Predicting landscape-scale erosion rates using digital elevation models

Functional relationships between erosion rates and topography are central to understanding controls on global sediment flux and interactions among tectonics, climate, and erosion in shaping topography. Based on such relations digital elevation models (DEMs) allow predicting landscape-scale erosion rates to the degree that process models can be calibrated and to the extent that such processes reflect elevation, drainage area, and aspect, or their derivatives such as slope and curvature. Digital elevation models allow investigating the influence of erosional processes on landscape form and evolution through generalized quantitative expressions often referred to as ‘erosion laws’. The analytical forms of such expressions are derived from physical principles, but only limited data are available to guide calibration to particular landscapes. In addition, few studies have addressed how different transport laws interact to set landscape-scale erosion rates in different environments. Conventionally, landscape-scale sediment flux is considered to be linearly related to slope or relief, but recent analyses point toward non-linear relations for steep terrain in which changes in the frequency of landsliding accommodate increased rates of rock uplift. In such situations, landscape-scale erosion rates are more closely tied to erosion potential predicted by models of bedrock river incision. Consequently, I propose that using DEMs to predict absolute or relative erosion rates at the landscape-scale counter-intuitively involves the rate of fluvial processes as governing the sediment flux from steep landscapes, and rates of hillslope processes as governing sediment flux from low-gradient landscapes. To cite this article: D.R. Montgomery, C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Growing mountain ranges and quenched river networks

River networks in mountain ranges owe their existence to the competing effects of tectonic uplift and climate-controlled erosion. However, paradoxically, the universal geometric properties of river networks are independent of both tectonics and climate. Currently, this paradox has still not been resolved. Here we propose a solution that consists in considering that the geometry of river networks is established on the lowland margins of incipient uplifts, and is quenched into the erosion zone as the mountain belts widen with time. In our model, the geometry of river networks simply reflects the downward coalescence of alluvial rivers on un-dissected surfaces outside of mountain belts, and is therefore independent of erosion processes. To cite this article: S. Castelltort, G. Simpson, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Évolution récente et actuelle de la côte basque française (analyse et perspectives)

A recent multidisciplinary study, comprising existing data analysis and geomorphological and geological fieldwork, has helped clarify marine erosion processes of Pyrenean formations along the Basque Coast. An important discovery was made during our study of an alterite of regional extent, which calls into question recent and present evolution of the Basque Coast and the processes leading to coastline retreat. Modelling these factors has made it possible to propose a predictive scenario for future coastal evolution. To cite this article: A. Genna et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Delineation of groundwater zones using lithology and electric tomography in the Khartoum basin, central Sudan

The three towns of Khartoum, Omdurman and Khartoum are located north of the capital of Sudan. This capital has agglomerated to reach more than 7 million inhabitants. The present situation is confronted with a dramatic shortage in freshwater supply. The treatment of surface water from the Nile became costly, particularly in flood season. Thus the authorities turned towards developing groundwater resources. The electric tomography, obtained by the combination of Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and well logs, turned out to be very efficient to provide a complete electrical image of the underground from the surface until about 200-m depth. This methodology constitutes a very cheap guide for the evaluation of the quality of groundwater resources in the Khartoum area. To cite this article: M.T. Hussein, H.S. Awad, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Enregistrement de phénomènes de resédimentation au cours du Maastrichtien supérieur et du Paléocène supérieur (J. Serj, Tunisie atlasique) : apport micropaléontologique et signature tectono-eustatique

Sedimentological and biostratigraphic analysis of Campanian–Maastrichtian reduced series of the J. Serj permitted to characterize two episodes of submarine erosion. The first is pre-Upper Maastrichtian (Rosita contusa zone), the second is pre-Upper Palaeocene (Morozovella velascoensis zone). Thus, two type-1 boundary surfaces are distinguished. These surfaces limit three stratigraphic intervals in apparent continuity. Syn-sedimentary tectonic activity is attested by gravity deposits or processes (conglomerates, slumps). To cite this article: A. Amri et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Annual dissolved fluxes from Central Nepal rivers: budget of chemical erosion in the Himalayas

