Articles | Volume 8, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-769-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-769-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
22 Sep 2020
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 22 Sep 2020
| 22 Sep 2020
Timing of exotic, far-traveled boulder emplacement and paleo-outburst flooding in the central Himalayas
Marius L. Huber
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geological Institute, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
current address: Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRPG,
54000 Nancy, France
Maarten Lupker
Geological Institute, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8092, Switzerland
Sean F. Gallen
Department of Geosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins,
Colorado 80523, USA
Marcus Christl
Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP), Department of Physics, ETH
Zurich, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
Ananta P. Gajurel
Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu,
Nepal
Related authors
H. Bernsteiner, N. Brožová, I. Eischeid, A. Hamer, S. Haselberger, M. Huber, A. Kollert, T. M. Vandyk, and F. Pirotti
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., V-3-2020, 431–437, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2020-431-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2020-431-2020, 2020
Janet C. Richardson, Veerle Vanacker, David M. Hodgson, Marcus Christl, and Andreas Lang
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 315–339, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-315-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-315-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Pediments are long flat surfaces that extend outwards from the foot of mountains; within South Africa they are regarded as ancient landforms that can give key insights into landscape and mantle dynamics. Cosmogenic nuclide dating has been incorporated with geological (soil formation) and geomorphological (river incision) evidence, which shows that the pediments are long-lived features beyond the ages reported by cosmogenic nuclide dating.
Niklas Kappelt, Eric Wolff, Marcus Christl, Christof Vockenhuber, Philip Gautschi, and Raimund Muscheler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1780, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1780, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
By measuring the radioactive decay of atmospherically produced 36Cl and 10Be in an ice core drilled in West Antarctica, we were able to determine the age of the deepest sample close to bedrock to be about 550 thousand years old. This means that the ice in this location, known as Skytrain Ice Rise, has survived several warm periods in the past, which occur about every 100 thousand years.
Anne-Marie Wefing, Annabel Payne, Marcel Scheiwiller, Christof Vockenhuber, Marcus Christl, Toste Tanhua, and Núria Casacuberta
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1322, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1322, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Ocean Science (OS).
Short summary
Short summary
Here we used the anthropogenic radionuclides I-129 and U-236 as tracers for Atlantic Water circulation in the Arctic Ocean. New data collected in 2021 allowed to assess the distribution of Atlantic Water and mixing with Pacific-origin water in the surface layer in that year. By using historical tracer data from 2011 to 2021, we looked into temporal changes of the circulation and found slightly older waters in the central Arctic Ocean in 2021 compared to 2015.
Chiara I. Paleari, Florian Mekhaldi, Tobias Erhardt, Minjie Zheng, Marcus Christl, Florian Adolphi, Maria Hörhold, and Raimund Muscheler
Clim. Past, 19, 2409–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we test the use of excess meltwater from continuous flow analysis from a firn core from Greenland for the measurement of 10Be for solar activity reconstructions. We show that the quality of results is similar to the measurements on clean firn, which opens the possibility to obtain continuous 10Be records without requiring large amounts of clean ice. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of identifying solar storm signals in 10Be records from Greenland and Antarctica.
Catharina Dieleman, Philip Deline, Susan Ivy Ochs, Patricia Hug, Jordan Aaron, Marcus Christl, and Naki Akçar
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1873, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1873, 2023
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
Valleys in the Alps are shaped by glaciers, rivers, mass movements, and slope processes. An understanding of such processes is of great importance in hazard mitigation. We focused on the evolution of the Frébouge cone, which is composed of glacial, debris flow, rock avalanche, and snow avalanche deposits. Debris flows started to form the cone prior to ca. 2 ka ago. In addition, the cone was overrun by a 10 Mm3 large rock avalanche at 1.3 ± 0.1 ka and by the Frébouge glacier at 300 ± 40 a.
Giulia Sinnl, Florian Adolphi, Marcus Christl, Kees C. Welten, Thomas Woodruff, Marc Caffee, Anders Svensson, Raimund Muscheler, and Sune Olander Rasmussen
Clim. Past, 19, 1153–1175, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1153-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1153-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The record of past climate is preserved by several archives from different regions, such as ice cores from Greenland or Antarctica or speleothems from caves such as the Hulu Cave in China. In this study, these archives are aligned by taking advantage of the globally synchronous production of cosmogenic radionuclides. This produces a new perspective on the global climate in the period between 20 000 and 25 000 years ago.
Robert Mulvaney, Eric W. Wolff, Mackenzie M. Grieman, Helene H. Hoffmann, Jack D. Humby, Christoph Nehrbass-Ahles, Rachael H. Rhodes, Isobel F. Rowell, Frédéric Parrenin, Loïc Schmidely, Hubertus Fischer, Thomas F. Stocker, Marcus Christl, Raimund Muscheler, Amaelle Landais, and Frédéric Prié
Clim. Past, 19, 851–864, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-851-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-851-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present an age scale for a new ice core drilled at Skytrain Ice Rise, an ice rise facing the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Various measurements in the ice and air phases are used to match the ice core to other Antarctic cores that have already been dated, and a new age scale is constructed. The 651 m ice core includes ice that is confidently dated to 117 000–126 000 years ago, in the last interglacial. Older ice is found deeper down, but there are flow disturbances in the deeper ice.
Richard Ott, Sean F. Gallen, and David Helman
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 247–257, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-247-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We compile data on carbonate denudation, the sum of mechanical erosion and chemical weathering, from cosmogenic nuclides and use them in conjunction with weathering data to constrain the partitioning of denudation into erosion and weathering. We show how carbonate erosion and weathering respond to different climatic and tectonic conditions and find that variations in denudation partitioning can be used to explain the vastly different morphology of carbonate landscapes on Earth.
Nathan Vandermaelen, Koen Beerten, François Clapuyt, Marcus Christl, and Veerle Vanacker
Geochronology, 4, 713–730, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-713-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-713-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We constrained deposition phases of fluvial sediments (NE Belgium) over the last 1 Myr with analysis and modelling of rare isotopes accumulation within sediments, occurring as a function of time and inverse function of depth. They allowed the determination of three superposed deposition phases and intercalated non-deposition periods of ~ 40 kyr each. These phases correspond to 20 % of the sediment age, which highlights the importance of considering deposition phase when dating fluvial sediments.
Melissa Sophia Schwab, Hannah Gies, Chantal Valérie Freymond, Maarten Lupker, Negar Haghipour, and Timothy Ian Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 19, 5591–5616, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5591-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5591-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The majority of river studies focus on headwater or floodplain systems, while often neglecting intermediate river segments. Our study on the subalpine Sihl River bridges the gap between streams and lowlands and demonstrates that moderately steep river segments are areas of significant instream alterations, modulating the export of organic carbon over short distances.
Joanne Elkadi, Benjamin Lehmann, Georgina E. King, Olivia Steinemann, Susan Ivy-Ochs, Marcus Christl, and Frédéric Herman
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 909–928, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-909-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-909-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glacial and non-glacial processes have left a strong imprint on the landscape of the European Alps, but further research is needed to better understand their long-term effects. We apply a new technique combining two methods for bedrock surface dating to calculate post-glacier erosion rates next to a Swiss glacier. Interestingly, the results suggest non-glacial erosion rates are higher than previously thought, but glacial erosion remains the most influential on landscape evolution.
Richard F. Ott, Sean F. Gallen, and Darryl E. Granger
Geochronology, 4, 455–470, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-455-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-455-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Cosmogenic nuclides are a tool to quantify denudation – the total removal of mass from near the Earth's surface. Chemical weathering can introduce biases to cosmogenic-nuclide-based denudation rates measurements. Here, we investigate the effects of weathering on cosmogenic nuclides and develop tools to correct for this influence. Our results highlight which additional measurements are required to determine accurate denudation rates in regions where weathering is not negligible.
Elena Serra, Pierre G. Valla, Romain Delunel, Natacha Gribenski, Marcus Christl, and Naki Akçar
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 493–512, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-493-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-493-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Alpine landscapes are transformed by several erosion processes. 10Be concentrations measured in river sediments at the outlet of a basin represent a powerful tool to quantify how fast the catchment erodes. We measured erosion rates within the Dora Baltea catchments (western Italian Alps). Our results show that erosion is governed by topography, bedrock resistance and glacial imprint. The Mont Blanc massif has the highest erosion and therefore dominates the sediment flux of the Dora Baltea river.
Elena T. Bruni, Richard F. Ott, Vincenzo Picotti, Negar Haghipour, Karl W. Wegmann, and Sean F. Gallen
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 771–793, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-771-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-771-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The Klados River catchment contains seemingly overlarge, well-preserved alluvial terraces and fans. Unlike previous studies, we argue that the deposits formed in the Holocene based on their position relative to a paleoshoreline uplifted in 365 CE and seven radiocarbon dates. We also find that constant sediment supply from high-lying landslide deposits disconnected the valley from regional tectonics and climate controls, which resulted in fan and terrace formation guided by stochastic events.
Anne-Marie Wefing, Núria Casacuberta, Marcus Christl, Nicolas Gruber, and John N. Smith
Ocean Sci., 17, 111–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-111-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-17-111-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Atlantic Water that carries heat and anthropogenic carbon into the Arctic Ocean plays an important role in the Arctic sea-ice cover decline, but its pathways and travel times remain unclear. Here we used two radionuclides of anthropogenic origin (129I and 236U) to track Atlantic-derived waters along their way through the Arctic Ocean, estimating their travel times and mixing properties. Results help to understand how future changes in Atlantic Water properties will spread through the Arctic.
