TY - JOUR A1 - Peña, Carlos A1 - Metzger, Sabrina A1 - Heidbach, Oliver A1 - Bedford, Jonathan A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Moreno, Marcos A1 - Oncken, Onno A1 - Cotton, Fabrice T1 - Role of poroelasticity during the early postseismic deformation of the 2010 Maule megathrust earthquake JF - Geophysical research letters N2 - Megathrust earthquakes impose changes of differential stress and pore pressure in the lithosphere-asthenosphere system that are transiently relaxed during the postseismic period primarily due to afterslip, viscoelastic and poroelastic processes. Especially during the early postseismic phase, however, the relative contribution of these processes to the observed surface deformation is unclear. To investigate this, we use geodetic data collected in the first 48 days following the 2010 Maule earthquake and a poro-viscoelastic forward model combined with an afterslip inversion. This model approach fits the geodetic data 14% better than a pure elastic model. Particularly near the region of maximum coseismic slip, the predicted surface poroelastic uplift pattern explains well the observations. If poroelasticity is neglected, the spatial afterslip distribution is locally altered by up to +/- 40%. Moreover, we find that shallow crustal aftershocks mostly occur in regions of increased postseismic pore-pressure changes, indicating that both processes might be mechanically coupled. KW - Chilean subduction zone KW - poroelasticity KW - power-law rheology KW - afterslip inversion KW - InSAR KW - GNSS Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098144 SN - 0094-8276 SN - 1944-8007 VL - 49 IS - 9 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, NJ ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Olen, Stephanie M. A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Corrigendum to: Olen, Stephanie M.; Bookhagen, Bodo; Strecker, Manfred R. : Role of climate and vegetation density in modulating denudation rates in the Himalaya. - Earth and planetary science letters. - 445 (2016), S. 57 - 67. - doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.03.047 JF - Earth and planetary science letters N2 - Vegetation has long been hypothesized to influence the nature and rates of surface processes. We test the possible impact of vegetation and climate on denudation rates at orogen scale by taking advantage of a pronounced along-strike gradient in rainfall and vegetation density in the Himalaya. We combine 12 new 10Be denudation rates from the Sutlej Valley and 123 published denudation rates from fluvially- dominated catchments in the Himalaya with remotely-sensed measures of vegetation density and rainfall metrics, and with tectonic and lithologic constraints. In addition, we perform topographic analyses to assess the contribution of vegetation and climate in modulating denudation rates along strike. We observe variations in denudation rates and the relationship between denudation and topography along strike that are most strongly controlled by local rainfall amount and vegetation density, and cannot be explained by along-strike differences in tectonics or lithology. A W–E along-strike decrease in denudation rate variability positively correlates with the seasonality of vegetation density (R = 0.95, p < 0.05), and negatively correlates with mean vegetation density (R = −0.84, p < 0.05). Vegetation density modulates the topographic response to changing denudation rates, such that the functional relationship between denudation rate and topographic steepness becomes increasingly linear as vegetation density increases. We suggest that while tectonic processes locally control the pattern of denudation rates across strike of the Himalaya (i.e., S–N), along strike of the orogen (i.e., E–W) climate exerts a measurable influence on how denudation rates scatter around long-term, tectonically-controlled erosion, and on the functional relationship between topography and denudation Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116252 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 540 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Regmi, Shakil A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo T1 - The spatial pattern of extreme precipitation from 40 years of gauge data in the central Himalaya JF - Weather and climate extremes N2 - The topography of the Himalaya exerts a substantial control on the spatial distribution of monsoonal rainfall, which is a vital water source for the regional economy and population. But the occurrence of short-lived and high-intensity precipitation results in socio-economic losses. This study relies on 40 years of daily data from 204 ground stations in Nepal to derive extreme precipitation thresholds, amounts, and days at the 95th percentile. We additionally determine the precipitation magnitude-frequency relation. We observe that extreme precipitation amounts follow an almost uniform band parallel to topographic contour lines in the southern Himalaya mountains in central and eastern Nepal but not in western Nepal. The relationship of extreme precipitation indices with topographic relief shows that extreme precipitation thresholds decrease with increasing elevation, but extreme precipitation days increase in higher elevation areas. Furthermore, stations