Denudation rates on cratonic landscapes: comparison between suspended and dissolved fluxes,and 10Be analysis in the Nyong and Sanaga River basins,south Cameroon

South Cameroon is located in a tropical and tectonically quiescent region, with landscapes characterized by thick highly weathered regolith, indicative of the long‐term predominance of chemical weathering over erosion. Currently this region undergoes huge changes due to accelerated mutations related to a growing population and economical developments with associated needs and increasing pressures on land and natural resources. We analysed two of the main south Cameroon rivers: the Nyong River and Sanaga River. The Sanaga catchment undergoes a contrasted tropical climate from sub‐humid mountainous and humid climate and is impacted by deforestation, agriculture, damming, mining and urbanization, especially in the Mbam sub‐basin, draining the highly populated volcanic highlands. By contrast, the Nyong catchment, only under humid tropical climate, is preserved from anthropogenic disturbance with low population except in the region of Yaoundé (Méfou sub‐basin). Moreover the Nyong basin is dam‐free and less impacted by agriculture and logging. We explore both denudation temporal variability and the ratio between chemical and physical denudation through two catchment‐averaged erosion and denudation datasets. The first one consists of an 11‐year long gauging dataset, while the second one comes from cosmogenic radionuclides [CRNs, here beryllium‐10 (¹⁰Be)] from sand sampled in the river mainstreams (timescale of tens to hundreds of thousands of years). Modern fluxes estimated from gauging data range from 5 to 100 m/Ma (10 to 200 t/km²/yr); our calculations indicate that the usual relative contribution of chemical versus physical denudation is 60% and 40%, respectively, of the total denudation. Beryllium‐10 denudation rates and sediment fluxes range from 4.8 to 40.3 m/Ma or 13 to 109 t/km²/yr, respectively, after correction for quartz enrichment. These fluxes are slightly less than the modern fluxes observed in Cameroon and other stable tropical areas. The highest ¹⁰Be‐derived fluxes and the highest physical versus chemical denudation ratios are attributed to anthropogenic impact. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

青藏高原地区宇生核素暴露年代数据存在问题探讨

青藏高原是第四纪古冰川研究的理想区域也是宇宙成因核素(terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides,TCN)暴露测年技术应用的天然实验场所。然而,现有的TCN测年数据与先前学者基于其他测年手段的研究结果不一致,显得相对年轻。为了探索其原因,本文尝试对青藏高原1594个TCN测年数据进行统计分析。研究结果表明:1测年样品中97%的样品是漂砾样品,测年数据中约有93%的年代数据小于130 ka;2 280组(n≥3)漂砾样品年代数据中大约76%的漂砾组数据变异系数大于10%,而基岩和羊背石样品组测年数据变异系数较低、相对集中;3冰碛垄表面漂砾样品的不等时暴露与后期侵蚀可能是造成TCN年代数据结果偏年轻的主要原因。本研究可为青藏高原地区冰川地貌TCN暴露年代研究提供重要启示。     

陕西省石煤矿放射性水平调查分析

为了掌握陕西省石煤矿的辐射环境现状,对陕西省3个石煤矿进行了放射性水平调查,结果表明陕西省石煤中238 U、226 Ra平均比活度分别为当地环境本底的26~35倍、19~30倍,γ辐射水平为当地天然环境本底的4~7倍,各工作场所及周边环境的222 Rn及其子体浓度处于正常范围之内。石煤开发活动所致矿区作业人员、公众年附加有效剂量满足国家标准相关限值要求。     

Moraine pebbles and boulders yield indistinguishable Be ages: A case study from Colorado, USA

Cosmogenic exposure dating of moraines during the last two decades has vastly improved knowledge on the timing of glaciation worldwide. Due to a variety of geologic complications, such as moraine degradation, snow cover, bedrock erosion and isotopic inheritance, samples from multiple large boulders (>1–2 m) often lead to the most accurate moraine age assignments. However, in many cases, large boulders are not available on moraines of interest. Here, I test the suitability of pebble collections from moraine crest surfaces as a sample type for exposure dating. Twenty-two ¹⁰Be ages from two Pleistocene lateral moraine crests in Pine Creek valley in the upper Arkansas River basin, Colorado, were calculated from both pebble and boulder samples. Ten ¹⁰Be ages from a single-crested Bull Lake lateral moraine range between 3 and 72 ka, with no statistical difference between pebble (n = 5) and boulder (n = 5) ages. The lack of a cluster of ¹⁰Be ages suggests that moraine degradation has led to anomalously young exposure ages. Twelve ¹⁰Be ages from a single-crested Pinedale lateral moraine have a bimodal age distribution; one mode is 22.0 ± 1.4 ka (three boulders, two pebble collections), the other is 15.2 ± 0.9 ka (two boulders, five pebble collections). The interpretation of the two age modes is that two glacier maxima of similar extent were attained during the late Pleistocene. Regardless of moraine age interpretations, that ¹⁰Be ages from pebble collections and boulders are indistinguishable on moraines of two different ages, and in two different age modes of the Pinedale moraine, suggests that pebble collections from moraine crests may serve as a suitable sample type in some settings.     

