Networks of valleys provide puzzling hints of running water on the surface of the Red Planet. New research suggests that some tributaries could have formed from icy sheets thousands of meters thick.
landscape & topography
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Atmospheric Rivers Help Coastal Wetlands Build Up Sediment
Accounting for these storms and flooding can help experts predict and respond to rising sea levels.
Posted inNews
Why Do Rivers Jump Off the Beaten Path?
Researchers sifted through 50 years of satellite imagery and came up with new clues to where and why rivers avulse, suddenly changing their course.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Steep Mountain Slopes Have Surprisingly Long Lifetimes
New models of eastern Tibetan hillsides show that steep slopes with “excess” rock last longer on average than their shallower counterparts.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
The Lost Topography Around Continental Rifts
Numerical models provide quantitative constraints on topography lost to erosion, showing how the sediment influx in a sedimentary basin reflects its tectonic and topographic evolution.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Running Water on Topographic Data to Better Delineate Channels
Two-dimensional hydraulic simulations are a powerful tool to identify process domains such as channels, hillslopes, and floodplains in high-resolution topographic data.
Posted inScience Updates
A Sharper Look at the World’s Rivers and Catchments
Digital hydrographic maps have transformed global environmental studies and resource management. A major database update will provide even clearer and more complete views of Earth’s waterways.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Debris Flows Keep the Landscape on the Straight and Narrow
New methods for identifying debris flow-shaped channels improve hazard quantification and highlight how high uplift rates and fractured bedrock facilitate debris flow-dominated landscape evolution.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Moving Earthquake-Generated Sediment Through a Landscape
Ten years after the Wenchuan earthquake, most of the new sediment it produced remained on the landscape, indicating a long recovery time.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Fresh Approaches to Processing GRACE Data
Two studies showcase new methods for analyzing GRACE data that better match the land surface, producing clearer estimates of mass variations.