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1.
Although beryllium‐10 (10Be) concentrations in stream sediments provide useful synoptic views of catchment‐wide erosion rates, little is known on the relative contributions of different sediment supply mechanisms to the acquisition of their initial signature in the headwaters. Here we address this issue by conducting a 10Be‐budget of detrital materials that characterize the morphogenetic domains representative of high‐altitude environments of the European Alps. We focus on the Etages catchment, located in the Ecrins‐Pelvoux massif (southeast France), and illustrate how in situ 10Be concentrations can be used for tracing the origin of the sand fraction from the bedload in the trunk stream. The landscape of the Etages catchment is characterized by a geomorphic transient state, high topographic gradients, and a large variety of modern geomorphic domains ranging from glacial environments to scarcely vegetated alluvial plains. Beryllium‐10 concentrations measured in the Etages catchment vary from ~1 × 104 to 4.5 × 105 atoms per gram quartz, while displaying consistent 10Be signatures within each representative morphogenetic unit. We show that the basic requirements for inferring catchment‐wide denudation from 10Be concentration measurements are not satisfied in this small, dynamic catchment. However, the distinct 10Be signature observed for the geomorphic domains can be used as a tracer. We suggest that a terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) budget approach provides a valuable tool for the tracing of material origin in basins where the ‘let nature do the averaging’ principles may be violated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

2.
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.  相似文献   

3.
Extreme erosion events can produce large short-term sediment fluxes. Such events complicate erosion rates estimated from cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in river sediment by providing sediment with a concentration different from the long-term basin average. We present a detrital 10Be study in southern Taiwan, with multiple samples obtained in a time sequence bracketing the 2009 Typhoon Morakot, to assess the impact of landslide sediment on 10Be concentrations (N10Be) in river sediment. Sediment samples were collected from 13 major basins, two or three times over the last decade, to observe the temporal variation of N10Be. Landslide inventories with time intervals of 5–6 years were used to quantify sediment flux changes. A negative correlation between N10Be and landslide areal density indicates dilution of N10Be by landslide sediment. Denudation rates estimated from the diluted N10Be can be up to three times higher than the lowest rate derived from the same basins. Observed increases imply that, 3 years after the passage of Typhoon Morakot, fluvial channels still contain a considerable amount of sediment provided by hillslope landslides during the event. However, higher N10Be in 2016 samples indicate that the contribution from landslide sediment at the sampled grain size has decreased with time. The correlation between changes in N10Be and landslide area and volume is not strong, likely resulting from the stochastic and complex nature of sediment transport. To simultaneously evaluate the volume of landslide-derived sediment and estimate the background denudation rate, associated with less impulsive sediment supply, we constructed a sediment-mixing model with the time series of N10Be and landslide inventories. The spatial pattern of background erosion rate in southern Taiwan is consistent with the regional tectonic framework, indicating that the landscape is evolving mainly in response to the tectonic forcing, and this signal is modified, but not obscured by impulsive sediment supply. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

4.
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.  相似文献   

5.
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.  相似文献   

6.
Understanding natural soil redistribution processes is essential for measuring the anthropogenic impact on landscapes. Although meteoric beryllium-10 (10Be) has been used to determine erosion processes within the Pleistocene and Holocene, fewer studies have used the isotope to investigate the transport and accumulation of the resulting sediment. Here we use meteoric 10Be in hilltop and valley site soil profiles to determine sediment erosion and deposition processes in the Christina River Basin (Pennsylvania, USA). The data indicate natural erosion rates of 14 to 21 mm 10−3 yr and soil ages of 26 000 to 57 000 years in hilltop sites. Furthermore, valley sites indicate an alteration in sediment supply due to climate change (from the Pleistocene to the Holocene) within the last 60 000 years and sediment deposition of at least 0.5–2 m during the Wisconsinan glaciation. The change in soil erosion rate was most likely induced by changes in geomorphic processes; probably solifluction and slope wash during the cold period, when ice advanced into the mid latitudes of North America. This study shows the value of using meteoric 10Be to determine sediment accumulation within the Quaternary and quantifies major soil redistribution occurred under natural conditions in this region. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

7.
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.  相似文献   

8.
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.  相似文献   

9.
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 Mw 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.  相似文献   

