Constant denudation rates in a high alpine catchment for the last 6 kyrs

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) have widely been used as proxies in determining denudation rates in catchments. Most studies were limited to samples from modern active streams, thus little is known about the magnitude and causes of TCN variability on millennial time scales. In this work we present a 6 kyrs long, high resolution record of ¹⁰Be concentrations (n = 18), which were measured in sediment cores from an alluvial fan delta at the outlet of the Fedoz Valley in the Swiss Alps. This record is paired with a 3‐year time series (n = 4) of ¹⁰Be measured in sediment from the active stream currently feeding this fan delta. The temporal trend in the ¹⁰Be concentrations after correction for postdepositional production of ¹⁰Be was found to be overall constant and in good agreement with the modern river ¹⁰Be concentration. The calculated mean catchment‐wide denudation rate amounts to 0.73 ± 0.18 mm yr^?1. This fairly constant level of ¹⁰Be concentrations can be caused by a constant denudation rate over time within the catchment or alternatively by a buffered signal. In this contribution we suggest that the large alluvial floodplain in the Fedoz Valley may act as an efficient buffer on Holocene time scales in which sediments with different ¹⁰Be signatures are mixed. Therefore, presumable variations in the ¹⁰Be signals derived from changes in denudation under a fluctuating Holocene climate are only poorly transferred to the catchment outlet and not recorded in the ¹⁰Be record. However, despite the absence of high frequency signals, we propose that the buffered and averaged ¹⁰Be signal could be meaningfully and faithfully interpreted in terms of long‐term catchment‐averaged denudation rate. Our study suggests that alluvial buffers play an important role in regulating the ¹⁰Be signal exported by some alpine settings that needs to be taken into account and further investigated. Copyright © 2016 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.     

Rates of rockwall slope erosion in the upper Bhagirathi catchment,Garhwal Himalaya

Rockwall slope erosion is defined for the upper Bhagirathi catchment using cosmogenic Beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) concentrations in sediment from medial moraines on Gangotri glacier. Beryllium-10 concentrations range from 1.1 ± 0.2 to 2.7 ± 0.3 × 10⁴ at/g SiO₂, yielding rockwall slope erosion rates from 2.4 ± 0.4 to 6.9 ± 1.9 mm/a. Slope erosion rates are likely to have varied over space and time and responded to shifts in climate, geomorphic and/or tectonic regime throughout the late Quaternary. Geomorphic and sedimentological analyses confirm that the moraines are predominately composed of rockfall and avalanche debris mobilized from steep relief rockwall slopes via periglacial weathering processes. The glacial rockwall slope erosion affects sediment flux and storage of snow and ice at the catchment head on diurnal to millennial timescales, and more broadly influences catchment configuration and relief, glacier dynamics and microclimates. The slope erosion rates exceed the averaged catchment-wide and exhumation rates of Bhagirathi and the Garhwal region on geomorphic timescales (10³−10⁵ years), supporting the view that erosion at the headwaters can outpace the wider catchment. The ¹⁰Be concentrations of medial moraine sediment for the upper Bhagirathi catchment and the catchments of Chhota Shigri in Lahul, northern India and Baltoro glacier in Central Karakoram, Pakistan show a tentative relationship between ¹⁰Be concentration and precipitation. As such there is more rapid glacial rockwall slope erosion in the monsoon-influenced Lesser and Greater Himalaya compared to the semi-arid interior of the orogen. Rockwall slope erosion in the three study areas, and more broadly across the northwest Himalaya is likely governed by individual catchment dynamics that vary across space and time. © 2019 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tracking denudation and sediment production and transport with cosmogenic 10Be in arid,high-altitude Himalayan half-grabens,Zanskar, northern India

