lake devlin and pinedale glacial history front range colorado abstract glacial lake devlin was an ice margin lake that formed during pinedale time when the north boulder creek valley glacier blocked the mouth of a tributary near the downvalley limit of glaciation the lake was about 2 km long and as much as 60 m deep and was fed by meltwater from small valley glaciers it accumulated sediment apparently without interruption for about 10 000 yr the inception of lake devlin between 23 500 and 21 000 yr b p provides a limiting date for the maximum expansion of pinedale ice because the lake could not form until the north boulder creek glacier had advanced to within 2 km of its downvalley limit the maximum lowering of timberline which occurred about 19 000 yr b p is assumed to coincide with the pinedale glacial maximum apparent timberline elevations determined from picea pinus pollen ratios suggest that ice front positions during the time between 23 000 and 19 000 yr b p may have been only slightly less extensive than at the pinedale maximum lake devlin drained catastrophically about 13 000 yr b p which was after ice had receded from the outlet area pinedale glaciation in the front range began about or after 30 000 yr b p and final deglaciation occurred between 15 000 and 12 000 yr b p

the relation of holocene fluvial terraces to changes in climate and sediment supply south fork payette river idaho abstract well preserved holocene terraces along the south fork payette river in central idaho provide a record of fluvial system behavior in a steep mountain watershed characterized by weathered and erodible idaho batholith granitic rocks terrace deposit ages were provided by 14c dating of charcoal fragments and optically stimulated luminescence osl dating of sandy sediments along with pairing of many terrace tread heights these data indicate episodic downcutting during the holocene with a mean incision rate of 0 9 m ka from 7 ka to present prior to 7 ka the river incised to within 3 m of current bankfull but then aggraded by 5 m over at least a 10 km long reach in an episode centered 7 6 ka aggradation may relate to 1 increased hillslope sediment input from landslides and debris flows in steep tributary basins with abundant grussified granitic bedrock 2 possible local landslide damming of the channel 3 decreased peak discharge or 4 a combination of these factors middle holocene channel aggradation ca 7 6 ka corresponds with a period of prolonged and widespread aridity in the northern rocky mountains between 5 and 1 3 ka the river aggraded slightly and then remained stable forming a prominent terrace tread at 3 m above current bankfull modest aggradation to vertical stability of the south fork payette river at the 1 5 m terrace level 1 0 0 7 ka corresponds with large fire related debris flows in tributaries during medieval droughts three intervals of incision 5 5 5 ka 1 3 1 0 ka and 0 5 ka correspond with frequent but small fire related sedimentation events and generally cooler wetter conditions suggesting increased snowmelt runoff discharges other possible drivers of channel incision include an increase in stochastic or climate modulated large storms and floods and a reduction in delivery of hillslope sediment to the channel aggradation is more confidently tied to climate through increases in hillslope sediment delivery and or decreased stream power both likely related to warmer drier conditions including high severity fires that reduce snowmelt and decrease vegetation cover on steep slopes thus the holocene terraces of the south fork payette river do not reflect simple stepwise incision with periods of vertical stability and lateral migration but record substantial episodes of aggradation as well we infer that increases in hillslope erosion and mass movements combined with reduced discharges during prolonged droughts episodically reverse the post glacial trend of downcutting in particular during the middle holocene the present bedrock dominated channel implies a strong tendency toward incision in the late holocene

cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces in situ nuclide production rates and erosion models a number of in situ cosmogenic radionuclides and stable nuclides have been measured in natural exposed rock surfaces with a view to study their in situ production and rock erosion rates 1 the in situ radionuclides can be used for a high resolution tomography of the erosional history of an exposed surface two stable nuclides 3he 21ne and five radionuclides 10be 26al 36cl 14c 39ar having half lives in the range of 300 1 5 106 yr half life are measurable in many rock types a prerequisite for the application of the in situ nuclides for the study of erosional histories of surfaces is a knowledge of their production rates under different irradiation conditions altitude latitude irradiation geometry and shielding relative nuclide production rates can be determined fairly accurately using the extensive available data on cosmic ray neutrons 2 absolute nuclide production rates cannot generally be predicted with any accuracy because of lack of data on excitation functions of nuclides unless some normalization is possible as was done in the case of several cosmic ray produced isotopes in the atmosphere 3 based on a recent natural calibration experiment in which erosion free surfaces exposed to cosmic radiation for 11 000 yrs were sampled the absolute production rates of 10be and 26al in quartz have been accurately estimated for mountain altitudes in sierra nevada 4 the absolute production rates of 10be and 26al in quartz can therefore be estimated fairly accurately for any given latitude and altitude some measurements of 14c in rocks of low erosion rate 5 similarly allow an estimate of its production rate attempts made to measure the in situ production rates of 3he in rocks have not yet led to a convergent production rate in view of the importance of knowing the production rates of isotopes of he ne and ar i present here theoretical estimates of their production rates based on available cross section data i discuss the information that can be extracted from the study of the in situ nuclides in rocks useful parameters characterizing the exposure history of a rock surface are 1 the effective surface exposure age and 2 the time averaged erosion rate the implications of these parameters for single and multiple nuclide studies are discussed in terms of the erosion models considered