10.
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.  相似文献   

11.
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.  相似文献   

12.
Concentrated erosion, a major feature of land degradation, represents a serious problem for soil and water resources management and a threat to ecosystems. Understanding the internal mechanisms (de-)coupling sediment pathways can improve the management and resilience of catchments. In this study, concentrated erosion and deposition forms were mapped accurately through field and aerial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) campaigns, in order to assess the evolution of connectivity pathways over a series of three contrasted and consecutive flood events occurring between October 2016 and January 2017 (return period ranging from 0.5 to 25 years) in a small Mediterranean agricultural catchment (Can Revull, Mallorca, Spain; 1.4 km2). In addition, a morphometric index of connectivity (IC) was used to identify the potential trajectories of different concentrated erosion forms and deposition areas. IC predictions were calibrated by identifying the optimal critical thresholds, i.e. those most consistent with field observations after each of the events studied. The results found that the index performed well in predicting the occurrence and the length/area of the different type of landforms, giving kappa (κ) coefficients of variation ranging between 0.21 and 0.92 and linear correlations R2 between 0.33 and 0.72. The type of landform affected the correspondence of IC predictions and field observations, with lower thresholds the greater the magnitude of their associated geomorphic processes. Rainfall magnitude proved to be a very important factor controlling the development of erosion and deposition landforms, with large differences in length/area between the contrasted events. The evolution of the observed trajectories revealed feedback dynamics between the structural and functional connectivity of the catchment, in which morphological changes determined the spatial distribution of the processes’ activity in the successive events and vice versa. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

13.
Basin-wide erosion rates can be determined through the analysis of in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides. In transient landscapes, and particularly in mountain catchments, erosion and transport processes are often highly variable and consequently the calculated erosion rates can be biased. This can be due to sediment pulses and poor mixing of sediment in the stream channels. The mixing of alluvial sediment is one of the principle conditions that need to be verified in order to have reliable results. In this paper we perform a field-based test of the extent of sediment mixing for a ∼42 km2 catchment in the Alps using concentrations of river-born 10Be. We use this technique to assess the mechanisms and the spatio-temporal scales for the mixing of sediment derived from hillslopes and tributary channels. The results show that sediment provenance and transport, and mixing processes have a substantial impact on the 10Be concentrations downstream of the confluence between streams and tributary channels. We also illustrate that the extent of mixing significantly depends on: the sizes of the catchments involved, the magnitude of the sediment delivery processes, the downstream distance of a sample site after a confluence, and the time since the event occurred. In particular, continuous soil creep and shallow landsliding supply high 10Be concentration material from the hillslope, congruently increasing the 10Be concentrations in the alluvial sediment. Contrariwise, a high frequency of mass-wasting processes or the occurrence of sporadic but large-magnitude events results in the supply of low-concentration sediment that lowers the cosmogenic nuclide concentration in the channels. The predominance of mass-wasting processes in a catchment can cause a strong bias in detrital cosmogenic nuclide concentrations, and therefore calculated erosion rates may be significantly over- or underestimated. Accordingly, it is important to sample as close as possible to the return-period of large-size sediment input events. This will lead to an erosion rate representative of the “mass-wasting signal” in case of generally high-frequency events, or the “background signal” when the event is sporadic. Our results suggest that a careful consideration of the extent of mixing of alluvial sediment is of primary importance for the correct estimation of 10Be-based erosion rates in mountain catchments, and likewise, that erosion rates have to be interpreted cautiously when the mixing conditions are unknown or mixing has not been achieved.  相似文献   

