Earth Surface Dynamics最新文献

{"title":"Influence of network geometry on long-term morphodynamics of alluvial rivers","authors":"Fergus McNab, Taylor Schildgen, Jens M. Turowski, Andrew D. Wickert","doi":"10.5194/esurf-13-1059-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1059-2025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Alluvial rivers respond to external forcings such as variations in sediment supply, water supply and base level by aggrading, incising and adjusting the rates at which they transport sediment. These processes are recorded by landforms, such as terraces and fans, that develop along river courses, and by stratigraphy in downstream sedimentary basins. Many concepts we use to interpret such records are derived from models that treat alluvial rivers as single-segment streams: for example, the length of an alluvial river has been shown to set its response time to external forcing. However, alluvial rivers in nature exist within interconnected networks, complicating the application of such concepts to real systems. We therefore adapted a model describing long-profile evolution and sediment transport by transport-limited, gravel-bed alluvial rivers to account for network structure, and explored the response of large numbers of synthetic networks to sinusoidally varying sediment and water supply. We show that, in some respects, networks behave similarly to single-segment models. In particular, single-segment models predict well properties that integrate across the entire network, such as the total sediment output. We use this behaviour to define an empirical network response time, and show that this response time scales with network mean length, or the mean distance from all a network's inlets to its outlet. Nevertheless, interactions between segments do lead to complex signal propagation within networks: amplitudes and timings of aggradation and incision vary between minor tributaries and major trunk streams, and between upstream and downstream parts of the network, in ways that depend on each individual network's structure. We conclude that, while single-segment models may be useful for some applications, detailed studies of specific catchments require a modelling framework that accounts for their specific network structure.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"13 5","pages":"1059-1092"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147893467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"A numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition for fluvial systems","authors":"John Armitage, Sébastien Rohais","doi":"10.5194/esurf-13-771-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-771-2025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Rivers are the primary pathway of microplastic pollution from source to the eventual sink in the marine environment. However, like sediments, microplastics will become trapped within the fluvial system as they make their way from source to sink. Therefore there is the potential that rivers are an important reservoir of microplastic pollution globally. To explore the transport of microplastic through the fluvial system we develop a reduced complexity model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition that builds on methods developed for the transport of sediment. We apply this model to the river Têt, France, where there has been punctual monitoring of the flux of microplastic at the outlet. We find that the reduced complexity model captures the observed quantity of microplastic under reasonable assumptions of the relationship between microplastic sources and population density. The model that best matches observed fluxes of microplastic at the outlet of the Têt River requires between 1 and 10 ppm volume concentration of microplastic per 200 × 200 m in the top half a metre of soil. The microplastic of grain size 300 µm then travels within the river network with a settling velocity of the order of 10−4 m s−1. The model results imply that a large proportion of microplastic will become entrained within the sediments along the fluvial system. This model is a first step in assessing where to sample for microplastic pollution within fluvial systems and points to regions susceptible to microplastic pollution.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"13 4","pages":"771-789"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esurf.copernicus.org/articles/13/771/2025/esurf-13-771-2025.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147913955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Geomorphic imprint of high-mountain floods: insights from the 2022 hydrological extreme across the upper Indus River catchment in the northwestern Himalayas","authors":"Abhishek Kashyap, Kristen Cook, Mukunda Dev Behera","doi":"10.5194/esurf-13-147-2025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-147-2025","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The interaction of tectonics, surface processes, and climate extremes impacts how the landscape responds to extreme hydrological events. In 2022, an anomalous precipitation event occurred during the monsoon season along the lower–middle reaches of the upper Indus River, resulting in short-lived high-magnitude flooding and socioeconomic disruption downstream. To understand the spatial relationship between the geomorphic response and climatic controls of this flood event, as well as their primary triggers, we performed a landscape analysis using topographic metrics and quantified the causal association between hydroclimatic variables. Temperature anomalies in upstream glaciated subcatchments had a considerable impact on snow cover distribution, based on our observations. As snow cover changed, glacial-melt runoff rose, contributing to increased fluvial stream power after traversing higher-order reaches. The higher-order reaches of the upper Indus River received an anomalously high amount of precipitation, which, when combined with substantial glacial-melt discharge, contributed to an extreme flood across the high-relief, steep-gradient channels. The flood-affected regions had high mean basin ksn (normalized steepness index) values and stream length–gradient (SL) index values, with numerous spikes in their magnitudes along their channel profiles