bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hillslope-channel coupling, hazards, and environmental impacts of large landslides in the marine sedimentary rocks of Aotearoa New Zealand. 
Authors: McColl Samuel , Williams Forrest , Fuller Ian
Published: June 2022

Thousands of large (> 2 ha) rock slope failures affect the Neogene marine sedimentary cover rocks of Aotearoa New Zealand. These slope failures are known to damage lifeline infrastructure, entire suburbs, agricultural land, and deliver substantial volumes of fine sediment to rivers. Despite their prevalence in the landscape and potential impacts, there has been little systematic quantification of their activity, causes, and impact. This research brings together several local case-studies and regional statistical & monitoring analyses that document the causes, movement patterns, and economic and environmental impacts of such rock slope failures in New Zealand’s North Island. At the local scale, for several large landslides that have affected infrastructure and farming operations we present i) financial damage estimates, ii) movement data collected using GPS, time-lapse, and remote-sensing methods, and iii) sediment delivery loads estimated from several independent methods. At the regional scale, for hundreds of large landslides mapped across a region of the North Island, we iv) assess movement patterns using remote-sensing (InSAR and satellite pixel-tracking), v) present a regional-scale statistical analysis of the key landscape parameters explaining the spatial distribution of their occurrence and state of activity; and vi) estimate regional-scale sediment contributions to catchment sediment loads. From the local case studies, we found that: i) individual landslides can impose hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage and seriously hinder infrastructure and farming operations; ii) can move at rates of 10-2 to 101 m per year (or fail catastrophically) with movement patterns strongly influenced by fluvial erosion; and iii) deliver tens of thousands of tonnes of sediment annually. At the regional scale, we found that iv) approximately 9 % of the ~730 mapped large landslides have been actively moving over the past several years; v) low slope angle, fluvial incision and dip slopes most strongly explain the distribution of all landslides, whereas low slope angle and rainfall best explain the distribution of the active landslides; and vi) the active landslides contribute 10 – 30 % of modelled catchment sediment loads (despite representing only 0.2 % of the total area of these catchments). Our findings suggest that large rock slope failures within the marine sedimentary rocks of Aotearoa New Zealand are a significant, but hitherto poorly recognised, hillslope erosion process, source of fine sediment to rivers, and natural hazard. Moreover, our analyses demonstrate an intimate connection between hillslope and fluvial processes, with rivers influencing slope destabilisation across multiple scales and as an efficient receiver of landslide sediment.
Gully erosion monitoring in Rio Claro Municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, using - unmaned aerial vehicle (UAV)
Authors: Garritano Fabrizio , Guerra Antonio
Published: June 2022

The objective of this paper is to use an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), to perform planialtimetric mapping of an erosive feature (gully) located in Rio Claro Municipality, Rio de Janeiro State. The study area is located within Piraí drainage basin, a tributary of Paraíba do Sul River, which presents a history of use and occupation strongly linked to the economic cycles of Brazil, where the native Atlantic Forest biome was cleared, in order to use the soil in a profitable way, making the exploration of sugar cane, coffee growing and opening of areas for pasture. The use of UAVs in geomorphological research effectively enabled a complete assessment of the erosion feature, where it was possible to make cross sections and longitudinal profiles, calculation of length, width and total area. In addition to being an equipment that facilitates the understanding and monitoring of areas of interest, the use of UAVs allows the capture of images of high resolution and precision, which are subsequently processed, giving rise to new ways of assessing the feature. In this way, it was observed in the two profiles, that there is a deep concentration in the soil, originated by the concentration of surface runoff in the area, where the soil is provided with vegetation cover, that is, it is possible to establish a relationship in the morphology of the interior of the cover feature red, where the blue and red profiles indicate that it remains with a preferential path of water, deeper, on the left bank, while the right bank changed the shape of the position of the sediments, since the most exposed area of this bank was due to sediments coming from the higher areas of the slope. To complement this research, soil samples were collected, to determine its physical and chemical properties (the bulk density results indicate that the soil has a high content of silt and fine sand and low aggregate stability, explaining the high susceptibility to erosion. Such properties, together with land use and inadequate management, generate highly impacted areas. Based on the results presented, it was possible to observe that the complementary use between the UAV and the analysis of soil properties allow a better understanding of the erosive processes, by providing a detailed visualization of the feature and better characterization of the soil. While the soil physical and chemical analyzes allow an understanding of the determining factors of its susceptibility to erosion, by the action of rain, such as its granulometric composition, porosity and aggregability. The use of the UAV brings a new way of understanding how the processes act and model the slopes. In the specific case of these gullies, the UAV made it possible to understand the differentiation of the evolution of the erosive process inside them, for the future elaboration of a diagnosis of the area, with a view to its possible recovery.
Exploring the relations between archaeological/historical sites and topography in Japan and China by machine learning methods
Authors: Wang Yuan , Oguchi Takashi
Published: June 2022