Hannah Gies, Frank Hagedorn, Maarten Lupker, Daniel Montluçon, Negar Haghipour, Tessa Sophia van der Voort, and Timothy Ian Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 18, 189–205, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-189-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-189-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding controls on the persistence of organic matter in soils is essential to constrain its role in the carbon cycle. Emerging concepts suggest that the soil carbon pool is predominantly comprised of stabilized microbial residues. To test this hypothesis we isolated microbial membrane lipids from two Swiss soil profiles and measured their radiocarbon age. We find that the ages of these compounds are in the range of millenia and thus provide evidence for stabilized microbial mass in soils.
Leonie Peti, Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons, Jenni L. Hopkins, Andreas Nilsson, Toshiyuki Fujioka, David Fink, Charles Mifsud, Marcus Christl, Raimund Muscheler, and Paul C. Augustinus
Geochronology, 2, 367–410, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-367-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-367-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Orakei Basin – a former maar lake in Auckland, New Zealand – provides an outstanding sediment record over the last ca. 130 000 years, but an age model is required to allow the reconstruction of climate change and volcanic eruptions contained in the sequence. To construct a relationship between depth in the sediment core and age of deposition, we combined tephrochronology, radiocarbon dating, luminescence dating, and the relative intensity of the paleomagnetic field in a Bayesian age–depth model.
H. Bernsteiner, N. Brožová, I. Eischeid, A. Hamer, S. Haselberger, M. Huber, A. Kollert, T. M. Vandyk, and F. Pirotti
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., V-3-2020, 431–437, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2020-431-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2020-431-2020, 2020
David Mair, Alessandro Lechmann, Romain Delunel, Serdar Yeşilyurt, Dmitry Tikhomirov, Christof Vockenhuber, Marcus Christl, Naki Akçar, and Fritz Schlunegger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 637–659, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-637-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-637-2020, 2020
François Clapuyt, Veerle Vanacker, Marcus Christl, Kristof Van Oost, and Fritz Schlunegger
Solid Earth, 10, 1489–1503, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1489-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-10-1489-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Using state-of-the-art geomorphic techniques, we quantified a 2-order of magnitude discrepancy between annual, decadal, and millennial sediment fluxes of a landslide-affected mountainous river catchment in the Swiss Alps. Our results illustrate that the impact of a single sediment pulse is strongly attenuated at larger spatial and temporal scales by sediment transport. The accumulation of multiple sediment pulses has rather a measurable impact on the regional pattern of sediment fluxes.
Maxi Castrillejo, Núria Casacuberta, Marcus Christl, Christof Vockenhuber, Hans-Arno Synal, Maribel I. García-Ibáñez, Pascale Lherminier, Géraldine Sarthou, Jordi Garcia-Orellana, and Pere Masqué
Biogeosciences, 15, 5545–5564, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5545-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5545-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The investigation of water mass transport pathways and timescales is important to understand the global ocean circulation. Following earlier studies, we use artificial radionuclides introduced to the oceans in the 1950s to investigate the water transport in the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA). For the first time, we combine measurements of the long-lived iodine-129 and uranium-236 to confirm earlier findings/hypotheses and to better understand shallow and deep ventilation processes in the SPNA.
Max Boxleitner, Susan Ivy-Ochs, Dagmar Brandova, Marcus Christl, Markus Egli, and Max Maisch
Geogr. Helv., 73, 241–252, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-73-241-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-73-241-2018, 2018
Muhammed Ojoshogu Usman, Frédérique Marie Sophie Anne Kirkels, Huub Michel Zwart, Sayak Basu, Camilo Ponton, Thomas Michael Blattmann, Michael Ploetze, Negar Haghipour, Cameron McIntyre, Francien Peterse, Maarten Lupker, Liviu Giosan, and Timothy Ian Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 15, 3357–3375, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3357-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3357-2018, 2018
Catharina Dieleman, Susan Ivy-Ochs, Kristina Hippe, Olivia Kronig, Florian Kober, and Marcus Christl
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 67, 17–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-67-17-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-67-17-2018, 2018
Antoine Cogez, Frédéric Herman, Éric Pelt, Thierry Reuschlé, Gilles Morvan, Christopher M. Darvill, Kevin P. Norton, Marcus Christl, Lena Märki, and François Chabaux
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 121–140, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-121-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-121-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Sediments produced by glaciers are transported by rivers and wind toward the ocean. During their journey, these sediments are weathered, and we know that this has an impact on climate. One key factor is time, but the duration of this journey is largely unknown. We were able to measure the average time that sediment spends only in the glacial area. This time is 100–200 kyr, which is long and allows a lot of processes to act on sediments during their journey.
Lorenz Wüthrich, Claudio Brändli, Régis Braucher, Heinz Veit, Negar Haghipour, Carla Terrizzano, Marcus Christl, Christian Gnägi, and Roland Zech
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 66, 57–68, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-66-57-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-66-57-2017, 2017
Maarten Lupker, Jérôme Lavé, Christian France-Lanord, Marcus Christl, Didier Bourlès, Julien Carcaillet, Colin Maden, Rainer Wieler, Mustafizur Rahman, Devojit Bezbaruah, and Liu Xiaohan
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 429–449, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-429-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-429-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We use geochemical approaches (10Be) on river sediments to quantify the erosion rates across the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra (TB) catchment in the eastern Himalayas. Our approach confirms the high erosion rates in the eastern Himalayan syntaxis region and we suggest that the abrasion of landslide material in the syntaxis is a key process in explaining how erosion signals are transferred to the sediment load.
Eric Laloy, Koen Beerten, Veerle Vanacker, Marcus Christl, Bart Rogiers, and Laurent Wouters
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 331–345, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-331-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-331-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Over very long timescales, 100 000 years or more, landscapes may drastically change. Sediments preserved in these landscapes have a cosmogenic radionuclide inventory that tell us when and how fast such changes took place. In this paper, we provide first evidence of an elevated long-term erosion rate of the northwestern Campine Plateau (lowland Europe), which can be explained by the loose nature of the subsoil.
Jean L. Dixon, Friedhelm von Blanckenburg, Kurt Stüwe, and Marcus Christl
Earth Surf. Dynam., 4, 895–909, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-895-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-895-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We quantify the glacial legacy of Holocene erosion at the eastern edge of the European Alps and add insight to the debate on drivers of Alpine erosion. We present the first data explicitly comparing 10Be-based erosion rates in previously glaciated and non-glaciated basins (n = 26). Erosion rates vary 5-fold across the region, correlating with local topography and glacial history. Our approach and unique study site allow us to isolate the role of glacial topographic legacies from other controls.
Maarten Lupker, Christian France-Lanord, and Bruno Lartiges
Earth Surf. Dynam., 4, 675–684, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-675-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-675-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Rivers export the products of continental weathering to the oceans. It is important to accurately constrain these fluxes to better understand global biogeochemical cycles. The riverine export of major cation species in particular contributes to regulate the long-term carbon cycle. In this work we quantify some additional fluxes to the ocean that may occur when solid sediments react with seawater in estuaries. These fluxes have been only poorly constrained so far.
