lee, J., X. Feng, A. Faiia, E. Posmentier, R. Osterhuber, and J. Kirchner, Isotopic evolution of snowmelt: A new model incorporating mobile and immobile water, Water Resources Research, 46, W11512, doi:10.1029/2009WR008306, 2010.  [PDF]

Lee, J., X. Feng, A.M. Faiia, E.S. Posmentier, J.W. Kirchner, R. Osterhuber, and S. Taylor, Isotopic evolution of a seasonal snowcover and its melt by isotopic exchange between liquid water and ice, Chemical Geology, 270, 126-134, 2010.  [PDF]

Lee, J., V.E. Nez, X. Feng, J.W. Kirchner, R. Osterhuber, and C.E. Renshaw, A study of solute redistribution and transport in seasonal snowpack using natural and artificial tracers, Journal of Hydrology, 357, 243-254, 2008.  [PDF]

Lee, J., X. Feng, E.S. Posmentier, A.M. Faiia, R. Osterhuber, and J.W. Kirchner, Modeling of solute transport in snow using conservative tracers and artificial rain-on-snow experiments, Water Resources Research, 44, W02411, doi:10.1029/2006WR005477, 2008. [PDF]

Feng, X., S. Taylor, C.E. Renshaw, and J.W. Kirchner, Isotopic evolution of snowmelt: I. A physically based 1-D model, Water Resources Research, 38, 1217, doi:10.1029/2001WR000814, 2002. [PDF]

Taylor, S., X. Feng, C.E. Renshaw, and J.W. Kirchner, Isotopic evolution of snowmelt: II. Verification and parameterization of a 1-D model using laboratory experiments, Water Resources Research, 38, 1218, doi:10.1029/2001WR000815, 2002. [PDF]

Feng, X.H., J.W. Kirchner, C. E. Renshaw, R. Osterhuber, B. Klaue and S. Taylor, A study of solute transport mechanisms using rare earth element tracers and artificial rain storms on snow, Water Resources Research, 37, 1425-1435, 2001. [PDF]

Taylor, S., X. Feng, J.W. Kirchner, C. Renshaw, B. Klaue and R. Osterhuber, Isotopic evolution of a seasonal snowpack and its melt, Water Resources Research, 37, 759-769, 2001. [PDF]

Taylor S., X. Feng, B. Klaue, M. Albert and J. Kirchner, Rare earth elements as chemical tracers in snow studies, Proceedings of the 55th Annual Eastern Snow Conference (S. Taylor and J. Hardy, eds.), 13-20, 1998. [PDF]

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Kirchner, J.W., Acid rain revisited (Letter), Science, 273, 293-294, 1996. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., R.P. Hooper, C. Kendall, C. Neal, and G. Leavesley, Testing and validating environmental models, Science of the Total Environment , 183, 33-47, 1996. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W. and E. Lydersen, Base cation depletion and potential long-term acidification of Norwegian catchments, Environmental Science and Technology, 29, 1953-1960, 1995. [PDF 1.6 MB]

Kirchner, J.W., P.J. Dillon and B.D. LaZerte, Predictability of geochemical buffering and runoff acidification in spatially heterogeneous catchments,Water Resources Research, 29, 3891-3901, 1993. [PDF 2 MB]

Kirchner, J.W., P.J. Dillon and B.D. LaZerte, Separating hydrological and geochemical influences on runoff acidification in spatially heterogeneous catchments, Water Resources Research, 29, 3903-3916, 1993. [PDF 2.6 MB]

Kirchner, J.W., P.J. Dillon and B.D. LaZerte, Predicted response of stream chemistry to acid loading tested in Canadian catchments, Nature, 358, 478-482, 1992. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., Heterogeneous geochemistry of catchment acidification, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 56, 2311-2327, 1992. [PDF 3.3 MB]

Kirchner, J.W., A strategy for predicting watershed acidification, Ph.D. Thesis, Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, CA., 169 pp., 1990.

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Sulfur isotope dynamics in highly polluted Czech catchments

Novak, M., J.W. Kirchner, D. Fottova, E. Prechova, I. Jackova, P. Kram, and J. Hruska, Isotopic evidence for processes of sulfur retention/release in 13 Central European catchments spanning a strong pollution gradient, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 19 (4): Art. No. GB4012, 2005.  [PDF]

Novak, M., J.W. Kirchner, H. Groscheova, M. Havel, J. Cerny and R. Krejci, Sulphur isotope dynamics in two Central European watersheds affected by high atmospheric deposition of SOx, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 64, 367-383, 2000. [PDF]

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Geomorphology and earth surface processes

