Search

This paper presents the result of my research in Sweden and my view on the relationships between physical geography (here mainly geomorphology) and geology. I developed a method for identification and mapping denudation surfaces formed in the Precambrian basement. South Sweden turned out to be a key area with cover rocks of different age directly on the basement. The relief differences in the basement are connected to the different sedimentary covers with a flat and inclined sub-Cambrian surface and a hilly and inclined sub-Cretaceous surface. The crosscutting horizontal South Småland Plain was classified as a peneplain, as it is a surface graded to a distinct base level. Besides the basement forms and remnant cover rocks, saprolite remnants are important for the identification of denudation surfaces. The mapping method was ultimately labeled Stratigraphic Landscape Analysis (SLA) and used for conclusion on tectonics (uplift/subsidence and faulting). I obtained, as a physical geographer, a broad holistic knowledge on the relief differentiation of the basement rocks of Fennoscandia and on Swedish regional geology. This gave me the tool to identify denudation surfaces with the aid of the new digital elevation data and new geological knowledge of the surrounding continental shelf. The Swedish knowledge on the relationships between relief in the basement and its cover rocks is unique in the world. Maybe the relationship between denudation surfaces, cover rocks and tectonics ought to be a part of geology. Results of measurements, by different new techniques, are nowadays often analyzed based on hypotheses/theories. Observations of field conditions have become difficult to perform both within geology and geomorphology and seem to be considered as unscientific. Further, regional analysis, typical for geography, does not exist anymore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study evaluates interannual variations and trends in growing season daily temperature sum and daily precipitation sum in Finland during 1961-2011, and their connections to well known atmospheric circulation patterns. Changes in summer (June-August) climate partially explain changes in growing season daily temperature sum and daily precipitation sum over Finland, which naturally decreased from south to north. On a national scale, growing season warmed and became wetter during 1961-2011, as growing season daily temperature sum and daily precipitation sum significantly ( p < 0.05) increased by 5.01 ± 3.17°C year-1 and 1.39 ± 0.91 mm year-1, respectively. The East Atlantic pattern was the most influential atmospheric circulation pattern for variations in growing season daily temperature sum (rho = 0.40) across Finland and the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern was most influential for growing season daily precipitation sum variability (rho = -0.54). There were significant ( p < 0.05) increasing trends in growing season daily temperature sum and daily precipitation sum throughout Finland during 1961-2011. Increased growing season daily temperature sum was mainly observed in northern, central, western, eastern and coastal areas of south-western Finland. This warming was positively associated with the East Atlantic pattern in the north, centre and south, but negatively associated with the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern in eastern Finland. Increased GSP mostly occurred in southern, eastern, western, central, northern and north-western Finland. These wetting trends were positively correlated with the East Atlantic pattern in the north and negatively correlated with the Polar pattern in the south and the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern in the east, west, centre and north-east of Finland. The overall agroclimatic year-to-year variability in Finland between 1961 and 2011 was mostly linked to variations in the East Atlantic and East Atlantic/West Russia patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper changes in the active layer of the high arctic coastal area in north-west Spitsbergen, Svalbard are described. Analysis includes both the ground thawing depth and its near-surface thermal structure. The study was conducted on the Kaffiøyra Plain ( Svalbard) at several fixed sites, which represent places typical of the region: a sandy beach, a tundra plain and a moraine ridge. The results show that in recent years, at two measurement points a significantly deeper thawing was observed. In 1996-2012 on the beach and on the moraine the trend of active layer thickness change was +1.3 cm yr−1 and +2.5 cm yr−1, respectively. Generally, in the years 2008-2012 the mean thickness of the active layer in the Kaffiøyra region increased by 3% to 6%. Even at the spatially close sites, within similar environments, there are significant differences in the thickness of the active layer. Measurements show that significant changes also occurred in the thawed ground temperature. Mean values of the observed near-surface temperature in recent years (2007-2011) were higher by more than 1.0°C, in comparison to the mean in the late 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gruber, S., Egli, M., Gärtner-Roer, I. and Hoelzle, M., 2012. Preface: The mountain cryosphere - a holistic view on processes and their interactions. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, ••, ••-••. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00468.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bell, R., Petschko, H., Röhrs, M. and Dix, A. Assessment of landslide age, landslide persistence and human impact using airborne laser scanning digital terrain models. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 94, 135-156. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00454.x ABSTRACT Landslides occur worldwide and contribute significantly to sediment budgets as well as to landform evolution. Furthermore, they pose hazards and risks to people and their goods. To assess the role of landslides, information on their age or persistence (i.e. the length of time the morphological characteristics of a landslide remain recognizable in the terrain) is essential. In this study, the potential of airborne laser scanning digital terrain models (ALS DTMs) is analysed for estimating landslide age, landslide persistence and human impact. Therefore, landslides in two study areas, Swabian Alb in Germany and Lower Austria in Austria, are mapped from hillshades of ALS DTMs and combined with historical information on landslide occurrence. It is tested whether the modification of the geomorphological features of landslides can be used to assess landslide age. In the Swabian Alb older landslides might show fresher features than younger ones because of different degrees of human impact, natural erosion and different histories of landslide reactivation. Estimated persistence times range between 27 and 320 years but are minimum values only. In Lower Austria four landslides show estimated minimum persistence times between 4 and 28 years. In Lower Austria 27 landslides disappeared in less than 7 years after occurrence mainly because of planation by farmers. The results show no clear trend in landslide persistence, neither regarding landslide magnitude, nor regarding land use. However, it is evident that human impact plays a major role in landslide persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sailer, R., Bollmann, E., Hoinkes, S., Rieg, L., Sproß, M. and Stötter, J., 2012. Quantification of geomorphodynamics in glaciated and recently deglaciated terrain based on airborne laser scanning data. Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography, 94, 17-32. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00456.x ABSTRACT This article highlights the ability of airborne laser scanning (ALS) to detect, map and quantify geomorphological processes in high alpine environments. Since 2001, ALS measurements have been carried out regularly at Hintereisferner (Ötztal Alps, Tyrol, Austria), resulting in a unique data record of 18 ALS flight campaigns. The quantifications of volumetric earth surface changes caused by dead-ice melting, fluvial erosion/deposition, rock-fall activity, gravitational displacements and permafrost degradation in glaciated, recently deglaciated and periglacial terrain is based on the analysis of ALS point clouds (vector data) to preserve the high quality of the data. We present inter-annual, annual and perennial trends of geomorpho-dynamically induced topographic changes. The most significant changes occurred at two dead ice bodies (−0.48 m and −0.24 m respectively per year). At a complex rock fall site, mean annual vertical changes of −0.25 m are observed in the source area, respectively 0.25 m of deposited material in the run-out area. Fluvial erosion processes are connected with subsequent gravitational denudation, reallocation and deposition. Topographic changes caused by fluvial erosion between 2001 and 2009 range from −0.68 m to −1.20 m. Surface elevation increase caused by fluvial accumulation is found to be 0.48 m from 2001 to 2009. Minor annual surface elevation changes (between −0.05 m and −0.10 m a−1) are detected in permafrost areas. Finally, the significance of the process-dependent topographic change rates is assessed, regarding the accuracy of the ALS data, the magnitude of the process, the time lapse between the single ALS-campaigns and disturbing factors (e.g. snow cover). For processes with high magnitudes time lapse rates can be shorter than one year and disturbing factors have only minor influences on the results. In contrast, results of processes with low magnitudes gain relevance with an increasing time lapse between the ALS campaigns, the frequency of flight campaigns and if disturbing factors can be excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laimer, H.J. and M¨llegger, M., 2012. Geomorphological and geotechnical causes of anthropogenically induced rockmass falls in theWachau-Danube Valley (Bohemian Massif, Lower Austria). Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 94, 157-174. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00451.x ABSTRACT The Wachau-Danube Valley represents a transverse valley, intersecting the Variscian Bohemian Massif. Weakened rocks along fault structures led to accelerated river erosion, forming relatively steep rock slopes. The exceptional cultural position of the region generated an increasing demand for building materials. Over the centuries quarrying had a sizeable impact on slope morphology. Interdependences between quarrying and construction caused unstable rock slopes and four rock-mass falls have occurred at two quarries near Spitz (1961, 1984, 2002) and Dürnstein (2009). Rock mechanical analysis at these quarries has shown that the combination of existing geological discontinuities and artificially modified morphology is fatal in terms of slope stability. In Spitz the bedding planes within the marble had been undercut by the mining face. Additionally, two conjugated, steeply dipping joint sets formed large scale blocks sliding on bedding planes. In three major rockslides/rock-mass falls, each triggered by heavy rainfalls, a total mass of 170 000 m3 of rock failed. At the quarry near Dürnstein the geotechnical characteristics of the gneiss are also unfavourable in relation to the exposition of the mining face. After several rockfalls, 65 000 m3 were blasted away in 1909 to remove unstable rock slopes. The residual rock face was destabilized and rockfall activities culminated in an event with a total volume of approximately 15 000 m3. Remedial measures for both locations are essential to maintain transport infrastructure. Sufficiently stable conditions can only be achieved by extensive reshaping of the mining faces, which involves adapting slope geometries to naturally stable joint faces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rutzinger, M., Höfle, B. and Kringer, K., 2012. Accuracy of automatically extracted geomorphological breaklines from airborne LiDAR curvature images. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 94, 33-42. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00453.x ABSTRACT Geomorphological breaklines are 3D polylines extracted from high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs), which have manifold applications in geomorphology and related fields. Breaklines are used to maintain and refine the characteristic information on discontinuities in the process of DTM filtering and interpolation. Knowledge about the quality of the derived breaklines is important in order to provide adequate input data for DTM generation, geomorphological feature mapping, and change detection analysis. The spatial accuracy and the classification accuracy of derived breaklines depend on data acquisition settings and processing steps. The critical criteria are the precision and density of the LiDAR point cloud, the resolution and quality of the filtered and interpolated DTM and the target scale breaklines are derived for. In this paper a quantitative method for assessing the quality of derived breaklines, which are extracted from regions with high curvature, is presented. Selected components of the breakline detection workflow are analysed. In addition, the reliability of manually digitized reference lines is investigated. Selected geometric properties such as line length, slope and sinuosity are computed and compared to reference data. The properties are discussed regarding their explanatory power with respect to accuracy and precision. Automatic extraction results strongly differ from manually digitized breaklines. Breaklines from manual digitalization are found to vary in coverage and spatial accuracy and thus reflect always the operator's ability, perception and intention. The advantage of automated extracted breaklines is their reproducibility and adaptability to scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kellerer-Pirklbauer, A., Slupetzky, H. and Avian, M., 2012. Ice-avalanche impact landforms: the event in 2003 at the glacier Nördliches Bockkarkees, Hohe Tauern Range, Austria. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 94, 97-115. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00446.x ABSTRACT The hanging glacier Nördliches Bockkarkees (47° 07′ 21″ N; 12° 44′ 00″ E) represents the only Austrian glacier that formed large and hazardous ice avalanches over the last decades. Only one major ice avalanche was released between August 1993 and July 2011 underlying the rareness of such large ice avalanches in the Austrian Alps. The ice avalanche happened on 26 June 2003 and was very unusual for two reasons: First, the ice avalanche occurred suddenly without major signs of glacier instabilities even a few days before the event. Second, the ice avalanche was released very early in the season. Ice and debris with a volume of 300 000 m3 avalanched over a vertical distance of 1200 m. The main deposits with a volume of 250 000 m3 and a debris content of 10% formed a flat avalanche cone in the Käfer Valley covering 82 000 m2. This paper focuses on geomorphic and glaciological field measurements and observations at and below the ice avalanche deposit and its vicinity after the event. Studies were made (a) at the deposited material itself, (b) at the reshaped land surface below the deposit after ice melt, (c) at the front and margin of the deposit, and (d) outside the deposit. Our study reveals different types of ice-avalanche impact landforms comparable to landforms caused by snow avalanches. It is shown that ice avalanches charged with debris at the Nördliches Bockkarkees are important in forming and reshaping erosional and depositional landforms along the track. However, the conservation potential of these landforms is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sass, O., Haas, F., Schimmer, C., Heel, M., Bremer, M., Stöger, F. and Wetzel, K.-F. 2012. Impact of forest fires on geomorphic processes in the Tyrolean Limestone Alps. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 94, 117-133. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00452.x ABSTRACT We investigated geomorphic processes on two slopes (Arnspitze and Bettelwurf) burned by wildfire in the region north of Innsbruck. Both burned in 1946 and both are still characterized by severe vegetation destruction. Sparsely grass-covered rock and debris slopes have developed replacing the former dwarf pine ( Pinus mugo) shrub stands. Our aim was to establish disturbed and undisturbed erosion rates and to decide whether recent debris flows can be assigned to these historical wildfires or not. We measured fluvial erosion by means of collectors, estimated the amount of post-fire erosion from stratigraphic exposures in the adjacent talus, modelled bedload discharge with a statistical model developed in a nearby study area and quantified recent debris flow activity by combining airborne and terrestrial laser scans. We measured erosion rates of 3-30 g m−2 a−1, which is roughly ten times higher than the undisturbed sediment yields. Slopewash was higher than linear fluvial transport in the four years of our investigation. Surplus material was removed from the channels by avalanches and debris flows; both being more important for the sediment budget than fluvial action. The modelling approach allowed measured sediment yields to be transferred to larger slope parts and to calculate scenarios of pre-fire conditions. The concordance of measured and modelled yields was reasonably good; deviations may be explained by differing amounts of precipitation. Our results support the impression that current debris flow activity at the Bettelwurf was enhanced by the aftermath of the 1946 wildfire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Otto, J.-C., Keuschnig, M., Götz, J., Marbach, M. and Schrott, L., 2012. Detection of mountain permafrost by combining high resolution surface and subsurface information - an example from the Glatzbach catchment, Austrian Alps. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 94, 43-57. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2012.00455.x Abstract Permafrost distribution in mid-latitude mountains is strongly controlled by solar radiation, snow cover and surface characteristics like debris cover. With decreasing elevation these factors have to counterbalance local positive air temperatures in order to enable permafrost conditions. We combine high resolution surface data derived from terrestrial laser scanning with geophysical information on the underground conditions using ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography and ground surface temperature data in order to understand the effects of surface characteristics on permafrost distribution in an Alpine catchment, Austrian Alps (Glatzbach, 47°2′23.49″ N; 12°42′33.24″ E, 2700-2900 m a.s.l.). Ground ice and permafrost is found above an elevation of 2780 m a.s.l. on north-east facing slopes in 2009, previous studies detected permafrost at the same site at 2740 m a.s.l. in 1991. Analysis of surface roughness as a proxy for grain size distribution reveals that the lower boundary of discontinuous and sporadic permafrost is lowered on rough surfaces compared to fine-grain zones. At the same location modelled potential summer solar radiation in coarse grain zones is reduced by up to 40% compared to surfaces of fine grain sizes. The mostly patchy permafrost distribution at the Glatzbach can therefore be attributed to local surface cover characteristics, particularly regolith grain size and its influence on solar radiation. We conclude that the analysis of ground surface characteristics using very high resolution terrain data supports the assessment of permafrost in Alpine areas by identifying rough surface conditions favouring permafrost occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mergili, M., Kopf, C., Müllebner, B. and Schneider, J.F., 2012. Changes of the cryosphere and related geohazards in the high-mountain areas of Tajikistan and Austria: a comparison. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 79-96. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00450.x ABSTRACT This paper quantifies recent glacier changes and possible future permafrost retreat in the Austrian Alps and the Pamir and Alai Mountains of Tajikistan (Central Asia), two mountainous areas with striking differences in climate and hypsometry, but also in economy and research history. The aim of the comparative study is to improve the understanding of regional differences as a baseline for further research and for a differentiated evaluation of possible socio-economic implications. Besides a review of the available literature, multi-temporal remote sensing of glaciers of selected areas as well as additional helicopter and field surveys were conducted. The Tajik glaciers displayed a differentiated behaviour during the investigation period 1968-2009, with a strong trend to retreat - at least since 2002. More than 100 pro- and supraglacial lakes have been forming or growing in the southwestern Pamir. Destructive outburst floods of such lakes have occurred there in the recent past. Almost all Austrian glaciers are in an advanced stage of retreat, a trend which continues at enhanced rates. Comparatively few glacial lakes exist in the direct forefields of the glaciers. Potential permafrost distribution maps for the present and the future were produced for Tajikistan and Austria by adapting an empirical model developed in Switzerland. In absolute terms, the highest loss was predicted for the Pamir. The expected relative loss in the same area is moderate compared to the rest of Tajikistan and particularly to Austria, where the model predicted the disappearance of more than 90% of the potential permafrost until the end of the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embleton-Hamann, C. and Slaymaker, O., 2012. The Austrian Alps and paraglaciation. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 94, 7-16. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00447.x ABSTRACT There is some confusion in the geomorphological literature with respect to the usage of the term 'paraglacial'. We review the meaning of the term as defined in the Anglo-Canadian literature between 1972 and the present. We then show that many of these ideas were implicit in the early-twentieth-century German literature but were never, to our knowledge, synthesized into an overarching framework for the study of post-glacial glaciated landscapes. It was not until the end of the twentieth century that the paraglacial model was directly applied to the interpretation of the European Alps. The first decade of the twenty-first century has seen a growing appreciation and some critique of that model in research in the Austrian Alps. The post-glacial glaciated landscape is interpreted as a landscape of transition between the full glacial of the Last Glacial Maximum and the present almost entirely deglaciated landscape. It provides a conceptual framework and a challenge to determine exactly how far any specific glaciated landscape has evolved in response to non-glacial processes and whether it remains a disturbance regime landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Möller, M., Möller, R., Beaudon, É., Mattila, O.-P., Finkelnburg, R., Braun, M., Grabiec, M., Jonsell, U., Luks, B., Puczko, D., Scherer, D. and Schneider, C., 2011. Snowpack characteristics of Vestfonna and De Geerfonna (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard) - a spatiotemporal analysis based on multiyear snow-pit data. Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography, 93, 273-285. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00440.x ABSTRACT Extensive glaciological field measurements were carried out on the ice cap Vestfonna as well as on the minor ice body De Geerfonna (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard) within the framework of IPY Kinnvika. Field campaigns were conducted during the period 2007-2010 in spring (April/May) and summer (August). In this study we compile and present snow cover information obtained from 22 snow pits that were dug on Vestfonna during this period. Locations are along two transects on the northwestern, land terminating slope of the ice cap, on its central summit, Ahlmann Summit, and at a set of several other locations in the eastern and northern part of the ice cap. Snow-cover information acquired from four snow pits on adjacent De Geerfonna is also incorporated in this study. Field data are analysed regarding snow stratigraphy, snow density, snow hardness and snow temperature. Results reveal mean snow densities of around 400 kg m−3 for the snowpack of Vestfonna with no apparent spatial or interannual variability. A distinctly higher value of more than 450 kg m−3 was obtained for De Geerfonna. A spatial comparison of snow water equivalents above the previous end-of-summer surface serves for obtaining insights into the spatial distribution of snow accumulation across Vestfonna. Altitude was found to be the only significant spatial parameter for controlling snow accumulation across the ice cap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kubischta, F., Knudsen, K.L., Ojala, A.E.K. and Salonen, V.-P., 2011. Holocene benthic foraminiferal record from a high-arctic fjord, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 227-242. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00434.x ABSTRACT This study presents the results of benthic foraminiferal analyses of a marine core record from about 100 m water depth in the fjord environment of Isvika bay, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. During the Last Glacial Maximum, the bay was glaciated by the north-western sector of the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet. The foraminiferal assemblages reflect glaciomarine conditions during deglaciation and early Holocene (about 11 250-9640 cal. yr bp) followed by glacier-distal environment in an open fjord with relatively high influence of Atlantic waters from the open ocean (9640-7430 cal. yr bp). A subsequent foraminiferal indication of a glacial advance was followed by deposition of a diamicton unit within a short time period at 5800-5700 cal. yr bp. The mid- and late Holocene were characterized by assemblages indicating restricted open-ocean connection and gradually more severe conditions, which are considered to be caused partly by a gradual cooling and freshening of the Atlantic water inflow to the shelf area and partly by a continuous isostatic uplift of the area. The foraminiferal record shows that the environmental changes in Murchisonfjorden are not just an effect of changes in solar insolation but are also influenced by local processes, as well as changes in the Atlantic water inflow to the northern Svalbard shelf and to the fjord via Hinlopenstretet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coulson, S.J., Fjellberg, A., Snazell, R., Gwiazdowicz, D.J., and Ávila-Jiménez, M.L., 2011. On the Collembola, Araneae and Gamasida from the Kinnvika region of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 253-257. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00425.x ABSTRACT The Collembola, Araneae and gamasid mite fauna from the vicinity of Kinnvika on the island of Nordaustlandet in the Svalbard archipelago are described. Few records of the invertebrate fauna from this remote and climatically extreme region exist. Twenty-four species of Collembola were identified, of which three were new records for Nordaustlandet. None were new records for Svalbard. In addition, seven species of Araneae, three of which were new records for Nordaustlandet, and five species of gamasid mite, all new to Nordaustlandet, were collected. All invertebrates collected were already known from locations on the west coast of Spitsbergen. These records supplement the scarce current terrestrial invertebrate data for this region and contribute towards the baseline data for this region proposed to become an Arctic environmental reference area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Braun, M., Pohjola, V.A., Pettersson, R., Möller, M., Finkelnburg, R., Falk, U., Scherer, D. and Schneider, C., 2011. Changes of glacier frontal positions of Vestfonna (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard). Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 301-310. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00437.x ABSTRACT Glaciers in Svalbard have shown considerable mass loss in recent years with a reported acceleration in the western and southern parts of the archipelago. However, for the ice cap Vestfonna, in northeastern Svalbard, climatic mass balance modelling has suggested almost balanced conditions over a period of nine years (2000-2009). A slightly positive geodetic mass balance (1990-2005) has been reported from a comparison of laser altimetry to older DEMs. A heterogeneous situation has been depicted for the various catchments, and hence changes in glacier extent can reveal additional information of glacier status, in particular when dealing with surge-type glaciers. We analysed a 34-year data record of multi-spectral satellite imagery in order to study changes in glacier frontal positions of the ice cap Vestfonna. A consistent pattern of almost steady retreat of the southern and north-eastern outlet glaciers of the ice cap is observed while Franklinbreen, the only major outlet glacier draining towards the north-west shows re-advance. This is consistent with an observed speed up and potential upcoming surge of this outlet. The glacier retreat on the southern coast also agrees with ICESat elevation change measurements. However, due to the glacier response time no direct relations between frontal retreat and surface mass balance can be drawn from the short observation period. The heterogeneous pattern of changes with on-going dynamic adjustments in some areas make the ice cap Vestfonna an ideal test site for future monitoring activities including novel techniques like differential interferometry from bi-static SAR systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pohjola, V.A., Kankaanpää, P., Moore, J.C. and Pastusiak, T., 2011. The International Polar Year Project 'KINNVIKA'- Arctic warming and impact research at 80° N. Geografiska Annaler, Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 201-208. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00436.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beaudon, E., Arppe, L., Jonsell, U., Martma, T., Möller, M., Pohjola, V.A., Scherer, D. and Moore, J.C., 2011. Spatial and temporal variability of net accumulation from shallow cores from Vestfonna ice cap (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard). Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 287-299. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00439.x Abstract We analyse ice cores from Vestfonna ice cap (Nordaustlandet, Svalbard). Oxygen isotopic measurements were made on three firn cores (6.0, 11.0 and 15.5 m deep) from the two highest summits of the glacier located on the SW-NE and NW-SE central ridges. Sub-annual δ18O cycles were preserved and could be counted visually in the uppermost parts of the cores, but deeper layers were affected by post-depositional smoothing. A pronounced δ18O minimum was found near the bottom of the three cores. We consider candidates for this δ18O signal to be a valuable reference horizon since it is also seen elsewhere in Nordaustlandet. We attribute it to isotopically depleted snow precipitation, which NCEP/NCAR reanalysis shows was unusual for Vestfonna, and came from northerly air during the cold winter of 1994/95. Finding the 1994/95 time marker allows establishment of a precise depth/age scale for the three cores. The derived annual accumulation rates indirectly fill a geographical gap in mass balance measurements and thus provide information on spatial and temporal variability of precipitation over the glacier for the period spanned by the cores (1992-2009). Comparing records at the two locations also reveals that the snow net accumulation at the easternmost part of Vestfonna was only half of that in the western part over the last 17 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Andrés, N., Palacios, D., Úbeda, J. and Alcalá, J., 2010. Ground thermal conditions at Chachani volcano, Southern Peru. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 151-162. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00424.x Abstract Shallow ground temperatures were measured and periglacial and permafrost environments identified at the Chachani volcanic complex in the west-central Andes in southern Peru (16° 11′ S; 71° 31′ W, elevation 6057 m a.s.l.). Three stations were installed at 4850, 4976 and 5331 m a.s.l. on the southern slope and the data were processed to produce ground temperature distribution models at depth and altitude. Snow cover lasts only a few days each year. Air and ground surface temperatures oscillate around 0°C almost daily, but the temperature is stabilized only a few centimetres below the ground surface. The lower limit of thermal conditions for isolated patches of permafrost occurs at 5050 m on the south-facing slopes. Thermal conditions associated with discontinuous permafrost occur from 5250 to 5420 m a.s.l., with continuous permafrost found above this level. The permafrost distribution models show that the rock glaciers observed on the southern slopes of the complex are within the active permafrost zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt, A. and Rundkvist, M., 2011. Letter to the editor: Sunset on Heimdall's stones. A view from archaeology and archaeoastronomy of the Ravlunda 169 Iron Age cemetery. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 193-196. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00428.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sierra Nevada is the highest mountain system on the Iberian Peninsula (Mulhacén 3482 m; Veleta 3308 m) and is located in the extreme SE region of Spain (lat 37°N, long 3°W). Bibliographic resources, particularly from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, provide insights into the changing summit landscape as the effects of cold, ice, snow and wind shaped its morphology. The selected references emphasize the Sierra's evolving climate reflected in the glaciers and snow hollows, and in the sparse vegetation above certain altitudes. Scientists had established bioclimatic conditions for the entire range in the early nineteenth century, and their works reflect the progression of ideas, particularly in the area of natural sciences, that influenced the period chosen for this study. This information, in addition to current knowledge about the morphogenetic dynamics of the Sierra Nevada, provides the basis for a comparison of the dominant environments from the Little Ice Age to the present, using the most significant high mountain morphological features as a guide. The most relevant findings indicate that cold climate processes (soli-gelifluction, frost creep and nivation) were more predominant during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries than they are today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fundamental concern in the practice of experimental research is how to ensure that laboratory simulations model field conditions as closely as possible, thereby providing useful information about natural and built environments. Salt weathering is one research area where studies conducted in the laboratory have fostered a significant portion of the knowledge, but the results of many experiments are difficult to apply to field sites because they focus on the salt weathering process itself, rather than the situation at a particular site. The design of the experiment reported in this paper, which simulates salt weathering along a hard-rock coast near Swansea, Wales, incorporates the results of previous work that demonstrated the critical importance of the salt solution, rock properties, and environmental conditions in determining the rate and nature of salt weathering. SEM images demonstrate the development of incipient weathering zones with characteristics specific to the type of salt solution used, a result that may have implications for the origins of larger-scale weathering features. Samples also gained mass due to the uptake of salt. This work is useful both for understanding a process that helps to shape hard-rock coasts, and in highlighting the importance of experimental design in salt-weathering research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the occurrence and development of the excavation-induce deep-seated landslide, which took place near Dündar village, located west of Orhaneli town in northwestern Turkey. The event occurred in the Bursa-Orhaneli lignite field, which has been actively operating since 1979. Due to undermining of a gently inclined slope (10°) to extract a coal seam, primary tension cracks, which were precursors of the movement, were first observed in the northern head area in mid- to late October 2003. This movement happened simultaneously with precipitation that was significantly above long-term average measured at a nearby climatology station (Keles). This precipitation amount is characterized statistically by a significant standardized anomaly of 1.6. The majority of the monthly precipitation total in October 2003, which mainly consisted of rain showers and thunderstorms, occurred in the last week of the month. By April 2004, rotational failure continued