Rapid Processes in Source-to-Sink Systems - Part I
In our blog post series, we previously mentioned how geological processes act in different time scales. These mechanisms are either long-lasting (e.g. tectonically driven orogenic uplift) or abrupt (climatic events). Within our previous blog post, we focused on the former - those processes considered to be ‘slow’ in the geological time scale, going back from several decades to millions of years in our Earth’s history. In this post we will dive into much faster processes that shape the surface of our planet. These processes can take place within hours, days, or even years up to several thousands of years (Romans et al. 2016). Surface processes vary with environmental changes The Earth’s surface is a natural archive that stores information on past environmental conditions. This information can be found in the landscape shape, in rocks, sediments, and minerals. Changes and perturbations in the environment, for example, floods and landslides, resulting in changes in the landscape. These