This study investigates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) time series of the Sentinel-1 mission acquired over the Atacama Desert, Chile, between March 2015 and December 2018. The contribution analyzes temporal and spatial variations of Sentinel-1 interferometric SAR (InSAR) coherence and exemplarily illustrates factors that are responsible for observed signal differences. The analyses are based on long temporal baselines (365–1090 days) and temporally dense time series constructed with short temporal baselines (12–24 days). Results are compared to multispectral data of Sentinel-2, morphometric features of the digital elevation model (DEM) TanDEM-X WorldDEM™, and to a detailed governmental geographic information system (GIS) dataset of the local hydrography. Sentinel-1 datasets are suited for generating extensive, nearly seamless InSAR coherence mosaics covering the entire Atacama Desert (>450 × 1100 km) at a spatial resolution of 20 × 20 meter per pixel. Temporal baselines over several years lead only to very minor decorrelation, indicating a very high signal stability of C-Band in this region, especially in the hyperarid uplands between the Coastal Cordillera and the Central Depression. Signal decorrelation was associated with certain types of surface cover (e.g., water or aeolian deposits) or with actual surface dynamics (e.g., anthropogenic disturbance (mining) or fluvial activity and overland flow). Strong rainfall events and fluvial activity in the periods 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018 caused spatial patterns with significant signal decorrelation; observed linear coherence anomalies matched the reference channel network and indicated actual episodic and sporadic discharge events. In the period 2015–2016, area-wide loss of coherence appeared as strip-like patterns of more than 80 km length that matched the prevailing wind direction. These anomalies, and others observed in that period and in the period 2017–2018, were interpreted to be caused by overland flow of high magnitude, as their spatial location matched well with documented heavy rainfall events that showed cumulative precipitation amounts of more than 20 mm.

The article reviews the state of knowledge about distribution, sizes, dynamics, and ages of all sand seas (N = 6) and dune fields (N = 10) in Egypt (1,001,450 km²). However, chronological data (Optically Stimulated Luminescence, Thermoluminescence), used in the INQUA (International Union for Quaternary Research) dune database, only exists from three of the five sand seas located in the Western Desert of Egypt. The North Sinai Sand Sea and four of the ten dune fields are located near the Nile Valley, the delta or the coast and therefore changed drastically due to land reclamation during the last decades. Here, but also in the oases, their sands pose a risk for settlements and farmland. Our comprehensive investigations of satellite images and our field measurements show that nearly all terrestrial dune forms can be observed in Egypt. Longitudinal dunes and barchans are dominant. Sand seas cover about 23.8% (with an average sand coverage of 74.8%), dune fields about 4.4% (with an average sand coverage of 31.7%) of its territory. For the Great Sand Sea and the Farafra Sand Sea, situated in the central and northern part of the Western Desert, a Late Glacial transformation by strong westerlies was found, but not for the Selima Sand Sea, situated in the south of Egypt. Regarding the sparse chronological data up to now, for a reasonable estimation of future sand mobility in the course of global climate change, further data are essential. Finally, further studies concerning sand mobility, local wind systems, and land use are needed.

Humans constitute one of the main geomorphological agents in modern times. As an example, post‐mining regions represent a typical landscape of the Anthropocene. Strong relief modifications are particularly obvious with open pit mining. However, many existing mining areas are lacking detailed pre‐mining information for the quantification of anthropogenic relief changes, which is a considerable challenge in regions with historic mining activities.Here, the Ville (Rhenish lignite district, Germany) is used to quantify surface mining induced relief changes in one of the oldest and currently largest lignite districts in Europe. Historical maps from first geodetic mapping in 1893 enabled construction of a historic digital elevation model to quantify the relief changes in comparison to elevation data from 2000 and 2015. The vertical accuracy of the historic data is remarkably high, with relief differences < 2 m in areas not affected by mining. In total, 49.2% of the investigated area (184 km²) shows a relief deficit and 14.5% has positive relief differences. Absolute changes account for more than 80 m heightening (dumpsites of overburden) and lowering of the natural relief (pits). Besides these altitudinal changes, overall steeper slopes are significant for the new topography, but levelling exists likewise. The spatial variabilities are discussed in the context of the regional geology and the mining techniques.Undoubtedly, such large‐scale anthropogenic relief changes persist for a very long time and will last as a human legacy far into the future. Only the detailed reconstruction of the pre‐mining relief offers the ability to clarify the dimension of humans as geomorphological agents and to understand landscape perception. Due to the fact that the impact of open pit mining has such a large vertical and horizontal extension, their consideration as part of anthropogeomorphology can significantly contribute to support future Critical Zone research in the Anthropocene.