Morphodynamic limits to environmental signal propagation across landscapes and into strata

A new quantitative tool provides a volumetric assessment of environmental signal propagation and transfer in sediment routing systems, that could have broad applicability and utility in the field. The sedimentary record contains unique information about landscape response to environmental forcing at timescales that far exceed landscape observations over human timescales. However, stochastic processes can overprint and shred evidence of environmental signals, such as sediment flux signals, and so inhibit their transfer to strata. Our community currently lacks a quantitative framework to differentiate between environmental signals and autogenic signals in field-scale analysis of strata. Here we develop a framework and workflow to estimate autogenic thresholds for ancient sediment routing systems. Crucially these thresholds can be approximated using measurements that are readily attainable from field systems, circumventing the low temporal resolution offered by strata. This work demonstrates how short-term system dynamics can be accessed from ancient sediment routing systems to place morphodynamic limits on environmental signal propagation across ancient landscapes and into strata.

Automated summary

A new quantitative tool for assessing environmental signal propagation and transfer in sediment routing systems is introduced, providing broad applicability and usefulness in the field. The study develops a framework and workflow to estimate autogenic thresholds in ancient sediment routing systems, which can be approximated using readily attainable measurements from field systems, overcoming the low temporal resolution of strata. This work demonstrates the importance of accessing short-term system dynamics from ancient sediment routing systems and setting morphodynamic limits on environmental signal propagation across ancient landscapes and into strata.