C. Elsässer, D. Wagenbach, I. Levin, A. Stanzick, M. Christl, A. Wallner, S. Kipfstuhl, I. K. Seierstad, H. Wershofen, and J. Dibb
Clim. Past, 11, 115–133, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-115-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-115-2015, 2015
Related subject area
Physical: Geomorphology (including all aspects of fluvial, coastal, aeolian, hillslope and glacial geomorphology)
Haloturbation in the northern Atacama Desert revealed by a hidden subsurface network of calcium sulfate wedges
An evaluation of flow-routing algorithms for calculating contributing area on regular grids
Geometric constraints on tributary fluvial network junction angles
Automatic detection of floating instream large wood in videos using deep learning
Investigating uncertainty and parameter sensitivity in bedform analysis by using a Monte Carlo approach
Geomorphic imprint of high-mountain floods: insights from the 2022 hydrological extreme across the upper Indus River catchment in the northwestern Himalayas
A numerical model for duricrust formation by water table fluctuations
Width evolution of channel belts as a random walk
Evidence of slow millennial cliff retreat rates using cosmogenic nuclides in coastal colluvium
Equilibrium distance from long-range dune interactions
Examination of analytical shear stress predictions for coastal dune evolution
Post-fire evolution of ravel transport regimes in the Diablo Range, CA
Landscape response to tectonic deformation and cyclic climate change since ca. 800 ka in the southern central Andes
The Aare main overdeepening on the northern margin of the European Alps: basins, riegels, and slot canyons
Surface grain-size mapping of braided channels from SfM photogrammetry
A simple model for faceted topographies at normal faults based on an extended stream-power law
Multiple Equilibrium Configurations in River-Dominated Deltas
Short Communications: Multiscale topographic complexity analysis with pyTopoComplexity
Testing floc settling velocity models in rivers and freshwater wetlands
River suspended-sand flux computation with uncertainty estimation using water samples and high-resolution ADCP measurements
Barchan swarm dynamics from a Two-Flank Agent-Based Model
A landslide runout model for sediment transport, landscape evolution, and hazard assessment applications
Tracking slow-moving landslides with PlanetScope data: new perspectives on the satellite's perspective
Topographic metrics for unveiling fault segmentation and tectono-geomorphic evolution with insights into the impact of inherited topography, Ulsan Fault Zone, South Korea
Acceleration of coastal-retreat rates for high-Arctic rock cliffs on Brøggerhalvøya, Svalbard, over the past decade
The impact of bedrock meander cutoffs on 50 kyr scale incision rates, San Juan River, Utah
Sediment aggradation rates for Himalayan Rivers revealed through SAR remote sensing
Spatiotemporal denudation rates of the Swabian Alb escarpment (Southwest Germany) dominated by base-level lowering and lithology
How water, temperature, and seismicity control the preconditioning of massive rock slope failure (Hochvogel)
Large structure simulation for landscape evolution models
Investigating the celerity of propagation for small perturbations and dispersive sediment aggradation under a supercritical flow
Surficial sediment remobilization by shear between sediment and water above tsunamigenic megathrust ruptures: experimental study
Terrace formation linked to outburst floods at the Diexi palaeo-landslide dam, upper Minjiang River, eastern Tibetan Plateau
Influence of alluvial slope on avulsion in river deltas
Pliocene shorelines and the epeirogenic motion of continental margins: a target dataset for dynamic topography models
Decadal-scale decay of landslide-derived fluvial suspended sediment after Typhoon Morakot
Role of the forcing sources in morphodynamic modelling of an embayed beach
A machine learning approach to the geomorphometric detection of ribbed moraines in Norway
Stream hydrology controls on ice cliff evolution and survival on debris-covered glaciers
Time-varying drainage basin development and erosion on volcanic edifices
Geomorphic risk maps for river migration using probabilistic modeling – a framework
Evolution of submarine canyons and hanging-wall fans: insights from geomorphic experiments and morphodynamic models
Riverine sediment response to deforestation in the Amazon basin
Physical modeling of ice-sheet-induced salt movements using the example of northern Germany
Downstream rounding rate of pebbles in the Himalaya
A physics-based model for fluvial valley width
Sub-surface processes and heat fluxes at coarse-blocky Murtèl rock glacier (Engadine, eastern Swiss Alps)
Implications for the resilience of modern coastal systems derived from mesoscale barrier dynamics at Fire Island, New York
The Glacial Paleolandscapes of Southern Africa: the Legacy of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age
Quantifying the migration rate of drainage divides from high-resolution topographic data
Aline Zinelabedin, Joel Mohren, Maria Wierzbicka-Wieczorek, Tibor Janos Dunai, Stefan Heinze, and Benedikt Ritter
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 257–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-257-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-257-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In order to interpret the formation processes of subsurface salt wedges and polygonal patterned grounds from the northern Atacama Desert, we present a multi-methodological approach. Due to the high salt content of the wedges, we suggest that their formation is dominated by subsurface salt dynamics requiring moisture. We assume that the climatic conditions during the wedge growth were slightly wetter than today, offering the potential to use the wedges as palaeoclimate archives.
Alexander B. Prescott, Jon D. Pelletier, Satya Chataut, and Sriram Ananthanarayan
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 239–256, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Many Earth surface processes are controlled by the spatial pattern of surface water flow. We review commonly used methods for predicting such spatial patterns in digital landform models and document the pros and cons of commonly used methods. We propose a new method that is designed to minimize those limitations and show that it works well in a variety of test cases.
Jon D. Pelletier, Robert G. Hayes, Olivia Hoch, Brendan Fenerty, and Luke A. McGuire
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 219–238, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate that landscapes with more planar initial conditions tend to have lower mean junction angles. Geomorphic processes on alluvial piedmonts result in especially planar initial conditions, consistent with a correlation between junction angles and the presence/absence of Late Cenozoic alluvial deposits and the constraint imposed by the intersection of planar approximations to the topography upslope from tributary junctions. We caution against using junction angles to infer paleoclimate.
Janbert Aarnink, Tom Beucler, Marceline Vuaridel, and Virginia Ruiz-Villanueva
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 167–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a novel convolutional-neural-network approach for detecting instream large wood in rivers, addressing the need for flexible monitoring methods across diverse data sources. Using a database of 15 228 fully labelled images, the model achieved a weighted mean average precision of 67 %. Fine-tuning parameters and sampling techniques can improve performance by over 10 % in some cases, offering valuable insights into ecosystem management.
Julius Reich and Axel Winterscheid
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 191–217, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Analyzing the geometry and the dynamics of riverine bedforms (so-called dune tracking) is important for various fields of application and contributes to sound and efficient river and sediment management. We developed a workflow that enables a robust estimation of bedform characteristics and with which comprehensive sensitivity analyses can be carried out. Using a field dataset, we show that the setting of input parameters in bedform analyses can have a significant impact on the results.
Abhishek Kashyap, Kristen L. Cook, and Mukunda Dev Behera
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 147–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-147-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-147-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Short-lived, high-magnitude flood events across high mountain regions leave substantial geomorphic imprints, which are frequently triggered by excess precipitation, glacial lake outbursts, and natural dam breaches. These catastrophic floods highlight the importance of understanding the complex interaction between climatic, hydrological, and geological forces in bedrock catchments. Extreme floods can have long-term geomorphic consequences on river morphology and fluvial processes.
Caroline Fenske, Jean Braun, François Guillocheau, and Cécile Robin
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 119–146, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-119-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-119-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We have developed a new numerical model to represent the formation of duricrusts, which are hard mineral layers found in soils and at the surface of the Earth. We assume that the formation mechanism implies variations in the height of the water table and that the hardening rate is proportional to precipitation. The model allows us to quantify the potential feedbacks they generate on the surface topography and the thickness of the regolith/soil layer.
Jens M. Turowski, Fergus McNab, Aaron Bufe, and Stefanie Tofelde
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 97–117, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-97-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-97-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Channel belts comprise the area affected by a river due to lateral migration and floods. As a landform, they affect water resources and flood hazard, and they often host unique ecological communities. We develop a model describing the evolution of channel-belt area over time. The model connects the behaviour of the river to the evolution of the channel belt over a timescale of centuries. A comparison to selected data from experiments and real river systems verifies the random walk approach.
Rémi Bossis, Vincent Regard, Sébastien Carretier, and Sandrine Choy
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 71–79, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-71-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-71-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The erosion of rocky coasts occurs episodically through wave action and landslides, constituting a major natural hazard. Documenting the factors that control the coastal retreat rate over millennia is fundamental to evidencing any change in time. However, the known rates to date are essentially representative of the last few decades. Here, we present a new method using the concentration of an isotope, 10Be, in sediment eroded from the cliff to quantify its retreat rate averaged over millennia.
Jean Vérité, Clément Narteau, Olivier Rozier, Jeanne Alkalla, Laurie Barrier, and Sylvain Courrech du Pont
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 23–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-23-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-23-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Using a numerical model in 2D, we study how two identical dunes interact with each other when exposed to reversing winds. Depending on the distance between the dunes, they either repel or attract each other until they reach an equilibrium distance, which is controlled by the wind strength, wind reversal frequency, and dune size. This process is controlled by the modification of wind flow over dunes of various shapes, influencing the sediment transport downstream.
Orie Cecil, Nicholas Cohn, Matthew Farthing, Sourav Dutta, and Andrew Trautz
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Using computational fluid dynamics, we analyze the error trends of an analytical shear stress distribution model used to drive aeolian transport for coastal dunes, which are an important line of defense against storm-related flooding hazards. We find that compared to numerical simulations, the analytical model results in a net overprediction of the landward migration rate. Additionally, two data-driven approaches are proposed for reducing the error while maintaining computational efficiency.
Hayden L. Jacobson, Danica L. Roth, Gabriel Walton, Margaret Zimmer, and Kerri Johnson
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1415–1446, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1415-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1415-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Loose grains travel farther after a fire because no vegetation is left to stop them. This matters since loose grains at the base of a slope can turn into a debris flow if it rains. To find if grass growing back after a fire had different impacts on grains of different sizes on slopes of different steepness, we dropped thousands of natural grains and measured how far they went. Large grains went farther 7 months after the fire than 11 months after, and small grain movement didn’t change much.
Elizabeth N. Orr, Taylor F. Schildgen, Stefanie Tofelde, Hella Wittmann, and Ricardo N. Alonso
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1391–1413, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1391-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1391-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Fluvial terraces and alluvial fans in the Toro Basin, NW Argentina, record river evolution and global climate cycles over time. Landform dating reveals lower-frequency climate cycles (100 kyr) preserved downstream and higher-frequency cycles (21/40 kyr) upstream, supporting theoretical predications that longer rivers filter out higher-frequency climate signals. This finding improves our understanding of the spatial distribution of sedimentary paleoclimate records within landscapes.
Fritz Schlunegger, Edi Kissling, Dimitri Tibo Bandou, Guilhem Amin Douillet, David Mair, Urs Marti, Regina Reber, Patrick Schläfli, and Michael Alfred Schwenk
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1371–1389, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1371-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1371-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Overdeepenings are bedrock depressions filled with sediment. We combine the results of a gravity survey with drilling data to explore the morphology of such a depression beneath the city of Bern. We find that the target overdeepening comprises two basins >200 m deep. They are separated by a bedrock riegel that itself is cut by narrow canyons up to 150 m deep. We postulate that these structures formed underneath a glacier, where erosion by subglacial meltwater caused the formation of the canyons.
Loïs Ribet, Frédéric Liébault, Laurent Borgniet, Michaël Deschâtres, and Gabriel Melun
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3697, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3697, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This work presents a protocol and a model to get the size of the pebbles in mountain rivers from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle images. A set of 12 rivers located in south-eastern France were photographed to build the model. The results show that the model has little error and should be usable for similar rivers. Grain-size of mountain rivers is an important parameter for environmental diagnostics by mapping the aquatic habitats and for flood management by estimating the pebbles fluxes during floods.
