国外景观演化研究的最新进展

景观演化与全球构造、生物演变和主要气候变化具有相同的时间尺度 ,是长期全球变化的一个重要方面。最近 ,地表过程在地壳变形中的作用已经引起了广泛的注意 :一方面努力从景观中模拟地形演化或演绎地壳过程 ;另一方面试图通过地壳变形和地表过程的型式和速度来研究隆起、海平面变化、侵蚀、气候和地势之间的动力学关系。文中旨在介绍和评述国外关于会聚边缘和裂开边缘山脉尺度景观演化研究 ,包括高原边缘地形演化、前陆盆地的沉积型式、景观切割、古地形复原以及质量流动和平衡等方面的最新进展 ,以及地表过程和地壳过程相互作用中的反馈机制、均衡效应和岩石圈强度效应以及调整和平衡等几个理论问题。目前已经普遍认为 ,把地表过程纳入地球动力学模型之中 ,无疑对于认识造山带的发育和裂开边缘的演化是一个巨大的进步。

RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF OVERSEAS RESEARCH ON LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

Landscape evolution is an important aspect of global change; it spans the same time-scale as global tectonics, biological evolution, and major climatic change. The role of surface processes in crustal deformation has received much more attention recently. While some strive to simulate topographic evolution or deduce crustal processes from the landscape, others attempted to use patterns and rates of crustal deformation and surficial processes to explore the relations among uplift, sea level change, erosion, climate, and relief. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and review the recent development of overseas research on mountain-scale landscape evolution at convergent margins and rifted margins, including topographic evolution of plateau margins, depositional patterns in foreland basins, landscape dissection, palaeotopographic reconstruction, and mass flux and balance. This paper also reviews several theoretical problems of the interaction between crustal and surficial processes, including feedback mechanism, isostatic effect, lithospheric strength effect, and adjustment and equilibrium. The current general understanding is that the inclusion of surface processes in a geodynamic model provides a significant advance in our understanding of the development of mountain belts and the evolution of rifted margins.