There's no such thing as safe and accidents are always covered up. So why let Obama build a whole new generation of reactors?

In March 2011, novelist Kristen Iversen's memoir, Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats, was waiting sedately among piles of other manuscripts at various publishing houses. Then, Japan was hit by a tsunami, and the cooling systems of the Fukushima nuclear reactor were overwhelmed, giving the world apocalyptic images of toxic floods and floating cars, of whole provinces made uninhabitable.

Immediately, Iversen's book was auctioned, and the timing of its publication, in June, could not be better – since, incredibly, in the shadow of the Fukushima disaster, and even as Japan and other nations see movements against the use of nuclear power ever again – President Obama is planning more investment in nuclear energy. The US is soon to start construction on several new reactors for the first time in three decades.

Iversen, a softspoken woman with a laid-back western vibe, wearing jeans and lavender scarf, seems an unlikely prophet of nuclear catastrophe. But her message is searing. She grew up in a small town near Rocky Flats, Colorado, where a secret nuclear weapons plant built over 70,000 plutonium "triggers" for nuclear bombs.

Iversen spoke with me this week about her research in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where we were at a writer's conference. She explained that "triggers" was a euphemism: the plant, which, throughout her childhood, was so secret that her mother believed they made cleaning supplies, was actually producing plutonium "buttons". In other words, these were the nuclear bombs themselves; they needed only a casing of explosives to be activated.

"They made Nagasaki bombs in my backyard," she explains.

Unknown to the families living in the shadow of the classified facility, deadly plutonium particles were seeded among the stunning beauty of the mountain landscape. As Iversen grew up, she became aware of the growing incidence of bizarre cancers being diagnosed in local children. Iversen's reporting, extensive interviews, and review of FBI and EPA documents, shows how classifying a toxic nuclear site led to the ruin of hundreds of lives – and continues to pose ever-escalating threats as the legacy of what we know about such nuclear contamination is being swept under the rug by developers, energy lobbyists and government agencies colluding with them, at the risk of exposing more of us, more severely.

The nature of the cover-up is incredible: in 1989, the FBI joined forces with the EPA to raid on the plant. The plant, in turn, was owned by the Department of Energy.

"It's the only time in the history of our country that, to my knowledge, two government agencies have raided another," notes Iversen. A grand jury investigation followed the raid, and jurors called for indictments against Rockwell, the manufacturer, and Department of Energy officials. In spite of this, not one indictment was ever issued. The jurors, furious, actually wrote their own report on the contamination and the suppression of the facts – which, astoundingly, still remains under seal.

But cancer rates are telling the tale: they remain elevated in neighborhoods around Rocky Flats 30 years on (plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years). Recent tests confirm earlier findings: there is still contamination in the soil.

Although there is a scientific consensus that no exposure is safe, no matter how brief, Iversen reports:

"There's a big push in Denver right now to build a highway, the Jefferson Parkway, on the contaminated area. This is all prime real estate and many developers and city politicians are pushing to develop the area and pretend that Rocky Flats never existed."

So, profit motives are driving the push to develop lands that, according to scientists, can never be inhabited safely again. And profit motives are driving an even more demented plan on a state-by-state level, astoundingly, to ship American schoolchildren into these no-go areas.

Clean-up of nuclear contamination is expensive, and laws allow an area to remain as is, with high levels of contaminants in the soil, so long as they are designated "wildlife refuges". To save money and effort, the US government, as well as individual state governments around the country, are now pushing to turn former nuclear weapons sites around the nation into wildlife refuges, which schoolchildren would be taken to visit on class trips.

Nuclear scientists Iversen interviewed are horrified by these plans, arguing that these areas should be permanently closed off to the public and declared "National Sacrifice Zones". And as if enough damage had not been done, a new nuclear pit production facility is planned for Los Alamos, Texas, with the capability of producing up to 450 plutonium triggers per year.

Although the accident at Fukushima raised global awareness about the lasting, overwhelming dangers to human beings of radioactive contamination, the money that the energy lobby sees in building more nuclear facilities is just too good to rein in, catastrophe or no catastrophe. US energy policy, driven by industry lobbyists, remains committed to developing nuclear power, even as nations around the world are canceling their own nuclear plans: last month alone, Germany spent $2.15tn to abandon nuclear power, a decision taken after witnessing Japan's 2011 nuclear disaster.

"At a time when the world is supposed to be decreasing the nuclear arsenal, our government is talking about producing nuclear triggers again. We need to pay attention," warns Iversen.

While the rest of the world, especially countries whose legislatures are less dominated by special interests, do the sane thing regarding nuclear power and the threat of catastrophe, the US scampers merrily in the direction of madness. President Obama recently announced – as if this were a good thing – that the Department of Energy has given the green light to an $8bn loan guarantee program to build two, brand new nuclear power plants in Georgia. This, in spite of scientific warnings about dangers posed by those plants' risk to local residents by nuclear waste disposal issues.

There have been numerous nuclear disasters or near-disasters, besides Fukushima, in recent decades: they include the Mayak facility in Russia, as well as spills and contamination at other former nuclear weapons sites around the United States such as Hanford and Fernald.

Iversen, who has family members who've experienced tumors and other cancer scares, worries about her own health. For her, the time to sound the alarm about America's plans for a new generation of nuclear facilities is now.

"One fact is for sure: there is no safe level of exposure to plutonium. One millionth of a gram, particularly if it is inhaled into the lungs, can cause cancer.

"Rocky Flats happened in my backyard. [This will be] happening in everyone's backyard."

