Earth Surface Processes and Landforms最新文献

{"title":"Wood in Patagonian headwater streams: A window into the colonial and wildfire caused legacy of large wood in temperate stream ecosystems","authors":"Anna Astorga-Roine,&nbsp;William Keeton,&nbsp;Dominik Thom,&nbsp;Camila Bañales-Seguel,&nbsp;Paulo Moreno-Meynard,&nbsp;Brian Reid","doi":"10.1002/esp.70341","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70341","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Forested watersheds with limited human intervention are a vulnerable and diminishing feature in modern temperate latitudes landscapes. They are essential in terms of conserving biodiversity, as reference systems for forest management, restoration, stream ecosystem function, and associated ecosystem services. In Patagonia, some of the largest remaining intact watersheds are juxtaposed among areas heavily impacted from human-caused fires and clearing, a pattern extending across several forested biomes. We measured in-stream large wood storage and riparian forest structure across paired reference and impacted headwater watersheds (1–3 km²) representing deciduous/dry and evergreen/humid biomes to evaluate baseline conditions and stream geomorphic response to wood storage. Deciduous forested watersheds had significantly higher LW volumes at impacted sites, relative to reference sites, together with higher variability across transects. Meanwhile, evergreen forested streams had significantly higher volumes of LW compared to deciduous sites, which were also consistently higher for impacted streams, although the relative divergence of stream LW volume between reference and impacted decreased in these evergreen sites. Compared to other regions, overall high LW volume may be a function of recent inputs, large amounts of legacy LW following an intense history of recent (50–70 years) wildfire, limited LW removal, low decay rates, and larger diameter species. The riparian forest structural variables that best explained the volumes of wood were live tree density and basal area; however, there was high uncertainty of our GLMM model given the limited number of replicates and high variability within streams. There was also a significant relationship between LW density and stream geomorphic features such as frequency of debris jams, step-pools and bankfull width for reference condition sites, yet this relationship was not evident in the land-use impacted sites. Despite clear evidence of land-use impacts across stream pairs, our observations suggest a less intuitive relation between riparian forest structure, LW and stream geomorphology.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148386270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Topographic and hydrological controls on a shallow landslide: Prefailure evidence from a forested headwater catchment","authors":"Wei-Li Liang","doi":"10.1002/esp.70344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70344","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Comprehensive prefailure datasets combining soil depth distribution, topography and porewater pressure at the soil–bedrock interface are rarely available for natural shallow landslides. This study presents a case in which such datasets were collected before a shallow landslide in a forested headwater catchment, providing a unique opportunity to examine the dominant topographic and hydrological features triggering the landslide and to evaluate the predictability of its location and timing using prefailure information. The analysis revealed that the landslide area was characterized by thinner soil layers, steeper slopes, larger contribution areas and higher topographic wetness index values. A logistic regression analysis confirmed that bedrock topographic features better explained the landslide distribution than surface topographic features, with soil depth being the primary predisposing factor. The landslide event began under wetter-than-average conditions; at failure, widespread saturation developed across the site with a record-high porewater pressure that exceeded the predicted value from the long-term rainfall–porewater pressure relationship. This record-high porewater pressure was attributable to both vertical rainwater percolation and groundwater exfiltration from bedrock layers. Integrating in situ information into a simple slope stability analysis improved the identification of locations with relatively high or low susceptibility; however, predicting the exact timing remained challenging. Notably, neither the amount nor the intensity of the triggering rainfall event was at a historical maximum, highlighting the limitations of rainfall-only approaches and the added value of subsurface hydrological monitoring. Our field evidence demonstrates that porewater pressure exceeding a site-specific threshold is a critical indicator for landslide occurrence. Establishing site-specific rainfall–porewater pressure relationships and monitoring groundwater seepage from bedrock layers at susceptible locations can substantially improve early-warning capabilities for landslides not triggered by extreme rainfall.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148386866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determining soil erosion rates on a grazed Australian hillslope: Comparison of two landform evolution models with field-based methods","authors":"Indishe P. Senanayake,&nbsp;Gregory R. Hancock,&nbsp;W. D. Dimuth P. Welivitiya","doi":"10.1002/esp.70337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70337","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Determining long-term soil erosion and deposition rates and understanding landform evolution are important for managing both natural and human-modified landscapes, including postmining rehabilitation sites. Although various landform evolution models (LEMs) have been developed to simulate erosion processes and landscape change, relatively few studies have directly compared modelled outputs with field-based erosion estimates. This study evaluates and compares two LEMs, (i) SIBERIA, which is widely