exploring links between arctic amplification and mid latitude weather 1 this study examines observed changes 1979 2011 in atmospheric planetary wave amplitude over northern mid latitudes which have been proposed as a possible mechanism linking arctic amplification and mid latitude weather extremes we use two distinct but equally valid definitions of planetary wave amplitude termed meridional amplitude a measure of north south meandering and zonal amplitude a measure of the intensity of atmospheric ridges and troughs at 45 n statistically significant changes in either metric are limited to few seasons wavelengths and longitudinal sectors however in summer we identify significant increases in meridional amplitude over europe but significant decreases in zonal amplitude hemispherically and also individually over europe and asia therefore we argue that possible connections between arctic amplification and planetary waves and implications of these are sensitive to how waves are conceptualized the contrasting meridional and zonal amplitude trends have different and complex possible implications for midlatitude weather and we encourage further work to better understand these

controls and limits on bedrock channel geometry 1 data on channel geometry in naturally incising bedrock rivers reveal variable relationships between channel width slope and erosion rate to explain the range of relationships between these parameters we propose an optimized channel geometry model the model reproduces previous theoretical and numerical modeling scaling relationships however to explain the field data the model must incorporate the effects of immobile sediment cover that reduces vertical incision efficiency adding sediment to a system for a given rate of base level fall both widens and steepens the channel we also find that a constant width to depth ratio is only valid for streams where the shear stress required for sediment transport is insignificant compared to the shear required to erode at the imposed base level fall our model offers an explanation of seemingly contradictory field observations of controls on channel width and shows that channel width fundamentally controls the erosive potential of a river especially when it carries a significant bed load

chronology of pleistocene glacial advances in the central rocky mountains the distribution and ages of moraines in the wyoming type localities for pre pinedale rocky mountain glacial deposits are not well known through morphostratigraphic mapping river terrace longitudinal profile analysis and tephrochronology we place the age of sacagawea ridge moraines in the dinwoody lakes type area at about 660 ka outwash and river terrace deposits in the bull lake type area previously considered to be sacagawea ridge are actually older by one or two glacial cycles in the bull lake type locality 15 individual moraines are divided into 4 groups on the basis of relative age criteria using 36cl 10be cosmogenic dating of boulders the two older groups must be 130 ka the younger groups are given age ranges of 130 to 100 ka and 120 to 95 ka a terrace along wind river can be morphostratigraphically traced to the youngest of these moraine groups 36cl dating of boulders on the terrace provides an age range of 125 to 100 ka the combined relative age and cosmogenic nuclide chronology is consistent with previously published evidence from yellowstone national park demonstrating that mountain glaciers advanced not only prior to and during the later portion of marine isotope stage 6 but also during marine isotope stage 5d in contrast with some other areas of the rocky mountains we found no evidence for advances during marine isotope stage 4 at bull lake pinedale moraines that have a 36cl 10be age range of 23 to 16 ka suggest that glacial advances were limited to the later part of marine isotope stage 2 a river terrace that can be traced to these moraines has an age range of 23 to 16 ka a possible glacial advance during early marine isotope stage 2 is indicated by a river terrace whose age range is estimated by incision rate modeling at 46 to 28 ka but no moraines were identified along wind river there are eight terrace levels capped with outwash that are older than sacagawea ridge although the terraces are the record of early to middle pleistocene climatic cycles there are no correlative moraines preserved at the land surface

interpreting climate modulated processes of terrace development along the colorado front range using a landscape evolution model flights of terraces that flank range fronts throughout the rocky mountains record episodic stream incision over the past 1 5 ma studies dating terraces in the denver basin along the colorado front range suggest that these high surfaces were formed during glacial intervals and were rapidly incised and abandoned during interglacials modulation of sediment supply or transport capacity associated with climate change related to glacial interglacial cycles have been suggested as possible drivers for the repeated aggradation and abandonment of these high surfaces potential mechanisms for increasing sediment supply and transport in rivers include variations over time in sediment flux from intermittently glaciated major valleys the efficiency of hillslope sediment transport and the magnitude and timing of rainfall intensity and stream flow in this study we use a landscape evolution model to determine whether any of these processes in isolation or in combination is sufficient to explain the observed rates and patterns of terrace formation and abandonment along the colorado piedmont cycles of channel aggradation and incision are apparent in the models when either mean rainfall intensity is varied or a glacial source of sediment is added the models suggest that in the absence of a large addition of sediment to the streams changes in stream power are necessary to allow channel aggradation and the planation of bedrock surfaces and increased sediment flux from hillslopes is necessary to match observations of increased denudation rates that coincide with the deposition of terrace capping gravels