Stefan Hergarten
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1315–1327, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1315-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1315-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Faceted topographies are impressive footprints of active tectonics in geomorphology. This paper investigates the evolution of faceted topographies at normal faults and their interaction with a river network theoretically and numerically. As a main result beyond several relations for the geometry of facets, the horizontal displacement associated with normal faults is crucial for the dissection of initially polygonal facets into triangular facets bounded by almost parallel rivers.
Lorenzo Durante, Nicoletta Tambroni, and Michele Bolla Pittaluga
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3552, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3552, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
River deltas are dynamic areas where rivers meet the sea. This study examines delta configurations to guide balanced development and environmental health. Using the Po River Delta, we developed a model to understand how different delta parts interact and maintain balance. Our findings show that deltas can reach varied states of balance, with some areas more prone to shift. These insights support predictions of delta changes and better management strategies.
Larry Syu-Heng Lai, Adam M. Booth, Alison R. Duvall, and Erich Herzig
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3415, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3415, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
pyTopoComplexity is an open-source tool that quantifies land surface complexity using advanced methods. Applied to a landslide-affected area in Washington, USA, it accurately analyzed landform features at various scales, enhancing our understanding of landform recovery after disturbances. By integrating with Landlab’s landscape evolution simulations, the software allows researchers to explore how different processes drive the evolution of surface complexity in response to natural forces.
Justin A. Nghiem, Gen K. Li, Joshua P. Harringmeyer, Gerard Salter, Cédric G. Fichot, Luca Cortese, and Michael P. Lamb
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1267–1294, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1267-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1267-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Fine sediment grains in freshwater can cohere into faster-settling particles called flocs, but floc settling velocity theory has not been fully validated. Combining three data sources in novel ways in the Wax Lake Delta, we verified a semi-empirical model relying on turbulence and geochemical factors. For a physics-based model, we showed that the representative grain diameter within flocs relies on floc structure and that heterogeneous flow paths inside flocs increase floc settling velocity.
Jessica Marggraf, Guillaume Dramais, Jérôme Le Coz, Blaise Calmel, Benoît Camenen, David J. Topping, William Santini, Gilles Pierrefeu, and François Lauters
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1243–1266, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1243-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1243-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Suspended-sand fluxes in rivers vary with time and space, complicating their measurement. The proposed method captures the vertical and lateral variations of suspended-sand concentration throughout a river cross-section. It merges water samples taken at various positions throughout the cross-section with high-resolution acoustic velocity measurements. This is the first method that includes a fully applicable uncertainty estimation; it can easily be applied to any other study sites.
Dominic T. Robson and Andreas C. W. Baas
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1205–1226, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1205-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1205-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Barchans are fast-moving sand dunes which form large populations (swarms) on Earth and Mars. We show that a small range of model parameters produces swarms in which dune size does not vary downwind – something that is observed in nature but not when using earlier models. We also show how the shape of dunes and the spatial patterns they form are affected by wind direction. This work furthers our understanding of the interplay between environmental drivers, dune interactions, and swarm properties.
Jeffrey Keck, Erkan Istanbulluoglu, Benjamin Campforts, Gregory Tucker, and Alexander Horner-Devine
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1165–1191, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1165-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1165-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
MassWastingRunout (MWR) is a new landslide runout model designed for sediment transport, landscape evolution, and hazard assessment applications. MWR is written in Python and includes a calibration utility that automatically determines best-fit parameters for a site and empirical probability density functions of each parameter for probabilistic model implementation. MWR and Jupyter Notebook tutorials are available as part of the Landlab package at https://github.com/landlab/landlab.
Ariane Mueting and Bodo Bookhagen
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1121–1143, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1121-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the use of optical PlanetScope data for offset tracking of the Earth's surface movement. We found that co-registration accuracy is locally degraded when outdated elevation models are used for orthorectification. To mitigate this bias, we propose to only correlate scenes acquired from common perspectives or base orthorectification on more up-to-date elevation models generated from PlanetScope data alone. This enables a more detailed analysis of landslide dynamics.
Cho-Hee Lee, Yeong Bae Seong, John Weber, Sangmin Ha, Dong-Eun Kim, and Byung Yong Yu
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1091–1120, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1091-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1091-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Topographic metrics were used to understand changes due to tectonic activity. We evaluated the relative tectonic activity along the Ulsan Fault Zone (UFZ), one of the most active fault zones in South Korea. We divided the UFZ into five segments, based on the spatial variation in activity. We modeled the landscape evolution of the study area and interpreted tectono-geomorphic history during which the northern part of the UFZ experienced asymmetric uplift, while the southern part did not.
Juditha Aga, Livia Piermattei, Luc Girod, Kristoffer Aalstad, Trond Eiken, Andreas Kääb, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1049–1070, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1049-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1049-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Coastal rock cliffs on Svalbard are considered to be fairly stable; however, long-term trends in coastal-retreat rates remain unknown. This study examines changes in the coastline position along Brøggerhalvøya, Svalbard, using aerial images from 1970, 1990, 2010, and 2021. Our analysis shows that coastal-retreat rates accelerate during the period 2010–2021, which coincides with increasing storminess and retreating sea ice.
Aaron T. Steelquist, Gustav B. Seixas, Mary L. Gillam, Sourav Saha, Seulgi Moon, and George E. Hilley
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1071–1089, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1071-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1071-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The rates at which rivers erode their bed can be used to interpret the geologic history of a region. However, these rates depend significantly on the time window over which you measure. We use multiple dating methods to determine an incision rate for the San Juan River and compare it to regional rates with longer timescales. We demonstrate how specific geologic events, such as cutoffs of bedrock meander bends, are likely to preserve material we can date but also bias the rates we measure.
Jingqiu Huang and Hugh D. Sinclair
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2600, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2600, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses radar technology to track tiny changes in riverbeds elevation in Himalayan Rivers as they flow onto the Gangetic Plains. By analyzing data from 2016 to 2021, we found that sediment builds up in seasonally dry (ephemeral) rivers during monsoon seasons, while the surrounding floodplains is sinking. This research is important for understanding how these elevation changes affect flood risks in rapidly growing communities in Nepal and India. Our findings can improve flood management.
Mirjam Schaller, Daniel Peifer, Alexander B. Neely, Thomas Bernard, Christoph Glotzbach, Alexander R. Beer, and Todd A. Ehlers
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2729, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2729, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study reports chemical weathering, physical erosion, and total denudation rates from river load data in the Swabian Alb, Southwest Germany. Tributaries to the Neckar River draining to the North show higher rates than tributaries draining to the South into the Danube River causing a retreat of the Swabian Alb escarpment. Observations are discussed in the light of lithology, climate, and topography. The data are further compared to other rates over space and time as well as to global data.
Johannes Leinauer, Michael Dietze, Sibylle Knapp, Riccardo Scandroglio, Maximilian Jokel, and Michael Krautblatter
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1027–1048, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1027-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1027-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Massive rock slope failures are a significant alpine hazard and change the Earth's surface. Therefore, we must understand what controls the preparation of such events. By correlating 4 years of slope displacements with meteorological and seismic data, we found that water from rain and snowmelt is the most important driver. Our approach is applicable to similar sites and indicates where future climatic changes, e.g. in rain intensity and frequency, may alter the preparation of slope failure.
Julien Coatléven and Benoit Chauveau
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 995–1026, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-995-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-995-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The aim of this paper is to explain how to incorporate classical water flow routines into landscape evolution models while keeping numerical errors under control. The key idea is to adapt filtering strategies to eliminate anomalous numerical errors and mesh dependencies, as confirmed by convergence tests with analytic solutions. The emergence of complex geomorphic structures is now driven exclusively by nonlinear heterogeneous physical processes rather than by random numerical artifacts.
Hasan Eslami, Erfan Poursoleymanzadeh, Mojtaba Hiteh, Keivan Tavakoli, Melika Yavari Nia, Ehsan Zadehali, Reihaneh Zarrabi, and Alessio Radice
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-414, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-414, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A channel may be aggraded by overloaded sediment. In this study we realize an aggradation experiment and determine the celerity at which an aggradation wave, due to sediment overloading, migrates. We also investigate the celerity of small perturbations, as quantified based on mathematical formulations. The celerities of the two kinds are correlated with each other. However, the celerity of small perturbations is larger than the other one, that is less than a few percent of the water velocity.
Chloé Seibert, Cecilia McHugh, Chris Paola, Leonardo Seeber, and James Tucker
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2011, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a new mechanism of widespread surficial co-seismic sediment entrainment by seismic motions in subduction earthquakes. Our physical experiments show that shear from sediment-water relative velocities from long-period earthquake motions can mobilize synthetic fine marine sediment. High frequency vertical shaking can enhance this mobilization. According to our results, the largest tsunamigenic earthquakes that rupture to the trench may be distinguishable in the sedimentary record.
Jingjuan Li, John D. Jansen, Xuanmei Fan, Zhiyong Ding, Shugang Kang, and Marco Lovati
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 953–971, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-953-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-953-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we investigated the geomorphology, sedimentology, and chronology of Tuanjie (seven terraces) and Taiping (three terraces) terraces in Diexi, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Results highlight that two damming and three outburst events occurred in the area during the late Pleistocene, and the outburst floods have been a major factor in the formation of tectonically active mountainous river terraces. Tectonic activity and climatic changes play a minor role.