Understanding the extent to which local factors, including bedrock and structure, govern catchment denudation in mountainous environments as opposed to broader climate or tectonic patterns provides insight into how landscapes evolve as sediment is generated and transported through them, and whether they have approached steady-state equilibrium. We measured beryllium-10 (¹⁰Be) concentrations in 21 sediment samples from glaciated footwall and hanging wall catchments, including a set of nested catchments, and 12 bedrock samples in the Puga and Tso Morari half-grabens located in the high-elevation, arid Zanskar region of northern India. In the Puga half-graben where catchments are underlain by quartzo-feldspathic gneissic bedrock, bedrock along catchment divides is eroding very slowly, about 5 m/Ma, due to extreme aridity and ¹⁰Be concentrations in catchment sediments are the highest (~60–90 × 10⁵ atoms/g SiO₂) as colluvium accumulates on hillslopes, decoupled from their ephemeral streams. At Puga, ¹⁰Be concentrations and the average erosion rates of a set of six nested catchments demonstrate that catchment denudation is transport-limited as sediment stagnates on lower slopes before reaching the catchment outlet. In the Tso Morari half-graben, gneissic bedrock is also eroding very slowly but ¹⁰Be concentrations in sediments in catchments underlain by low grade meta-sedimentary rocks, are significantly lower (~10–35 × 10⁵ atoms/g SiO₂). In these arid, high-elevation environments, ¹⁰Be concentrations in catchment sediments have more to do with bedrock weathering and transport times than steady-state denudation rates. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Debris-flow-dominated sediment transport through a channel network after wildfire

Field studies that investigate sediment transport between debris-flow-producing headwaters and rivers are uncommon, particularly in forested settings, where debris flows are infrequent and opportunities for collecting data are limited. This study quantifies the volume and composition of sediment deposited in the arterial channel network of a 14-km² catchment (Washington Creek) that connects small, burned and debris-flow-producing headwaters (<1 km²) with the Ovens River in SE Australia. We construct a sediment budget by combining new data on deposition with a sediment delivery model for post-fire debris flows. Data on deposits were plotted alongside the slope–area curve to examine links between processes, catchment morphometry and geomorphic process domains. The results show that large deposits are concentrated in the proximity of three major channel junctions, which correspond to breaks in channel slope. Hyperconcentrated flows are more prominent towards the catchment outlet, where the slope–area curve indicates a transition from debris flow to fluvial domains. This shift corresponds to a change in efficiency of the flow, determined from the ratio of median grain size to channel slope. Our sediment budget suggests a total sediment efflux from Washington Creek catchment of 61 × 10³ m³. There are similar contributions from hillslopes (43 ± 14 × 10³ m³), first to third stream order channel (35 ± 12 × 10³ m³) and the arterial fourth to fifth stream order channel (31 ± 17 × 10³ m³) to the total volume of erosion. Deposition (39 ± 17 × 10³ m³) within the arterial channel was higher than erosion (31 ± 17 × 10³ m³), which means a net sediment gain of about 8 × 10³ m³ in the arterial channel. The ratio of total deposition to total erosion was 0.44. For fines <63 μm, this ratio was much smaller (0.11), which means that fines are preferentially exported. This has important implications for suspended sediment and water quality in downstream rivers. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls on Holocene denudation rates in mountainous environments under Mediterranean climate

The Mediterranean domain is characterized by a specific climate resulting from the close interplay between atmospheric and marine processes and strongly differentiated regional topographies. Corsica Island, a mountainous area located in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea is particularly suitable to quantify regional denudation rates in the framework of a source‐to‐sink approach. Indeed, fluvial sedimentation in East‐Corsica margin is almost exclusively limited to its alluvial plain and offshore domain and its basement is mainly constituted of quartz‐rich crystalline rocks allowing cosmogenic nuclide ¹⁰Be measurements. In this paper, Holocene denudation rates of catchments from the eastern part of the island of Corsica are quantified relying on in situ produced ¹⁰Be concentrations in stream sediments and interpreted in an approach including quantitative geomorphology, rock strength measurement (with a Schmidt Hammer) and vegetation cover distribution. Calculated denudation rates range from 15 to 95 mm ka^‐1. When compared with rates from similar geomorphic domains experiencing a different climate setting, such as the foreland of the northern European Alps, they appear quite low and temporally stable. At the first order, they better correlate with rock strength and vegetation cover than with morphometric indexes. Spatial distribution of the vegetation is controlled by morpho‐climatic parameters including sun exposure and the direction of the main wet wind, so‐called ‘Libecciu’. This distribution, as well as the basement rock strength seems to play a significant role in the denudation distribution. We thus suggest that the landscape reached a geomorphic steady‐state due to the specific Mediterranean climate and that Holocene denudation rates are mainly sustained by weathering processes, through the amount of regolith formation, rather than being transport‐limited. Al/K measurements used as a proxy to infer present‐day catchment‐wide chemical weathering patterns might support this assumption. Copyright © 2016 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.     