simulation of snow shielding corrections for cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure studies abstract snow cover reduces cosmogenic nuclide production rates in bedrock corrections for snow cover can be more than 10 in mountainous mid latitude regions where many glacial chronologies have been constructed using cosmogenic nuclide surface dating of landforms most published snow corrections use historic climate data of limited duration that are not likely to reflect adequately the full range of snow conditions over the time of exposure we present a model for describing the impact of snow burial on long term exposure histories of landforms the model applies an energy balance approach to snowpack evolution and incorporates both historic and long term climate proxy data attenuation of cosmogenic fast neutrons is modeled alternatively as a simple exponential decrease with increased shielding or as a thin surface layer with constant production followed by an exponential decrease with increasing depth the choice of attenuation model has little effect on the modeled results for the cairngorms but will have a more significant effect in regions characterized by thinner less dense snowpacks spatial variability in snow cover is modeled as a function of elevation only ignoring local variability in snow accumulation as a result of slope aspect wind redistribution and local topography thus model results reveal general spatial and temporal trends in snow shielding effects rather than site specific corrections applications to data from the cairngorm mountains of scotland show that the constant plus exponential cpe production rate depth profile reduces but does not eliminate snow shielding effects under present day conditions snow at 900 m in the cairngorm mountains reduces average production rates by 6 using the cpe profile and 9 with the exponential profile ep long term climate simulations from 15 5 ka through today produce larger snow shielding effects mainly because they predict an increased proportion of precipitation as snowfall during the younger dryas at 900 m this long term simulation reduces average cosmogenic isotope production rates by 12 cpe and 14 ep these results indicate that snow shielding corrections based on historic climate records may be a potential source of systematic error in midlatitude mountainous regions

improving in situ cosmogenic chronometers new radiocarbon ages for sierra nevada deglaciation the first 10 be measurements from the laurentide terminal moraine and calculations based on paleomagnetic field strength have the potential to substantially improve the accuracy of cosmogenic age estimates specifically three new constraints apply to the interpretation of measured abundances of in situ produced cosmogenic 10be and 26al 1 a suite of minimum limiting radiocarbon dates indicates that the sierra nevada was deglaciated at least several thousand years earlier than assumed when nishiizumi et al 1989 first calibrated 10be and 26 al production rates based on polished bedrock surfaces in the range with retreat beginning by 18 000 cal yr b p and completed by 13 000 cal yr b p 2 concentrations of 10be in moraine boulders and glacier polished bedrock in new jersey show little variance 10 1 and can be used to calculate a preliminary 10be production rate integrated over the past 21 000 22 000 cal yr b p at 41 200 300 m altitude that is about 20 lower than currently accepted 3 calculations of the effect of past geomagnetic field strength variations on production rates suggest that the use of temporally averaged production rates may generate age errors of 20 however cosmogenic exposure ages can be corrected for this effect although the corrections currently are imprecise many previously reported late pleistocene 10be and 26al exposure ages are probably too young and are less accurate and less precise than implied by reported uncertainties the discrepancy between accepted production rates and those calculated from laurentide exposures when considered together with the sierran deglacial chronology and the model results suggest that correlations between cosmogenic and other numerical ages especially for brief events like the younger dryas and heinrich events will not be robust until temporal variations and the altitude latitude scaling of production rates are fully understood and quantified at levels comparable to current analytic uncertainties 3

meteoric 10be clay and extractable iron depth profiles in the colorado front range implications for understanding soil mixing and erosion abstract analyzing meteoric 10be in soil profiles along with soil measurements such as pedogenic fe and clay content permits better understanding of meteoric 10be transport in soils soil formation and hillslope geomorphology this study presents meteoric 10be depth profiles from saprolite derived soil catenas sampled in the gordon gulch catchment colorado front range and from nearby c 130 and 15 ka glacial moraines we compare meteoric 10be data with more classically used soil analyses of clay and extractable iron fed content meteoric 10be and fed do not show consistent trends in the hillslope profiles meteoric 10be and clay concentrations however generally decrease with depth and highest concentrations of 10be in horizons coincide with highest clay concentrations soils at moraine sites are better developed than those on hillslopes and correlations of 10be fed and clay are stronger in gordon gulch south facing hillslopes display meteoric 10be bulges at depth and lower near surface concentrations compared to the declining profiles and higher near surface concentrations of north facing hillslopes the aspect differences imply that south facing hillslopes experience greater vertical mixing than north facing hillslopes and that greater lateral transport and erosion has occurred over the last 15 20 ka on south facing hillslopes relative to north facing hillslopes meteoric 10be depth profiles at moraine sites display bulge profiles with highest meteoric 10be concentrations in b horizons reflecting landform stability and pedogenic processes overall our data demonstrate that signatures of chemical weathering in soils fed and clay may or may not correlate to the meteoric 10be added through atmospheric deposition and that profile shape of meteoric 10be can provide insight into the relative contribution of vertical mixing and surface erosion in relation to catena location and aspect during hillslope evolution