Annual dissolved element fluxes of Himalayan rivers from Central Nepal are calculated using published river discharge and a new set chemical data of rivers, including monsoon sampling. These are used to study the control on chemical erosion of carbonate and silicate over the whole basin. Chemical erosion of carbonate is mainly controlled by the river runoff but it can be limited by the availability of carbonate in limestone-free basin. Chemical erosion of silicate is well correlated to the runoff. However differences between High Himalayan and Lesser Himalayan basins suggest that physical erosion may also play an important control on silicate weathering. To cite this article: C. France-Lanord et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

10Be和26Al在地表形成和演化研究中的应用

地球表面丰富多样的地形、地貌是地球内外动力相互作用的结果。宇宙射线辐射地表岩石、沉积物等产生的¹⁰Be和²⁶Al放射性核素（半衰期分别为1．5Ma和0．71Ma）,它们的浓度主要取决于由地理位置和地形、地貌条件所决定的宇宙射线辐射的通量和时间,从而能够记录地表的形成和演化历史。因此,宇宙成因核素是研究地表形成历史和作用过程的有力工具。     

宇宙成因核素在地球科学中的应用

随着加速器质谱的出现 ,宇宙成因核素展示了其在地球科学中的生命力。文中介绍了宇宙成因核素的生成、示踪原理及近些年来在地球科学中的应用 ,特别着重地介绍了原地生成宇宙成因核素定年这一新的技术。宇宙成因核素是宇宙射线粒子 (包括原生和次生粒子 )与大气及岩石发生核反应所生成的新的核素 ,其在大气及岩石中的生成量可用已知物理过程定量地描述。大气生成宇宙成因核素在考古、古环境及地球各圈层的相互作用方面得到了广泛的应用 ,原地生成宇宙成因核素则在地貌学研究中扮演着重要的角色 ,成为一门新的实验技术。这门技术可以定量地描述地表的暴露历史和侵蚀速率 ,在解决许多地质问题上成为惟一的手段     

L'érosion des chaînes de montagnes : influence de la sédimentation de piedmont

The applanation of mountain belts that results in peneplain is generally considered to be caused by the long-term activity of erosion. Peneplanation has been previously defined as the lowering of an elevated topography and the concomitant subduing of its relief. We propose a model following which piedmont sedimentation induces the base level rise, allowing applanation to develop at high elevation and resulting in an elevated ‘peneplain’. This model is illustrated by the morphological evolution of the southern flank of the Pyrenees during the Cainozoic. To cite this article: J. Babault, J. Van Den Driessche, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Discrimination between primary magmatic biotites, reequilibrated biotites and neoformed biotites

The ternary diagram TiO₂–FeO*–MgO (FeO* = FeO + MnO) is proposed as a quantitative objective tool for distinguishing between primary magmatic biotites and those that are more or less reequilibrated, or possibly neoformed, by or within a hydrothermal fluid. The limit of the domains of the primary magmatic biotites, the reequilibrated biotites and the neoformed biotites were determined on the basis of optical, paragenetic and chemical criteria. To cite this article: H. Nachit et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Denudation rates of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (Minas Gerais, Brazil): Preliminary results from measurements of solute fluxes in rivers and in situ-produced cosmogenic Be

This paper investigates the denudation rates in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais State (Brazil). The aim is to compare chemical weathering rates from measurements of solute fluxes in rivers and long-term mean erosion rates deduced from in situ-produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be concentrations measured in fluvial sediments. Both water samples and sediments were collected in fifteen stations (checkpoints) located in four hydrographic basins with low anthropogenic perturbations.Depending of the type of substratum, three degrees of chemical denudation rates from water samples are observed: (i) high rates in marbles; (ii) medium rates in schists, phyllites, granites, gneisses and migmatites; (iii) low rates in quartzites and itabirites. Preliminary results of long-term erosion rates deduced from in situ-produced ¹⁰Be are comparable with those of chemical rates.     

宇宙成因核素测年方法及其在地球科学中的应用

宇宙成因核素地表暴露测年方法,是近年来迅速发展起来的一种新的同位素地质年代学方法.宇宙成因核素主要是由来源于银河系的宇宙射线与暴露于地表的物质作用形成的,作用机制主要包括裂变、中子捕获和介子反应.产生宇宙成因核素宇宙射线粒子主要是次生快中子、热中子和负慢介子,由于这些宇宙射线粒子在空间分布上的不同,地球上不同纬度、海拔高度和深度处的宇宙成因核素生成速率也表现出较大的差异.地表物质中宇宙成因核素浓度除了受到核素生成速率和地表物质的暴露时间制约外,还与地表侵蚀速率密切相关,此外,地磁场强度、遮蔽、化学风化及样品的几何位置等也会对核素浓度产生一定影响,在求算样品的地表暴露年代时,应对这些因素进行相应的校正.宇宙成因核素地表暴露测年技术的理论和方法日臻完善,目前它已被广泛到第四纪冰川、撞击坑、火山地貌、断层面等地学问题中来.     