In the Swiss Alps

Climatic and topographic controls on long-term rates of physical erosion and chemical weathering

Ferrier, K.L.,* J.W. Kirchner, and R.C. Finkel, Estimating millennial-scale dust deposition rates on soil-mantled hillslopes using cosmogenic nuclides and immobile weathering tracers, Journal of Geophysical Research -- Earth Surface, 116, F03022, doi:10.1029/2011JF001991, 2011.  [PDF]

Ferrier, K.L.*, J.W. Kirchner, C.S. Riebe,* and R.C. Finkel, Mineral-specific chemical weathering rates over millennial timescales: Measurements at Rio Icacos, Puerto Rico, Chemical Geology,  277, 101-114, 2010.  [PDF]

Ferrier, K.L.* and J.W. Kirchner, Effects of physical erosion on chemical denudation rates: A numerical modeling study of soil-mantled hillslopes, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 272, 591–599, 2008. [PDF]

Ferrier, K.L.,* J.W. Kirchner and R.C. Finkel, Erosion rates over millennial and decadal timescales at Caspar Creek and Redwood Creek, Northern California Coast Ranges, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 30, 1025-1038, 2005. [PDF]

Riebe, C.S.*, J.W. Kirchner, and D.E. Granger*, Quantifying quartz enrichment and its consequences for cosmogenic measurements of erosion rates from alluvial sediment and regolith, Geomorphology, 40, 15-19, 2001. [PDF]

Granger, D.E.*, C.S. Riebe*, J.W. Kirchner, and R.C. Finkel, Modulation of erosion on steep granitic slopes by boulder armoring, as revealed by cosmogenic²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be, Earth and Planetary Science Letters,186, 269-281, 2001. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., R.C. Finkel, C.S. Riebe*, D.E. Granger*, J.L. Clayton, J.G. King and W.F. Megahan, Mountain erosion over 10-year, 10,000-year, and 10,000,000-year timescales, Geology, 29, 591-594, 2001.[PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF]

.

Riebe, C.S.,* J.W. Kirchner, D.E. Granger*, and R.C. Finkel, Strong tectonic and weak climatic control of long-term chemical weathering rates, Geology, 29, 511-­514, 2001. [PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF]

Riebe, C.S.,* J.W. Kirchner, D.E. Granger*, and R.C. Finkel, Minimal climatic control on erosion rates in the Sierra Nevada, California, Geology, 29, 447-450, 2001. [PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF]

Riebe, C.S.*, J.W. Kirchner, D.E. Granger* and R.C. Finkel, Erosional equilibrium and disequilibrium in the Sierra Nevada, inferred from cosmogenic ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be in alluvial sediment, Geology, 28, 803-806, 2000. [PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF]

Granger, D.E.*, J.W. Kirchner, and R.C. Finkel, Quaternary downcutting rate of the New River, Virginia, measured from ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be in cave-deposited alluvium, Geology, 25, 107-110, 1997.[PDF]

Granger, D.E.*, J.W. Kirchner, and R.C. Finkel, Spatially averaged long-term erosion rates measured from in situ cosmogenic nuclides in alluvial sediment, Journal of Geology, 104, 249-257, 1996. [PDF 2.5 MB]

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Riparian vegetation, river bank erosion, and woody debris

Micheli, E.R.*, J.W. Kirchner, and E.W. Larsen, Quantifying the effect of riparian forest versus agricultural vegetation on river meander migration rates, Central Sacramento River, California, U.S.A., River Research and Applications, 20, 537-548, 2004. [PDF]  

Micheli, E.R.* and J.W. Kirchner, Effects of wet meadow vegetation on streambank erosion. 1: Remote sensing measurements of stream bank migration and erodibility, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 27, 627-639, 2002. [PDF 1 MB]

Micheli, E.R.* and J.W. Kirchner, Effects of wet meadow vegetation on streambank erosion. 2: Measurements of vegetated bank strength and consequences for failure mechanics, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 27, 687-697, 2002. [PDF]

Manga, M. and J.W. Kirchner, Stress partitioning in streams by large woody debris, Water Resources Research, 36, 2373-2379, 2000. [PDF]

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Gabilan Mesa near San Ardo, California

Hillslope erosion mechanisms and topographic pattern formation

Perron, J.T.*, J.W. Kirchner, and W.E. Dietrich, Formation of evenly spaced ridges and valleys, Nature, 460, 502-505, doi:10.1038/nature08174, 2009.  [PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF 1.1 MB]    [Supplementary movie 2.2 MB]   

Perron, J.T.,* W.E. Dietrich, and J.W. Kirchner, Controls on the spacing of first-order valleys, Journal of Geophysical Research -- Earth Surface, 113, F04016, doi:10.1029/2007JF000977, 2008. [PDF 2.9 MB]

