Climate change triggered sedimentation and progressive tectonic uplift in a coupled piedmont–axial system: Cuyama Valley,California, USA

Channels on the north‐facing piedmont of the Sierra Madre range in Cuyama Valley, California have alternated between three process regimes during the late Quaternary: (1) vertical incision into piedmont alluvium and older sedimentary deposits; (2) lateral erosion; and (3) sediment accumulation. The state of the piedmont system at a given time has been controlled by upstream sediment flux, regional tectonic uplift and incision of the axial Cuyama River. To better understand the timing and to attempt to interpret causes of past geomorphological processes on the Sierra Madre piedmont, we mapped the surficial geology and dated alluvial deposits using radiocarbon, cosmogenic and optical dating methods. Four primary episodes of sedimentation have occurred since ca. 100 ka, culminating in the most recent period of extensive piedmont sedimentation between 30 and 20 ka. Fill terraces in Cuyama Valley formed by piedmont sediment accumulation followed by vertical incision and lateral erosion are fairly planar and often mantle strath bedrock surfaces. Their vertical spatial arrangement is a record of progressive regional tectonic uplift and concomitant axial Cuyama River channel incision migrating up tributary piedmont channels. Subparallel longitudinal terrace profiles which have a linear age–elevation relationship indicate that multiple episodes of climatically controlled sedimentation overprints ～1 m kyr^?1 of regional uplift affecting the Cuyama River and its tributaries. Sedimentation was probably a result of increased precipitation that caused saturation landsliding in steep catchments. It is possible that increased precipitation during the Last Glacial Maximum was caused by both continental‐scale circulation pattern reorganization and increased Pacific storm frequency and intensity caused by ‘early warming’ of nearby Pacific Ocean surface waters. Older episodes of piedmont sedimentation are difficult to correlate with specific climate regimes, but may correlate with previous periods of increased precipitation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dating of erosion surface and terraces in the eastern Qilian Shan,northwest China

The actively deformed foreland of eastern Qilian Shan (mountains) contains well‐preserved geomorphic features such as erosion surfaces, river terraces and tectonically uplifted alluvial fans, providing suitable archives for research on regional tectonic activities and palaeoclimatic changes. These geomorphic surfaces are well dated by using a combination of magnetostratigraphy, electron spin resonance, thermoluminescence, infra‐red stimulated luminescence, radiocarbon dating, and correlation with the well‐established loess–palaeosol sequences of China. Our results show that the erosion surface formed about 1·4 Ma ago, and the age of river terraces is 1·24 Ma, 820–860 ka, 780 ka, 420–440 ka, 230–250 ka, 140 ka, 60 ka and 10 ka, respectively. Valley incision rates of c. 0·09–0·25 m ka^?1 have been identified. The repetitive stratigraphic and geomorphic pattern of these terraces indicates the fluvial sedimentation–incision cycles are tightly associated with the 100‐ka glacial–interglacial climatic cycles. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

10Be‐derived assessment of accelerated erosion in a glacially conditioned inner gorge,Entlebuch, Central Alps of Switzerland

Inner gorges often result from the propagation of erosional waves related to glacial/interglacial climate shifts. However, only few studies have quantified the modern erosional response to this glacial conditioning. Here, we report in situ ¹⁰Be data from the 64 km² Entlen catchment (Swiss Alps). This basin hosts a 7 km long central inner gorge with two tributaries that are >100 m‐deeply incised into thick glacial till and bedrock. The ¹⁰Be concentrations measured at the downstream end of the gorge yield a catchment‐wide erosion rate of 0.42 ± 0.04 mm yr^‐1, while erosion rates are consistently lower upstream of the inner gorge, ranging from 0.14 ± 0.01 mm yr^‐1 to 0.23 ± 0.02 mm yr^‐1. However, ¹⁰Be‐based sediment budget calculations yield rates of ~1.3 mm yr^‐1 for the inner gorge of the trunk stream. Likewise, in the two incised tributary reaches, erosion rates are ~2.0 mm yr^‐1 and ~1.9 mm yr^‐1. Moreover, at the erosional front of the gorge, we measured bedrock incision rates ranging from ~2.5 mm yr^‐1 to ~3.8 mm yr^‐1. These rates, however, are too low to infer a post‐glacial age (15–20 ka) for the gorge initiation. This would require erosion rates that are between 2 and 6 times higher than present‐day estimates. However, the downcutting into unconsolidated glacial till favored high erosion rates through knickzone propagation immediately after the retreat of the LGM glaciers, and subsequent hillslope relaxation led to a progressive decrease in erosion rates. This hypothesis of a two‐ to sixfold decrease in erosion rates does not conflict with the ¹⁰Be‐based erosion rate budgets, because the modern erosional time scale recorded by ¹⁰Be cover the past 2–3 ka only. These results point to the acceleration of Holocene erosion in response to the glacial overprint of the landscape. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Supra‐glacial deposition and flux of catastrophic rock–slope failure debris,south‐central Alaska

