LICHENOMETRIC DATING (LICHENOMETRY) AND THE BIOLOGY OF THE LICHEN GENUS RHIZOCARPON: CHALLENGES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Lichenometric dating (lichenometry) involves the use of lichen measurements to estimate the age of exposure of various substrata. Because of low radial growth rates and considerable longevity, species of the crustose lichen genus Rhizocarpon have been the most useful in lichenometry. The primary assumption of lichenometry is that colonization, growth and mortality of Rhizocarpon are similar on surfaces of known and unknown age so that the largest thalli present on the respective faces are of comparable age. This review describes the current state of knowledge regarding the biology of Rhizocarpon and considers two main questions: (1) to what extent does existing knowledge support this assumption; and (2) what further biological observations would be useful both to test its validity and to improve the accuracy of lichenometric dates? A review of the Rhizocarpon literature identified gaps in knowledge regarding early development, the growth rate/size curve, mortality, regeneration, competitive effects, colonization, and succession on rock surfaces. The data suggest that these processes may not be comparable on different rock surfaces, especially in regions where growth rates and thallus turnover are high. In addition, several variables could differ between rock surfaces and influence maximum thallus size, including rate and timing of colonization, radial growth rates, environmental differences, thallus fusion, allelopathy, thallus mortality, colonization and competition. Comparative measurements of these variables on surfaces of known and unknown age may help to determine whether the basic assumptions of lichenometry are valid. Ultimately, it may be possible to take these differences into account when interpreting estimated dates.     

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF TALUS ACTIVITY – A LICHENOMETRIC APPROACH IN THE STUBAIER ALPS,AUSTRIA

Lichenometric measurements using Rhizocarpon ssp. were carried out on 20 talus slopes in the cirques of the Finstertal valley (Austria) at an elevation of 2300–3000 m a.s.l. The aim was to assess activity patterns on selected slopes and between the slopes of the study area, to find evidence of rockfall pulses in the last centuries and to calculate rockwall retreat rates. A calibration curve was derived from five sites of known age and adapted to the prevailing size of talus boulders. We measured the five largest lichens on more than 300 boulders and the percentage coverage of Rhizocarpon‐free clasts on more than 1000 test fields. Most of the investigated talus cones are characterized by moderate rockfall supply, with the apex being more active than the talus foot and moderate redistribution by avalanche and debris flows. Considerably enhanced activity was found under rockwalls influenced by permafrost, particularly on the north faces at an elevation of >2600 m a.s.l. At currently moderately active sites, boulder falls seem to have been slightly more frequent in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. In positions where permafrost is expected in the rockwalls, a weak maximum in the late nineteenth century and highly active present‐day conditions were found, the latter being assigned to current permafrost melt. Rockwall retreat rates derived from lichen coverage are between 400 and 1500 mm/ka which is in good concurrence with talus volume assessments, but higher than the rates derived from direct rockfall measurements. The rates derived from lichen coverage have to be taken with caution as the effects of debris redistribution are hard to quantify.     

LICHENOMETRIC AGES OF THE LITTLE ICE AGE MORAINES ON KING GEORGE ISLAND AND OF THE LAST VOLCANIC ACTIVITY ON PENGUIN ISLAND (WEST ANTARCTICA)

The recently observed recession of glaciers on King George Island is associated with decades of climate warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region. However, with only 60 years of glaciological observations in the study area ages of the oldest moraines are still uncertain. The goal of the study was to estimate ages of lichen colonization on the oldest moraines of the Ecology and White Eagle Glaciers on King George Island and on the Principal Cone of Penguin Island volcano. The first lichenometric studies on these islands from the late 1970s used rates that had about four to five times slower Rhizocarpon growth rates. We re‐examined the sites and measured 996 thalli diameters to establish the surface ages. To estimate the age we used (1) long‐term Rhizocarpon lichen group growth rates established by authors using data from a previous lichenometric study on King George Island, and (2) previous data of lichen growth rates from other sub‐Antarctic islands. Our results suggest growth rates between 0.5 and 0.8 mm yr^–1. According to these rates the ages of the oldest moraine ridges are of the Little Ice Age and were colonized at the beginning of the twentieth century. The mid‐twentieth century age of lichen colonization on the historically active Penguin Island volcano might support the date of the last eruption reported by whalers in the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.     