downstream. To determine how the lower–middle reaches of the upper Indus River responded to this flood event, we employed the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and the normalized difference water index (NDWI) as change indicator metrics. We observed an inverse causal influence of the NDWI on the EVI and a statistically significant relationship between anomalous stream power and the relative EVI, suggesting that the downstream channel morphology changed rapidly during this episodic event and highlighting the EVI as a useful indicator of geomorphic change. We suggest that this extreme flood event resulted from the interaction of anomalous glacial melt and anomalous precipitation over a high-relief landscape, with a certain causal connection to anomalous temperature observed over the event duration. The synoptic observations suggest that this meteorological condition involves the interaction of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and western-disturbance (WD) moisture fluxes. However, the geomorphic consequences of such anomalous monsoon periods, as well as their influence on long-term landscape change, are still unclear.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"13 1","pages":"147-166"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://esurf.copernicus.org/articles/13/147/2025/esurf-13-147-2025.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147914766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Exotic tree plantations in the Chilean Coastal Range: balancing the effects of discrete disturbances, connectivity, and a persistent drought on catchment erosion","authors":"Violeta Tolorza, Christian H. Mohr, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, Benjamín Sotomayor, Dagoberto Poblete-Caballero, Sebastien Carretier, Mauricio Galleguillos, Oscar Seguel","doi":"10.5194/esurf-12-841-2024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-841-2024","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The Chilean Coastal Range, located in the Mediterranean segment of Chile, is a soil-mantled landscape with the potential to store valuable freshwater supplies and support a biodiverse native forest. Nevertheless, human intervention has been increasing soil erosion for ∼ 200 years, culminating in the intense management of exotic tree plantations throughout the last ∼ 45 years. At the same time, this landscape has been severely affected by a prolonged megadrought. As a result, this combination of stressors complicates disentangling the effects of anthropogenic disturbances and hydroclimatic trends on sediment fluxes at the catchment scale. In this study, we calculate decennial catchment erosion rates from suspended-sediment loads and compare them with a millennial catchment denudation rate estimated from detrital 10Be. We then contrast both of these rates with the effects of discrete anthropogenic-disturbance events and hydroclimatic trends. Erosion and denudation rates are similar in magnitude on decennial and millennial timescales, i.e., 0.018 ± 0.005 and 0.024 ± 0.004 mm yr−1, respectively. Recent human-made disturbances include logging operations throughout all seasons and a dense network of forestry roads, thereby increasing structural sediment connectivity. Further disturbances include two widespread wildfires (2015 and 2017) and an earthquake with an Mw value of 8.8 in 2010. We observe decreased suspended-sediment loads during the wet seasons for the period 1986–2018, coinciding with declining streamflow, baseflow, and rainfall. The low millennial denudation rate aligns with a landscape dominated by slow diffusive soil creep. However, the low decennial erosion rate and the decrease in suspended sediment disagree with the expected effect of intense anthropogenic disturbances and increased structural (sediment) connectivity. Such a paradox suggests that suspended-sediment loads, and thus respective catchment erosion, are underestimated and that decennial sediment detachment and transport have been masked by decreasing rainfall and streamflow (i.e., weakened hydroclimatic drivers). Our findings indicate that human-made disturbances and hydrologic trends may result in opposite, partially offsetting effects on recent erosion, yet both contribute to landscape degradation.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141573883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of the forcing sources in morphodynamic modelling of an embayed beach","authors":"Nil Carrion-Bertran, Albert Falqués, Francesca Ribas, Daniel Calvete, Rinse de Swart, Ruth Durán, Candela Marco-Peretó, Marta Marcos, Angel Amores, Tim Toomey, Àngels Fernández-Mora, Jorge Guillén","doi":"10.5194/esurf-12-819-2024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-819-2024","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The sensitivity of a 2DH coastal area (XBeach) and a reduced-complexity (Q2Dmorfo) morphodynamic model to using different forcing sources is studied. The models are tested by simulating the morphodynamic response of an embayed beach in the NW Mediterranean over a 6-month period. Wave and sea-level forcing from in situ data, propagated buoy measurements, and hindcasts, as well as combinations of these different data sources, are used, and the outputs are compared to in situ bathymetric measurements. Results show that when the two models are calibrated with in situ measurements, they accurately reproduce the morphodynamic evolution with a “good” Brier skill score (BSS). The calibration process reduces the errors by 65 %–85 % compared with the default setting. The wave data propagated from the buoy also produce reliable morphodynamic simulations but with a slight decrease in the BSS. Conversely, when the models are forced with hindcast wave data, the mismatch between the modelled and observed beach evolution increases. This is attributed to a large extent to biased mean directions in hindcast waves. Interestingly, in this small tide site, the accuracy of the simulations hardly depends on the sea-level data source, and using filtered or non-filtered tides also yields similar results. These results have implications for long-term morphodynamic studies, like those needed to validate models for climate change projections, emphasizing the need to use accurate forcing sources such as those obtained by propagating buoy data.