Identifying contemporary river migration rates is often based on aerial photos or recent topographical maps. Here, we propose to use river sediments as an archive to look further back in time using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, and develop a modelling procedure for the joint analysis of dating results and historical maps. The procedure is applied to the Overijsselse Vecht river in The Netherlands, and we show that the river migrated with 0.9–2.6 m/y between 1400–1900 AD. Hide

In the last 50 years, the Adygine glacier has been subjected to relatively fast recession comparable to other glaciers in Tien Shan. As a consequence, a 3-level cascade of glacial lakes formed, two of which were categorised as medium outburst hazard. By 2050, the glacier is expected to shrink to 56–73 % of its 2012 extent. Further development of the site will result in formation of new lakes and probably also increase of outburst hazard due to glacier runoff changes and melting of buried ice. Hide

We perform dimensional analysis on a frequently used landscape evolution model (LEM). Defining characteristic scales in a novel way, we significantly simplify the LEM and develop an efficient numerical modeling approach. Our characteristic scales are physically meaningful; they quantify competitions between landscape-forming processes and are related to salient properties of landscape topography. Dimensional analyses of other LEMs may benefit from our approach in defining characteristic scales. Hide

We present a modelling framework for the prediction of gravel-bed braided river evolution. The model is unique in that it simplifies sediment transport through the use of empirically-derived relationships between channel form and flood-scale particle transport distances, or path lengths, which ultimately allow for longer duration model runs with reduced computational demand. We use field surveys on two braided rivers to validate the model at the event, annual, and decadal timescales. Hide

In estuaries, mud sedimentation enhances salt marsh accretion. Here we explore system-scale effects of plants and mud on planform shape and size of estuaries. We coupled Delft3D for hydromorphodynamics with our vegetation model and ran controls for comparison. Effects are greatest at the fluvial-tidal transition, where for the first time in a model, a bedload convergence zone formed. Regardless of local vegetation effects, mud and vegetation cause gradual filling of estuaries over time. Hide

Mountain rivers play an important role in storing organic carbon (OC) on the landscape. We use field sampling to quantify OC concentrations in floodplain soils of two disparate mountain river basins. We find that local valley geometry and hydrology are dominant controls on OC concentration. This implies that OC concentration cannot be predicted using consistent, downstream trends. Instead, geomorphology must be accounted for to understand the spatial distribution of OC in river basins. Hide

Deep-seated gravitational spreading features are spectacular on Mars on the hillslopes of Valles Marineris, both in terms of freshness of landforms and size. This paper compares their dimensions and those in terrestrial analogue sites, in the Tatra Mountains. Gravitational spreading is thought to be now inactive in both locations. We find that height-to-width ratio, ~ 0.24, is similar, in spite of much larger strain in Valles Marineris. We explore the implications. Hide

The paper describes a model that simultaneously evolves both the soil profile and the landform, creating a coupled soilscape-landscape evolution model. The physics in the model is presented and justified from physical processes. The behaviour of the model is then explored for a variety of process formulations for a one-dimensional hillslope consisting of a flat upslope, steep midslope and flat lowlands, exploring the erosion and deposition behaviour, and soil profile evolution over time. Hide

Rainfall-induced landslides cause significant damage and fatality worldwide, but we have few datasets constraining the impact of individual storms. We present and analyze 8 landslide inventories, with > 150 to > 15,000 landslides, representing comprehensively the landslide population caused by 8 storms from Asia and the Americas. We found that the total storm rainfall is a major control on total landsliding, and that long storms seem to trigger landslides on less steep slopes than longer storms. Hide

Climate change will likely increase soil erosion in many locations worldwide. The increase of soil erosion will have a large-scale impact, such as the siltation of reservoirs. We developed a new soil erosion model to evaluate these impacts, which has the advantage over existing models that it includes most relevant processes: rainfall-runoff generation, vegetation development, and soil erosion and deposition. The model is suited to perform scenario studies on climate change and land management. Hide

