Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

Journal: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

Abbreviation

Earth Surf Process Landforms

Publisher

Wiley

ISSN

0197-9337
1096-9837

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Publications 1 - 10 of 37

Modelling localized sources of sediment in mountain catchments for provenance studies
Battista, Giulia; Schlunegger, Fritz; Burlando, Paolo; et al. (2020)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
A hydrology–sediment modelling framework based on the model Topkapi‐ETH combined with basin geomorphic mapping is used to investigate the role of localized sediment sources in a mountain river basin (Kleine Emme, Switzerland). The periodic sediment mobilization from incised areas and landslides by hillslope runoff and river discharge is simulated in addition to overland flow erosion to quantify their contributions to suspended sediment fluxes. The framework simulates the suspended sediment load provenance at the outlet and its temporal dynamics, by routing fine sediment along topographically driven pathways from the distinct sediment sources to the outlet. We show that accounting for localized sediment sources substantially improves the modelling of observed sediment concentrations and loads at the outlet compared to overland flow erosion alone. We demonstrate that the modelled river basin can shift between channel‐process and hillslope‐process dominant behaviour depending on the model parameter describing gully competence on landslide surfaces. The simulations in which channel processes dominate were found to be more consistent with observations, and with two independent validations in the Kleine Emme, by topographic analysis of surface roughness and by sediment tracing with 10Be concentrations. This research shows that spatially explicit modelling can be used to infer the dominant sediment production process in a river basin, to inform and optimize sediment sampling strategies for denudation rate estimates, and in general to support sediment provenance studies. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sediment transport in high-speed flows over a fixed bed: 1. Particle dynamics
Auel, Christian; Albayrak, Ismail; Sumi, Tetsuya; et al. (2017)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Quantifying glacial erosion on a limestone bed and the relevance for landscape development in the Alps
Steinemann, Olivia; Ivy-Ochs, Susan; Grazioli, Sandra; et al. (2020)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Urban sustainability: Lessons from organisms and ecosystems
Edwards, Peter (2021)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
The services essential for urban life include provision of electricity and water, disposal of sewage and solid waste, and management of stormwater. In the past two centuries, the infrastructure providing these services has become increasingly large and centralized, which from a sustainability perspective is problematic. I argue that, to be sustainable, a city must be integrated like a living organism, while having the resilience properties of a mature ecosystem. For the provision of infrastructure, this means that today's massive, highly centralized facilities must give way to more distributed yet interconnected systems.
Postglacial to Holocene landscape evolution and process rates in steep alpine catchments
Kober, Florian; Hippe, Kristina; Salcher, Bernhard; et al. (2019)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Evaluating debris‐flow and anthropogenic disturbance on 10Be concentration in mountain drainage basins: implications for functional connectivity and denudation rates across time scales
Brardinoni, Francesco; Grischott, Reto; Kober, Florian; et al. (2020)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
We examine the sensitivity of 10Be concentrations (and derived denudation rates), to debris‐flow and anthropogenic perturbations in steep settings of the Eastern Alps, and explore possible relations with structural geomorphic connectivity. Using cosmogenic 10Be as a tracer for functional geomorphic connectivity, we conduct sampling replications across four seasons in Gadria, Strimm and Allitz Creek. Sampling sites encompass a range of structural connectivity configurations, including the conditioning of a sackung, all assessed through a geomorphometric index (IC). By combining information on contemporary depth of erosion and sediment yield, disturbance history and post‐LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) sedimentation rates, we constrain the effects of debris‐flow disturbance on 10Be concentrations at the Gadria sites. Here, we argue that bedrock weakening imparted by the sackung promotes high depth of erosion. Consequently, debris flows recruit sediment beyond the critical depth of spallogenic production (e.g., >3 m), which in turn, episodically, due to predominantly muogenic production pathways, lowers 10Be concentration by a factor of 4, for at least 2 years. In contrast, steady erosion in Strimm Creek yields very stable 10Be concentrations