14.
Drainage reorganization events have the potential to drive incision and erosion at high rates normally attributed to tectonic or climatic forcing. It can be difficult, however, to isolate the signal of transient events driven by drainage integration from longer term tectonic or climatic forcing. We exploit an ideal field setting in Aravaipa Creek Basin of southeastern Arizona, USA, to isolate just such a signal. Aravaipa Creek Basin underwent a period of transient incision that formed Aravaipa Canyon, evacuating a significant volume of sedimentary basin fill and Tertiary bedrock from the previously internally drained basin. We use digital terrain analyses to reconstruct the pre-incision landscapes of both Aravaipa Creek Basin and the adjacent Lower San Pedro Basin, which we use to quantify the magnitude of incision and erosion since the drainage basins integrated. Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide burial dates from 10Be and 26Al concentrations in latest stage basin fill in Aravaipa Creek enable us to calculate long-term incision and erosion rates from 3 Myr to the present. A 10Be concentration–depth profile from the Lower San Pedro Basin confirms that the San Pedro River incised into its high stand deposits prior to 350 000–400 000 years ago. Combining our landscape reconstructions with these age constraints, we determine that the transient rates of incision that created Aravaipa Canyon were 150 m/Myr or more, but that the background rate of erosion since integration is an order of magnitude lower, between 10 and 20 m/Myr. These results support our growing understanding that tectonic and climatic forcings need not apply for all episodes of rapid, transient incision and erosion during landscape evolution. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

15.
We use cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al in both bedrock and fluvial sediments to investigate controls on erosion rates and sediment supply to river basins at the regional scale in the Kimberley, NW Australia. The area is characterised by lithologically controlled morphologies such as cuestas, isolated mesas and extensive plateaus made of slightly dipping, extensively jointed sandstones. All sampled bedrock surfaces at plateau tops, ridgelines, and in the broader floodplain of major rivers over the region show similar slow lowering rates between 0.17 and 4.88 m.Myr-1, with a mean value of 1.0 ± 0.6 m.Myr-1 (n=15), whilst two bedrock samples collected directly within river-beds record rates that are one to two orders of magnitude higher (14.4 ± 1.5 and 20.9 ± 2.5 m.Myr-1, respectively). Bedrock 26Al/10Be ratios are all compatible with simple, continuous sub-aerial exposure histories. Modern river sediment yield lower 10Be and 26Al concentrations, apparent 10Be basin-wide denudation rates ranging between 1.8 and 7.7 m.Myr-1, with a median value of 2.6 m.Myr-1, more than double the magnitude of bedrock erosion rates. 26Al/10Be ratios of the sediment samples are lower than those obtained for bedrock samples. We propose that these depleted 26Al/10Be ratios can largely be explained by the supply of sediment to river basins from the slab fragmentation and chemical weathering of channel gorge walls and plateau escarpments that result in diluting the cosmogenic nuclide concentration in river sediments measured at the basin outlets. The results of a mass-balance model suggest that ~60–90% of river sediment in the Kimberley results from the breakdown and chemical weathering of retreating vertical sandstone rock-walls in contrast to sediment generated by bedrock weathering and erosion on the plateau tops. This study emphasises the value of analysing two or more isotopes in basin-scale studies using cosmogenic nuclides, especially in slowly eroding post-orogenic settings. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

16.
Mesas are ubiquitous landforms in arid and semiarid regions and are often characterized by horizontal stratified erodible rocks capped by more resistant strata. The accepted conceptual model for mesa evolution and degradation considers reduction in the width of the mesa flat‐top plateau due to cliff retreat but ignores possible denudation of the mesa flat‐top and the rates and mechanism of erosion. In this study we examine mesas in the northeastern hyperarid Negev Desert where they appear in various sizes and morphologies and represent different stages of mesa evolution. The variety of mesas within a single climatic zone allows examination of the process of mesa evolution through time. Two of the four sites examined are characterized by a relatively wide (200–230 m) flat‐top and a thick caprock whereas the other two are characterized by a much narrower remnant flat‐top (several meters) and thinner caprock. We use the concentration of the cosmogenic nuclide 10Be for: (a) determining the chronology of the various geomorphic features associated with the mesa; and (b) understanding geomorphic processes forming the mesa. The 10Be data, combined with field observations, suggest a correlation between the width of flat‐top mesa and the denudation and cliff retreat rates. Our results demonstrate that: (a) cliff retreat rates decrease with decreasing width of the flat‐top mesa; (b) vertical denudation rates increase with decreasing width of the flat‐top mesa below a critical value (~60 m, for the Negev Desert); (c) the reduction in the width of the flat‐top mesa is driven mainly by cliff retreat accompanied by extremely slow vertical denudation rate which can persist for a very long time (>106 Ma); and (d) when the width of the mesa decreases below a certain threshold, its rate of denudation increases dramatically and mesa degradation is completed in a short time. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