Lichenometric Dating of Rock Surfaces in the Northern Cascade Range,USA

This study presents a growth curve developed from direct and indirect growth rates of Rhizocarpon geographicum lichens from study sites on Mounts Baker, Rainier, Adams, and Hood in the northern Cascade Range of the western USA. Our observations of direct growth rates are based on 31 measurements of 11 lichens growing on different surfaces. This direct growth rate dataset is complemented by indirect growth rates based on measurements of the largest lichen observed on 20 different surfaces over 24–33‐yr periods. The direct and indirect datasets produce statistically indistinguishable mean radial growth rates of 0.48 and 0.50 mm yr^?1, respectively. Statistical analysis of zero and first order fits of our growth rate data suggests that lichen growth is best characterized by the average of our mean growth rate (zero order) models at 0.49 mm yr^?1. Our revised growth curve for the study area extends the applicable range for dating rock surface in the study area to the seventeenth century, approximately 175 years longer than previous calibrated curves.     

THE USE OF LICHEN GROWTH RINGS IN LICHENOMETRY: SOME PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Certain species of crustose lichens have concentrically zoned margins which probably represent yearly growth rings. These marginal growth rings offer an alternative method of studying annual growth fluctuations, establishing growth rate–size curves, and determining the age of thalli for certain crustose species. Hence, marginal growth rings represent a potentially valuable, unexploited, tool in lichenometry. In a preliminary study, we measured the widths of the successive marginal rings in 25 thalli of Ochrolechia parella (L.) Massal., growing at a maritime site in north Wales. Mean ring widths of all thalli varied from a minimum of 1.02 mm (the outermost ring) to a maximum of 2.06 mm (the third ring from the margin). There is some suggestion that marginal ring width and thallus size are positively correlated; and hence that growth rates increase in larger thalli in this small population. In a further study on recently exposed bedrock adjacent to Breiðarlon, SE Iceland, we examined the potential for using marginal growth rings to estimate thallus age of a lichen tentatively identified as a Rhizocarpon (possibly R. concentricum (Davies) Beltram.) and thus confirm the timing of surface exposure ( c. 50 years). Collectively, these results suggest: 1) the measurement of marginal rings is a possible alternative method of studying the growth of crustose lichens; 2) O. parella may grow differently to other crustose species, exhibiting a rapidly increasing radial growth rate in thalli >40 mm; 3) where lichens with marginal rings grow on recently exposed surfaces (<60 yrs), minimum age estimates can be made using growth rings as an in situ indication of lichen growth rate; 4) it is suggested that this phenomenon could provide a valuable, previously unexploited, in situ lichenometric-dating tool in areas lacking calibration control.     

Lichenometric dating of Little Ice Age glacier moraines using explicit demographic models of lichen colonization,growth, and survival

Contemporary variants of the lichenometric dating technique depend upon statistical correlations between surface age and maximum lichen sizes, rather than an understanding of lichen biology. To date three terminal moraines of an Alaskan glacier, we used a new lichenometric technique in which surfaces are dated by comparing lichen population distributions with the predictions of ecological demography models with explicit rules for the biological processes that govern lichen populations: colonization, growth, and survival. These rules were inferred from size–frequency distributions of lichens on calibration surfaces, but could be taken directly from biological studies. Working with two lichen taxa, we used multinomial‐based likelihood functions to compare model predictions with measured lichen populations, using only the thalli in the largest 25% of the size distribution. Joint likelihoods that combine the results of both species estimated moraine ages of ad 1938, 1917, and 1816. Ages predicted by Rhizocarpon alone were older than those of P. pubescens. Predicted ages are geologically plausible, and reveal glacier terminus retreat after a Little Ice Age maximum advance around ad 1816, with accelerated retreat starting in the early to mid twentieth century. Importantly, our technique permits calculation of prediction and model uncertainty. We attribute large confidence intervals for some dates to the use of the biologically variable Rhizocarpon subgenus, small sample sizes, and high inferred lichen mortality. We also suggest the need for improvement in demographic models. A primary advantage of our technique is that a process‐based approach to lichenometry will allow direct incorporation of ongoing advances in lichen biology.     