fluvial terrace formation along wyoming s laramie range as a response to increased late pleistocene flood magnitudes abstract this study evaluates the potential climatic mechanisms involved in fluvial terrace genesis along wyoming s laramie range we used optical dating methods to determine depositional ages for fluvial fills and to calculate incision rates for terrace suites along two of the region s larger rivers optical ages were determined for the five lowest terrace levels t5 t1 which were deposited at 59 6 39 2 26 3 22 7 and 18 5 ka and incision rates calculated for the two rivers were 0 29 0 34 m kyr over the last 60 kyr the formation of fluvial terraces in the central rocky mountains is commonly attributed to climatically induced changes in sediment input according to most studies relatively low incision rates existed during the colder periods of the pleistocene due to high stream sediment loads but terraces were formed during warmer interglacial periods when reduced sediment availability facilitated higher incision rates however this conceptual model cannot explain the incision records presented here which show that the streams incised 9 10 m in two to three events during oxygen isotope stage 2 but only 1 2 m during the warmer climates of the last 18 5 ka the stream power model we adapted to this setting suggests that late quaternary streams operated under two basic states during the colder conditions of the pleistocene higher flood magnitudes resulted in higher lateral erosion and incision rates however the lower stream discharge common to the warmer interglacial periods resulted in relatively inactive streams when both lateral erosion and incision rates were lowered this model can explain the high incision rates during the cold conditions of oxygen isotope stage 2 the occurrence of terrace fill ages near cold to warm transitions and the apparent acceleration in incision rates toward the end of the last glacial cycle finally this study suggests that terrace fill ages and incision rates are similar for the distally glaciated laramie river nonglaciated sybille creek and the proximally glaciated streams that drain the wind river range this implies that rivers responded synchronously to late quaternary climate changes regardless of their influence by alpine glaciation

cosmogenic 36cl and 10be ages of quaternary glacial and fluvial deposits of the wind river range wyoming we measured cosmogenic 36 cl in 56 samples from boulders on moraines and fluvial terraces in the vicinity of the wind river range wyoming we also measured 10 be in 10 of the same samples most of the 10 be ages were in good agreement with the 36 cl ages indicating that rock surface erosion rates were very low the oldest moraine investigated the type sacagewea ridge site yielded only a limiting minimum age of 232 ka the oldest moraines in the type bull lake complex also could be constrained only to 130 ka the main sequence of type bull lake moraines yielded age distributions indicating deposition within the intervals 130 to 100 ka and 120 to 100 ka the best estimates are closer to the upper limits of these ranges and associated uncertainties are in the range of 10 to 15 these uncertainties could permit deposition in either marine isotope stage 6 or stage 5d we found no evidence of glacial deposits dating to marine isotope stage 4 both bull lake age moraines from fremont lake on the opposite side of the wind river range and boulders on a fluvial terrace above the wind river gave age distributions very similar to that of the second oldest bull lake advance ca 130 to 100 ka the distribution of boulder ages for pinedale moraines at bull lake indicated deposition between 23 and 16 ka nearly identical to the distribution of 10 be ages previously reported for the type pinedale moraines at fremont lake

widespread aggradation in the mountainous catchment of the alaknanda ganga river system timescales and implications to hinterland foreland relationships abstract cut and fill type fluvial terraces are ubiquitous in the lesser himalayan zone of the alaknanda ganga ganges rivers system which flows perpendicular to himalayan lithotectonic units and traverses a steep climatic gradient lithofacies analysis of the sedimentary sequences of cut and fill terraces indicated that the valley aggradation took place via 1 channel bar development and excess sediment supply 2 debris flows composed of mixed rounded to sub rounded lithoclasts resulting from episodic high intensity rainfalls in the upper catchment or 3 debris flows or rockfalls generated by local landslides the luminescence chronology indicates that valley aggradation took place in two phases 49 25 ka and 18 11 ka the incision of the fill started soon after 11 ka paleoclimatic records from marine sediments indicate that the aggradation and incision in the alaknanda ganga river has oscillated in phase with global climatic variations glaciation deglaciation processes in the upper catchment produced huge amounts of sediment between 63 and 11 ka which was fluvially transferred to the lower valley via several cycles of erosion and deposition leading to extensive aggradation the climatic amelioration at 11 ka and the completion of deglaciation processes led to increased fluvial discharge and decreased sediment supply conditions conducive for incision of the alluvial fills records from the indo gangetic plain and the ganga delta demonstrate that the phase of aggradation was regional but that incision in the foreland started at least 2 3 ka later after 7 ka bedrock incision rates as calculated from dated alluvial covers of terraces that are separated by bedrock steps are spatially variable and fall within the range of rates reported from across the himalaya these estimated rates however are higher than the basin average erosion rates calculated using isotopic mass balance in riverbed sediments this study suggests that during the last 50 ka river dynamics in the himalayas were dominated by monsoon variability and the role of tectonic activity was limited to bedrock incision in few reaches only