The measurement and prediction of soil erosion is important for understanding both natural and disturbed landscape systems. In particular numerical models of soil erosion are important tools for managing landscapes as well as understanding how they have evolved over time. Over the last 40 years a variety of methods have been used to determine rates of soil loss from a landscape and these can be loosely categorised into empirical and physically based models. Alternatively, physically based Landscape Evolution Models (LEM) have been developed that provide information on soil erosion rates at much longer decadal or centennial scales, over large spatial scales and examine how they may respond to environmental and climatic changes. Both soil erosion LEM's are interested in similar outcomes (landscape development and sediment delivery) yet have quite different methodologies and parameterisations. This paper applies a LEM (the CAESAR model) for the first time at time and space scales where soil erosion models have largely been used. It tests the LEM's ability to predict soil erosion on a 30 m experimental plot on a trial rehabilitated landform in the Northern Territory, Australia. It then continues to discuss the synergies and differences between soil erosion and landscape evolution models.The results demonstrate that once calibrated for the site hydrology, predicted suspended sediment and bedload yields from CAESAR show a close correspondence in both volume and timing of field measured data. The model also predicts, at decadal scales, sediment loads close to that of field measured data. Findings indicate that the small scale drainage network that forms within these erosion plots is an important control on the timing and magnitude of sediment delivery. Therefore, it is important to use models that can alter the DEM to reflect changing topography and drainage network as well as having a greater emphasis on channel processes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In the Erlenbach stream, a pre-alpine steep channel in Switzerland, sediment transport has been monitored for more than 25 years. Near the confluence with the main valley river, stream flow is monitored and sediment is collected in a retention basin with a capacity of about 2,000 m3. The basin is surveyed at regular intervals and after large flood events. In addition, sediment transport has been continuously monitored with piezoelectric bedload impact and geophone sensors since 1986. In 2008–2009, the measuring system in the Erlenbach stream was enhanced by installing an automatic system to obtain bedload samples. Movable metal baskets are mounted on a rail at the downstream wall of the large check dam above the retention basin, and they can be moved automatically into the flow to take bedload transport samples. The wire mesh of the baskets has a spacing of 10 mm to sample all sediment particles coarser than this size (which is about the limiting grain size detected by the geophones). The upgraded measuring system permits to obtain bedload samples over short sampling periods and to measure the grain size distribution of the transported material and its variation over time and with discharge. The analysis of calibration relationships for the geophone measuring system confirms findings from very similar measurements which were performed until 1999 with piezoelectric bedload impact sensors; there is a linear relationship between impulse counts and bedload mass passing over the sensors. Findings from flume experiments are used to discuss the most important factors which affect the calibration of the geophone signal. The bedload transport rates as measured by the moving baskets are among the highest measured in natural streams, with values of the order of several kg/(m s). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) and Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) are widely used for estimating wind-induced soil erosion at a field scale. Wind is the principal erosion driver in the two models. Wind erosivity, which describes the capacity of wind to cause soil erosion, is defined as erosive wind power density (WPD) in WEPS, and wind value (W) in RWEQ. In this study, the daily average WPD (AWPD) and the daily average W (Wf) were chosen to investigate the effect of averaging time on wind erosivity estimation based on observed wind data. We compare the daily AWPD and Wf calculated from 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, and 60 min average wind speed data.The results of comparisons indicate that averaging wind speed can significantly influence estimates of wind erosivity. Compared with the daily AWPD and Wf calculated from 1 min average wind speed data, all daily AWPD and Wf values calculated from 5, 10, 15, 30, and 60 min averaged wind speeds tend to be significantly lower than values calculated from 1 min values. In general, longer averaging times tend to produce smaller values of daily AWPD or Wf, which may lead to an under-estimation of wind erosion. Further studies are needed to extend and apply the findings obtained in this study to actual wind erosion predictions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Wildfires in the sub-alpine belt of the Austrian Limestone Alps sometimes cause severe vegetation and soil destruction with increased danger of secondary natural hazards such as avalanches and debris flows. Some of the affected areas remain degraded to rocky slopes even decades after the fire, raising the question as to whether the ecosystems will ever be able to recover. The mean fire interval, the duration of recovery and the role of geomorphic processes for vegetation regeneration are so far unknown. These questions were tackled in a broad research approach including investigation of historical archives to determine the frequency of historical wildfires, mapping vegetation regeneration on 20 slopes of different post-fire ages, and soil erosion measurements on two slopes. To date, >450 historical wildfires have been located in the study area. The mean fire interval per km2 is c. 750 years, but can be as low as 200–500 years on south-facing slopes. Vegetation regeneration takes an extremely long time under unfavourable conditions; the typical window of disturbance is between 50 and 500 years, which is far longer than in any other wildfire study known to us. Soil erosion constantly increases in the years after the fires and the elevated intensity can be maintained for decades. A two-part vegetation regeneration model is proposed depending upon the degree of soil loss. In the case of moderate soil erosion, spreading grassland communities can slow down shrub recolonisation. In contrast, after severe soil destruction the slopes may remain degraded for a century or longer, before rather rapid regeneration occurs. The reasons are not fully understood but are probably governed by geomorphic process intensity. The interdependence of vegetation regeneration and geomorphic processes is a paradigm of ecology-geomorphology interaction, and is a unique example of a very long-lasting disturbance response caused by wildfire in a non-resilient ecosystem. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Many beaver ponds in the Rocky Mountains, that have been described in the literature, are in-channel ponds that are relatively small and short-lived. This paper describes floodplain beaver ponds on low-gradient deltas in glacial finger lakes in Glacier National Park, Montana. These ponds are distinctly larger, probably fed by hyporheic flow, and stable and long-lived. Ponds examined were, with one exception, 44 years old. Glacial discharge is present in each valley where beaver ponds occupy low-gradient deltas, and this discharge likely sustains pond water level over the course of the summer. As glaciers recede and disappear, deltaic beaver ponds dependent on hyporheic flow may be negatively affected. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The lake levels in Lake Michigan-Huron have recently fallen to near historical lows, as has the elevation difference between Lake Michigan-Huron compared to Lake Erie. This decline in lake levels has the potential to cause detrimental impacts on the lake ecosystems, together with social and economic impacts on communities in the entire Great Lakes region. Results from past work suggest that morphological changes in the St. Clair River, which is the only natural outlet for Lake Michigan-Huron, could be an appreciable factor in the recent trends of lake level decline. A key research question is whether bed erosion within the river has caused an increase in water conveyance, therefore, contributed to the falling lake level. In this paper, a numerical modeling approach with field data is used to investigate the possibility of sediment movement in the St. Clair River and assess the likelihood of morphological change under the current flow regime. A two-dimensional numerical model was used to study flow structure, bed shear stress, and sediment mobility/armoring over a range of flow discharges. Boundary conditions for the numerical model were provided by detailed field measurements that included high-resolution bathymetry and three-dimensional flow velocities. The results indicate that, without considering other effects, under the current range of flow conditions, the shear stresses produced by the river flow are too low to transport most of the coarse bed sediment within the reach and are too low to cause substantial bed erosion or bed scour. However, the detailed maps of the bed show mobile bedforms in the upper St. Clair River that are indicative of sediment transport. Relatively high shear stresses near a constriction at the upstream end of the river and at channel bends could cause local scour and deposition. Ship-induced propeller wake erosion also is a likely cause of sediment movement in the entire reach. Other factors that may promote sediment movement, such as ice cover and dredging in the lower river, require further investigation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Although volcanic eruptions are well-known to be the trigger of some weather and climatic changes, land-cover changes by pyroclastic-flows and lahars do not get this recognition, neither do major hazards such as tsunami. These two earth-processes are even lesser considered as being able to modify other earth-processes they are not directly connected to, such as landslides or river discharge in non-connected basins more than a hundred kilometers away. In this contribution the authors argue that these ideas are mainly driven by the process of being ‘educated’ in a single academic discipline and once put to the test interactions and retroactions between earth processes and atmospheric processes are far more reaching than commonly thought. For this study, the site of Java Island (Indonesia) was chosen to conduct (1) an analysis of a major tsunami impacts - in the same area than the 2006 Java tsunami -; and (2) an analysis of the post-eruption impacts of Merapi Volcano after a major eruption – excluding any ejecta in the atmosphere for the sake of the demonstration. The atmospheric feedback simulations were conducted using the Regional Climate Model (RegCM-4) with calibration from weather stations in Java Island. As a result, both simulations have proven that large scale deposits of pyroclasts (not introducing the ejectas sent in the atmosphere) and tsunamis can have outstanding impacts on the atmospheric situation and the bio-geomorphologic evolution of the landscape in the following weeks to months. Interestingly enough these impacts are not limited to the area impacted by the earth-process and the effect are not linear in time as they work following thresholds. These rainfalls ‘tele-impacts’ are important enough to, in turn, modify earth-surface processes in areas remote from the original pehonmenon. This system acts in the same manner than a famous butterfly in Africa that could trigger a hurricane on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The San Antonio River Delta (SARD), Texas, has experienced two major avulsions in the past 80 years, and a number of other historical and Holocene channel shifts. The causes and consequences of these avulsions—one of which is ongoing—were examined using a combination of fieldwork, GIS analysis, and historical