RAPID: Differential Fluvial Response of the Abiotic Atacama Desert to a Rare Rainstorm Event

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ABSTRACT A non-technical description explaining the broader significance of the projectExtreme rainfall events are significant shapers of landscapes in arid regions. However, the processes of flood generation and the relative importance of various landscape components in producing and conducting the water flow is relatively unknown. This RAPID project provides a rare opportunity to use previously-collected data together with new observations and remote-sensing information to examine the response of different types of arid landscape features to sudden, heavy rainfall. Knowledge of landscape response to these extreme events will aid in planning for communities in these regions, since flash flooding is a common result and the source of the water is often unpredictable. The project involves collaboration with Chilean scientists. The results will go beyond the immediate are of the Atacama Desert that is the site of the investigation and encompasses the semi-arid regions of the US and other parts of the world. A technical description of the projectThis RAPID project will use previous research along a transect of the Atacama Desert to test the hypothesis that as the imprint of chronic hyper-aridity increases on the landscape due to the accumulation of salt and dust, the landscape becomes more resistant to runoff and overland flow from rainfall. Conversely, the nearly plant-less but relatively salt-free environments at the desert margin may be subject to rapid runoff and the generation of new fluvial features such as fans and mudflows. The recent rainfall is a rare opportunity to build on earlier investigations and to develop knowledge of the different landscape responses to a locally extraordinary event.