Articles | Volume 3, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-201-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-201-2015
Research article
 | 
25 Mar 2015
Research article |  | 25 Mar 2015

Impact of change in erosion rate and landscape steepness on hillslope and fluvial sediments grain size in the Feather River basin (Sierra Nevada, California)

M. Attal, S. M. Mudd, M. D. Hurst, B. Weinman, K. Yoo, and M. Naylor

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Short summary
Steeper landscapes tend to erode faster. In this study, we also find that sediment produced on steeper landscapes is coarser. Soils are coarser because fragments spend less time in the soil so are less exposed to processes that can break them down. Change in sediment sources impact the sediment transported by rivers: rivers transport sediment up to cobble size in low-slope, soil-mantled areas; they transport much coarser sediment (including boulders supplied from landslides) in the steep areas.