Anthropocene geomorphic change: climate or human activities?

Abstract

An analysis of the evolution of sedimentation rates and disasters caused by surface geologic processes during the last century, at a global scale, is presented. Results show that erosion/sedimentation processes and frequency of such disasters increased substantially, especially after midtwentieth century, coinciding with the period of intense change known as the “Great Acceleration.” Increases for this type of disasters are significantly greater than for other disasters related to natural processes, and about 1 order of magnitude in little more than half a century. This implies an important “global geomorphic change.” Comparisons and correlations between changes observed in those processes and potential natural (rainfall) and human (degree of land surface transformation) drivers showed a strong relationship with the latter, and not so clear with the former. This suggests that the intensification of surface geologic processes is most likely due to a greater extent to a land transformation/geomorphic processes coupling than a climate/geomorphic processes one.