TOPO-EUROPE: Coupled Deep Earth - Surface Processes in Europe

TOPO-EUROPE is a multidisciplinary international research program that addresses the interaction of processes inherent to the deep Earth (lithosphere, mantle) with surface processes (erosion, climate, sea level), which together shaped the topography of Europe. The objective of the TOPO-EUROPE project is to assess neotectonic deformation rates and to quantify related geo-risks, such as earthquakes, flooding, landslides, rock falls and volcanism. Research, incorporating iterative data interactive modelling, focuses on the lithosphere memory and neotectonics, with special attention on the thermo-mechanical structure of the lithosphere, mechanisms controlling large-scale plate boundary and intraplate deformations, anomalous subsidence and uplift, and links with surface processes and topography evolution. The TOPO-EUROPE natural laboratories, in which these processes are analysed, cover a wide range of geodynamic settings. These include the post-collisional Alpine/Carpathian/Pannonian-Basin system, the very active Aegean-Anatolian and Apennines-Tyrrhenian orogens and back-arc basins, the Caucasus-Levant area in the Arabia-Europe collision zone, the Iberian Peninsula caught up between Alpine orogens, the meta-stable West and Central European Platform, the stable East-European Platform and the seismically active and elevated Scandinavian continental margin. The TOPO-EUROPE project is a component of the International Lithosphere Program and was initiated with the support of Academia Europaea. A European Science Foundation EUROCORES project provides funding for part of the TOPO-EUROPE research. Other parts of TOPO-EUROPE require support by participating organization

Modelling transverse dunes

Transverse dunes appear in regions of mainly unidirectional wind and high sand availability. A dune model is extended to two dimensional calculation of the shear stress. It is applied to simulate dynamics and morphology of transverse dunes which seem to reach translational invariance and do not stop growing. Hence, simulations of two dimensional dune fields have been performed. Characteristic laws were found for the time evolution of transverse dunes. Bagnold's law of the dune velocity is modified and reproduced. The interaction between transverse dunes led to interesting results which conclude that small dunes can pass through bigger ones.Comment: Submitted to Earth Surface Processes and Landform

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College of Science, July 13, 2012

The Departments of Geology and Watershed Sciences at Utah State University both seek to add a “Geomorphology & Earth Surface Processes” specialization to their respective MS and PhD degrees in Geology and Watershed Science

The influence of flow discharge variations on the morphodynamics of a diffluence-confluence unit on a large river: Impacts of discharge variation on a diffluence-confluence unit

© 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Bifurcations are key geomorphological nodes in anabranching and braided fluvial channels, controlling local bed morphology, the routing of sediment and water, and ultimately defining the stability of their associated diffluence–confluence unit. Recently, numerical modelling of bifurcations has focused on the relationship between flow conditions and the partitioning of sediment between the bifurcate channels. Herein, we report on field observations spanning September 2013 to July 2014 of the three-dimensional flow structure, bed morphological change and partitioning of both flow discharge and suspended sediment through a large diffluence–confluence unit on the Mekong River, Cambodia, across a range of flow stages (from 13 500 to 27 000 m 3 s −1 ). Analysis of discharge and sediment load throughout the diffluence–confluence unit reveals that during the highest flows (Q = 27 000 m 3 s −1 ), the downstream island complex is a net sink of sediment (losing 2600 ± 2000 kg s −1 between the diffluence and confluence), whereas during the rising limb (Q = 19 500 m 3 s −1 ) and falling limb flows (Q = 13 500 m 3 s −1 ) the sediment balance is in quasi-equilibrium. We show that the discharge asymmetry of the bifurcation varies with discharge and highlight that the influence of upstream curvature-induced water surface slope and bed morphological change may be first-order controls on bifurcation configuration. Comparison of our field data to existing bifurcation stability diagrams reveals that during lower (rising and falling limb) flow the bifurcation may be classified as unstable, yet transitions to a stable condition at high flows. However, over the long term (1959–2013) aerial imagery reveals the diffluence–confluence unit to be fairly stable. We propose, therefore, that the long-term stability of the bifurcation, as well as the larger channel planform and morphology of the diffluence–confluence unit, may be controlled by the dominant sediment transport regime of the system. © 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College of Natural Resources, July 13, 2012 - Specialization in Geomorphology & Earth Surface Processes

The Departments of Geology and Watershed Sciences at Utah State University both seek to add a “Geomorphology & Earth Surface Processes” specialization to their respective MS and PhD degrees in Geology and Watershed Science. No instructional activities will be impacted, as courses to be used for the requested specialization are already offered

Dense and long-term monitoring of Earth surface processes with passive RFID -- a review