used in the Australian mining sector, and (ii) SSSPAM, a newer coupled soilscape–LEM, together with the well-established soil erosion model (the revised universal soil loss equation). A formerly grazed hillslope in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales was used as the case study, and a high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-derived digital elevation model was used as the landscape input. Field-based erosion rates were quantified using sediment yield data from a catchment dam and ¹³⁷Cs isotopic analysis. Sediment trap measurements indicated erosion rates ranging from 0.43 to 0.61 t/ha/year, while ¹³⁷Cs results showed erosion and deposition rates of up to 1.5 and 1.1 t/ha/year, respectively. SIBERIA predicted erosion rates of 1.07 t/ha/year under dense vegetation cover and 3.74 t/ha/year under moderate cover, while SSSPAM estimated 0.35 and 2.43 t/ha/year for the same conditions. The RUSLE model predicted an average erosion rate of 2.23 t/ha/year, with values ranging from 0.58 to 4.65 t/ha/year. Overall, the modelled erosion estimates were broadly consistent with the field observations, demonstrating the ability of both SIBERIA and SSSPAM to reproduce realistic hillslope erosion rates. These findings support the use of LEMs as valuable tools for guiding sustainable land management and rehabilitation practices in both natural and constructed landscapes.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/esp.70337","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148386864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The geomorphic signature of marine and continental deposits","authors":"Ettore Valente,&nbsp;Ciro Cerrone,&nbsp;Francesco Pavano","doi":"10.1002/esp.70342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70342","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Landscape geomorphological evolution depends on the spatial and chronological distribution of climate and tectonic forcing, which in turn control the sedimentary supply to lowlands. In shaping landforms under different morphoclimatic and morphotectonic conditions, the interplay between these processes results in the production of sediments and their transport and accumulation within different, continental to marine, depositional environments (e.g. river valleys, lakes, deltas, coastal belts). The Special Issue presented here is a compilation of multidisciplinary studies that investigate how Quaternary marine and continental stratigraphy can be used in reconstructing past geomorphic processes. The papers span diverse morphoclimatic and morphotectonic settings, from South America to the central Mediterranean and northeast European Russia and integrate geomorphological and morphostratigraphic analyses with geochronology, sedimentology and high-resolution geophysics. These studies offer insights into quaternary landscape dynamics and sediment fluxes forced by climate and tectonic drivers, highlighting how their local expression is highly variable and context dependent. Unravelling landscape evolution is crucial for deciphering the spatial and temporal distribution of past geomorphological processes, which in turn may contribute to predicting future environmental changes, hazard assessment and managing coastal and continental resources.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148386968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Monthly runoff and sediment fluxes in a typical arid and semiarid river basin: Trends, driving factors, and attribution analysis","authors":"Xuan Zhang,&nbsp;Jian Luo,&nbsp;Ruihong Yu,&nbsp;Lian Liu","doi":"10.1002/esp.70343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70343","url":null,"abstract":"<p>River runoff and sediment fluxes exhibited pronounced temporal variability driven by both climatic and anthropogenic factors. This study investigated runoff and sediment dynamics in the Ulan Mulun River basin using statistical and signal decomposition methods to identify multiscale trends, dominant drivers, and attribution mechanisms. The results showed that annual runoff and sediment load exhibited declining but statistically nonsignificant trends from 1997 to 2020, with rates of −0.5 × 10⁶ m³/yr and −5.9 × 10⁴ t/yr, respectively. At the monthly scale, time series of runoff and sediment fluxes, along with associated environmental variables, were decomposed into six intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and a residual component. The first three IMFs, with periods of 4.5, 8.5, and 14.6 months, indicate that short-timescale oscillations dominate the temporal variability. Scale-dependent and phase-shifted responses were observed between runoff–sediment fluxes and environmental factors. Multiple wavelet coherence (MWC) revealed that precipitation was the primary driver of runoff, while runoff was the dominant control on sediment load. Over the annual scale, hydrological time series were segmented into three distinct periods: baseline period (P0: 1997–2005), first change period (P1: 2006–2015), and second change period (P2: 2016–2020). Attribution analyses consistently showed that human activities dominated the reduction in both runoff and sediment load during P1. In contrast, during P2, increasing precipitation became the main driver of increased runoff, while sediment load remained dominated by human activities, with their influence intensifying over time. This stage-specific shift reveals a structural decoupling of sediment transport from natural hydrological regimes under intensive ecological restoration. Understanding the dynamic variations of runoff and sediment fluxes and their scale-dependent relationships with environmental factors is crucial for assessing landscape stability and managing water and sediment resources in arid and semiarid river basins.