GM3.3

Sediment fluxes and sediment budgets across space and time
Convener: Achim A. Beylich  | Co-Conveners: Katja Laute , Francesco Brardinoni , Jan-Christoph Otto 
Oral Programme
 / Thu, 06 May, 08:30–10:00  / Room 22
Poster Programme
 / Attendance Thu, 06 May, 17:30–19:00  / Hall XL

Climate change affects Earth surface systems, for example, via alteration of vegetation cover, human activities, and frost penetration/duration in the ground. These changes in turn are likely to influence patterns of weathering, erosion, transport and deposition of material (e.g., sediment, wood, nutrients, solutes, and carbon) across landscape components. It is a challenge to develop a better understanding of how such changes interact and affect sedimentary source-to-sink fluxes and budgets. Quantitative analysis of sedimentary budgets promises to be an efficient framework to assess the impact of environmental changes on sediment dynamics and evaluate landscape sensitivity. Current knowledge on the sediment cascade within Holocene to contemporary climates forms the basis for predicting the consequences of future climate change. However, much of this information is limited in terms of spatial and temporal coverage and needs to be extended and consolidated. Only after coordinated research efforts and integration of regional datasets it is advisable to apply and test, with an acceptable degree of reliability, models of landscape response to climate change. The session is open for contributions on sedimentary source-to-sink and sediment budget studies from small catchments up to continental scales, from contemporary to long-term timescales. The integration of different techniques of data collection (e.g., from field-based to remotely-sensed) and analysis/modelling is welcome.