Debris flows pose a hazard to life and infrastructure, and play a critical role in shaping steep landscapes. Debris flows are among the most efficient agents of sediment transfer in steep landscapes, capable of mobilizing large sediment volumes and exerting lasting influence on channel networks and hillslopes. Their likelihood and sediment volume are governed by critical zone processes operating across geologic (>ka) to event timescales, as well as by abrupt landscape disturbances such as wildfire and anthropogenic change (e.g., logging, mining). This session highlights recent advances in topics across debris-flow science, including debris-flow mechanics (initiation, entrainment, transport, and deposition), process-based and empirical modeling approaches, the role of debris flows in source-to-sink sediment transfer within linked sediment-cascade systems,  geomorphic impacts of debris flows on landscape evolution, and strategies for effective communication of debris-flow hazards. All studies focusing on observations, experiments, and modeling of debris flows from initiation to deposition are encouraged. 

• H - Hydrology
• NH - Natural Hazards