We propose a new algorithm to solve the problem of flow routing across local depressions in the topography, one of the main computational bottlenecks in landscape evolution models. Our solution is more efficient than the state-of-the-art, with an optimal linear asymptotic complexity. The algorithm has been designed specifically to be used within landscape evolution models, and also suits more generally the efficient treatment of large digital elevation models.

The concentration of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in river sediment is a widely used method to estimate catchment-average erosion rates. Measuring the ¹⁰Be concentration of a single grain size fraction, in catchments where the ¹⁰Be concentrations differ per grain size, could potentially result in biased erosion rates. In this study we investigated the causes of grain size-dependent ¹⁰Be concentrations and identified the type of catchments which are sensitive to biased catchment-average erosion rates.

Our findings show regional sea-level rise (SLR) impact predictions can be made using relatively coarse data. To predict the coastal response to SLR, detailed information on the landscape, including elevation, vegetation, and/or level of development are needed. However, we find the inherent relationship between elevation and land cover datasets (e.g. beaches tend to be low lying) is used to reduce error in a coastal response to SLR model, suggesting new applications for areas of limited data.

We studied uplifted marine terraces in the southern Iran that are part of the Makran subduction zone. Our results show that most terraces were formed in the last 35 000–250 000 years. Based on their altitude and the paleo sea-level, we derive surface uplift rates of 0.05–5 mm yr⁻¹. The results indicate that the region has been accumulating permanent deformation during the Late Quaternary, but we are currently uncertain whether this deformation occurs continuously or during large earthquakes.

Here we explore what controls river resilience to valley blocking by slow landslides. We link differences in landslide blocking at two locations to an analysis of the mobility of landslide-derived boulders. Our results suggest that the formation of valley blockages by slow landslides is very sensitive to the mobility of the coarsest fraction of sediment. Like steep alluvial channels, landslide impacted channels can be jammed by immobile boulders that locally impede coarse sediment transport.

Sand and mud may take many different pathways within a river as they travel from inland to the coast. During the trip, grains may be exposed to daylight, resetting a signal trapped within certain minerals. The signal can be measured in a laboratory to estimate time since last light exposure. Here, we measure the trapped signal of sand and mud grains from the Mississippi River and its banks. We use this information to infer sediment pathways. Such knowledge is useful for delta management.

Given the task of a rockfall hazard assessment, knowledge about the precise flight path of assumed boulders is vital for its accuracy. We present the full reconstruction of artificially induced rockfall events. The extracted information such as exact velocities, jump heights and lengths provide detailed insights of how rotating rocks interact with the ground. The information serves as future calibrations of rockfall modelling tools with the goal of even more realistic modelling predictions.

Slow-moving landslides are a major hazard but their movement mechanisms during earthquakes and rainstorms are not fully understood. We collected samples from a slow-moving landslide complex in New Zealand and subjected them to a range of pore water pressure and dynamic stress scenarios in a Dynamic Back Pressured Shear Box. Our results show how the complex movement patterns, observed in many large, slow-moving landslides, may be mobilized by strong earthquakes and significant rain events.

A single storm event can change the shape of a sandy beach dramatically – but beaches also exhibit a remarkable ability to recover. So how important are storm-driven changes to a beach in the long term? This question affects predictions of future shoreline change. Here we explore signal shredding – when sediment transport erases any signature of outside driving forces. Our results suggest that major storm impacts tell us little about long-term shoreline change, and vice versa.

The shape of landscapes is influenced by climate changes, faulting or the nature of the rocks under its surface. One of the most sensitive part of the landscape to these changes is the river system that eventually adapt to such changes by adapting its slope, the most extreme example being a waterfall. We here present an algorithm that extract changes in river slope over large areas from satellite data in the aim of investigate climatic, tectonic or geologic changes in the landscape.

We mapped landslides (> 100 m²) in the Nepal Himalayas due to 8 monsoons and large landslides (> 0.1 km²) since 1970. Adding inventories of Holocene, giant landslides (> 1 km³), and of landslides from the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, we constrain the size-frequency distribution of landslides induced by monsoons and earthquakes. They both contribute ~ 50 % to a long-term (> 10 kyr) total erosion of ~ 2 mm/yr, matching long-term exhumation rate. Large landslides, rarer than ¹⁰Be sampling time, drive erosion.

In Bangladesh, we measure how water and sediment move through tidal channels in an area heavily impacted by both sea level rise and the strategies that humans use to adapt. We found that the amount of water moving through the system is largely controlled by the strength of the tides, while the mass of sediment being transported is strongly connected to the season, and to a lesser extent the tides. These results are important for developing strategies to protect both human and natural landscapes.