Regional relief characteristics and denudation pattern of the western Southern Alps, New Zealand

The Southern Alps of New Zealand are the topographic expression of active oblique continental convergence of the Australian and Pacific plates. Despite inferred high rates of tectonic and climatic forcing, the pattern of differential uplift and erosion remains uncertain. We use a 25-m DEM to conduct a regional-scale relief analysis of a 250-km long strip of the western Southern Alps (WSA). We present a preliminary map of regional erosion and denudation by overlaying mean basin relief, a modelled stream-power erosion index, river incision rates, historic landslide denudation rates, and landslide density. The interplay between strong tectonic and climatic forcing has led to relief production that locally attains 2 km in major catchments, with mean values of 0.65–0.68 km. Interpolation between elevations of major catchment divides indicates potential removal of l0¹–10³ km³, or a mean basin relief of 0.51–0.85 km in the larger catchments. Local relief and inferred river incision rates into bedrock are highest about 50–67% of the distance between the Alpine fault and the main divide. The mean regional relief variability is ± 0.5 km.Local relief, valley cross-sectional area, and catchment width correlate moderately with catchment area, and also reach maximum values between the range front and the divide. Hypsometric integrals show scale dependence, and together with hypsometric curves, are insufficient to clearly differentiate between glacial and fluvial dominated basins. Mean slope angle in the WSA (ψ = 30°) is lower where major longitudinal valleys and extensive ice cover occur, and may be an insensitive measure of regional relief. Modal slope angle is strikingly uniform throughout the WSA (φ = 38–40°), and may record adjustment to runoff and landsliding. Both ψ and φ show non-linear relationships with elevation, which we attribute to dominant geomorphic process domains, such as fluvial processes in low-altitude valley trains, surface runoff and frequent landsliding on montane hillslopes, “relief dampening” by glaciers, and rock fall/avalanching on steep main-divide slopes.     

Space–time variability of denudation rates at the catchment and hillslope scales on the Tyrrhenian side of Central Italy

Studies on denudation rates can provide insight into the influence of climate change, tectonics, and human activities on landscape evolution. Research performed in Central Italy has shown considerable spatial variability of denudation rates in the major river basins. These studies have focused mainly on the Tyrrhenian side of the Italian peninsula, where Plio-Pleistocene marine deposits filling NW–SE elongated sedimentary basins have been uplifted during the Quaternary up to several hundreds of meters above present sea level. Small sub-catchments developed on clays are affected by sharp- and/or rounded-edged badlands (i.e. calanchi and biancane), representing denudation “hot spots” in the present-day morphoclimatic framework.In this paper, we analyze the relationships between indirectly estimated denudation rates at the catchment scale and field monitoring data at the hillslope scale. We attempt to better understand and quantify all hillslope processes that contribute to seasonal variability of denudation, to help with predicting the net input from “hot spots” to the overall estimated sediment yield at the basin outlets. At the hillslope scale, we discuss, in particular, the variability of denudation rates at calanchi and biancane badlands as a function of their different morphoevolution.     

Gypsum karst intensification as a consequence of sulphur mining activity (Jaziv field,Western Ukraine)

The scope of this study is to evaluate the parameters of the gypsum–anhydrite strata karstification under the influence of the quarry exploitation of Jaziv sulphur field (West Ukraine) accompanying by drainage. The quarry drainage provoked the enormous depression cone forming with 100 km² in area and the corresponding intensification of chemical denudation of the gypsum–anhydrite strata. The gypsum karstification rate for the 29-year period of the quarry drainage was 0.06% with the dissolved rock volume of 1,328,507 m³ that is about 80 times higher than in natural conditions. For the drainage period (29 years) the karst denudation rate was 17,952 m³/km² against the natural background of 231.3 m³/km². The absolute value of artificial denudation for the studied massif area is 1.79 cm for 29 years or 0.062 mm/year while the denudation rate under natural conditions would be 0.231 cm for 29 years or 0.0008 mm/year. The forecasted volumes of the surface-evident collapses are evaluated using the relationship between the calculated amount of dissolved sulphate rocks and volumes of the current surface-evident collapses. According to this evaluation, the current collapses correspond to about 34% only from the dissolved rocks volume calculated for the drainage period.     