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148386578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Substantial export of shale-derived particulate black carbon in the Hudson River indicated by compound-specific stable carbon isotopes (New York, United States)","authors":"Alex Collins,&nbsp;Morgan F. Schaller,&nbsp;Riley Barton,&nbsp;Madelyn Miller,&nbsp;Sasha Wagner","doi":"10.1002/esp.70340","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70340","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The erosion of petrogenic organic carbon links lithology, climate, and atmospheric CO₂ over geologic timescales. Recently, greater interest has been vested in identifying the dynamics of petrogenic organic carbon on modern timescales, particularly during riverine export. Petrogenic organic carbon is molecularly diverse, where labile fractions are readily oxidized to CO₂ upon entering the environment, whereas more recalcitrant fractions remain passive during transit. The condensed aromatic fraction of organic carbon—termed black carbon—is highly recalcitrant in the environment. Particulate black carbon (PBC) is derived from both petrogenic and pyrogenic sources (e.g., charcoal, soot, petroleum, and graphite). Here, we use the benzenepolycarboxylic acid method to identify and quantify the fraction of black carbon derived from regional shale lithologies in the Hudson River watershed (New York, United States). Suspended sediments collected between March 2021 and May 2022 were measured for PBC-specific stable carbon isotopes (δ¹³C) to identify source inputs. We found that PBC-specific δ¹³C values were higher (approximately −27‰) and similar to a wood charcoal standard at low flow but declined exponentially as flow increased, with values at peak flows (approximately −30‰) to be more consistent those observed for black carbon in regional shale endmembers. A two-endmember mixing model (shale versus wood char) indicates shale-derived black carbon to represent a substantial fraction of total exported PBC that increases proportionally under higher flow conditions. We estimate that shale-derived PBC comprises a larger fraction of particulate organic carbon in the Mohawk River (59% ± 19%) compared with the Upper Hudson River (49% ± 15%), mirroring the greater extent of organic-rich shale that underlies the Mohawk River catchment and is supported by previous work showing radiocarbon-depleted particulate organic carbon for the catchment. Together, these results show that PBC is a conservative tracer for petrogenic organic carbon in rivers and that shale-derived black carbon is exported most efficiently during hydrologic events.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148322445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing erosion processes in vegetated and non-vegetated landslide slopes using the physically based SIMWE model and UAV-LiDAR","authors":"Muhammad Hanif Adiprana,&nbsp;Guruh Samodra","doi":"10.1002/esp.70329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70329","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Vegetation plays a crucial role in regulating surface hydrology and reducing soil erosion, especially in landslide-prone areas where slope instability intensifies runoff processes. Understanding how vegetation influences erosion in such dynamic environments is essential for effective land management and hazard mitigation. This study investigates erosion behaviour in vegetated and non-vegetated areas of the Kalisari Landslide, Central Java, Indonesia, using simulations with the physically based Simulated Water Erosion (SIMWE) model. The model was parameterized with high-resolution LiDAR-derived elevation data, field-measured infiltration rates and laboratory-determined soil properties. Simulations were conducted for two rainfall events: a short-duration (i) high-intensity rainfall (84 mm h⁻¹ for 30 min) and (ii) a lower intensity event (38.2 mm h⁻¹ for 65 min). Two infiltration scenarios were evaluated: a real-case scenario based on field measurements (72 mm h⁻¹ in vegetated areas and 30 mm h⁻¹ in non-vegetated areas) and a reversed-infiltration experiment designed to isolate the influence of infiltration on erosion response. Under high-intensity rainfall in the real-case scenario, mean erosion rates were ~0.28 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ in the non-vegetated zone and 0.18 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ in the vegetated zone. In the reversed-infiltration experiment, mean erosion increased to 0.52 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ in the vegetated zone and decreased to 0.09 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ in the non-vegetated zone. These shifts represent scenario-dependent changes of roughly 70% reduction in the non-vegetated area and nearly 200% increase in the vegetated area, highlighting the strong sensitivity of erosion dynamics to infiltration variability. Event-based validation using video-derived water depths showed that simulated maximum surface flow reproduced the observed order of magnitude and relative vegetation contrasts. Under the 84 mm h⁻¹ event, simulated depths (~1 cm in vegetated and ~4 cm in non-vegetated channels) closely matched observed values (1 and 4 cm), while the 38.2-mm h⁻¹ event showed consistent relative differences in flow magnitude between vegetation conditions. Although absolute erosion magnitudes are subject to steady-state modelling assumptions and parameter uncertainty, the results demonstrate that vegetation-controlled infiltration plays a dominant role in regulating runoff and erosion patterns in active landslide terrain. The study provides process-based insight into erosion dynamics in unstable tropical slopes and supports vegetation-based approaches for local erosion mitigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148322340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Permanent nearshore sediment loss and inevitable retreat of cohesive bluff-backed beaches","authors":"Chelsea A. Volpano,&nbsp;Lucas K. Zoet,&nbsp;J. Elmo Rawling III","doi":"10.1002/esp.70335","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70335","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Lake Michigan experiences decadal scale water level fluctuations that cause beaches to alternate from wide during low lake levels to narrow during high lake levels. Narrow