Octria A. Prasojo, Trevor B. Hoey, Amanda Owen, and Richard D. Williams
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2113, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2113, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Decades of delta avulsion (i.e. channel abrupt jump) study has not resolved what the main controls of delta avulsion are. Using computer model, integrated with field observation, analytical and laboratory-made delta, we found that the sediment load, itself is controlled by the steepness of river upstream of a delta, controls the timing of avulsion. We can now better understand the main cause of abrupt channel changes on deltas, a finding that aids flood risk management in river deltas.
Andrew Hollyday, Maureen E. Raymo, Jacqueline Austermann, Fred Richards, Mark Hoggard, and Alessio Rovere
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 883–905, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-883-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-883-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Sea level was significantly higher during the Pliocene epoch, around 3 million years ago. The present-day elevations of shorelines that formed in the past provide a data constraint on the extent of ice sheet melt and the global sea level response under warm Pliocene conditions. In this study, we identify 10 escarpments that formed from wave-cut erosion during Pliocene times and compare their elevations with model predictions of solid Earth deformation processes to estimate past sea level.
Gregory A. Ruetenik, Ken L. Ferrier, and Odin Marc
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 863–881, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-863-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-863-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Fluvial sediment fluxes increased dramatically in Taiwan during Typhoon Morakot in 2009, which produced some of the heaviest landsliding on record. We analyzed fluvial discharge and suspended sediment concentration data at 87 gauging stations across Taiwan to quantify fluvial sediment responses since Morakot. In basins heavily impacted by landsliding, rating curve coefficients sharply increased during Morakot and then declined exponentially with a characteristic decay time of <10 years.
Nil Carrion-Bertran, Albert Falqués, Francesca Ribas, Daniel Calvete, Rinse de Swart, Ruth Durán, Candela Marco-Peretó, Marta Marcos, Angel Amores, Tim Toomey, Àngels Fernández-Mora, and Jorge Guillén
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 819–839, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-819-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-819-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The sensitivity to the wave and sea-level forcing sources in predicting a 6-month embayed beach evolution is assessed using two different morphodynamic models. After a successful model calibration using in situ data, other sources are applied. The wave source choice is critical: hindcast data provide wrong results due to an angle bias, whilst the correct dynamics are recovered with the wave conditions from an offshore buoy. The use of different sea-level sources gives no significant differences.
Thomas J. Barnes, Thomas V. Schuler, Simon Filhol, and Karianne S. Lilleøren
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 801–818, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-801-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-801-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we use machine learning to automatically outline landforms based on their characteristics. We test several methods to identify the most accurate and then proceed to develop the most accurate to improve its accuracy further. We manage to outline landforms with 65 %–75 % accuracy, at a resolution of 10 m, thanks to high-quality/high-resolution elevation data. We find that it is possible to run this method at a country scale to quickly produce landform inventories for future studies.
Eric Petersen, Regine Hock, and Michael G. Loso
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 727–745, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-727-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-727-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice cliffs are melt hot spots that increase melt rates on debris-covered glaciers which otherwise see a reduction in melt rates. In this study, we show how surface runoff streams contribute to the generation, evolution, and survival of ice cliffs by carving into the glacier and transporting rocky debris. On Kennicott Glacier, Alaska, 33 % of ice cliffs are actively influenced by streams, while nearly half are within 10 m of streams.
Daniel O'Hara, Liran Goren, Roos M. J. van Wees, Benjamin Campforts, Pablo Grosse, Pierre Lahitte, Gabor Kereszturi, and Matthieu Kervyn
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 709–726, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-709-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-709-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how volcanic edifices develop drainage basins remains unexplored in landscape evolution. Using digital evolution models of volcanoes with varying ages, we quantify the geometries of their edifices and associated drainage basins through time. We find that these metrics correlate with edifice age and are thus useful indicators of a volcano’s history. We then develop a generalized model for how volcano basins develop and compare our results to basin evolution in other settings.
Brayden Noh, Omar Wani, Kieran B. J. Dunne, and Michael P. Lamb
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 691–708, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-691-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-691-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, we propose a framework for generating risk maps that provide the probabilities of erosion due to river migration. This framework uses concepts from probability theory to learn the river migration model's parameter values from satellite data while taking into account parameter uncertainty. Our analysis shows that such geomorphic risk estimation is more reliable than models that do not explicitly consider various sources of variability and uncertainty.
Steven Y. J. Lai, David Amblas, Aaron Micallef, and Hervé Capart
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 621–640, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-621-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-621-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the creation of submarine canyons and hanging-wall fans on active faults, which can be defined by gravity-dominated breaching and underflow-dominated diffusion processes. The study reveals the self-similarity in canyon–fan long profiles, uncovers Hack’s scaling relationship and proposes a formula to estimate fan volume using canyon length. This is validated by global data from source-to-sink systems, providing insights into deep-water sedimentary processes.
Anuska Narayanan, Sagy Cohen, and John R. Gardner
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 581–599, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-581-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-581-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the profound impact of deforestation in the Amazon on sediment dynamics. Novel remote sensing data and statistical analyses reveal significant changes, especially in heavily deforested regions, with rapid effects within a year. In less disturbed areas, a 1- to 2-year lag occurs, influenced by natural sediment shifts and human activities. These findings highlight the need to understand the consequences of human activity for our planet's future.
Jacob Hardt, Tim P. Dooley, and Michael R. Hudec
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 559–579, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-559-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-559-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the reaction of salt structures on ice sheet transgressions. We used a series of sandbox models that enabled us to experiment with scaled-down versions of salt bodies from northern Germany. The strongest reactions occurred when large salt pillows were partly covered by the ice load. Subsurface salt structures may play an important role in the energy transition, e.g., as energy storage. Thus, it is important to understand all processes that affect their stability.
Prakash Pokhrel, Mikael Attal, Hugh D. Sinclair, Simon M. Mudd, and Mark Naylor
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 515–536, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-515-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-515-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Pebbles become increasingly rounded during downstream transport in rivers due to abrasion. This study quantifies pebble roundness along the length of two Himalayan rivers. We demonstrate that roundness increases with downstream distance and that the rates are dependent on rock type. We apply this to reconstructing travel distances and hence the size of ancient Himalaya. Results show that the ancient river network was larger than the modern one, indicating that there has been river capture.
Jens Martin Turowski, Aaron Bufe, and Stefanie Tofelde
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 493–514, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-493-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-493-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Fluvial valleys are ubiquitous landforms, and understanding their formation and evolution affects a wide range of disciplines from archaeology and geology to fish biology. Here, we develop a model to predict the width of fluvial valleys for a wide range of geographic conditions. In the model, fluvial valley width is controlled by the two competing factors of lateral channel mobility and uplift. The model complies with available data and yields a broad range of quantitative predictions.
Dominik Amschwand, Jonas Wicky, Martin Scherler, Martin Hoelzle, Bernhard Krummenacher, Anna Haberkorn, Christian Kienholz, and Hansueli Gubler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-172, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-172, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Rock glaciers are comparatively climate-resilient coarse-debris permafrost landforms. We estimate the energy budget of the seasonally thawing active layer (AL) of rock glacier Murtèl (Swiss Alps) based on a novel sub-surface sensor array. In the coarse-blocky AL during the thaw season, heat is transferred by thermal radiation and air convection. The ground heat flux is largely used to melt ground ice in the AL that protects to some degree the permafrost body beneath.
Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Julie C. Bernier, and Arnell S. Forde
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 449–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-449-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-449-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstructed the evolution of Fire Island, a barrier island in New York, USA, to identify drivers of landscape change. Results reveal Fire Island was once divided into multiple inlet-separated islands with distinct features. Later, inlets closed, and Fire Island’s landscape became more uniform as human activities intensified. The island is now less mobile and less likely to resist and recover from storm impacts and sea level rise. This vulnerability may exist for other stabilized barriers.
Pierre Dietrich, François Guillocheau, Guilhem Amin Douillet, Neil Patrick Griffis, Guillaume Baby, Daniel Paul Le Heron, Laurie Barrier, Maximilien Mathian, Isabel Patricia Montañez, Cécile Robin, Thomas Gyomlai, Christoph Kettler, and Axel Hofmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-467, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-467, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
At the evocation of ‘icy landscapes’, Africa is not the first place that comes to mind. The modern relief of Southern Africa is generally considered as resulting from uplift and counteracting erosion. We show that many modern reliefs of this region are fossil glacial landscapes tied to an ice age that occurred 300 million years ago: striated pavements, valleys, fjords. We emphasise how these landscapes have escaped being erased for hundreds of millions of years, generally considered improbable.
Chao Zhou, Xibin Tan, Yiduo Liu, and Feng Shi
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 433–448, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-433-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-433-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The drainage-divide stability provides new insights into both the river network evolution and the tectonic and/or climatic changes. Several methods have been proposed to determine the direction of drainage-divide migration. However, how to quantify the migration rate of drainage divides remains challenging. In this paper, we propose a new method to calculate the migration rate of drainage divides from high-resolution topographic data.
Cited articles
Abramowski, U., Glaser, B., Kharki, K., Kubik, P., and Zech, W.: Late
Pleistocene and holocene paleoglaciations of the Nepal Himalaya: 10be
surface exposure dating, Zeitschrift fur Gletscherkunde und
Glazialgeologie, 39, 183–196, 2003.
