A multi-temporal study investigates river morphology, connectivity, and floodplain land use in the Mulde River system, focusing on the local extinction of Atlantic salmon. The study uses old maps to identify historical barriers and floodplain land use as a proxy for pollution. First results show a negative relationship between increasing barriers counts, intensive floodplain land use, and salmon populations. Sinuous and meandering channel patterns correspond to higher salmon presence.

This study shows how the Elster–Pleiße floodplain near Leipzig changed from a dynamic, anabranching river system to a mostly fixed river system. Using old maps and modern airborne surface structure mapping, researchers found that human activities like canals, mills, flood control, and sediment accumulation over time caused rivers to straighten and lose mobility. Understanding and quantifying these past changes can help guide future river restoration and flood management.

We estimated the thickness, spatial distribution, and volumes of alluvial valley fills in the southwestern Black Forest utilizing an extensive borehole database to compile local valley cross sections and model sediment depth above bedrock. Our results reveal considerable spatial heterogeneity and underscore the importance of tectonic boundary conditions on the valley infill in addition to further geologic, hydrologic, and climatologic conditions and processes interacting with fluvial dynamics.

Data from a geologically diverse river catchment in Spain show that certain types of rock provide minerals that are commonly used in the field of geoscience. Other lithologies present in the area do not contribute to the signal. This bias must be accounted for in all studies attempting to provide hinterland information by sampling river sediments. Then, a surprisingly high number of heavy particles of anthropogenic origin were found. These are not yet well represented in environmental studies.

Alpine peatlands aged 10 000 years old were cored in the Swiss Fimba Valley to investigate their development and past environmental conditions. Sediment layers embedded in the peat show periods of glacier growth, which suppressed peat growth. Human impacts like pastoralism and deforestation began shaping the landscape from the Bronze Age onwards into what it is today. The impacts and potential effects on carbon accumulation and flood mitigation in the valley should be considered in land management practice.

It is unclear since when and how meso-scale central European river systems have been dominated by human instead of natural influences. Here, the floodplain sediments of the Kinzig River, southwestern Germany, were studied as they recorded natural and human landscape changes. Sediment deposition phases were found, the modern phase of which coincides with increased deposition and heavy metal contaminations that correlate with mining records, indicating that the river system has shifted intensely over 1000 years.

The Drakensberg and Lesotho highlands serve as essential water sources. Uncertainty remains regarding the impact of rising global temperatures, prompting paleoclimatic reconstructions. However, the Last Glacial Maximum's paleoclimate conditions remain debated. Re-examination of a landscape feature challenges prior glacier associations. Our findings suggest no glacial link. Reassessing similar landforms in Lesotho's high-altitude areas is necessary for the LGM's paleoclimate implications.

Glacio-lacustrine sediments from the overdeepened lower Salzach Valley were investigated. A 30 m long core retrieved sediments that could be identified as the “Salzburger Seeton”. Single-grain luminescence dating methods were applied on six samples spread over the whole depth of the core. The depositional age of these sediments was calculated to be 18.6 ± 0.9 ka. This time frame suggests that at least some shallow parts were filled by post-LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) lacustrine fine sediments.

This study investigates the Khur Basin in central Iran, a crucial area for understanding landscape history, past environmental changes, and potential human migration. By analysing the sedimentary archives and mapping landforms, six stages of landscape development were identified, linked to the climate shifts over the late Quaternary period. The findings provide a detailed understanding of how a desert environment, including alluvial fans, dunes, and playas, developed in response to changing climates.

This study examines the evolution of the lower Bruche River valley in north-eastern France through its fluvial terraces, reflecting past river dynamics and environmental changes. Terrace formations are dated using luminescence to ~ 12–14 ka, ~ 27–35 ka, and at least 200 ka. Methodological improvements over conventional luminescence dating techniques are also discussed and refined in this study.

The work shows detailed reconstructions of the glaciers in the Valsugana area (south-eastern Alps) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and is supported by robust evidence and new exposure datings. These are the first ages for the internal sector of the south-eastern Alps. Local glaciers not connected with the major ice network were used for the calculation of their equilibrium line altitude. This let us estimate LGM palaeoprecipitation and compare it to Alpine palaeoclimatological models.