The impact of diamond extraction on natural denudation rates in the Diamantina Plateau (Minas Gerais,Brazil)

The ¹⁰Be method was used to investigate the effect of mining activities on the natural denudation rates in alluvial sediments from catchments of the Southern Espinhaço Range (SER) in Minas Gerais State (Brazil). In this region, which is predominantly composed of quartzites, the ¹⁰Be concentrations were measured in alluvial sediments from catchments in a preserved natural area of the Serra do Cipó National Park and on the Diamantina Plateau, which was subjected to diamond extraction from beginnings of XVIII century until the end of the XX. Two types of drainage were identified in the Diamantina Plateau area: (i) reworked drainage (alluvial sediments reworked by panning) and (ii) overloaded drainage (alluvial sediments originating from panning processes on saprolites located upstream). The mean denudation value for the natural drainages (∼4.4 m.My-1) is similar to that of the reworked drainages (∼4.3 m.My-1) However, the denudation rates obtained for eleven samples from three sites in overloaded basins range from ∼6.4 m My-1 to ∼22.8 m My-1 and are thus higher than those determined for the reworked and natural basins. These results show that despite the alluvium deposits have been intensely reworked by panning, the values of denudation rates were not changed, they are similar to denudation rates from the natural drainages. However, the natural rates are lower than those affected by panning processes on saprolites.     

Estimates of present-day erosion based on sediment transport in rivers: a case study in Taiwan

We discuss the present-day sediment transport by rivers, and hence the erosion rate in upstream basins, based on the example of Taiwan Rivers where large datasets are available. After data correction, the values of the suspended sediment load in the lower Kaoping River are nearly three times smaller than those from the literature. On the other hand, we add the bed load evaluated from numerical modelling, despite limitations from data and models. Whereas the contribution of the chemical denudation rate in Taiwan is minor, the bed load is significant and must be evaluated. We point out that biases in data collection may favour high values of suspended load data, and that large series of datasets are needed to reduce uncertainties and smooth the time variability effect. To cite this article: F.-C. Li et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

甘肃崖湾金矿微量元素特征及矿床剥蚀程度研究

崖湾金矿床定位于礼县—白云—山阳深大断裂西端的分支断裂罗坝—礼县断裂中段,是李坝大型金矿床的外围矿床之一。通过对矿区水系沉积物、岩石微量元素特征的总结,结合地质因素,指出矿床的主要微量元素为As、Bi、Sb、Ag、Hg。与Au矿关系密切的伴生元素依次为Sb、As、Ag、Hg、Bi。矿床微量元素具有垂直分带性,从上至下的序列为:Ag—Mo—Hg—Pb—Bi—Sb—Au—As—Zn—Cu。对矿体标高和微量元素垂直分带性的研究后认为矿床总体剥蚀程度为上部,矿床向西、向东发展潜力巨大。     

矿床变化与保存研究的裂变径迹新途径

矿床形成后的变化与保存是矿床学研究与找矿勘探中一项极其重要但仍需进一步加强的基础性工作。影响矿床变化与保存的众多因素中,区域隆升与剥蚀是最为关键的因素之一。裂变径迹法是研究区域隆升与剥蚀的一种有效手段,它能为我们提供剥蚀速率以及剥蚀量的定量数据。一些产于花岗质岩体内与岩体有成因联系的矿床,其成矿深度可以通过详细的流体包裹体研究来获得。通过成矿深度与岩体剥蚀深度对比分析,能使我们更好地了解矿床形成后变化保存条件。裂变径迹法与流体包裹体研究相结合是矿床形成后变化与保存研究一种切实可行的方法。     

