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Landslides are of wide interest because they shape topography and influence fluvial sediment transport. To investigate the duration of landsliding's influence on fluvial sediment discharge, we analyzed suspended sediment concentration measurements at 77 gauging stations across Taiwan over an 11-year period after Typhoon Morakot in 2009, the wettest typhoon on record in Taiwan which generated nearly 20,000 landslides. At each gauging station, we computed annual rating curves for suspended sediment concentration as a power-law function of the centered water discharge, which isolates the efficiency of suspended sediment discharge from temporal variations in water discharge. Among the 40 stations in basins that were strongly impacted by landsliding, the discharge-normalized rating curve coefficient ã increased by a mean factor of 4.89 within 1-2 years of Morakot, while the rating curve exponent b exhibited no systematic response to Morakot (mean factor of 1.21). Elevated values of ã declined exponentially at 26 of the 40 stations with a median characteristic timescale of 13.2 years (interquartile range: 7.6-20.7) and tended to respond faster in basins with more intense landsliding. In contrast, at the 37 stations that were not impacted by landsliding, neither ã nor b exhibited a systematic response to Morakot. To quantify the effect of landsliding on sediment discharge, we compared the measured sediment discharges after Morakot to the hypothetical sediment discharges that would have occurred if no change in sediment transport efficiency had occurred at the time of Morakot, calculated by applying the post-Morakot water discharge history to pre-Morakot rating curves. This analysis suggests that Morakot-induced landsliding increased sediment discharge by as much as >10-fold in some basins in southeast Taiwan in the 1-2 years after Morakot. Post-Morakot changes in ã were positively correlated with landslide intensity for approximately seven years after Morakot, and changes in b were negatively correlated from 2011 to 2014, indicating that the influence of landsliding on rating curves diminished within a few years. Together, these results suggest that Morakot-induced landsliding amplified fluvial sediment fluxes for a relatively short time (< 10 years). To the extent that these results are applicable to rivers in other landscapes, this suggests that rivers may more efficiently transport landslide-derived sediment for relatively short times.

By simulating erosion and deposition, landscape evolution models offer powerful insights to Earth surface processes and dynamics. These models are typically constructed from parameters describing drainage area (m), slope (n), substrate erodibility (K), hillslope diffusion (D), and a critical drainage area (Ac) that signifies the downslope transition from hillslope diffusion to advective fluvial processes. In spite of the widespread success of such models, the parameter values have high degrees of uncertainty mainly because the advection and diffusion equations amalgamate physical processes and material properties that span widely differing spatial and temporal scales. Here, we use a global catalogue of catchment-averaged cosmogenic 10Be-derived erosion (denudation) rates with the aim to optimise a set of landscape evolution models via a Monte Carlo based parameter search. We consider three model scenarios: advection-only, diffusion-only, and an advection-diffusion hybrid. In each case, we search for a parameter set that best approximates erosion rates at the global scale, and we directly compare erosion rates from the modelled scenarios with those derived from 10Be data. Optimised ranges can be defined for many LEM parameters at the global scale. In the absence of diffusion, n ~ 1.3, and with increasing diffusivity the optimal n increases linearly to a global maximum of n ~ 2. Meanwhile we find that the diffusion-only model somewhat outperforms the advection-only model and is optimised when concavity is raised to a power of 2. With these examples, we suggest that our approach provides baseline parameter estimates for large-scale studies spanning long timescales and diverse landscape properties. Moreover, our direct comparison of model-predicted versus observed erosion rates is preferable to methods that rely upon catchment-scale averaging or amalgamation of topographic metrics. We also seek to optimise K and D parameters in landscape evolution models with respect to precipitation and substrate lithology. These optimised models allow us to effectively control for topography and target specifically the relationship between erosion rate and precipitation. All models suggest a positive correlation between K or D and precipitation > 1500 mm yr–1, plus a local maximum at ~ 300 mm yr–1, which is compatible with the long-standing hypothesis that semi-arid environments are among the most erodible.

