Articles | Volume 9, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1279-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1279-2021
Research article
 | 
20 Sep 2021
Research article |  | 20 Sep 2021

Hilltop curvature as a proxy for erosion rate: wavelets enable rapid computation and reveal systematic underestimation

William T. Struble and Joshua J. Roering

Viewed

Total article views: 3,022 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total Supplement BibTeX EndNote
2,041 902 79 3,022 218 56 54
  • HTML: 2,041
  • PDF: 902
  • XML: 79
  • Total: 3,022
  • Supplement: 218
  • BibTeX: 56
  • EndNote: 54
Views and downloads (calculated since 25 May 2021)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 25 May 2021)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 3,022 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 2,534 with geography defined and 488 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 

Cited

Latest update: 29 Jun 2024
Download

The requested paper has a corresponding corrigendum published. Please read the corrigendum first before downloading the article.

Short summary
We used a mathematical technique known as a wavelet transform to calculate the curvature of hilltops in western Oregon, which we used to estimate erosion rate. We find that this technique operates over 1000 times faster than other techniques and produces accurate erosion rates. We additionally built artificial hillslopes to test the accuracy of curvature measurement methods. We find that at fast erosion rates, curvature is underestimated, raising questions of measurement accuracy elsewhere.