Billions of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) passive tags are produced yearly to identify goods remotely. New research and business applications are continuously arising, including recently localization and sensing to monitor earth surface processes. Indeed, passive tags can cost 10 to 100 times less than wireless sensors networks and require little maintenance, facilitating years-long monitoring with ten's to thousands of tags. This study reviews the existing and potential applications of RFID in geosciences. The most mature application today is the study of coarse sediment transport in rivers or coastal environments, using tags placed into pebbles. More recently, tag localization was used to monitor landslide displacement, with a centimetric accuracy. Sensing tags were used to detect a displacement threshold on unstable rocks, to monitor the soil moisture or temperature, and to monitor the snowpack temperature and snow water equivalent. RFID sensors, available today, could monitor other parameters, such as the vibration of structures, the tilt of unstable boulders, the strain of a material, or the salinity of water. Key challenges for using RFID monitoring more broadly in geosciences include the use of ground and aerial vehicles to collect data or localize tags, the increase in reading range and duration, the ability to use tags placed under ground, snow, water or vegetation, and the optimization of economical and environmental cost. As a pattern, passive RFID could fill a gap between wireless sensor networks and manual measurements, to collect data efficiently over large areas, during several years, at high spatial density and moderate cost.Comment: Invited paper for Earth Science Reviews. 50 pages without references. 31 figures. 8 table

New perspectives on climate, Earth surface processes and thermal–hydrological conditions in high–latitude systems

Climate, Earth surface processes and soil thermal hydrological conditions drive landscape development, ecosystem functioning and human activities in high latitude regions. These systems are at the focal point of concurrent global change studies as the ongoing shifts in climate regimes has already changed the dynamics of fragile and highly specialized environments across pan Arctic. This thesis aimed to 1) analyze and model extreme air temperatures, soil thermal and hydrological conditions, and the main Earth surface processes (ESP) (cryoturbation, solifluction, nivation and palsa mires) controlling the functioning of high latitude systems in current and future climate conditions; 2) identify the key environmental factors driving the spatial variation of the studied phenomena; and 3) develop methodology for producing novel high quality datasets. To accomplish these objectives, spatial analyses were conducted throughout geographical scales by utilizing multiple statistical modelling approaches, such as regression, machine learning techniques and ensemble forecasting. This thesis was based on unique datasets from the northern Fennoscandia; climate station records from Finland, Sweden and Norway, state of the art climate model simulations, fine scale field measurements collected in arctic alpine tundra and remotely sensed geospatial data. In paper I, accurate extreme air temperature maps were produced, which were notably improved after incorporating the influence of local factors such as topography and water bodies into the spatial models. In paper II, the results showed extreme variation in soil temperature and moisture over very short distances, while revealing the factors controlling the heterogeneity of ground thermal and hydrological conditions. Finally, the modelling outputs in papers III and IV provided new insights into the determination of geomorphic activity patterns across arctic alpine landscapes, while stressing the need for accurate climate data for predictive geomorphological distribution mapping. Importantly, Earth surface processes were found to be extremely climatic sensitivity, and drastic changes in geomorphic systems towards the end of 21st century can be expected. The increase of current temperature conditions by 2 ˚C was projected to cause a near complete loss of active ESPs in the high latitude study area. This thesis demonstrated the applicability of spatial modelling techniques as a useful framework in multiple key challenges of contemporary physical geography. Moreover, with the utilized model ensemble approach, the modelling uncertainty can be reduced while presenting the local trends in response variables more robustly. In future Earth system studies, it is essential to further assess the dynamics of arctic alpine landscapes under changing climatic conditions and identify potential tipping points of these sensitive systems.Ilmasto, maanpinnan prosessit sekä kosteus- että lämpötilaolot säätelevät maiseman kehitystä, ekosysteemien dynamiikkaa ja ihmistoimintaa korkeiden leveysasteiden alueilla. Nämä luonnonjärjestelmät ovat nykyaikaisen globaalimuutostutkimuksen keskiössä, sillä muuttuvien ilmasto-olojen on osoitettu vaikuttavan näiden herkkien ja pitkälle erikoistuneiden ympäristöjen toimintaan. Tämän väitöstyön tavoitteena oli 1) analysoida ja mallintaa ilman lämpötilojen äärioloja, maaperän lämpö- ja kosteusoloja sekä useita maanpinnan prosesseja (routakuohunta, rinneprosessit, lumenviipymäalueet ja palsasuot) sekä nykyisissä että tulevaisuuden ilmasto oloissa; 2) tunnistaa näiden ilmiöiden alueellista vaihtelua voimakkaimmin säätelevät ympäristötekijät; ja 3) kehittää menetelmiä, joilla on mahdollista tuottaa korkealaatuisia alueellisia aineistoja. Alueellisia analyysejä tehtiin läpi maantieteellisten mittakaavojen hyödyntäen tilastollisia mallinnusmenetelmiä, kuten regressio- ja koneoppimistekniikoita sekä parviennustamista. Tässä väitöstyössä hyödynnettiin monipuolisesti laajoja aineistoja pohjoisen Fennoskandian alueelta; ilmastoaineistoja Suomesta, Ruotsista ja Norjasta, moderneja ilmastomallisimulaatioita, paikallistason havaintoaineistoa arktis-alpiiniselta tundralta sekä kaukokartoitukseen perustuvia paikkatietoaineistoja. Ensimmäisessä osatyössä tuotettiin alueellisesti tarkkoja äärilämpötilakarttoja, jotka paranivat merkittävästi, kun paikallistekijöiden, kuten korkeussuhteiden ja vesistöjen vaikutus lisättiin malleihin. Toisessa osatyössä osoitettiin maaperän lämpö- ja kosteusolojen äärimmäinen pienipiirteinen alueellinen vaihtelu sekä tunnistettiin sitä sääteleviä ympäristötekijöitä. Kaksi viimeistä osatyötä toivat uusia näkökulmia geomorfologisen aktiivisuuden esiintymiseen arktis-alpiinisessa ympäristössä sekä korostivat tarkkojen ilmastoaineistojen merkitystä ennustavassa geomorfologisessa mallintamisessa. Huomionarvoista on, että useiden maanpinnan prosessien havaittiin olevan erittäin ilmastoherkkiä; vuosituhannen loppuun mennessä geomorfologisissa järjestelmissä voidaan odottaa tapahtuvan suuria muutoksia. Nykyisten lämpötilaolojen nousun kahdella asteella ennustettiin hävittävän lähes täysin aktiiviset maanpinnan prosessit tutkimusalueeltamme. Tämä väitöstyö on osoittanut, että alueellisen mallintamisen menetelmät ovat erittäin soveltuvia useisiin luonnonmaantieteen tutkimuskysymyksiin. Lisäksi työssä käytetyillä parviennustamismenetelmillä on mahdollista pienentää mallinnukseen liittyvää epävarmuutta ja esittää vastemuuttujien paikallinen vaihteluluotettavasti. Tulevaisuudessa on tärkeää edelleen arvioida arktis-alpiinisten alueiden toimintaa muuttuvissa ilmasto-olosuhteissa sekä tunnistaa näihin herkkien ympäristöjärjestelmien toimintaan eniten vaikuttavia tekijöitä