Quantifying river incision into low‐relief surfaces using local and catchment‐wide 10Be denudation rates

Relief generation in non‐glaciated regions is largely controlled by river incision into bedrock but datable fluvial terraces that allow quantifying incision rates are not always present. Here we suggest a new method to determine river incision rates in regions where low‐relief surfaces are dissected by streams. The approach consists of three steps and requires the ¹⁰Be concentrations of a stream sediment sample and a regolith sample from the low‐relief surface. In the first step, the spatial distribution of ¹⁰Be surface concentrations in the given catchment is modelled by assuming that denudation rates are controlled by the local hillslope angles. The slope–denudation rate relation for this catchment is then quantified by adjusting the relation between slope angle and denudation rate until the average ¹⁰Be concentration in the model is equal to the one measured in the stream sediment sample. In the second step, curved swath profiles are used to measure hillslope angles adjacent to the main river channel. Third, the mean slope angle derived from these swath profiles and the slope–denudation relation are used to quantify the river incision rate (assuming that the incision rate equals the denudation rate on adjacent hillslopes). We apply our approach to two study areas in southern Tibet and central Europe (Black Forest). In both regions, local ¹⁰Be denudation rates on flat parts of the incised low‐relief surface are lower than catchment‐wide denudation rates. As the latter integrate across the entire landscape, river incision rates must exceed these spatially averaged denudation rates. Our approach yields river incision rates between ~15 and ~30 m/Ma for the Tibetan study area and incision rates of ~70 to ~100 m/Ma in the Black Forest. Taking the lowering of the low‐relief surfaces into account suggests that relief in the two study areas increases at rates of 10–20 and 40–70 m/Ma, respectively. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perturbation of fluvial sediment fluxes following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Quantifying the removal of co‐seismic landslide material after a large‐magnitude earthquake is central to our understanding of geomorphic recovery from seismic events and the topographic evolution of tectonically active mountain ranges. In order to gain more insight into the fluvial erosion response to co‐seismic landslides, we focus on the sediment fluxes of rivers flowing through the rupture zone of the 2008 M_w 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in the Longmen Shan of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Over the post‐seismic period of 2008–2013, we annually collected river sediment samples (0.25–1 mm) at 19 locations and measured the concentration of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in quartz. When compared with published pre‐earthquake data, the ¹⁰Be concentrations declined dramatically after the earthquake at all sampling sites, but with significant spatial differences in the amplitude of this decrease, and were starting to increase toward pre‐earthquake level in several basins over the 5‐year survey. Our analysis shows that the amplitude of ¹⁰Be decrease is controlled by the amount of landslides directly connected to the river network. Calculations based on ¹⁰Be mixing budgets indicate that the sediment flux of the 0.25–1 mm size fraction increased up to sixfold following the Wenchuan earthquake. Our results also suggest that fluvial erosion became supply limited shortly after the earthquake, and predict that it could take a few years to several decades for fluvial sediment fluxes to go back to pre‐earthquake characteristics, depending on catchment properties. We also estimate that it will take at least decades and possibly up to thousands of years to remove the co‐seismic landslide materials from the catchments in the Longmen Shan. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluating debris-flow and anthropogenic disturbance on 10Be concentration in mountain drainage basins: implications for functional connectivity and denudation rates across time scales

We examine the sensitivity of ¹⁰Be concentrations (and derived denudation rates), to debris-flow and anthropogenic perturbations in steep settings of the Eastern Alps, and explore possible relations with structural geomorphic connectivity. Using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be as a tracer for functional geomorphic connectivity, we conduct sampling replications across four seasons in Gadria, Strimm and Allitz Creek. Sampling sites encompass a range of structural connectivity configurations, including the conditioning of a sackung, all assessed through a geomorphometric index (IC). By combining information on contemporary depth of erosion and sediment yield, disturbance history and post-LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) sedimentation rates, we constrain the effects of debris-flow disturbance on ¹⁰Be concentrations at the Gadria sites. Here, we argue that bedrock weakening imparted by the sackung promotes high depth of erosion. Consequently, debris flows recruit sediment beyond the critical depth of spallogenic production (e.g., >3 m), which in turn, episodically, due to predominantly muogenic production pathways, lowers ¹⁰Be concentration by a factor of 4, for at least 2 years. In contrast, steady erosion in Strimm Creek yields very stable ¹⁰Be concentrations through time. In Allitz Creek, we observe two- to fourfold seasonal fluctuations in ¹⁰Be concentrations, which we explain as the combined effects of water diversion and hydraulic structures on sediment mixing. We further show that ¹⁰Be concentration correlates inversely with the IC index, where sub-basins characterized by high concentrations (long residence times) exhibit low IC values (structurally disconnected) and vice versa, implying that, over millennial time scales a direct relation exists between functional and structural connectivity, and that the IC index performed as a suitable metric for structural connectivity. The index performs comparably better than other metrics (i.e., mean slope and mean normalized channel steepness index) previously used to assess topographic controls on denudation rates in active unglaciated ranges. In terms of landscape evolution, we argue that the sackung, by favouring intense debris-flow activity across the Holocene, has aided rapid postglacial reshaping of the Gadria basin, which currently exhibits a topographic signature characteristic of unglaciated debris-flow systems. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Defining rates of landscape evolution in a south Tibetan graben with in situ‐produced cosmogenic 10Be

