Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface Archives - Page 7 of 13

Visualization of the trajectories of some sand grains during two different kinds of barchan-barchan interactions.

Editors' Highlights

Grain Scale Dynamics During Barchan-Barchan Interactions

by Thomas Pähtz 8 October 20218 October 2021

A new study pinpoints grain scale dynamics during binary interactions between barchan dunes.

On the left is a schematic illustrating the model setup in an idealized rectangular channel. On the right is a contour plot of predicted ratio of lateral erosion rate to vertical erosion rate as a function of transport stage and relative sediment supply.

Editors' Highlights

Impacts by Moving Gravel Cause River Channels to Widen or Narrow

by Mikaël Attal 24 September 202115 February 2023

A new analytical model describes how the amount and grain size of sediment transported by rivers influences bedrock channel width, which can be used to predict where rivers will widen or narrow.

Geophysical measurements of rock glacier thickness made using a ground-based radar, showing the geometry and the internal structure of Laurichard rock glacier in France.

Editors' Highlights

Revealing How Rock Glaciers Respond to Climate Change

by Ann Rowan 17 September 202128 July 2022

Detailed measurements of the geometry and flow of Laurichard rock glacier over 67 years reveal the distinctive behavior of these landforms through periods of warming and cooling.

Four photographs of Big Cypress National Preserve of South Florida.

Editors' Highlights

A New Model for Self-Organized Pattern Formation

by Ton Hoitink 1 July 202111 February 2022

Scale-dependent feedbacks in time, rather than in space, result in a new type of competition, explaining the regularly patterned landscape of Big Cypress National Preserve in South Florida.

Debris flows during the largest rainstorm following the 2009 Station Fire in California.

Research Spotlights

The Wildfire One-Two: First the Burn, Then the Landslides

by Aaron Sidder 22 June 202128 September 2021

Severe wildfires strip away plant cover and reduce the soil’s ability to hold water. A new study develops a model to better understand landslide risk following a burn.

Map of the study site in the northern California Coast Ranges.

Editors' Highlights

Thickness and Strength of Slow-moving Landslides Revealed

by O. Marc 22 April 20216 February 2023

Hundreds of slow-moving landslides’ deformation patterns were inverted to obtain their thickness and frictional strength, revealing that larger landslides are weaker and thinner than smaller ones.

Frost covers branches on trees lining a field in Oulu, Finland.

Research Spotlights

Predicting the Next Big Frost Quake

by J. Pinson 30 October 202016 February 2022

Frost quakes occur in boreal regions when rapidly expanding ice underground causes frozen soils to fracture. A recent frost quake in Finland has given scientists a rare look into how they form.

Sediment swirls and mixes with water in a brown slurry

Research Spotlights

Experimenting with Underwater Sediment Slides

by Terri Cook 8 October 202014 March 2024

Sediment-laden currents caused by breaching flow slides are hazardous to flood defenses and seabed infrastructure. New research shows that these phenomena must be accounted for in erosion simulations.

A fish jumps out of the water as it heads upstream

Research Spotlights

How River Capture Affects the Evolution of Aquatic Organisms

by David Shultz 28 September 202030 March 2023

River basins are dynamic environments that are always changing and reorganizing under geologic forces. New research investigates how this shape shifting influences aquatic speciation and extinction.