Intense rainstorms as drivers of lacustrine turbidity currents: implications for paleoflood records
Abstract
Flood turbidites in lake sediments are widely used to reconstruct past flood activity, yet the physical link between flood hydrology, sediment transport, and the resulting deposit remains incompletely constrained. In this study, we investigate the mechanisms controlling turbidity-current initiation in the subaquatic delta of the Muota River (Switzerland) and how they are reflected in the sedimentary record of Lake Lucerne. We integrate hydro-meteorological observations from the catchment, in situ measurements of turbidity currents using moored acoustic doppler current profilers, and sediment cores spanning the last approx. 50 years of deposition. Comparing event deposits identified in the basin with gauged floods indicates that the largest floods show clear correspondence with thick, extensive turbidites, whereas the sedimentary imprint of moderate floods exhibits inter-event variability in thickness or is not consistently preserved. Monitoring data demonstrate that turbidity-current initiation is not controlled by river discharge alone but is governed by suspended sediment concentration, which in turn depends on rainfall characteristics and sediment mobilisation within the catchment. Short-lived, high-intensity precipitation events can generate sediment-rich inflows that trigger discharge-decoupled turbidity currents, whereas some higher but less turbid discharge peaks are not associated with turbidity-current initiation. This decoupling between discharge magnitude and sedimentary response may challenge the interpretation of lacustrine flood archives. Our findings emphasise that robust paleoflood reconstructions benefit from process-based calibration using modern monitoring data.
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BibTeX
@article{sauter2026intense,
title = {{Intense rainstorms as drivers of lacustrine turbidity currents: implications for paleoflood records}},
author = {Gaétan Sauter and Damien Bouffard and François Mettra and Koen Blanckaert and Stefano C. Fabbri and Flavio S. Anselmetti and Michael Hilbe and Mathurin D. Wamba and Adrianus Damanik and Hendrik Vogel and Katrina Kremer},
journal = {Sedimentologika},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.57035/journals/sdk.2026.e42.2473},
url = {https://doi.org/10.57035/journals/sdk.2026.e42.2473},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Intense rainstorms as drivers of lacustrine turbidity currents: implications for paleoflood records
AU - Gaétan Sauter
AU - Damien Bouffard
AU - François Mettra
AU - Koen Blanckaert
AU - Stefano C. Fabbri
AU - Flavio S. Anselmetti
AU - Michael Hilbe
AU - Mathurin D. Wamba
AU - Adrianus Damanik
AU - Hendrik Vogel
AU - Katrina Kremer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Sedimentologika
DO - 10.57035/journals/sdk.2026.e42.2473
UR - https://doi.org/10.57035/journals/sdk.2026.e42.2473
AB - Flood turbidites in lake sediments are widely used to reconstruct past flood activity, yet the physical link between flood hydrology, sediment transport, and the resulting deposit remains incompletely constrained. In this study, we investigate the mechanisms controlling turbidity-current initiation in the subaquatic delta of the Muota River (Switzerland) and how they are reflected in the sedimentary record of Lake Lucerne. We integrate hydro-meteorological observations from the catchment, in situ measurements of turbidity currents using moored acoustic doppler current profilers, and sediment cores spanning the last approx. 50 years of deposition. Comparing event deposits identified in the basin with gauged floods indicates that the largest floods show clear correspondence with thick, extensive turbidites, whereas the sedimentary imprint of moderate floods exhibits inter-event variability in thickness or is not consistently preserved. Monitoring data demonstrate that turbidity-current initiation is not controlled by river discharge alone but is governed by suspended sediment concentration, which in turn depends on rainfall characteristics and sediment mobilisation within the catchment. Short-lived, high-intensity precipitation events can generate sediment-rich inflows that trigger discharge-decoupled turbidity currents, whereas some higher but less turbid discharge peaks are not associated with turbidity-current initiation. This decoupling between discharge magnitude and sedimentary response may challenge the interpretation of lacustrine flood archives. Our findings emphasise that robust paleoflood reconstructions benefit from process-based calibration using modern monitoring data.
SN - 2813-415X
ER -