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

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

Be data from meltwater channels suggest that Jameson Land, east Greenland, was ice-covered during the last glacial maximum

Along the northeast Greenland continental margin, bedrock on interfjord plateaus is highly weathered, whereas rock surfaces in fjord troughs are characterized by glacial scour. Based on the intense bedrock weathering and lack of glacial deposits from the last glaciation, interfjord plateaus have long been thought to be ice-free throughout the last glacial maximum (LGM). In recent years there is growing evidence from shelf and fjord settings that the northeast Greenland continental margin was more extensively glaciated during the LGM than previously thought. However, little is still known from interfjord settings. We present cosmogenic ¹⁰Be data from meltwater channels and weathered sandstone outcrops on Jameson Land, an interfjord highland north of Scoresby Sund. The mean exposure age of samples from channel beds (n = 3) constrains on the onset of deglaciation on interior Jameson Land to 18.5 ± 1.3–21.4 ± 1.9 ka (for erosion conditions of 0–10 mm/ka, respectively). This finding adds to growing evidence that the northeast Greenland continental margin was more heavily glaciated during the LGM than previously thought.     

Performance of CRONUS-P – A pyroxene reference material for helium isotope analysis

Helium isotope analyses are central to modern earth science and measured by many noble gas laboratories around the globe (Burnard, 2013; Wieler et al., 2002), spanning a wide spectrum of fundamental research – from identifying primordial reservoirs in the Earth mantle to paleoclimate reconstructions. The CRONUS-Earth initiative included the manufacturing, distribution and analysis of a pyroxene reference material (CRONUS-P) that was designed to be useful for internal reliability control of ³He measurements within a few percent and potentially for ⁴He on a higher level of uncertainty.This short paper describes the CRONUS-P material and its performance as ³He and ⁴He reference sample for noble gas laboratories. The companion paper by Blard et al. 2015 describes in depth the inter-laboratory helium isotope experiment within CRONUS-Earth.We show normalized helium isotope data of CRONUS-P measured at three different noble gas laboratories. Data from all three laboratories show no relation between helium isotope concentrations and sample mass, implying that the material is homogeneous. The data show that CRONUS-P is useful as an internal standard for ³He within better 2% (1σ) and for ⁴He within better 10%.     

Late Quaternary glacial and climate history of the Pamir Mountains derived from cosmogenic Be exposure ages

Moraines southwest of Lake Yashilkul, Pamir, Tajikistan, were dated using ¹⁰Be exposure ages of boulder surfaces. We found evidence for (1) an extensive glaciation ∼60,000 yr ago; (2) a less extensive glacial advance, which deposited a characteristic hummocky moraine lobe with exposure ages ranging from ∼11,000 to 47,000 yr, probably deposited at or before 47,000 yr ago; and (3) lateral moraines with exposure ages of ∼40,000 yr, 27,000 yr and 19,000 yr, respectively. Increasing aridity in the Pamir is most likely responsible for the progressively limited extent of the glaciers during the Late Pleistocene.     

Cosmic ray produced isotopes in terrestrial systems

Continuing improvements in the sensitivity of measurement of cosmic ray produced isotopes in environmental samples have progressively broadened the scope of their applications to characterise and quantify a wide variety of processes in earth and planetary sciences. In this article, I will concentrate on the new developments in the field of nuclear geophysics, based on isotopic changes produced by cosmic rays in the terrestrial systems. This field, which is best described as cosmic ray geophysics, caught roots with the discovery of cosmogenic¹⁴C on the Earth by Willard Libby in 1948, and grew rapidly at first, but slowed down during the ’60s and ’70s. In the ’80s, there was arenaissance in cosmic ray produced isotope studies, thanks mainly to the developments of the accelerator mass spectrometry technique capable of measuring minute amounts of radioactivity in terrestrial samples. This technological advance has considerably enhanced the applications of cosmic ray produced isotopes and today we find them being used to address diverse problems in earth and planetary sciences I discuss the present scope of the field of cosmic ray geophysics with an emphasis ongeomorphology. I must stress here that this is the decade in which this field, which has been studied passionately by geographers, geomorphologists and geochemists for more than five decades, has at its service nuclear methods to introduce numeric time controls in the range of centuries to millions of years.     

Detection of rapid deposition of sea ice-rafted material to the Arctic Ocean benthos using the cosmogenic tracer Be

During three icebreaker cruises in the Arctic Ocean under different sea-ice conditions in 2002, undisturbed benthic surface sediments were collected and assayed for the presence of a short-lived (t_1/2=53 d), particle-reactive cosmogenic radionuclide, ⁷Be, that is solely derived from atmospheric deposition. Under largely ice-covered conditions in May–June 2002, we did not detect this radionuclide in benthic surface sediments, despite significant inventories present in ice-rafted snow on the overlying sea ice (mean=86.8 Bq m⁻²±32.0 SD; n=9). During the July–August 2002 Shelf–Basin Interactions (SBI) cruise aboard the USCGC Healy and during a simultaneous cruise of the CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier on the Bering and Chukchi Shelf, which occupied the same general region following retreat and dissolution of Arctic ice cover, the ⁷Be present in this snow as well as surface deposition on to the sea ice-free water surface was detected in many benthic surface sediments, including some as deep as 945 m in Barrow Canyon. Inventories of ⁷Be in sediments were as high (60 Bq m⁻²) as the entire decay-corrected inventory present earlier in some snow samples collected on the sea-ice cover. Other deposition indicators such as the inventories of sediment chlorophyll, sediment oxygen respiration rates and ²³⁴Th-derived export fluxes also showed post-ice melt particle deposition and vertical transport, but in most cases the ⁷Be deposition was not tightly correlated with these other indicators, suggesting that ⁷Be sedimentation may not be controlled by the same processes. Our observations indicate that materials in sea ice, including contaminants, particulate organic, and mineral matter originating from atmospheric deposition or entrained in continental shelf sediments and rafted onto sea ice, can be rapidly transported to depth. The re-distribution of these materials as sea-ice drifts and eventually melts has the potential for impacting Arctic Ocean biogeochemical cycles and contaminant concentrations in areas of the Arctic remote from the original point of deposition.