Project 1st Phase
Soil dynamics and hillslope processes
Research areas: Physical Geography
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. Olaf Bubenzer
Project Info: 1st Phase
 Setting and setup of artificial irrigation experiments on hillslopes close to Salar Grande.Photo: Sven Ortloff |
 Close-up of the artificial irrigation device for investigating hillslope processes.Photo: Lennart Meine |
Subproject C3 focuses on the identification, characterization, and quantification of past and present hillslope processes and their thresholds in the arid and hyper-arid regions of the Atacama Desert.
Key questions include the geomorphological and sedimentological characterisation of different hillslopes, the evolution of various slope forms, and the continuity/discontinuity and the magnitude/frequency of the related processes.
The long-term preservation of the landscape indicates that the uppermost surface is stabilised by protective (salt) crusts, depending on specific physical, chemical and/or biological processes and factors. Identifying formation and degradation processes of these surface crusts in the driest core of the Atacama is thus one additional aim of our project.
For a better understanding of past processes, we will investigate and quantify recent hillslope dynamics and their thresholds. Thus, suitable test sites for hillslope monitoring and artificial irrigation experiments (in order to induce hillslope processes) in each of the three CRC focus areas will be defined. Data acquisition for hillslope monitoring will be carried out using high-resolution Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) surveys as well as Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry techniques. Artificial irrigation experiments will comprise infiltration, run-off and erosion measurements in combination with close-range photogrammetry. Our subproject C3 will be realised in close collaboration with subprojects Z2 and Z03, which will provide the technical background for the implementation of our study.
Former members:
- Prof. Dr. Olaf Bubenzer (Principal Investigator)
- Dr. Simon Matthias May (Scientist)
Publications
Project C3 - Publications
Articles
Sun, X., Amelung, W., Klumpp, E., Walk, J., Mörchen, R., Böhm, C., Moradi, G., May, M., Tamburini, F., Wang, Y., Bol, R., 2023.
Fog controls biological cycling of soil phosphorus in the Coastal Cordillera of the Atacama Desert.
Global Change Biology. 30:e17068 (1), 1 - 19. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17068.
May, M., Hoffmeister, D., Wolf, D. ., Bubenzer, O., 2019.
Zebra stripes in the Atacama Desert revisited – Granular fingering as a mechanism for zebra stripe formation?.
Geomorphology. 1 - 57. DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.07.014.
May, M., Meine, L., Hoffmeister, D., Brill, D., Medialdea, A., Wennrich, V., Gröbner, M., Schulte, P., Steininger, F., Deprez, M., de Kock, T., Bubenzer, O., 2019.
Origin and timing of past hillslope activity in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert – The formation of fine sediment lobes along the Chuculay Fault System, Northern Chile.
Global and Planetary Change. 184 (103057), 1 - 18. DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.103057.
Ullmann, T., Sauerbrey, J., Hoffmeister, D., May, M., Baumhauer, R., Bubenzer, O., 2019.
Assessing Spatiotemporal Variations of Sentinel-1 InSAR Coherence at Different Time Scales over the Atacama Desert (Chile) between 2015 and 2018.
Remote Sensing. 11 (24), 2960 - 2961. DOI: 10.3390/rs11242960.
Event Papers
May, M., Hoffmeister, D., Wolf, D. ., Bubenzer, O., 2019.
Zebra stripes in the Atacama revisited – seismicity-induced granular fingering as a mechanism for zebra stripe formation?.
Geophysical Research Abstracts. Proc. of EGU General Assembly 2019, 21 (EGU2019-6107), April 07 - 12, 2019, Vienna, Austria, 1 - 1.
May, M., Hoffmeister, D., Meine, L., Bubenzer, O., 2018.
Investigating hillslope processes in the hyper-arid zone of the Atacama Desert – different forms, preliminary results, and future perspectives.
Proc. of EGU General Assembly 2018, April 08 - 13, 2018, Vienna, Austria, 1 - 1.
Data
Project C3 - Research Data
May, M., 2022.
Monitoring of soil water content Zebra stripes at the Paposo Fault.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
May, M., 2019.
Morphology and morphometry of zebra stripes along the Paposo Fault.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
May, M., 2019.
Salar Grande fine sediment lobes - trench and core data.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
May, M., 2019.
Monitoring of soil water content Salar Grande.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
May, M., 2019.
Monitoring of soil water content north of Rio Loa.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB).
Hoffmeister, D., 2018.
Orthophoto and digital elevation model of zebra stripe area PP2, Paposo Fault, Chile.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB). DOI: 10.5880/CRC1211DB.18.
Hoffmeister, D., 2018.
Orthophoto and digital elevation model of zebra stripe area PP1, Paposo Fault, Chile.
CRC1211 Database (CRC1211DB). DOI: 10.5880/CRC1211DB.17.