beaches offer less protection to dunes and bluffs than wide beaches, increasing susceptibility to erosion by waves during high water levels. Bluff erosion is the main source of sediment to the nearshore in western Lake Michigan, and the perception of coastal managers is that rapid armouring of the shoreline during high lake levels reduced input of sand that typically acts as a buffer from chronic erosion. However, there are no datasets that document the sediment pathways between the onshore and nearshore at high spatial and temporal resolution, and the connections between erosion during high lake levels and buffering potential after lake levels fall remain unclear. This work used repeat surveys at two natural (unarmoured) coastal sites: a dune- and bluff-backed beach to investigate nearshore changes corresponding to shoreline erosion during high lake levels. We include two regional topobathy LiDAR datasets that bracket a period of rising lake levels between 2012 and 2020 and nine high-resolution sUAS/sonar elevation surveys during falling lake levels (2020–2023). Our data show that a nearly equivalent volume of sediment was moved out of the survey compartment at both sites during high lake levels. However, the dune-backed system regained an equal volume as lake levels fell, whereas there was a net loss at the bluff-backed site. Even during periods of high erosion, the sand fraction did not accumulate in a way that buffered against future erosion at the bluff toe. These findings contradict public perception, emphasizing the chronic nature of bluff retreat following a high-to-low lake level cycle.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/esp.70335","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148322339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The influence of ex-tropical cyclones on marine terrace retreat","authors":"Sophie L. Horton,&nbsp;Mark E. Dickson,&nbsp;Wayne J. Stephenson","doi":"10.1002/esp.70312","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70312","url":null,"abstract":"<p>High magnitude events, like Ex-Tropical Cyclones, are likely to change in their trajectory, magnitude, and frequency under future climate change scenarios, and have the potential to significantly affect coastal landforms and erosion processes. We evaluate the incidence of Ex-Tropical Cyclones on Māhia Peninsula, Aotearoa, New Zealand, and evaluate whether the occurrence and magnitude of these storms can explain observed retreat rates of the youngest Holocene marine terrace. By combining a simple empirical inundation model with backwearing rates measured from aerial imagery, we show that there has been a recent increase in terrace retreat (since 2015), where the landform elevation is low enough to be inundated. The most recent Ex-Tropical Cyclone (Gabrielle in February 2023) swept sections of the shore platform free of debris and likely had an effect on local backwearing rates, but retreat rates varied considerably around Māhia Peninsula. The incidence of Ex-Tropical Cyclones making landfall at Kahutara Point, however, is too infrequent to fully explain the observed retreat, especially for higher terrace risers that may be protected by back-beaches and/or collapsed cover deposits. Retreat rates are temporally and spatially variable, and their vulnerability to extreme storms may cause an accelerating decay from post-event weakening.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/esp.70312","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148237605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variation in luminescence sensitivity of quartz across the semi-arid Sabarmati River basin in Western India: Caveats and new possibilities for luminescence-based provenance studies","authors":"Santunu Kumar Panda,&nbsp;Rahul Kumar Kaushal,&nbsp;Sukumar Parida,&nbsp;Naveen Chauhan,&nbsp;Ashok Kumar Singhvi","doi":"10.1002/esp.70311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.70311","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Luminescence sensitivity is increasingly being used as a fingerprinting tool in sediment provenance and transport studies owing to its dependence on a variety of factors that operate during sediment transport. This study documented basin-scale variability in quartz thermoluminescence sensitivity across the semi-arid Sabarmati River basin, western India, by integrating basin-scale sampling, laboratory luminescence sensitisation experiments, and single-grain OSL analyses. Quartz TLS ranged from 1.6 to 6.2 Units in bedrock and 66–325 Units in river sediments. Spatial variability in TLS along the river course was random, and it could only be explained through allochthonous aeolian inputs (55–404 Units) from adjacent dunes rather than progressive in-channel sensitisation as has been reported in other river basins. Laboratory sensitisation studies on bedrock-derived quartz TLS show up to a two-fold increase, with diminishing enhancement over successive cycles. Extrapolation of the initial trend suggests that &gt;500 cycles would be required to match the sediment TLS values, and this implies sub-million to million-year timescales of repeated sediment reworking. Further, Sabarmati River sediment TLS suggest low ¹⁰Be-derived denudation rates (&lt;10 mm kyr⁻¹). Single-grain OSL analyses suggest that fewer than 0.5% of exceptionally bright grains dominate the bedrock TLS signal, while non-luminescent grains constitute up to 99% in bedrock and 60–80% in river sediments. These results suggest that aeolian contributions influence the distribution of single-grain OSL and thereby determine the bulk TLS and therefore call for caution in the use of TLS as a sediment provenance proxy in dryland river basins that experience aeolian sediment transport. The results also suggest that the abundance of non-luminescent grains could serve as a provenance indicator.</p>","PeriodicalId":11408,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Processes and Landforms","volume":"51 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148237567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}