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The battering of bedrock by bedload collisions is the primary mechanism by which bedrock rivers erode and landscapes evolve. The energy imparted via impacts acts to detach bedrock via the growth and intersection of surface fractures. We present impact experiments designed to test the influence of particle impact energy on bedrock erosion rates. We found that erosional efficiency increased with increasing impact energy. Notably, these increases in efficiency are not captured by a widely‐used mechanistic bedrock erosion model. Observed increases in erosional efficiency were linked with enhanced elastic energy dissipation captured by differences in the coefficient of restitution. We suggest that this increase in energy dissipation is indicative of enhanced crack extension for high velocity impacts. Our experiments indicate a clear energy‐dependence for bedrock detachment processes that is not yet captured by bedrock incision models but may be integrated into long‐term erosion rates and landscape evolution. Plain Language Summary: Bouncing sediment grains batter the bedrock beds of rivers during floods. As these impacts collide with the bed, they slowly chip away at the riverbed bedrock. It's perhaps intuitive that a grain with more energy when it collides with the riverbed is able to chip away more bedrock. But, how much more destructive are these high energy impacts? We designed an experiment where we hit a bedrock sample with a steel ball at a range of impact energies, over and over again, up to 30,000 times, and measured how much material was chipped away. High energy impacts eroded more material, but this increased efficiency of erosion is not fully captured by impact‐based erosion models. We hypothesize that for higher energy impacts, a larger fraction of the incoming energy is used to crack the bedrock, more easily eroding material. We liken the relative influence of these high energy impacts to a battering ram, where only a few strikes can easily break down a door, whereas lower energy impacts, similar to a simple knock, are unlikely to achieve the same result. We suggest that this effect may be important in determining the influence of extreme events on bedrock erosion over long timescales. Key Points: Impact experiments demonstrate that bedrock erosional efficiency is enhanced with increasing impact energyExperimentally‐derived coefficients of restitution and rock resistance coefficients indicate enhanced elastic energy dissipation with increasing impact energyResults suggest that more energetic impacts enhance crack extension, increasing erosional efficiency [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in bedrock channel width and the decline in bedrock channel slope with increasing drainage area are fundamental characteristics of mountainous landscapes. Compared with slope, little is known about controls on steady‐state bedrock channel width. We model steady‐state bedrock channel width by iteratively solving models for bed and bank erosion by impacting bedload, using measurable physical parameters, including uplift rate, water discharge, sediment supply, grain size, rock strength, and bank angle. The results indicate that width is largely controlled by sediment flux, rather than water discharge. The commonly used width‐discharge scaling relation is an artifact of the covariance of sediment flux and water discharge. Scaling up from cross‐section to drainage basin scales, our model reproduces the width‐drainage area scaling relation and suggests that the scaling exponent is largely controlled by the downstream change in the fraction of total sediment supply transported as bedload. Plain Language Summary: Bedrock rivers become wider and less steep as water flows from upstream to downstream in mountainous landscapes. The reasons why bedrock channels widen are poorly understood. Here, we develop a method to predict typical channel width based on the mechanism of bedrock erosion by impacting sediment particles. Our method can be tested in natural bedrock rivers from measurable parameters. Our results show that channel width is largely controlled by the amount of sediment supplied from upstream, rather than the amount of water flow. We show the widely observed increase in bedrock river width with drainage area is due to the increase in sediment supply not water discharge. Key Points: A new model is developed for steady‐state bedrock channel width based on bed and bank erosion by bedload particle impactsModel results indicate that the width‐drainage area scaling relation exponent is largely set by the coarse sediment fractionThe width‐discharge scaling relation is an artifact of the covariance of sediment flux and water discharge [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaciers are commonly conceptualized as bodies composed of snow and ice. Yet, many glaciers contain a substantial amount of rock, especially those abutting steep mountains. Mountain slopes erode, depositing rocks on glaciers below. This loose rock (or debris) is buried in glaciers and melts out lower