Ader, T., Avouac, J. P., Liu-Zeng, J., Lyon-Caen, H., Bollinger, L.,
Galetzka, J., Genrich, J., Thomas, M., Chanard, K., and Sapkota, S. N.:
Convergence rate across the Nepal Himalaya and interseismic coupling on the
Main Himalayan Thrust: Implications for seismic hazard, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 117, B04403,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JB009071, 2012.
Alexander, J. and Cooker, M. J.: Moving boulders in flash floods and
estimating flow conditions using boulders in ancient deposits,
Sedimentology, 63, 1582–1595, https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12274, 2016.
Amatya, K. M. and Jnawali, B. M.: Geological map of Nepal, scale: 1 : 1,000,000, Department of Mines and Geology, International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft e. V.,
and United Nations Environment Programme, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1994.
Andermann, C., Crave, A., Gloaguen, R., Davy, P., and Bonnet, S.: Connecting
source and transport: Suspended sediments in the Nepal Himalayas, Earth
Planet. Sc. Lett., 351, 158–170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.06.059,
2012.
Attal, M. and Lavé, J.: Pebble abrasion during fluvial transport:
Experimental results and implications for the evolution of the sediment load
along rivers, J. Geophys. Res.-Ea., 114, F04023,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JF001328, 2009.
Avouac, J.-P.: Mountain building, erosion, and the seismic cycle in the
Nepal Himalaya, Adv. Geophys., 46, 1–80,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2687(03)46001-9, 2003.
Bilham, R.: Himalayan earthquakes: a review of historical seismicity and
early 21st century slip potential, Geological Society, London, Special
Publications, 483, 423–482, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP483.16, 2019.
Bilham, R., Larson, K., and Freymueller, J.: GPS measurements of present-day
convergence across the Nepal Himalaya, Nature, 386, 61,
https://doi.org/10.1038/386061a0, 1997.
Bollinger, L., Sapkota, S. N., Tapponnier, P., Klinger, Y., Rizza, M., Van
Der Woerd, J., Tiwari, D., Pandey, R., Bitri, A., and Bes de Berc, S.:
Estimating the return times of great Himalayan earthquakes in eastern Nepal:
Evidence from the Patu and Bardibas strands of the Main Frontal Thrust, J.
Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 119, 7123–7163,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JB010970, 2014.
Bookhagen, B. and Burbank, D. W.: Toward a complete Himalayan hydrological
budget: Spatiotemporal distribution of snowmelt and rainfall and their
impact on river discharge, J. Geophys. Res.-Ea., 115, F03019,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JF001426, 2010.
Bradley, W. and Mears, A.: Calculations of flows needed to transport coarse
fraction of Boulder Creek alluvium at Boulder, Colorado, Geol. Soc. Am.
Bull., 91, 1057–1090, https://doi.org/10.1130/GSAB-P2-91-1057, 1980.
Bronk Ramsay, C: Computer Programme: OxCal software version 4.3, available at:
https://c14.arch.ox.ac.uk/oxcal.html (last access: February 2020), Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit,
Calibration: IntCal13: Northern Hemisphere, 2013.
Bull, W. B.: Geomorphic responses to climatic change, Oxford University
Press, New York, NY, USA, 326 pp., 1991.
Carling, P. and Tinkler, K.: Conditions for the entrainment of cuboid
boulders in bedrock streams: an historical review of literature with respect
to recent investigations, in: Rivers over rock: Fluvial processes in bedrock
channels, edited by: Tinkler, K. J. and Wohl, E. E., Geophysical Monograph
107, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, USA, 19–34, 1998.
Carling, P., Villanueva, I., Herget, J., Wright, N., Borodavko, P., and
Morvan, H.: Unsteady 1D and 2D hydraulic models with ice dam break for
Quaternary megaflood, Altai Mountains, southern Siberia, Global Planet.
Change, 70, 24–34, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2009.11.005, 2010.
Carling, P. A. and Fan, X.: Particle comminution defines megaflood and
superflood energetics, Earth-Sci. Rev., 204, 103087,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103087, 2020.
Cenderelli, D. A.: Floods from natural and artificial dam failures, in:
Inland Flood Hazards: human, riparian and aquatic communities, edited by:
Wohl, E. E., Cambridge University Press Cambridge, UK, 73–103,
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511529412.004, 2000.
Cenderelli, D. A. and Wohl, E. E.: Peak discharge estimates of glacial-lake
outburst floods and “normal” climatic floods in the Mount Everest region,
Nepal, Geomorphology, 40, 57–90,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(01)00037-X, 2001.
Chaulagain, H., Gautam, D., and Rodrigues, H.: Revisiting major historical
earthquakes in Nepal: Overview of 1833, 1934, 1980, 1988, 2011, and 2015
seismic events, in: Impacts and insights of the Gorkha earthquake, edited
by: Gautam, D. and Rodrigues, H., Elsevier, Amsterdam, Oxford, Cambridge,
1–17, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812808-4.00001-8,
2018.
Christl, M., Vockenhuber, C., Kubik, P., Wacker, L., Lachner, J., Alfimov,
V., and Synal, H.-A.: The ETH Zurich AMS facilities: Performance parameters
and reference materials, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 294, 29–38,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2012.03.004, 2013.
Clague, J. J. and Evans, S. G.: A review of catastrophic drainage of
moraine-dammed lakes in British Columbia, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 19,
1763–1783, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(00)00090-1, 2000.
Clarke, A. O.: Estimating probable maximum floods in the Upper Santa Ana
Basin, Southern California, from stream boulder size, Environ. Eng. Geosci.,
2, 165–182, https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.II.2.165, 1996.
Cook, K. L., Andermann, C., Gimbert, F., Adhikari, B. R., and Hovius, N.:
Glacial lake outburst floods as drivers of fluvial erosion in the Himalaya,
Science, 362, 53–57, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat4981, 2018.
Costa, J. E.: Paleohydraulic reconstruction of flash-flood peaks from
boulder deposits in the Colorado Front Range, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 94,
986–1004, https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1983)94<986:PROFPF>2.0.CO;2, 1983.
Costa, J. E.: Physical geomorphology of debris flows, in: Developments and
applications of geomorphology, edited by: Costa, J. E. and Fleisher, P. J.,
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 268–317,
https://doi.org/10.1007/1978-1003-1642-69759-69753_69759, 1984.
Costa, J. E. and Schuster, R. L.: The formation and failure of natural
dams, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 100, 1054–1068,
https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1988)100<1054:TFAFON>2.3.CO;2, 1988.
Dai, F. C., Lee, C. F., Deng, J. H., and Tham, L. G.: The 1786
earthquake-triggered landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood on the
Dadu River, southwestern China, Geomorphology, 65, 205–221,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.08.011, 2005.
Davies, T. R. and Korup, O.: Sediment cascades in active landscapes, in:
Sediment Cascades: An Integrated Approach, edited by: Burt, T. P. and
Allison, R. J., John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK, 89–115, 2010.
Delaney, K. B. and Evans, S. G.: The 2000 Yigong landslide (Tibetan
Plateau), rockslide-dammed lake and outburst flood: review, remote sensing
analysis, and process modelling, Geomorphology, 246, 377–393,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.06.020, 2015.
Denlinger, R. P. and O'Connell, D.: Simulations of cataclysmic outburst
floods from Pleistocene Glacial Lake Missoula, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 122,
678–689, https://doi.org/10.1130/B26454.1, 2010.
Dhital, M. R.: Geology of the Nepal Himalaya – Regional Perspective of the
Classic Collided Orogen, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02496-7, 2015.
DiBiase, R. A. and Whipple, K. X.: The influence of erosion thresholds and
runoff variability on the relationships among topography, climate, and
erosion rate, J. Geophys. Res.-Ea., 116, F04036,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002095, 2011.
Dortch, J. M., Owen, L. A., Caffee, M. W., and Kamp, U.: Catastrophic
partial drainage of Pangong Tso, northern India and Tibet, Geomorphology,
125, 109–121, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.08.017, 2011.
Finkel, R. C., Owen, L. A., Barnard, P. L., and Caffee, M. W.: Beryllium-10
dating of Mount Everest moraines indicates a strong monsoon influence and
glacial synchroneity throughout the Himalaya, Geology, 31, 561–564,
https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0561:BDOMEM>2.0.CO;2, 2003.
Fort, M.: Sporadic morphogenesis in a continental subduction setting: an
example from the Annapurna Range, Nepal Himalaya, Z. Geomorphol., 63, 9–36,
1987.
Fort, M., Cossart, E., and Arnaud-Fassetta, G.: Hillslope-channel coupling
in the Nepal Himalayas and threat to man-made structures: The middle Kali
Gandaki valley, Geomorphology, 124, 178–199,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.09.010, 2010.
Gansser, A.: Geology of the Himalayas, 1 ed., Regional Geology Series, John
Wiley and Sons Ltd, London, New York, Sydney (tr. Zurich), 1964.
Gauckler, P.: Etudes Théoriques et Pratiques sur l'Ecoulement et le
Mouvement des Eaux, Compt. rend. de l'Acad. de Sc. de Paris, t. 64,
Gauthier-Villars, Paris, France, 1867.
Gayer, E., Lavé, J., Pik, R., and France-Lanord, C.: Monsoonal forcing
of Holocene glacier fluctuations in Ganesh Himal (Central Nepal) constrained
by cosmogenic 3He exposure ages of garnets, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 252,
275–288, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2006.09.040, 2006.
Glade, R. C., Shobe, C. M., Anderson, R. S., and Tucker, G. E.: Canyon shape
and erosion dynamics governed by channel-hillslope feedbacks, Geology, 47,
650–654, https://doi.org/10.1130/G46219.1, 2019.