above 1 km elevation exhibit a power-law relation in the rainfall magnitude-frequency framework. Stations at higher elevations generally have lower values of power-law exponents than low elevation areas. This suggests a fundamentally different behaviour of the rainfall distribution and an increased occurrence of extreme rainfall storms in the high elevation areas of Nepal. KW - Himalaya KW - Nepal KW - Indian summer monsoon KW - Precipitation KW - Extreme KW - precipitation Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2022.100470 SN - 2212-0947 VL - 37 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erbello Doelesso, Asfaw A1 - Melnick, Daniel A1 - Zeilinger, Gerold A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Pingel, Heiko A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Geomorphic expression of a tectonically active rift-transfer zone in southern Ethiopia JF - Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology N2 - The Gofa Province and the Chew Bahir Basin of southern Ethiopia constitute tectonically active regions, where the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift converges with the Northern Kenya Rift through a wide zone of extensional deformation with several north to northeast-trending, left-stepping en-e & PRIME;chelon basins. This sector of the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift is characterized by a semi-arid climate and a largely uniform lithology, and thus provides ideal conditions for studying the different parameters that define the tectonic and geomorphic features of this complex kinematic transfer zone. In this study, the degree of tectonic activity, spatiotemporal variations in extension, and the nature of kinematic linkage between different fault systems of the transfer zone are constrained by detailed quantitative geomorphic analysis of river catchments and focused field work. We analyzed fluvial and landscape morphometric characteristics in combination with structural, seismicity, and climatic data to better evaluate the tectono-geomorphic history of this transfer zone. Our data reveal significant north-south variations in the degree of extension from the Sawula Basin in the north (mature) to the Chew Bahir Basin in the south (juvenile). First, normalized channel-steepness indices and the spatial arrangement of knickpoints in footwall-draining streams suggest a gradual, southward shift in extensional deformation and recent tectonic activity. Second, based on 1-k(m) radius local relief and mean-hillslope maximum values that are consistent with ksn anomalies, we confirm strain localization within zones of fault interaction. Third, morphometric indices such as hypsometry, basin asymmetry factor, and valley floor width to valley height ratio also indicate a north to south gradient in tectonic activity, highlighting the importance of such a wide transfer zone with diffuse extension linking different rift segments during the break-up of continental crust. KW - rift transfer zone KW - Ethiopia rift KW - renya Rift KW - morphometric indices KW - knickpoints Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108162 SN - 0169-555X SN - 1872-695X VL - 403 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Castino, Fabiana A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - De la Torre, Alejandro T1 - Atmospheric dynamics of extreme discharge events from 1979 to 2016 in the southern Central Andes JF - Climate dynamics : observational, theoretical and computational research on the climate system N2 - During the South-American Monsoon season, deep convective systems occur at the eastern flank of the Central Andes leading to heavy rainfall and flooding. We investigate the large- and meso-scale atmospheric dynamics associated with extreme discharge events (> 99.9th percentile) observed in two major river catchments meridionally stretching from humid to semi-arid conditions in the southern Central Andes. Based on daily gauge time series and ERA-Interim reanalysis, we made the following three key observations: (1) for the period 1940-2016 daily discharge exhibits more pronounced variability in the southern, semi-arid than in the northern, humid catchments. This is due to a smaller ratio of discharge magnitudes between intermediate (0.2 year return period) and rare events (20 year return period) in the semi-arid compared to the humid areas; (2) The climatological composites of the 40 largest discharge events showed characteristic atmospheric features of cold surges based on 5-day time-lagged sequences of geopotential height at different levels in the troposphere; (3) A subjective classification revealed that 80% of the 40 largest discharge events are mainly associated with the north-northeastward migration of frontal systems and 2/3 of these are cold fronts, i.e. cold surges. This work highlights the importance of cold surges and their related atmospheric processes for the generation of heavy rainfall events and floods in the southern Central Andes. KW - South American monsoon system KW - cold surges KW - orographic barrier KW - mesoscale convective systems KW - extreme discharge KW - daily-discharge time KW - series ERA-interim Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-020-05458-1 SN - 0930-7575 SN - 1432-0894 VL - 