![]() The analysis of sediments from depositional zones perched above flood-carved canyons can help narrow these uncertainties. This has major implications for the use of geological evidence of floods to better understand pressing unknowns in planetary science such as the sensitivity of Earth’s climate to meltwater pulses or the extent of hydrological activity on Mars 5, 6. If true, paleoflood discharge estimates may be revised down considerably. For example, recent modeling work suggests that erosion rates are also determined by other factors than discharge 4. Yet, after decades of research, process-form relationships remain contested. These catastrophic events carved deep canyons that have been extensively investigated to reconstruct past flow rates 3. In geologically active glaciated regions, volcanic heat episodically melts large volumes of ground ice 2. During deglaciation, radiative warming triggered the build-up and drainage of glacier-dammed lakes along the perimeter of wasting ice sheets 1. For example, were these features formed gradually or by abrupt events? And how much water was involved? Geological evidence suggests that such outburst floods stem from the rapid release of glacial meltwater. This raises fundamental questions about the genesis of fluvial landforms. Catastrophic floods can reshape entire landscapes in a matter of hours to days. ![]()
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