Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geomorphology
PHOTOMOB: AUTOMATED GIS METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF FRACTIONAL GRAIN DYNAMICS IN GRAVEL BED RIVERS. PART 1: GRAIN SIZE
Published: 2023-12-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Sedimentology, Water Resource Management
Particle entrainment intensity is spatially and temporally variable, making it a complex phenomenon to measure. This paper is the first of a pair, in which we present an automated image processing procedure (PhotoMOB) for monitoring the mobility/stability of gravel river beds. The method is based on local comparison of the shape of the grains identified at the same coordinates between successive [...]
PhotoMOB: Automated GIS method for estimation of fractional grain dynamics in gravel bed rivers. Part 2: Bed stability and fractional mobility
Published: 2023-12-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Sedimentology, Water Resource Management
Bed mobility and stability are spatially and temporally variable, making it a complex phenomenon to study. This paper is the second of a pair, in which we present an automated image processing procedure for monitoring the mobility/stability of gravel river beds. The method is based on local comparison of the shape of the grains identified at the same coordinates between successive photos to [...]
Observations of beach cusp morphodynamics on a composite beach
Published: 2023-11-02
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology
Substantial volumes of sediment are moved on coarse grained beaches through the formation and destruction of beach cusps, yet the processes governing cusp behaviour remain poorly understood. Here, we combine continuous 2D LiDAR scan data with daily UAV topographic surveys and RGB imagery to provide detailed morphological measurements of beach cusps on a composite beach with the aim to investigate [...]
Fluvial reworking eliminates small craters, but does not meaningfully bias the Mars interbedded-crater record
Published: 2023-10-31
Subjects: Geomorphology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Sedimentology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Interpreting the structures, morphology, and chemistry of the exposed stratigraphic record on Mars is complicated by ancient surface processes that have variably removed parts of the record. Previous research has used the lack of smaller craters (<50 m diameter) interbedded with fluvial deposits to constrain atmospheric pressure when rivers were active on Mars; the notion being that higher [...]
Pacific shoreline erosion and accretion patterns controlled by El Niño/Southern Oscillation
Published: 2023-10-27
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Climate, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
In the Pacific Basin, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the dominant mode of interannual climate variability, driving substantial changes in oceanographic forcing and impacting Pacific coastlines. Yet, how sandy coasts respond to these basin-scale changes has to date been limited to a few long-term beach monitoring sites, predominantly on developed coasts. Here we use 38 years of Landsat [...]
Site selection of desert solar farms based on heterogeneous sand flux
Published: 2023-10-09
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Geomorphology, Risk Analysis
Site selection for building solar farms in deserts is crucial and must consider the dune threats associated with sand flux, such as sand burial and dust contamination. Understanding the changes in sand flux can optimize the site selection of desert solar farms. Here we use the ERA5-Land hourly wind data with 0.1°×0.1° resolution to calculate the yearly sand flux from 1950 to 2022. The mean of [...]
Coral geochemical response to uplift in the aftermath of the 2005 Nias-Simeulue earthquake
Published: 2023-10-07
Subjects: Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Geochemistry, Geomorphology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Tectonics and Structure
On 28 March 2005, the Indonesian islands of Nias and Simeulue experienced a powerful Mw 8.6 earthquake and widespread co-seismic uplift and subsidence. In areas of coastal uplift (up to ~2.8 m), fringing reef coral communities were killed by exposure, while deeper corals that survived were subjected to habitats with altered runoff, sediment and nutrient regimes. Here we present time-series [...]
Complementary classifications of aeolian dunes based on morphology, dynamics, and fluid mechanics
Published: 2023-10-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics, Geomorphology, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Sciences, Sedimentology
Dunes form where winds blow over a bed of mobile sediment grains – conditions that are common in our solar system. On Earth, dunes abound in arid continental interiors and along sandy coastlines. Dune fields have also been recognized on Venus, Mars, Saturn's moon Titan, and Pluto. In response to the different boundary conditions and other environmental forcings, dunes adopt a rich diversity [...]
No respite from permafrost-thaw impacts in absence of a global tipping point
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Climate, Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Arctic permafrost, the largest non-seasonal component of Earth’s cryosphere, contains a significant climate-sensitive carbon pool. Its potential for loss due to climatic changes leading to a global tipping point, where thawing accelerates with disproportionate impacts, remains debated. Here, we provide an integrative perspective on this question, building on a cross-disciplinary meta-analysis of [...]
The uncertain future of mountaintop-removal-mined landscapes 2: Modeling the influence of topography and vegetation
Published: 2023-09-02
Subjects: Geomorphology
Erosion following human disturbance threatens ecosystem health and inhibits effective land use. Mountaintop removal/valley fill (MTR/VF) mined landscapes of the Appalachian Coalfields region, USA, provide a unique opportunity to quantify the geomorphic trajectory of disturbed lands. Here we assess how MTR/VF-induced changes to topography and vegetation influence spatiotemporal erosion patterns in [...]
Machine Learning Photogrammetric Analysis of Images Provides a Scalable Approach to Study Riverbed Grain Size Distributions
Published: 2023-09-01
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology
The distribution of sediment grain size in streams and rivers is often quantified by the median grain size (d50), a key metric for understanding and predicting hydrologic and biogeochemical function of streams and rivers. Manual methods to measure d50 are time-consuming and ignore larger grains, while model-based methods to estimate d50 often over-generalize basin characteristics, and therefore [...]
Dynamic rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility: a step towards a unified forecasting system
Published: 2023-08-03
Subjects: Geomorphology, Statistical Models
The initial inception of the landslide susceptibility concept defined it as a static property of the landscape, explaining the proneness of certain locations to generate slope failures. Since the spread of data-driven probabilistic solutions though, the original susceptibility definition has been challenged to incorporate dynamic elements that would lead the occurrence probability to change both [...]
The uncertain future of mountaintop-removal-mined landscapes 1: How mining changes erosion processes and variables
Published: 2023-07-28
Subjects: Geomorphology
Surface mining may be humanity's most tangible impact on Earth's surface and will become more prevalent as the energy transition progresses. Prediction of post-mining landscape change can help mitigate environmental damage, but requires understanding how mining changes geomorphic processes and variables. Here we investigate surface mining's complex influence on surface processes in a case study [...]
Evaluating Climate Signals on Global Coastal Shoreline Positions A commentary on “Influence of El Niño on the variability of global shoreline position” by Almar and colleagues.
Published: 2023-07-26
Subjects: Climate, Geomorphology, Oceanography, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences
Almar and colleagues (2023) are correct in stating that, “understanding and predicting shoreline evolution is of great importance for coastal management.” Amongst the different timescales of shoreline change, the interannual and decadal timescales are of particular interest to coastal scientists as they reflect the integrated system response to the Earth’s climate and its natural modes of [...]
Physically based Probabilistic Rainfall Intensity-Duration (ID) Thresholds for Runoff-Generated Debris Flows
Published: 2023-07-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology
Runoff-generated debris flows are common hazards in mountainous regions, causing millions of dollars lost and hundreds of casualties yearly. Early warning systems based on rainfall thresholds have been implemented to reduce the impact of these hazards. These thresholds tend to be based on short monitoring periods, which cannot fully capture the varying responses of catchments to rainfall. As a [...]