The remains of archaeological and historical sites exist all over the world, and their existence provides the basis of research for many disciplines such as Archaeology, History, and Geography. The distribution of such sites is non-random since human behaviors are controlled by environmental conditions. People in the past depended much more on the natural environment than today because of the lack of advanced technology to cope with nature. Therefore, exploring the relationship between the locations of archaeological sites and surrounding environments is useful to understand why and how past people selected the location of sites. This research establishes a predictive model to determine factors affecting the distribution of the archaeological/historical sites in Japan and China and rank them according to the degree of relevance. Special attention is paid to the influence of topographic factors. The DEMs used for this study reflect the human transformation of land due to the construction of the archaeological/historical sites. To consider the geomorphological environment when the site location was selected, we vectorized the outline of each site, and data only outside of the polygon were used for analysis. Then the topographic condition around each archaeological site was evaluated based on buffer-ring analysis and zonal statistics. The results allowed us to construct a predictive model for the spatial distribution of the sites based on topographic conditions. The model utilizes the Attentional Factorization Machines (AFM) for pairwise factors exploration. Among the sites, 75% were used for model training, and 25% were used for performance tests. The resultant multivariate model suggests that topography and related hydrological conditions affected the site distribution, which is helpful to understand the interaction between ancient people and the environment.
Predicting rill erosion due to extreme rainfall events on a small hillslope in Spain using the Landscape Evolution Model (LEM) 
Authors: Minervino Amodio Antonio , Aucelli Pietro P.C. , Gioia Dario , Keesstra Saskia , Rosskopf Carmen M. , Cerda Artemi
Published: June 2022

Landscape evolution models (LEMs) simulate geomorphic changes in landscapes and, among them, modern models can provide a quantitative estimation of sediment fluxes and geomorphological processes under changing land use and climate at different spatial and temporal scales. Although much progress has been made in the development of LEMs, few works have tested their prediction capability for single extreme rainfall events on a slope with well-defined topographic and geomorphological initial parameters, leaving for uncertain if LEMs are useful and accurate enough for this purpose. In this study, CAESAR-Lisflood LEM was used to predict a geomorphological scenario following a single rainfall event that caused rill erosion on an almond orchard in a sloping area. The high resolution aerial imagery, acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) after the rainfall event, allowed generating a digital surface model (DSM) with a high spatial resolution (i.e. 1.5 cm) by applying the structure-from motion (SfM) image technique. To reconstruct the topography prior to the rainfall event useful for the application of the Caesar-Lisflood LEM, we generated a pre-rill landscape using an authomatic method for rill extraction and characterization. This method provided an objective rill description with a cm-accuracy and-resolution. To evaluate the accuracy of the LEM model, the characteristics of some rills produced by this model were compared with a well-known field measurement method (i.e. ISUM - Improved Stock Unearthing Method). Our results show that LEMs allow to make reliable predictions even of short-term scenarios of rill development, thus confirming the high potential of such an approach in reconstructing geomorphological evolution and lanscapes dynamics.
Urban geomorphology of Cagliari city (Italy)
Authors: Demurtas Valentino , Paolo Emanuele Orrù , Rita Melis , Deiana Giacomo
Published: June 2022

Cagliari is the main city of Sardinia and is located in the south cost of the island. It Is built on ten small rocky hills separated by valleys and bordered in the south by a wide sandy beach divide by a rocky cliff promontory. Both natural and man-made lagoons and ponds are widespread. Large areas of the city are affected by hydraulic, sinkhole, and landslide risks.

Geological and geomorphological field survey integrated by Uncrewed aerial vehicle, LiDAR and aerial photos remote sensing analysis were performed, in order to map and analyze the geomorphological hazard in a densely populated area and to define the Anthropocene of the study area.

Two lagoon barrier systems originated in the Last interglacial preserve the submerged shore lines of the Phoenician Punic period.

The hills on which the city is built are made up of Miocene marine carbonate deposits with cuestas morphologies. The edges are affected by landslide processes of sliding, rockfalls and toppling for the most part stabilized.

Since the Punic period, this area was affected by man-made changes to topographic surface and underground in particular mine works. The processes of stone material extraction for the construction of the city has created chasms and excavations that are currently key points for the genesis of the sinkholes

In the alluvial plain, flooding processes are widespread both in urban and extra-urban contexts due to the canalization of streams and subsidence processes.

The coastal and lagoon plain shows evidence of flooding processes and instability of the coastlines resulting from the relative sea level rise in relation to global climate change.

