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Shorelines face growing threats due to climate change and diminishing sand supply. Coastal headlands, common rocky features along coastlines, are crucial in shaping hydrodynamics and sediment transport. Yet, the influence of future climate conditions, including sea‐level rise (SLR) and intensified storm energy on complex shorelines with headlands has remained relatively unexplored. In this study, we model changes in hydrodynamics and headland bypassing under different SLR and higher storm wave scenarios. Our findings reveal the formation of circulation cells on both sides of a headland, where wave energy converges around the headland zone. Future climate conditions result in larger storm waves on the beach. However, SLR enhances nearshore currents through a landward shifting of the circulation cells, while higher storm waves intensify offshore flow currents due to the seaward movement of the cells. This effect, in turn, increases the potential for headland sediment bypassing. Plain Language Summary: Coastal headlands, prominent rocky features along open coastlines, play a crucial role in protecting nearby beaches from strong waves and erosion. They also affect how sand is exchanged between different beaches. We use a model to explore how future climate conditions including sea‐level rise (SLR) and larger storm waves influence coastal waves, littoral currents, and the transport of sand around headlands. Our findings reveal that headlands converge wave energy forming circulation flow cells. SLR results in stronger nearshore currents, driven by the landward movement of the rotating flow cells. In contrast, larger storm waves can move the rotating flow cells seaward, thereby increasing offshore current strength and the potential for sand transport around the headland. Understanding how coastal waves, flow and sediment transport change under future climate conditions will help determine coastal resilience. Key Points: The formation of circulation cells and wave energy convergence around headlands during storms reduce bottom shear stress at the beachSea‐level rise increases wave heights, currents, and bed shear stress in the nearshore because of landward shifting of the circulation cellsHigher storm waves expand the surf zone, shift circulation cells seaward, and enhance potential headland sediment bypassing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change affects cryosphere-fed rivers and alters seasonal sediment dynamics, affecting cyclical fluvial material supply and year-round water-food-energy provisions to downstream communities. Here, we demonstrate seasonal sediment-transport regime shifts from the 1960s to 2000s in four cryosphere-fed rivers characterized by glacial, nival, pluvial, and mixed regimes, respectively. Spring sees a shift toward pluvial-dominated sediment transport due to less snowmelt and more erosive rainfall. Summer is characterized by intensified glacier meltwater pulses and pluvial events that exceptionally increase sediment fluxes. Our study highlights that the increases in hydroclimatic extremes and cryosphere degradation lead to amplified variability in fluvial fluxes and higher summer sediment peaks, which can threaten downstream river infrastructure safety and ecosystems and worsen glacial/pluvial floods. We further offer a monthly-scale sediment-availability-transport model that can reproduce such regime shifts and thus help facilitate sustainable reservoir operation and river management in wider cryospheric regions under future climate and hydrological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrological connectivity plays a major role in solving water resource and eco-environmental problems. However, this phenomenon has not been afforded the attention it deserves. The detailed analysis of connectivity in river systems could provide considerable insight into the structural and functional attributes of riverine landscapes. The current study used a graph theory approach and associated connectivity indicators to explore the characteristics and evolution of river systems and hydrological connectivity in a large catchment (Poyang Lake, China). The results revealed that the structure of the river system tended to be complex during 1990–2020, characterized by a dynamic evolution of tributaries in certain northern areas. Both river density and complexity exhibited an increasing trend by up to 15%, with the change rate after 2000 approximately twice as high as that of the preceding period. Overall, human activities across the catchment were more likely to play a key role in leading to significant changes in the quantity, morphometric, and structural characteristics of the river system. Additionally, the functional connectivity analysis indicated that the index of connectivity (IC) in the downstream catchment was stronger than that of the upstream vegetation areas, suggesting a strong contribution to the runoff sediment transport (r = 0.6–0.7). This study highlights the spatial and temporal evolution of both structural and functional connectivity in the large Poyang Lake catchment. The findings of this work will benefit future water resource management and applications by providing a strategy for protecting the surface hydrology and mass transport of large river basins under climate and land use changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alluvial rivers aggrade, incise, and adjust their sediment‐transport rates in response to changing sediment and water supply. Fluvial landforms, such as river terraces, and downstream stratigraphic archives may therefore record information about past environmental change. Using a physically based model describing sediment transport and long‐profile evolution of alluvial rivers, we explore how their responses to environmental change depend on distance downstream, forcing timescales, and whether sediment or water supply is varied. We show that amplitudes of aggradation and incision, and therefore the likelihood of terrace formation, are greater upstream and in shorter and/or wetter catchments. Aggradation and incision, and therefore terrace ages, may also lag behind environmental change. How sediment‐transport rates evolve depends strongly on whether water or sediment supply is varied. Diverse responses to environmental change could arise in natural alluvial valleys, controlled by their geometry and hydrology, with important implications for paleo‐environmental interpretations of fluvial archives. Plain Language Summary: Rivers carry sediment from upland regions, where it is produced by weathering and erosion, to low‐lying areas where it is deposited and stored. This process is sensitive to climate: for example, wetter conditions enhance rivers' capacity to transport sediment, causing rivers to cut into their beds, which in turn remobilizes sediment that is transported downstream. Changing climate may also lead to enhanced sediment production and supply to rivers, causing them to accumulate sediment in their beds. Climate cycles can therefore produce alternating periods of sediment accumulation and removal, resulting in ancient floodplains being abandoned and preserved alongside modern rivers ("terraces"), and in variations in the amounts of sediment delivered downstream. Terraces and patterns of sediment accumulation downstream could therefore provide valuable records of past climatic change. We develop a mathematical model that describes the effects of climatic change on river‐bed height and sediment‐transport rates. We show how the amount and timing of river in‐filling and down‐cutting, and the timescales over which they occur, depend on the rate of climatic change, on river length and associated drainage‐basin area, and on the amount of water it carries. These predictions will facilitate more detailed interpretations of terrace records along rivers and of the sedimentary deposits that they leave behind. Key Points: Alluvial rivers respond in diverse ways to cyclical climatic change depending on their geometry and hydrology and on the forcing frequencyTerrace formation is favored upstream and in shorter and wetter catchments and may lag appreciably behind environmental changeVariation in sediment output lags variation in sediment supply but can lead and be amplified with respect to variation in water supply [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human intervention makes river channels adjust their slope and bed surface grain size as they transition to a new equilibrium state in response to engineering measures. Climate change alters the river controls through hydrograph changes and sea level rise. We assess how channel response to climate change compares to channel response to human intervention over this century (2000–2100), focusing on a 300‐km reach of the Rhine River. We set up a schematized numerical model representative of the current (1990–2020), non‐graded state of the river, and subject it to scenarios for the hydrograph, sediment flux, and sea level rise. We conclude that the lower Rhine River will continue to adjust to past channelization measures in 2100 through channel bed incision. This response slows down as the river approaches its new equilibrium state. Channel response to climate change is dominated by hydrograph changes, which increasingly enhance incision, rather than sea level rise. Plain Language Summary: Humans have modified rivers to enable boat traffic, to protect people against flooding, and to provide them with freshwater and energy. When the shape of a river changes, the amount of sand and gravel (sediment) that can move along its bed also changes. In response, rivers change their slope and bed characteristics, so that they can transport as much sediment as they receive from higher up in the basin. This results in changes in bed level, which becomes higher or lower, causing problems for navigation and flood protection. Climate change makes this worse, because it changes the amount of water flowing down the river, and sea level. This further affects the amount of sediment that can move down the river, therefore causing additional bed level change. Here we study how climate change affects the lower Rhine River (Germany‐Netherlands), over the 21st century. This river has been heavily modified by humans, and its bed has been lowering over hundreds of kilometers. With a computer model, we simulate how different scenarios of climate change affect this behavior. We foresee that the ongoing bed level lowering will continue in the upcoming decades, and that it will be enhanced by climate change. Key Points: Human intervention will continue to govern channel response in the lower Rhine River by 2100, mainly through channel bed incisionClimate change leads to sea level rise and hydrograph adjustment, the latter being dominant and causing enhanced incisionChannel response to human intervention slows down as the river approaches its equilibrium state, but response to climate change accelerates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) during the Holocene remains controversial because of the lack of reliable proxies. In this study, a link between cross‐front transport and the EAWM was found in the North Yellow Sea, and the EAWM intensity could be imprinted in the leaked sediment, which permits reliable reconstruction of the EAWM on well‐preserved offshore deposition. By comparison with instrumental data, the wind speed of the EAWM since 4.4 ka was quantitatively reconstructed for the first time at high resolution (∼5 yr). The results show that the EAWM gradually weakened in the mid‐to‐late Holocene, which was likely controlled by solar insolation, and that there has been a negative relationship between the EAWM and temperature on the centennial scale since ∼2.0 ka; this relationship was reversed by increasing CO2 