Late Cenozoic tectonics and denudation in the Central Kenya Rift: quantification of long-term denudation rates

Reconstructing Cenozoic history of continental silicate weathering is crucial for understanding Earth’s carbon cycle and greenhouse history. The question of whether continental silicate weathering increased during the late Cenozoic, setting the stage for glacial cycles, has remained controversial for decades. Whereas numerous independent proxies of weathering in ocean sediments (e.g., Li, Sr, and Os isotopes) have been interpreted to indicate that the continental silicate weathering rate increased in the late Cenozoic, beryllium isotopes in seawater have stood out as an important exception. Beryllium isotopes have been interpreted to indicate stable continental weathering and/or denudation rates over the last 12 Myr. Here we present a Be cycle model whose results show that variations in the 9Be weathering flux are counterbalanced by near-coastal scavenging while the cosmogenic 10Be flux from the upper atmosphere stays constant. As a result, predicted seawater 10Be/9Be ratios remain nearly constant even when global denudation and Be weathering rates increase by three orders of magnitude. Moreover, 10Be/9Be records allow for up to an 11-fold increase in Be weathering and denudation rates over the late Cenozoic, consistent with estimates from other proxies. The large increase in continental weathering indicated by multiple proxies further suggests that the increased CO2 consumption by continental weathering, driven by mountain-building events, was counterbalanced by other geological processes to prevent a runaway icehouse condition during the late Cenozoic. These processes could include enhanced carbonate dissolution via pyrite weathering, accelerated oxidation of fossil organic carbon, and/or reduced basalt weathering as the climate cooled.

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Late Cenozoic tectonics offshore western Mexico and its relation to the structure and volcanic activity in the western Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

Geofísica Internacional ◽

10.22201/igeof.00167169p.1993.32.4.601 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 543-559

Author(s):

Hugo Delgado Granados

Keyword(s):

Volcanic Activity ◽

Volcanic Belt ◽

Late Cenozoic ◽

Western Mexico ◽

Mexican Volcanic Belt ◽

Cenozoic Tectonics ◽

Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt

La tasa de convergencia calculada indica que la tectónica del occidente de México ha sido tensional durante los últimos 3 Ma. Este estilo de deformación se ve reflejado en la formación de estructuras rift en la parte occidental de la Faja Volcánica Trans-Mexicana [FVTM]. Los valores obtenidos para la tasa de convergencia predicen que, a través del tiempo, se verifica una tectónica menos tensional (con tendencia a la neutralidad) en la parte sureste de la zona de interacción de las placas de Rivera Y Norteamérica, mientras que en la parte noroccidental se vuelve más tensional. Por otra parte, un análisis cualitativo de las tasas de esparcimiento muestra que éstas fueron más rápidas antes de los 6.5 Ma de lo que fueron posteriormente. Después de analizar diferentes parámetros cinemáticos, se concluyó que la tasa de esparcimiento de la cresta del Pacífico Oriental en su sector Pacífico-Rivera, influye fuertemente sobre la tasa de convergencia. De esta manera se puede establecer una correlación positiva entre la evolución de la tasa de esparcimiento de la cresta Pacífico-Rivera y la geología continental. Esta correlación muestra que tasas de esparcimiento relativamente rápidas coinciden con la presencia de volcanismo monogenético calci-alcalino en la parte occidental de la FVTM cuando menos desde hace 10 Ma y que este tipo de volcanismo continúa hasta nuestros días. Sin embargo, cuando la tasa de esparcimiento se ha hecho más lenta (y por tanto la tasa de convergencia se ha hecho menor) durante el periodo comprendido entre 6.5 Ma y 3.5 Ma, se ha verificado en la región una tectónica extensional ampliamente distribuida, volcanismo explosivo y sedimentación lacustre en los sistemas rift de Colima, Tepic-Zacoalco y de Chapala; particularmente entre los 4.6 Ma y 3.9 Ma ha coincidido con volcanismo alcalino en los rifts fr Colima y Tepic-Zacoalco. Un leve incremento en la tasa de esparcimiento después de los 3.5 Ma coinciden con el decremento de actividad volcánica (principalmente alcalina). Durante el periodo entre 1.6 Ma y 0.7 Ma, la tasa de esparcimiento disminuyó de nuevo coincidiendo con un fallamiento normal continuo en las tres estructuras rift mencionadas y en parte, con otra etapa de volcanismo alcalino (entre 1.4 Ma y 0.2 Ma) en los rift de Colima y Tepic-Zacoalco. Después de los 0.7 Ma, la tasa de esparcimiento se ha incrementado levemente. Por otra parte, se observa una relación genética entre el contenido de elementos compatibles en rocas volcánicas de la región con la tasa de convergencia, lo cual implica que tasas de subducción mayores aportan una mayor cantidad de sedimentos acrecionados a la cuña del manto. Esto explica las diferencias geoquímicas entre las rocas volcánicas a lo largo del frente volcánico de la parte occidental de la FVTM.