Innovative analysis and use of high-resolution DTMs for quantitative interrogation of Earth-surface processes

This is the era of digital landscapes; the widespread availability of powerful sensing technologies has revolutionized the way it is possible to interrogate landscapes in order to understand the processes sculpting them. Vastly greater areas have now been acquired at ‘high resolution’: currently tens of metres globally to millimetric precision and accuracy locally. This permits geomorphic features to be visualized and analysed across the scales at which Earth-surface processes operate. Especially exciting is the capturing of process dynamics in repeated surveying, which will only become more important with low-cost accessible data generation through techniques such as Structure from Motion (SfM). But the key challenge remains; to interpret high resolution Digital Terrain Models (DTMs), particularly by extracting geomorphic features in robust and objective ways and then linking the observed features to the underlying physical processes. In response to the new data and challenges, recent years have seen improved processing of raw data into DTMs, development of data fusion techniques, novel quantitative analysis of topographic data, and innovative geomorphological mapping. The twelve papers collected in this volume sample this progress in interrogating Earthsurface processes through the analysis of DTMs. They cover a wide range of disciplines and spatio-temporal scales, from landslide prone landscapes, to agriculturally modified regions, to mountainous landscapes, and coastal zones. They all, however, showcase the quantitative exploitation of information contained in high-resolution topographic data that we believe will underpin the improvement of our understanding of many elements of Earth-surface processes. Most of the papers introduced here were first presented in a conference session at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in 2011

An open source Bayesian Monte Carlo isotope mixing model with applications in Earth surface processes

The implementation of isotopic tracers as constraints on source contributions has become increasingly relevant to understanding Earth surface processes. Interpretation of these isotopic tracers has become more accessible with the development of Bayesian Monte Carlo (BMC) mixing models, which allow uncertainty in mixing end‐members and provide methodology for systems with multicomponent mixing. This study presents an open source multiple isotope BMC mixing model that is applicable to Earth surface environments with sources exhibiting distinct end‐member isotopic signatures. Our model is first applied to new δ18O and δD measurements from the Athabasca Glacier, which showed expected seasonal melt evolution trends and vigorously assessed the statistical relevance of the resulting fraction estimations. To highlight the broad applicability of our model to a variety of Earth surface environments and relevant isotopic systems, we expand our model to two additional case studies: deriving melt sources from δ18O, δD, and 222Rn measurements of Greenland Ice Sheet bulk water samples and assessing nutrient sources from ɛNd and 87Sr/86Sr measurements of Hawaiian soil cores. The model produces results for the Greenland Ice Sheet and Hawaiian soil data sets that are consistent with the originally published fractional contribution estimates. The advantage of this method is that it quantifies the error induced by variability in the end‐member compositions, unrealized by the models previously applied to the above case studies. Results from all three case studies demonstrate the broad applicability of this statistical BMC isotopic mixing model for estimating source contribution fractions in a variety of Earth surface systems.Key Points:Open source BMC model determines source contributions in Earth surface systemsEffectively applied to stable and radiogenic isotope systems in various settingsModel able to encompass end‐member uncertainties and multiple isotopic systemsPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111937/1/ggge20708.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111937/2/ggge20708-sup-0001-2014GC005683-ts01.pd