emissions during the Current Warm Period. Plain Language Summary: The East Asian monsoon is characterized by a distinct seasonal reversal of monsoon flow driven by temperature differences between the Pacific Ocean and the East Asian continent. It influences more than 2 billion people around East Asia by regulating the risk of drought or flooding. However, the evolution of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) in the mid‐to‐late Holocene remains elusive, limiting our understanding of its driving force and projections under climate change. This study analyzed sediment transport dynamics under varying winter monsoons in the North Yellow Sea. It was found that coastal sediments could be transported offshore, and their pathways differed under different strengths of the winter monsoon. Based on the sedimentary records of offshore muddy deposition, the EAWM proxy was extracted, and the wind speed of the EAWM from 4.4 ka was quantitatively reconstructed. A gradual weakening trend during 4.4–0.7 ka and a dramatic strengthening after 0.2 ka were found in the EAWM; the EAWM was negatively related to the temperature on the centennial scale since ∼2.0 ka, but this relationship was reversed by an increase in CO2 emissions since ∼1800 CE, indicating a shift in the controlling mechanism. Key Points: A link between cross‐front transport and the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) was found in the shelf sea, and the leaked sediment was used to reconstruct the EAWMThe wind speed of the EAWM since 4.4 ka was quantitatively reconstructed at high resolution (∼5 yr) for the first timeCorrelation between the EAWM and the temperature on the centennial scale since ∼2.0 ka was reversed by the increasing CO2 at the Current Warm Period [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid 2D/one-line shoreline models, which typically apply a finite volume approach to simulate sediment transport and the one-line theory to update the shoreline morphology, are being increasingly applied over meso timescales (101 to 102 years) to inform coastal management. The one-line theory assumption of a constant closure depth prevents these models from considering the effects of sea-level rise in the shoreline morphology update. Sea-level rise, an endogenous driving factor of meso timescale coastal behaviour, influences the closure depth through its effects on the wave climate. This paper presents a new hybrid 2D/one-line approach that enables a time-varying closure depth in response to annual variations in wave climate as a solution for mirroring the effects of sea-level rise on the coastal profile and associated shoreline evolution. This new hybrid approach is applied to hindcast meso timescale shoreline evolution in a sandy coastal system and compared against the traditional hybrid 2D/one-line approach. Results show that the traditional hybrid approach gives the most accurate predictions whereas the new hybrid approach overpredicts shoreline erosion. However, this overprediction is attributed to net closure depth overestimation. This attribution gives confidence that the shoreline response to the time-varying closure depth specified is within expectations since closure depth overestimation increases offshore sediment transport in shoreline models. Therefore, it is likely that enabling a time-varying closure depth in hybrid 2D/one-line models may improve meso timescale shoreline predictions under sea-level rise if closure depths can be accurately prescribed over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algeria, a semi-arid Mediterranean country, is distinguished by a more marked interannual variability in solid inputs compared to liquid inputs. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze hydrometeorological variables, such as rainfall, suspended sediment load, and flood flows in the Wadi Mina basin (6048 km2), using both traditional and advanced statistical techniques. These techniques included the MK trend tests MMK, and TFPWMK, as well as newer methods such as ITA and IPTA. To identify breakpoints, the CUSUM test and the SQ-MK test were used. The study was based on monthly data covering 40 years of rainfall (1970–2010) and 41 years of data on flood flows and suspended sediment load (1969–2010). The results indicated stable annual rainfall across the stations, suggesting a consistent rainfall regime over time. However, notable variability in sediment loads and flood flows was observed, with stations like Ain Hamara, Sidi Aek Djilali, and Wadi El Abtal displaying marked decreases in annual sediment loads, hinting at effective erosion control or natural attenuation of erosive processes. In contrast, a significant increase in flood events was recorded at Ain Hamara, attributed to climatic fluctuations or land use changes affecting runoff. Monthly analyses further demonstrated the enhanced sensitivity of ITA and IPTA over traditional methods, effectively uncovering subtle trends not detected by MK, MMK, and TFPWMK. For example, increasing rainfall trends during winter at Takhmert station and significant sediment transport patterns at Ain Hamara during colder months suggested dynamic seasonal hydrological behaviors. Additionally, critical insights into abrupt changes were revealed through CUSUM and SQ-MK tests, such as a pivotal shift in flood regimes at Takhmert in 2003 and a critical change in rainfall patterns at Ain Hamara in 2008, necessitating adjustments in water management and agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reveals the morphological transformations of a deep-water channel system within the Rakhine Basin in the northeastern Bay of Bengal through a comprehensive analysis of high-resolution 3D seismic data integrated with drilling logs. Employing the "source-channel-sink" paradigm, this investigation examined the impact of various factors, including tectonic transformations, sediment influx, slope dynamics, climatic changes, and relative sea-level fluctuations, on the evolutionary trajectory of these channel systems. Applying precise time-slicing techniques integrating root-mean-square amplitude attributes, coherent amplitude attributes, and horizontal amplitudes on seismic profiles, this investigation recognized three distinct stages in the evolution of channel-levee complexes (CLCs): the Middle Miocene erosional deep-water channel-levee complex (CLC-1), the Pliocene erosional-depositional deep-water channel-levee complex (CLC-2), and the Pleistocene depositional deep-water channel-levee complex (CLC-3). Comparative analysis revealed that the CLC-3 exhibits unique characteristics, including shallower channel depth (D), wider channel width (W C), extensive U-shaped cross-sectional area (S), broader natural levee width (W L) and height (H), and the highest tortuosity coefficient (L C /L S) when contrasted with the other two CLCs. Furthermore, this study substantiated how tectonic processes, primarily the collision between the Indo-Eurasian plates, resulting in the Himalayan and Indo-Burma Range orogenies, have shaped the region's geological and climatic framework, thereby influencing monsoon circulation and precipitation patterns, which in turn augmented detrital material influx into the basin. Moreover, this tectonic collision has led to gradual changes in the slope gradient of the Rakhine Basin and its deep-water areas, impacting internal flow velocities and channel curvature, thus governing deep-water channel systems' development and spatial distribution. Also, episodic sea level fluctuations were identified as significant contributors to sediment transport from shelves to deep-water regions and sediment deposit reworking. Overall, this study underscores the role of tectonic changes after the Eocene in driving the evolutionary dynamics of the deep-water channel system within the Rakhine Basin, Myanmar. [Display omitted] • Indo-Eurasian plate collision shaped the deep-water channel systems in the Rakhine Basin. • 3D seismic data reveals three evolutionary stages in these deep-water channel systems. • Pleistocene depositional channel-levee complex exhibits unique physical characteristics. • Tectonically affected slope dynamics have directed the channels' evolutionary dynamics. • Episodic sea level fluctuations have also supported these morphological transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black, K.P.; Baba, M.; Mathew, J.; Kurian, N.P., and Ilic, A., 2021. Guidelines to prepare India's coast for climate change. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(6), 1117–1129. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. India's first coastal protection guidelines for climate-change adaptation are described. The guidelines are holistic, recognizing the links between engineering, economic, physical, legal, social, environmental, and governmental intricacies. Robust protection solutions under climate change for millions of coastal residents may occur only when all these facets are improved within the complex regulatory, budgetary, and practical circumstances in India. Fifty-seven specific guidelines are presented in nine categories ranging from administrative to best-practice coastal protection. An "environmental softness ladder" that ranks coastal protection methods was developed as a scientific tool to guide policy development and project implementation. "Minimum floor level" for safe building was defined for each Indian coastal state using climate-change data produced for the study by Indian and international institutes. Beaches are more stable when the net sediment transport fluxes are close to neutral. "Grand schemes," which make large-scale changes to the coast rather than continuing with piecemeal localised works, are recommended. With diverse dynamics over a long coastline in India, the 4-year study engaged an exceptionally large number of experts, agencies, government bodies, development partners, and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing rivers' and hillslopes' sensitivity to external forcing is paramount to understand landscape evolution, in particular as a response to Quaternary climate changes. River networks are usually considered to be the main conveyors of environmental signals, such as changes in precipitation, temperature, or baselevel. Yet because hillslopes provide the source of sediment for river networks, their response to environmental change also modulates landscape dynamics. In order to characterize such behavior, we analyze the response times of a transport‐limited hillslope. We use simple numerical models of denudation to study hillslope responses to oscillatory forcing and understand their filtering effects on environmental signals. Modifications in the frequency of climate oscillation, such as the change that occurred at the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition, can significantly modulate hillslope sediment‐flux response. We infer a wide range of hillslope responses, ranging from negligible change over the full range of climate‐forcing frequencies, to a significant filtering of long‐period signals. Plain Language Summary: Landscapes are constituted of hillslopes and rivers where different types of erosion and sediment transport processes take place. Due to their large extent, river networks are an important driver of global landscape response to climatic or tectonic changes. Hillslopes have smaller dimensions but are also where most sediment production occurs and for that reason it is important to have a good understanding of how they respond to perturbations. We use simple numerical models of hillslope evolution to study the influence of oscillating changes of either the efficiency of sediment transport across the hillslope or the rate of channel downcutting at its base. Our results indicates that the period of oscillations for these perturbations controls the amplitude