River terraces hold information about perturbations in climate and tectonics, but different perturbations can have similar effects on the stratigraphic record. For example, both a decrease in sediment discharge or an increase in water discharge can cause river incision, which complicates the interpretation of incised terraces. In our new paper that is open for review and discussion in Earth Surface Dynamics, we present results from physical experiments of channels that were subject to perturbations of water and sediment discharges. We demonstrate that combining terrace geometries with information on (1) the timescales of terrace formation and/or (2) the sediment discharge from the river system, allows to distinguish between water and sediment discharges as the driver for river incision. You can have a closer look and discuss the paper here.

Tofelde, S., Savi, S., Wickert A.W., Bufe, A., Schildgen, T. Alluvial channel response to environmental perturbations: Fill-terrace formation and sediment-signal disruption. under review at Earth Surface Dynamics