Perron, J.T.,* J.W. Kirchner, and W.E. Dietrich, Spectral signatures of characteristic spatial scales and non-fractal structure in landscapes, Journal of Geophysical Research -- Earth Surface, 113, F04003, doi:10.1029/2007JF000866, 2008. [PDF 1.8 MB]

Roering, J.J.,* J.T. Perron,* and J.W. Kirchner, Functional relationships between denudation and hillslope form and relief, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 264, 245-258, 2007. [PDF]

Roering, J.J.,* J.W. Kirchner and W.E. Dietrich, Characterizing structural and lithologic controls on deep-seated landsliding: implications for topographic relief and landscape evolution in the Oregon Coast Range, USA, Geological Society of America Bulletin, in press, 117, 654-668, 2005.   [PDF 2 MB]

Roering, J.J.*, J.W. Kirchner, L.E. Sklar and W.E. Dietrich, Hillslope evolution by nonlinear creep and landsliding: an experimental study: Reply to Bons and van Milligen, Geology, 30, 482, 2002. [PDF]

Roering, J.J.*, J.W. Kirchner, L.E. Sklar and W.E. Dietrich, Hillslope evolution by nonlinear creep and landsliding: an experimental study, Geology, 29, 143-146, 2001. [PDF]

Roering, J.J.*, J.W. Kirchner, and W.E. Dietrich, Hillslope evolution by nonlinear, slope-dependent transport: Steady-state morphology and equilibrium adjustment timescales, Journal of Geophysical Research, 106 B8, 16499-16514, 2001. [PDF 3.2 MB]

Roering, J.J.*, J.W. Kirchner and W.E. Dietrich, Evidence for non-linear, diffusive sediment transport on hillslopes and implications for landscape morphology,Water Resources Research, 35, 853-870, 1999.[PDF]

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The Gambonini Mine, Marin County, California, before and after site remediation

Effectiveness of remediation efforts at an abandoned mercury mine

Kirchner, J.W., C.M. Austin, A. Myers, and D.C. Whyte*, Quantifying remediation effectiveness under variable external forcing using contaminant rating curves, Environmental Science and Technology, 45, 7874-7881, doi: 10.1021/es2014874, 2011.  [PDF]

Whyte, D.C.* and J.W. Kirchner, Assessing water quality impacts and cleanup effectiveness in streams dominated by episodic mercury discharges, Science of the Total Environment, 260, 1-9, 2000. [PDF]

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Mechanics of sediment transport

 
Nitsche, M.*, D. Rickenmann, J.M. Turowski, A. Badoux, and J.W. Kirchner, Evaluation of bedload transport predictions using flow resistance equations to account for macro-roughness in steep mountain streams, Water Resources Research, 47, W08513, doi:10.1029/2011WR010645, 2011.  [PDF]

Nelson, P.A., J.G. Venditti, W.E. Dietrich, J.W. Kirchner, H. Ikeda, F. Iseya, and L.S. Sklar, Response of  bed surface patchiness to reductions in sediment supply, Journal of Geophysical Research -- Earth Surface, 114, F02005, doi:10.1029/2008JF001144, 2009.  [PDF 1.3 MB]

Yager, E.M.,* J.W. Kirchner, and W.E. Dietrich, Calculating bed load transport in steep boulder-bed channels, Water Resources Research, 43, W07418, doi:10.1029/2006WR005432, 2007. [PDF 2 MB]

Buffington, J., W.E. Dietrich, and J.W. Kirchner, Friction angle measurements on a naturally-formed gravel streambed: implications for critical boundary shear stress, Water Resources Research, 28, 411-425, 1992. [PDF 9 MB]

Kirchner, J.W., W.E. Dietrich, F. Iseya, and H. Ikeda, The variability of critical shear stress, friction angle, and grain protrusion in water-worked sediments, Sedimentology, 37, 647-672, 1990. [PDF 3 MB]

Dietrich, W.E., J.W. Kirchner, H. Ikeda, and F. Iseya, Sediment supply and the development of the coarse surface layer in gravel-bedded rivers, Nature, 340, 215-217, 1989. [PDF]

Seidl, M.A., W.E. Dietrich, and J.W. Kirchner, Longitudinal profile development into bedrock: an analysis of Hawaiian channels, Journal of Geology, 102, 457-474, 1994. [PDF 2.8 MB]

