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Abstract Rapid warming in the Arctic threatens to destabilize mercury (Hg) deposits contained within soils in permafrost regions. Yet current estimates of the amount of Hg in permafrost vary by ∼4 times. Moreover, how Hg will be released to the environment as permafrost thaws remains poorly known, despite threats to water quality, human health, and the environment. Here we present new measurements of total mercury (THg) contents in discontinuous permafrost in the Yukon River Basin in Alaska. We collected riverbank and floodplain sediments from exposed banks and bars near the villages of Huslia and Beaver. Median THg contents were 49⁺¹³/₋₂₁ng THg g sediment⁻¹and 39⁺¹⁶/₋₁₈ng THg g sediment⁻¹for Huslia and Beaver, respectively (uncertainties as 15th and 85th percentiles). Corresponding THg:organic carbon ratios were 5.4^+2.0/_−2.4Gg THg Pg C⁻¹and 4.2^+2.4/_−2.9Gg THg Pg C⁻¹. To constrain floodplain THg stocks, we combined measured THg contents with floodplain stratigraphy. Trends of THg increasing with smaller sediment size and calculated stocks in the upper 1 m and 3 m are similar to those suggested for this region by prior pan-Arctic studies. We combined THg stocks and river migration rates derived from remote sensing to estimate particulate THg erosional and depositional fluxes as river channels migrate across the floodplain. Results show similar fluxes within uncertainty into the river from erosion at both sites (95⁺¹²/₋₄₇kg THg yr⁻¹and 26⁺¹⁵⁴/₋₁₃kg THg yr⁻¹at Huslia and Beaver, respectively), but different fluxes out of the river via deposition in aggrading bars (60⁺⁴⁰/₋₂₉kg THg yr⁻¹and 10^+5.3/_−1.7kg THg yr⁻¹). Thus, a significant amount of THg is liberated from permafrost during bank erosion, while a variable but generally lesser portion is subsequently redeposited by migrating rivers. 

Abstract Large earthquakes can construct mountainous topography by inducing rock uplift but also erode mountains by causing landslides. Observations following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake show that landslide volumes in some cases match seismically induced uplift, raising questions about how the actions of individual earthquakes accumulate to build topography. Here we model the two‐dimensional surface displacement field generated over a full earthquake cycle accounting for coseismic deformation, postseismic relaxation, landslide erosion, and erosion‐induced isostatic compensation. We explore the related volume balance across different seismotectonic and topographic conditions and revisit the Wenchuan case in this context. The ratio (Ω) between landslide erosion and uplift is most sensitive to parameters determining landslide volumes (particularly earthquake magnitudeM_w, seismic energy source depth, and failure susceptibility, as well as the seismological factor responsible for triggering landslides), and is moderately sensitive to the effective elastic thickness of lithosphere,T_e. For a specified magnitude, more erosive events (higher Ω) tend to occur at shallower depth, in thicker‐T_elithosphere, and in steeper, more landslide‐prone landscapes. For given landscape and seismotectonic conditions, the volumes of both landslides and uplift to first order positively scale withM_wand seismic momentM_o. However, higherM_wearthquakes generate lower landslide and uplift volumes per unitM_o, suggesting lower efficiency in the use of seismic energy to drive topographic change. With our model, we calculate the long‐term average seismic volume balance for the eastern Tibetan region and find that the net topographic effect of earthquakes in this region tends to be constructive rather than erosive. Overall, destructive events are rare when considering processes over the full earthquake cycle, although they are more likely if only considering the coseismic volume budget (as was the case for the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake where landsliding substantially offset coseismic uplift). Irrespective of the net budget, our results suggest that the erosive power of earthquakes plays an important role in mountain belt evolution, including by influencing structures and spatial patterns of deformation, for example affecting the wavelength of topography.