High-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) can now be acquired using airborne laser scanners. This allows for a detailed analysis of the geometry of landslides. Several large landslides were triggered by Typhoon Talas in Japan in 2011. The comparison of pre- and post-DEMs allowed us to test a method of defining landslide failure surfaces before catastrophic movements. It provides new results about the curvature of the failure surface and the volume expansion of the deposit.

Our findings examine several data inputs for probabilistic regional sea-level rise (SLR) impact predictions. To predict coastal response to SLR, detailed information on the landscape, including elevation, vegetation, and/or level of development, is needed. However, we find that 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.

Using data obtained from multiple UAV flights over a debris-covered glacier in the Himalaya between 2013 and 2018, we show that the adjacent moraines erode at rates of up to 16 cm per year, contributing to this debris cover. With retreating ice and resulting instability of moraines, this causes the glacier to cover a narrow zone along the lateral moraines in ever-thicker layers of rocks, resulting in a possible future decrease of local melt.

The concentration of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be is typically measured in the sand fraction of river sediment to estimate catchment-average erosion rates. Using the sand fraction in catchments where the ¹⁰Be concentrations differ per grain size could potentially result in biased erosion rates. In this study we investigated the occurrence and causes of grain size-dependent ¹⁰Be concentrations and identified the types of catchments which are sensitive to biased catchment-average erosion rates.

The effect of buoyancy and bottom slope on the runout and entrainment capacity of experimentally reproduced saline gravity currents is studied. The shape of the current is modified due to the entrainment of ambient water, particularly within the body region. For steep slopes, two opposite mechanisms of mass exchange are identified: the current entrainment of water from the upper surface due to the enhanced friction at the interface and the head feeding by a rear-fed current.

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

Soil erosion, especially in vulnerable conditions such as post-fire landscapes or tilled agricultural soils, is greatly affected by the occurrence of bursts of intense rainfall. These are often set within longer periods of less intense rain. This paper documents the nature of the intensity bursts at two Australian locations and shows that high-resolution rainfall records are required in order to make estimates of the intensity. Hourly rainfall data are not suitable for this task.

We studied and mapped uplifted marine terraces in southern Iran that are part of the Makran subduction zone. Our results show that most exposed 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 marine terraces, tilted with a short wavelength of 20–30 km, indicate a heterogeneous accumulation of deformation in the overriding plate.

In the last 50 years the Adygine glacier has been subject to relatively fast recession comparable to other glaciers in Tien Shan. As a consequence, a three-level cascade of glacial lakes formed, two of which were categorised as having medium outburst susceptibility. By 2050, the glacier is expected to have shrunk 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 susceptibility due to permafrost degradation.

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.

Mountain-building processes are often investigated by assuming a steady state, meaning the balance between opposing forces, like mass influx and mass outflux. This work shows that the Olympic Mountains are in flux steady state on long timescales (i.e., 14 Myr), but the flux steady state could be disturbed on shorter timescales, especially by the Plio–Pleistocene glaciation. The contribution highlights the temporally nonsteady evolution of mountain ranges.

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.