000171271 001__ 171271 000171271 005__ 20260515163946.0 000171271 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1126/science.ady6805 000171271 0248_ $$2sideral$$a149246 000171271 037__ $$aART-2026-149246 000171271 041__ $$aeng 000171271 100__ $$aDong, Tian Y. 000171271 245__ $$aApparent Hack’s law in river deltas 000171271 260__ $$c2026 000171271 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000171271 5203_ $$aRiver deltas are densely populated, ecologically vital landscapes threatened by rising sea levels. Distributary channel networks disperse sediment to build deltaic land, yet the relationship between the network organization and land building remains elusive. Inspired by Hack’s law, which shows that watershed drainage area scales with channel length in tributary networks, we analyzed a global dataset of distributary networks and found a nearly identical scaling relationship between distributary channel length and nourishment area, the land-building counterpart to drainage area. Despite this apparent global scaling, we further identified two distinct local land-building patterns: uniform delta networks consistently follow Hack’s law, whereas composite delta networks exhibit a scale break, transitioning from space-filling growth around the delta apex to quasi-linear growth near the coast. The unexpected growth patterns suggest that global simplicity and local variability coexist in how river deltas grow and organize. 000171271 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aAll rights reserved$$uhttp://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/ 000171271 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion 000171271 700__ $$aVulis, Lawrence 000171271 700__ $$aMa, Hongbo 000171271 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-3800-5304$$aTejedor, Alejandro$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000171271 700__ $$aGoudge, Timothy A. 000171271 7102_ $$12004$$2398$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Física Teórica$$cÁrea Física de la Tierra 000171271 773__ $$g392, 6797 (2026), 493-498$$pSci.$$tScience$$x0036-8075 000171271 8564_ $$s12788610$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/171271/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yPostprint 000171271 8564_ $$s1559503$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/171271/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yPostprint 000171271 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:171271$$particulos$$pdriver 000171271 951__ $$a2026-05-15-14:56:25 000171271 980__ $$aARTICLE