Fluvial and slope‐wash erosion of soil‐mantled landscapes: detachment‐ or transport‐limited?

Many numerical landform evolution models assume that soil erosion by flowing water is either purely detachment‐limited (i.e. erosion rate is related to the shear stress, power, or velocity of the flow) or purely transport‐limited (i.e. erosion/deposition rate is related to the divergence of shear stress, power, or velocity). This paper reviews available data on the relative importance of detachment‐limited versus transport‐limited erosion by flowing water on soil‐mantled hillslopes and low‐order valleys. Field measurements indicate that fluvial and slope‐wash modification of soil‐mantled landscapes is best represented by a combination of transport‐limited and detachment‐limited conditions with the relative importance of each approximately equal to the ratio of sand and rock fragments to silt and clay in the eroding soil. Available data also indicate that detachment/entrainment thresholds are highly variable in space and time in many landscapes, with local threshold values dependent on vegetation cover, rock‐fragment armoring, surface roughness, soil texture and cohesion. This heterogeneity is significant for determining the form of the fluvial/slope‐wash erosion or transport law because spatial and/or temporal variations in detachment/entrainment thresholds can effectively increase the nonlinearity of the relationship between sediment transport and stream power. Results from landform evolution modeling also suggest that, aside from the presence of distributary channel networks and autogenic cut‐and‐fill cycles in non‐steady‐state transport‐limited landscapes, it is difficult to infer the relative importance of transport‐limited versus detachment‐limited conditions using topography alone. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New concepts in ecological risk assessment: where do we go from here?

Through the use of safety factors, the use of single-species test data has been adequate for use in protective hazard assessments and criteria setting but, because hazard quotients do not consider the presence of multiple species each with a particular sensitivity or the interactions that can occur between these species in a functioning community, they are ill-suited to environmental risk assessment. Significant functional redundancy occurs in most ecosystems but this is poorly considered in single-species tests conducted under laboratory conditions. A significant advance in effects assessment was the use of the microcosm as a unit within which to test interacting populations of organisms. The microcosm has allowed the measurement of the environmental effect measures such as the NOAEC(community) under laboratory or field conditions and the application of this and other similarly derived measures to ecological risk assessment (ERA). More recently, distributions of single-species laboratory test data have been used for criteria setting and, combined with distributions of exposure concentrations, for risk assessment. Distributions of species sensitivity values have been used in an a priori way for setting environmental quality criteria such as the final acute value (FAV) derived for water quality criteria. Similar distributional approaches have been combined with modeled or measured concentrations to produce estimates of the joint probability of a single species being affected or that a proportion of organisms in a community will be impacted in a posteriori risk assessments. These techniques have not been widely applied for risk assessment of dredged materials, however, with appropriate consideration of bioavailability and spatial and nature of the data these techniques can be applied to soils and sediments.     

Models of the Earth’s crust from controlled-source seismology — Where we stand and where we go?

Controlled-source seismology (CSS) is the primary source of information regarding the fine structure of the lithosphere. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the methods that are commonly used to derive Earth models from CSS data with the focus on the wide-angle reflection/refraction method. Some outlook on the future of the CSS is presented with the special emphasis on the full-wavefield based methods like full-waveform inversion, which brings high level of objectivity into modeling, as well as significantly increases spatial resolution. It is stressed that the researchers should be aware of the limitations of how the elastic parameters transcribe into the actual rock properties which should stimulate them to go beyond the simple P-wave modeling and to build multiparameter Earth models based either on the seismic data or constrained by additional geophysical fields in order to derive sound geological interpretation of their models.     

Theoretical constraints to gully erosion research: time for a re‐evaluation of concepts and assumptions?

Gullies are conceptualized in the literature as essentially fluvial forms with dimensional boundaries arbitrarily defined between rills and river channels. This notion is incompatible with the existing variability of form and process, as mass movements frequently exert a fundamental control on gully initiation and expansion, to the point of features outgrowing their original contributing area. The inability of a conceptual framework to incorporate existing observations inevitably constrains methodologies and research results. In this commentary, several examples of published results are contrasted with the prevailing assumption of an essentially fluvial nature, with the purpose of encouraging discussion on the need for a revised conceptual framework in gully erosion research. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sea‐cliff retreat and shore platform widening: steady‐state equilibrium?