The results of a geomorphological study carried out in the urban area of Cagliari are summarized in a thematic map.
Medium-term geomorphological changes along rivers in urban areas: the lower Bisagno and Polcevera Valleys in Genova city (Italy)
Authors: Mandarino Andrea , Brandolini Pierluigi , Terrone Martino , Faccini Francesco
Published: June 2022

Numerous urban centres developed along rivers because of the resources that they provide. Consequently, many of the world’s rivers are impacted by urbanization. Thus, complex and two-way interactions have established between rivers and cities, resulting in potential benefits or damage in both directions. Focusing on fluvial geomorphological processes, the consistent presence of vulnerable elements close to the riverbed generally results in severe geo-hydrological risk conditions.

Based on multi-temporal comparison of historical maps and present-day aerial images, geomorphological survey, boreholes data analysis, high-resolution topographic data investigation, and archival document collection and review, this contribute aims to illustrate in detail the geomorphological changes associated with urban sprawl that has affected the lower Bisagno and Polcevera rivers since the first half of the 19th century.

From the 10th century to 1815 the urban development of Genova was limited to the hills surrounding the so-called Porto Antico Bay, which correspond to the present-day historical centre. From the 19th century onwards, Genova has developed over the Bisagno and Polcevera valleys, Est and West of the Porto Antico Bay, respectively. The cultivated narrow and elongated alluvial-coastal plains close to the seaside were progressively turned into industrial and residential areas. Meanwhile, the Polcevera and Bisagno lower reaches experienced relevant narrowing, simplification of landforms and complete channelization. The downstream-most section of the Bisagno River was culverted in the 1930s; at the mouth of the Polcevera, a progradation of the coastline to the sea occurred, completely due to the filling of the seaside to realize flat surfaces for industrial activities. Nowadays, the surface behind bank protections overall corresponds to made ground or landscaped ground and no pristine landforms are recognizable. Minor tributaries were squeezed, diverted, channelized, and culverted. In conclusion, the anthropogenic interventions completely reshaped the early-nineteenth-century landscape leading to the current geomorphological setting.

This research is framed in a larger project concerning (i) the quantitative analysis of urban river morphological dynamics at medium- and short-term temporal scales and (ii) the geomorphological evolution of the waterfront of Genova, which aims to support proper management of urban areas and geo-hydrological risk mitigation within a city of historical and cultural value that is very prone to flash floods.
On the impact of Saharan dust addition to sedimentary units
Authors: Varga György , Kovács János , Gresina Fruzsina , Szalai Zoltán
Published: June 2022

Annual emission of mineral dust from Saharan sources can be set into the range of 1-5 billion tons per year. Besides several other climatic and environmental effects, fine-grained dust addition to clastic sedimentary units (aeolinites, loess-paleosol sequences, sand sheets) has a definite impact on the granulometric properties of these deposits. Interpretation of grain size data is greatly affected if all these factors are ignored.

Here we present an overview of Saharan dust addition to loess-paleosol sequences with special attention to interglacial paleosols. According to our findings on modern Saharan dust events and dust deposition in Central Europe, the mass accumulation of North African dust is around 3-5 g/m2/year. Stratigraphic and sedimentary data of loess-paleosol sequences allowed the determination of the relative contribution of Saharan dust to interglacial paleosols. Saharan dust material represents 20-30% of the clay- and fine silts-sized population of peodogene units of loess sections.

Support of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (Hungary) under contract NKFIH FK138692 is gratefully acknowledged.
Earth Observation for Permafrost dominated Arctic Coasts – consistent coastal erosion mapping as relevant for permafrost carbon and coastal communities
Authors: Bartsch Annett , Irrgang Anna , Boike Julia , Martin Julia , Grosse Guido , Lantuit Hugues , Nitze Ingmar , Vieira Gonçalo , Jones Benjamin M. , Widhalm Barbara , Baeckmann Clemens V. , Tanguy Rodrigue
Published: June 2022

The multifaceted impacts of coastal environmental change on local communities, ecosystem services, and socio-economic dynamics have not yet been quantified in an integrated framework at the circum-Arctic scale. Maps need to be developed that delineate areas at risk of permafrost degradation and coastal erosion, to produce vulnerability maps for determining safe building locations, and to provide information where mitigation efforts should be focused to protect Arctic coastal areas.

The following Earth Observation (EO)-guided activities have been identified feasible in order to address these issues with the possibilities offered by remote sensing:

Creation of the first circumpolar consistent dataset of coastal erosion trends. The retrieval of coastal erosion will be based on Landsat-data for the last 20 years. The long observation period allows the detection of erosion rates larger than 2m/year despite of the comparably low spatial resolution of Landsat (30m).

