Landslides as systemic drivers of landscape evolution: bridging geomorphic, climatic, and geochemical feedback

Landslides are increasingly recognized as dynamic agents that directly shape the Earth's surface, yet their role as fundamental drivers of geomorphic, climatic, and geochemical feedback remains poorly quantified. Current landscape evolution models largely treat landslides as episodic disturbances, neglecting their systemic influence on drainage reorganization, sediment cascades, and geochemical cycles. This proposal bridges these gaps by presenting an integrated framework that positions landslides as a central driver in landscape evolution.

Our project will pursue four interconnected objectives: (i) Quantify how landslides exclusively drive drainage divide migration and fluvial adjustments; (ii) Develop and validate a Thermal Stress Landslide Susceptibility Index (TSLSI) to model climate-sensitive slope preconditioning; (iii) Track the geomorphic impact of landslide-sourced sediment pulses using remote sensing and numerical modeling; and (iv) Assessment of CO₂ drawdown potential via chemical weathering within landslide scars, integrating this feedback into landscape evolution models. We will employ an interdisciplinary methodology, synthesizing high-resolution remote sensing, geochemical fingerprinting, field monitoring, and advanced numerical modeling. Study areas include the tectonically active Himalayas and the Alps.

The anticipated results have the potential to transform our understanding of landslide geomorphology. We expect to provide the first systematic link between landslide patterns and divide migration, deliver the TSLSI as a predictive tool for slope stability under climatic forcing, unravel the controls on sediment pulse generation and evacuation, and, critically, quantify a previously unrecognized carbon sink mechanism via landslide-enhanced weathering.