The ongoing debate over the effects of global environmental change on Earth's cryosphere calls for detailed knowledge about process rates and their variability in cold environments. In this context, appraisals of the coupling between glacier dynamics and para‐glacial erosion rates in tectonically active mountains remain rare. We contribute to filling this knowledge gap and present an unprecedented regional‐scale inventory of supra‐glacial sediment flux and hillslope erosion rates inferred from an analysis of 123 large (> 0·1 km²) catastrophic bedrock landslides that fell onto glaciers in the Chugach Mountains, Alaska, as documented by satellite images obtained between 1972 to 2008. Assuming these supra‐glacial landslide deposits to be passive strain markers we infer minimum decadal‐scale sediment yields of 190 to 7400 t km^–2 yr^–1 for a given glacier‐surface cross‐section impacted by episodic rock–slope failure. These rates compare to reported fluvial sediment yields in many mountain rivers, but are an order of magnitude below the extreme sediment yields measured at the snouts of Alaskan glaciers, indicating that the bulk of debris discharged derives from en‐glacial, sub‐glacial or ice‐proximal sources. We estimate an average minimum para‐glacial erosion rate by large, episodic rock–slope failures at 0·5–0·7 mm yr^–1 in the Chugach Mountains over a 50‐yr period, with earthquakes likely being responsible for up to 73% of this rate. Though ranking amongst the highest decadal landslide erosion rates for this size of study area worldwide, our inferred rates of hillslope erosion in the Chugach Mountains remain an order of magnitude below the pace of extremely rapid glacial sediment export and glacio‐isostatic surface uplift previously reported from the region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Epigenetic gorges in fluvial landscapes

Epigenetic gorges form when channels that have been laterally displaced during episodes of river blockage or aggradation incise down into bedrock spurs or side‐walls of the former valley rather than excavating unconsolidated fills and reinhabiting the buried paleovalley. Valley‐filling events that promote epigenetic gorges can be localized, such as a landslide dam or an alluvial/debris flow fan deposit at a tributary junction, or widespread, such as fluvial aggradation in response to climate change or fluctuating base‐level. The formation of epigenetic gorges depends upon the competition between the resistance to transport, strength and roughness of valley‐filling sediments and a river's ability to sculpt and incise bedrock. The former affects the location and lateral mobility of a channel incising into valley‐filling deposits; the latter determines rates of bedrock incision should the path of the incising channel intersect with bedrock that is not the paleovalley bottom. Epigenetic gorge incision, by definition, post‐dates the incision that originally cut the valley. Strath terraces and sculpted bedrock walls that form in relation to epigenetic gorges should not be used to directly infer river incision induced by tectonic activity or climate variability. Rather, they are indicative of the variability of short‐term bedrock river incision and autogenic dynamics of actively incising fluvial landscapes. The rate of bedrock incision associated with an epigenetic gorge can be very high (>1 cm/yr), typically orders of magnitude higher than both short‐ and long‐term landscape denudation rates. In the context of bedrock river incision and landscape evolution, epigenetic gorges force rivers to incise more bedrock, slowing long‐term incision and delaying the adjustment of rivers to regional tectonic and climatic forcing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Glaciokarst landforms and processes of the southern Dinaric Alps

