Sediment transfer system in a deglaciating alpine catchment – insights from the Habach valley, Austria

This study presents the first geomorphological map of the Habach Valley (Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria) at a scale of 1:25,000. Geomorphological mapping was conducted through field surveys combined with interpretation of a 1 m ALS-derived DEM, multi-temporal orthophotos, glacier inventories, and geological maps. Landforms, surface materials, process domains, and hydrological features were mapped and integrated into a qualitative sediment-transfer model. Surface denudation and gravitational processes dominate in the catchment, whereas glacial, cryogenic-gravitational, fluvial and fluvio-gravitational processes are spatially restricted. Large sediment storages are concentrated in talus slopes, debris cones, alluvial deposits, and moraine remnants. Sediment transfer from slopes to the valley floor occurs primarily through debris-flow channels and gullies in schist-dominated areas. The results provide the basis for future studies of sediment availability and landscape response to ongoing climatic change.