information to identify active, semiactive, and paleochannels and the sequence of shifting flow paths through the delta. The role of deposition patterns and antecedent morphology, large woody debris jams, and tectonic influences were given special attention. Sedimentation in the SARD is exacerbated by tectonic effects. Channel aggradation is ubiquitous, and superelevation of the channel bed above the level of backswamp areas on the floodplain is common. This creates ideal setup conditions for avulsions, and stable, cohesive fine-grained banks favor avulsions rather than lateral migration. Flood basins between the alluvial ridges associated with the aggraded channels exist, but avulsions occur by reoccupation of former channels found within or connected to the flood basins. Large woody debris and channel-blocking logjams are common, and sometimes displace flow from the channel, triggering crevasses. However, a large, recurring logjam at the site of the ongoing avulsion from the San Antonio River into Elm Bayou is not responsible for the channel shift. Rather, narrow, laterally stable channels resulting from flow splits lead to accumulation of wood. Some aspects of the SARD avulsion regime are typical of other deltas, while others are more novel. These includes avulsions involving tributaries and subchannels within the delta as well as from the dominant channel; tectonic influences on delta backstepping and on channel changes within the delta; avulsions as an indirect trigger for logjam formation (as well as vice-versa); and maintenance of a multi-channel flow pattern distinct from classic anastamosing or distributary systems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Although the impact of sheet erosion on the evolution of soils, soil properties and associated ecosystem services across landscapes is undisputed, there are still large uncertainties in the estimation of sheet erosion, as the results obtained are highly scale dependent. Consequently, there is a need to develop a scale-explicit understanding of sediment erosion yields, from microplot to hillslope through to plot, to surmount actual erosion modelling flaws and to improve guidance for erosion mitigation. The main objective of this study was to compare sediment yields from small and large plots installed under different environmental conditions and to interpret these results in terms of the main mechanisms and controlling factors of sheet erosion. Fifteen 1 × 1 m² and ten 2 × 5 m² plots were installed on a hillslope in the foothills of the Drakensberg, South Africa. Data of runoff, sediment concentration (SC), soil loss (SL) and rainfall characteristics obtained during the 2009–2010 rainy season at the two spatial scales and from different soils, vegetation cover, geology and topographic conditions were used to identify the main controlling factors of sheet erosion. Scale ratios for SC and SL were subsequently calculated to assess the level of contribution of rain-impacted flow (RIF) to overall sheet erosion. The average runoff rate (n = 17 events) ranged between 4.9 ± 0.4 L m-2 on 1 m2 and 5.4 ± 0.6 L m2 on 10 m2, which did not correspond to significant differences at P < 0.05 level. Sediment losses were significantly higher on the 10 m2 plots, compared with the 1 m2 plots (2.2 ± 0.4 vs 1.5 ± 0.2 g L-1 for SC; 9.8 ± 1.8 vs 3.2 ± 0.3 g m-2 for SL), which illustrated a greater efficiency of sheet erosion on longer slopes. Results from a principal component analysis, whose two first axes explained 60% of the data variance, suggested that sheet erosion is mainly controlled by rainfall characteristics (rainfall intensity and amount) and soil surface features (crusting and vegetation coverage). The contribution of RIF to sheet erosion was the lowest at high soil clay content (r = 0.26) and the highest at high crusting and bulk density (r = 0.22), cumulative rainfall amount in the season and associated rise in soil water table (r = 0.29). Such an explicit consideration of the role of scale on sediment yields and process domination by either in situ (soil and soil surface conditions) or ex situ (rainfall characteristics and antecedent rainfall) factors, is expected to contribute to process-based modelling and erosion mitigation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reliable quantitative data on the extent and rates of soil erosion are needed to understand the global significance of soil-erosion induced carbon exchange and to underpin the development of science-based mitigation strategies, but large uncertainties remain. Existing estimates of agricultural soil and soil organic carbon (SOC) erosion are very divergent and span two orders of magnitude. The main objective of this study was to test the assumptions underlying existing assessments and to reduce the uncertainty associated with global estimates of agricultural soil and SOC erosion. We parameterized a simplified erosion model driven by coarse global databases using an empirical database that covers the conterminous USA. The good agreement between our model results and empirical estimates indicate that the approach presented here captures the essence of agricultural erosion at the scales of continents and that it may be used to predict the significance of erosion for the global carbon cycle and its impact on soil functions. We obtained a global soil erosion rate of 10.5 Mg ha-1 y-1 for cropland and 1.7 Mg ha-1 y-1 for pastures. This corresponds to SOC erosion rates of 193 kg C ha-1 y-1 for cropland and 40.4 kg C ha-1 y-1 for eroding pastures and results in a global flux of 20.5 (±10.3) Pg y-1 of soil and 403.5 (±201.8) Tg C y-1. Although it is difficult to accurately assess the uncertainty associated with our estimates of global agricultural erosion, mainly due to the lack of model testing in (sub-)tropical regions, our estimates are significantly lower than former assessments based on the extrapolation of plot experiments or global application of erosion models. Our approach has the potential to quantify the rate and spatial signature of the erosion-induced disturbance at continental and global scales: by linking our model with a global soil profile database, we estimated soil profile modifications induced by agriculture. This showed that erosion-induced changes in topsoil SOC content are significant at a global scale (an average SOC loss of 22% in 50 years) and agricultural soils should therefore be considered as dynamic systems that can change rapidly. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Landscape evolution models (LEMs) simulate the three-dimensional development of landscapes over time. Different LEMs have different foci, e.g. erosional behaviour, river dynamics, the fluvial domain, hillslopes or a combination. LEM LAPSUS is a relatively simple cellular model operating on timescales of centuries to millennia and using annual timesteps that has had a hillslope focus. Our objective was to incorporate fluvial behaviour in LAPSUS without changing the existing model equations. The model should be able to reproduce alternating aggradation and incision in the floodplains of catchments, depending on simulated conditions. Testing was done using an artificial digital elevation model (DEM) and a demonstration of the ability for fluvial simulation was performed for a real landscape (Torrealvilla catchment, southeast Spain).Model equations to calculate sediment dynamics and water routing were similar for both hillslope and fluvial conditions, but different parameter values were used for these domains, defined based on annual discharge. Parameters changing between the domains are convergence factor p, which is used in the multiple flow algorithm to route water, and discharge and gradient exponents m and n, used in transport capacity calculations.Erodibility and ‘sedimentability’ factors K and P were changed between cold (little vegetation, high erodibility) and warm conditions (more vegetation, lower erodibility). Results show that the adapted parameters reproduced alternating aggradation – due to divergent flow in the floodplain and sediment supply under cold conditions – and incision due to reduced sediment supply and resulting clean water erosion during simulated warm conditions. The simulated results are due to interactions between hillslopes and floodplains, as the former provide the sediments that are deposited in the latter. Similar behaviour was demonstrated when using the real DEM. Sensitivity and resolution analysis showed that the model is sensitive to changes in m, n and p and that model behaviour is influenced by DEM resolution. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hillslopes are thought to poorly record tectonic signals in threshold landscapes. Numerous previous studies of steep landscapes suggest that large changes in long-term erosion rate lead to little change in mean hillslope angle, measured at coarse resolution. New LiDAR-derived topography data enables a finer examination of threshold hillslopes. Here we quantify hillslope response to tectonic forcing in a threshold landscape. To do so, we use an extensive cosmogenic beryllium-10 (10Be)-based dataset of catchment-averaged erosion rates combined with a 500 km2 LiDAR-derived 1 m digital elevation model to exploit a gradient of tectonic forcing and topographic relief in the San Gabriel Mountains, California. We also calibrate a new method of quantifying rock exposure from LiDAR-derived slope measurements using high-resolution panoramic photographs. Two distinct trends in hillslope behavior emerge: below catchment-mean slopes of 30°, modal slopes increase with mean slopes, slope distribution skewness decreases with increasing mean slope, and bedrock exposure is limited; above mean slopes of 30°, our rock exposure index increases strongly with mean slope, and the prevalence of angle-of-repose debris wedges keeps modal slopes near 37°, resulting in a positive relationship between slope distribution skewness and mean slope. We find that both mean slopes and rock exposure increase with erosion rate up to 1 mm/a, in contrast to previous work based on coarser topographic data. We also find that as erosion rates increase, the extent of the fluvial network decreases, while colluvial channels extend downstream, keeping the total drainage density similar across the range. Our results reveal important textural details lost in 10 or 30 m resolution digital elevation models of steep landscapes, and highlight the need for process-based studies of threshold hillslopes and colluvial channels. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Single-thread, gravel-bed streams of moderate slope in the northern Negev are characterized by three channel units: bars exhibit steeper than average slopes and poorly sorted mixtures of small–medium cobbles and coarse–very coarse pebbles; flats are associated with more gentle slopes and well-sorted medium–fine pebbles and granules; and transitional units have intermediate slopes and grain size. In general, all three units are planar, span the full channel width and have well-defined boundaries. Bars and flats are more common than the transitional units and alternate downstream for distances of several hundred metres, forming sequences that are reminiscent of the riffle–pool structure commonly observed in humid-temperate gravel-bed rivers. A notable contrast is the absence of significant bed relief: bars lack crests and flats lack depressions. The relative lack of bed relief in bar–flat sequences is attributed to the high rate of sediment supply from the sparsely vegetated hillslopes which promotes the infilling of depressions and to the erosion of crests under conditions of intense transport. This reduction of bed relief lowers channel roughness, which in turn increases flow velocity and, therefore, the ability of the channel to transmit the large sediment loads it receives. Although our analyses pertain to a semi-arid river system, the results have wider implications for understanding the adjustment of channel bedform to high sediment loads in other fluvial environments. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Influence of the rainfall regime on erosion and transfer of suspended sediment in a 905-km² mountainous catchment of the southern French Alps was investigated by combining sediment monitoring, rainfall data, and sediment fingerprinting (based on geochemistry and radionuclide concentrations). Suspended sediment yields were monitored between October 2007 and December 2009 in four subcatchments (22–713 km²). Automatic sediment sampling was triggered during floods to trace the sediment origin in the catchment.Sediment exports at the river catchment outlet (330 ± 100 t km-2 yr-1) were mainly driven (80%) by widespread rainfall events (long duration, low intensities). In contrast, heavy, local and short duration storms, generated high peak discharges and suspended sediment concentrations in small upstream torrents. However, these upstream floods had generally not the capacity to transfer the sediment down to the catchment outlet and the bulk of this fine sediment deposited along downstream sections of the river. This study also confirmed the important contribution of black marls (up to 70%) to sediment transported in rivers, although this substrate only occupies c. 10% of the total catchment surface. Sediment exports generated by local convective storms varied significantly at both intra- and inter-flood scales, because of spatial heterogeneity of rainfall. However, black marls/marly limestones contribution remained systematically high. In contrast, widespread flood events that generate the bulk of annual sediment supply at the outlet were characterized by a more stable lithologic composition and by a larger contribution of limestones/marls, Quaternary deposits and conglomerates, which corroborates the results of a previous sediment fingerprinting study conducted on riverbed sediment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Channel fills are common elements of Holocene river systems and older fluvial sequences, but surprisingly little is known about formation and their sedimentary build-up. Abandoned channels result from channel shifting processes at various scales, including meander cutoff and channel-belt avulsion. Channel-fill sequences are of importance as containers of palaeoenvironmental proxy-records, can be used to reconstruct palaeochannel dynamics and derive palaeoflood records, and contain materials that allow dating the abandonment. Integrated knowledge on the dynamic nature (geometrical and physical insights) of channel abandonment and resultant sedimentary recording is a necessity for comparing and collating records from a series of abandoned channel fills.This paper intends to make channel-fill sedimentological sequences more useful recorders of channel abandonment processes and palaeofloods, for which improved understanding is needed of the internal build-up of channel fills. We review oxbow lake infilling along meandering rivers, and supplement this with highly detailed descriptions of two selected field examples of channel fills from the apex-region of the Netherlands' Rhine delta. From these examples it becomes clear that regional setting and type of abandonment result in different channel-fill end-members; oxbow cutoffs generally produce thick laminated clayey fills as the channel entrance is plugged rapidly, avulsion-abandoned channels are filled with coarse (proximal) deposits as a result of a maintained open river connection.Field examples of channel fills are integrated with knowledge on channel abandonment dynamics in meander cutoff and bifurcating river situations, including insights from recent numerical modelling. We propose a sedimentary-architecture descriptive scheme that distinguishes elements from two stages of channel-fill development; (i) the abandonment stage with initial proximal fill, and (ii) the subsequent fully abandoned palaeochannel that collects distal fill. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Morphological features of braided rivers (bars, channels and pools) experience major changes in area, shape and spatial distribution as a response to (i) the pulsation of discharge during a flood and (ii) the bed evolution induced by floods. In this work, at-a-station relationships between water level and planform configuration were investigated on the Tagliamento River, a large gravel-bed braided river in northeast Italy, over a 2-year study period comprising three bankfull events and several small-to-medium floods. The analysis was performed on two 1-km-long reaches, characterized by different riparian vegetation cover. Ground-based images with an hourly temporal resolution were acquired using software-controlled, digital cameras. Bars, channels, pools and vegetated patches were manually digitized on more than 100 rectified images. Sequences of constant-level images spanning the study period were used to quantify the impact of floods on the stability of at-a-station relationships and on the turnover rate of water bodies.The analysis shows that wetted area increased almost linearly with water level in both reaches. The average number of branches per cross-section peaked at intermediate flow levels, increasing from 2 at low flow up to 6–7. The number of branches displayed the largest fluctuations over time, with significant changes produced also by moderate floods. Turnover rates were high in both reaches, with more than 30% of wetted areas at low flow converting into bare gravel in less than 2 months. Vegetation colonization was found to limit the mobility of the low flow channels over time by concentrating the flow in fewer, deeper anabranches. The number of channels per cross-section was 30–40% less in the vegetated reach and the proportion of low flow water bodies in the same position after 12 months increased from 3% to 14%. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Soil detachment in concentrated flow is due to the dislodging of soil particles from the soil matrix by surface runoff. Both aggregate stability and shear strength of the topsoil reflect the erosion resistance of soil to concentrated runoff, and are important input parameters in predicting soil detachment models. This study was conducted to develop a formula to predict soil detachment rate in concentrated flow by using the aggregate stability index (As), root density (Rd) and saturated soil strength (σs) in the subtropical Ultisols region of China. The detachment rates of undisturbed topsoil samples collected from eight cultivated soil plots were measured in a 3.8 m long, 0.2 m wide hydraulic flume under five different flow shear stresses (τ = 4.54, 9.38, 15.01, 17.49 and 22.54 Pa). The results indicated that the stability index (As) was well related with soil detachment rate, particularly for results obtained with high flow shear stress (22.54 Pa), and the stability index (As) has a good linear relationship with concentrated flow erodibility factors (Kc). There was a positive linear relationship between saturated soil strength (σs) and critical flow shear stress (τc) for different soils. A significant negative exponential relationship between erodibility factors (Kc) and root density (Rd) was detected. This study yielded two prediction equations that allowed comparison of their efficiency in assessing soil detachment rate in concentrated flow. The equation including the root density (Rd) may have a better correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.95). It was concluded that the formula based on the stability index (As), saturated soil strength (σs) and root density (Rd) has the potential to improve methodology for assessing soil detachment rate in concentrated flow for the subtropical Chinese Ultisols. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The flooding susceptibility of alluvial fans in the Southern Apennines has long been neglected. To partly address this oversight, we focus on the region of Campania which contains highly urbanized piedmont areas particularly vulnerable to flooding. Our findings are based on stratigraphic analysis of the fans and morphometric analysis of the basin-fan systems. Using geomorphological analysis we recognized active alluvial fans while stratigraphic analysis together with statistical analysis of the morphometric variables was used to classify the fans in terms of the transport process involved. The results indicate that in the geological context examined, the best discrimination between debris flow (Df) and water flood (Wf) processes is achieved by means of two related variables, one for the basin (feeder channel inclination, Cg) and one for the fan (fan length, Fl). The probability that an unclassified fan belongs to group Wf is computed by applying a logistic function in which a P value exceeding 0.5 indicates that a basin/fan system belongs to group Wf. This important result led to the classification of the entire basin/fan system data. As regards process intensity, debris flow-dominated fans are susceptible to the occurrence of flows with high viscosity and hence subject to more severe events than water flood-dominated fans. Bearing this in mind, the data gathered in this study allow us to detect where alluvial fan flooding might occur and give information on the different degrees of susceptibility at a regional scale. Regrettably, urban development in recent decades has failed to take the presence of such alluvial fans into account due to the long recurrence time (50–100 years) between floods. This paper outlines the distribution of such susceptibility scenarios throughout the region, thereby constituting an initial step to implementing alluvial fan flooding control and mitigation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In 1820, the lower Canadian River meandered through a densely forested floodplain. By 1898, most of the floodplain had been cleared for agriculture and changes in channel geometry and specific stream power followed, particularly channel widening and straightening with a lower potential specific stream power. In 1964, a large upstream hydropower dam was constructed, which changed the flow regime in the lower Canadian River and consequently the channel geometry. Without destructive overbank floods, the channel narrowed rapidly and considerably due to encroachment by floodplain vegetation. The lower Canadian River, which was once a highly dynamic floodplain-river system, has now been transformed into a relatively static river channel. These changes over the past 200 years have not been linear or independent. In this article, we use a variety of data sources to assess these historical changes along the lower Canadian River floodplain and identify feedbacks among floodplain cultivation, dam construction, specific stream power, and channel width, slope, and sinuosity. Finally, we combine the results of our study with others in the region to present a biogeomorphic response model for large Great Plains rivers that characterizes channel width changes in response to climate variability and anthropogenic disturbances. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prevailing ideas and calculations of coastal response to sea level rise (SLR) are often based on the Bruun model (Bruun P., Sea-level rise as a cause of shore erosion, Journal Waterways Harbors Division, ASCE88: 117–130, 1962) that predicts upward and landward transfer of an equilibrium profile during SLR through offshore sediment transport on the shoreface. The model is based on a number of assumptions of questionable validity as well as outdated concepts on how sediment is transported across the shoreface. This contribution takes a numerical modelling approach that is based on first-order processes contributing to the movement of sediment across the shoreface. Using a wave transformation model that predicts hydrodynamic processes driving cross-shore sediment transport and an energetics-based model for the coupling between hydrodynamics and sediment transport, we show that cross-shore sediment transport is mainly onshore directed at the boundary between the lower and the upper shoreface, in agreement with the model proposed by Davidson-Arnott (Conceptual model of the effects of sea level rise on sandy coasts, Journal of Coastal Research21: 1166–1172, 2005). The transition from onshore to offshore directed transport is located well within the surf zone and with a rising sea level this transition point becomes displaced landward and upward. Tests also show that substrate slope is of fundamental importance to the manner in which beaches react to rising sea level. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