through time. In Allitz Creek, we observe two‐ to fourfold seasonal fluctuations in 10Be concentrations, which we explain as the combined effects of water diversion and hydraulic structures on sediment mixing. We further show that 10Be concentration correlates inversely with the IC index, where sub‐basins characterized by high concentrations (long residence times) exhibit low IC values (structurally disconnected) and vice versa, implying that, over millennial time scales a direct relation exists between functional and structural connectivity, and that the IC index performed as a suitable metric for structural connectivity. The index performs comparably better than other metrics (i.e., mean slope and mean normalized channel steepness index) previously used to assess topographic controls on denudation rates in active unglaciated ranges. In terms of landscape evolution, we argue that the sackung, by favouring intense debris‐flow activity across the Holocene, has aided rapid postglacial reshaping of the Gadria basin, which currently exhibits a topographic signature characteristic of unglaciated debris‐flow systems. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Debris-flow entrainment modelling under climate change: Considering antecedent moisture conditions along the flow path
Könz, Anna Lena; Hirschberg, Jacob; McArdell, Brian W.; et al. (2024)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Debris-flow volumes can increase along their flow path by entraining sediment stored in the channel bed and banks, thus also increasing hazard potential. Theoretical considerations, laboratory experiments and field investigations all indicate that the saturation conditions of the sediment along the flow path can greatly influence the amount of sediment entrained. However, this process is usually not considered for practical applications. This study aims to close this gap by combining runout and hydrological models into a predictive framework that is calibrated and tested using unique observations of sediment erosion and debris-flow properties available at a Swiss debris-flow observation station (Illgraben). To this end, hourly water input to the erodible channel is predicted using a simple, process-based hydrological model, and the resulting water saturation level in the upper sediment layer of the channel is modelled based on a Hortonian infiltration concept. Debris-flow entrainment is then predicted using the RAMMS debris-flow runout model. We find a strong correlation between the modelled saturation level of the sediment on the flow path and the channel-bed erodibility for single-surge debris-flow events with distinct fronts, indicating that the modelled water content is a good predictor for erosion simulated in RAMMS. Debris-flow properties with more complex flow behaviour (e.g., multiple surges or roll waves) are not as well predicted using this procedure, indicating that more physically complete models are necessary. Finally, we demonstrate how this modelling framework can be used for climate change impact assessment and show that earlier snowmelt may shift the peak of the debris-flow season to earlier in the year. Our novel modelling framework provides a plausible approach to reproduce saturation-dependent entrainment and thus better constrain event volumes for current and future hazard assessment.
Tracing distinct Late Eocene to Miocene weathering events: Insights from ferruginous duricrusts of the Brazilian Central Plateau
Marques , Karina P.P.; Gautheron , Cécile; Fellin, Maria Giuditta; et al. (2025)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Supergene minerals preserve a record of protracted exposure and weathering, rendering them valuable for understanding and reconstructing continental surface evolution and palaeoclimatic history. Determining when and how these minerals precipitated is fundamental for reconstructing the timing, nature, and controlling factor of weathering processes recorded in weathering profiles. In this study, we investigate a well-preserved, 5-m-thick lateritic ferruginous duricrust developed on low-relief uplands (~1100-m elevation) of the Brazilian Central Plateau (BCP). The BCP represents a high-standing postorogenic surface in southeastern Brazil, where numerous geochronological data provide a framework for regional comparison. Using (U–Th)/He geochronology on 100 haematite and goethite grains from nodular, pisolitic, and protopisolitic facies at three depths (~0.5 to ~5 m), we provide new constraints on the timing and possible controls of discrete weathering episodes in the BCP. Two successive weathering phases during the Cenozoic Era were identified. The older phase, recorded predominantly by haematite, occurred between ca. 35 and 24 Ma (Late Eocene–Oligocene) under seasonally contrasted tropical conditions. The younger phase, dated between ca. 17 and 8 Ma (Middle to Late Miocene), is characterized by widespread goethite precipitation under more humid and cooler climatic conditions that influenced the entire profile. These findings are consistent with (U–Th)/He datasets from nearby sites and confirm the spatial extent and synchronicity of these weathering events across the BCP. Comparison with geochronological data from different lithologies reveals a strong control of basement composition on weathering style and age distribution: duricrusts developed over igneous and sedimentary rocks yield well-clustered ages, whereas profiles over complex lithologies, such as cangas formed on Banded Iron Formations, show scattered and broadly distributed ages. This study contributes to refining the understanding of Cenozoic weathering dynamics and long-term landscape evolution across the BCP.
