Following Wolman and Miller (1960), we presume that frequent moderate magnitude flow-energy events are more effective at transporting sediment than rare events of large magnitude. Even if significant changes to landscapes are caused by large magnitude events, we expect reworking back to ‘equilibrium conditions’ during the moderate higher-frequency events. This concept is reflected in current sediment transport theory that considers equilibrium conditions, and relies on energy being normally distributed. Yet, there are differences in magnitude-frequency relationships and relaxation times at different scales, and between different geomorphic settings, where energy is not normally distributed. Thus, larger magnitude events may leave permanent imprints with non-existent recovery. We invite contributions based on theory, experiments, mathematical modeling, and modern and ancient data, which examine how the magnitude and frequency of energy affects sediment transport processes, preservation of alluvium, and how the distributions of energy may evolve in differing settings with respect to climate change.