Dynamic feedbacks between river meandering and landsliding in northwestern Washington glacial terraces

JGR Earth Surface
By: , and 

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Abstract

Landsliding in river valleys poses unique risks for cascading hazards and can damage infrastructure and cause fatalities. In postglacial valleys, many landslides are posited to occur in relation to lateral river erosion, but the dynamics of fluvial-hillslope interactions are not well understood. Here, we investigate a section of the Nooksack River in western Washington State where the channel is flanked by landslide-prone glacial terraces similar to those that failed in the 2014 State Route 530 “Oso” landslide. We map 216 landslides through time across 17 aerial imagery data sets (1933–2022) and analyze them in relation to river meandering and curvature. We observe dynamic feedbacks between lateral river meandering and valley-adjacent landsliding. Terrace lateral retreat rates of up to 25 m/year owing to combined fluvial erosion and slope failure occur on pinned, outer meander bends immediately downstream from peaks in river curvature (>0.0075 1/m); these locations are predisposed to both shallow and deep-seated landslides. Deep-seated landslides extending 17%–32% of the active valley width into the floodplain can displace the river away from the floodplain margin and change the channel planform. River-displacing landslides relocate meanders up- or downstream, thereby conditioning the location of subsequent landslides. This conceptual model of coupled landslide-driven meander displacement and valley-adjacent landsliding is exemplified across western Washington river systems. The distance between up- and downstream valley-adjacent landsliding scales with valley width, meander wavelength, and terrace height. Our results can advance our understanding of the river-hillslope interface in landscape evolution and can be used to inform hazard management in river corridors.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Dynamic feedbacks between river meandering and landsliding in northwestern Washington glacial terraces
Series title JGR Earth Surface
DOI 10.1029/2024JF008249
Volume 130
Issue 8
Publication Date August 09, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Contributing office(s) Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center - Landslides / Earthquake Geology
Description e2024JF008249, 29 p.
Country United States
State Washington
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