Landscape evolution models simulate erosional and depositional changes in terrain surface over time and have proven useful for studying surface processes at a variety of scales. These models rely on several input parameters such as a coefficient of hillslope diffusion (D), as well as stream power exponents of drainage basin area (m) and slope (n), a value of minimum drainage area (Ac) below which advective fluvial processes dominate over diffusive hillslope processes, and an effective stream power/advection coefficient of rock ‘erodibility’ (k). In spite of the widespread application of landscape evolution models, values of these input parameters and their variation through space and time are generally poorly constrained in large part due to the large number of processes and physical properties which are amalgamated into the advection-based SP equation. Several recent studies have looked at global controls on erosion rates using stream power parameters and other river metrics by making use of sophisticated stream profile analysis tools, and we aim to build on these past studies by using a landscape evolution modelling framework. Here, we make use of a global catalog of basin-averaged cosmogenic 10Be-derived apparent erosion rates to tune several landscape evolution model parameters. We employ an Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) approach which is based on the performance of many combinations of randomly selected parameters with respect to a likelihood function that measures how well a model fits a sample of observations for a given set of parameter values. Prescribing the commonly observed stream concavity ratio (m/n) of 0.5, maximum agreement between LEM-predicted and 10Be apparent erosion rates is obtained when the free parameters of stream power slope coefficient (n) is approximately 2, the ratio of hillslope diffusivity (D) to effective stream power coefficient (K) is between 103 and 104 mn-1 yr-1 and when critical drainage area (Ac) is ~0.1 km2. Additionally, we find that models can be optimized to a greater degree when the diffusive component of the LEMs is squared, in line with recent studies. Finally, we perform a search for optimal parameters in the face of variable stream concavity, climate, and geology which are encompassed in k, D, m, and n, all of which show considerable variability over different climatic, lithologic, and ecologic regimes. Ultimately, this demonstrates that globally optimal parameters may not be applicable at the local to regional scale, but continent to global scale analyses could benefit from understanding these optimal parameters.

It has been hypothesized that Australia is experiencing long-wavelength uplift and subsidence in response to intraplate stresses and/or dynamic topography (e.g. Beekman et al., 1997; Czarnota et al., 2013). In central Australia, intraplate stresses are of particular interest due to the presence of several enigmatically long-lived (500+ Myr) Bouguer anomalies of magnitude + 150 mgal. Additionally, a recent study by Jansen et al. (2022) showed that the Finke river, which drains away from a large gravity high, is actively responding to cyclic changes in uplift. Here, transient uplift and subsidence of up to ~150 m may be driven by the the flexural response to variable in-plane stresses in the presence of large loads embedded within the lithosphere. The in-plane stress changes may be associated with shear at the base of the lithosphere and therefore inherently linked to plate velocity and mantle dynamics. Here, we explore mechanisms of uplift in central Australia and investigate their signatures within the geomorphic record through numerical modeling and χ analysis. We observe strong χ variations across drainage divides associated with gravity anomalies, which we link to episodic transitions from exorheic to endorheic drainage during periods of uplift and subsidence. Landscape evolution models that incorporate flexural uplift in response to time-transient variations in horizontal stresses suggest that depositional patterns, spatial χ variations, and river profiles can be explained by this uplift mechanism. In a more general sense, these results demonstrate that the cyclic loss and gain of drainage area during periods of endorheism and exorheism can result in drastic, sudden changes in χ which correspond to waxing and waning of basinal areas.

Stream profile analysis has been used extensively in the field of tectonic geomorphology. In the past, exploration of stream profiles, including χ-elevation profiles, has required downloading and processing Digital Elevation Models for specific areas, which limits the scope of exploratory analysis. Presented here is a web application designed to analyze stream profiles at 90m resolution at a near-global scale. Based on the Hydrosheds (Wickel et al., 2007) 90m drainage direction, as well as computed d8 drainage direction and void-filled DEMs, the app allows users to quickly query downstream from selected points anywhere within ±60 degrees latitude, in order to interactively analyze corresponding stream profiles in both distance and χ space, where χ is a metric that is proportional to the presumed steady-state shape of the stream profile (Perron and Royden, 2013). QuickChi is open source, and although currently it is designed as an exploratory tool, more functions can be easily added via community contributions and/or from existing toolsets.