The Tangra Yum Co graben is one of the active structures that accommodate the east‐west extension of the southern Tibetan Plateau and hosts one of the largest Tibetan lakes, which experienced lake‐level changes of ~200 m during the Holocene. In this study, cosmogenic ¹⁰Be is employed to: (1) quantify catchment‐wide denudation rates in fault‐bounded mountain ranges adjacent to the Tangra Yum Co graben; (2) date palaeo‐shorelines related to the Holocene lake‐level decline; and (3) determine the age of glacial advances in this region. The fault‐bounded, non‐glaciated mountain range north of Tangra Yum Co – and presumably most other areas around the lake – erode at low rates of 10–70 mm/ka. Owing to the slow erosion of the landscape, the sediments delivered to Tangra Yum Co have high ¹⁰Be concentrations. As a consequence, accurate exposure dating of sediment‐covered terraces and beach ridges is difficult, because the pre‐depositional ¹⁰Be concentration may exceed the post‐depositional ¹⁰Be concentration from which exposure ages are calculated. This difficulty is illustrated by a rather inaccurate ¹⁰Be exposure age of 2.3 ± 1.4 ka (i.e. an error of 60%) for a terrace that is located 67 m above the lake. Nevertheless, the age is consistent with luminescence ages for a series of beach ridges and provides further evidence for the decline of the lake level in the late Holocene. At Tangra Yum Co exposure dating of beach ridges via ¹⁰Be depth profiles is not feasible, because the pre‐depositional ¹⁰Be component in these landforms varies with depth, which violates a basic assumption of this approach. ¹⁰Be ages for boulders from two moraines are much older than the early Holocene lake‐level highstand, indicating that melting of glaciers in the mountain ranges adjacent to Tangra Yum Co has not contributed significantly to the lake‐level highstand in the early Holocene. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weathering,Sr fluxes,and controls on water chemistry in the Lake Qinghai catchment,NE Tibetan Plateau

Strontium (Sr) concentrations and isotopic ratios have been measured in a series of water and rock samples from most of the major tributaries of the Lake Qinghai basin on the north‐eastern Tibetan Plateau. Dissolved Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr show ranges of 488–12 240 nmol/l and 0·710497–0·716977, respectively. These data, together with measurements of major cations and anions in rivers and their tributaries and various lithologies of the catchment, were used to determine the contributions of Sr and its isotopic expense to rivers and lakes. Our results demonstrate that the chemical components and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the alkaline waters are derived from mixing of carbonate and silicate sources, with the former contributing 72 ± 18% dissolved Sr to rivers. The difference in tributary compositions stems from the lithology of different river systems and low weathering intensity under a semi‐arid condition. Variation in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios places constraint on the Sr‐isotopic compositions of the main tributaries surrounding Lake Qinghai. The water chemistry of the Buha River, the largest river within the catchment underlain by the late Paleozoic marine limestone and sandstones, dominates Sr isotopic composition of the lake water, being buffered by the waters from the other rivers and probably by groundwater. However, the characteristic chemical composition of the lake itself differs remarkably from the rivers, which can be attributed to precipitation of authigenic carbonates (low‐magnesium calcite, aragonite, and dolomite), though this does not impact the Sr isotope signature, which may remain a faithful indicator in paleo‐records. Regarding the potential role of groundwater input within the Lake Qinghai systems in the water budget and water chemistry, we have also determined the Sr concentration and ⁸⁷Sr/^S6Sr ratio of groundwater from diverse environments. This has allowed us to further constrain the Sr isotope systematic of this source. A steady‐state calculation gives an estimate for the groundwater flux of 0·19 ± 0·03 × 10⁸ m³/yr, accounting for about 8% of contemporary lake Sr budget. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interpreting erosion rates from cosmogenic radionuclide concentrations measured in rapidly eroding terrain