of the sediment flux response out of the hillslope, and provide a framework to understand how this landscape component reacts to climatic cycles such as the glacial/inter‐glacial oscillations of the Quaternary. For example, a major change occurred 800 ka ago with a shift in climate oscillation from 40 to 100 ka period. Our models suggest that in some landscapes this change in period alone could have induced a significant decrease in the amplitude of hillslope sediment flux response. Key Points: A complex hillslope dynamics is associated with the linear to nonlinear sediment flux transitionHillslopes filtering potential of external signals is highly contrasted depending on the type of forcingChanges in the climatic signal frequency at the Mid‐Pleistocene Transition could induce a significant shift in hillslope erosional response [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rich assemblage of various marine taxa from the lower Carnian Polzberg Konservat-Lagerstätte near Lunz am See (Northern Calcareous Alps, Lower Austria) is described for the first time in detail. The fossiliferous layers were deposited during the Julian 2 Ib (Austrotrachyceras austriacum Zone, Austrotrachyceras minor biohorizon). The fine-laminated Reingraben Shales comprise abundant and well-preserved members of the marine Carnian food chain. Invertebrates with the bivalve Halobia, the ammonite Austrotrachyceras and the coleoid Phragmoteuthis dominate over vertebrate actinopterygian fishes. Fragile groups such as polychaetes and isopods are entirely preserved as soft body fossils. The diverse assemblage comprises ammonites (Austrotrachyceras, Carnites, Sageceras, Simonyceras), coleoids (Phragmoteuthis, Lunzoteuthis), bivalves (Halobia), gastropods (caenogastropods/heterobranchs), one echinoid, thylacocephalan arthropods (Austriocaris), crustaceans (the decapod Platychela and isopods such as Obtusotelson, Discosalaputium), polychaetes (Palaeoaphrodite sp., eunicid polychaete), acytinopterygians (Saurichthys, Polzbergia, Peltopleurus, Habroichthys), cartilaginous fishes (Acrodus), coelacanth fish ("Coelacanthus"), a lungfish (Tellerodus), and a conodont cluster (Mosherella). Regurgitalites produced by large durophagous fish and coprolites produced by piscivorous actinopterygians accompany the Polzberg palaeobiota along with rare plant remains (Voltzia). The entire fauna of Polzberg and the excellent preservation of the specimens present a window into the Upper Triassic assemblage and palaeoenvironment during the so-called Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) in the early Mesozoic. The occurrence of the freshwater lungfish Tellerodus and the branchiopod Eustheria, a member of brackish to freshwater environments, points to the influence of occasional freshwater pulses or sediment transport events on the marine environment. The Polzberg palaeobiota was deposited during the global CPE, triggering the environmental conditions of the Polzberg Basin and resulting in the formation of the Reingraben Shales with the Polzberg Konservat-Lagerstätte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The streamflow, sediment and heat flux input to the delta substantially increased. • The changes in the sediment and carbon pathways across delta is the result of thermal erosional processes. • Lena Delta is the World's hot spot in hydrological consequences of climate change. Water and sediment supply are essential to the health of deltaic ecosystems. Diverse datasets were integrated to better understand how climate change is shifting the supply of water and sediment to the largest polar distributary channel pattern – the Lena River Delta. Here the increase in warming rate from an average air temperature is from 4.1 °C for the period 1950–99 to 6.1 °C during 2000–21, which is higher than in the adjacent polar regions. Streamflow and sediment yield entering the Lena Delta have increased since 1988 by 56.3 km3 and 6.1×106 t, respectively; meanwhile, the Lena River's increases in water temperature in June, July–August and September were found to be as much as 1.1, 0.6 and 0.05 °C. These changes have a pronounced effect on sediment regimes in particular parts of the delta. Based on analyses of correlations between various hydroclimatic drivers and sediment concentration changes across particular distributaries of the Lena Delta extracted from Landsat datasets, bank degradation driven by thermal erosional processes (which are in turn related to air and soil temperature increases) is proved to be the primary factor of the sediment regime in the delta. The study also highlights that sediment load changes are sensitive to wind speed due to remobilization of bottom sediment. Sums of daily air temperature and wind speed over 3 days are correlated with sediment concentration changes in the delta. The results also indicate that carbon transport across the delta (both POC and DOC) depends on sediment transport conditions and water discharge and might increase by up to 10 %. We conclude that the Lena Delta can be recognized as the global hot spot in terms of the hydrological consequences of climate change, which is altering sediment regimes, stream hydromorphology and carbon transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Climate and human contributions to NPP were 62% and 38% in Loess Plateau. • Precipitation contributed to NPP much than temperature in 2000–2020. • The feedback of GTGP to NPP and climate was higher in second decade. • GTGP brings environmental benefits (river sediment, PM 2.5 , dust weather). Net primary productivity (NPP) has been the subject of numerous studies, but the qualitative and comparative study on NPP that considers human activities, climate change, and their interactions is still insufficient. The Grain for Green Program (GTGP) was established in the Loess Plateau since 1999, could be used as a reference study. The temporal and spatial patterns, change trend, and driving factors of vegetation NPP were analysed in Loess Plateau using data derived from GLASS NPP (the Global Land Surface Satellite Product), meteorology, atmospheric quality, hydrology and land use by correlation and improved residual trend analysis from 2000 to 2020. After GTGP implementation, the climate and human contributions to vegetation NPP were 62 % and 38 %. NPP increased at a rate of 6.3 g C m−2 a−1 from 2000 to 2020, which was higher in 2010–2020 (6.9 g C m−2 a−1) than it was in 2000–2010 (5.7 g C m−2 a−1). The same trend was followed by the contribution of climate change to NPP between 2010 and 2020 (70.6 %) and 2000–2010 (65 %). The GTGP core area was mostly where the vegetation NPP rising zone was located. From the original bare land in the desert area, 4442 km2 of vegetation grew and increased the NPP (68.7 g C m−2). Under the warm–humid climatic trend, the climate factors contributed to NPP more in grasslands (40 %) compared to woodlands (29 %) and precipitation (33 %) was more sensitive than temperature (12.7 %). Consequently, sediment transport, PM 2.5 and dusty weather decreased significantly. In conclusion, although climate change has a greater impact on vegetation, human activities have enhanced the impact faster in the first decade, which benefit and profit from the environment finally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystems respond to climatic and anthropogenic forcings with regime shifts and reorganizations of their system structures. In river basins, changes in sediment transport can have cascading effects that cause ecosystem regime shifts. The Yellow River, once the world's most sediment-rich river, has experienced dramatic regime shifts. Although recent intervention has returned sediment discharge in the Yellow River to pristine levels, our understanding of previous regime shifts remains inadequate, particularly for the regime shift to a sediment rich period during early historical time. We reanalyzed previous datasets to clarify the first historical sediment transport regime shift in the Yellow River. Our results show that while historical climatic changes (e.g., the Medieval Warm Period, about 900–1100 AD) caused changes in sediment transport, a regime shift occurred only under increased forcing from anthropogenic stresses (started from about 1350 AD, reached the tipping point after 1900 AD). This unique behavior of the Yellow River under increasing anthropogenic forces may provide perspective for sustainable river basin management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of alongshore sediment transport during quiescent conditions, storm‐driven barrier island morphology, and poststorm dune recovery are integrated to assess decadal barrier island evolution under scenarios of increased sea levels and variability in storminess (intensity and frequency). Model results indicate barrier island response regimes of keeping pace, narrowing, flattening, deflation (narrowing and flattening), and aggradation. Under lower storminess scenarios, more areas of the island experienced narrowing due to collision. Under higher storminess scenarios, more areas experienced flattening due to overwash and inundation. Both increased sea levels and increased storminess resulted in breaching when the majority of the island was not keeping pace and deflation was the dominant regime due to increased overtopping. Under the highest storminess scenario, the island was unable to recover elevation after storms and drowned in just 10 years. Plain Language Summary: Barrier islands protect mainland coastal communities during storms. In the future, the effects of storms and sea level rise (SLR) threaten barrier islands with increased inundation and loss of land. Barrier islands can keep pace with SLR by moving sand across the island during storm events to maintain height and width. However, if storms are too intense or sea levels are too high, the island may drown. This study uses computational models to assess the future response of a barrier island to higher sea levels and changes in frequency and intensity of storms (storminess). We found that the barrier island exhibits five behaviors in response to storms and SLR: keeping pace by maintaining height and width, losing width but maintaining height, losing height but maintaining width, losing height and width, and gaining height and width. These behaviors shifted based on the amount of SLR and storminess. Both increased SLR and increased storminess resulted in less of the island keeping pace and more of the island losing height and width; in some cases, this caused channels to be cut through the island. Under the most frequent and intense storm scenarios, the island lost significant amounts of land and was unable to recover. Key Points: Decadal barrier island behaviors shift in response to changes in sea level and storminessIncreased sea levels and storminess may cause island deflation and increase vulnerability to breachingBarrier island drowning may occur in a duration of only 10 years under high storminess and sea level rise [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-standing goal of sedimentary geoscience is to understand how tectonic and climatic changes are reflected in basin fill. Here, we use 14 numerical models of continental-scale sediment-routing systems spanning millions of years to investigate the responses of sediment supply and basin sedimentation to changes in uplift and precipitation in the source area. We also investigate the extent to which these signals can be altered by relative sea level (the sum of subsidence and eustasy). In cases of constant relative sea level, sediment supply and margin progradation have similar responses because nearly all of the sediment is transported beyond the coastal plain and continental shelf to the basin margin. Thus, margin progradation can be used as a proxy for sediment supply. However, changes