long river profiles tectonism and eustasy a guide to interpreting fluvial terraces along three rivers at the mendocino triple junction northern california strath cut and fill terraces have formed in response to tectonic and eustatic processes detailed surveying and radiometric dating at multiple sites indicate that lower reaches of the rivers are dominated by the effects of oscillating sea level primarily aggradation and formation of fill terraces during sea level high stands alternating with deep incision during low stands a eustasy driven deposi tional wedge extends tens of kilometers upstream on all rivers tapering to zero thickness this distance is greater than expected from studies of the effects of check dams on much smaller streams elsewhere due in part to the large size of these rivers however the change in gradient is nearly identical to other base level rise studies the depositional gradient is about half that of the original channel middle to upper reaches of each fiver are dominated by the effects of long term uplift primarily lateral and vertical erosion and formation of steep unpaired strath terraces exposed only upstream of the depositional wedge vertical incision at a rate similar to that of uplift has occurred even during the present sea level high stand along rivers with highest uplift rates strath terraces have steeper gradients than the modem channel bed and do not merge with marine terraces at the river mouth consequently they cannot be used to determine altitudes of sea level high stands strath formation is a continuous process of response to long term uplift and its occurrence varies spatially along a river depending on stream power and hence position upstream strath terraces are found only along certain parts of a coastal stream upstream of the aggradational effects of oscillating sea level and far enough downstream that stream power is in excess of that needed to transport the prevailing sediment load for a given size fiver the greater the uplift rate the greater the rate of vertical incision and consequently the less the like lihood of strath terrace formation and preservation

bedrock incision rock uplift and threshold hillslopes in the northwestern himalayas the topography of tectonically active mountain ranges reflects a poorly understood competition between bedrock uplift and erosion dating of abandoned river cut surfaces in the northwestern himalayas reveals that the indus river incises through the bedrock at extremely high rates 2 12 mm yr 1 in the surrounding mountains the average angles of hillslopes are steep and essentially independent of erosion rate suggesting control by a common threshold process in this rapidly deforming region an equilibrium is maintained between bedrock uplift and river incision with landsliding allowing hillslopes to adjust efficiently to rapid river down cutting

climate during the last glacial maximum in the wasatch and southern uinta mountains inferred from glacier modeling abstract recent improvements in understanding glacial extents and chronologies in the wasatch and uinta mountains and other mountain ranges in the western u s call for a more detailed approach to using glacier reconstructions to infer paleoclimates than commonly applied aar ela at methods a coupled 2 d mass balance and ice flow numerical modeling approach developed by plummer m a phillips f m 2003 a 2 d numerical model of snow ice energy balance and ice flow for paleoclimatic interpretation of glacial geomorphic features quaternary science reviews 22 1389 1406 allows exploration of the combined effects of temperature precipitation shortwave radiation and many secondary parameters on past ice extents in alpine settings we apply this approach to the little cottonwood canyon in the wasatch mountains and the lake fork and yellowstone canyons in the south central uinta mountains results of modeling experiments indicate that the little cottonwood glacier required more precipitation during the local last glacial maximum lgm than glaciers in the uinta mountains assuming lapse rates were similar to modern model results suggest that if temperatures in the wasatch mountains and uinta mountains were 6 c to 7 c colder than modern corresponding precipitation changes were 3 to 2 modern in little cottonwood canyon and 2 to 1 modern in lake fork and yellowstone canyons greater amounts of precipitation in the little cottonwood canyon likely reflect moisture derived from the surface of lake bonneville and the lake may have also affected the mass balance of glaciers in the uinta mountains

the effect of bedrock jointing on the formation of straths in the cache la poudre river drainage colorado front range the north fork poudre and poudre rivers have incised deep narrow canyons into precambrian age granite and gneiss along the colorado front range longitudinally discontinuous active strath surfaces and strath terraces are present along each river although the crystalline bedrock of the study area is resistant to weathering and erosion differences in joint spacing and orientation create significant differences in rock mass strength along each river the vertical spacing of active straths along the north fork poudre correlates strongly with the spacing of prominent subhorizontal joint surfaces strath terraces along the poudre river occur in areas of wider valley bottom upstream from a profile convexity especially wide segments with the greatest downstream extent reflect the locations of shear zones that create more densely spaced joints and lower rock resistance i interpret the absence of strath terraces in wider canyon segments downstream from the convexity to indicate that the poudre river is capable of laterally eroding the entire valley bottom as the river incises leaving behind only fill terraces upstream from the convexity in contrast lateral erosion has created canyon segments with wider valley bottoms but the entire valley bottom has not been lowered at the same rate leaving discontinuous strath terraces the poudre river is regionally unique in having relatively well developed strath terraces but strath terraces in other major drainages of the front range are also only present upstream from convexities in the longitudinal profile

using in situ produced cosmogenic isotopes to estimate rates of landscape evolution a review from the geomorphic perspective the application of in situ produced cosmogenic isotopes to problems in geomorphology has increased rapidly over the past decade at least 57 papers and numerous abstracts have been published since the mid 1980s when the first mass spectrometric measurements of terrestrially produced cosmogenic isotopes were made taken at face value these studies provide quantitative information about rates of landscape evolution and landform age however the significance of calculated erosion rates and exposure ages depends strongly on the models used to interpret isotopic data the validity of assumptions inherent to these models and the geologic surroundings in which the samples were collected this paper attempts to place cosmogenic isotope studies in a geomorphic context by reviewing fundamentals of the method and evaluating the validity of assumptions under which these data have been interpreted at present the establishment of high precision cosmogenically based glacial and alluvial chronologies is stymied by the evolution of geomorphic surfaces the erosion of rock from sampled boulders the potential for isotope inheritance from previous exposure and the uncertainty of isotopic measurements uncertainties in isotope production rates and the observed variability of exposure ages on individual geomorphic surfaces limit the confidence with which cosmogenic ages can be correlated reliably with those obtained by other techniques estimation of erosion rates at single points on the landscape gives useful small scale information extrapolation of these rates over longer time and larger spatial scales is less sure and most likely biased toward lower erosion rates by die inadvertent selection of resistant sample sites however because erosion rates are so poorly constrained at present even estimates to within a factor of 2 may be of significant value to geomorphologists and tectonicists