Creation of the first circumpolar consistent dataset of infrastructure at risk along the coasts. Detection of infrastructure potentially at risk has recently been shown feasible for 10m datasets from Sentinel-1/2 using machine learning (AI) methodology.

Validation of the circumpolar datasets of (1) and (2) as well as permafrost time series which are already available through permafrost_cci

Results will significantly enhance the current Arctic Coastal Dynamics database (ACD) through ingestion of results from (1), (2), (3) and Permafrost_cci for full coastal environment characterization. They form the basis for the development of a roadmap for future EO based updates of the ACD. We will present our strategy for the entire initiative and will specifically discuss validation and calibration steps.

The work is funded primarily through the European Space Agency Polar Science Cluster Program (project EO4PAC). Further funding was received from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (Permafrost_cci), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation 
Combining morphological and sedimentological investigation with χ index and Gilbert metrics for analysis of drainage rearrangement and divide migration in a plateau region
Authors: Oneda Dal Pai Maíra , Rodrigues Salgado André Augusto , de Sordi Michael Vinicius , de Carvalho Junior Osmar Abílio , Vedor de Paula Eduardo
Published: June 2022

Drainage rearrangement is a critical process in the dynamic evolution of landscapes. Two approaches have been used to identify, analyze, and describe drainage rearrangement and, consequently, divide migration: classical geomorphological studies based on morphological and sedimentary evidence; and geomorphometric analysis, highlighting the χ index and Gilbert's three metrics (gradient, relief, and elevation). The present study uses classical and geomorphometric methods to analyze migration in the drainage divide between the Uruguay and Paraná rivers (two of the largest basins in South America). The study area is the Espigão Range (Santa Catarina State in Brazil), composed of inland plateaus with low relief and low rates of tectonic uplift. The results indicate that the methods express distinct periods of relief evolution. Investigations using classical methods reveal a history of past captures and bidirectional migration of watersheds in low relief areas. In opposition, topographic metrics indicate the current stability trend in drainage migration. After the fluvial channel capture events, there is an adjustment period for the new drainage configuration to reach stability. Therefore, Plateau's drainage divide suggests a contrast throughout the area with phases of relative stability and phases with more accentuated drainage migration. Finally, the results show that the χ index and the three Gilbert metrics (gradient, relief and elevation) should be used with caution when evaluating because, in these areas, present, past, and future divide migrations are not unidirectional, and thus may not be correctly modeled by these computation tools. Likewise, the classical geomorphological studies based on morphological and sedimentary evidence should also be used with caution because this method cannot always show the current stability or instability in drainage divide migration.
A national catalog and an assessment tool for hydromorphological characterization of French rivers (Carhyce)
Authors: Gob Frederic , Thommeret Nathalie , Bilodeau Clelia , Kreutzenberger Karl
Published: June 2022

Since the establishment of the European Water Framework Directive in 2000, there has been a general increase in the awareness of the hydro-geomorphological functioning of rivers and streams by French river managers and administrators. Meanwhile hundreds of rehabilitation projects of all sizes have been developed. However, practitioners are still asking for knowledge and tools to support decision-making, in order to better take account of the hydromorphological component in restoring river channels. This is why a very rich national catalog on the hydromorphological characteristics of French rivers has been patiently built since 2009. It relies on a standardized field protocol applied over 3500 times on more than 2300 river reaches of all types and gathers quantitative descriptions of their channel geometry, slope gradient, bed sediment characteristics, riparian vegetation assembly, bank structure, etc. The visualization of the data through tables and graphs and downloading is allowed through a web interface.

An integrated index (Global Morphological Index) that shows the deviation from regional reference models of different parameters of the channel geometry at bankfull (width, depth, width/depth ratio, wetted area, slope and pool depth) has also been developed. There are around 30 models that have been built from a selection of about 530 reaches considered as poorly impacted by direct human influences. This index helps to identify reaches with a channel geometry that does not correspond to the geometry of the corresponding region. Five classes describing the deviation from the reference have been defined and the index has been compared to the well-used Morphological Quality Index proposed by Rinaldi et al (2017).

The reference models, the morphological index and the hydromorphological database provided by the Carhyce application is an adjustable guide to manage and better understand key parameters controlling hydromorphological pressure on biocenoces. Several examples of studies before and after restauration using the Carhyce data will be presented.
Contribution to a Suitable Rehabilitation of Rock Masses
Authors: Silva Mónica , Quinta Ferreira Mário , Santarém Pedro
Published: June 2022

Abstract

Climate change is a global concern, directly interfering with the local geology, causing changes, affecting the geomorphological structures and the stability of the rock masses.