We challenge the notion of steady‐state equilibrium in the context of progressive cliff retreat on micro‐tidal coasts. Ocean waves break at or close to the abrupt seaward edge of near‐horizontal shore platforms and then rapidly lose height due to turbulence and friction. Conceptual models assume that wave height decays exponentially with distance from the platform edge, and that the platform edge does not erode under stable sea‐level. These assumptions combine to a steady‐state view of Holocene cliff retreat. We argue that this model is not generally applicable. Recent data show that: (1) exponential decay in wave height is not the most appropriate conceptual model of wave decay; (2) by solely considering wave energy at gravity wave frequencies the steady‐state model neglects a possible formative role for infragravity waves. Here we draw attention to possible mechanisms through which infragravity waves may drive cliff retreat over much greater distances (and longer timescales) than imaginable under the established conceptual model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Marine debris review for Latin America and the wider Caribbean region: from the 1970s until now, and where do we go from here?

The available literature on marine debris from Latin America and the Wider Caribbean Region was collected and linked, reviewing their methodologies and principal results (quantities, composition and spatial-temporal patterns). The study region comprises 52 coastal countries of which only 14 had registers of works on marine debris. A total of 70 works were available and 69 had their full contents accessed. Brazil dominated the available literature with 70% of the documents. Beaches were the most studied environment, and plastics the prevalent form of contamination in the whole region. The exposure of marine biota (species, type of contact, consequences) was highlighted. The studied region, although still little exploited by this sort of research, shows the same contamination patterns observed world-wide. We also contacted 40 researchers in the area, collecting scientific contributions, opinions and suggestions for improvement of this research field. Further advances and new (urgently needed) lines of research are also discussed.     

Comparison of electronic and mechanical Schmidt hammers in the context of exposure‐age dating: are Q‐ and R‐values interconvertible?

Application of Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD) to landforms has substantially increased in recent years. The original mechanical Schmidt hammer records R‐(rebound) values. Although the newly introduced electronic Schmidt hammer (SilverSchmidt) facilitates greatly improved data processing, it measures surface hardness differently, recording Q‐(velocity) values that are not a priori interconvertible with R‐values. This study is the first to compare the performance of both instruments in the context of field‐based exposure‐age dating with a particular focus on the interconvertibility of R‐values and Q‐values. The study was conducted on glacially polished pyroxene‐granulite gneiss, Jotunheimen, southern Norway. Results indicate that mean Q‐values are consistently 8–10 units higher than mean R‐values over the range of values normally encountered in the application of SHD to glacial and periglacial landforms. A convenient conversion factor of ±10 units may, therefore, be appropriate for all but the softest rock types close to the technical resolution of the instruments. The electronic Schmidt hammer should therefore be regarded as a useful complement and potential replacement for the mechanical Schmidt hammer. Conversion of published R‐values data to Q‐values requires, however, careful control and documentation of instrument calibration. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time‐lapse seismic imaging using regularized full‐waveform inversion with a prior model: which strategy?

Full‐waveform inversion is an appealing technique for time‐lapse imaging, especially when prior model information is included into the inversion workflow. Once the baseline reconstruction is achieved, several strategies can be used to assess the physical parameter changes, such as parallel difference (two separate inversions of baseline and monitor data sets), sequential difference (inversion of the monitor data set starting from the recovered baseline model) and double‐difference (inversion of the difference data starting from the recovered baseline model) strategies. Using synthetic Marmousi data sets, we investigate which strategy should be adopted to obtain more robust and more accurate time‐lapse velocity changes in noise‐free and noisy environments. This synthetic application demonstrates that the double‐difference strategy provides the more robust time‐lapse result. In addition, we propose a target‐oriented time‐lapse imaging using regularized full‐waveform inversion including a prior model and model weighting, if the prior information exists on the location of expected variations. This scheme applies strong prior model constraints outside of the expected areas of time‐lapse changes and relatively less prior constraints in the time‐lapse target zones. In application of this process to the Marmousi model data set, the local resolution analysis performed with spike tests shows that the target‐oriented inversion prevents the occurrence of artefacts outside the target areas, which could contaminate and compromise the reconstruction of the effective time‐lapse changes, especially when using the sequential difference strategy. In a strongly noisy case, the target‐oriented prior model weighting ensures the same behaviour for both time‐lapse strategies, the double‐difference and the sequential difference strategies and leads to a more robust reconstruction of the weak time‐lapse changes. The double‐difference strategy can deliver more accurate time‐lapse variation since it can focus to invert the difference data. However, the double‐difference strategy requires a preprocessing step on data sets such as time‐lapse binning to have a similar source/receiver location between two surveys, while the sequential difference needs less this requirement. If we have prior information about the area of changes, the target‐oriented sequential difference strategy can be an alternative and can provide the same robust result as the double‐difference strategy.     