Lichenometric dating in southeast Iceland: the size–frequency approach

Abstract The age of recent deposits can be determined using an intrinsic characteristic of the lichen ‘population’ growing on their surface. This paper presents a calibrated dating curve based on the gradient of the size‐frequency distribution of yellow‐green Rhizocarpon lichens. The dating potential of this new curve is tested on surfaces of known age in southeast Iceland. This particular size—frequency technique is also compared with the more traditional largest‐lichen approach. The results are very encouraging and suggest that the gradient can be used as an age indicator, at least on deposits formed within the last c. 150 years – and probably within the last c. 400 years – in the maritime subpolar climate of southeast Iceland. Using both lichenometric techniques, revised dates for moraines on two glacier forelands are presented which shed new light on the exact timing of the Little Ice Age glacier maximum in Iceland.     

Within‐Site Variation in Lichen Growth Rates and Its Implications for Direct Lichenometry

Variation in lichen growth rates poses a significant challenge for the application of direct lichenometry, i.e. the construction of lichen dating curves from direct measurement of growth rates. To examine the magnitude and possible causes of within‐site growth variation, radial growth rates (RaGRs) of thalli of the fast‐growing foliose lichen Melanelia fuliginosa ssp. fuliginosa (Fr. ex Duby) Essl. and the slow‐growing crustose lichen Rhizocarpon geographicum (L.) DC. were studied on two S‐facing slate rock surfaces in north Wales, UK using digital photography and an image analysis system (Image‐J). RaGRs of M. fuliginosa ssp. fuliginosa varied from 0.44 to 2.63 mm yr^–1 and R. geographicum from 0.10 to 1.50 mm yr^–1.5. Analysis of variance suggested no significant variation in RaGRs with vertical or horizontal location on the rock, thallus diameter, aspect, slope, light intensity, rock porosity, rock surface texture, distance to nearest lichen neighbour or distance to vegetation on the rock surface. The frequency distribution of RaGR did not deviate from a normal distribution. It was concluded that despite considerable growth rate variation in both species studied, growth curves could be constructed with sufficient precision to be useful for direct lichenometry.     

USE OF BOMB-14C TO INVESTIGATE THE GROWTH AND CARBON TURNOVER RATES OF A CRUSTOSE LICHEN

The reliability of lichenometric dating is dependent on a good understanding of lichen growth rates. The growth rate of lichens can be determined from direct measurement of growing lichens or indirect methods by measuring lichens growing on surfaces of known age, although there are limitations to both approaches. Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) analysis has previously been used in only a handful of studies to determine lichen growth rates of two species from a small area of North America. These studies have produced mixed results; a small amount of carbon turnover appears to occur in one of the species ( Caloplaca spp.) previously investigated introducing uncertainty in the growth rate, while much higher carbon cycling occurred in another ( Rhizocarpon geographicum ), making the ¹⁴C approach unsuitable for estimating growth rates in the species most commonly used in lichenometric dating. We investigated the use of bomb-¹⁴C analysis to determine the growth rate of a different crustose species ( Pertusaria pseudocorallina ) common to Northern Europe. ¹⁴C-based growth rates were considerably higher than growth rates of morphologically similar species based on direct measurement made at locations nearby and elsewhere in the UK. This observation strongly suggests that a degree of carbon turnover probably occurs in Pertusaria pseudocorallina , and that bomb-¹⁴C analysis alone cannot be used to determine lichen age or absolute growth rates in this lichen species.     