intermittently. After a relatively wet (rainy and snowy) period from January 2004 to April 2004, the main rotational slump occurred in late April 2004, causing the entire destruction of Dündar village's cemetery. Daily climatic and synoptic meteorological data have proved that heavy showers in late April may had triggered the last slump by producing rain showers of 19.3 mm and 19.9 mm daily total on 27 and 28 April 2004, respectively. Field observations carried out along the main head scarp have shown that the slope failure was facilitated by a pre-existing normal fault with an east- west direction and 80° dip. Grain-size analysis showed that the failure occurred on clayey silt, which forms 55% of the slip surface material. Based on the evidence from X-ray fluorescence and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results, smectite-type clay - a product of the chemical weathering of tuff - was the main constituent of the slip surface material. The landslide occurred over an area of 600 m × 650 m with a total volume of 8775 000 m3. Approximately 28 hectares of farm land were entirely destroyed and the excavated coal seam was buried. The mining operation was moved to 100 m north of the landslide area near Gümüşpınar village. From morphological evidence, it is concluded that excavation activities caused the failure to extend in more than one direction as an enlarging sliding mechanism; this produced a high landslide risk for Gümüşpınar village, where the most significant normal fault with a 75 m vertical displacement in a coal-bearing sequence is found in the lignite field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features Sven Lindqvist and presents information on his scientific contribution to physical geography. Lindqvist achieved his academic education at Lund University in Sweden and gained his doctor of philosophy degree after defending his thesis about climatological studies. He focused on local climatology and studied the impact of human activities on the small-scale climatic conditions in various environments.

Rates of rockwall retreat and rockfall supply are fundamental components of sediment budgets in steep environments. However, the standard procedure of referencing rockwall retreat rates using only lithology is inconsistent with research findings and results in a variability that exceeds three orders of magnitude. The concept proposed in this paper argues that the complexity inherent in rockfall studies can be reduced if the stages of (i) backweathering, (ii) filling and depletion of intermediate storage on the rock face and (iii) final rockfall supply onto the talus slopes are separated as these have different response functions and controlling factors. Backweathering responds to preweathering and weathering conditions whereas the filling and depletion of intermediate storage in the rock face is mainly a function of internal and external triggers. The noise apparent in backweathering rates and rockfall supply can be reduced by integrating the relevant controlling factors in the response functions. Simple conceptual models for the three stages are developed and are linked by a time-dependent ‘rockfall delivery rate’, which is defined as the difference between backweathering and rockfall supply, thus reflecting the specific importance of intermediate storage in the rock face. Existing studies can be characterized according to their ‘rockfall delivery ratio’, a concept similar to the ‘sediment delivery ratio’ used in fluvial geomorphology. Their outputs can be qualified as trigger-dependent rockfall supply rates or backweathering rates dependent on (pre-)weathering conditions. It is shown that the existing quantitative backweathering and rockfall supply models implicitly follow the proposed conceptual models and can be accommodated into the uniform model. Suggestions are made for how best to incorporate non-linearities, phase transitions, path dependencies and different timescales into rockfall response functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four different sites in the highlands of central Iceland have been investigated for permafrost occurrence using two-dimensional resistivity imaging. The results of the surveys indicate the presence of shallow permafrost of low to medium resistivity. The distribution pattern is spatially heterogeneous which is consistent with permafrost at the fringe of seasonal frost. These sites are likely to react rapidly to changes of the environmental boundary conditions, therefore future research should include monitoring for detecting the early impact of climate change on permafrost degradation. The extent to which periglacial morphodynamics and sediment fluxes are influenced by permafrost and/or seasonal frost and potential permafrost degradation is hard to determine. Hence, long-term monitoring approaches for both permafrost and sediment dynamics are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geomorphological and sedimentological evidence of former glaciation in the Bizzle valley in the Cheviot Hills of northern England and southern Scotland was used to reconstruct the dimensions of a small topographically constrained glacier with an equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of 535 m. This was interpreted as having formed during Younger Dryas cooling; this is the only glacier to have been described from the area and is the most easterly site of Younger Dryas glaciation in the British Isles. Whilst glaciation at this time was extensive in the Lake District to the southwest, the restricted nature of Cheviot ice cover suggests that a steep west-east precipitation gradient existed in this region during the Younger Dryas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the characterization of the Earth's relief in Asia Minor based upon a regional-scale GLOBE digital elevation model representation. At first, general geomorphometric parameters and frequency distributions are computed and the resulting descriptive statistics are studied in an attempt to characterize the landscape. The mountain terrain class was identified from the digital elevation model by a region-growing segmentation procedure and 702 distinct mountain features were extracted. The mountains were parametrically represented on the basis of the local relief mean gradient, mean elevation, and hypsometric integral. The statistical modelling indicated clusters of mountain features that are spatially arranged in specific zones providing a framework for comparing regions located in different tectonic regimes and subdividing the landscape of Asia Minor into regions with different geomorphometric behaviour. Finally, the classification of mountains identified that the highest in gradient, the biggest in size and the most complex ones are spatially arranged in the east along a northern and a southern branch. In between the branches a transition zone is developed that contains a minor peneplain (east plateau) and a major peneplain (central Anatolia) occupied by more dissected and eroded mountains oriented in a SE to NW direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eight relict rock-slope failures (RSFs) on Skiddaw Group terrain in the Lake District, northwest England, are described. Five of the failures are rockslides, one is a product of slope deformation, and two are compound features with evidence for sliding and deformation in different sectors. As none appears to have been overrun and modified by glacier ice it is concluded that they all post-date