The new, freely accessible and easy-to-use tools presented in this paper (GEEDiT and MaQiT) provide users with the ability to both visualise and map from the full satellite records of Landsat 4–8, and Sentinel 1–2, and quantify margin changes with unprecedented speed. This allows previously prohibitive volumes of remote sensing data to be analysed easily, flexibly and rapidly. These tools have potential applications across the geosciences for the exploration and analysis of satellite imagery. Hide

Seismic sources generated by the deformation of unstable slopes are diverse in terms of signal properties and mechanisms. Standardized catalogues of landslide endogenous seismicity can help understanding the physical processes controlling slope dynamics. We propose a generic typology of seismic sources based on the analysis of signals recorded at various instrumented slopes. We demonstrate that the seismic signals are similar at different sites and discuss their mechanical sources. Hide

We investigate the application of a recently developed low-cost technique to measure erosion processes along extensive riverbanks. We show that the progression of bank erosion can be measured at a high level of detail and along large extents with a multi-rotor UAV (drone) and computer vision techniques (Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry). Unlike previous methods with similar high-resolution performance, the bank topography is surveyed with low costs, resulting in a encouraging alternative. Hide

Coastal erosion is of major concern for society, our study focus on rocky coast whose evolution remains poorly understood. We use the increasing number of erosion-related data and compiled it for better understanding how and how much rocky coasts erode. We found that rock resistance explain in first order erosion rates whereas influence of climate and sea is secondary. Weak rock coasts loose in median 23 meters per century, about ten times more than hard rock coasts. Hide

Vegetation is crucial for modulating rates of denudation and landscape evolution, and is directly influenced by climate conditions and atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Using transient climate data and a state-of-the-art dynamic vegetation model we simulate the vegetation composition and cover from the Last Glacial Maximum to present along the Coastal Cordillera of Chile. In part 2 we assess the landscape response to transient climate and vegetation cover using a landscape evolution model. Hide

We present a numerial modelling investigation into the interactions between transient climate and vegetation cover with hillslope and fluvial processes. We use a state-of-art landscape evolution model library (Landlab) and designed model experiments to investigate the effect of climate change and associated changes in surface vegetation cover on main basin metrics. This paper is a companion paper to Part 1 (this journal) which investigates the effect of climate change to surface vegetation cover. Hide

This article presents a new technique for computer simulation of slope forms. The method provides a way to study how events that disturb soil or turn rock into soil add up over time to produce landforms. The model represents a cross section of a hypothetical landform is represented as a lattice of cells, each of which may represent air, soil, or rock. Despite its simplicity, the model does a good job of simulating a range of common of natural slope forms. Hide

The transport of pebbles in a river is smooth and continuous under high flow conditions, but under typical flows becomes erratic and unpredictable. We perform experiments to learn more about the origins of this unpredictable, intermittent behavior. Our results show that this unpredictability is similar to how infrequent avalanches occur in a sandpile. Transport events are similar in size but become more infrequent and erratic as the river transports less and less sediment. Hide

Rivers can reveal information about erosion rates, tectonics, and climate. In order to make meaningful inferences about these influences one must be able to compare headwaters to downstream parts of the river network. We describe new methods for normalizing river steepness for drainage area to better understand how rivers record erosion rates in eroding landscapes. Hide

This article is a contribution to a special issue on “Two centuries of modelling across scales”. It describes the historical observations, evolving hypotheses, and early calculations that led to the development of the field known as Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) modelling, which seeks to understand feedbacks between ice-sheet change, sea-level change, and solid Earth deformation. Recent advances are discussed. Future research in the field is likely to involve an interdisciplinary approach. Hide

This research presents a new method for quantifying the geologic controls on modern barrier island evolution. We used statistical time series analysis to evaluate the scale-dependent vs. scale-independent behavior of a barrier island in south Texas, USA. By integrating subsurface geophysical with surface geomorphological measurements we show that the island exhibits both free, and forced evolutionary behavior that has important implications for how the island may respond to rising sea levels. Hide