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While differences in catchment sediment yield (SY, [t km^− 2 y^− 1]) are generally attributed to topography, lithology, climate and land use, recent studies have highlighted that also seismic activity may have an important impact on SY. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about the importance of this factor and the processes and mechanisms explaining its influence. Therefore, this study explores the role of seismic activity in explaining spatial and temporal variation in sediment export within the Siret Basin (Romania, 45,000 km²), a catchment with a large variability in seismic activity.

Based on previously unpublished long-term (> 30 years) SY measurements for 38 subcatchments of the Siret, we analyze the correlation between average SY, seismic activity and various other catchment characteristics. Our results showed that spatial variation in average SY was indeed strongly correlated with the degree of seismic activity …