Paraglacial Timescale and Sediment Fluxes for Hillslope Land Systems in the Northern Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Canada

Germain, Daniel; Stabile‐Caillé, Ludwig

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-70238-0_11

Cited by 1 publication

(7 citation statements)

References 75 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Knowing that the altitudinal forest limit is a function of geomorphic activity, and that the height of the fall is a key variable in the distribution of material on talus slopes (Kirkby & Statham, 1975), one would expect a good correlation between the height of the rockwall and the length of the active talus slope devoid of vegetation. However, the correlation obtained is not very strong (Spearman's coefficient = 0.38, r 2 = 0.26), but still indicates a link between the two variables since the regression is significant, as reported earlier by Hétu and Gray (2000) and Germain and Stabile‐Caillé (2022). Frost‐coated clast flows and debris flows are associated with greater average active section length.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

“…Indeed, the most active talus slopes today (<1%) are likely active because of one or more combinations of events that, due to their spatiotemporal synchronicity, were able to maintain sufficient active area during regional forest colonization throughout the Holocene. This extended duration of paraglacial landscape relaxation is characterized by high sedimentation rates (Germain & Hétu, 2016; Germain & Stabile‐Caillé, 2022) rarely reported for cold‐temperate climates. This is certainly related to the very susceptible lithology to mechanical weathering, but also to the non‐linear and complex relationships between mass‐wasting processes, vegetation cover and hydroclimatic conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Slopes with debris flows are very similar to the final stage of the Hinchliffe and Ballantyne (2009) slope evolution model. For example, the extensive gullying following the July 2014 heavy rain event and the formation of a debris fan at the toe of the slope (Germain & Stabile‐Caillé, 2022; Jobin, 2019) are clearly visible and represent high‐intensity and low‐frequency events. High‐magnitude debris flows have a strong geomorphic and ecological impact, but are also highly limited in space and time, making them a negligible process on the Holocene‐scale sediment budget (Germain & Hétu, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High‐magnitude debris flows have a strong geomorphic and ecological impact, but are also highly limited in space and time, making them a negligible process on the Holocene‐scale sediment budget (Germain & Hétu, 2016). However, it is worth mentioning that these debris flow land systems are not characterized as limited by sediment availability given the rapid rockwall dismantling (Germain & Stabile‐Caillé, 2022). Snow avalanches are controlled by snow cover, which varies with topography and climate (Luckman, 1977).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Province of Quebec (Eastern Canada), the biophysical characteristics of the northern Gaspé Peninsula have allowed for the rapid development of low‐elevation talus slopes (Hétu & Gray, 2000), but also the maintenance of geomorphic activity on some of them, despite postglacial climate warming and regional plant colonization (Germain & Hétu, 2016; Germain & Stabile‐Caillé, 2022; Hétu, 1990; Lafortune et al, 1997). It appears that vegetation dynamics and paraglacial processes—such as those associated with glacially conditioned sediment release in deglaciated environments (Ballantyne, 2002; Church & Ryder, 1972)—more than 10 000 years after the onset of the Holocene period, reach a dynamic equilibrium conditioned by complex geomorphic responses to changes in hydroclimatic conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Environmental drivers of paraglacial time duration and intensity for scree slopes dynamics in forested environments

Germain

Stabile‐Caillé

2023

Earth Surf Processes Landf

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The highly fissile lithology of the rockwalls and the diversity of mass-wasting processes provide a specific character to the active talus slopes of the northern Gaspé Peninsula since deglaciation. At a regional scale, the geology of the rockwalls, the patterns and modalities of deglaciation and the evolution towards a cold temperate morphoclimatic regime in a maritime context still influence the geomorphological dynamics of scree slopes today. At a local scale, the south-north orientation of the main coastal valleys influences insolation and exposure to prevailing winds, which in turn influence the snow cover regime and the occurrence of freeze-thaw cycles. The statistical analyses carried out from the mapping of 43 talus slopes and their geometric variables allowed the identification of significant environmental factors for the characterization of the dominant geomorphic processes: snow avalanches, frostcoasted clast flows, debris flows and rockfalls. Slope aspect appears to be a key parameter in the nature of the processes acting on the talus slopes. East-and northfacing talus slopes are generally covered by a significant snowpack in winter and the dominant processes are snow avalanches and debris flows. West-and south-facing talus slopes face prevailing winds and insolation and are subject to frost-coated clast flows, the main driver for forest regression, and rockfalls. However, the evolution of scree slopes in forested environments remains extremely complex due to the multiscale components that affect their evolution in the short, medium and long term.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%