GROWTH OF CRUSTOSE LICHENS: A REVIEW

Crustose species are the slowest growing of all lichens. Their slow growth and longevity, especially of the yellow-green Rhizocarpon group, has made them important for surface-exposure dating (lichenometry). This review considers various aspects of the growth of crustose lichens revealed by direct measurement including: 1) early growth and development; 2) radial growth rates (RGR, mm yr⁻¹); 3) the growth rate–size curve; and 4) the influence of environmental factors. Many crustose species comprise discrete areolae that contain the algal partner growing on the surface of a non-lichenized fungal hypothallus. Recent data suggest that 'primary' areolae may develop from free-living algal cells on the substratum while 'secondary' areolae develop from zoospores produced within the thallus. In more extreme environments, the RGR of crustose species may be exceptionally slow but considerably faster rates of growth have been recorded under more favourable conditions. The growth curves of crustose lichens with a marginal hypothallus may differ from the 'asymptotic' type of curve recorded in foliose and placodioid species; the latter are characterized by a phase of increasing RGR to a maximum and may be followed by a phase of decreasing growth. The decline in RGR in larger thalli may be attributable to a reduction in the efficiency of translocation of carbohydrate to the thallus margin or to an increased allocation of carbon to support mature 'reproductive' areolae. Crustose species have a low RGR accompanied by a low demand for nutrients and an increased allocation of carbon for stress resistance; therefore enabling colonization of more extreme environments.     

A REVIEW OF LICHEN GROWTH AND APPLIED LICHENOMETRY IN SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST GREENLAND

This paper presents a critical review of previous lichenometric and lichen growth studies in southern parts of West and East Greenland. These studies include classic work from around Søndre Strømfjord, Sukkertoppen, Sermilik and Angmagssalik. Particular emphasis is placed on those studies examining the role played by climatic continentality on the growth rate of crustose lichens in Greenland. The latter part of the paper presents new data on lichen growth rates from Sermilik, between 2001 and 2006, in 22 different lichen species. Measurements show that different species grow at different rates and growth rates vary from site to site. In this study Rhizocarpon geographicum generally grows slowly (<0.2 mm a⁻¹) while other species such as Pseudephebe minuscula grow more rapidly (1.0 mm a⁻¹) in the same environment. Comparison with other studies shows that taxa-specific growth rates are slightly greater in West than in East Greenland – probably as a result of the slightly more favourable climate and higher precipitation levels. It is suggested that recent climate change, most marked in southern Greenland, will probably result in changed growth curves (over time) for species such as Rhizocarpon geographicum . However, only more precise growth curves and lichenometric dating curves can demonstrate such a phenomenon.     

ENDOLITHIC LICHENS,RAPID BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING AND SCHMIDT HAMMER R‐VALUES ON RECENTLY EXPOSED ROCK SURFACES: STORBREEN GLACIER FORELAND,JOTUNHEIMEN, NORWAY

The endolithic lichen Lecidea auriculata is known to enhance rock surface weathering on the Little Ice Age moraines of the glacier Storbreen in Jotunheimen, central southern Norway. This study demonstrates the reduction in Schmidt hammer Rvalues that followed the rapid colonization by this lichen of pyroxene‐granulite boulders on terrain deglaciated over the last 88 years. In the absence of this lichen, the characteristic mean R‐value of boulder surfaces is 61.0 ± 0.3; where this lichen is present, R‐values are lower by at least 20 units on surfaces exposed for 30–40 years. A similar reduction in rock hardness on rock surfaces without a lichen cover requires about 10 ka. The rapid initial weakening of the rock surfaces is indicative of rates of biological weathering by endolithic lichens that may be two orders of magnitude (200–300 times) faster than rates of physico‐chemical weathering alone. If not avoided, the effects of this type of lichen are likely to negate the effectiveness of the Schmidt hammer and other methods for exposure‐age dating, including cosmogenic‐nuclide dating, in severe alpine and polar periglacial environments. The results also suggest a new method for dating rock surfaces exposed for <50 years.     