The phenomena that occur due to changes in the geological materials, such as in coastal areas or abandoned quarries, significantly affect the behavior of the rock masses located in these areas, as they suffer the action of abrasion and erosion due to the dynamics of the sea or strong winds, which can provide an early instability of existing cliffs or slopes, endangering the surrounding environment, such as roads or buildings.

Knowing that storms are increasingly recurrent and stronger, the damages they can cause presents greater consequences, requiring a more objective analysis of the geological materials behavior when exposed to severe weather events, such as torrential rainfall or long lasting rainfall.

The geomechanical classifications e.g. Rock Mass Rating (RMR) and Slope Mass Rating (SMR), are crucial as the behavior of the rock masses can be foreseen when the values of the geotechnical parameters are suitably defined. Complementarily, it is useful to use geophysical methods allowing to obtaining more detailed information in a less invasive, but reliable way, including the degree of fracturing of the rock masses, provided that access and the characterization of the sites are feasible. Currently the geomechanical classifications are reliable at a small scale, failing to convey the geomechanical behavior of the rock masses as a whole, but rather in restricted locations. Realizing this difficulty, it is relevant to find a work methodology allowing the existing classifications to be used, so that the final results are a continuous evaluation of the rock mass behavior and not only in delimited sections or test sampling points.

Considering the goal of a continuous characterizing of the rock mass behavior through the results obtained, it is pertinent to present solutions, which should contribute, whenever possible, to greater sustainability.

Therefore, it is intended that geomorphology and geology, in association with the geotechnical studies should be used as a basis for the characterization of rock masses, allowing to identify the problems and instability causes and subsequently to present the solutions allowing to enhance profitability, sustainability and efficiency in the stabilization of the rock masses.
Agricultural infrastructure as cultural geomorphosites: case studies in Switzerland and Tunisia
Authors: Reynard Emmanuel , Ben Fraj Tarek , Ghram Messedi Aziza , Ben Ouezdou Hédi
Published: June 2022

Cultural geomorphosites are places where geomorphological features interact with cultural elements (historical or archaeological vestiges, religious monuments, etc.). Over time, agricultural practices have adapted to local conditions (climate, morphology) and have often modified landforms and hydrological conditions. New landscapes, combining the local hydro-geomorphological context and the needs of agriculture, have thus been created: e.g., terraced landscapes, drainage and irrigation systems, and clogging facilities in alluvial plains. In this communication, we compare three agricultural systems in three different geomorphological and climatic contexts.

The Upper Rhone valley (Canton of Valais, Switzerland) is characterised by relatively dry climatic conditions explaining the presence of an important network (about 800 km) of irrigation channels, called Bisses, dating back to the Middle Ages. In the last decades, this network has been recognised as a cultural heritage and the agricultural infrastructure has sparked a renewed interest for tourist and cultural reasons. Indeed, the paths along the channels are used as tourist trails and several abandoned channels have been renovated for tourist use.

The Matmata-Dahar plateau, in Southeast Tunisia, is an arid area (annual rainfall < 150 mm) resulting in a negative climatic water balance very constraining for rain-fed agriculture. It explains the development of water-harvesting techniques called Jessour, which form a hydraulic unit made of three main components: (1) a dam across the thalweg; (2) a terrace which includes the cropping area and (3) an impluvium, which is the runoff sub-catchment area. The Jessour have not yet been recognised as (geo)cultural heritage.

Lavaux is a vineyard region located on the northern shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Named a UNESCO World Heritage site as a cultural landscape in 2007, it testifies to centuries of wine growing and adaptation by man to manage hydrological processes and sediment fluxes. Structural geomorphology and differential erosion resulted in a steep stair-like slope where the vineyard terraces were created. Because the natural processes have been significantly modified by man, Lavaux can be considered as a cultural geomorphosite.

The communication has three objectives: (1) to analyse the geomorphological context (morphometric analysis, structural geomorphology, main processes) of the three cases and to show the impact of the geomorphological context on the building techniques; (2) to identify active processes and their impact on the infrastructure’s maintenance; (3) to evidence features that allow us to speak of cultural geomorphosites.
Analysis of sediment production through InVEst and Aries modeling in the Brazilian Cerrado
Authors: Brazão Christiane , Villela Renato , Ferreira Fernandes Nelson , Cassara Leonardo
Published: June 2022