Kirchner, J.W., Statistical inevitability of Horton's laws and the apparent randomness of stream channel networks--Reply to Masek and Turcotte, Geology, 22, 380-381, 1994. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., Statistical inevitability of Horton's laws and the apparent randomness of stream channel networks--Reply to Troutman and Karlinger,Geology, 22, 574-575, 1994. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., Statistical inevitability of Horton's laws and the apparent randomness of stream channel networks, Geology, 21, 591-594, 1993. [PDF]

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Evolutionary ecology

Macroevolutionary dynamics inferred from the fossil record

Kirchner, J.W. and A. Weil, Fossils make waves (News & Views), Nature, 434, 147-148, 2005.  [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., Evolutionary speed limits inferred from the fossil record, Nature, 415, 65-68, 2002. [PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., Fractal power spectra plotted upside-down: Comment on 'Scaling of power spectrum of extinction events in the fossil record', Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 192, 617-621, 2001. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W. and A. Weil, Delayed biological recovery from extinctions throughout the fossil record, Nature, 404, 177-180, 2000. [PDF]
[Supplementary information PDF]

Kirchner, J.W. and A. Weil, Correlations in fossil extinctions and originations through geologic time, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B267, 1301-1309, 2000. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W. and A. Weil, No fractals in fossil extinction statistics, Nature, 395, 337-338, 1998. [PDF]

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Evolutionary ecology and genetics of host-pathogen interactions

Kirchner, J.W. and B.A. Roy, Evolutionary implications of host-pathogen specificity: Fitness consequences of pathogen virulence traits, Evolutionary Ecology Research, 4, 27-48, 2002. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W. and B.A. Roy, Evolutionary implications of host-pathogen specificity: Fitness consequences of host life history traits, Evolutionary Ecology, 14, 665-692, 2001. [PDF]

Roy, B.A. and J.W. Kirchner, Evolutionary dynamics of pathogen resistance and tolerance, Evolution, 54, 51-63, 2000. [PDF]

Roy, B.A., J.W. Kirchner, C.S. Christian and L.E. Rose, High disease incidence and apparent disease tolerance in a North American Great Basin plant community, Evolutionary Ecology,14, 421-438, 2000. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W. and B.A. Roy, The evolutionary advantages of dying young:epidemiological implications of longevity in metapopulations, The American Naturalist , 154, 140-159, 1999. [PDF]

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A skeptical view of the Gaia Hypothesis

Kirchner, J.W., The Gaia Hypothesis: conjectures and refutations, Climatic Change, 58, 21-45, 2003. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., The Gaia hypothesis: fact, theory, and wishful thinking, Climatic Change, 52, 391-408, 2002. [PDF]

Kirchner, J. W., The Gaia hypotheses: are they testable? Are they useful?, Scientists on Gaia (S.H. Schneider and P.J. Boston, eds.), pp. 38-46, M.I.T. Press, 1991. [PDF 1.5 MB] Also reprinted in Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application (L.P. Pojman, ed.), pp. 146-154, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 1994.

Kirchner, J.W., Gaia metaphor unfalsifiable (Letter), Nature, 345, 470, 1990. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., The Gaia hypothesis: can it be tested?, Reviews of Geophysics, 27, 223-235, 1989. [PDF 2.3 MB]

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Other topics

Kirchner, J.W., Aliasing in 1/f noise spectra: Origins, consequences, and remedies, Physical Review E, 71, 066110, 2005.  [PDF 2.3 MB]

Balser, T.C., J.W. Kirchner and M.K. Firestone, Methodological variability in microbial community level physiological profiles, Soil Science Society of America Journal, 66, 519-523, 2002. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., Diabolical speculations and divine artefacts (Letter), Nature, 337, 498, 1989. [PDF]

Kirchner, J.W., G. Ledec, R.J.A. Goodland, and J.M. Drake, Carrying capacity, population growth, and sustainable development, Rapid Population Growth and Human Carrying Capacity: Two Perspectives (D.J. Mahar, ed.), World Bank Staff Working Paper no. 690, The World Bank, Washington, pp. 41-89, 1985.

Singh, I., L. Squire, and J. Kirchner, Agricultural Pricing and Marketing Policies in an African Context: A Framework for Analysis, World Bank Staff Working Paper no. 743, The World Bank, Washington, 106 pp., 1985.

Kirchner, J.W., Alleviating fuelwood crises in developing countries, M.S. Thesis, Resource Policy Center, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., 276 pp., 1982.

Kirchner, J.W., A conceptual framework for system dynamics model evaluation, in Proceedings of the 1981 System Dynamics Research Conference(D. Andersen and J. Morecroft, eds.), State University of New York at Albany, 1981.

Kirchner, H.P. and J.W. Kirchner, Fracture mechanics of fracture mirrors, Journal of the American Ceramics Society, 62, 198-202, 1979.

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