Erosion processes at the gully scale: observations, quantification and interpretation of field data from the Draix laboratory

Abstract

In the Southern French Alps, the black marls formation covers a large area and is highly susceptible to weathering and erosion. It has a badlands topography and is subject to high solid transport, bringing high sediment yield downstream and silting up reservoirs. Many studies have been carried out in southern Europe and North Africa evaluating sediment yield from this type of basin. However, most of these studies provide information on the average annual rate and only a few studies focus on the sediment response to a specific rainfall event (Canton et al., 2001). Scale is important in the study of erosion processes and quantification of sediment production (de Vente and Poesen, 2005). This paper focuses on erosion at the slope and gully spatial scale and at the event temporal scale.