the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; c.21±3 cal. ka BP). Slope stress readjustments resulting from glacial and deglacial influences are considered to have weakened the slopes, and application of the term paraglacial is appropriate. Permafrost aggradation and degradation, seismic activity and fluvial erosion are among processes that may have contributed to failure at certain sites. The failures are significant as potential debris sources during future ice advances, contributing to valley widening and cirque enlargement and, possibly, for acting as sites of cirque initiation. Previously, Skiddaw Group rocks have been regarded as homogeneous and of limited resistance to the weathering and erosion associated with Quaternary glacial, periglacial and fluvial processes. These characteristics and processes have been used to explain the steep smooth slopes and rounded hills that dominate Skiddaw Group terrain. Rock-slope failure has also helped shape this terrain and should be incorporated in future interpretations of landscape development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain landscapes show rapid evolution, especially at high altitudes, in response to current climate changes. In addition, the greater number of routes and trails made available and the increase in tourism have caused some impacts on mountain areas. Gradual soil erosion has been observed along some hiking trails, with the latter tending to deepen, and with stronger erosion where the trail cuts the slope. Where trails cross forested areas, trees can suffer root damage from foot trampling as roots become exposed. A dendrogeomorphological study was conducted on trees along two hiking trails in upper Valtellina (Italian Alps). On the first trail, in Valle dei Forni, European larches and stone pines, mostly with exposed roots, were sampled. A mean erosion rate of 2.7 mm/a, related to deepening of the footpath, was obtained, and various degrees of root growth disturbance along the trail were observed. In particular, the growth of many sampled roots shows an increase in ring width corresponding with the moment when root exposure occurred, followed, after 3-5 years, by rapid growth suppression. The exposure of many roots has taken place since the 1980s. No significant variations in stem growth were observed, even when there were exposed and damaged roots. Along the second trail, in Valle Alpisella, exposed roots of mountain pines were analysed. A mean erosion rate of 3.2-3.7 mm/a, related to the escarpments bordering the footpath, was obtained, while no significant changes were detected in root growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses direct current resistivity soundings and geomorphological studies of Quaternary deposits in two glacial troughs in the Abisko Mountains of northern Sweden. The subject of the fieldwork is the depth of Pleistocene glacial erosion. Studies were carried out in 1998 and 2003 in the Kärkevagge and Vassivagge. The estimated thickness of Quaternary deposits and bedrock properties are discussed in the broader context of glacial erosion studies in the Abisko area. Geophysical and geomorphological studies suggest that the depth of glacial erosion was highly differentiated from –190 m in the Torneträsk basin to the metric overall erosion on the upland plateau. In medium-sized valleys several kilometres long, erosion depth measures 30–50 m. Present-day stream channel patterns reveal a strong relation to the bedrock configuration in valley floors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents geomorphological and sedimentological evidence for three large-scale floods to the west of the ice-capped volcano Katla around the time of Norse settlement or Landnám (AD 870–930). These glacial outburst floods (jökulhlaups), the most recent prehistoric events in a series of Holocene floods in the Markarfljót valley, are securely dated by tephrochronology and radiocarbon dating to between c. AD 500 and c. AD 900. The environmental impact of these events would have been extensive, affecting both the highlands and about 40–50 km2 of the coastal lowlands where about 15 of the 400 or so landnám farms in Iceland were sited. An awareness of environmental conditions and landscape stability around the time of the Norse colonisation of Iceland is important to understand the earliest settlement patterns because of the different constraints and opportunities that they represent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass transfers triggered by a rare rainfall event on 20–21 July, 2004, with 58.4 mm of rain within 24 h and 71.7 mm of rain within 48 h in the Latnjavagge catchment (9 km2 , 950–1440 m a.s.l.; 68°20'N, 18°30'E) in the higher Abisko mountain region (Swedish Lapland), are quantified and analysed in direct comparison with mean annual mass transfers in this drainage basin. In years without rare rainfall events the Latnjavagge catchment is characterized by restricted sediment availability resulting in low mechanical denudation and mass transfers. During the rare rainfall event of 20–21 July, 2004, major stability thresholds on the slope systems (triggering debris flows and slides) and in the channel systems (break-up of channel debris pavements and step–pool systems) in the Latnjavagge catchment were passed and mass transfers by debris flows, slides and fluvial debris transport in creeks and channels were several times higher than the mean annual mass transfers in Latnjavagge. In the calculation of longer-term mass transfers and sediment budgets, rare events like the 20–21 July, 2004 rainfall event have to be considered as essential components. A reliable estimation of the recurrence intervals of such rare events is especially problematic. The general problem of defining an adequate length of process monitoring programmes is pointed out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whalebacks are convex landforms created by the smoothing of bedrock by glacial processes. Their formation is attributed to glacial abrasion either by bodies of subglacial sediment sliding over bedrock or by individual clasts contained within ice. This paper reports field measurements of sediment depth around two whaleback landforms in order to investigate the relationship between glacigenic deposits and whaleback formation. The study site, at Lago Tranquilo in Chilean Patagonia, is situated within the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice limits. The two whalebacks are separated by intervening depressions in which sediment depths are generally 0.2 to 0.3 m. Two facies occur on and around the whalebacks. These facies are: (1) angular gravel found only on the surface of the whalebacks, interpreted as bedrock fracturing in response to unloading of the rock following pressure release after ice recession, and (2) sandy boulder-gravel in the sediment-filled depressions between the two whalebacks, interpreted as an ice-marginal deposit, with a mixture of sediment types including basal glacial and glaciofluvial sediment. Since the whalebacks have heavily abraded and striated surfaces but are surrounded by only a patchy and discontinuous layer of sediment, the implication is that surface abrasion of the whalebacks was achieved primarily by clasts entrained in basal ice, not by subglacial till sliding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines new geomorphological, chronological and modelling data on glacier fluctuations in southernmost South America in latitudes 46–55°S during the last