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Climatic effects on rapid chemical and physical denudation rates measured with cosmogenic nuclides in the Ōhau catchment, New Zealand

10.26686/wgtn.17151233.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Maia Bellingham

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

New Zealand ◽

Chemical Weathering ◽

Southern Alps ◽

Grain Sizes ◽

Denudation Rates ◽

Climate Stability ◽

Mountain Landscapes ◽

Carbon Dioxide Cycling

<p>Understanding how active mountain landscapes contribute to carbon dioxide cycling and influences on long-term climate stability requires measurement of weathering fluxes from these landscapes. The few measured chemical weathering rates in the Southern Alps are an order of magnitude greater than in the rest of the world. Rapid tectonic uplift coupled with extreme orographic precipitation is driving exceptionally fast chemical and physical denudation. These rates suggest that weathering in landscapes such as the Southern Alps could play a significant role in carbon dioxide cycling. However, the relative importance of climate and tectonics driving these fast rates remains poorly understood. To address this gap, in situ ¹⁰Be derived catchment-averaged denudation rates were measured in the Ōhau catchment, Canterbury, New Zealand. Denudation rates in the Dobson Valley within the Ōhau catchment, varied from 474 – 7,570 m Myr⁻¹, aside from one sub-catchment in the upper Dobson Valley that had a denudation rate of 12,142 m Myr⁻¹. The Dobson and Hopkins Rivers had denudation rates of 1,660 and 4,400 m Myr⁻¹ respectively, in these catchments. Dobson Valley denudation rates show a moderate correlation with mean annual precipitation (R²=0.459). This correlation supports a similar trend identified at local and regional scales, and at high rates of precipitation this may be an important driver of erosion and weathering. Sampling of four grain sizes (0.125 to > 8 mm) at one site in the Dobson Valley resulted in variability in ¹⁰Be concentrations up to a factor of 2.5, which may be a result of each grain size recording different erosional processes. These observations demonstrate the importance of assessing potential variability and the need to sample consistent grain sizes across catchments. Chemical depletion fractions measured within soil pits in the upper Dobson Valley indicate chemical weathering contributes 30% of total denudation, and that physical erosion is driving rapid total denudation. Chemical weathering appears to surpass any proposed weathering speed limit and suggests total weathering may not be limited by weathering kinetics. This research adds to the paucity of research in New Zealand, and for the first time presents ¹⁰Be derived denudation rates from the eastern Southern Alps, with estimates of the long-term weathering flux. High weathering fluxes in the Southern Alps uphold the hypothesis that mountain landscapes play an important role in carbon dioxide cycling and long-term climate stability.</p>

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The role of frost cracking in local denudation of steep Alpine rockwalls over millennia (Eiger, Switzerland)

Earth Surface Dynamics ◽

10.5194/esurf-8-637-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 637-659

Author(s):

David Mair ◽

Alessandro Lechmann ◽

Romain Delunel ◽

Serdar Yeşilyurt ◽

Dmitry Tikhomirov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Swiss Alps ◽