Glaciokarst is a landscape which combines karst features and hydrology as well as inherited glacial features. It is a result of glaciation upon a karst geomorphological system. The relationship between glaciers and karst is rather poorly known and inadequately recognized. This research focuses on three distinct karst areas along the Adriatic coast in the southern Dinaric Alps that were affected by the Quaternary glaciations. An insight into specific glaciokarst processes and surface features was provided through the study of the areas of the Lov?en, Orjen and Vele? Mountains. A glaciokarst geomorphology is in general well preserved due to the prevailing vertically oriented chemical denudation following de‐glaciation and almost the entire absence of other surface processes. Typical glacial erosional features are combined by a variety of depressions which are the result of a karstic drainage of sub‐glacial waters. The majority of glacial deposits occur as extensive lateral‐terminal moraine complexes, which are often dissected by smaller breach‐lobe moraines on the external side of the ridge. Those moraine complexes are likely to be a product of several glacial events, which is supported by complex depositional structures. According to the type of glacial depositional features, the glaciers in the study areas were likely to have characteristics of moraine‐dammed glaciers. Due to vertical drainage ice‐marginal fluvial processes were unable to evacuate sediment. Fluvial transport between glacial and pro‐glacial systems in karst areas is inefficient. Nevertheless, some sediment from the glacier margin is washed away by the pro‐glacial streams, filling the karst depressions and forming piedmont‐type poljes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new chronology for the age of Appalachian erosional surfaces determined by cosmogenic nuclides in cave sediments

The relative chronology of landscape evolution across the unglaciated Appalachian plateaus of Kentucky and Tennessee is well documented. For more than a century, geomorphologists have carefully mapped and correlated upland erosional surfaces inset by wide‐valley straths and smaller terraces. Constraining the timing of river incision into the Appalachian uplands was difficult in the past due to unsuitable dating methods and poorly preserved surface materials. Today, burial dating using the differential decay of cosmogenic ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be in clastic cave sediments reveals more than five million years of landscape evolution preserved underground. Multilevel caves linked hydrologically to the incision history of the Cumberland River contain in situ sediments equivalent to fluvial deposits found scattered across the Eastern Highland Rim erosional surface. Cave sediments correlate with: (1) thick Lafayette‐type gravels on the Eastern Highland Rim deposited between c. 5·7 and c. 3·5 Ma; (2) initial incision of the Cumberland River into the Eastern Highland Rim after c. 3·5 Ma; (3) formation of the Parker strath between c. 3·5 Ma and c. 2·0 Ma; (4) incision into the Parker strath at c. 2 Ma; (5) formation of a major terrace between c. 2·0 Ma and c. 1·5 Ma; (6) shorter cycles of accelerated incision and base level stability beginning at c. 1·5 Ma; and (7) regional aggradation at c. 0·85 Ma. Initial incision into the Appalachian uplands is interpreted as a response to eustasy at 3·2–3·1 Ma. Incision of the Parker strath is interpreted as a response to eustasy at 2·5–2·4 Ma. A third incision event at c. 1·5 Ma corresponds with glacial reorganization of the Ohio River basin. Widespread aggradation of cave passages at c. 0·85 Ma is interpreted as the beginning of intense glacial–interglacial cycling associated with global climate change. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantifying periglacial erosion: insights on a glacial sediment budget,Matanuska Glacier,Alaska