55 IS - 11-12 SP - 3485 EP - 3505 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ; Heidelberg [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Voss, Katalyn A. A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Sachse, Dirk A1 - Chadwick, Oliver A. T1 - Variation of deuterium excess in surface waters across a 5000-m elevation gradient in eastern Nepal JF - Journal of hydrology N2 - The strong elevation gradient of the Himalaya allows for investigation of altitude and orographic impacts on surface water delta O-18 and delta D stable isotope values. This study differentiates the time- and altitude-variable contributions of source waters to the Arun River in eastern Nepal. It provides isotope data along a 5000-m gradient collected from tributaries as well as groundwater, snow, and glacial-sourced surface waters and time-series data from April to October 2016. We find nonlinear trends in delta O-18 and delta D lapse rates with high-elevation lapse rates (4000-6000 masl) 5-7 times more negative than low-elevation lapse rates (1000-3000 masl). A distinct seasonal signal in delta O-18 and delta D lapse rates indicates time-variable source-water contributions from glacial and snow meltwater as well as precipitation transitions between the Indian Summer Monsoon and Winter Westerly Disturbances. Deuterium excess correlates with the extent of snowpack and tracks melt events during the Indian Summer Monsoon season. Our analysis identifies the influence of snow and glacial melt waters on river composition during low-flow conditions before the monsoon (April/May 2016) followed by a 5-week transition to the Indian Summer Monsoon-sourced rainfall around mid-June 2016. In the post-monsoon season, we find continued influence from glacial melt waters as well as ISM-sourced groundwater. KW - stable isotopes KW - Himalaya KW - glacier KW - snow KW - precipitation KW - seasonality Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.124802 SN - 0022-1694 SN - 1879-2707 VL - 586 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Brieger, Frederic A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Zakharov, Evgenii S. A1 - Kruse, Stefan T1 - Advances in the derivation of Northeast Siberian forest metrics using high-resolution UAV-based photogrammetric point clouds T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Forest structure is a crucial component in the assessment of whether a forest is likely to act as a carbon sink under changing climate. Detailed 3D structural information about the tundra–taiga ecotone of Siberia is mostly missing and still underrepresented in current research due to the remoteness and restricted accessibility. Field based, high-resolution remote sensing can provide important knowledge for the understanding of vegetation properties and dynamics. In this study, we test the applicability of consumer-grade Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for rapid calculation of stand metrics in treeline forests. We reconstructed high-resolution photogrammetric point clouds and derived canopy height models for 10 study sites from NE Chukotka and SW Yakutia. Subsequently, we detected individual tree tops using a variable-window size local maximum filter and applied a marker-controlled watershed segmentation for the delineation of tree crowns. With this, we successfully detected 67.1% of the validation individuals. Simple linear regressions of observed and detected metrics show a better correlation (R2) and lower relative root mean square percentage error (RMSE%) for tree heights (mean R2 = 0.77, mean RMSE% = 18.46%) than for crown diameters (mean R2 = 0.46, mean RMSE% = 24.9%). The comparison between detected and observed tree height distributions revealed that our tree detection method was unable to representatively identify trees <2 m. Our results show that plot sizes for vegetation surveys in the tundra–taiga ecotone should be adapted to the forest structure and have a radius of >15–20 m to capture homogeneous and representative forest stands. Additionally, we identify sources of omission and commission errors and give recommendations for their mitigation. In summary, the efficiency of the used method depends on the complexity of the forest’s stand structure. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1337 KW - UAV KW - photogrammetry KW - remote sensing KW - structure from motion KW - tundra–taiga ecotone KW - point cloud KW - forest structure Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-473318 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1337 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Smith, Taylor A1 - Rheinwalt, Aljoscha A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo T1 - Topography and climate in the upper Indus Basin BT - Mapping elevation-snow cover relationships JF - The science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man N2 - The Upper Indus Basin (UIB), which covers a wide range of climatic and topographic settings, provides an ideal venue to explore the relationship between climate and topography. While the distribution of snow and glaciers is spatially and temporally heterogeneous, there exist regions with similar elevation-snow relationships. In this work, we construct elevation-binned snow-cover statistics to analyze 3415 