A combination of numerical analysis and ¹⁰Be concentrations measured in sediment samples from the high‐relief Torrente catchment, southern Spain, allows us to investigate the sampling requirements for determining erosion rates using cosmogenic nuclides in high‐relief, landslide‐dominated terrain. We use simple modelling to quantify the effect of particle spalling and/or landsliding on erosion rates determined using a cosmogenic in‐situ produced isotope. Analytical results show that the cosmogenic nuclide concentration of a surface experiencing regular detachment of a grain or block may be considered to be in steady state, and ‘in‐situ’ erosion rates estimated, when an appropriate number of spatially independent samples are amalgamated. We present equations that enable calculation of the number of bedrock samples that must be amalgamated for the estimation of mean erosion rates on an outcrop experiencing regular detachment of a grain or chip of thickness L every T years. Our findings confirm that mean catchment erosion rates may be reliably estimated from ¹⁰Be concentrations in fluvial sediment in high‐relief rapidly eroding terrain. These catchment‐wide integrated erosion rates can be calculated where erosion is primarily accomplished through shallow (<3 m) spalling processes; where deep‐seated (>3 m) landslides are the dominant mode of erosion only minimum erosion rates can be determined. Lastly, we present erosion rate measurements from the Torrente catchment that reveal variation of two orders of magnitude (0·03–1·6 m ka^?1) quantifying the high degree of spatial variation in erosion rates expected within rapidly uplifting catchments. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Grain size-dependent 10Be concentrations in alluvial stream sediment of the Huasco Valley,a semi-arid Andes region

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in sediment are used to quantify mean denudation rates in catchments. This article explores the differences between the ¹⁰Be concentration in fine (sand) and in coarse (1–3 or 5–10 cm pebbles) river sediment. Sand and pebbles were sampled at four locations in the Huasco Valley, in the arid Chilean Andes. Sand has ¹⁰Be concentrations between 4.8 and 8.3·10⁵ at g⁻¹, while pebbles have smaller concentrations between 2.2 and 3.3·10⁵ at g⁻¹. It appears that the different concentrations, systematically measured between sand and pebbles, are the result of different denudation rates, linked with the geomorphologic processes that originated them. We propose that the ¹⁰Be concentrations in sand are determined by the mean denudation rate of all of the geomorphologic processes taking place in the catchment, including debris flow processes as well as slower processes such as hill slope diffusion. In contrast, the concentrations in pebbles are probably related to debris flows occurring in steep slopes. The mean denudation rates calculated in the catchment are between 30 and 50 m/Myr, while the denudation rates associated with debris flow are between 59 and 81 m/Myr. These denudation rates are consistent with those calculated using different methods, such as measuring eroded volumes.     

Discordance between cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in amalgamated sands and individual fluvial pebbles in an arid zone catchment

Based on cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al analyses in 15 individual detrital quartz pebbles (16–21 mm) and cosmogenic ¹⁰Be in amalgamated medium sand (0.25–0.50 mm), all collected from the outlet of the upper Gaub River catchment in Namibia, quartz pebbles yield a substantially lower average denudation rate than those yielded by the amalgamated sand sample. ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al concentrations in the 15 individual pebbles span nearly two orders of magnitude (0.22 ± 0.01 to 20.74 ± 0.52 × 10^{6 10}Be atoms g⁻¹ and 1.35 ± 0.09 to 72.76 ± 2.04 × 10^{6 26}Al atoms g⁻¹, respectively) and yield average denudation rates of ∼0.7 m Myr⁻¹ (¹⁰Be) and ∼0.9 m Myr⁻¹ (²⁶Al). In contrast, the amalgamated sand yields an average ¹⁰Be concentration of 0.77 ± 0.03 × 10⁶ atoms g⁻¹, and an associated mean denudation rate of 9.6 ± 1.1 m Myr⁻¹, an order of magnitude greater than the rates obtained for the amalgamated pebbles. The inconsistency between the ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al in the pebbles and the ¹⁰Be in the amalgamated sand is likely due to the combined effect of differential sediment sourcing and longer sediment transport times for the pebbles compared to the sand-sized grains. The amalgamated sands leaving the catchment are an aggregate of grains originating from all quartz-bearing rocks in all parts of the catchment. Thus, the cosmogenic nuclide inventories of these sands record the overall average lowering rate of the landscape. The pebbles originate from quartz vein outcrops throughout the catchment, and the episodic erosion of the latter means that the pebbles will have higher nuclide inventories than the surrounding bedrock and soil, and therefore also higher than the amalgamated sand grains. The order-of-magnitude grain size bias observed in the Gaub has important implications for using cosmogenic nuclide abundances in depositional surfaces because in arid environments, akin to our study catchment, pebble-sized clasts yield substantially underestimated palaeo-denudation rates. Our results highlight the importance of carefully considering geomorphology and grain size when interpreting cosmogenic nuclide data in depositional surfaces.     