in uplift and precipitation result in different erosional patterns in the source area and different basin-margin depositional patterns. Changes in uplift result in gradual (over several million years) adjustment to new steady states of source-area erosion and margin progradation, whereas changes in precipitation result in abrupt changes in erosion and progradation followed by a return to the initial steady states. In cases of changing relative sea level, sediment storage on the shelf attenuates signals of uplift, but signals of precipitation change can be interpreted in the basin-margin record because climate-induced sediment supply changes are large enough to influence margin progradation. Understanding the relationship between sediment supply and basin-margin progradation, and their linked responses to forcings, improves our ability to interpret signals of environmental change in the stratigraphic record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sediment transport in polar regions is highly changeable and it is getting faster in connection with a climate change. This study describes the Hørbye River catchment located in the northern Billefjorden, Central Svalbard. The Czech Arctic Station and AMUPS - Adam Mickiewicz University Polish Polar Station are located in near this locality Petunia Bay. The material for this study was sampled in August 2016, during the summer research campaign of Czech Arctic Station together with a cooperation between Masaryk University in Brno and the University of Oslo via Norway Grants. The catchment area is 60 km2. The area of interest lies around the 10 km long Hørbye River in its braidplain, which is 2.3 km wide and 4.5 km long. In the Hørbye Glacier forefield, 27 sediment sampling localities were selected and defined into seven groups: (i) esker complex; (ii) debris stripes; (iii) till plain; (iv) hummocky moraine; (v) post-LIA braidplain; (vi) LIA moraine; (vii) LIA braidplain. Three main petrological types of rocks were studied (SVP - sandstone, VAP - limestone, ORT - orthogneiss). Lithology and roundness of the clasts were evaluated in order to study clast shape properties from various glacial sediments. The results show the dominant role of lithology on the clast shape modification in the Hørbye Glacier forefield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate changes to subglacial sediment discharge during glacier retreat by considering ice dynamics, bedrock erosion, and sediment transport processes. Coupling these components together within a single framework, we simulate sediment discharge from synthetic alpine glaciers experiencing accelerated glacier melt for 100 years. We find that sediment discharge increases by about 8 times the steady glacier values by the end of the simulation. The enhanced sediment discharge persists through peak water discharge and despite annual bedrock erosion volume decreasing by approximately 30% from the initial value. The greater sediment discharge results from increased melt at the glaciers' higher region, where transport was limited prior to glacier retreat. These findings suggest that large increases in sediment discharge may occur as glaciers retreat. The magnitude of the sediment discharge increase primarily depends on the quantity of sediment stored subglacially. Plain Language Summary: Changes to sediment discharge from glaciers can dramatically impact downstream communities and ecosystems. We account for two primary processes that largely control to sediment discharge from glaciers: (1) bedrock erosion, which creates sediment below the glacier and (2) the ability of meltwater below the glacier to carry this sediment. To understand the potential changes in sediment discharge as glaciers retreat, we link numerical models of both processes and run them in a scenario that complies with ongoing climate warming. In the scenario, we find that sediment discharge increases dramatically, despite smaller quantities of sediment being produced by bedrock erosion. This is because more meltwater higher on the glaciers increases sediment transport in these upper regions. Results here suggest that future subglacial sediment discharge depends on the amount of sediment that already exists below glaciers. Large increases in subglacial sediment discharge are possible. Key Points: We present a coupled system of models that represent ice dynamics, bedrock erosion, and sediment transport processesLarge increases in subglacial sediment discharge occur in response to simulated glacier retreatRising equilibrium line altitudes drive increased sediment discharge by allowing meltwater to access greater amounts of subglacial sediment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parnell, K.E. and Smithers, S.G., 2020. Regional and local variability in coastal processes in Torres Strait, Australia, and its importance for climate change planning. In: Malvárez, G. and Navas, F. (eds.), Global Coastal Issues of 2020. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 95, pp. 616–620. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. In small island states or regions, climate change planning is frequently undertaken at a country or regional level, and it is assumed that problems are common and that remedial actions can be widely applied. Community members observe treatments such as seawalls elsewhere and demand similar interventions even though they may be inappropriate. Torres Strait lies between mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea and has communities on a diverse range of islands including low muddy, coral cay, volcanic and continental island types. Approaches to solving problems caused by changing coastal processes on these varied shorelines are discussed at scales from regional to specific sites. Torres Strait has two distinct wind seasons which influence wave-driven processes and lead to seasonally reversing alongshore sediment transport, with shoreline dynamics also controlled by coastal orientation and the beach / reef flat interactions. The low muddy islands have limited management options, requiring shore protection and elevation. Shorelines on coral cay islands and the volcanic and continental islands change shape seasonally. In these settings, planning must allow for the seasonal shoreline adjustments, with structural treatments to manage longer-term shoreline trends used only to protect high-value assets and important cultural sites where alternative management responses are not possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy rainfall is expected to intensify with increasing temperatures, which will likely affect rainfall spatial characteristics. The spatial variability of rainfall can affect streamflow and sediment transport volumes and peaks. Yet, the effect of climate change on the small-scale spatial structure of heavy rainfall and subsequent impacts on hydrology and geomorphology remain largely unexplored. In this study, the sensitivity of the hydro-morphological response to heavy rainfall at the small-scale resolution of minutes and hundreds of metres was investigated. A numerical experiment was conducted in which synthetic rainfall fields representing heavy rainfall events of two types, stratiform and convective, were simulated using a space-time rainfall generator model. The rainfall fields were modified to follow different spatial rainfall scenarios associated with increasing temperatures and used as inputs into a landscape evolution model. The experiment was conducted over a complex topography, a medium-sized (477 km 2) Alpine catchment in central Switzerland. It was found that the responses of the streamflow and sediment yields are highly sensitive to changes in total rainfall volume and to a lesser extent to changes in local peak rainfall intensities. The results highlight that the morphological components are more sensitive to changes in rainfall spatial structure in comparison to the hydrological components. The hydro-morphological features were found to respond more to convective rainfall than stratiform rainfall because of localized runoff and erosion production. It is further shown that assuming heavy rainfall to intensify with increasing temperatures without introducing changes in the rainfall spatial structure might lead to overestimation of future climate impacts on basin hydro-morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaciated and recently (post-Little Ice Age) deglaciated areas are very dynamic environments, undergoing continuous changes, in particular as a consequence of climatic fluctuations and cryosphere changes. The intense geomorphic activity that takes place here conditions natural hazard, sediment transport and tourist fruition. A geo-morphological mapping with applicative purposes has to take into account the peculiarities and the dynamism of these specific areas. We here propose a methodological approach based on the interpretation of a multitemporal set of aerial photos (from 1983 to 2012), in a GIS environment, with application to the sectors modeled by Little Ice Age glaciers in the upper Orco Valley (NW Italy). The result is a geo-morphological map focused on the elements that are most relevant for application purposes, complemented by a map of the spatio-temporal distribution of the natural instability processes identified in the study area for the reference period, aimed to highlight the recent dynamism of the geomorphological elements in the map. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Compared dynamics of discharge and sediment loads in four large basins. • Explored the impact of climate, and human activities on water and sediment. • Sediment transport showed significant decreasing trends with abrupt changes. • Human activities played a predominant role in reducing sediment transport (>80%). • Impacts of land cover change on sediment loads were basin-independent. Human activities and climate are two key factors affecting hydrological and soil erosion processes. Understanding their impacts on water discharge and sediment transport is very important for sustainable development of watersheds, particularly in subtropical regions with high precipitation and high sediment loads. We here compared the long-term dynamics of water discharge and sediment transport in four large contiguous watersheds in subtropical China and explored the importance of the main influencing factors including climate, nature endowment such as geology, and human activities. Significant differences have been observed between watersheds in terms of sediment and water discharge (p < 0.001). Pairwise comparison among the four basins demonstrated significant differences in sediment modulus among 5 of the 6 pairs (p < 0.05). The sediment modulus in the Lishui Basin was significantly higher than those in other basins, mainly due to the substantial presence of steep slopes in the mountainous region, which is prone to soil erosion. Temporally, sediment transport in the four basins was well synchronized showing significant decreasing trends with abrupt change points (p < 0.001). In contrast, no trends and abrupt change points were detected in water discharge, mainly influenced by precipitation. Human activities played a predominant role to the reduction of sediment transport (80% to 102%) compared with those of climate (-2% to 19%) across the four basins. Additionally, our study also showed land cover had various basin-independent impacts on the change of sediment transport. Through cross-basin comparisons of the long-term changes in water discharge and sediment transport, our study revealed the similarities and differences in their driving mechanisms, providing valuable information for land use planning and water resource management in large subtropical basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate change effects on ice regime and water