UK peatlands are affected by severe gully erosion with consequent impacts on ecosystem services from these areas. Incision into the peat can damage the vegetation and hydrology and lead to increases in carbon loss and sediment transfer downstream. Gullies represent then a conduit for and a hotspot of carbon loss but the relatively high water tables of gullies have meant that they have been identified as areas with a high restoration potential because of easily restored peat-forming conditions. This study uses a series of gully sites, subject to different restoration interventions, to investigate differences in carbon pathways (DOC, CO2) and hydrology between restoration strategies and gully position. The results show that the position within the gully (interfluve, gully side, or gully floor) does not significantly affect water quality but that it plays a significant role in CO2 exchange. Gully floors are areas of high photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration, though net ecosystem exchange is not significantly different across the gully. While gully position plays a role in the cycling of some carbon species, this study highlights the importance of vegetation as a key control on carbon cycling. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The relative importance of tectonics, climate, base level and source lithology as primary factors on alluvial-fan evolution, fan morphology and sedimentary style remain in question. This study examines the role of catchment lithology on development and evolution of alluvial megafans (>30 km in length), along the flanks of the Kohrud Mountain range, NE Esfahan, central Iran. These fans toe out at axial basin river and playa-fringe sediments towards the centre of basin and tectonics, climatic change and base-level fluctuations, were consistent for their development. They formed in a tectonically active basin, under arid to semiarid climate and a long term (Plio-Pleistocene to Recent) change from wetter to drier conditions. The key differences between two of these fans, Soh and Zefreh fans, along the west and south flanks of this mountain range, is that their catchments are underlain by dissimilar bedrock types. The source-area lithologies of the Soh and Zefreh fans are in sedimentary and igneous terrains, respectively, and these fans developed their geometry mainly in response to different weathering intensities of their catchment bedrock lithologies. Fan surface mapping (based on 1/50000 topographic maps, satellite images, and fieldwork), reveals that the geomorphic evolution of these fans differs in that the relatively large-scale incision and through trenching of the Soh fan is absent in the Zefreh fan. Whereas the limited sediment supply of the Soh fan has resulted in a deep incised channel, the Zefreh fan has remained aggradational with little or no trenching into proximal to medial fan surface due to its catchment bedrock geology, composed mainly by physically weathered volcaniclastic lithology and characterized by high sediment supply for delivery during episodic flash floods. Sediment supply, which is mainly a function of climate and source lithology, is a dominant driver behind the development of fan sequences in alluvial megafans. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