Rift escarpments have long been the subject of coupled geodynamic/landscape evolution studies. Many of these studies have shown that the flexural unloading response of the lithosphere plays a significant role in the rate of divide migration and the longevity of the escarpment topography, with lower elastic thickness values allowing for more localized isostatic rebound of the lithosphere in response to erosional unloading. However, rift escarpments are thought to last hundreds of millions of years, and therefore the lithosphere may exhibit viscoelastic behavior on this timescale. Here we present a simplified model of a viscoelastic response to erosional unloading during escarpment evolution, and show that this drastically alters the behavior of the escarpment system. Specifically, the escarpment retreat rate is significantly reduced, and topography maintained, when compared to a purely flexural model. Additionally, the area in front of the retreating the scarp (i.e., seaward of the scarp) experience delayed uplift response and topographic rejuvenation many millions of years after the divide passes.

The geomorphic processes that control temporal and spatial patterns of erosion, sediment storage and evacuation in an active mountain range (source) have a direct impact on how the signal of tectonics and climate, are recorded in the adjacent sedimentary basins (sinks). Stream power based numerical models of landscape evolution predict strong time lags between rock uplift and waves of erosion in the foreland, but this is difficult to test without proper resolution between source and sink signals.. Confirmation of model results is typically gleaned through observations that are either snapshots of processes in modern systems, or inversion of the stratigraphic record to decipher what occurred in the uplands. While cosmogenic nuclide derived, catchment wide erosion rates in the modern rivers provide a snapshot of processes happening in the last thousands of years, thermochronmeters average over the ≥ millions of years it takes a rock to ascend from the closure isotherm to the Earth’s surface,making it difficult, if not impossible to capture a minimally time averaged signal of the geomorphic system in the stratigraphic record. Paleoerosion rates from the residual cosmogenic nuclide concentration of buried sediments offer a means to bridge the gap in resolution. This study combines numerical modeling and cosmogenic nuclide paleoerosion rates in the Argentine Precordillera to build a rich picture of how this foreland basin system, from the hinterland through the foreland basin evolves in time and space. Our modeling shows that the dynamics of wedge-top basin formation behind a rising, and then subsequently inactive range have profound and systematic effects on the geomorphic signals both upstream and downstream of the wedge-top basin. Downstream, it is clear that there are strong, million year time lags in the uplift-triggered erosive pulse and spatial controls on where the sediment delivered to the foreland is sourced. Upstream, aggradation in the wedge top leads to the development of a wave of low erosion into the hinterland that results in the creation of perched surfaces coeval to erosive pulses downstream. In the Argentine Precordillera at 30°S an 8 Ma record of paleoerosion rates from the wedge top and foreland basin deposits along with detrital zircons provenance in the foreland largely verifies the predictions of the numerical modeling. Similarly, upstream of the wedge-top basin, there are concordant knickpoints and large, broad planation surfaces perched some 1500 m above the floor of wedge top as predicted by the low erosion wave pulse. Our combination of numerical modeling and paleoerosion rates capture the dynamic evolution of mountain range at million to thousand year timescales.

Intermontane basins are often the result of regionally variable uplift in tectonic settings. Wedge-top basins, a type of intermontane basin, form along thrust faults within a fold and thrust belt, and provide an ideal environment to study the regional fluvial and surface response to local variations in rock uplift. This study simulates the formation and evolution of an intermontane basin using a landscape evolution model. The modelling results demonstrate that large trunk streams maintain connectivity during basin formation for two reasons: (1) their stream power is enhanced by the capture of smaller streams, enabling them to incise through the uplifting downstream region, and (2) they acquire increased sediment yield to completely infill the upstream accommodation space rather than forming an endorhic basin. During active deformation of the fold-and-thrust belt, both channel slope and erosion rates are reduced upstream of the intermontane basin and these changes propagate as a wave of low erosion into the uplands. For a uniform background uplift rate in a landscape previously at steady state, this reduced rate of erosion results in a net surface uplift upstream of the basin. Following the eventual breach of the basin’s bounding structural barrier, a wave of high erosion propagates through the basin and increases the channel slope. This onset of increased erosion can be delayed by up to several million years relative to the onset of downstream uplift. Observed paleoerosion rates in paired wedge-top and foreland basin sequences, and presentday stream profiles in the Argentine Precordillera support our modelling results. Our results may be extrapolated to other foreland systems, and are potentially identifed using low-temperature thermochronometers in addition to paleoerosion rates.