Rivers, chemical weathering and Earth's climate

We detail the results of recent studies describing and quantifying the large-scale chemical weathering of the main types of continental silicate rocks: granites and basalts. These studies aim at establishing chemical weathering laws for these two lithologies, describing the dependence of chemical weathering on environmental parameters, such as climate and mechanical erosion. As shown within this contribution, such mathematical laws are of primary importance for numerical models calculating the evolution of the partial pressure of atmospheric CO₂ and the Earth climate at geological timescales. The major results can be summarized as follow: (1) weathering of continental basaltic lithologies accounts for about 30% of the total consumption of atmospheric CO₂ through weathering of continental silicate rocks. This is related to their high weatherability (about eight times greater than the granite weatherability); (2) a simple weathering law has been established for basaltic lithologies, giving the consumption of atmospheric CO₂ as a function of regional continental runoff, and mean annual regional temperature; (3) no such simple weathering law can be proposed for granitic lithologies, since the effect of temperature can only be identified for regions displaying high continental runoff; (4) a general law relating mechanical erosion and chemical weathering has been validated on small and large catchments. The consequences of these major advances on the climatic evolution of the Earth are discussed. Particularly, the impacts of the onset of the Deccan trapps and the Himalayan orogeny on the global carbon cycle are reinvestigated. To cite this article: B. Dupré et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Application of in situ-produced cosmogenic Be and Al to the study of lateritic soil development in tropical forest: theory and examples from Cameroon and Gabon

Depth profiles of in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides, including ¹⁰Be (T_1/2=1.5×10⁶ years) and ²⁶Al (T_1/20.73×10⁶ years), in the upper few meters of the Earth's crust may be used to study surficial processes, quantifying denudation and burial rates and elucidating mechanisms involved in landform evolution and soil formations. In this paper, we discuss the fundamentals of the method and apply it to two lateritic sequences located in African tropical forests.     

Calpionellid zonation of the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition in North-Atlasic Tunisia. Updated Upper Jurassic stratigraphy of the ‘Tunisian trough’ and regional correlations

The analysis of calpionellid associations from jebels Amar and Jédidi sections in North-Atlasic Tunisia provides, for the first time, a precise biozonation of the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition succession. In the light of the new data obtained and considering recently published results, the age of Upper Jurassic formations is clarified, allowing correlations with the Tunisian ‘Dorsale’ and the North–South Axis successions. Within the Maghrebides' range, sections from the external zones correlated to the Tunisian successions are quite distinctive from their equivalent in the internal zones. Both have evolved in different palaeogeographic domains related to the early structuration of the northwestern and southwestern Tethys margins. To cite this article: M. Boughdiri et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

原地生成宇宙成因核素测年技术思考(二):持续抬升区单样品直接计算抬升速率方法

原地生成宇宙成因核素测年技术在计算暴露年龄和侵蚀速率时,一直默认样品所在位置不随时间发生高程变化,从而核素生成速率不因高程变化而改变。在构造稳定区,这样的假设是合理的。在构造活动区,往往会因构造运动,地表样品高程发生改变。大冰盖地区（如南极）的冰川消融或加厚也会引起地壳均衡反弹,从而导致样品高程变化,而核素的生成速率将随高程变化而改变。本文对连续抬升情况下,地表样品中宇宙成因核素浓度与生成速率加速率间的计算关系进行了三种方法的数学推导,并提出如何利用单块样品中两种宇宙成因核素（以10Be和26Al为例）浓度计算地表抬升速率,最后指出已往利用宇宙成因核素方法对构造活动区的侵蚀速率的计算存在高估。本文首次提出利用地表在接近稳态侵蚀状态下的单块样品的两种宇宙成因核素直接计算地表持续抬升速率的方法,从而将原地生成宇宙成因核素方法和构造运动学研究直接联系起来。     

Tracing and dating recent chemical transfers in weathering profiles by trace-element geochemistry and U---U---Th disequilibria: the example of the Kaya lateritic toposequence (Burkina-Faso)