rock to sediment slope to sea with 10be rates of landscape change abstract measurements of cosmogenic nuclides predominately 10be allow new insights into the ways in which and the rates at which sediment is generated transported and deposited over timescales ranging from 103 to 106 years samples from rock exposures are used to estimate erosion rates at points on the landscape whereas samples of fluvial sediment provide estimates of basin scale rates of denudation integrated over 104 km2 nuclide data show that hilltop bare rock outcrops erode more slowly than basins as a whole suggesting the potential for relief to increase over time as well drained outcrops grow higher more elaborate experiments and interpretive models provide insight into the distribution of hillslope processes including the bedrock to soil conversion rate which appears to increase under shallow soil cover and then decrease under deeper soils changes in average nuclide activity down slopes can be used to estimate grain speed over millennia suggesting for example that sediment o

revised age of deglaciation of lake emma based on new radiocarbon and macrofossil analyses abstract previous radiocarbon ages of detrital moss fragments in basal organic sediments of lake emma indicated that extensive deglaciation of the san juan mountains occurred prior to 14 900 yr b p carrara et al 1984 paleoecological analyses of insect and plant macrofossils from these basal sediments cast doubt on the reliability of the radiocarbon ages subsequent accelerator radiocarbon dates of insect fossils and wood fragments indicate an early holocene age rather than a late pleistocene age for the basal sediments of lake emma these new radiocarbon ages suggest that by at least 10 000 yr b p deglaciation of the san juan mountains was complete the insect and plant macrofossils from the basal organic sediments indicate a higher than present treeline during the early holocene the insect assemblages consisted of about 30 bark beetles which contrasts markedly with the composition of insects from modern lake sediments and modern specimens collected in the lake emma cirque in which bark beetles comprise only about 3 of the assemblages in addition in the fossil assemblages there were a number of flightless insect species not subject to upslope transport by wind indicative of coniferous forest environments these insects were likewise absent in the modern assemblage

reconstruction of late quaternary climate and seismicity using fluvial landforms in pindar river valley central himalaya uttarakhand india abstract fluvial landforms in the pindar river valley are investigated to understand the role of temporal variability in the indian summer monsoon ism and the spatial changes in crustal deformation employing the conventional geomorphological and sedimentological concepts supported by optical dating three major phases of valley fill aggradation separated by phases on non deposition are discerned an oldest aggradation phase is dated to 33 5 ka during relatively strengthened ism corresponding to the later part of pluvial marine isotopic stage 3 mis 3 following this alluvial fan sedimentation impersistently continued during the declining phase of the ism until around 21 ka a second major aggradation phase 17 5 ka 13 ka occurred during the post lgm lateglacial strengthening of the ism in which contribution from tributary valleys overwhelmed the valley fill sedimentation a youngest aggradation phase dated to the middle to late holocene 8 ka 3 6 ka represents the transitional climate during which sporadic high sediment fluxes both from the upper catchment and tributary streams led to the development of fossil valleys abandonment of old channels the spatial variability in the incision uplift rate based on river strath terraces reveals that the terrain is undergoing differential crustal deformation two zones of relatively high crustal deformation are identified these are located in the vicinity of the main central thrust mct and is attributed to the activity along the transverse fault and the in the inner lesser himalaya for which the thrust propagated fold associated with regional north south compression is implicated the study suggests that fluvial landforms valley fill and strath terraces in the pinder river valley are genetically related to the multi millennial scale changes in the ism and spatial and temporal changes in the crustal deformation associated with regional compression

spatial and temporal variations in meteoric 10be inventories and long term deposition rates colorado front range abstract atmospherically derived cosmogenic nuclides such as meteoric 10 be offer great potential in quaternary science because they can be used as landform geochronometers and as sediment tracers use of meteoric 10 be inventories for determining landform age soil residence time or erosion rates requires knowing the long term rate of deposition for this cosmogenic nuclide to the earth s surface here we present meteoric 10 be inventories measured at 6 dated sites near the boulder creek critical zone observatory front range colorado each site lies on a relatively stable landform broad moraine or fluvial terrace at slopes between 10 be deposition precipitation dryfall and dust deposition calculated from measured inventories at these sites range from 0 4 to 5 0 10 6 atoms cm 2 yr 1 none of the inventories match expected primary meteoric 10 be deposition rates that global latitude based models or precipitation specific models predict for this region meteoric 10 be inventories and calculated deposition rates at the three older 90 ka sites fall below 0 3 0 7 model predictions inventories and rates at the three pinedale age sites lgm 21 15 ka are higher 1 5 4 than model predictions previous analysis of soils in the front range over the same timeframe as these sites indicate that long term dust accumulation rates are low and associated secondary meteoric 10 be deposition is unlikely to account for the deviation from model predictions at the pinedale age sites in particular long term dustfall would have to be 1 2 orders of magnitude higher to add the meteoric 10 be required to account for measured inventories low inventories at older sites are consistent with loss of meteoric 10 be through physical erosion or selective removal of near surface soil enriched in meteoric 10 be time averaged rates of total meteoric 10 be deposition for these sites are minima we speculate that higher inventories at pinedale age sites reflect the addition of meteoric 10 be due to snowdrifts and or interflow associated with landform location increasing the effective precipitation related primary meteoric 10 be deposition at the sampled sites given these constraints and the spatial variation observed around the front range we suggest that 1 5 0 2 10 6 atoms cm 2 yr 1 is an appropriate long term meteoric 10 be deposition rate to use across much of the front range region that receives 45 55 cm of precipitation a year this long term total meteoric 10 be deposition rate is 30 50 higher than that predicted by global or annual precipitation specific models emphasizing that local calibration of deposition rates is essential for geomorphic studies around the globe