and sediment processes examined. • The ice flood reaches of the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia are taken as the case study. • Mann–Kendall test applied to define the years of temperature mutations and trends. • Meteorological condition and breakup type affect sediment transport in the channel. • Complex relationship exists among channel, hydrodynamic, sediment, and ice factors. The presence of winter ice in cold regions changes the water level, flow rate, velocity distribution, and other parameters of the river, which in turn affects the sediment concentration and channel evolution. Based on data obtained from Toudaoguai Hydrological Station from 1959 to 2021, this study examines the characteristics of the ice regime during cold and warm winters and the water and sediment transport processes along the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia in the context of climate change. The Mann–Kendall test and trend analysis were applied to define the years of temperature mutations and their trends, and the temperature mutation point was determined to be the 1987/1988 season. The study considers the effect of climate change on the combination of hydrological and hydraulic conditions. Therefore, trends in suspended sediment transport, ice type formation, water discharge, and storage in different ice flood seasons (November 1 to March 31, from 1998 to 2021) were attained. Based on the cumulative negative air temperature, winters were categorized into three types, warm, normal, and cold (52.2%, 17.4%, and 30.4%, respectively). Strong and weak grades further divide cold and warm winters, and statistical analyses were used to examine the characteristics of ice, water discharge, channel storage, and sediment transport. The duration of open water, freeze-up, ice cover, and breakup periods were calculated, and the relationship between the suspended sediment transport rate and discharge rate in these various ice periods was defined. The obtained relations show that the suspended sediment rate during the ice cover and first drift was smaller than that during the open water and post-breakup conditions. For the ice cover period, the sediment transport rate was on average approximately four times smaller than the freeze-up condition and six times smaller than the open water condition. The reduced sediment transport rate in the freeze-up period can be attributed to the weakened vertical turbulent mixing and increased flow resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment routing systems (SRSs) are a critical element of the global response to ongoing climate change. However SRS response to climate forcing is complex, fragmentary, and obscured when viewed over short, human time scales (10-1-10² yr). Over long time scales (>10²-10³ yr), the aggregated, system-wide response of SRSs to climate forcing can be gleaned with more confidence from the sedimentary record, but the nature and time scales of this aggregated response to abrupt climate change are still poorly understood. Here, we investigate the aggregated temporal response of a SRS in northern Spain to abrupt climate warming at the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). Our results show that terrestrial sites in northern Spain record a temporal lag of 16.5 ± 7.5 k.y. between the onset of the PETM, defined by an abrupt negative excursion in the δ13C profile, and the onset of coarse-grained deposition. Within the same SRS at a deep marine site 500 km to the west, we observe a temporal lag of 16.5 ± 1.5 k.y. using an age model that is independent of that used for the terrestrial sites. These results suggest that the aggregated, system-wide response of SRSs to present-day global warming--if we take the PETM as an appropriate modern-day analogue--may persist for many millennia into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation and verification of landscape evolution models (LEMs) has long been limited by a lack of suitable observational data and statistical measures which can fully capture the complexity of landscape changes. This lack of data limits the use of objective function based evaluation prolific in other modelling fields, and restricts the application of sensitivity analyses in the models and the consequent assessment of model uncertainties. To overcome this deficiency, a novel model function approach has been developed, with each model function representing an aspect of model behaviour, which allows for the application of sensitivity analyses. The model function approach is used to assess the relative sensitivity of the CAESAR-Lisflood LEM to a set of model parameters by applying the Morris method sensitivity analysis for two contrasting catchments. The test revealed that the model was most sensitive to the choice of the sediment transport formula for both catchments, and that each parameter influenced model behaviours differently, with model functions relating to internal geomorphic changes responding in a different way to those relating to the sediment yields from the catchment outlet. The model functions proved useful for providing a way of evaluating the sensitivity of LEMs in the absence of data and methods for an objective function approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New York City (NYC) is representative of many vulnerable coastal urban populations, infrastructures, and economies threatened by global sea level rise. The steady loss of marshes in NYC's Jamaica Bay is typical of many urban estuaries worldwide. Essential to the restoration and preservation of these key wetlands is an understanding of their sedimentation. Here we present a reconstruction of the history of mineral and organic sediment fluxes in Jamaica Bay marshes over three centuries, using a combination of density measurements and a detailed accretion model. Accretion rate is calculated using historical land use and pollution markers, through a wide variety of sediment core analyses including geochemical, isotopic, and paleobotanical analyses. We find that, since 1800 CE, urban development dramatically reduced the input of marsh-stabilizing mineral sediment. However, as mineral flux decreased, organic matter flux increased. While this organic accumulation increase allowed vertical accumulation to outpace sea level, reduced mineral content causes structural weakness and edge failure. Marsh integrity now requires mineral sediment addition to both marshes and subsurface channels and borrow pits, a solution applicable to drowning estuaries worldwide. Integration of marsh mineral/organic accretion history with modeling provides parameters for marsh preservation at specific locales with sea level rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The role of vegetation in shaping the geomorphology of rivers and deltas, along with tidal and estuarine environments, is widely recognized. While mutual interactions between flow, plant canopy, and morphodynamics have been extensively investigated, similar studies considering plant roots are limited. Here we present results from a numerical model that quantify the feedbacks of both the aboveground and belowground vegetation on gravel bed river morphodynamics. Plant root biogeomorphic feedbacks, that is, uprooting and root‐enhanced riverbed cohesion, are quantified through the description of the vertical root distribution. By investigating the evolution of the riverbed of a straight gravel channel with a vegetated patch, we show that uprooting is the primary plant root biogeomorphic feedback determining the evolution of the riverbed and the competing influence of the potential flow erosion versus uprooting depth mediates the plant root controls on morphodynamics. These findings broaden our understanding on the role played by plant roots on gravel bed river morphodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding Earth surface responses in terms of sediment dynamics to climatic variability and tectonics forcing is hindered by limited ability of current models to simulate long-term evolution of sediment transfer and associated morphological changes. This paper presents pyBadlands, an open-source python-based framework which computes over geological time (1) sediment transport from landmasses to coasts, (2) reworking of marine sediments by longshore currents and (3) development of coral reef systems. pyBadlands is cross-platform, distributed under the GPLv3 license and available on GitHub (). Here, we describe the underlying physical assumptions behind the simulated processes and the main options already available in the numerical framework. Along with the source code, a list of hands-on examples is provided that illustrates the model capabilities. In addition, pre and post-processing classes have been built and are accessible as a companion toolbox which comprises a series of workflows to efficiently build, quantify and explore simulation input and output files. While the framework has been primarily designed for research, its simplicity of use and portability makes it a great tool for teaching purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional and novel observations made in the Waimea River basin between 1960 and 1995 permit the total riverine mass flux to be estimated and the influence that flow restoration will have on sediment dynamics in the river's lower reaches to be assessed. Flows between the threshold for sediment transport (~6.0 m 3  s −1 ) and the most effective flow (80.7 m 3  s −1 ) recur annually and transport ~60% of the Waimea River's suspended sediment load. Discharges of this magnitude essentially were unaffected by plantation era agricultural diversions of 2.3 ± 0.7 m 3  s −1 . The modern-day mass flux from the Waimea River basin is 155 ± 38 t km −2  y −1 , and comparison with an independent cosmogenic nuclide-based estimate implies that it has remained at about this level for the past 10 ky. Previous work indicated that: ( i ) most of the sand the Waimea River transports to the coast is derived from steep, rapidly eroding, sparsely vegetated, bedrock-dominated hillslopes; and ( ii ) the sediment transport regime of the Waimea River is supply-limited at very high discharges (recurrence interval > 2.5 years). Consequently, major floods tend to remove sand from the estuary. Climate change has caused a statewide decline in heavy rainfall, and a commensurate decline in the magnitude of peak flows in the basin's pristine, undiverted headwaters over the past 97 years. The effect this secular change in climate presently is having on streamflow was foreshadowed in the late 1970s by a naturally occurring, warm Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase reduction in the magnitude of flows with low exceedance probabilities. Additionally, the controlling base level at the river mouth has risen and been displaced seaward. Simple proportionality approximations show that, for a constant sediment supply, aggradation will occur if either the magnitude of flows with a low exceedance probability declines and/or base level rises. Thus, anthropogenic stresses on Waimea River's lower reaches are not derived from the within-basin influence agricultural diversions exert on the flow regime and will not be resolved by restoring flow to the river. These stresses primarily accrue from extrinsic factors that will continue to influence the river's hydrologic and sediment transport regimes until global, offsetting, climate-ameliorating measures are implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erosion and sediment delivery are currently problems of interest for the Lakes Prespa basin. The potential for global climate changes to increase the risk of soil erosion is clear, but the actual damage is not. A model analysis of climate change impacts on runoff and erosion in this basin was not performed previously. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of climate change and agricultural land management on channel and soil surface erosion, as well as sediment yield in streams in this basin. For this reason, in this study, the DHSVM (Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model) model was used. The model was first calibrated using data for the period of (2010 - 2016), and then was used to predict results for the year 2045 using statistically downscaled global climate data. Three tillage scenarios were incorporated into DHSVM: conventional till, reduced till, and no till. Results have shown that climate change and agricultural practices, particularly surface treatments to the land, can impact surface runoff and suspended sediment generation. Runoff and sediment generation are strongly related, and runoff flows in rills and gullies typically carry suspended sediment loads downstream. Another factor that can affect formation of these channels and overland flow is land use. The results also showed that as the projected climate- driven intensity of storms increase, more runoff is predicted in the Lakes Prespa basin. Sensitivity of the model to surface erosion and changes in channel sediment bed depth were both evaluated for several parameters that relate to erosion. Observations have shown that suspended sediment concentrations can drastically increase, but model results do not yet display large fluctuations in suspended sediment concentrations which are typically observed in nature as a result of storm and erosion events. In the long term, continued improvements to this preliminary model of the Lakes Prespa basin can provide better insight into the effects of climate change on the riparian habitat of fish in the basin and the sediment budget of the surrounding area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although saline tidal wetlands cover less than a fraction of one percent of the earth's surface (~0.01%), they efficiently sequester organic carbon due to high rates of primary production coupled with surfaces that aggrade in response to sea level rise. Here, we report on multi-decadal changes (1972-2008) in the extent of tidal marshes and mangroves, and characterize soil carbon density and source, for five regions of tidal wetlands located on Baja California's Pacific coast. Land-cover change analysis indicates the stability of tidal wetlands relative to anthropogenic and climate change impacts over the past four decades, with most changes resulting from natural coastal processes that are unique to arid environments. The disturbance of wetland soils in this region (to a depth of 50 cm) would liberate 2.55 Tg of organic carbon (C) or 9.36 Tg CO2eq. Based on stoichiometry and carbon stable isotope ratios, the source of organic carbon in these wetland sediments is derived from a combination of wetland macrophyte, algal, and phytoplankton sources. The reconstruction of natural wetland dynamics in Baja California provides a counterpoint to the history of wetland destruction elsewhere in North America, and measurements provide new insights on the control of carbon sequestration in arid wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is a sink for terrigenous sediments from North Africa, Europe and Asia Minor. Its sediments therefore provide valuable information on the climate dynamics in the source areas and the associated transport processes. We present a high-resolution dataset of sediment core M40/4_SL71, which was collected SW of Crete and spans the last ca. 180 kyr. We analysed the clay mineral composition, the grain size distribution within the silt fraction, and the abundance of major and trace elements. We tested the potential of end-member modelling on these sedimentological datasets as a tool for reconstructing the climate variability in the source regions and the associated detrital input. For each dataset, we modelled three end members. All end members were assigned to a specific provenance and sedimentary process. In total, three end members were related to the Saharan dust input, and five were related to the fluvial sediment input. One end member was strongly associated with the sapropel layers. The Saharan dust end members of the grain size and clay mineral datasets generally suggest enhanced dust export into the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during the dry phases with short-term increases during Heinrich events. During the African Humid Periods, dust export was reduced but may not have completely ceased. The loading patterns of two fluvial end members show a strong relationship with the Northern Hemisphere insolation, and all fluvial end members document enhanced input during the African Humid Periods. The sapropel end member most likely reflects the fixation of redox-sensitive elements within the anoxic sapropel layers. Our results exemplify that end-member modelling is a valuable tool for interpreting extensive and multidisciplinary datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction and operation of cascading dams can pose drastic effects on sediment transport and deposition, thus affecting sedimentary carbon concentrations in the riverine ecosystem. This paper examines the spatial variations of sedimentary organic carbon (OC sed ) and its potential relationship with terrestrial soil loss in two cascade reservoirs (Manwan and Dachaoshan) along the mainstream of Lancang River. During both wet and dry seasons in 2013 and 2014, 25 sampling sections were chosen to evaluate the spatial variations of sedimentary organic carbon. Generally, the contents of OC sed in the upper 5 cm of the bottom sediment in wet seasons were higher than those in dry seasons in both reservoirs. Spatially, lower reservoir (Dachaoshan) preserved higher OC sed content than the upper reservoir (Manwan), at 36.1 kg m −2 and 27.8 kg m −2 , respectively. Additionally, the contents of OC sed in the reservoir heads were higher than those in the reservoir centres and tails, this trend was also observed for terrestrial organic carbon (OC ter ) and liable organic carbon (LOC). Hillslope delivery ratio (HSDR) method are used to estimate the incoming sediment yields from the river basin. The results indicated that Dachaoshan catchment generated higher sediment stream deposits than the Manwan catchment with the high sediment loading (>40 t/ha/year) areas located within 3 km buffers encompassing a higher accumulation of farmlands. The cumulative effects of sediment transport on OC sed along the river channel were further investigated by setting sequential riverine sediment delivery ratios (0–0.55) to explore potential relationships between OC sed and total sediment delivered to stream. The results showed that in the Dachaoshan Reservoir the OC sed contents correlated with the total sediment delivered to streams when the ratios ranged from 0.10 to 0.55, in particular in delivery ratios ranging from 0.50 to 0.55. These findings emphasized the importance of direct and indirect connections between the terrestrial and riverine ecosystems, and also provided a preferable view to understand the cumulative effects of sediment transport on OC sed distributions in the reservoirs generated by cascading dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beach accretion is the natural mechanism that allows dry beaches to recover. Human response to climate change produces hardening of the coasts and the incident marine climate, which increases beach erosion produced during winter and prevents a full recovery during summer. Beach nourishments are performed all around the world to fight coastal erosion with a nature-friendly philosophy. Softer techniques as beach scraping are also widely applied. A kind of beach scraping is proposed here as an innovative nature-assisted beach enhancement technique, that aims to accelerate naturally produced sand accretion on the beach profile. It consists of mechanically ploughing the intertidal area of a beach to create ridges and furrows. Prototype-scale laboratory experiments were performed to analyse its effectiveness under controlled conditions. Seven 1 h tests having different water levels and the same initial bottom geometry and sea state conditions (H s = 0.3 m, T p = 7 s) were performed. Sea state, sand, and initial slope characteristics assured accretive conditions. Ploughed and flatbed initial slope geometries were simultaneously tested into two sub-channels of the wave flume. The results indicate that the bottom roughness is 3.57 times larger for the ploughed geometry. Consequently, wave energy dissipation is larger for the ploughed geometry, and therefore, the significant wave height at the shoreward end of the study area is 11% smaller for the ploughed geometry. This smaller wave height under the ploughed morphology leads to more accretive conditions, as observed from the measured onshore sediment transport, which is 2.9 times larger than the natural transport, and the larger accreted sediment volume in all seven test cases. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of ploughing to enhance natural beach accretion under highly probable accretion conditions. Further research is required to define the thresholds of marine conditions in which the potential of beach ploughing can be exploded. • Working with nature. • Ploughing the intertidal area of a beach enhances natural accretion. • Real scale laboratory experiments measuring sediment transport. • Mechanically ploughing increases bed roughness. • Extra wave energy dissipation is produced by ploughing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes of water and sediment discharges in the headwaters of large Asian rivers have increasingly become a hot issue. This study investigated the streamflow and sediment discharge changes in the headwaters of Yellow River Basin (YRB) and Yangtze River Basin (YARB) by using long-term hydro-meteorological data from 1956 to 2012. The nonparametric Mann–Kendall test, Pettitt test, cumulative anomaly curve (CAC), and double cumulative curve (DCC) were used to identify trends and change points of the hydro-meteorological variables and quantify the response of streamflow and sediment discharge to climate change and anthropogenic activities. The results are as follows. (1) Slightly decreasing trend in streamflow and increasing trend in sediment discharge were detected from 1956 to 2012 in the headwater of YRB. Meanwhile, both streamflow and sediment discharge in the headwater of YARB showed increasing trend. Change-point analyses further revealed that turning (transition) years existed and the abrupt decline in streamflow and sediment discharge began in 1989. (2) The specific sediment yield–runoff depth and sediment concentration–streamflow relationships in the two basins could be well fitted by the power function on the annual, flood season, and monthly scales. Sediment productive ability of runoff during the flood season was much greater than that over the full year. (3) The headwater of YRB contributed huge amount of water resources and very little sediment to the downstream, however, the headwater of YARB had little influence on downstream. (4) Compared with the baseline period (1956–1989), precipitation reduction played a major role in the streamflow and sediment discharge reductions in the post-baseline period (1990–2012). Given the scarcity of soil and water resources, anthropogenic and climatic impacts on streamflow and sediment discharge must be given more attention in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wegner, C.E. and Ellis, J.T., 2017. The influence of sea-level rise on wave-energy dissipation and wave-driven currents at Buck Island Reef National Monument. Modern Caribbean reefs have undergone significant degradation in the past century because of various anthropogenic stressors, which include climate-change-related