Rock Fall ◽

Temperature Changes ◽

Rock Face ◽

Temperature Conditions ◽

Denudation Rates ◽

Reconstructed Temperature ◽

Cryogenic Processes

Abstract. Denudation of steep rockwalls is driven by rock fall processes of various sizes and magnitudes. Rockwalls are sensitive to temperature changes mainly because thermo-cryogenic processes weaken bedrock through fracturing, which can precondition the occurrence of rock fall. However, it is still unclear how the fracturing of rock together with cryogenic processes impacts the denudation processes operating on steep rockwalls. In this study, we link data on long-term rockwall denudation rates at the Eiger (Central Swiss Alps) with the local bedrock fabric and the reconstructed temperature conditions at these sites, which depend on the insolation pattern. We then estimate the probability of bedrock for failure through the employment of a theoretical frost cracking model. The results show that the denudation rates are low in the upper part of the NW rockwall, but they are high both in the lower part of the NW rockwall and on the SE face, despite similar bedrock fabric conditions. The frost cracking model predicts a large difference in cracking intensity from ice segregation where the inferred efficiency is low in the upper part of the NW rockwall but relatively large on the lower section of the NW wall and on the SE rock face of the Eiger. We explain this pattern by the differences in insolation and temperature conditions at these sites. Throughout the last millennium, temperatures in bedrock have been very similar to the present. These data thus suggest the occurrence of large contrasts in microclimate between the NW and SE walls of the Eiger, conditioned by differences in insolation. We use these contrasts to explain the relatively low denudation rates in the upper part of the NW rockwall and the rapid denudation in the SW face and in the lower part of the NW rock face where frost cracking is more efficient.

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Long- to short-term denudation rates in the southern Apennines: geomorphological markers and chronological constraints

Geologica Carpathica ◽

10.2478/v10096-011-0003-1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 27-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Dario Gioia ◽

Claudio Martino ◽

Marcello Schiattarella

Keyword(s):

Sediment Accumulation ◽

Radiometric Dating ◽

Sedimentation Rates ◽

Southern Apennines ◽

Short Term ◽

Small Catchment ◽

Fluvial Terraces ◽

Denudation Rates ◽

Land Surfaces

Long- to short-term denudation rates in the southern Apennines: geomorphological markers and chronological constraints Age constraints of geomorphological markers and consequent estimates of long- to short-term denudation rates from southern Italy are given here. Geomorphic analysis of the valley of the Tanagro River combined with apatite fission track data and radiometric dating provided useful information on the ages and evolution of some significant morphotectonic markers such as regional planated landscapes, erosional land surfaces and fluvial terraces. Reconstruction of paleotopography and estimation of the eroded volumes were perfomed starting from the plano-altimetric distribution of several orders of erosional land surfaces surveyed in the study area. Additional data about denudation rates related to the recent and/or active geomorphological system have been obtained by estimating the amount of suspended sediment yield at the outlet of some catchments using empirical relationships based on the hierarchical arrangement of the drainage network. Denudation rates obtained through these methods have been compared with the sedimentation rates calculated for two adjacent basins (the Pantano di San Gregorio and the Vallo di Diano), on the basis of published tephrochronological constraints. These rates have also been compared with those calculated for the historical sediment accumulation in a small catchment located to the north of the study area, with long-term exhumation data from thermochronometry, and with uplift rates from the study area. Long- and short-term denudation rates are included between 0.1 and 0.2 mm/yr, in good agreement with regional data and long-term sedimentation rates from the Vallo di Diano and the Pantano di San Gregorio Magno basins. On the other hand, higher values of exhumation rates from thermochronometry suggest the existence of past erosional processes faster than the recent and present-day exogenic dismantling. Finally, the comparison between uplift and denudation rates indicates that the fluvial erosion did not match the tectonic uplift during the Quaternary in this sector of the chain. The axial zone of the southern Apennines should therefore be regarded as a landscape in conditions of geomorphological disequilibrium.

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