#geomorphology — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Scientific Frontline @[email protected] · 2026-09-14 · 10:40 UTC

Peatlands are carbon-rich wetlands that accumulate organic matter over millennia, but recent structural modeling reveals they possess physical limits to carbon storage, potentially cracking or sliding under their own weight before reaching previously predicted capacities.
#EnvironmentalEngineering #EarthScience #Geomorphology #Hydrology #sflorg
https://www.sflorg.com/2026/09/imes09142601.html

#environmentalengineering #earthscience #geomorphology #hydrology #sflorg

💧🌏 Greg Cocks @[email protected] · 2026-09-10 · 04:17 UTC

A Coastal Exposure Index For Ireland - Relative Hazard Exposure And The Protective Role Of Coastal Habitats
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-026-08361-w <-- shared paper
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http://alturl.com/4e83i <-- shared webmap / data portal
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https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/revealed-researchers-pinpoint-county-facing-greatest-risk-of-coastal-erosion-as-sea-levels-rise/a/161113880.html <-- shared media article
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[“The index complements site-specific flood and erosion modelling.”]
H/T @kevin Walsh | PhD Researcher at University College Cork
“In this paper [1st link above], [the authors] seek to answer the question “what is the relative distribution of exposure to coastal hazards around the Irish coast, and where can coastal habitats potentially reduce exposure?”
The method [they] chose to achieve this was the Coastal Vulnerability Model (CVM), within the InVEST software suite. This involves combining the key physical and climatic variables which can show us where along the coast might be most adversely affected by extreme winds, powerful waves and surges, and sea level rise.
It also reveals the potential protection provided by coastal habitats, such as dunes and saltmarsh, as well as populations and sites of cultural heritage located within zones deemed “Very High Exposure”.
[They] tested variations to the model, including seeing how the results change when certain variables are left out, what happens if we add in other variables, and how ranking choices impact exposure distribution. The results show that these choices, especially the ranking methods, can have large impacts on hazard distribution and the overall interpretation of the results. However, [they] found that the CVM quintile based approach was most suitable for Ireland, as it reveals high exposure sites on the east coast, which tends to be overlooked when different methods are applied.
[The H/T] also prepared an interactive map, where you can view the results in detail [2nd link above]
There’s a lot of work ongoing in this space around Ireland, [they] hope this will be a valuable contribution towards sustainable management of our coastline…”
#spatialanalysis #exposure #coastal #hazards #mitigation #risk #Ireland #Irish #coast #CoastalVulnerabilityModel #CVM #InVEST #model #modeling #spatiotemporal #geostatistics #statistics #spatial #mapping #geomorphology #geology #climate #wind #wave #tidal #erosion #stormsurge #storms #ocean #sealevelrise #climatechange #extremeweather #dunes #saltmarshes #machair #seagrass #habitat #protection #vulnerability #parametersensitivity #exposure #sustainable #populationpressure #CoastalExposureIndex #culturalheritage #coastalzonemanagement #planning #policy #evidencebased #adaption #strategies

#spatialanalysis #exposure #coastal #hazards #mitigation #risk

💧🌏 Greg Cocks @[email protected] · 2026-08-18 · 03:01 UTC

Widespread Landslide Activity in an Extreme Wet Season and Implications for Regional Sediment Management, Eastern San Francisco Bay Area, California
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https://doi.org/10.1029/2026EA005227 <-- shared paper
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H/T @amy East, Ph.D., P.G. | Researcher integrating geoscience and climate-change preparedness
“[This paper (link above) is] a collaboration with [the H/T’s] colleagues from [the] USGS Landslide Hazards Program, who mapped over 8,900 landslides in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area during an extreme wet winter.
How much sediment does such an extreme winter produce, from landslides or in stream discharge? How does that compare with long-term sediment production and landscape denudation rates?
[They] f[o]nd that landslide sediment mobilization is comparable to long-term denudation rates, emphasizing the role of extreme events in long-term sediment production. However, one extreme wet year has a negligible effect toward counteracting ongoing problems of sediment deficit in San Francisco Bay: to keep pace with sea-level rise, extreme wet conditions would need to occur in 50 out of the next 75 years…”
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"PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Watersheds will likely produce more sediment in a warmer future with more extreme rain, primarily through landslides in steep terrain. This study examines how an extremely wet season affected sediment production and transport in the eastern San Francisco Bay area, California. By mapping and measuring 8,928 landslides, [they] found that rare, extreme rain conditions are likely responsible for the vast majority of long-term hillslope erosion rates in this region. However, due to long residence times for sediment on hillslopes and in stream channels, a maximum of 1%–2% of that newly mobilized landslide material could have potentially contributed to sediment carried by streams into the Bay that year. Even extremely wet years cannot provide enough sediment for Bay wetlands and shorelines to keep pace with rising sea levels. To meet the demand for sediment in the Bay, such extreme rain and sediment production would need to occur in most years, which is not realistic. To restore wetlands and protect shorelines, managers likely will need to supplement the coastal system with repurposed dredged material…”
#massmovement #soil #water #hydrology #hydrography #geology #soils #geomorphometry #hydrogeomorphology #geomorphology #landslide #masswasting #climatechange #extremeweather #precipitation #rainfall #weather #climate #mapping #engineeringgeology #mapping #SanFrancisco #BayArea #USA #California #fedscience #fedservice #oublicgood #sediment #stream #discharge #extremewinter #sealevelrise #SLR #hillslope #erosion #sedimentation #tidal #wetlands #coast #coastline #shoreline #GIS #spatial #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #watershed
#USGS | #USGSLandslideHazardsProgram