Glacial erosion rates are estimated to be among the highest in the world. Few studies have attempted, however, to quantify the flux of sediment from the periglacial landscape to a glacier. Here, erosion rates from the nonglacial landscape above the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska are presented and compare with an 8‐yr record of proglacial suspended sediment yield. Non‐glacial lowering rates range from 1·8 ± 0·5 mm yr^?1 to 8·5 ± 3·4 mm yr^?1 from estimates of rock fall and debris‐flow fan volumes. An average erosion rate of 0·08 ± 0·04 mm yr^?1 from eight convex‐up ridge crests was determined using in situ produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be. Extrapolating these rates, based on landscape morphometry, to the Matanuska basin (58% ice‐cover), it was found that nonglacial processes account for an annual sediment flux of 2·3 ± 1·0 × 10⁶ t. Suspended sediment data for 8 years and an assumed bedload to estimate the annual sediment yield at the Matanuska terminus to be 2·9 ± 1·0 × 10⁶ t, corresponding to an erosion rate of 1·8 ± 0·6 mm yr^?1: nonglacial sources therefore account for 80 ± 45% of the proglacial yield. A similar set of analyses were used for a small tributary sub‐basin (32% ice‐cover) to determine an erosion rate of 12·1 ± 6·9 mm yr^?1, based on proglacial sediment yield, with the nonglacial sediment flux equal to 10 ± 7% of the proglacial yield. It is suggested that erosion rates by nonglacial processes are similar to inferred subglacial rates, such that the ice‐free regions of a glaciated landscape contribute significantly to the glacial sediment budget. The similar magnitude of nonglacial and glacial rates implies that partially glaciated landscapes will respond rapidly to changes in climate and base level through a rapid nonglacial response to glacially driven incision. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Pleistocene talus flatiron formation below the Coal Cliffs cuesta,Utah, USA

Cuesta escarpment retreat is a principal mode of exhumation in regions of layered sedimentary rock. On the Colorado Plateau, this process acts as a mechanism for maintaining high‐relief topography and facilitating drainage divide migration. Quantitative estimates of cuesta evolution are difficult to evaluate over glacial‐interglacial timescales, and thus rates of geomorphic change along individual escarpments have mostly been constrained over millions of years. Several studies have addressed this problem by dating colluvium‐mantled talus flatirons. However, this technique has not been applied systematically on the Colorado Plateau. This study quantifies geomorphic change along a single Colorado Plateau cuesta using ³⁶Cl surface exposure dating. We present 33 ages from a single generation of talus flatirons below the Coal Cliffs of central Utah. Landscape evolution is further constrained using 14 ages from in‐situ bedrock, 3 ages from boulders on gully interfluves, and two ages from terrace alluvium. Results suggest a colluvial apron was deposited below the cuesta beginning as early as Marine Isotope Stage 3, and the latest depositional phase occurred near the Last Glacial Maximum. A switch from apron deposition to incision initiated flatiron formation sometime between 19.7 ± 2.5 and 11.8 ± 1.6 ka, broadly coincident with the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions. Our results have several important implications. Climatic changes during the end of the last glacial period appear to have shifted the balance between deposition and erosion below the Coal Cliffs, emptying the sediment reservoir at their base and increasing their height via bedrock incision. The climatic forcing could be imparted by several mechanisms, including local controls on debris generation / mobilization and base level changes exerted by transverse streams. Similar processes may have occurred during previous glacial‐interglacial transitions, implying that the escarpment retreat processes may be partially modulated by orbitally‐controlled variations in Earth's climate over larger timescales. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid incision of the Colorado River in Glen Canyon – insights from channel profiles,local incision rates,and modeling of lithologic controls

The Colorado River system in southern Utah and northern Arizona is continuing to adjust to the baselevel fall responsible for the carving of the Grand Canyon. Estimates of bedrock incision rates in this area vary widely, hinting at the transient state of the Colorado and its tributaries. In conjunction with these data, we use longitudinal profiles of the Colorado and tributaries between Marble Canyon and Cataract Canyon to investigate the incision history of the Colorado in this region. We find that almost all of the tributaries in this region steepen as they enter the Colorado River. The consistent presence of oversteepened reaches with similar elevation drops in the lower section of these channels, and their coincidence within a corridor of high local relief along the Colorado, suggest that the tributaries are steepening in response to an episode of increased incision rate on the mainstem. This analysis makes testable predictions about spatial variations in incision rates; these predictions are consistent with existing rate estimates and can be used to guide further studies. We also present cosmogenic nuclide data from the Henry Mountains of southern Utah. We measured in situ ¹⁰Be concentrations on four gravel‐covered strath surfaces elevated from 1 m to 110 m above Trachyte Creek. The surfaces yield exposure ages that range from approximately 2·5 ka to 267 ka and suggest incision rates that vary between 350 and 600 m/my. These incision rates are similar to other rates determined within the high‐relief corridor. Available data thus support the interpretation that tributaries of the Colorado River upstream of the Grand Canyon are responding to a recent pulse of rapid incision on the Colorado. Numerical modeling of detachment‐limited bedrock incision suggests that this incision pulse is likely related to the upstream‐dipping lithologic boundary at the northern edge of the Kaibab upwarp. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment storage and transport in Pancho Rico Valley during and after the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition,Coast Ranges of central California (Monterey County)