GLIMS and NSIDC: Global Land Ice Measurements from Space glacier database,
compiled and made available by the international GLIMS community and the
National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder CO, USA,
https://doi.org/10.7265/N5V98602, 2005 (updated 2018).
Google Earth: Satellite Imagery for central Nepal, from Google Earth Version
7.3, retrieved: January 2019.
Gupta, V. and Sah, M.: Impact of the trans-Himalayan landslide lake
outburst flood (LLOF) in the Satluj catchment, Himachal Pradesh, India, Nat.
Hazards, 45, 379–390, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-007-9174-6, 2008.
Harrison, S., Kargel, J. S., Huggel, C., Reynolds, J., Shugar, D. H., Betts, R. A., Emmer, A., Glasser, N., Haritashya, U. K., Klimeš, J., Reinhardt, L., Schaub, Y., Wiltshire, A., Regmi, D., and Vilímek, V.: Climate change and the global pattern of moraine-dammed glacial lake outburst floods, The Cryosphere, 12, 1195–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1195-2018, 2018.
Heim, A. and Gansser, A.: Thron der Götter: Erlebnisse der ersten
Schweizerischen Himalaya-Expedition, Morgarten-Verlag
Zürich, Switzerland, 1938.
Herzschuh, U.: Palaeo-moisture evolution in monsoonal Central Asia during
the last 50,000 years, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 25, 163–178,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.02.006, 2006.
Hewitt, K.: Natural dams and outburst floods of the Karakoram Himalaya,
IAHS-AISH P., 138, 259–269, 1982.
Hewitt, K., Gosse, J., and Clague, J. J.: Rock avalanches and the pace of
late Quaternary development of river valleys in the Karakoram Himalaya,
Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 123, 1836–1850, https://doi.org/10.1130/B30341.1,
2011.
Huber, M. L.: bouldersforpaleohydrology, Gitlab repository, available at: https://gitlab.com/mlh300/bouldersforpaleohydrology/, last modified: July 2019.
Huggel, C., Clague, J. J., and Korup, O.: Is climate change responsible for
changing landslide activity in high mountains?, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 37,
77–91, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2223, 2012.
Hungr, O., Leroueil, S., and Picarelli, L.: The Varnes classification of
landslide types, an update, Landslides, 11, 167–194,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-013-0436-y, 2014.
ICIMOD: Glacial lakes and glacial lake outburst floods in Nepal,
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal,
2011.
Ives, J. D., Shrestha, R. B., and Mool, P. K.: Formation of glacial lakes in
the Hindu Kush-Himalayas and GLOF risk assessment, International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal, 2010.
Kattelmann, R.: Glacial lake outburst floods in the Nepal Himalaya: a
manageable hazard?, Nat. Hazards, 28, 145–154,
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021130101283, 2003.
Korup, O. and Tweed, F.: Ice, moraine, and landslide dams in mountainous
terrain, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 26, 3406–3422,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.10.012, 2007.
Lang, K. A., Huntington, K. W., and Montgomery, D. R.: Erosion of the Tsangpo Gorge by megafloods, Eastern Himalaya, Geology, 41, 1003–1006,
https://doi.org/10.1130/G34693.1, 2013.
Lavé, J. and Avouac, J. P.: Fluvial incision and tectonic uplift across
the Himalayas of central Nepal, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 106,
26561–26591, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000359, 2001.
Liu, M., Chen, N., Zhang, Y., and Deng, M.: Glacial Lake Inventory and Lake
Outburst Flood/Debris Flow Hazard Assessment after the Gorkha Earthquake in
the Bhote Koshi Basin, Water-Sui., 12, 464,
https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020464, 2020.
Lu, N. and Godt, J. W.: Hillslope hydrology and stability, Cambridge
University Press, New York, USA,
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139108164, 2013.
Lupker, M., Blard, P.-H., Lavé, J., France-Lanord, C., Leanni, L.,
Puchol, N., Charreau, J., and Bourlès, D.: 10Be-derived Himalayan
denudation rates and sediment budgets in the Ganga basin, Earth Planet. Sc.
Lett., 333–334, 146–156, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.04.020, 2012.
Maharjan, S. B., Mool, P. K., Lizong, W., Xiao, G., Shrestha, F., Shrestha,
R. B., Khanal, N. R., Bajracharya, S. R., Joshi, S., Shai, S., and Baral,
P.: The Status of Glacial Lakes in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development – Research Report, Kathmandu,
Nepal, 2018.
Manning, R.: On the flow of water in open channels and pipes, Transactions
of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland, Vol. XX, 161–207, 1891.
Marc, O., Hovius, N., and Meunier, P.: The mass balance of earthquakes and
earthquake sequences, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 3708–3716,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068333, 2016.
Martin, L., Blard, P.-H., Balco, G., Lavé, J., Delunel, R., Lifton, N.,
and Laurent, V.: The CREp program and the ICE-D production rate calibration
database: A fully parameterizable and updated online tool to compute
cosmic-ray exposure ages, Quat. Geochronol., 38, 25–49,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2016.11.006, 2017.
Mason, K.: Indus floods and Shyok glaciers, Himalayan Journal, 1, 10–29,
1929.
Maurer, J., Schaefer, J., Rupper, S., and Corley, A.: Acceleration of ice
loss across the Himalayas over the past 40 years, Sci. Adv., 5,
eaav7266, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7266, 2019.
McAdoo, B. G., Quak, M., Gnyawali, K. R., Adhikari, B. R., Devkota, S., Rajbhandari, P. L., and Sudmeier-Rieux, K.: Roads and landslides in Nepal: how development affects environmental risk, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3203–3210, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-3203-2018, 2018.
Montgomery, D. R., Hallet, B., Yuping, L., Finnegan, N., Anders, A.,
Gillespie, A., and Greenberg, H. M.: Evidence for Holocene megafloods down
the Tsangpo River gorge, southeastern Tibet, Quaternary Res., 62, 201–207,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2004.06.008, 2004.
Nie, Y., Sheng, Y., Liu, Q., Liu, L., Liu, S., Zhang, Y., and Song, C.: A
regional-scale assessment of Himalayan glacial lake changes using satellite
observations from 1990 to 2015, Remote Sens. Environ., 189, 1–13,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.11.008, 2017.
O'Connor, J. E. and Beebee, R. A.: Floods from natural rock-material dams,
in: Megaflooding on Earth and Mars, edited by: Burr, D. M., Carling, P. A.,
and Baker, V. R., Cambridge University Press, New York, USA, 128–163,
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511635632.008, 2009
Owen, L. A.: Quaternary glaciation of the Himalaya and adjacent mountains,
in: Himalayan Weather and Climate and their Impact on the Environment,
edited by: Dimri, A., Bookhagen, B., Stoffel, M., and Yasunari, T.,
Springer, Cham, CH, 239–260,
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511635632.008, 2020.
Owen, L. A. and Benn, D. I.: Equilibrium-line altitudes of the Last Glacial
Maximum for the Himalaya and Tibet: an assessment and evaluation of results,
Quatern. Int., 138, 55–78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2005.02.006,
2005.
Owen, L. A. and Dortch, J. M.: Nature and timing of Quaternary glaciation
in the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 88, 14–54,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.11.016, 2014.
Pêcher, A.: The metamorphism in the central Himalaya, J. Metamorph.
Geol., 7, 31–41, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1314.1989.tb00573.x, 1989.
Pierson, T. C.: Hyperconcentrated flow – transitional process between water
flow and debris flow, in: Debris-flow Hazards and Related Phenomena,
Springer Praxis Books, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 159–202,
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-27129-5_8, 2005.
Pierson, T. C. and Costa, J. E.: A rheologic classification of subaerial
sediment-water flows, Rev. Eng. Geol., 7, 1–12, 1987.
Pratt-Sitaula, B., Burbank, D. W., Heimsath, A., and Ojha, T.: Landscape
disequilibrium on 1000–10,000 year scales Marsyandi River, Nepal, central
Himalaya, Geomorphology, 58, 223–241,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2003.07.002, 2004.
Pratt-Sitaula, B., Burbank, D. W., Heimsath, A. M., Humphrey, N. F., Oskin,
M., and Putkonen, J.: Topographic control of asynchronous glacial advances:
A case study from Annapurna, Nepal, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L24502,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL049940, 2011.
Rai, S.: Geology, geochemistry, and radiochronology of the Kathmandu and
Gosainkund crystalline nappes, central Nepal Himalaya, Journal of Nepal
Geological Society, 25, 135–155, 2001.
Reimer, P. J., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J. W., Blackwell, P. G., Ramsey,
C. B., Buck, C. E., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., and Friedrich, M.: IntCal13
and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0–50,000 years cal BP,
Radiocarbon, 55, 1869–1887, https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.55.16947, 2013.
Richardson, S. D. and Reynolds, J. M.: An overview of glacial hazards in
the Himalayas, Quatern. Int., 65, 31–47,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-6182(99)00035-X, 2000.
Roback, K., Clark, M. K., West, A. J., Zekkos, D., Li, G., Gallen, S. F.,
Chamlagain, D., and Godt, J. W.: The size, distribution, and mobility of
landslides caused by the 2015 Mw7. 8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal,
Geomorphology, 301, 121–138, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.01.030,
2018.