down creating a debris cover. Debris cover reduces ice melt, which changes the shape and movement of glaciers. Glacier movement, specifically basal sliding, efficiently sculpts landscapes. To date, we know little about the impacts of surface debris on conditions below glaciers. To help remedy this, we run numerical model simulations which show that debris‐covered glaciers erode slower than glaciers unaffected by debris. Reduced melt under surface debris lowers sliding speeds and causes sediment to accumulate at the bed, potentially establishing conditions for surging. The influence of surface debris cover on the subglacial environment may hold substantial implications for alpine sediment storage and landscape evolution. Plain Language Summary: Glaciers are imagined as bodies composed entirely of snow and ice. But many glaciers, especially those in steep mountains contain a substantial amount of rock as well. Rocks are deposited on glaciers from steep mountain slopes above them. This loose rock (or debris), buried by snow, can completely cover glaciers' lower reaches as it melts out of the ice. Debris reduces melt, which changes the glacier shape and in turn how glaciers move down valley. To test how debris‐covered glaciers erode and sculpt landscapes we use numerical models. Our simulations show that debris‐covered glaciers erode landscapes at lower rates than glaciers unaffected by debris. The reduced amount of melt from debris cover causes glaciers to slide slower and causes sediment to accumulate under debris‐covered ice, shielding bedrock from erosion. The tendency for debris‐covered glaciers to build sediment layers at their bed may lead to the rapid speed up and advancement of glaciers, also known as surges. The influence of surface debris cover on the subglacial environment may hold substantial implications for alpine sediment storage and landscape evolution. Key Points: Erosion is reduced under debris‐covered ice because of compounding effects between reduced surface melt and the subglacial environmentTill accumulates under debris‐covered ice because surface melt is suppressed by surface debris coverDebris cover on glaciers promotes subglacial fluvial conditions that can store sediment in alpine environments, altering erosional patterns [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bedrock river erosion is driven by channel hydraulics, which are not well understood for complex morphologies. Many bedrock rivers exhibit a constriction‐pool‐widening (CPW) morphology associated with submerged plunging flows. These flows cause velocity profile inversions resulting in high velocities near the bed and low velocities on the water surface. The first observations documenting plunging flows were from relatively low discharge, and it is unclear whether they persist during floods. Here we show that plunging flows persist and get stronger at flood discharge, increasing bedrock erosion potential by particle impacts. Flood‐discharge plunging flows contact the bed and maintain high velocities farther through the CPW structure, and evacuate large volumes of sediment from the pools. These reach‐scale processes are not represented in large‐scale landscape evolution models, yet these erosion mechanisms set the pace of landscape evolution, begging for a re‐evaluation of process representation in landscape evolution models. Plain Language Summary: Incision in bedrock rivers sets the pace of landscape evolution by controlling the rate of geomorphic responses to climatic and tectonic signals, yet the processes driving incision occur at much finer scale than those captured by landscape evolution models. Local bedrock river incision is driven by flow structures that are not well understood. Rivers typically flow fastest near the surface and slowest near the bed, but many bedrock rivers have channel morphologies that cause this velocity/depth relation to invert. The fastest‐flows submerge toward the bed enhancing near‐bed velocities, sediment transport, and consequently the potential for bedrock incision by particle impacts. However, the first observations of these "plunging flows" were from relatively low discharges and it is not clear if they persist during floods. Here we show that plunging flows get stronger during floods, which clears sediment cover that protects the underlying bedrock and increases bedrock incision potential. The length of the plunging flows matches their coincident pools which are common features of bedrock rivers, explaining why these pools exist. Formation of deep scour pools by complex flow structures in bedrock‐confined rivers is the mechanism that drives incision, begging for a re‐examination of the models used to explore landscape evolution. Key Points: Plunging flows occurring in bedrock rivers increase near‐bed velocity, sediment transport, and rock erosion potential in scour poolsPlunging flows persist and get stronger as the discharge and flow velocity increasePlunging flows at moderate discharges remove sediment cover, exposing bedrock surfaces to bedload impacts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]