The geomorphological effectiveness of extreme meteorological phenomena on flysch slopes

Extreme events tend to cause large-scale slope system changes. During the last ten years, a series of extreme meteorological events caused considerable transformation of the slopes and valleys in various parts of the Carpathian Mountains. This paper presents the geomorphological effects of extreme rainfall and thaw events on the slopes of two catchments: the lososina catchment (Beskid Wyspowy) and the Hoczewka catchment with an area around the Solinskie Lake (Bieszczady Niskie). The bulk of the discussion concerns a study carried out in the Lososina catchment after three separate extreme events that were followed by a considerable transformation of the slopes due to landsliding. The studies carried out in the Biesr.cr.ady Range, where a single extreme event produced only spatially limited effects, were mainly used for comparison. '[he disparity between the responses of the two slope systems was a result of differences between the systems themselves, including their geology, geomorphology and landslide record, and of the difference in the scale of the extreme events.