Mangrove‐forest evolution in a sediment‐rich estuarine system: opportunists or agents of geomorphic change?

The majority of the world's mangrove forests occur on mostly mineral sediments of fluvial origin. Two perspectives exist on the biogeomorphic development of these forests, i.e. that mangroves are opportunistic, with forest development primarily driven by physical processes, or alternatively that biophysical feedbacks strongly influence sedimentation and resulting geomorphology. On the Firth of Thames coast, New Zealand, we evaluate these two possible scenarios for sediment accumulation and forest development using high‐resolution sedimentary records and a detailed chronology of mangrove‐forest (Avicennia marina) development since the 1950s. Cores were collected along a shore‐normal transect of known elevation relative to mean sea level (MSL). Activities for lead‐210 (²¹⁰Pb), caesium‐137 (¹³⁷Cs) and beryllium‐7 (⁷Be), and sediment properties were analysed, with ²¹⁰Pb sediment accumulation rates (SARs), compensated for deep subsidence (~8 mm yr^?1) used as a proxy for elevation gain. At least four phases of forest development since the 1950s are recognized. An old‐growth forest developed by the late‐1970s with more recent seaward forest expansion thereafter. Excess ²¹⁰Pb profiles from the old‐growth forest exhibit relatively low SARs near the top (7–12 mm yr^?1) and bottom (10–22 mm yr^?1) of cores, separated by an interval of higher SARs (33–100 mm yr^?1). A general trend of increasing SAR over time characterizes the recent forest. Biogeomorphic evolution of the system is more complex than simple mudflat accretion/progradation and mangrove‐forest expansion. Surface‐elevation gain in the old‐growth forest displays an asymptotic trajectory, with a secondary depocentre developing on the seaward mudflat from the mid‐1970s. Two‐ to ten‐fold increases in ²¹⁰Pb SARs are unambiguously large and occurred years to decades before seedling recruitment, demonstrating that mangroves do not measurably enhance sedimentation over annual to decadal timescales. This suggests that mangrove‐forest development is largely dependent on physical processes, with forests occupying mudflats once they reach a suitable elevation in the intertidal. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A self‐limiting bank erosion mechanism? inferring temporal variations in bank form and skin drag from high resolution topographic data

Fluvial bank erosion rates are often quantified by assuming that the erosion rate is a function of the excess (above a critical threshold) boundary shear stress applied by the flow. Research has shown that the form roughness induced by natural topographic bank features, such as slumps, spurs and embayments, is the dominant component of the spatially‐averaged total shear stress, meaning that form roughness provides an important control on bank erosion rates. However, measuring the relative components of the total shear stress for a natural system is not straightforward. In this work we use the method of Kean and Smith to partition the form and skin drag components of river bank roughness using a time series (2005–2011) of high‐resolution topographic surveys of an eroding bank of the Cecina River in central Italy. This method approximates the form drag component of the roughness along a longitudinal bank profile as a series of user‐defined Gaussian curves. The extracted metrics are used in conjunction with an estimate of the outer region flow velocity to partition the form and skin drag components of the total boundary shear stress according to the Kean and Smith analytical solution. The relative magnitude of the form and skin shear stress at each survey date is analysed alongside DEMs of difference to reveal that intense episodes of erosion are followed by periods of quiescence. We show that this is due to the protection offered by increased form drag roughness following erosion. We conceptualise the dynamic feedbacks that exist between river discharge, bank erosion processes and bank form roughness, into a simple model of the self‐limiting nature of river bank erosion. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How do sediment yields from post‐wildfire debris‐laden flows depend on terrain slope,soil burn severity class,and drainage basin area? Insights from airborne‐LiDAR change detection

We derived a high‐resolution, spatially continuous map of erosion and deposition associated with the debris‐laden flows triggered by the 2011 Las Conchas wildfire and subsequent rainstorms over a 197 km² area in New Mexico, USA. This map was produced using airborne‐LiDAR‐derived bare‐earth digital elevation models (DEMs) acquired approximately one year before and one year after the wildfire. Differencing of the pre‐wildfire and post‐wildfire‐and‐rainstorm bare‐earth DEMs yielded a DEM‐of‐difference (DoD) map that quantifies the magnitude of ground‐surface elevation changes due to erosion/deposition within each 1 m² pixel. We applied a 0.3 m threshold filter to our DoD to remove changes that could have been due to artifacts and/or imperfect georeferencing. The 0.3 m value for the threshold filter was chosen based on the stated accuracy of the LiDAR as well as a comparison of areas of significant topographic change mapped in aerial photographs with those predicted using a range of candidate threshold values for the DoD filter. We developed an automated procedure that accepts the DoD map as input and computes, for every pixel in the DEM, the net sediment volume exported through each pixel by colluvial and/or fluvial processes using a digital routing algorithm. An analysis of the resulting sediment volume map for the Las Conchas fire demonstrates that sediment volume is proportional to upstream contributing area. After normalized by contributing area, the average sediment yield (defined as the sediment volume divided by the contributing area) increases as a power‐law functions of the average terrain slope and soil burn severity class (SBSC) with exponents equal to approximately 1.5. Our analysis quantifies the relationships among sediment yield, average terrain slope, and average soil burn severity class at the watershed scale and should prove useful for predicting the geomorphic response of wildfire‐affected drainage basins. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How much information do we gain from multiple-year sampling in natural pond research?