Erosion of the eastern United States observed with 10Be

The problem of identifying areas of accelerated erosion in a dynamic landscape is complicated. The limited history of sediment yield measurements makes this task difficult even if geomorphic evidence is available. Beryllium-10, a cosmogenic isotope produced by cosmic rays interacting with the earth's atmosphere and surface, has chemical and physical properties that make it useful as a tracer for erosion and sediment transport processes. The rarity of the stable isotope, ⁹Be, allows ¹⁰Be to be detected with accelerator mass spectrometry in natural materials at extremely low levels. Backgrounds for rocks and sediments below 10⁵ atom per g are now attainable, a value to be compared with an average deposition rate of 1.3 × 10⁶ atom cm^?2 yr^?1. The affinity of Be for the components of soil and sediment is sufficiently high that it is effectively immobilized on contact, thereby allowing ¹⁰Be to function as a tracer of sediment transport. To a good approximation all the ¹⁰Be transport out of a drainage basin is on the sediment leaving it. The number of ¹⁰Be atoms passing the gauging station can be determined by measuring the concentration of the isotope in the sediment, if the annual sediment load is known. The ratio of the ¹⁰Be carried from the basin by the sediment to that incident upon it, called the erosion index, has been determined for 48 drainage basins within the same physiographic province, which allows them to be reasonably compared, all of which have sediment yield data. Basins located in the Atlantic coastal plain have an average index of 0.3 with the maximum observed being 0.9. Basins located between the fall line and the mountains, a region called the Piedmont, have an average value of 2.2 with individual values ranging from 0.6 to 6.7; this marked difference is thought to result from two centuries of farming on land of moderate gradient. Basins in the highland regions reflect local conditions with low indices for those in grass and timber and high indices associated with destructive land use. The data allow an estimate of the erosion index for the pre-colonial Piedmont, which then allows the pre-colonial sediment yield to be calculated. A number of basins have also been examined world wide with similar conclusions derived. An important deviation from the rule is noted for rivers that erode large regions of loess, such as the Mississippi, Hwang Ho, and Yangtze. Large aeolian deposits were laid down during the ice age in these basins, deposits that brought inherited ¹⁰Be with them and that are easily eroded.     

Autogenic and allogenic denudation in carbonate karst by the multiple basin method: An example from Svartisen,North Norway

In carbonate karst basins, adequate denudation rates are difficult to estimate when there are allogenic inputs. It is shown that the common practice of correcting for allogenic input by Corbel's modified formula leads to erroneous results unless the karst ratio is very high. When choosing small basins that are subsets of each other, assumptions of hydrologic and lithologic uniformity may be satisfied. Then the autogenic and allogenic components of the denudation may be calculated by a linear model of uniform mixing. The model was tested in a subarctic stripe karst in North Norway, yielding an autogenic denudation rate of 32.5 ± 10.2 mm ka^?1. The mean annual runoff is 2600 mm. The result is supported by independent denudation rates from comparable areas, micro-erosion meter data as well as the total post-glacial corrosion deduced from pedestal and vein heights.     

Denudation,isostasy and landscape evolution

The idea that the isostatic response to progressive denudational unloading can be episodic over cyclic timescales is widely cited in the geomorphological literature. We demonstrate, however, that this notion, which has been regarded as a possible mechanism of widespread landscape rejuvenation, is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the principles of flexural isostasy. Rather than a discontinuous response, in cases where the half-width of the applied load is greater than a few tens of kilometres the lithosphere experiences a continuous compensation which is dependent upon the wavelength of the applied load rather than upon a lateral, or vertical, threshold of unloading which has to be exceeded before isostatic recovery is initiated. Although a flexural isostatic response cannot account for episodic uplift during a denudational cycle, it can explain the growth and persistence of significant marginal upwarps along passive margins across which there is a marked contrast in denudation rates. Such marginal upwarps, in turn, probably play a critical role in the long-term evolution of drainage systems and landscapes in adjacent continental hinterlands.