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"321 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141509574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Equilibrium distance from long-range dune interactions","authors":"Jean Vérité, Clément Narteau, Olivier Rozier, Jeanne Alkalla, Laurie Barrier, Sylvain Courrech du Pont","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2024-1634","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1634","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> Flow perturbations induced by dune topography affect sediment transport locally, but can also be felt over long distances altering the dynamics of isolated neighbouring dunes downstream. In order to work under optimal conditions that eliminate transverse flow components, collisions and mass exchange between dunes, we study here these long-range interactions using a 2D numerical model where two equal-sized dunes lying on a non-erodible bed are exposed to a symmetric reversing flow. Depending on the initial spacing, dunes either attract or repel each other, to eventually converge towards a steady-state spacing. This equilibrium distance decreases with flow strength and increases with period of flow reorientation and dune size. It is mainly controlled by the reversing dune shape and the structure of the turbulent wake it generates, which continuously modulates the mean shear stress on the downstream dune. Under multi-directional wind regimes, these long-range flow perturbations offer an alternative mechanism for wavelength selection in dune fields with non-erodible interdune areas. Within these dune fields, estimates of mean shear stress could be used to assess the relative migration rate and the state of attraction/repulsion between neighbouring dunes.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141509643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An empirically-derived hydraulic head model controlling water storage and outflow over a decade in degraded permafrost rock slopes (Zugspitze, D/A)","authors":"Riccardo Scandroglio, Samuel Weber, Till Rehm, Michael Krautblatter","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2024-1512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1512","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> While recent permafrost degradation in Alpine peri- and paraglacial slopes has been documented in several studies, only restricted information is available on the respective hydrology. Water boosts permafrost degradation by advective heat transport and destabilizes periglacial mountain slopes. Even if multiple recent rock slope failures indicate the presence of water, only a few studies provide evidence of water availability and related hydrostatic pressures at bigger depths, showing a significant research gap. This study combines a unique decennial data set of meteorological data, snowmelt modeling, and discharge measurements from two rock fractures in a tunnel located ≈ 55 m under the permafrost-affected N-S facing Zugspitze Ridge (2815–2962 m asl). To decipher the hydrological properties of fractures, we analyze inputs, i.e., snowmelt and rainfall, and outputs, i.e., discharge from fractures, baseflow, and no-flow events, detecting flow anomalies. For summer precipitation events, we developed i) a uniform recession curve, ii) an empirical water storage model, and iii) an approximate hydraulic water pressure model according to Darcy’s falling-head law. Extreme events with up to 800 l/d and 58 l/h are likely to fully saturate the observed fractures with corresponding hydraulic heads of up to 40 ± 10 m and to increase fracture interconnectivity. The average daily discharge during snowmelt, 10 l/h, can lead to hydraulic heads up to 27 ± 6 m. Water dynamics suggest hydraulic conductivities in the range of 10−4 m/s, with variations according to the fracture’s saturation. E.g., no-flow and baseflow events indicate unsaturated and partially saturated conditions. Here, we show an empirical fluid flow approximation model of hydrostatic pressure regimes in high-alpine deep-bedrock fractures. Pressures from water accumulation in bedrock reach levels that can weaken or even destabilize rock slopes. This process can easily outpace thermal conductive warming of active layers in the foreseeable future, provide positive feedback on water infiltration, and is crucial for the stability of the rapidly warming alpine permafrost environments.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141509644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geomorphic imprint of high mountain floods: Insight from the 2022 hydrological extreme across the Upper Indus terrain in NW Himalayas","authors":"Abhishek Kashyap, Kristen Cook, Mukunda Dev Behera","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2024-1618","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1618","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> The interaction of tectonics, surface processes, and climate extremes impacts how the landscape responds to extreme hydrological events. An anomalous precipitation event in 2022 occurred during the monsoon season along the lower reaches of the Upper Indus River, resulting in short-lived high-magnitude flooding and socioeconomic disruption downstream. To understand the spatial relationship between the geomorphic response and climatic controls of this flood event, as well as their primary triggers, we performed a landscape analysis using topographic metrics and quantified the causal association between hydro-climatic variables. Temperature anomalies in upstream glaciated sub-catchments had a considerable impact on snow cover distribution, based on our observations. As snow cover changed, glacial melt runoff rose, contributing to increased fluvial stream power after traversing higher-order reaches. The higher-order reaches of the Upper Indus River received an anomalously high amount of precipitation, which, when combined with substantial glacial and melt discharge, contributed to an extreme flood across the high-relief steep gradient channels. The flood-affected regions had a high mean basin ksn and SL-index, including numerous spikes in their magnitudes along their channel