Natural ponds are perceived as spatially and temporally highly variable ecosystems. This perception is in contrast to the often-applied sampling design with high spatial but low temporal replication. Based on a data set covering a period of six years and 20 permanently to periodically inundated ponds, we investigated whether this widely applied sampling design is sufficient to identify differences between single ponds or single years with regard to water quality and macrophyte community composition as measures of ecosystem integrity.In our study, the factor “pond”, which describes differences between individual ponds, explained 56 % and 63 %, respectively, of the variance in water quality and macrophyte composition. In contrast, the factor “year” that refers to changes between individual years, contributed less to understand the observed variability in water quality and macrophyte composition (10 % and 7 % respectively, of the variance explained). The low explanation of variance for “year” and the low year-to-year correlation for the single water quality parameter or macrophyte coverage values, respectively, indicated high but non-consistent temporal variability affecting individual pond patterns.In general, the results largely supported the ability of the widely applied sampling strategy with about one sampling date per year to capture differences in water quality and macrophyte community composition between ponds. Hence, future research can be rest upon sampling designs that give more weight to the number of ponds than the number of years in dependence on the research question and the available resources. Nonetheless, pond research would miss a substantial amount of information (7 to 10 % of the variance explained), when the sampling would generally be restricted to one year. Moreover, we expect that the importance of multiple-year sampling will likely increase in periods and regions of higher hydrological variability compared to the average hydrological conditions encountered in the studied period.     

How well do we understand production of 36Cl in limestone and dolomite?

We have evaluated all parameters for the calculation of cosmogenic ³⁶Cl production rates and thus surface exposure ages in dolomite and limestone. We found that we can use either of both published negative muon stopping rates until more information is available. The largest uncertainty of the age estimation in the upper meter of rock comes from the ³⁶Cl production rate from Ca spallation and, in the case of 50–100 ppm Cl content, from the production rate of epithermal neutrons, which we estimate at 760 ± 150 neutrons/g_air/yr (1σ). For a sample with representative amounts of Ca and Cl (20 wt% Ca and 50 ppm Cl, or 40 wt% Ca and 100 ppm Cl), the age can be calculated with a precision of 7–10% in the top 1.5 m of the depth profile. Further improvement of ³⁶Cl calculations depends on new calibration of ³⁶Cl production from Ca spallation, re-evaluation of ³⁶Cl production by low-energy neutron capture on ³⁵Cl, as well as of the muon flux and muon capture based on the most recent measurement data.     

How well can we simulate complex hydro‐geomorphic process chains? The 2012 multi‐lake outburst flood in the Santa Cruz Valley (Cordillera Blanca,Perú)

Changing high‐mountain environments are characterized by destabilizing ice, rock or debris slopes connected to evolving glacial lakes. Such configurations may lead to potentially devastating sequences of mass movements (process chains or cascades). Computer simulations are supposed to assist in anticipating the possible consequences of such phenomena in order to reduce the losses. The present study explores the potential of the novel computational tool r.avaflow for simulating complex process chains. r.avaflow employs an enhanced version of the Pudasaini ( 2012 ) general two‐phase mass flow model, allowing consideration of the interactions between solid and fluid components of the flow. We back‐calculate an event that occurred in 2012 when a landslide from a moraine slope triggered a multi‐lake outburst flood in the Artizón and Santa Cruz valleys, Cordillera Blanca, Peru, involving four lakes and a substantial amount of entrained debris along the path. The documented and reconstructed flow patterns are reproduced in a largely satisfactory way in the sense of empirical adequacy. However, small variations in the uncertain parameters can fundamentally influence the behaviour of the process chain through threshold effects and positive feedbacks. Forward simulations of possible future cascading events will rely on more comprehensive case and parameter studies, but particularly on the development of appropriate strategies for decision‐making based on uncertain simulation results. © 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.