Factors influencing sediment transport and storage within the 156·6 km² drainage basin of Pancho Rico Creek (PRC), and sediment transport from the PRC drainage basin to its c. 11 000 km² mainstem drainage (Salinas River) are investigated. Numeric age estimates are determined by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating on quartz grains from three sediment samples collected from a ‘quaternary terrace a (Qta)’ PRC terrace/PRC‐tributary fan sequence, which consists dominantly of debris flow deposits overlying fluvial sediments. OSL dating results, morphometric analyses of topography, and field results indicate that the stormy climate of the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition caused intense debris‐flow erosion of PRC‐tributary valleys. However, during that time, the PRC channel was backfilled by Qta sediment, which indicates that there was insufficient discharge in PRC to transport the sediment load produced by tributary‐valley denudation. Locally, Salinas Valley alluvial stratigraphy lacks any record of hillslope erosion occurring during the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition, in that the alluvial fan formed where PRC enters the Salinas Valley lacks lobes correlative to Qta. This indicates that sediment stripped from PRC tributaries was mostly trapped in Pancho Rico Valley despite the relatively moist climate of the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition. Incision into Qta did not occur until PRC enlarged its drainage basin by c. 50% through capture of the upper part of San Lorenzo Creek, which occurred some time after the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition. During the relatively dry Holocene, PRC incision through Qta and into bedrock, as well as delivery of sediment to the San Ardo Fan, were facilitated by the discharge increase associated with stream‐capture. The influence of multiple mechanisms on sediment storage and transport in the Pancho Rico Valley‐Salinas Valley system exemplifies the complexity that (in some instances) must be recognized in order to correctly interpret terrestrial sedimentary sequences in tectonically active areas. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hillslope–channel sediment transfer in a slope failure event: Wet Swine Gill,Lake District,northern England

This paper describes and analyses a hillslope–channel slope failure event that occurred at Wet Swine Gill, Lake District, northern England. This comprised a hillslope slide (180 m³, c. 203 ± 36 t), which coupled with the adjacent stream, resulting in a channelized debris flow and fluvial flood. The timing of the event is constrained between January and March 2002. The hillslope failure occurred in response to a rainfall/snowmelt trigger, on ground recently disturbed by a heather moorland fire and modified by artificial drainage. Slide and flow dynamics are estimated using reconstructed velocity and discharge values along the sediment transfer path. There is a rapid downstream reduction in both maximum velocity, from 9·8 to 1·3 m s^?1; and maximum discharge, ranging from 33·5 to 2·4 m³ s^?1. A volumetric sediment budget quantified a high degree of coupling between the hillslope and immediate channel (～92%: 167 m³), but virtually all of the sediment was retained in the first‐order tributary channel. Approximately 44% (81 m³) of the slide volume was retained in the run‐up deposit, and termination of the debris flow prior to the main river meant that the remainder did not discharge into the fluvial system downstream. These results suggest poor transmission of sediment to the main river at the time of the event, but importantly an increase in available material for post‐event sediment transfer processes within the small upland tributary. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A chronology of post‐glacial landslides suggests that slight increases in precipitation could trigger a disproportionate geomorphic response