Transit time evaluation using a chloride concentration input step shift after forest cutting in a Japanese headwater catchment

Mean transit times were estimated for a small headwater catchment in Japan (the Fukuroyamasawa Experimental Watershed) using the step shift in input chloride (Cl^?) concentrations that occurred immediately after an episode of forest clear‐cutting. Measured Cl^? concentrations in stream water began to decrease immediately after clear‐cutting, and this trend continued for 6 years. Before clear‐cutting, the input Cl^? concentrations were controlled by wet and dry deposition processes, and most of the dry Cl^? deposition was collected by the forest canopy and reached the ground as throughfall and stemflow. After clear‐cutting, dry deposition was no longer collected by the canopy in this way, thus causing a sharp decrease in input Cl^? concentrations. By comparing measured Cl^? concentrations in stream water with estimates based on the input and evaporative Cl^? concentrations, it was shown that the decrease in stream water Cl^? concentrations was caused mainly by this step shift in the Cl^? input. It was proposed that the change in Cl^? concentrations after forest cutting could be used to represent the replacement of ‘old’ water that existed before cutting by ‘new’ water that was supplied after cutting. The breakthrough curve for the new water fraction gave an approximately exponential distribution of transit times in flow‐corrected time. The mean flow‐corrected transit time was estimated as 1068 days (runoff: 3497 mm). It was therefore concluded that the step change in input Cl^? concentrations immediately following forest clear‐cutting could be successfully used to estimate transit times for the entire catchment. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantifying hillslope erosion rates and processes for a coastal California landscape over varying timescales

The Earth's surface erodes by processes that occur over different spatial and temporal scales. Both continuous, low‐magnitude processes as well as infrequent, high‐magnitude events drive erosion of hilly soil‐mantled landscapes. To determine the potential variability of erosion rates we applied three independent, field‐based methods to a well‐studied catchment in the Marin Headlands of northern California. We present short‐term, basin‐wide erosion rates determined by measuring pond sediment volume (40 years) and measured activities of the fallout nuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb (40–50 years) for comparison with long‐term (>10 ka) rates previously determined from in situ‐produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al analyses. In addition to determining basin‐averaged rates, ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb enable us to calculate point‐specific erosion rates and use these rates to infer dominant erosion processes across the landscape. When examined in the context of established geomorphic transport laws, the correlations between point rates of soil loss from ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb inventories and landscape morphometry (i.e. topographic curvature and upslope drainage area) demonstrate that slope‐driven processes dominate on convex areas while overland flow processes dominate in concave hollows and channels. We show a good agreement in erosion rates determined by three independent methods: equivalent denudation rates of 143 ± 41 m Ma^?1 from pond sediment volume, 136 ± 36 m Ma^?1 from the combination of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb, and 102 ± 25 m Ma^?1 from ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al. Such agreement suggests that erosion of this landscape is not dominated by extreme events; rather, the rates and processes observed today are indicative of those operating for at least the past 10 000 years. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sidewall erosion: Insights from in situ-produced 10Be concentrations measured on supraglacial clasts (Mont Blanc massif,France)