To quantify landscape change resulting from processes of erosion and deposition and to establish spatially distributed sediment budgets, ‘models of change’ can be established from a time series of digital elevation models (DEMs). However, resolution effects and measurement errors in DEMs may propagate to these models. This study aimed to evaluate and to modify remotely-sensed DEMs for an improved quantification of initial sediment mass changes in an artificially-created catchment. DEMs were constructed from photogrammetry-based, airborne (ALS) and ground-based laser scanning (TLS) data. Regions of differing morphological characteristics and vegetation cover were delineated. Three-dimensional (3D) models of volume change were established and mass change was derived from these models. DEMs were modified region-by-region for rill, interrill and alluvial areas, based on logical and hydro-geomorphological principles. Additional DEMs were constructed by combining multi-source, modified data. Models were evaluated by comparison with d-GPS reference data and by considering sediment budget plausibility. Comprehensive evaluation showed that DEM usability depends on a relation between the technique used to obtain elevation data, surface morphology and vegetation cover characteristics. Photogrammetry-based DEMs were suited to quantification of change in interrill areas but strongly underestimated surface lowering in erosion rills. TLS DEMs were best suited to rill areas, while ALS DEMs performed best in vegetation-covered alluvial areas. Agreement with reference data and budget plausibility were improved by modifications to photogrammetry- and TLS-based DEMs. Results suggest that artefacts in DEMs can be reduced and hydro-geomorphic surface structures can be better represented by applying region-specific modifications. Photogrammetry-based DEMs can be improved by combining higher and lower resolution data in defined structural units and applying modifications based on principles given by characteristic hydro-geomorphic evolution. Results of the critical comparative evaluation of remotely-sensed elevation data can help to better interpret DEM-based quantifications of earth-surface processes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quaternary period palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions are based on a wide and diverse array of proxy data sets, some of which are geomorphological in nature. In drylands, where organic proxies may be limited, the use of landforms is particularly important, but challenging. The capacity to establish the age of depositional forms, particularly through the use of luminescence dating, has advanced the use of landforms in dryland palaeo-research, though interpretation of these ‘geoproxy’ records can be complex, especially at the nexus of palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental interpretations of past conditions. In this paper the use of aeolian and lacustrine forms in Quaternary research is considered, focusing on the relationships between dynamics, form and climate, and on the essential linkage between process research and palaeoenvironmental research. It is concluded that landform analysis is a critical part of dryland palaeoenvironmental/climate reconstruction, contributing a different set of data compared to other data sources, in terms of the elements of past conditions that are revealed. Five principles are identified to improve the use of geoproxy records in Quaternary research: (1) greater use of geomorphic process studies by Quaternary scientists, to better inform palaeolandform interpretation; (2) further development of the use of chronometric data, especially in terms of interpreting large data; (3) interpret landform records in location-specific contexts, not in general terms; (4) capitalise of the complexity of spatially-extensive landform records, which may offer better representations of real Quaternary environmental complexity than ‘at a point’ proxies; (5) establish ways of integrating spatially-extensive geoproxy records with other palaeoenvironmental records. These challenges are major, but not insurmountable, and should represent goals for geomorphologists, chronologists and quaternary scientists alike. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fluvial sediment transport in the high mountain Partnach River (Reintal Valley, Bavarian Alps) was investigated during a 10-year observation period (2001–2010). During this period, the downstream reach of the Partnach River was decoupled from upstream sediment throughput by a rockslide deposit until 2005. In August 2005, the dam was partially breached during a flood event resulting in renewed sediment coupling between the upstream and downstream reaches. A comparison of pre- and post-dambreak river sediment load data showed that the dissolved load dominated sediment transport prior to August 2005 with a switch to the dominance of bedload transport, post-dambreak. The higher post-dambreak bedload rates were particularly evident during the first years after the dam failure due to significant coarse material coupling between active sediment sources (undercut banks/talus cones) and the Partnach River. In the last years of the observation period (2009 and 2010) the dominance of dissolved load transport was re-established. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rain splash erosion is an important soil transport mechanism on steep hillslopes. The rain splash process is highly stochastic; here we seek to constrain the probability distribution of splash transport distances on natural hillslopes as a function of hillslope gradient and total precipitation depth. Field experiments were conducted under natural precipitation events to observe splash travel on varying slope gradients. The downslope fraction of splash transport on 15°, 25° and 33° gradients were 85%, 96% and 96%, respectively. Maximum splash transport (Lmax) was related to the rain splash detachment of soil particles and slope gradient. An empirical relationship of Lmax to the precipitation depth and gradient was obtained; it is linearly proportional to hillslope gradient and logarithmically related to precipitation depth. Measured splash distances were calibrated to the fully two-dimensional (2D) model of splash transport of Furbish et al. (Journal of Geophysical Research112: F01001, 2007) that is based on the assumption that radial splash distances are exponentially distributed; calibrated values of mean splash transport distances are an order of magnitude greater than those previously determined in a controlled laboratory setting. We also compared measured data with several one-dimensional (1D) probability distributions to asses if splash transport distances could be better explained by a heavy-tailed probability distribution rather than an exponential probability distribution. We find that for hillslopes of 15° and 25°, although a log-normal probability distribution best describes the data, we find its likelihood is nearly indistinguishable from an exponential distribution based on computing maximum likelihood estimators for all 1D distributions (exponential, log-normal and Weibull). At 33°, however, we find stronger evidence that measured travel distances are heavy-tailed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Historical, human-induced channel adjustments in lowland gravel-bed rivers have been documented in several geographical contexts worldwide. In particular, it is now widely accepted that the vast majority of European rivers are far from any natural, reference state prior to anthropic disturbances, and a ‘complete’ restoration is hardly achievable. However, few investigations have addressed changes that have occurred in mountain rivers of the Alps, and these channels are commonly reckoned quite ‘natural’ by society. This paper intends to describe how human pressure on Italian Alpine basins has been quite relevant for several centuries – in terms of land-use variations, in-channel structures, timber transport (splash damming) and riparian vegetation management – such that nowadays ‘reference conditions’ cannot be found even in small mountain creeks. In addition, recent natural climatic variations (e.g. the Little Ice Age) are superimposed on human disturbances, thus defying the definition of any ‘equilibrium’ morphological conditions even under ‘human-free’ states. A summary of published as well as unpublished works on historical channel adjustments in rivers of the Italian Alps is presented in order to document the impacts deriving from human pressure at different basin scales and for different river morphologies, from steep confined streams to large unconfined rivers. General options for river management and restoration actions aiming to combine geomorphological functionality and flood hazard mitigation are discussed, in the light of the current European legislative context. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study analyses beach morphological change during six consecutive storms acting on the meso-tidal Faro Beach (south Portugal) between 15 December 2009 and 7 January 2010. Morphological change of the sub-aerial beach profile was monitored through frequent topographic surveys across 11 transects. Measurements of the surf/swash zone dimensions, nearshore bar dynamics, and wave run-up were extracted from time averaged and timestack coastal images, and wave and tidal data were obtained from offshore stations. All the information combined suggests that during consecutive storm events, the antecedent morphological state can initially be the dominant controlling factor of beach response; while the hydrodynamic forcing, and especially the tide and surge levels, become more important during the later stages of a storm period. The dataset also reveals the dynamic nature of steep-sloping beaches, since sub-aerial beach volume reductions up to 30 m3/m were followed by intertidal area recovery (–2 < z < 3 m) with rates reaching ~10 m3/m. However, the observed cumulative dune erosion and profile pivoting imply that storms, even of regular intensity, can have a dramatic impact when they occur in groups. Nearshore bars seemed to respond to temporal scales more related to storm sequences than to individual events. The formation of a prominent crescentic offshore bar at ~200 m from the shoreline appeared to reverse the previous offshore migration trend of the inner bar, which was gradually shifted close to the seaward swash zone boundary. The partially understood nearshore bar processes appeared to be critical for storm wave attenuation in the surf zone; and were considered mainly responsible for the poor interpretation of the observed beach behaviour on the grounds of standard, non-dimensional, morphological parameters. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study developed and evaluated a hybrid approach to remote measurement of river morphology that combines LiDAR topography with spectrally based bathymetry. Comparison of filtered LiDAR point clouds with surveyed cross-sections indicated that subtle features on low-relief floodplains were accurately resolved by LiDAR but that submerged areas could not be detected due to strong absorption of near-infrared laser pulses by water. The reduced number of returns made the active channel evident in a LiDAR point density map. A second dataset suggested that pulse intensity also could be used to discriminate land from water via a threshold-based masking procedure. Fusion of LiDAR and optical data required accurate co-registration of images to the LiDAR, and we developed an object-oriented procedure for achieving this alignment. Information on flow depths was derived by correlating pixel values with field measurements of depth. Highly turbid conditions dictated a positive relation between green band radiance and flow depth and contributed to under-prediction of pool depths. Water surface elevations extracted from the LiDAR along the water's edge were used to produce a continuous water surface that preserved along-channel variations in slope. Subtracting local flow depths from this surface yielded estimates of the bed elevation that were then combined with LiDAR topography for exposed areas to create a composite representation of the riverine terrain. The accuracy of this terrain model was assessed via comparison with detailed field surveys. A map of elevation residuals showed that the greatest errors were associated with underestimation of pool depths and failure to capture cross-stream differences in water surface elevation. Nevertheless, fusion of LiDAR and passive optical image data provided an efficient means of characterizing river morphology that would not have been possible if either dataset had been used in isolation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We evaluate the validity of the beaver-meadow complex hypothesis, used to explain the deposition of extensive fine sediment in broad, low-gradient valleys. Previous work establishes that beaver damming forms wet meadows with multi-thread channels and enhanced sediment storage, but the long-term geomorphic effects of beaver are unclear. We focus on two low-gradient broad valleys, Beaver Meadows and Moraine Park, in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado, USA). Both valleys experienced a dramatic decrease in beaver population in the past century and provide an ideal setting for determining whether contemporary geomorphic conditions and sedimentation are within the historical range of variability of valley bottom processes. We examine the geomorphic significance of beaver-pond sediment by determining the rates and types of sedimentation since the middle Holocene and the role of beaver in driving floodplain evolution through increased channel complexity and fine sediment deposition. Sediment analyses from cores and cutbanks indicate that 33–50% of the alluvial sediment in Beaver Meadows is ponded and 28–40% was deposited in-channel; in Moraine Park 32–41% is ponded sediment and 40–52% was deposited in-channel. Radiocarbon ages spanning 4300 years indicate long-term aggradation rates of ~0.05 cm yr-1. The observed highly variable short-term rates indicate temporal heterogeneity in aggradation, which in turn reflects spatial heterogeneity in processes at any point in time. Channel complexity increases directly downstream of beaver dams. The increased complexity forms a positive feedback for beaver-induced sedimentation; the multi-thread channel increases potential channel length for further damming, which increases the potential area occupied by beaver ponds and the volume of fine sediment trapped. Channel complexity decreased significantly as surveyed beaver population decreased. Beaver Meadows and Moraine Park represent settings where beaver substantially influence post-glacial floodplain aggradation. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the historical range of variability of valley bottom processes, and implications for environmental restoration. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A progression of induration, erosion, and redeposition of transverse and networked transverse aeolian ridges (TARs) has been documented in the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF), Mars. Cratered and eroded aeolian bedforms are rarely observed on Mars, indicating that those found in the MFF have been inactive for much longer than those found elsewhere. Indurated TARs are observed to grade into faceted MFF terrain, indicating a genetic relationship between the two. We propose that TAR deposition, induration and erosion have played a larger role in the surface morphology and evolution of the MFF than previously recognized. The deposition, induration, and erosion of TARs indicate that the MFF has undergone multiple cycles of reworking, and that much of its current surface morphology does not reflect the circumstances of its primary emplacement. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In the first decades of the 20th century, the Ebro River was the Iberian channel with the most active fluvial dynamics and the most remarkable spatial-temporal evolution. Its meandering typology, the dimensions of its floodplain, and the singularities of its flow regime produced an especially interesting set of river functions.The largest dynamics of the Ebro River are concentrated along the meandering profile of the central sector. During the 20th century, this sector experienced a large alteration of its geomorphological structure. We present here an analysis of this evolution through the cartographic study of a long segment of the river (~250 km) in 1927, 1956 and 2003. The results show a large reduction in bank sinuosity, a progressive loss of fluvial territory, and a large decrease in channel width. These changes are especially clear in the areas previously most ecologically connected with the active channel. The fluvial territory of the river in 2003 was approximately half that found during the first decades of the 20th century. Forest plantations, which were non-existent in 1927, occupied more than 1500 ha of the study area in the last decade.This intense geomorphological transformation becomes ecologically visible in (i) a 35% reduction of the area occupied by riparian vegetation; (ii) a loss of the heterogeneity of riparian forest spots, which were formerly structured in an irregular mosaic far from the river thalweg; and (iii) a modification of the riparian forest structure, which is currently linear, uniform, thin and very close to the river axis. The ecomorphological alteration was intensified by the remarkable reduction in bank length (13%) and the reduced dynamism of the present river system, indicated by an increase in the percentage of fluvial territory occupied by riparian forests and a reduction in the area occupied by the active channel. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Low-elevation areas within a sandy barrier island are subject to flooding via saturation overland flow following moderate storm surges and rainfall events. Using a high resolution topographic survey and simple hydrology models, we estimate the discharge and velocities from storm surge return flow and saturation overland flow. Results show that return flow velocities are of the same magnitude as the critical velocity necessary to mobilize sand when a hydraulic connection between the watershed and back-barrier bay is present. Storms of moderate strength and rainfall intensity may be sufficient to keep the return channels open within the back-barrier, thus providing natural conduits for water exchange from overwash events during extreme storm surges triggered by hurricanes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Studies of soil erosion on small plots present upscaling problems. The results in the literature on the effect of slope length (i.e. scale) on runoff and soil erosion are contradictory. Furthermore, most studies that examine scale effects measured through erosion plots have been conducted in Mediterranean environments. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of plot size on runoff and soil loss in a subtropical environment. Other measurements were taken to appraise the topsoil property changes inside the plots. The soil was ploughed twice, the surface was leveled with a hoe and it was kept bare during the experiment. Data were collected from 10 paired plots, five plots measuring 10 m × 1 m and five plots measuring 1 m × 1 m, installed in the same pedo-geomorphologic unit. Measurements were carried out from November 2008 to November 2009. During this period, 97 natural storms were registered. The results indicate that the small plots tended to have higher runoff (30% higher) compared to larger plots, especially during periods of greater rainfall volume, duration and intensity. The soil loss was similar in both the 1 m2 plots (6·33 kg/m2) and the 10 m2 plots (6·26 kg/m2). Moreover, the dynamics of the soil loss during the experiment was relatively similar across both plot sizes. The large plots tended to have a greater internal complexity. In these plots, the steps retreat were higher, the overland flow scars were more frequent, and points of rill initiation and protochannels emerged in several parts of the plots. The results of the small plots were comparable to the results obtained on the large plots, especially in relation to soil loss. These plots were useful for short-term assessments of soil erosion. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Remote mapping and measurement of surface processes at high spatial resolution is among the frontiers in Earth surface process research. Remote measurements that allow meter-scale mapping of landforms and quantification of landscape change can revolutionize the study of landscape evolution on human timescales. At Mill Gulch in northern California, USA, an active earthflow was surveyed in 2003 and 2007 by airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), enabling meter-scale quantification of landscape change. We calculate four-year volumetric flux from the earthflow and compare it to long-term catchment average erosion rates from cosmogenic radionuclide inventories from adjacent watersheds. We also present detailed maps of changing features on the earthflow, from which we can derive velocity estimates and infer dominant process. These measurements rely on proper digital elevation model (DEM) generation and a simple surface-matching technique to align the multitemporal data in a manner that eliminates systematic error in either dataset. The mean surface elevation of the earthflow and an opposite slope that was directly influenced by the earthflow decreased 14 ± 1 mm/yr from 2003 to 2007. By making the conservative assumption that these features were the dominant contributor of sediment flux from the entire Mill Gulch drainage basin during this time interval, we calculate a minimum catchment-averaged erosion rate of 0·30 ± 0·02 mm/yr. Analysis of beryllium-10 (10Be) concentrations in fluvial sand from nearby Russian Gulch and the South Fork Gualala River provide catchment averaged erosion rates of 0·21 ± 0·04 and 0·23 ± 0·03 mm/yr respectively. From translated landscape features, we can infer surface velocities ranging from 0·5 m/yr in the wide upper ‘source’ portion of the flow to 5 m/yr in the narrow middle ‘transport’ portion of the flow. This study re-affirms the importance of mass wasting processes in the sediment budgets of uplifting weak lithologies. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Concentrated flow is often the dominant source of water erosion following disturbance on rangelands. Because of the lack of studies that explain the hydraulics of concentrated flow on rangelands, cropland-based equations have typically been used for rangeland hydrology and erosion modeling, leading to less accurate predictions due to different soil and vegetation cover characteristics. This study investigates the hydraulics of concentrated flow using unconfined field experimental data over diverse rangeland landscapes within the Great Basin Region, United States. The results imply that the overall hydraulics of concentrated flow on rangelands differ significantly from those of cropland rills. Concentrated flow hydraulics on rangelands are largely controlled by the amount of cover or bare soil and hillslope angle. New predictive equations for concentrated flow velocity (R2 = 0·47), hydraulic friction (R2 = 0·52), and width (R2 = 0·4) representing a diverse set of rangeland environments were developed. The resulting equations are applicable across a wide span of ecological sites, soils, slopes, and vegetation and ground cover conditions and can be used by physically-based rangeland hydrology and erosion models to estimate rangeland concentrated flow hydraulic parameters. Published in 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

