Integrating 10Be analyses and an empirical erosion model to unveil catchment-scale landscape and sediment dynamics in a tectonically active Mediterranean area (Calabria, southern Italy)

Quantifying erosion rates and sediment fluxes is essential for understanding landscape evolution and the geomorphic response to tectonic and climatic forcing. This study integrates in-situ cosmogenic 10 Be analyses with a calibrated Erosion Potential Model (EPM) to investigate erosion and sediment dynamics in the Sfalassà catchment (Aspromonte Massif, southern Italy), a representative pilot basin for Mediterranean mountain environments. 26 samples, including two grain-size fractions of fluvial sediments and bedrock surfaces, were collected to estimate long-term erosion rates and vertical incision. Catchment-wide 10 Be-derived denudation rates range from 0.02 to 0.35 mm/yr, displaying a spatial organization consistent with basin morphology and indicating upstream-migrating regressive erosion. Bedrock incision rates span from 0.29 to 2.37 mm/yr. The EPM, calibrated through detailed lithological and soil characterization, including erodibility factor and bulk density measurements, indicates an annual sediment production of 31,000 ± 3100 m 3 and a sediment delivery of 5900 ± 600 m 3 yr −1 at the outlet, consistent with the magnitude of the 10 Be-derived denudation rates despite the distinct temporal scales. Cosmogenic nuclides integrate millennial-scale processes, whereas EPM reflects sediment production and export over the last decades, driven by land use, rainfall intensity, and sediment connectivity. Combining long-term isotopic data and short-term empirical modeling reveals a decoupling between slow hillslope denudation/fluvial transport and rapid channel incision in a tectonically active setting. This highlights that tectonic uplift, sediment connectivity and storage are key modulators of source-to-sink dynamics in this transient landscape, governing the pulsed sediment delivery to the sediment-starved coastline, with implications for coastal hazard assessment. • Catchment-wide erosion rates were estimated at different temporal scales • Long- and middle-term erosion were quantified with 10 Be and a calibrated EPM model • Cosmogenic 10 Be denudation rates show spatial variability linked to topography • Bedrock exposure ages reveal stepped Holocene incision and recent rapid downcutting • Dual 10 Be–EPM framework improves sediment budget assessment in Mediterranean basins