impacts, hurricanes, and, potentially, sea-level rise. Degraded reefs will be unable to maintain sufficient vertical accretion with substantial increases in sea level, which will alter the hydrodynamics of these systems. A reduction in wave dissipation by reefs has the potential to shift the shorelines behind the reefs, potentially resulting in economic and habitat losses for tropical shorelines. This study focused on a barrier reef with low, live coral cover (<10%) and accretion rates comparable to current rates of sea-level rise in the region (∼1.7 mm/y). Tides served as a proxy for sea-level rise, with the spring high tide representing a future low tide. These findings indicate that at low tide, infragravity wave frequencies (0.004-0.04 Hz) dominate in the lagoon and are a function of wave breaking on the reef. At high tide, the infragravity waves are less prominent. Current velocities were higher at high tide, averaging 0.14 m s−1 vs. 0.11 m s−1 at low tide. The spectral current characteristics correlate with the infragravity wave frequencies and suggest that these waves are a driving force in lagoon circulation. Wave-energy transmission increased at high tide by 20-30% throughout the sampling period. These results suggest that with sea-level rise, infragravity band waves will be reduced and affect the stresses on the sea bed and sediment-transport processes, also allowing larger and more energetic waves to reach the shoreline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transfer of sediments through the landscape (sediment connectivity) depends on hydrological conditions. This study aimed at assessing changes in sediment sources engendered under extreme drought. A sediment budget model that considered hillslope sediment connectivity was applied to the Latrobe River catchment (South-east Australia) in a relatively normal period (1990–1996) followed by part of the ‘Millennium Drought’ (1997–2005). Bayesian inference was applied to optimize monthly streamflow and calibrate sediment parameters against mean annual specific sediment yields at ten monitoring stations. In 1990–1996, assessed sediment yield at the outlet was 68 kt/y; 60% of sediments originated from net hillslope erosion and 40% from streambank erosion. In 1997–2005, sediment yield decreased to 13 kt/y, 27% from net hillslope erosion against 65% from streambank erosion. During the drought, both hillslope gross erosion and hillslope sediment connectivity decreased dramatically. Streambank protection is of the utmost importance under all hydrologic conditions and especially during drought periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme typhoon events have been increasing due to climate change. In recent years, severe landslides, flooding, and extreme sediment transport have become more easily induced by these events. This study employs dynamic downscaling climate projection data to evaluate riverbed changes and sediment transport processes of the Gaoping River, located in southern Taiwan, under the worst late 20th century conditions and projections for the late 21st century. Results show that the peak runoff discharge in the late 21st century could be 1.48 times larger than that in the late 20th century. This data indicates that the risk potential for overbank and pier scour disasters will increase in the future. However, in contrast to the late 20th century, the thalweg sediment aggradation model indicated 19% less in the late 21st century. An experimental design method was applied to further explore the reasons behind this outKome. It was found that severe riverbed changes correlated negatively with the peak discharge in extreme floods. These findings will greatly assist in understanding riverbed change processes under extreme typhoon events using dynamic downscaling climate change data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present and paleo-drainage networks, depositional surfaces, fault throw, slope of the downthrown fault blocks, soil properties, sediment characteristics and published optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages are used to define the role of tectonics and climate in the growth of forty-five terminal fans (TFs) in the Indo-Gangetic foreland basin. Twenty-three TFs show a single exposed surface throughout, suggesting no or imperceptible breaks in sedimentation during their formation. In contrast, twenty-two TFs show multiple growth surfaces, separated by soil profiles and erosional surfaces. The available optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates of these depositional surfaces suggest different phases of TF growth. Tectonically triggered surface faulting altered accommodation space, slope of the substrate, and sediment supply and initiated new TF depositional cycles. The tectonically stable periods, in contrast, did not form TFs, despite the favourable humid climate conditions. Instead, the dry and humid climatic regimes, when combined with frequent surface faulting, produced and remobilized sediments more quickly, promoting TF growth. The humid climate TFs are spatially extensive (average area = 2000 km2), with clay horizons interspersed between sand facies. The dry climates TFs are smaller (average area = 1370 km2), with intervening calcrete horizons and surface salt-efflorescence. Low precipitation and inadequate sediment supply hampered the growth of these dry climate TFs. Despite a considerable period of surface exposure, the surfaces of dry climate TFs lack a well-developed soil profile. The upper Ganga Plain provides more accommodation space across the faults than the middle Ganga Plain. Accommodation space and substrate slope have little effect on TF area unless climatically triggered sediment remobilization occurs. For a given accommodation space and substrate slope, steeper sloping TFs occupy less area than lower sloping ones. Faults with throws of <5 m and substrate slopes of <2° do not form TFs; instead sediment wedges are formed across fault slope breaks. The TFs in the upper Ganga Plain show more growth surfaces than the middle Ganga Plain. The older growth surfaces are either progressively arranged across the direction of channel shift or occur as inliers in between the younger alluvium. Well-developed distributaries on the older TFs disperse sediment more readily, rather than accumulating it in proximal fan regions. However, the younger TFs, with relatively less-developed distributary channel networks, vertically stack sediments in their proximal part and occasionally transport sediment as sheet floods to their distal end regions. The combined geomorphic response of TFs to tectonic events and climatic fluctuations is, therefore, simultaneous for TF growth and stabilization. • Ganga Plain terminal fans (TF) form at topographic slope breaks away from mountains. • TF growth mechanism investigated using remote sensing and field investigations. • Ganga Plain TFs develop as a result of tectonic-climatic interactions. • Tectonics provides overall accommodation space for TF building. • Climate then controls TF growth (humid periods) and inactivity (drier periods). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore links between glacier dynamics, sediment yields and the accumulation of glacial sediments in a temperate setting, we use extensive glaciological observations for Columbia Glacier, Alaska, and new oceanographic data from the fjord exposed during its retreat. High-resolution seismic data indicate that 3.2 × 108 m3 of sediment has accumulated in Columbia Fjord over the past three decades, which corresponds to ~5 mm a−1 of erosion averaged over the glaciated area. We develop a general model to infer the sediment-flux history from the glacier that is compatible with the observed retreat history, and the thickness and architecture of the fjord sediment deposits. Results reveal a fivefold increase in sediment flux from 1997 to 2000, which is not correlated with concurrent changes in ice flux or retreat rate. We suggest the flux increase resulted from an increase in the sediment transport capacity of the subglacial hydraulic system due to the retreat-related steepening of the glacier surface over a known subglacial deep basin. Because variations in subglacial sediment storage can impact glacial sediment flux, in addition to changes in climate, erosion rate and glacier dynamics, the interpretation of climatic changes based on the sediment record is more complex than generally assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new numerical framework for simulating short to long-term hillslope evolution. This modeling framework, to which we have given the name CLICHE (CLImate Control on Hillslope Evolution), aims to better capture the control of climate on soil dynamics. It allows the use of realistic forcing that involves, through a specific time discretization scheme, the variability of both the temperature and precipitation at time scales ranging from the daily rainfall events to the climatic oscillations of the Quaternary, also including seasonal variability. Two simple models of soil temperature and soil water balance permit the link between the climatic inputs and derived quantities that take part in the computation of the soil flux, such as the surface water discharge and the depth of the non-frozen soil layer. Using this framework together with a multi-process parameterization of soil transport, we apply an original method to calculate hillslope effective diffusivity as a function of climate. This allows us to demonstrate the ability of the model to simulate observed rates of hillslope erosion under different climates (cold and temperate) with a single set of parameter values. Numerical experiments furthermore suggest a potential high peak of sediment transport on hillslopes during the glacial-interglacial transitions of the Quaternary. We finally discuss the need to improve the parameterization of the soil production and transport processes in order to explicitly account for other key controlling factors that are also climate-sensitive, such as biological activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postacchini, M.; Russo, A.; Carniel, S., and Brocchini, M., 2016. Assessing the hydro-morphodynamic response of a beach protected by detached, impermeable, submerged breakwaters: A numerical approach. Coastal areas host a large fraction of the world's population and are exposed to natural extreme events, which are a serious threat to human life, as well as to economies. For this reason, sea storms are increasingly the object of studies, and the design of traditional coastal defenses is being carried out in conjunction with modeling analyses. Relying on numerical simulations performed by means of an innovative shallow-water hydro-morphodynamic model, the present work explores the overall response of a protected beach to sea storms. Numerical tests evaluate the effects of sea states extracted from realistic sea storms having different spectral characteristics, as well as the influence on beach morphology of positioning shore-parallel, impermeable, submerged breakwaters. Simulation results revealed that, while erosion/accretion patterns depend weakly on the different sea state conditions, the morphodynamics induced around the barriers is strongly influenced by the breakwaters' positioning. More specifically, at least for the forcing here analyzed, bed variations were shown to increase when the structures are progressively located offshore; on the other hand, the swash zone morphology seems to be only weakly influenced by the positioning of the breakwaters. We also observed that for an increasing extension of the volume over which dissipative breaking mechanisms occur, a decreasing inshore erosion is accompanied by an equally fast decrease of offshore erosion. Analysis of the vorticity fields shows that breakwaters placed far from the shoreline induce an evolution of the vortices generated by breaking waves rather different from the one due to breakwaters placed closer to the shoreline (which can induce seaward flows through the gap, like rip currents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation between climate change and biodiversity in coastal reefs was assessed in the region of the Latvian coast of the Baltic Proper. To quantify this relation, the characteristic wave heights, closure depth and sediment transport intensity were estimated using the third generation spectral wave model WAM and the world-wide acknowledged Coastal Engineering Research Council approach for sediment transport. The cumulative influence of physical properties in the coastal zone results was estimated by the physical impact index, which indicates the areas with the highest potential treat to coastal reef habitats. This index tends to increase from the south to north with the highest physical impact in the area between Akmensrags and south of Oviši village. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study relies on the use and analysis of hydro-meteorological variables, long turbidity time series (from 1988 to 2009, 21 years) and a sedimentary record to provide better understanding of the hydro-sedimentary variability of the karst system near the town of Radicatel, France. Wavelet analysis of rainfall, piezometric level and turbidity, as well as the sediment archive, show common modes of variability. A common spectral composition emphasizes the influence of climate controls. Comparison of the wavelet spectra with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) spectrum clearly highlights the control of the latter on hydro-meteorological variables at the regional level. Climatic fluctuations are recorded in the turbidity signal and in sedimentary fill, as revealed by the 5- to 8-year frequency band, which is characteristic of the NAO index. A climatic signal is recorded in both rainfall events and piezometric levels, and also in sediment transport and deposition at the scale of the local karst system. The overall climate control is also present beyond the local variations and heterogeneities.EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR D. Yang [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Al-Nasrawi, A.K.M.; Jones, B.G., and Hamylton, S. M., 2016. GIS-based modelling of vulnerability of coastal wetland ecosystems to environmental changes: Comerong Island, southeastern Australia. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 33-37. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Sustainable management of coastal zones has become a complicated issue. The majority of the human population lives along the coast, where their activities, together with a range of environmental changes, have altered the natural ecosystem processes and caused changes in coastal wetlands. To ensure sustainable use of coastal resources, a comprehensive set of modelling tools can help managers to make decisions. This study uses Comerong Island (southeastern NSW, Australia) as a case study to demonstrate the importance of modelling modifications to environmental change. Several data-based modelling approaches are employed to explore how human activities have altered this estuarine island setting over the last sixty years (1949 - 2014). Multi-temporal changes in land cover, shorelines and sediment delivery are estimated from remote sensing data, GIS analysis, and laboratory tests on water and sediment samples (grain size, X-ray diffraction and loss on ignition and water analysis). Results show there are significant changes to the areal extents and elevation of mangroves, saltmarshes and shorelines in the wetlands on Comerong Island over the time period of analysis, including northern accretion (0.4 km2), eastern, middle and southern erosion (0.7 km2) of the island. The implementation of modelling using GIS tools, water and sediment samples to monitor ecosystem processes, such as sediment transport and erosion/deposition, will allow resource managers to make more informed decisions by evaluating the potential consequences of the existing situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osborne, P.D. and Forest, A., 2016. Sediment dynamics from coast to slope - Southern Canadian Beaufort Sea. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 537-541. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Profound changes in cross-shelf sediment fluxes are anticipated in coming decades in the southern Canadian Beaufort Sea where an accelerated increase in temperature could lead to large changes in Arctic river hydrology and coastal-marine geomorphologic processes. In the past decade sediment exported to the Beaufort Shelf has increased while sea level pressure has increased accelerating the Beaufort Gyre, strengthening coastal upwelling and expanding the Mackenzie River plume offshore. Sea-ice extent has decreased while storminess has increased increasing wave action, coastal downwelling, current surge and resuspension and transport on the shoreface and shelf. This paper investigates mechanisms, quantities and rates of sediment transport operating in this cold continental shelf-slope environment. Past studies from more than 2 decades of research are compared with recent measurements to develop improved estimates of sediment sources, pathways, fate and fluxes across the shelf and slope. In particular, we explore connections between data from a long term mooring observatory deployed over the continental shelf and slope during the ArcticNet-Industry Partnership (2009-2011) and Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment (BREA 2011-2015) to those acquired in studies focusing on nearshore and shoreface. Sediment fluxes from the Mackenzie River and erosion of permafrost coasts are compared with outer shelf-slope measurements of settling particles and near-bottom fluxes. In turn, the role of atmospheric and cryospheric processes in forcing sediment transfer from coast to slope is investigated to assess system response to changing climate and evaluate implications for marine hydrocarbon resource development along the continental margin of the Arctic Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gulf of Uraba is the largest estuary on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The aim of this research was to analyse the oceanic, climatic and environmental variables that influence mangrove structure and composition in the gulf. Based on the availability of remote sensing, the study area was divided into western and eastern zones. The spatial pattern of environmental variables (water salinity, pH and percentage of organic matter, sand, silt and clay in the soils) and oceanic and climatic variables (winds, wave height and wave period) was analysed. The relationship of these variables with variables of vegetation structure (basal area, diameter at breast height, tree height, and abundance of seedlings of mangrove species in 1 m2 subplots) was analysed in 27 plots of 500 m2 containing fringe mangroves and 5 plots containing basin mangroves. Mangroves of the western zone showed a higher structural development and were dominated by Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove). This zone is supplied by fresh water and sediments, and the soils have a high content of organic matter and clay and a low degree of anthropogenic disturbance. The eastern zone was characterized by higher pore water salinity due to lower freshwater input from rivers. In this area there is a smaller impact of waves and winds, higher sedimentation rates, high anthropogenic disturbance and mangroves are dominated by Avicennia germinans (black mangrove). Although Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove) did not show a particular spatial pattern, due to its tolerance to open canopy conditions it was commonly found in anthropogenically disturbed areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatially and temporally variable suspended sediment transport from upstream sources was investigated in the West River (unofficial name) at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO) on Melville Island, Nunavut (74°55′ N, 109°35′ W), a river with nearly a decade of hydrological and sediment transport research in the Canadian Arctic and subject to recent permafrost disturbances, such as soil skin flows on slopes, massive ground ice melt in the channel, and substantial climate change. During the 2012 season, a survey was undertaken during the nival period to identify areas of the river where the flow was isolated from the channel bed by snow and where it progressively reached the bed. During the nival period, and throughout the rest of the season, suspended sediment transport data were collected from a primary outlet station and six upstream locations to identify the sources and sinks of sediment in the various reaches of the West River. An inferred sediment budget approach was used to identify the storage and release dynamics in each reach. Nival event-scale hysteresis and seasonal diurnal hysteresis patterns for 2012 were primarily anticlockwise, suggesting that sources of sediment were not readily available for transport during peak flows but became available as discharge waned. Analysis of diurnal hysteresis relationships for the years 2004–2012 (excluding 2011) signals a shift in daily sediment-discharge hysteresis from primarily clockwise to anticlockwise following an episode of permafrost disturbance and enhanced erosion in 2007. Consistent sediment storage in the upper catchment from this disturbance is interpreted to have contributed to the shift to anticlockwise daily hysteresis. Results provide insights into the fluvial and geomorphological response to changes in sediment availability in Arctic rivers and how these changes in turn affect sediment transport in these environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alluvial fans are depositional systems that develop because of a disparity between the upstream and downstream sediment transport capacity of a system, usually at the base of mountain fronts as rivers emerge from the constrained mountain area onto the plain. They are dynamic landforms that are prone to abrupt changes on a geomorphological (decades to centuries) time scale, while also being long-term deposition features that preserve sedimentary strata and are sensitive indictors of environmental change. The complexity of interactions between catchment characteristics, climate, tectonics, internal system feedbacks, and environmental processes on field alluvial fans means that it is difficult to isolate individual variables in a field setting; therefore, the controlled conditions afforded by experimental models has provided a novel technique to overcome some of these complexities. The use of experimental models of alluvial fans has a long history and these have been implemented over a range of different research areas utilising various experimental designs. Using this technique, important advances have been made in determining the primary factors influencing fan slope, understanding of avulsion dynamics, identifying autogenic processes driving change on fan systems independent of any change in external conditions, and the mechanics of flow and flood risk on alluvial fans, to name a few. However, experiments cannot be carried out in isolation. Thus, combining the findings from experimental alluvial fans with field research and numerical modelling is important and, likewise, using these techniques to inform experimental design. If this can be achieved, there is potential for future experimental developments to explore key alluvial fan issues such as stratigraphic preservation potential and simulating extra terrestrial fan systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]