In the last few decades, many studies have focused on the hydrologic effects and sediment regulation by LULC changes. Besides, land degradation by soil erosion is a major problem in many tropical developing countries, particularly when natural vegetation is converted to farmland. In Brazil, the MATOPIBA Region located in the Cerrado biome, has been considered the greatest national agricultural frontier, responsible for a large part of the Brazilian production of grains and fibers. The flat topography, the deep soils and the favorable climate for the cultivation of the main crops of grains favored the accelerated agricultural expansion in the last 30 years. In order to analyze and measure erosion and sediment regulation in the Rio Grande watershed were performed using two models: InVEST and ARIES. The aim of the InVEST model is to map and quantify the sediment delivery and retention services. It is a spatially-explicit model working with calculations at the pixel scale. The ARIES program works through ecosystem services modeling and calculations that, depending on the used module, considers both supply and demand. The mean sediment retention, in InVEST model, which is the difference in the amount of sediment delivered by the current watershed and a hypothetical watershed where all land use types have been converted to bare ground, was 42.76 ton/year/ha. These results should be taken as a good first estimate of the current scenario for the sediment retention service. This is due to some limitations of the SDR model. It uses the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE), which is limited in scope with regards to sediment source. ARIES model, for the Sediment Regulation analysis, used RUSLE to calculate soil loss and soil retention by vegetation in tons of sediments per hectare per year. The data of rain erosivity comes from the Global Rainfall Erosivity database (factor R) and the soil erodibility data (factor K) from Soil Grids. The sediment retention calculation is done through the application of RUSLE twice, first with the current land use and land cover and then with bare soil (Martínez-López et al., 2019). Then a subtraction is made between the two outputs, which determines the collaboration that current use and coverage has on sediment retention. The basin presents a mean value of 905.37, standard deviation of 1854.58 and maximum and minimum value of 39982.67 and 0, respectively. A limitation of the InVEST sediment model compared and ARIES is the temporal and spatial scale of its outputs. It is able to provide only average annual impacts under steady state conditions, limiting the model’s usability for ecosystem services in need of assessment via timescales shorter than one year.
Soil Erosion on Unpaved Roads in Rural Mpumalanga, South Africa- Causality, Management and Public Perception.
Authors: Sebothoma Busi , Beckedahl Heinz , Loubser Michael
Published: June 2022

Given the poor socio-economic status and rapid population growth of the rural inhabitants in the Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, the majority of roads in the area are unpaved. The soils in the area are derived from highly weathered, coarse grained granites, resulting in poor geotechnical properties for road-making. The available material is very susceptible to erosion, with only a small (<15%) clay fraction and dominated by medium to coarse grained sands. These roads cause severe environmental degradation through the formation and expansion of rill and gully erosion, which is recognised as the major environmental problem in the area, having significant detrimental impacts on rural land use in the region.

The erosion processes have numerous causes, many of which appear to be linked to poor management of the road infrastructure, and exacerbated by topographic and climatic factors. Further complicating the situation is the nature of road construction, traffic loading and speed. As the surface layer of the unarmoured roads is effectively impervious to rain, but is covered in a surface layer of loose material. Rainfall runoff events thus have excessively high sediments and water yields.

The goal of this study was to investigate the erosional factors causing environmental degradation in the Mpumalanga province and the efficacy of erosion-rehabilitation and mitigation strategies used by both the community and the roads authorities. Further, the project also documents the perceptions of the community in terms of the severity of soil erosion, and their perceptions of (and participate in) soil and water conservation (SWC) activities. Perceptions are documented on the strength of through field surveys and questionnaires, whereas the geotechnical and physical properties of the road surface and the mobile sediment are obtained by laboratory analysis.

It is expected that this research study will result in rill erosion features as the most prevalent phenomenal process in the study site and that Preliminary results suggest that 1) the community is aware of the soil erosion problems, and 2) considers the soil erosion to be severe, 3) that traffic speed and density, coupled with soil properties and rainfall characteristics are the major cause of the erosion problems. It would appear that there is little to no remediation by the authorities; hence the soil erosion is becoming increasingly severe and difficult to manage. It is argued that improving the soil control measures and adopting community members as full partners in the remediation is the only way to transform the degradation and bring the land back into production.
Using 2D Sediment Modelling to Simulate Geomorphic Change for River Restoration Initiatives
Authors: Abid-Waheed Zayd , Entwistle Neil , Heritage George
Published: June 2022

River restoration projects have long relied on the use of modelling in both 1D and 2D to simulate the changes to flow hydraulics and flood extent that alterations to a river and floodplain will have caused. These methods have grown more accurate with increasing computing power and more complex software. However, despite the developments in modelling, a significant gap remains in the usage and accuracy of sediment modelling to identify arguably one of the most important metrics of river restoration: Geomorphic Change. Therefore, this paper attempts to address this by investigating the accuracy of high-resolution sediment modelling to identify geomorphic change on Blaze Beck in Cumbria, a high energy wandering river system that has recently been restored. Comparisons have been made between the impacts of a simulated flood event created using HEC-RAS 6.1 modelling software and a real-life flood event on October the 27th 2021, to compare changes to geomorphology and identify the degree of accuracy of the 2D change modelling compared to change measured using drone-based photogrammetry. The results appear generally accurate, predicting locations of head cutting and more general low-level erosion and deposition. Bar formation, splay deposition and general bed raising are all predicted. The model is, however, very sensitive to the gradation of sediment it has been trained with and this can skew the ratio and pattern of deposition and erosion depending on the sample data used to simulate real life conditions. The model, once refined and iterated to best simulate potential change, is functional even in a high energy hydraulically diverse environment like Blaze Beck, and will have significant value in predicting the degree to which geomorphic change will occur because of restorative or other changes to a river reach.
Mapping of Kameng and Siang Cryospheric hazards in the sporadic to discontinuous permafrost areas of Arunachal Pradesh, India using Remote Sensing and GIS
Authors: Acharjee Swapna
Published: June 2022