profiles downstream. To determine how the lower reaches of the Upper Indus River responded to this flood event, we employed the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) as change indicator metrics. We observed an inverse causal influence of NDWI on EVI and a statistically significant relationship between anomalous stream power and relative EVI, suggesting that downstream channel morphology changed rapidly during this episodic event and highlighting EVI as a useful indicator of geomorphic change. We suggest that this extreme flood event is a result of the interaction of anomalous glacial melt and anomalous precipitation over a high-relief landscape, with a certain causal connection with anomalous temperature over the event duration. The synoptic observations suggest that this meteorological condition involves the interaction of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and Western Disturbance (WD) moisture fluxes. However, the geomorphic consequences of such anomalous monsoon periods, as well as their influence on long-term landscape change, are still unclear.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141509645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Overdeepening or tunnel valley of the Aare glacier on the northern margin of the European Alps: Basins, riegels, and slot canyons","authors":"Fritz Schlunegger, Edi Kissling, Dimitri Tibo Bandou, Guilhem Amin Douillet, David Mair, Urs Marti, Regina Reber, Patrick Fabian Schläfli, Michael Alfred Schwenk","doi":"10.5194/egusphere-2024-683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-683","url":null,"abstract":"<strong>Abstract.</strong> This work summarizes the results of an interdisciplinary project where we aimed to explore the origin of overdeepenings or tunnel valleys through a combination of a gravimetry survey, drillings, dating and a synthesis of previously published work. To this end, we focused on the Bern area, Switzerland, situated on the northern margin of the European Alps. In this region, multiple advances of piedmont glaciers during the Quaternary glaciations resulted in the carving of the main overdeepening of the Aare River valley (referred to as Aare main overdeepening). This bedrock depression is tens of km long and up to several hundreds of meters to a few kilometers wide. We found that in the Bern area, this main overdeepening is made up of two &gt;200 m-deep troughs that are separated by a c. 5 km-long and up to 150 m-high transverse rocky ridge, interpreted as a riegel. The basins and the riegel are overlain by a &gt;200 m- and 100 m-thick succession of Quaternary sediments, respectively. The bedrock itself is made up of a Late Oligocene to Early Miocene suite of consolidated clastic deposits, which are part of the Molasse foreland basin, whereas the Quaternary suite comprises a middle Pleistocene to Holocene succession of glacio-lacustrine gravel, sand and mud. A synthesis of published gravimetry data revealed that the upstream stoss side of the bedrock riegel is c. 50 % flatter than the downstream lee side. In addition, information from &gt;100 deep drillings reaching depths &gt;50 m suggests that the bedrock riegel is dissected by an anastomosing network of slot canyons. We propose that these canyons established the hydrological connection between the upstream and downstream basins during their formation. Based on published modelling results, we interpret that the riegels and canyons were formed through incision of subglacial meltwater during a glacier’s decay state, when large volumes of meltwater were released. Such a situation has repeatedly occurred since the Middle Pleistocene Transition approximately 800 ka ago, when large and erosive piedmont glaciers began to advance far into the foreland. This resulted in the deep carving of the inner-Alpine valleys, and additionally in the formation of overdeepenings on the plateau on the northern margin of the Alps.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141062722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stream hydrology controls on ice cliff evolution and survival on debris-covered glaciers","authors":"Eric Petersen, Regine Hock, Michael G. Loso","doi":"10.5194/esurf-12-727-2024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-727-2024","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Ice cliffs are melt hot spots that contribute disproportionately to melt on debris-covered glaciers. In this study, we investigate the impact of supraglacial stream hydrology on ice cliffs using in situ and remote sensing observations, streamflow measurements, and a conceptual geomorphic model of ice cliff backwasting applied to ice cliffs on Kennicott Glacier, Alaska. We found that 33 % of ice cliffs (accounting for 69 % of the ice cliff area) are actively influenced by streams, while half are nearer than 10 m from the nearest stream. Supraglacial streams contribute to ice cliff formation and maintenance by horizontal meandering, vertical incision, and debris transport. These processes produce an undercut lip at the ice cliff base and transport clasts up to tens of centimeters in diameter, preventing reburial of ice cliffs by debris. Stream meander morphology reminiscent of sedimentary river channel meanders and oxbow lakes produces sinuous and crescent ice cliff shapes. Stream avulsions result in rapid ice cliff collapse and local channel abandonment. Ice cliffs abandoned by streams are observed to be reburied by supraglacial debris, indicating a strong role played by streams in ice cliff persistence. We also report on a localized surge-like event at the glacier's western margin which drove the formation of ice cliffs from crevassing; these cliffs occur in sets with parallel linear morphologies contrasting with the crescent planform shape of stream-driven cliffs. The development of landscape evolution models may assist in quantifying the total net effect of these processes on steady-state ice cliff coverage and mass balance, contextualizing them with other drivers including supraglacial ponds, differential melt, ice dynamics, and collapse of englacial voids.","PeriodicalId":48749,"journal":{"name":"Earth Surface Dynamics","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140939763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}