In this study, we proposed a new approach for linking event sediment sources to downstream sediment transport in a watershed in central New York. This approach is based on a new concept of spatial scale, sub-watershed area (SWA), defined as a sub-watershed within which all eroded soils are transported out without deposition during a hydrological event. Using (rainfall) event data collected between July and November, 2007 from several SWAs of the studied watershed, we developed an empirical equation that has one independent variable, mean SWA slope. This equation was then used to determine event-averaged unit soil erosion rate, QS/A, (in kg/km2/hr) for all SWAs in the studied watershed and calculate event-averaged gross erosion Eea (in kg/hr). The event gross erosion Et (in kilograms) was subsequently computed as the product of Eea and the mean event duration, T (in hours) determined using event hydrographs at the outlet of the studied watershed. Next, we developed two linear sediment rating curves (SRCs) for small and big events based on the event data obtained at the watershed outlet. These SRCs, together with T, allowed us to determine event sediment yield SYe (in kilograms) for all events during the study period. By comparing Et with SYe, developing empirical equations (i) between Et and SYe and (ii) for event sediment delivery ratio, respectively, we revealed the event dynamic processes connecting sediment sources and downstream sediment transport. During small events, sediment transport in streams was at capacity and dominated by the deposition process, whereas during big events, it was below capacity and controlled by the erosion process. The key of applying this approach to other watersheds is establishing their empirical equations for QS/A and appropriately determining their numbers of SWAs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dryland rivers are recognized for limited research and high uncertainties with respect to understanding biogeomorphic processes. This study uses aerial photography, sediment analysis, palynology indicators and hydraulic modelling to investigate the role of riparian vegetation in influencing the response of systems to disturbance, the trajectory of channel evolution and the potential for management. The study focuses on cleared and uncleared sites in the Yerritup catchment, along the south coast of Western Australia, that occur along a transect with a consistent stream gradient and landscape topographic setting.Downstream reaches show no gross botanical change, but gradual sediment deposition across the floodplain of up to 40 cm based on palynological and sedimentary indicators. Channel response in the cleared section by incision, widening and floodplain degradation began rapidly after land clearing, but is driven by large flood events. Degradation of riparian vegetation has significantly increased the sensitivity of the system. The cleared reaches have transformed from a low-capacity channel, under-adjusted to the prevailing flow regime, to the large present channel that is now over-adjusted to the predominantly low to moderate seasonal (occasional flood) flow regime. Modelling of pre-settlement erosive potential reveals that the entire system was naturally sensitive to change, and was primed to erode once riparian vegetation was removed.The trajectory of channel evolution and the role of riparian vegetation is examined in relation to undisturbed reaches in the system and an appreciation of the historical range of variability in geomorphic response. Analysis of the patterns of contemporary vegetation growth identify the potential to re-establish vegetation where it is elevated from saline baseflow. However, the system is assessed as being close to a threshold where restoration is no longer possible and remediation options become more limited as eco-hydraulic and hydrochemical changes continue. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Soil redistribution on arable land significantly affects lateral and vertical soil carbon (C) fluxes (caused by C formation and mineralization) and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Whether this serves as a (C) sink or source to the atmosphere is a controversial issue. In this study, the SPEROS-C model was modified to analyse erosion induced lateral and vertical soil C fluxes and their effects upon SOC stocks in a small agricultural catchment (4·2 ha). The model was applied for the period between 1950 and 2007 covering 30 years of conventional tillage (1950–1979) followed by 28 years of conservation tillage (1980–2007). In general, modelled and measured SOC stocks are in good agreement for three observed soil layers. The overall balance (1950–2007) of erosion induced lateral and vertical C fluxes results in a C loss of −4·4 g C m–2 a–1 at our test site. Land management has a significant impact on the erosion induced C fluxes, leading to a predominance of lateral C export under conventional and of vertical C exchange between soil and atmosphere under conservation agriculture. Overall, the application of the soil conservation practices, with enhanced C inputs by cover crops and decreased erosion, significantly reduced the modelled erosion induced C loss of the test site. Increasing C inputs alone, without a reduction of erosion rates, did not result in a reduction of erosion induced C losses. Moreover, our results show that the potential erosion induced C loss is very sensitive to the representation of erosion rates (long-term steady state versus event driven). A first estimate suggests that C losses are very sensitive to magnitude and frequency of erosion events. If long-term averages are dominated by large magnitude events modelled erosion induced C losses in the catchment were significantly reduced. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Field investigations that help clarify local sedimentary processes involved in the migration of alternate bars as a consequence of flood events are lacking. A simple approach combining scour chains, stratigraphy and frequent bathymetric surveys is proposed to connect the dynamics of free migrating alternate bars present in disconnected channels of large sandy-gravelly rivers with their sedimentary products and vice versa. The results show that the spatial distribution of bars before a flood partly governs the scour and fill processes and that the sediment transport rates vary significantly on a single cross-section. This can be due to preferential axes of the migration of the bars determined by their location on the cross-section, the bank direction and the discharge. The approach allows the reconstruction of local sedimentary processes involved in alternate bar migration by combining maximum scour depths reached during a flood with frequent channel bed topography surveys and post-flood stratigraphy. It is also possible to distinguish deposited and preserved sediments compared with sediments by-passed during the flood. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.