precise cosmogenic 10be measurements in western north america support for a global younger dryas cooling event the inner titcomb lakes moraine in the wind river mountains wyoming has been dated with a precision of 5 using accelerator mass spectrometric measurements of cosmogenic 10be in surface samples from nine boulders resting on its crest the age of this moraine is 11 4 0 5 to 13 8 0 6 ka the range in age is due to the uncertainty in the 10be production rate and uncertainties in rock erosion rate and shielding of cosmic rays by snow additional exposure ages on bedrock and boulder surfaces that are stratigraphically younger and older than the inner titcomb lakes moraine conform with this age the exposure ages of the inner titcomb lakes moraine overlap the north atlantic younger dryas event 12 8 0 2 to 11 5 0 3 ka

evidence for cirque glaciation in the colorado front range during the younger dryas chronozone abstract late pleistocene glacial chronologies developed for the front range mountains of colorado include two or more cirque glacier advances locally known as the satanta peak advances sediment cores were recovered from sky pond an alpine lake 3320 m located less than 100 m downvalley from a moraine that exhibits late pleistocene to early holocene relative age features and appears to correlate to the satanta peak deposits one of the cores penetrated 0 5 m of basal diamict and recovered 3 3 m of overlying sediments that are predominantly gyttja an accelerator mass spectrometry ams age of 12 040 60 yr14c b p was obtained from directly above the basal diamict and is similar to other reported ages for cirque deglaciation in the front range mountains the lower portion of the gyttja contains an interval of clastic sediments that show characteristics consistent with glacial activity in alpine catchments radiocarbon ages obtained from below and near the upper contact of this clastic interval are 11 070 50 and 9970 8014c yr b p respectively an additional ams age of 10 410 9014c yr b p was obtained from within the clastic interval in a second core the most likely source for this interval of clastic sediments is a moraine situated directly upvalley from sky pond and consequently it appears that the deposition of this moraine was coeval with the european younger dryas event 11 000 10 00014c yr b p similarities in soil development weathering features and altitude between this moraine and the type satanta peak moraines suggest that the moraines are correlative these findings are in agreement with a growing body of evidence that suggests a relatively minor advance of alpine glaciers occurred in the north american rockies during the younger dryas chron

scaling factors for the rates of production of cosmogenic nuclides for geometric shielding and attenuation at depth on sloped surfaces abstract the decrease in rates of production of cosmogenic nuclides occurs because of shielding of cosmic rays by mountains sloped surfaces and local rock formations that block them when a large part of the sky is blocked this correction is large and requires detailed model calculations this paper considers three geometries a rectangular obstruction a triangular obstruction and a sloped surface other geometries can be considered as a combination of these the results are presented in terms of formulas and graphs so that the reader can easily apply them to common field situations any use of cosmogenic nuclides in the study of geomorphic processes or forms must consider factors that introduce variations in the production of nuclides

cosmogenic 10be exposure dating of bull lake and pinedale moraine sequences in the upper arkansas river valley colorado rocky mountains usa

unsteady late pleistocene incision of streams bounding the colorado front range from measurements of meteoric and in situ 10be 1 dating of gravel capped strath terraces in basins adjacent to western u s laramide ranges is one approach to document the history of late cenozoic fluvial exhumation we use in situ 10be measurements to date the broad surfaces adjacent to the eastern edge of the rocky mountains in colorado and compare these calculated ages with results from meteoric 10be measurements we analyze three sites near boulder colorado gunbarrel hill table mountain and pioneer that have been mapped as the oldest terrace surfaces with suggested ages ranging from 640 ka to the plio pleistocene transition our in situ 10be results reveal abandonment ages of 95 129 ka at table mountain 175 27 ka at pioneer and ages of 251 10 ka and 307 15 ka at gunbarrel hill all are far younger than previously thought inventories of meteoric 10be support this interpretation yielding ages that are comparable to table mountain and 20 lower than pioneer in situ ages we argue that lateral beveling by rivers dominated during protracted times of even moderate glacial climate and that vertical incision rates of several mm yr likely occurred during times of very low sediment supply during the few interglacials that were characterized by particularly warm climate conditions in contrast to the traditional age chronology in the area our ages suggest that the deep exhumation of the western edge the high plains occurred relatively recently and at an unsteady pace