Denudation rates and Holocene sediment storage dynamics inferred from in situ ¹⁴C concentrations in the Feshie basin, Scotland
Towers, Anya H.; Mudd, Simon M.; Attal, Mikael; et al. (2025)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Scotland's Highlands are tectonically quiescent but have experienced high rates of isostatic uplift in response to deglaciation. To understand the effects of both deglaciation and regional uplift on landscape evolution, we measured the concentration of cosmogenic in situ(14)C in river sands collected in Glen Feshie (Cairngorms). Like other terrestrial cosmogenic radionuclides, in situ(14)C can be used to calculate basin-wide denudation rates over millennial timescales. C-14 has a short half-life relative to other in situ cosmogenic radionuclides, giving it an advantage in post-glacial landscapes: Very little C-14 will be inherited from exposure before glaciation of the landscape, meaning that concentrations will reflect sediment production and transport dominantly in the Holocene. When we calculate denudation rates based on the common assumption of basin-wide homogeneity of erosion, we find no correlation between topographic metrics such as the normalised channel steepness index and inferred denudation rates, which range between 0.175 and 1.356 mm/year. Based on field and remote sensing observations, we suggest that C-14 becomes diluted downstream due to sediment supply from paraglacial terrace material, and develop a mixing model to test this hypothesis. We identify the terraces that are likely to contribute sediment to the channels through flood modelling, geomorphic mapping and remote sensing observations. Our mixing model indicates that the observed distribution of C-14 concentrations can be explained if terrace escarpments have basin-averaged migration distances of 8 to 30 cm during large flood events. This interpretation is consistent with remotely sensed images of channel activity and terrace bank retreat within the catchment. Our results show that paraglacial sediment stores contribute to sediment fluxes in the late Holocene and highlight the on-going glacial legacy on landscape evolution.
Comprehensive temporal and spatial analysis of Early Pleistocene drainage patterns on the Swiss Alpine foreland
Broś, Ewelina; Ivy-Ochs, Susan; Pollhammer, Thomas; et al. (2025)
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Deckenschotter are glaciofluvial gravels that cap isolated bedrock plateaus and are largely disconnected from today's local drainage. They were deposited when glaciers from the Alps were first extensive enough to reach the northern Swiss foreland, thus providing a unique record of the foreland landscape and its evolution during the earliest Quaternary glaciations. To decipher this record, we employ two robust methodologies: cosmogenic 26Al/10Be burial dating and GIS-based topographic analysis. 26Al/10Be burial ages from both new and published sites are calculated using a consistent procedure with the P-PINI code. Detailed swath projected and local 360° profiles were generated with GIS data in an R-toolset developed specifically for this study. Integrating results from both methodologies with outcrop sedimentological data, we interpret three main periods of Deckenschotter deposition: 1.3–1.2, 1.1–1.0 and ~0.8 Ma. The interpreted age ranges indicate glaciers must have reached the forelands in response to intensifying climatic cooling across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (1.25–0.75 Ma). Deckenschotter outcrops provide a disjointed image of past topography from which we piece together glacial meltwater pathways in each time interval. Between the glacial phases, stepwise incision of 50–100 m occurred as depicted in the projection profiles, with some spatial variability in magnitude of incision. Incision was driven by decreasing sediment supply during glacial terminations, set against a backdrop of minor foreland uplift. While the path of the Aare River has changed little since the Early Pleistocene, the Rhine River has radically altered its path. Initially a tributary of the Danube River with northward flow, glacial modification to topography led to its re-routing to the west into the lower base-level Aare River-Upper Rhine Graben system. Based on our analysis, we estimate this event occurred after ~0.8 Ma.

Publications 1 - 10 of 37

Journal: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

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