Work

Integrating 10Be analyses and an empirical erosion model to unveil catchment-scale landscape and sediment dynamics in a tectonically active Mediterranean area (Calabria, southern Italy)

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Quantifying erosion rates and sediment fluxes is essential for understanding landscape evolution and the geomorphic response to tectonic and climatic forcing. This study integrates in-situ cosmogenic 10 Be analyses with a calibrated Erosion Potential Model (EPM) to investigate erosion and sediment dynamics in the Sfalassà catchment (Aspromonte Massif, southern Italy), a representative pilot basin for Mediterranean mountain environments. 26 samples, including two grain-size fractions of fluvial sediments and bedrock surfaces, were collected to estimate long-term erosion rates and vertical incision. Catchment-wide 10 Be-derived denudation rates range from 0.02 to 0.35 mm/yr, displaying a spatial organization consistent with basin morphology and indicating upstream-migrating regressive erosion. Bedrock incision rates span from 0.29 to 2.37 mm/yr. The EPM, calibrated through detailed lithological and soil characterization, including erodibility factor and bulk density measurements, indicates an annual sediment production of 31,000 ± 3100 m 3 and a sediment delivery of 5900 ± 600 m 3 yr −1 at the outlet, consistent with the magnitude of the 10 Be-derived denudation rates despite the distinct temporal scales. Cosmogenic nuclides integrate millennial-scale processes, whereas EPM reflects sediment production and export over the last decades, driven by land use, rainfall intensity, and sediment connectivity. Combining long-term isotopic data and short-term empirical modeling reveals a decoupling between slow hillslope denudation/fluvial transport and rapid channel incision in a tectonically active setting. This highlights that tectonic uplift, sediment connectivity and storage are key modulators of source-to-sink dynamics in this transient landscape, governing the pulsed sediment delivery to the sediment-starved coastline, with implications for coastal hazard assessment. • Catchment-wide erosion rates were estimated at different temporal scales • Long- and middle-term erosion were quantified with 10 Be and a calibrated EPM model • Cosmogenic 10 Be denudation rates show spatial variability linked to topography • Bedrock exposure ages reveal stepped Holocene incision and recent rapid downcutting • Dual 10 Be–EPM framework improves sediment budget assessment in Mediterranean basins

Source: Geomorphology

DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2026.110329