Controls on Sediment Transport From a Glacierized Catchment in the Swiss Alps Established Through Inverse Modeling of Geomorphic Processes

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Ressource 1Download: Delaney2024.pdf (1577.16 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: CC BY 4.0
Serval ID
serval:BIB_F0AF96C44E73
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Controls on Sediment Transport From a Glacierized Catchment in the Swiss Alps Established Through Inverse Modeling of Geomorphic Processes
Journal
Water Resources Research
Author(s)
Delaney Ian, Werder Mauro A., Felix David, Albayrak Ismail, Boes Robert M., Farinotti Daniel
ISSN
0043-1397
1944-7973
Publication state
Published
Issued date
04/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
60
Number
4
Language
english
Abstract
As climate warms, hydrology and geomorphology in glacierized catchments are evolving, changing sediment export from these catchments, thus impacting downstream ecosystems and communities. Currently, much uncertainty persists regarding interactions among geomorphic processes that evacuate sediment from glacierized catchments. Here, we present a catchment-scale numerical model of subglacial and proglacial sediment transport with debris meltout processes. We apply the model in a Monte Carlo framework to suspended sediment data collected over 2014–2020 from the Fieschertal catchment in the Swiss Alps, assessing possible combinations of geomorphic processes responsible for suspended sediment discharge. The ensemble of model outputs quantifies the interaction of different geomorphic processes, including the trade-off between bedrock erosion and sediment previously stored in the catchment. Model runs suggest that, at some periods, up to 20% of the sediment leaving the glacier is deposited in the proglacial area relative to the catchment's total sediment discharge. This shows that the model captures the proglacial area change from sediment source to sediment sink in different hydrological and glaciological conditions. Furthermore, the findings highlight the impact of glacier retreat on the catchment's sediment dynamics, which both reduces the proglacial area's slope and introduces additional sediment to the proglacial area through debris meltout. The model outputs and the parameters quantify the interaction among geomorphic processes, yielding key insights into the drivers of sediment transport in alpine regions. The implications of these interactions are discussed in the context of interpreting processes responsible for controlling erosion rates from glacierized regions and modeling sediment transport in glacierized catchments.
Keywords
glacier change, sediment transport, numerical modeling, proglacial processes, alpine sediment dynamics
Open Access
Yes
Create date
04/04/2024 13:37
Last modification date
24/04/2024 7:17
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