The Eastern part of Himalayan region covering Arunachal Pradesh is a part of trans-boundary Brahmaputra basin witnessing significant impacts of cryospheric hazards due to climate warming in the Anthropocene. The cryospheric region in Arunachal Pradesh lies within sporadic to discontinuous permafrost zones in the GlobPermafrost zonation map. The previously mapped moderate to low hazard landslide susceptible areas are now becoming high hazard zones due to evolving landscape changes and exposure of permafrost areas. The snow avalanches are also posing risk to the human settlements in the Tawang catchment. In this study the two events of cryospheric hazards related to glaciers in Kameng and Siang catchment are discussed. The glacial hazards are mapped using pre-/post-event Sentinel-2/Landsat satellite images in GIS. This includes  glacier collapse, the turbidity in river water due to glacial flour and glacial debris damming of river followed by subsequent overtopping. It is evident that with the rise in temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration in the future climate scenario regime, cryospheric hazards will increase in the upper sub-catchments of the Brahmaputra basin influencing vulnerability to the downstream population.
Establishing regimes of landslide activity – Analysis of landslide triggers over the previous seven decades (Western Carpathians, Poland)
Authors: Wistuba Małgorzata , Malik Ireneusz , Gorczyca Elżbieta , Ślęzak Albert
Published: June 2022

Long-term analyses of landslide patterns and triggering factors, covering several decades of continuous data, including periods of both acceleration and stability, are a key to understanding landslide activity, background, and variability. This study focused on the long-term relationships between landslide activity and the triggering factors, precipitation in particular, for three landslides in the Western Carpathians, Poland (temperate climate conditions of Central Europe). We determined the activity and triggers for the studied slopes based on dendrochronological reconstruction covering 68 years (1951–2018), including tree-ring eccentricity and compression wood dating for 107 Norway spruce trees. Through statistical comparison between the dendrochronological record of landslide activity and meteorological data (based on daily precipitation totals), we established types and seasons of precipitation that are critical for triggering landslide activity. We found regional similarities but also significant local differences between the three studied slopes. We were able to explain the origin of the differences through the individual features of landslide topography and structure, such as the depth of the shear zones, disintegration of landslide blocks resulting in a plastic, flow-like movement of the material, and location of the landslide blocks in relation to high groundwater levels in the valley floors. Finally, we determined the optimal sequences of triggers leading to heavy landsliding for each slope, therefore establishing the regimes of their activity. Furthermore, we used the same methodological approach on a landslide located in a highly seismic and monsoon area in the Hengduan Mountains, Sichuan, China, where we also revealed the pattern of landslide-precipitation dependence. Based on these results, we argue that the long-term regularities in landslide response to triggers can be generalised into regimes, as is commonly done with river discharge, groundwater levels, and their hydro-meteorological background. We propose establishing “regimes of landslide activity” that are based on decades of observations and reconstructions. Our study demonstrates that such a long-term approach can be an efficient tool for describing and explaining the variability of landslide activity and hazards over space and time.
Soil-landscape relationship in the watershed of the Rico stream, São Paulo State, Brazil.
Authors: Pissarra Teresa Cristina Tarle , Costa Adriana Monteiro da , Oliveira Fábio Soares de , Costa Renata Cristina Araújo
Published: June 2022

The weathering of rocks and minerals of the córrego Rico Watershed processes was studied to understand the internal forces to determine the distribution of soil and relief in space. The objective of this paper is to analyze the relation present in rock formation, soil, relief and water courses in a watershed landscape. Remote sensing orbital image and geographic information system techniques were used in research to data analysis. The multispectral and hyperspectral imagers were available for mapping the land cover, water courses and to process the relief. The physical soil and mineralogy data was collected in field and the samplings were analyzed in the soil and mineralogy laboratories. The exogenic system then transforms rock-forming minerals and their constituent elements into soil showed the differences between relief and soil formation in the area. The landforms composed the watershed landscape was verified. The results showed the influence of relief on soil types and their distribution in the landscape. The areas with higher drainage density present a dissected relief. Ultisols are present in areas of higher drainage density and Latosols are present in areas of lower drainage density, showing a close relationship between relief forms and soil distribution in the landscape. The areas more susceptible to natural erosive processes – Ultisols requires sustainable management in the watershed.
Cultural Geomorphology and Geotourism in the digital information age. Using Geographic Information Technologies to support natural heritage valorisation in São Pedro do Sul municipality
Authors: Ferreira Rui
Published: June 2022