Sidewall erosion because of rockfalls is one of the most efficient erosional processes in the highest parts of mountain ranges; it is therefore important to quantify sidewall erosion to understand the long-term evolution of mountainous topography. In this study, we analyse how the ¹⁰Be concentration of supraglacial debris can be used to quantify sidewall erosion in a glaciated catchment. We first analyse, in a glaciated catchment, the cascade of processes that move a rock from a rockwall to a supraglacial location and propose a quantitative estimate of the number of rockfalls statistically mixed in a supraglacial sand sample. This model incorporates the size of the rockwall, a power law distribution of the size of the rockfalls and the mean glacial transport velocity. In the case of the Bossons glacier catchment (Mont Blanc massif), the ¹⁰Be concentrations obtained for supraglacial samples vary from 1.97 ± 0.24 to 23.82 ± 1.68 × 10⁴ atoms g⁻¹. Our analysis suggests that part of the ¹⁰Be concentration dispersion is related to an insufficient number of amalgamated rockfalls that does not erase the stochastic nature of the sidewall erosion. In the latter case, the concentration of several collected samples is averaged to increase the number of statistically amalgamated rockfalls. Variable and robust ¹⁰Be-derived rockwall retreat rates are obtained for three distinct rockfall zones in the Bossons catchment and are 0.19 ± 0.08 mm year⁻¹, 0.54 ± 0.1 mm year⁻¹ and 1.08 ± 0.17 mm year⁻¹. The mean ¹⁰Be retreat rate for the whole catchment (ca. 0.65 mm year⁻¹) is close to the present-day erosion rate derived from other methods. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Complex multiple cosmogenic nuclide concentration and histories in the arid Rio Lluta catchment,northern Chile

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) concentrations measured in river sediments can be used to estimate catchment‐wide denudation rates. By investigating multiple TCN the steadiness of sediment generation, transport and depositional processes can be tested. Measurements of ¹⁰Be, ²¹Ne and ²⁶Al from the hyper‐ to semi‐arid Rio Lluta catchment, northern Chile, yield average single denudation rates ranging from 12 to 75 m Myr^–1 throughout the catchment. Paired nuclide analysis reveals complex exposure histories for most of the samples and thus the single nuclide estimates do not exclusively represent catchment‐wide denudation rates. The lower range of single nuclide denudation rates (12–17 m Myr^–1), established with the noble gas ²¹Ne, is in accordance with palaeodenudation rates derived from ²¹Ne/¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratio analysis. Since this denudation rate range is measured throughout the system, it is suggested that a headwater signal is transported downstream but modulated by a complex admixture of sediment that has been stored and buried at proximal hillslope or terrace deposits, which are released during high discharge events. That is best evidenced by the stable nuclide ²¹Ne, which preserves the nuclide concentration even during storage intervals. The catchment‐wide single ²¹Ne denudation rates and the palaeodenuation rates contrast with previous TCN‐derived erosion rates from bedrock exposures at hillslope interfluves by being at least one order of magnitude higher, especially in the lower river course. These results support earlier studies that identified a coupling of erosional processes in the Western Cordillera contrasting with decoupled processes in the Western Escarpment and in the Coastal Cordillera. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Significance of processes in the near‐stream zone on stream water acidity in a small acidified forested catchment

The near‐stream zone has received increasing attention owing to its influence on stream water chemistry in general and acidity in particular. Possible processes in this zone include cation exchange, leaching of organic matter and redox reactions of sulphur compounds. In this study the influences of processes in the near‐stream zone on the acidity in runoff from a small, acidified catchment in central southern Sweden were investigated. The study included sampling of groundwater, soil water and stream water along with hydrological measurements. An input–output budget for the catchment was established based on data from the International Co‐operative Programme on Integrated Monitoring at this site. The catchment was heavily acidified by deposition of anthropogenic sulphur, with pH in stream water between 4·4 and 4·6. There was also no relationship between stream flow and pH, which is indicative of chronic acidification. Indications of microbial reduction of sulphate were found in some places near the stream, but the near‐stream zone did not have a general impact on the sulphate concentration in discharging groundwater. The near‐stream zone was a source of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the stream, which had a median DOC of 6·8 mg L¹. The influence on stream acidity from organic anions was overshadowed by the effect of sulphate, however, except during a spring flow episode, when additional organic matter was flushed out and the sulphate‐rich ground water was mixed with more diluted event water. Ion exchange was not an important process in the near‐stream zone of the Kindla catchment. Different functions of the near‐stream zone relating to discharge acidity are reported in the literature. In this study there was even a variation within the site. There is therefore a need for more case studies to provide a more detailed understanding of the net effects that the near‐stream zone can have on stream chemistry under different circumstances. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.