17.
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.  相似文献   

18.
Cosmogenic nuclides in river sediment have been used to quantify catchment-mean erosion rates. Nevertheless, variable differences in 10Be concentrations according to grain size have been reported. We analyzed these differences in eleven catchments on the western side of the Andes, covering contrasting climates and slopes. The data include eight sand (0.5–1 mm) and gravel (1–3 cm) pairs and twelve sand (0.5–1 mm) and pebble (5–10 cm) pairs. The difference observed in three pairs can be explained by a difference in the provenance of the sand and coarser sediment. The other sand–pebble pairs show a lower 10Be concentration in the pebbles, except for one pair that shows similar concentrations. Two sand–gravel pairs show a lower 10Be concentration in the gravel and the other five pairs show a higher 10Be concentration in the gravel. Differences in climate do not reveal a particular influence on the 10Be concentration between pairs. The analysis supports a model where pebbles and gravel are mainly derived from catchment areas that are eroding at a faster rate. The five gravel samples with high 10Be concentrations probably contain gravel that were derived from the abrasion of cobbles exhumed at high elevations. In order to validate this model, further work should test if pebbles are preferentially exhumed from high erosion rate areas, and if the difference between pebbles with high 10Be concentrations and sand decreases when the erosion rate tends to be homogeneous within a catchment.  相似文献   

19.
The Blue Ridge escarpment, located within the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, forms a distinct, steep boundary between the lower‐elevation Piedmont and higher‐elevation Blue Ridge physiographic provinces. To understand better the rate at which this landform and the adjacent landscape are changing, we measured cosmogenic beryllium‐10 (10Be) in quartz separated from sediment samples (n = 50) collected in 32 streams and from three exposed bedrock outcrops along four transects normal to the escarpment, allowing us to calculate erosion rates integrated over 104–105 years. These basin‐averaged erosion rates (5.4–49 m Myr?1) are consistent with those measured elsewhere in the southern Appalachain Mountains and show a positive relationship between erosion rate and average basin slope. Erosion rates show no relationship with basin size or relative position of the Brevard fault zone, a fundamental structural element of the region. The cosmogenic isotopic data, when considered along with the distribution of average basin slopes in each physiographic province, suggest that the escarpment is eroding on average more rapidly than the Blue Ridge uplands, which are eroding more rapidly than the Piedmont lowlands. This difference in erosion rates by geomorphic setting suggests that the elevation difference between the uplands and lowlands adjacent to the escarpment is being reduced but at extremely slow rates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

20.
Determining sediment transfer times is key to understanding source-to-sink dynamics and the transmission of environmental signals through the fluvial system. Previous work on the Bolivian Altiplano applied the in situ cosmogenic 14C-10Be-chronometer to river sands and proposed sediment storage times of ~10–20 kyr in four catchments southeast of Lake Titicaca. However, the fidelity of those results hinges upon isotopic steady-state within sediment supplied from the source area. With the aim of independently quantifying sediment storage times and testing the 14C-10Be steady-state assumption, we dated sediment storage units within one of the previously investigated catchments using radiocarbon dating, cosmogenic 10Be-26Al isochron burial dating, and 10Be-26Al depth-profile dating. Palaeosurfaces appear to preserve remnants of a former fluvial system, which has undergone drainage reversal, reduction in catchment area, and local isostatic uplift since ~2.8 Ma. From alluvium mantling the palaeosurfaces we gained a deposition age of ~580 ka, while lower down fluvial terraces yielded ≤34 ka, and floodplains ~3–1 ka. Owing to restricted channel connectivity with the terraces and palaeosurfaces, the main source of channel sediment is via reworking of the late Holocene floodplain. Yet modelling a set of feasible scenarios reveals that floodplain storage and burial depth are incompatible with the 14C-10Be disequilibrium measured in the channel. Instead we propose that the 14C-10Be offset results from: (i) non-uniform erosion whereby deep gullies supply hillslope-derived debris; and/or (ii) holocene landscape transience associated with climate or human impact. The reliability of the 14C-10Be chronometer vitally depends upon careful evaluation of sources of isotopic disequilibrium in a wide range of depositional and erosional landforms in the landscape. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

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