Large, deep‐seated landslides are common throughout the south‐eastern San Juan Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico, but their timing and initiation are not well understood. Determining when the landslides occurred would aid in clarifying the mechanisms for initiating landslides in the region and would help us to understand post‐glacial landscape evolution. We studied seven pre‐historic landslides located within the Tertiary volcanic rocks of the San Juan Volcanic Field. The landslides range in area from ~0.8 km² to ~11.3 km² and most are located in areas that were previously mapped as having been ice‐covered during the last glaciation. Landslide deposits were dated using a variety of methods including surface exposure dating (chlorine‐36, ³⁶Cl), radiocarbon dating of basal bog sediments and organic material buried in soils, and relative soil development. The resulting limiting ages range from approximately 14 ka to 2 ka and show that deep‐seated landsliding has occurred throughout the post‐glacial period. This broad range in ages is inconsistent with our initial hypothesis, which proposed that landslides were likely the result of debuttressing of glacial walls during glacial retreat. Furthermore, the timing of landslides does not seem to correlate with documented post‐glacial climatic shifts. Therefore, we conclude that landsliding in the region was the result of wetter than normal periods lasting months to years acting on weak bedrock preconditioned to failure and prepared by glacial debuttressing. Our findings suggest that the study area is likely still susceptible to deep‐seated landsliding and may become even more prone to large‐scale slope failure if future climate change increases precipitation in the San Juan Mountains. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment transmission and storage: the implications for reconstructing landform development

The late Holocene (last 3000 years) development of the lower Ribble valley (northwest England) displays evidence for a complex response to a sediment recharge event forced by land‐use change induced increases in erosion and sediment delivery. The deposition of fluvial sediments during the late Holocene was restricted to a series of reaches or depocenters separated by zones with no sediment accumulation constrained by older glacial and fluvial terrain. Apparent reach‐wide correlations of fluvial terraces break down under the scrutiny applied by comprehensive and extensive radiocarbon control. Bayesian testing of relative order models show that large‐scale geomorphological changes, e.g. the progression from one terrace level to another, were time transgressive between different depocenters. The different histories of sediment delivery and storage are probably a function of local‐ and process‐scale variations in these depocenters, and reflect (dis)connectivity relationships within a reach in propagating a basin‐scale change (superslug) in the sediment regime. Disconnectivity in the depositional regime through a fluvial reach limits what we can reconstruct in terms of sediment budgets, but radiocarbon dating of multiple palaeochannels offers considerable potential for landform‐based research to uncover rates of change within individual depocenters. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Very slow erosion rates and landscape preservation across the southwestern slope of the Ladakh Range,India

Erosion rates are key to quantifying the timescales over which different topographic and geomorphic domains develop in mountain landscapes. Geomorphic and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) methods were used to determine erosion rates of the arid, tectonically quiescent Ladakh Range, northern India. Five different geomorphic domains are identified and erosion rates are determined for three of the domains using TCN ¹⁰Be concentrations. Along the range divide between 5600 and 5700 m above sea level (asl), bedrock tors in the periglacial domain are eroding at 5.0 ± 0.5 to 13.1 ± 1.2 meters per million years (m/m.y.)., principally by frost shattering. At lower elevation in the unglaciated domain, erosion rates for tributary catchments vary between 0.8 ± 0.1 and 2.0 ± 0.3 m/m.y. Bedrock along interfluvial ridge crests between 3900 and 5100 m asl that separate these tributary catchments yield erosion rates <0.7 ± 0.1 m/m.y. and the dominant form of bedrock erosion is chemical weathering and grusification. Erosion rates are fastest where glaciers conditioned hillslopes above 5100 m asl by over‐steepening slopes and glacial debris is being evacuated by the fluvial network. For range divide tors, the long‐term duration of the erosion rate is considered to be 40–120 ky. By evaluating measured ¹⁰Be concentrations in tors along a model ¹⁰Be production curve, an average of ~24 cm is lost instantaneously every ~40 ky. Small (<4 km²) unglaciated tributary catchments and their interfluve bedrock have received very little precipitation since ~300 ka and the long‐term duration of their erosion rates is 300–750 ky and >850 ky, respectively. These results highlight the persistence of very slow erosion in different geomorphic domains across the southwestern slope of the Ladakh Range, which on the scale of the orogen records spatial changes in the locus of deformation and the development of an orogenic rain shadow north of the Greater Himalaya. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of Fluvial and Glacial Erosion in Landscape Evolution: The Ben Ohau Range,New Zealand