glacial–interglacial transition. Establishing leads and lags between the northern and southern hemispheres and between southern mid-latitudes and Antarctica is key to an appreciation of the mechanisms and resilience of global climate. This is particularly important in the southern hemisphere where there is a paucity of empirical data. The overall structure of the last glacial cycle in Patagonia has a northern hemisphere signal. Glaciers reached or approached their Last Glacial Maxima on two or more occasions at 25–23 ka (calendar) and there was a third less extensive advance at 17.5 ka. Deglaciation occurred in two steps at 17.5 ka and at 11.4 ka. This structure is the same as that recognized in the northern hemisphere and taking place in spite of glacier advances occurring at a time of high southern hemisphere summer insolation and deglaciation at a time of decreasing summer insolation. The implication is that at orbital time scales the‘northern’ signal dominates any southern hemisphere signal. During deglaciation, at a millennial scale, the glacier fluctuations mirror an antiphase 'southern’ climatic signal as revealed in Antarctic ice cores. There is a glacier advance coincident with the Antarctic Cold Reversal at 15.3–12.2 ka. Furthermore, deglaciation begins in the middle of the Younger Dryas. The implication is that, during the last glacial–interglacial transition, southernmost South America was under the influence of sea surface temperatures, sea ice and southern westerlies responding to conditions in the 'southern’ Antarctic domain. Such asynchrony may reflect a situation whereby, during deglaciation, the world is more sensitized to fluctuations in the oceanic thermohaline circulation, perhaps related to the bipolar seesaw, than at orbital timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basal ice samples were collected from ice exposures in a natural subglacial cavity beneath an outlet glacier of Øksfjordjøkelen, North Norway. Sediment and cation (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+) concentrations were then determined, and indicate stacking of basal ice units producing a repeat pattern of 'clean firnification ice' overlying sedimentrich ice. All measured cations show correlation with sediment concentration indicating weathering reactions to be the dominant contributor of cations. Regressions of specific sediment surface area per unit volume with cation concentration are performed and used to predict cation concentrations. These predicted values provide an indication of cation relocation within the basal ice sequence. The results suggest limited melting and refreezing resulting in the relocation of predominantly monovalent cations downward through the profile. Exchange of cations into solution during the melting of sediment-rich ice samples has previously been suggested as a source of error in such investigations. Analyses of sediment-free regelation ice spicules formed at the bed show cation concentrations above firnification ice levels and comparable, in many instances, to the basal ice samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small glaciers have short response times to climate change and therefore offer a powerful means of climate monitoring. Glacier responses to climate, or their mass change, may be suggested by a change in the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA). However, regional climatic reconstructions have repeatedly neglected the importance of local variations in ELAs in preference for regional trends. For small glaciers close to the glaciation level, ignoring the importance of local topographic components in mass balance estimates may lead to erroneous climatic reconstructions. Of 510 small valley and cirque glaciers digitised across northern Scandinavia, 284 were objectively deemed suitable for inferring an ELA. The inferred ELA was derived from the median elevation and several local topographic variables using regression analysis. The glacier elevation, area, slope and aspect parameters were found to be the best predictors of the local ELA. ELA estimations improved from 77% up to 94% accuracy when topographic parameters for every grid-cell within rasters representing glacier surfaces were computed rather than using subjective measurements from topographic maps. Regional ELA trend surfaces, interpolated between the local ELA values, differed in effectively representing the local variability, depending upon the distribution and accuracy of the local ELA values. A second-order polynomial trend surface most accurately represented ELA variations across the study area, within the initial local measurement accuracy of ±100 m. It is concluded that current subjective topographic mapbased analyses are unlikely to be sufficiently accurate for predicting the regional ELA of small, sensitive and marginal glaciers, unless GIS-based spatial analyses are made at a reasonable resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of this dendrogeomorphological study provide evidence of the active movemerit of Hilda rock glacier, a tongue,shaped rock glacier in the Columbia Icefield region of Banff National Park. Cross-sectional samples were cut from 44 detrital subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry) boles killed and buried by debris spilling off the steep distal slope of the rock glacier. The sampies were crossdated using locally and regionally developed tree-ring chronologies, and were shown to have been killed between 1576 and 1999. Our resuits show that Hilda rock glacier has advanced at an average rate of 1.6 cm/year since the late 1790s, with limited evidence of similar rates of activity extending back to the mid-1570s. This rock glacier activity is believed to be linked to persistent periglacial processes that appear to be independent of the climatic forcing mechanisms known to influence glacier mass balances over the same interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marie-Françoise André Johanna Anjar Cliff Atkins Geogie Bennett Martin Bernhardson Michal Brezny Qiufang Cai Benjamin Chandler Feng Chen Parveen Chhetri Vincent Ralph Clark Remco de Kok Yang Deng Daniel Draebing Adam Emmer Zexin Fan Ouya Fang Andrew Fountain Ping Fu Neil Glasser Stefan Grab Adrian Hall Jacob Hardt Lea Hartl Minhui He John Hiemstra Trevor Hill Ru Huang Liang Jiao Erik Kjellström Karl Krainer Kari Lehtilä Zongshan Li Fredrik Ljungqvist Elin Lundstad Lixin Lyu Lorenzo Marchi John Matthews Keely Mills Piotr Moska Atle Nesje Jeannette Nötzli Victor Ongoma Bianca Perren Aurel Persoiu Emrys Phillips Olimpiu Pop Jürgen Reitner Adriano Ribolini Susanne Schmidt Xavier Serra Maluquer Shalik Ram Sigdel Karel Silhán Erik Skovbjerg Rasmussen Heather Stewart Achyut Tiwari Yanchao Wang Peter Wilson Stefan Winkler Jutta Winsemann Guobao Xu Qibing Zhang Ruibo Zhang. [Extracted from the article]

Mörner, N.-A. and Lind, B., 2011. Reply: Comments on 'Heimdall's stones at Vitemölla in SE Sweden and the chronology and stratigraphy of the surroundings' by Mörner et al. (2009). Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 93, 197-199. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0459.2011.00429.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various topics published within the issue, including one by Michael Krautblatter and Richard Dikau on a uniform concept for the comparison and extrapolation of rockfall retreat and rockfall supply, and a commentary by Jeff Warburton on sediment budget and rates of sediment transfer across cold environments in Europe.