Rosenwinkel, S., Landgraf, A., Schwanghart, W., Volkmer, F., Dzhumabaeva,
A., Merchel, S., Rugel, G., Preusser, F., and Korup, O.: Late Pleistocene
outburst floods from Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan?, Earth Surf. Proc. Land.,
42, 1535–1548, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4109, 2017.
Ruiz-Villanueva, V., Allen, S., Arora, M., Goel, N. K., and Stoffel, M.:
Recent catastrophic landslide lake outburst floods in the Himalayan mountain
range, Prog. Phys. Geog., 41, 3–28,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133316658614, 2017.
Runqiu, H.: Some catastrophic landslides since the twentieth century in the
southwest of China, Landslides, 6, 69–81,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-009-0142-y, 2009.
Sapkota, S. N., Bollinger, L., Klinger, Y., Tapponnier, P., Gaudemer, Y.,
and Tiwari, D.: Primary surface ruptures of the great Himalayan earthquakes
in 1934 and 1255, Nat. Geosci., 6, 71–76, https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO1669,
2013.
Sarkar, S., Prasad, S., Wilkes, H., Riedel, N., Stebich, M., Basavaiah, N.,
and Sachse, D.: Monsoon source shifts during the drying mid-Holocene:
Biomarker isotope based evidence from the core `monsoon zone'(CMZ) of India,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 123, 144–157,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.06.020, 2015.
Schaefer, J. M., Oberholzer, P., Zhao, Z., Ivy-Ochs, S., Wieler, R., Baur,
H., Kubik, P. W., and Schlüchter, C.: Cosmogenic beryllium-10 and
neon-21 dating of late Pleistocene glaciations in Nyalam, monsoonal
Himalayas, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 27, 295–311,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.10.014, 2008.
Schwanghart, W., Bernhardt, A., Stolle, A., Hoelzmann, P., Adhikari, B. R.,
Andermann, C., Tofelde, S., Merchel, S., Rugel, G., and Fort, M.: Repeated
catastrophic valley infill following medieval earthquakes in the Nepal
Himalaya, Science, 351, 147–150, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac9865,
2016a.
Schwanghart, W., Worni, R., Huggel, C., Stoffel, M., and Korup, O.:
Uncertainty in the Himalayan energy–water nexus: Estimating regional
exposure to glacial lake outburst floods, Environ. Res. Lett., 11, 074005,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/7/074005, 2016b.
Shang, Y., Yang, Z., Li, L., Liu, D. A., Liao, Q., and Wang, Y.: A
super-large landslide in Tibet in 2000: background, occurrence, disaster,
and origin, Geomorphology, 54, 225–243,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00358-6, 2003.
Shiraiwa, T. and Watanabe, T.: Late Quaternary glacial fluctuations in the
Langtang valley, Nepal Himalaya, reconstructed by relative dating methods,
Arctic Alpine Res., 23, 404–416, 1991.
Shobe, C. M., Tucker, G. E., and Anderson, R. S.: Hillslope-derived blocks
retard river incision, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 5070–5078,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069262, 2016.
Shobe, C. M., Tucker, G. E., and Rossi, M. W.: Variable-threshold behavior
in rivers arising from hillslope-derived blocks, J. Geophys. Res.-Ea.,
123, 1931–1957, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JF004575, 2018.
Shrestha, A. B., Eriksson, M., Mool, P., Ghimire, P., Mishra, B., and
Khanal, N. R.: Glacial lake outburst flood risk assessment of Sun Koshi
basin, Nepal, Geomat. Nat. Haz. Risk, 1, 157–169,
https://doi.org/10.1080/19475701003668968, 2010.
Shrestha, S. B., Shrestha, J. N., and Sharma, S. R.: Geological map of
central Nepal, Department of Mines and Geology, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1986.
Shroder, J. F. J., Cornwell, K., and Khan, M. S.: Catastrophic break-out
floods in the western Himalaya, Pakistan, Geological Society of America
Annual Meeting Program with Abstracts, San Diego, CA, USA, Vol. 23, p. 87, 1991.
Stevens, V. L. and Avouac, J. P.: Millenary Mw>9.0 earthquakes
required by geodetic strain in the Himalaya, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43,
1118–1123, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067336, 2016.
Stöcklin, J.: Geology of Nepal and its regional frame: Thirty-third
William Smith Lecture, J. Geol. Soc. London, 137, 1–34,
https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.137.1.0001, 1980.
Stoffel, M., Tiranti, D., and Huggel, C.: Climate change impacts on mass
movements – case studies from the European Alps, Sci. Total Environ., 493,
1255–1266, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.102, 2014.
Stolle, A., Bernhardt, A., Schwanghart, W., Hoelzmann, P., Adhikari, B. R.,
Fort, M., and Korup, O.: Catastrophic valley fills record large Himalayan
earthquakes, Pokhara, Nepal, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 177, 88–103,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.10.015, 2017.
Stolle, A., Schwanghart, W., Andermann, C., Bernhardt, A., Fort, M., Jansen,
J. D., Wittmann, H., Merchel, S., Rugel, G., Adhikari, B. R., and Korup, O.:
Protracted river response to medieval earthquakes, Earth Surf. Proc. Land.,
44, 331–341, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4517, 2019.
Thompson, L. G., Yao, T., Davis, M. E., Henderson, K. A., Mosley-Thompson,
E., Lin, P.-N., Beer, J., Synal, H.-A., Cole-Dai, J., and Bolzan, J. F.:
Tropical climate instability: The last glacial cycle from a Qinghai-Tibetan
ice core, Science, 276, 1821–1825,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.276.5320.1821, 1997.
Turzewski, M. D., Huntington, K. W., and LeVeque, R. J.: The geomorphic
impact of outburst floods: Integrating observations and numerical
simulations of the 2000 Yigong flood, eastern Himalaya, J. Geophys.
Res.-Ea., 124, 1056–1079, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JF004778, 2019.
Upreti, B. N.: An overview of the stratigraphy and tectonics of the Nepal
Himalaya, J. Asian Earth Sci., 17, 577–606,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(99)00047-4, 1999.
Veh, G., Korup, O., von Specht, S., Roessner, S., and Walz, A.: Unchanged
frequency of moraine-dammed glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalaya,
Nat. Clim. Change, 9, 379, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0437-5, 2019.
Vuichard, D. and Zimmermann, M.: The 1985 catastrophic drainage of a
moraine-dammed lake, Khumbu Himal, Nepal: cause and consequences, Mt. Res.
Dev., 7, 91–110, https://doi.org/10.2307/3673305, 1987.
Walder, J. S. and Costa, J. E.: Outburst floods from glacier-dammed lakes:
the effect of mode of lake drainage on flood magnitude, Earth Surf. Proc.
Land., 21, 701–723,
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199608)21:8<701::AID-ESP615>3.0.CO;2-2, 1996.
Wang, W., Xiang, Y., Gao, Y., Lu, A., and Yao, T.: Rapid expansion of
glacial lakes caused by climate and glacier retreat in the Central
Himalayas, Hydrol. Process., 29, 859–874, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10199,
2015.
Wang, Z. Y., Qi, P., and Melching, C. S.: Fluvial hydraulics of
hyperconcentrated floods in Chinese rivers, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 34,
981–993, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1789, 2009.
Wasson, R. J., Sundriyal, Y. P., Chaudhary, S., Jaiswal, M. K., Morthekai,
P., Sati, S. P., and Juyal, N.: A 1000-year history of large floods in the
Upper Ganga catchment, central Himalaya, India, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 77,
156–166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.07.022, 2013.
Willett, S. D. and Brandon, M. T.: On steady states in mountain belts,
Geology, 30, 175–178, https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0175:OSSIMB>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Wohl, E. E.: Mountain rivers revisited, Water resources monograph (19),
American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, USA, 2013.
Worni, R., Stoffel, M., Huggel, C., Volz, C., Casteller, A., and Luckman,
B.: Analysis and dynamic modeling of a moraine failure and glacier lake
outburst flood at Ventisquero Negro, Patagonian Andes (Argentina), J.
Hydrol., 444, 134–145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.04.013, 2012.
Xu, D.: Characteristics of debris flow caused by outburst of glacial lake in
Boqu river, Xizang, China, 1981, GeoJournal, 17, 569–580, 1988.
Yamada, T. and Sharma, C. K.: Glacier lakes and outburst floods in the
Nepal Himalaya, IAHS-AISH P., 218, 319–330, 1993.
Yamanaka, H.: Radiocarbon ages of upper quaternary deposit in central Nepal and their geomorphological significance, Science Reports of the Tohoku University, 7th Series, Geography, 32, 46–60, 1982.
Ziegler, A. D., Wasson, R. J., Bhardwaj, A., Sundriyal, Y. P., Sati, S. P.,
Juyal, N., Nautiyal, V., Srivastava, P., Gillen, J., and Saklani, U.:
Pilgrims, progress, and the political economy of disaster preparedness – the
example of the 2013 Uttarakhand flood and Kedarnath disaster, Hydrol.
Process., 28, 5985–5990, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10349, 2014.
Short summary
Large boulders found in two Himalayan valleys show signs of long fluvial transport (>10 km). Paleo-discharges required to mobilize these boulders exceed typical monsoon discharges. Exposure dating shows that a cluster of these boulders was emplaced ca. 5 kyr ago. This period is coeval with a weakening of the Indian monsoon and glacier retreat in the area. We, therefore, suggest that glacier lake outburst floods are likely mechanisms that can explain these exceptional transport processes.
Large boulders found in two Himalayan valleys show signs of long fluvial transport (>10 km)....