A morphometric comparison of valleys has been made for the Ben Ohau Range in the central Southern Alps of New Zealand. The range is undergoing rapid tectonic transport and uplift. The humid north of the range is a glacial trough-and-arête landscape, with a temperate glacial climate. The dry south has rounded divides and plateau remnants dissected by fluvial valleys. Assuming that space–time substitution allows today's spatial valley-form transition to represent evolutionary stages in valley development, the tectonic history allows time constraints to be placed on the rate of transition to an alpine glacial landscape. Morphometric change has been quantified using hypsometric curves, and distance–elevation plots of cirque and valley-floor altitudes. Ancestral fluvial valleys have less concave long profiles but are stepped at altitude owing to the presence of high-level cirques and remnant plateau surfaces, and possess a low proportion of land area at low elevation. Increasing glacial influence is manifest as smoother, more deeply concave long profiles and U-shaped cross-profiles associated with a higher proportion of the land area at lower elevation. The full morphological transition has involved up to 2.4 km of vertical denudation over the 4 Ma lifetime of the mountain range, of which 80 per cent would have occurred by preglacial fluvial erosion. Combining the trajectory of tectonic transport with reconstructed glaciation limits and climatic history, it is indicated that about 200 ka of temperate glacial erosion produces recognizable trough-and areête topography. Mean and modal relief increase where glacial activity is confined to cirques, but decrease when trough incision by ice becomes established as a dominant process in the landscape. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weathering,erosion and sediment composition in a high‐gradient river,Calabria, Italy

Source rock lithology and immediate modifying processes, such as chemical weathering and mechanical erosion, are primary controls on fluvial sediment supply. Sand composition and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of parent rocks, soil and fluvial sand of the Savuto River watershed, Calabria (Italy), were used to evaluate the modifications of source rocks through different sections of the basin, characterized by different geomorphic processes, in a sub‐humid Mediterranean climate. The headwaters, with gentle topography, produce a coarse‐grained sediment load derived from deeply weathered gneiss, having sand of quartzofeldspathic composition, compositionally very different from in situ degraded bedrock. Maximum estimated CIA values suggest that source rock has been affected significantly by weathering, and it testifies to a climatic threshold on the destruction of the bedrock. The mid‐course has steeper slopes and a deeply incised valley; bedrock consists of mica‐schist and phyllite with a very thin regolith, which provides large cobble to very coarse sand sediments to the main channel. Slope instability, with an areal incidence of over 40 per cent, largely supplies detritus to the main channel. Sand‐sized detritus of soil and fluvial sand is lithic. Estimated CIA value testifies to a significant weathering of the bedrock too, even if in this part of the drainage basin steeper slopes allow erosion to exceed chemical weathering. The lower course has a braided pattern and sediment load is coarse to medium–fine grained. The river cuts across Palaeozoic crystalline rocks and Miocene siliciclastic deposits. Sand‐sized detritus, contributed from these rocks and homogenized by transport processes, has been found in the quartzolithic distal samples. Field and laboratory evidence indicates that landscape development was the result of extensive weathering during the last postglacial temperature maximum in the headwaters, and of mass‐failure and fluvial erosional processes in the mid‐ and low course. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lateral bedrock erosion and valley formation in a heterogeneously layered landscape,Northeast Kansas