Global backwards-in time models of mantle convection have resulted in vastly different interpretations of the transient state of dynamic topography on the U.S. Atlantic passive margin (Moucha et al., 2008; Spasojevic et al., 2008; Rowley et al., 2013; Rovere et al., 2015). However, reconciling these geodynamic models with the observed offshore sedimentary record directly is complex because the sedimentary record integrates changes in climate, sea level, lithology, and tectonics. To circumvent this, we instead focus on modeling the observed deformation of the Orangeburg scarp, a well-documented 3.5 million year old mid-Pliocene shoreline (e.g. Rovere et al., 2015). Herein, we present results from a new landscape evolution model and demonstrate that flexural effects along this margin are comparable to changes in dynamic topography (Rowley et al., 2013) and are required to fully explain deformation of the Orangeburg scarp. Moreover, using the Orangeburg scarp as a datum subject to glacial isostatic adjustment, we demonstrate that a 15 m mid-Pliocene sea level above present-day is most consistent with interspersed coastal plain sediment and surface deformation derived from mantle convection and flexural-isostasy.

Elevations of Pleistocene highstand formations that lie across the South Carolina and northern Georgia coastal plain lie well above those of reconstructed past sea levels. This discrepancy has been attributed to some combination of tectonics, glacial isostatic adjustment, and/or deviations in estimated ocean volumes derived from the marine δ 18 O record. To reconcile these anomalous elevations, we combine a landscape evolution model with models of coupled ice sheet, sea level and solid Earth deformation along the southern U.S. Atlantic passive margin to estimate erosion, deposition and corresponding isostatic response since Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 (∼410 ka). We find that along-shore changes in modeled paleo-shoreline elevations are similar to measured elevations along 100s of kilometers. Up to 10 m of shoreline uplift since MIS 11 may be attributed to isostatic feedback in response to sediment redistribution.

International audience; The timing of rapid kilometer-scale fluvial incision is widely used to infer the timing of uplift of plateaus. The Mekong River, which drains the eastern Qiangtang Terrane and southeastern Tibetan Plateau, is one of the 10 largest rivers in the world by water and sediment discharge. When the Mekong River was established is critical in understanding the elevation history of the Tibetan Plateau but is highly debated (ranging from >55 to 700 m downward incision in the Mekong River during the middle Miocene, when the East Asian summer monsoon was intensified several-fold compared with the early Miocene. Using stream profile modeling, we demonstrate that such a middle Miocene increase in precipitation can produce the observed incision in the Mekong River. In the absence of an obvious tectonic contribution, this provides evidence for climatic control on kilometer-scale fluvial incision in the Tibetan Plateau.

The uplift of orogenic plateaus has been assumed to be coincident with the fluvial incision of the gorges that commonly cut plateau margins. The Mekong River, which drains the eastern Qiangtang Terrane and southeastern Tibetan Plateau, is one of the ten largest rivers in the world by water and sediment discharge. When the Mekong River was established remains highly debated—with estimates that range from more than 55 to less than 5 million years ago—despite being a key constraint on the elevation history of the Tibetan Plateau. Here we report low-temperature thermochronology data from river bedrock samples that reveal a phase of rapid downward incision (>700 m) of the Mekong River during the middle Miocene about 17 million years ago, long after the uplift of the central and southeastern Tibetan Plateau. However, this coincides with a period of enhanced East Asian summer monsoon precipitation over the region compared with the early Miocene. Using stream profile modelling, we demonstrate that such an increase in precipitation could have produced the observed incision in the Mekong River. In the absence of an obvious tectonic contribution, we suggest that the rapid incision of the Tibetan Plateau and the establishment of the Mekong River in the middle Miocene may be attributed to increased erosion during a period of high monsoon precipitation. Incision of the Mekong River that occurred after the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau may have been driven by a period of high monsoon precipitation, as suggested by age data from river bedrock samples and stream profile modelling.