Lichen-dominated soil crusts as arthropod habitat in warm deserts

Soil crust lichens can be the dominant vegetation in arid lands, yet their importance as habitat to secondary producers is relatively unknown. This study examines the distribution of arthropod communities in the northern Namib Desert to evaluate whether a lichen-rich area is more or less productive than adjacent habitats in terms of the consumers each supports. Arthropods are diverse and highly endemic in the Namib Desert and lichens dominate this desert's extensive gravel plains. We sampled lichen-rich, dwarf shrub, and unvegetated sites and found distinct arthropod assemblages in the lichen-dominated sites, including species unique to lichen sites. Arthropod assemblages in two of the lichen sites were similar to those found in the dwarf shrub site. In a canonical correspondence analysis, crustose lichens and overall lichen cover were key in driving the variance in arthropod assemblages within the lichen sites. Furthermore, lichen morphotypes, overall lichen cover and species richness, were significantly correlated with the representation of arthropod subgroups and arthropod species richness. These findings provide evidence that lichen-dominated soil crusts in the Namib Desert are important supporters of secondary production, warranting more in-depth studies into the ecology and conservation of this lichen-rich habitat in warm deserts.     

Effects of substrate differences on water availability for Arctic lichens during the snow-free summers in the High Arctic glacier foreland

We used observational and experimental analyses to investigate the photosynthetic activity and water relationships of five lichen species attached to different substrates in a glacier foreland in the High Arctic, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (79°N) during the snow-free season in 2009 and 2010. After the rains ceased, lichens and their attached substrates quickly dried, whereas photosynthetic activity in the lichens decreased gradually. The in situ photosynthetic activity was estimated based on the relative electron transportation rate (rETR) in four fruticose lichens: Cetrariella delisei, Flavocetraria nivalis, Cladonia arbuscula ssp. mitis, and Cladonia pleurota. The rETR approached zero around noon, although the crustose lichen Ochrolechia frigida grown on biological soil crust (BSC) could acquire water from the BSC and retain its WC to perform positive photosynthesis. The light-rETR relationship curves of the five well-watered lichens were characterized into two types: shade-adapted with photoinhibition for the fruticose lichens, and light-adapted with no photoinhibition for O. frigida. The maximum rETR was expected to occur when they could acquire water from the surrounding air or from substrates during the desiccation period. Our results suggest that different species of Arctic lichens have different water availabilities due to their substrates and/or morphological characteristics, which affect their photosynthetic active periods during the summer.     

Age and hydrological significance of lichen limits on sandstone river channels near Sydney,Australia

Trimmed lichen communities (lichen limits) are abrupt changes from a lichen community to a scoured bare rock surface and have been used to determine bankfull channel capacity on bedrock channels and their response to the combined disturbances of flow regulation and climate change. They can also be used to set flushing flows in bedrock channels. In sandstone gorges of the Nepean River, Australia, the crustose lichen, Lecidea terrena Nyl, was common at both gorge and cemetery (sandstone headstones) sites, enabling construction of growth curves for above and below dam areas. Growth curves were used to date lichen colonisation of sandstone surfaces in rivers. The oldest, highest lichen limit at all sites represented the pre‐flow regulation lichen community because its characteristics above and below Nepean Dam were similar and were trimmed to a level that produced consistent discharges across a range of catchment areas. They corresponded to return periods of less than 2 years on the annual maximum series and was developed during the flood‐dominated regime (FDR) of 1857–1900. Lichen limits form by the phycobiont dominating the mycobiont and hence degrading lichen thalli due to water inundation causing weak or dead thalli to be scrubbed from the rock surface. Trimming to the unregulated lichen limit represents a small flood of frequent occurrence appropriate for flushing bedrock channels. A lower lichen limit was only found below a diversion weir and was formed by frequent dam spills between 1950 and 1952 during an extraordinary wet period at the start of the FDR between 1949 and 1990. Lichens colonised exposed sandstone between the level of frequent flows from 1949 to 1952, and the high lichen limit. On the Avon River, an additional lower limit reflected a massive downward shift in flow duration following the start of interbasin diversions to Wollongong in 1962.     