In this study, we present direct field measurements of modern lateral and vertical bedrock erosion during a 2-year study period, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of fluvial material capping a flat bedrock surface at Kings Creek located in northeast Kansas, USA. These data provide insight into rates and mechanisms of bedrock erosion and valley-widening in a heterogeneously layered limestone-shale landscape. Lateral bedrock erosion outpaced vertical incision during our 2-year study period. Modern erosion rates, measured at erosion pins in limestone and shale bedrock reveal that shale erosion rate is a function of wetting and drying cycles, while limestone erosion rate is controlled by discharge and fracture spacing. Variability in fracture spacing amongst field sites controls the size of limestone block collapse into the stream, which either allowed continued lateral erosion following rapid detachment and transport of limestone blocks, or inhibited lateral erosion due to limestone blocks that protected the valley wall from further erosion. The OSL ages of fluvial material sourced from the strath terrace were older than any material previously dated at our study site and indicate that Kings Creek was actively aggrading and incising throughout the late Pleistocene. Coupling field measurements and observations with ages of fluvial terraces can be useful to investigate the timing and processes linked to how bedrock rivers erode laterally over time to form wide bedrock valleys.     

Chronology and paleoenvironmental interpretation of talus flatiron sequences in a sub‐humid mountainous area: Tremp Depression,Spanish Pyrenees

Talus flatirons are debris‐covered relict slopes, disconnected from the source area, which are relatively common in arid and semi‐arid areas. Talus flatiron sequences record the alternation of accumulation and incision phases. These chronosequences may be used for infer temporal changes in the morphogenetic processes acting on the slopes as well as information on the local paleoclimatic history. Talus flatiron sequences developed in the Tremp Depression, eastern Spanish Pyrenees, are analysed from the geomorphological, chronological and paleoenvironmental perspective. The two groups of relict slopes differentiated by means of detailed geomorphological mapping have been dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating at 25–20 kyr (S3) and 5·4–1·7 cal kyr (S2). The talus flatiron group S3 is correlated with a fluvial terrace of the Noguera Pallaresa River (c. 23 kyr bp ). The comparison of the ages obtained in the Tremp Depression with chronologies published for talus flatiron sequences in semi‐arid areas and other paleoclimatic proxies suggests that the aggradation phases in the slopes occurred during periods with higher humidity and vegetation cover. The chronological differences observed between semi‐arid Spain and the Tremp Depression may be partly related to the more humid climate of the latter mountain area. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using in situ cosmogenic 10Be to identify the source of sediment leaving Greenland

We use the concentration of in situ ¹⁰Be in quartz isolated from fluvial and morainal sand to trace sediment sources and to determine the relative contribution of glacerized and deglaciated terrain to Greenland's sediment budget. We sampled along the western, eastern, and southern margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and collected sediment sourced from glacerized (n = 19) and non‐glacerized terrain (n = 10), from channels where sediment from glacerized and non‐glacerized terrain is mixed (n = 28), from Holocene glacial‐fluvial terraces (n = 4), and from one sand dune. In situ ¹⁰Be concentrations in sediment range from 1600 to 34 000 atoms g^‐1. The concentration of in situ ¹⁰Be in sediment sourced from non‐glacerized terrain is significantly higher than in sediment sourced from glacerized areas, in mixed channel sediment, and in terrace sediment that was deposited during the Holocene. To constrain the timing of landscape exposure for the deglaciated portion of the Narsarsuaq field area in southern Greenland, we measured in situ ¹⁰Be concentration in bedrock (n = 5) and boulder (n = 6) samples. Paired bedrock and boulder ages are indistinguishable at 1σ uncertainty and indicate rapid exposure of the upland slopes at ~10.5 ka. The isotope concentration in sediment sourced from non‐glacerized terrain is higher than in sediment sourced from glacerized terrain because the non‐glacerized landscape has been exposed to cosmic radiation since early Holocene deglaciation. Sediment from glacerized areas contains a low, but measurable concentration of ¹⁰Be that probably accumulated at depth during a prolonged period of exposure, probably before the establishment of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The concentration of ¹⁰Be in mixed fluvial sediment and in terrace sediment is low, and similar to the concentration in sediment from glacerized areas, which indicates that the Greenland Ice Sheet is the dominant source of sediment moving through the landscape outside the glacial margin in the areas we sampled. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.