The paper by Paxman et al. presents a topographic analysis of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains underneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The authors analyse longitudinal valley profiles and apply concepts of fluvial landscape evolution to show that the subglacial landscape has a fluvial origin with a local glacial overprint. Based on channel steepness patterns, they determine the position of geological boundaries and assess the likely timing of tectonic uplift. Their analysis reveals that the South Pole Basin may contain sediment that could contain an archive of the formation and glaciation of the Gamburtsev Mountains.

Mountain streams comprise between 60 and 80% of total global river length. A primary trait of these streams are step-pool sequences. Whether the spacing of these features are regularly or randomly spaced is matter of debate. Erikson and Turowski resolve longstanding tension between the two competing models. Using data on natural, experimental, and numerically simulated step-pool sequences, they demonstrate that step-pool spacing rarely matches either assumption, but rather exists within a continuum. The findings of Erikson and Turowski challenge existing step-pool formation models, emphasize that efforts to replicate or install step-pools are fundamentally misguided when assuming regularity or randomness, and offer a potential alternative.