北极新奥尔松Austre Lovénbreen冰川退缩迹地不同演替阶段的植物组成与植被群落特征分析

为开展新奥尔松地区苔原植物生长和植被演替对冰川退缩响应的研究,在Austre Lovénbreen冰川(简称A冰川)前沿不同年代冰缘线附近布设了植被样方,调查了样方内植物组成与群落结构。结果表明:(1)A冰川1990年冰缘线代表植被演替的初始阶段,样方内仅出现先锋植物挪威虎耳草(Saxifraga oppositifolia);(2)1936年冰缘线代表冰川退缩长达75年后植被发育的情况,样方内植物种类和个体数明显增多,植被群落以木本植物极柳(Salix polaris)和草本植物黄葶苈(Draba bellii)为主,地衣以寒生肉疣衣(Ochrolechia frigida)和鸡皮衣(Pertusaria sp.)等壳状地衣为主;(3)随着冰川迹地形成时间更长,植被趋向成熟阶段发展,样方内极柳占绝对优势,地衣的物种多样性和盖度显著增加,出现雪黄岛衣(Flavocetraria nivalis)和刺岛衣(Cetraria aculeata)等叶状地衣。初步结果表明冰川退缩迹地上的物种更替明显,群落结构发生着显著变化。     

LICHEN GROWTH RATES ON GLACIER FORELANDS IN SOUTHERN NORWAY: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM A 25-YEAR MONITORING PROGRAMME

A unique 25-year lichen growth monitoring programme involving 2,795 individuals of the Rhizocarpon subgenus at 47 sites on 18 glacier forelands in the Jotunheimen–Jostedalsbreen regions of southern Norway is reported. The data are used to address fundamental questions relating to direct lichenometry: spatial and temporal variability in lichen growth rates, climatic effects on lichen growth rates, lichen growth models, and implications for lichenometric dating. Mean annual (diametral) growth rate ranged from 0.43 to 0.87 mm yr⁻¹ between sites, which is attributed primarily to local habitat differences. Interannual variability in annual mean growth rate exceeded 1.0 mm yr⁻¹ at some sites. Annual mean growth rates for all sites combined varied from 0.52 to 0.81 mm yr⁻¹ and was positively correlated with annual mean temperature and winter mean temperature (both r = 0.64, p <0.005) but not with summer seasonal temperature: positive correlations with annual and winter precipitation were less strong and the correlation with summer precipitation was marginally significant (r = 0.41 p <0.10). Growth-rate models characterized by annual growth rates that remain approximately constant or increase with lichen size up to at least 120 mm tended to fit the data more closely than a parabolic model. This is tentatively attributed to a long 'linear/mature' phase in the growth cycle. Comparison with growth rates inferred from indirect lichenometry suggest that such high measured growth rates could not have been maintained over the last few centuries by the largest lichens used in southern Norway for lichenometric dating. Several hypotheses, such as the effects of competition and climate change, which might explain this paradox, are discussed.     

Comparison of frequency of occurrence of earthquakes with slip rates from long-term seismicity data: the cases of Gulf of Corinth, Sea of Marmara and Dead Sea Fault Zone

In this article, through the comparison of knowledge relating to historical earthquakes with the understanding of present-day earthquake mechanics and overall GPS slip rates in the eastern Mediterranean region, it has been possible to obtain an idea of how frequently large earthquakes may be expected in some parts of the region. It has also been possible to make an assessment from these early events of slip rates over a long period of time for the Gulf of Corinth in Greece, the Marmara Sea in Turkey and the Dead Sea Fault System, as well as deriving long-term magnitude–frequency relations for these same regions.
It has been demonstrated that slip rates calculated from historical data are in general comparable to those calculated from GPS measurements and field observations, while the size of historical earthquakes and their uncertainty can be quantified. This permits a more reliable estimation of the long-term hazard, the calculation of which is the concern of the engineering seismologist. It has also been shown that in most cases large earthquakes are less frequent when they are estimated from long-term data sets rather than from the instrumental period making the notion of recurrence time and of hazard assessment, questionable.
This study focuses on some of the few areas in the world for which long-term macroseism information exists and which facilitate this kind of analysis.     