The paper presents a synthesis of the approach recently developed to constrain the nature and the age of recent element mobility in weathering profiles. The approach relies on a comparison of variations of trace elements and U-series disequilibria in weathering profiles. It is exemplified in the case of old lateritic profiles from the Kaya toposequence, Burkina Faso. Trace elements and ²³⁸U---²³⁴U---²³⁰Th disequilibria have been analysed in whole rock samples from two pits located in very contrasted topographical positions. Trace element data show that the whole toposequence is marked by an intense chemical remobilization, including uranium, from the cap to the lower part of the profiles. ²³⁸U---²³⁴U---²³⁰Th disequilibrium data outline that all the levels of the profiles are affected by recent U---Th fractionations, and that each level of the toposequence is marked by U gains and losses. The chronological approach developed in this paper leads to an age of about 400 kyr for the dismantling of the iron cap, and ages ranging from 0 to 400 kyr for U accumulation in the pink clay horizon of the profiles. The depth repartition of U accumulation in the profile implies that the remobilisation processes in this toposequence varied through time, on time constants similar to those of climatic variations. To cite this article: F. Chabaux et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Interpretation of cosmogenic nuclides in meteorites on the basis of accelerator experiments and physical model calculations

Cosmogenic nuclides in extraterrestrial matter provide a wealth of information on the exposure and collision histories of small objects in space and on the history of the solar and galactic cosmic radiation. The interpretation of the observed abundances of cosmogenic nuclides requires detailed and accurate knowledge of their production rates. Accelerator experiments provide a quantitative basis and the ground truth for modeling cosmogenic nuclide production by measurements of the relevant cross sections and by realistic simulations of the interaction of galactic protons with meteoroids under completely controlled conditions, respectively. We review the establishment of physical model calculations of cosmogenic nuclide production in extraterrestrial matter on the basis of such accelerator experiments and exemplify this approach by presenting new experimental and theoretical results for the cosmogenic nuclide⁴⁴Ti. The model calculations describe all aspects of cosmogenic nuclide production and allow the determination of long-term solar and galactic cosmic ray spectra and a consistent interpretation of cosmogenic nuclides in extraterrestrial matter.     

Uplift rate and landscape development in southwest Fiordland, New Zealand, determined using Be and Al exposure dating of marine terraces

We demonstrate that cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating can be used to provide the first well-constrained age for a Fiordland bedrock surface that was created by coastal erosion and has since been uplifted. Tight clustering of ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al apparent exposure ages between 102-119 kyr on a terrace with strandline at 65 ± 8 m gives a last interglacial age of terrace formation of 130-120 ka, and an uplift rate of 0.52 ± 0.08 mm/yr. Apparent exposure ages from a higher (92-130 m), more incised region of remnant coastal morphology fall in the range 53-111 kyr. The anomalously low ages and large variance demonstrate that weathering and fluvial or rockfall erosion rates are too extreme at the higher sites to determine an age of coastal erosion. Sea level samples have apparent exposure ages in the range 2-11 kyr, with an uncertainty of about 3 kyr. This is consistent with surface exposure during the present sea level high-stand, indicates minimal inheritance of ancient cosmogenic nuclides, and is in accord with geomorphic arguments. Mean ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios of 6.6 for each sample set is consistent with the actively exhuming late Quaternary tectonic setting. Large boulders and gently convex rocky outcrops formed during coastal erosion preserve surfaces that are least modified during later uplift, and are hence the best sites for determining the age of coastal erosion.     

Découverte de structures périglaciaires (sand-wedges et composite-wedges) sur le site de stockage de déchets radioactifs de l'Aube (France)

Since 1990, a dense network of subvertical cracks has been observed at the upper part of the Albian sands of the site of radioactive waste storage operated by ANDRA. New studies carried out in 1999 during enlargement of the site of Soulaines and in 2003 on the nearby TFA site highlighted an especially well-developed network of periglacial features that are mainly of the sand-wedge type (subvertical stratified infill). These observations demonstrate the periglacial origin of these cracks, which are mainly superimposed on a dense network of former tectonic extension joints, and that rapidly disappear at the top of the underlying clays. In addition, these observations currently represent the only example of a large sand-wedge network developed during the Last Glacial in northern France. To cite this article: P. Antoine et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).