Starting from a revisitation of the Cultural Geomorphology concept, this work focuses on the use of Geographic Information Technologies to create and enrich content used to support the appreciation and management of the natural characteristics of places (geodiversity) in the context of their valorisation as an endogenous tourist resource.

A territory roughly delimited by the tops of the Arada and S. Macário mountains and the valleys of the rivers Sul and Vouga (municipality of São Pedro do Sul) was selected as the study area, primarily because it is a place of significant geomorphological interest, but also because this geoheritage can be used as a complementary tourist resource to the existing spa activities linked to geothermal springs and, in this way, contribute to a reinforcement and diversification of available tourist offer.

Pursuing that main goal, in this work several selected examples are presented to illustrate the potential value associated with the use of Geographic Information Technologies, both for the collection of data in the field and subsequent elaboration of thematic contents tailored to different segments of public, and for the development of a digital platform aimed to support geotourism activities or environmental education events. These are two lines of intervention that can be of great significance to improving public perception for the value of natural and cultural landscapes, particularly in regions with significant problems of depopulation and rural abandonment as is the case of the selected study area.
Geomorphology and lithology as factors influencing hydrological dynamics. Comparative analysis of karst vs. non-karst watersheds in the central-western region of Portugal
Authors: Paiva Isabel , Pinto dos Santos Pedro , Pardal João , Cunha Lucio , Tavares Alexandre
Published: June 2022

The geomorphological and geological characteristics of karst regions are very specific and complex, affecting the hydrological processes significantly. Due to the enormous heterogeneity and non-linearity of karst terrains, the hydrodynamic functioning of karst watersheds considerably differs from non-karst watersheds. Quantifying and understanding the influence of these watershed characteristics in the hydrodynamics of karst and non-karst areas is crucial for managing water resources and extreme hydrological episodes, particularly in the present scenario of hydroclimatic variability and uncertainty.

The present study establishes a comparison between two watersheds: (i) a karst basin (Anços) composed of Middle Jurassic karstified limestones, dominated by a rough plateau that promotes the infiltration, and (i) a non-karst basin (Arunca) characterized by Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous marly limestones, and Cenozoic thick mudstones deposits (low permeability promoting surface runoff). The rivers' water level was logged every 20 minutes by a gauge station from 2010 to 2020, and the rainfall was also registered for the same period.

The objectives of this study are (i) to examine, from a quantitative perspective, the influence of geomorphological and geological characteristics on the runoff coefficient using statistical analysis; (ii) to quantify the rainfall-runoff lag time and the recession coefficients from the analysis of storm hydrographs simultaneously in both watersheds; (iii) to deepen the knowledge about the behavior of each watershed in flood episodes through hydrological simulation.

The results showed that geomorphological and geological watershed characteristics play an essential role in the hydrodynamic functioning of the Anços and Arunca watersheds. Furthermore, the outcomes of this study revealed a pronounced contrast between the two watersheds in the reaction to rainfall and mainly in the first stage of the recession limb. It should be highlighted that the non-karst watershed presents a faster and more extreme hydrological behavior expressed in a peak hydrograph. On the reverse, the karst watershed demonstrated a higher storage capacity, revealed by the shape of the recession curve.
How human activity changes the drainage system in the small mountain catchments? (Carpathian Mountains, Poland)
Authors: Kroczak Rafał , Bryndal Tomasz
Published: June 2022

In our presentation we analyze human impact on development of active drainage system (ADS) operating during heavy rainfall in mountain catchments. Few flysch catchments located in the Carpathian foothills and Beskidy - medium-high mountain areas were selected for this poster sesion.
The ADS is reconstructed with use of ALS-LiDAR data. The results revealed that the density of the ADS may be even 5 times higher compared to the river system. Moreover, in the studied catchments c.a. 25% of the ADS constitute man-origin elements (roads, ditches and plough furrows) incorporated to the drainage system. 
The Hortonian type of analysis revealed that man-origin elements significantly change the structure of the natural, river drainage system. Those man-origin elements are predominantly attributed to 1st and 2nd order stream, which drain the upper part of the hillslopes. 
The results will be discussed in the context of geomorphological transformation of the hillslopes and catchments hydrological response. 