Dendrochronology and lichenometry: colonization, growth rates and dating of geomorphological events on the east side of the North Patagonian Icefield, Chile

This paper highlights the importance for dating accuracy of initial studies of delay before colonization for both trees and lichens and tree age below core height, particularly in recently deglaciated terrain where colonization and growth rates may vary widely due to differences in micro-environment. It demonstrates, for the first time, how dendrochronology and lichenometry can be used together in an assessment of each other's colonization and growth rates, and then cross-correlated to provide a supportive dating framework. The method described for estimating tree age below core height is also new. The results show that on the east side of the North Patagonian Icefield in the Arco and Colonia valleys, Nothofagus age below a core height of 112 cm can vary from 5 to 41 years and delay before colonization may range from a maximum of 22 years near water to a minimum of 93 years on the exposed flanks of the Arenales and Colonia Glaciers. Tree age plus colonization delay supplied a maximum growth rate of 4.7 mm/year for the lichen Placopsis perrugosa and lichen colonization is estimated to take from 2.5 to approximately 13 years. A minimum lichenometric date of 1883 was estimated for an ice-formed trimline at the junction of the Arenales and Colonia glaciers and a maximum dendrochronological date of 1881 for a water-formed trimline in the Arco valley. Tree and lichen ages around the valley suggest that a glacial outburst drained the 1881 high level lake releasing approximately 265 million cubic metres of water. Repeated flooding, with a minimum of 38 high lake levels, is suggested by horizontal sediment lines on the Arco valley walls and moraine flanks. Dating confirmed diminishing flood levels with a last minor flood in 1963. The wider significance of the work is that it should produce more accurate dating of recent glacier fluctuations around the North Patagonia Icefield, an area where dated reference surfaces are extremely scarce.     

TOWARDS A UNIFORM CONCEPT FOR THE COMPARISON AND EXTRAPOLATION OF ROCKWALL RETREAT AND ROCKFALL SUPPLY

Rates of rockwall retreat and rockfall supply are fundamental components of sediment budgets in steep environments. However, the standard procedure of referencing rockwall retreat rates using only lithology is inconsistent with research findings and results in a variability that exceeds three orders of magnitude. The concept proposed in this paper argues that the complexity inherent in rockfall studies can be reduced if the stages of (i) backweathering, (ii) filling and depletion of intermediate storage on the rock face and (iii) final rockfall supply onto the talus slopes are separated as these have different response functions and controlling factors. Backweathering responds to preweathering and weathering conditions whereas the filling and depletion of intermediate storage in the rock face is mainly a function of internal and external triggers. The noise apparent in backweathering rates and rockfall supply can be reduced by integrating the relevant controlling factors in the response functions. Simple conceptual models for the three stages are developed and are linked by a time‐dependent ‘rockfall delivery rate’, which is defined as the difference between backweathering and rockfall supply, thus reflecting the specific importance of intermediate storage in the rock face. Existing studies can be characterized according to their ‘rockfall delivery ratio’, a concept similar to the ‘sediment delivery ratio’ used in fluvial geomorphology. Their outputs can be qualified as trigger‐dependent rockfall supply rates or backweathering rates dependent on (pre‐)weathering conditions. It is shown that the existing quantitative backweathering and rockfall supply models implicitly follow the proposed conceptual models and can be accommodated into the uniform model. Suggestions are made for how best to incorporate non‐linearities, phase transitions, path dependencies and different timescales into rockfall response functions.