watersheds and 7357 glaciers in the UIB region. We group both glaciers and watersheds using a hierarchical clustering approach and find that (1) watershed clusters mirror large-scale moisture transport patterns and (2) are highly dependent on median watershed elevation. (3) Glacier clusters are spatially heterogeneous and are less strongly controlled by elevation, but rather by local topographic parameters that modify solar insolation. Our clustering approach allows us to clearly define self-similar snow-topographic regions. Eastern watersheds in the UIB show a steep snow cover-elevation relationship whereas watersheds in the central and western UIB have moderately sloped relationships, but cluster in distinct groups. We highlight this snow-cover-topographic transition zone and argue that these watersheds have different hydrologic responses than other regions. Our hierarchical clustering approach provides a potential new framework to use in defining climatic zones in the cyrosphere based on empirical data. KW - Snow-cover KW - Hierarchical clustering KW - Glaciers KW - Upper Indus Basin Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147363 SN - 0048-9697 SN - 1879-1026 VL - 786 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Smith, Taylor A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo T1 - Climatic and biotic controls on topographic asymmetry at the global scale JF - Journal of geophysical research : JGR, Earth surface N2 - Insolation differences play a primary role in controlling microclimate and vegetation cover, which together influence the development of topography. Topographic asymmetry (TA), or slope differences between terrain aspects, has been well documented in small-scale, field-based, and modeling studies. Here we combine a suite of environmental (e.g., vegetation, temperature, solar insolation) and topographic (e.g., elevation, drainage network) data to explore the driving mechanisms and markers of TA on a global scale. Using a novel empirical TA analysis method, we find that (1) steeper terrain has higher TA magnitudes, (2) globally, pole-facing terrain is on average steeper than equator-facing terrain, especially in mid-latitude, tectonically quiescent, and vegetated landscapes, and (3) high-elevation and low-temperature regions tend to have terrain steepened toward the equator. We further show that there are distinct differences in climate and vegetation cover across terrain aspects, and that TA is reflected in the size and form of fluvial drainage networks. Our work supports the argument that insolation asymmetries engender differences in local microclimates and vegetation on opposing terrain aspects, which broadly encourage the development of asymmetric topography across a range of lithologic, tectonic, geomorphic, and climatic settings. KW - erosion KW - freeze-thaw cycling KW - solar radiation KW - topographic asymmetry KW - topography KW - vegetation cover Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005692 SN - 2169-9003 SN - 2169-9011 VL - 126 IS - 1 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - GEN A1 - Atmani, Farid A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Smith, Taylor T1 - Measuring Vegetation Heights and Their Seasonal Changes in the Western Namibian Savanna Using Spaceborne Lidars T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) with its land and vegetation height data product (ATL08), and Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) with its terrain elevation and height metrics data product (GEDI Level 2A) missions have great potential to globally map ground and canopy heights. Canopy height is a key factor in estimating above-ground biomass and its seasonal changes; these satellite missions can also improve estimated above-ground carbon stocks. This study presents a novel Sparse Vegetation Detection Algorithm (SVDA) which uses ICESat-2 (ATL03, geolocated photons) data to map tree and vegetation heights in a sparsely vegetated savanna ecosystem. The SVDA consists of three main steps: First, noise photons are filtered using the signal confidence flag from ATL03 data and local point statistics. Second, we classify ground photons based on photon height percentiles. Third, tree and grass photons are classified based on the number of neighbors. We validated tree heights with field measurements (n = 55), finding a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 1.82 m using SVDA, GEDI Level 2A (Geolocated Elevation and Height Metrics product): 1.33 m, and ATL08: 5.59 m. Our results indicate that the SVDA is effective in identifying canopy photons in savanna ecosystems, where ATL08 performs poorly. We further identify seasonal vegetation height changes with an emphasis on vegetation below 3 m; widespread height changes in this class from two wet-dry cycles show maximum seasonal changes of 1 m, possibly related to seasonal grass-height differences. Our study shows the difficulties of vegetation measurements in savanna ecosystems but provides the first estimates of seasonal biomass changes. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1275 KW - ICESat-2 KW - GEDI KW - canopy height KW - lidar KW - savanna Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-569915 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1275 ER -