mountain erosion over 10 yr 10 k y and 10 m y time scales we used cosmogenic 10 be to measure erosion rates over 10 k y time scales at 32 idaho mountain catchments ranging from small experimental watersheds 0 2 km 2 t o large river basins 35 000 km 2 these long term sediment yields are on average 17 times higher than stream sediment fluxes measured over 10 84 yr but are consistent with 10 m y erosion rates measured by apatite fission tracks our results imply that conventional sediment yield measurements even those made over decades can greatly underestimate long term average rates of sediment delivery and thus overestimate the life spans of engineered reservoirs our observations also suggest that sediment delivery from mountainous terrain is extremely episodic sporadically subjecting mountain stream ecosystems to extensive disturbance

multi phased uplift of the southern margin of the central anatolian plateau turkey a record of tectonic and upper mantle processes abstract uplifted neogene marine sediments and quaternary fluvial terraces in the mut basin southern turkey reveal a detailed history of surface uplift along the southern margin of the central anatolian plateau from the late miocene to the present new surface exposure ages 10be 26al and 21ne of gravels capping fluvial strath terraces located between 28 and 135 m above the goksu river in the mut basin yield ages ranging from ca 25 to 130 ka corresponding to an average incision rate of 0 52 to 0 67 mm yr published biostratigraphic data combined with new interpretations of the fossil assemblages from uplifted marine sediments reveal average uplift rates of 0 25 to 0 37 mm yr since late miocene time starting between 8 and 5 45 ma and 0 72 to 0 74 mm yr after 1 66 to 1 62 ma together with the terrace abandonment ages the data imply 0 6 to 0 7 mm yr uplift rates from 1 6 ma to the present the different post late miocene and post 1 6 ma uplift rates can imply increasing uplift rates through time or multi phased uplift with slow uplift or subsidence in between longitudinal profiles of rivers in the upper catchment of the mut and ermenek basins show no apparent lithologic or fault control on some knickpoints that occur at 1 2 to 1 5 km elevation implying a transient response to a change in uplift rates projections of graded upper relict channel segments to the modern outlet together with constraints from uplifted marine sediments show that a slower incision uplift rate of 0 1 to 0 2 mm yr preceded the 0 7 mm yr uplift rate the river morphology and profile projections therefore reflect multi phased uplift of the plateau margin rather than steadily increasing uplift rates multi phased uplift can be explained by lithospheric slab break off and possibly also the arrival of the eratosthenes seamount at the collision zone south of cyprus

updated cosmogenic chronologies of pleistocene mountain glaciation in the western united states and associated paleoclimate inferences abstract surface exposure dating with terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides tcns has become the primary method for determining numerical ages of pleistocene mountain glacial deposits and landforms in the conterminous western united states u s and in numerous other glaciated settings worldwide recent updates to models of tcn production and scaling warrant a reconsideration of published exposure ages of moraines of the last two pleistocene glaciations and associated paleoclimate inferences previously reported tcn exposure ages of moraines are recalculated here using newer production rates and scaling models for nuclides helium 3 3he beryllium 10 10be aluminum 26 26al and chlorine 36 36cl in most cases yielding significant differences from originally reported ages recalculated tcn exposure ages of moraines of the penultimate glaciation display a high degree of variability for individual landforms particularly toward the younger end of age distributions suggesting that exposure history is affected by moraine denudation and that older age modes provide the best estimate of the depositional age of these moraines oldest exposure ages of penultimate glaciation moraines are well aligned among mountain ranges across the western u s and yield a mean of 138 13 ka indicating that mountain glaciation occurred in step with global ice volume maxima during marine oxygen isotope stage 6 on average terminal moraines of the last glaciation date to 19 5 2 3 ka and correspond to the latter part of the global last glacial maximum lgm down valley recessional moraines representing prolonged glacial stabilizations or readvances to 75 of maximum lengths have a mean exposure age of 17 0 1 8 ka suggesting that these moraine positions were last occupied during heinrich stadial 1 evidence for multiple glacial culminations during the last glaciation is found in several mountain ranges and likely reflects at least two phases of late pleistocene climate an earlier phase when glaciers attained their maximum length in response to cooling during the lgm and a later phase when glaciers persisted at or readvanced to near maximum lengths in response to sustained cold temperatures and or increased precipitation

cosmic ray production rates of 10be and 26al in quartz from glacially polished rocks we have studied the concentrations of 10be and 26al in quartz crystals extracted from glacially polished granitic surfaces from the sierra nevada range these surfaces were identified with the glacial advance during the tioga period 11 000 years ago our measurements yield the most accurate estimates to date for the absolute production rates of these nuclides in sio2 due to cosmic ray nucleons and muons for geomagnetic latitudes 43 8 44 6 n and altitudes 2 1 3 6 km the estimates are relatively free from uncertainties in snow cover since we studied a suite of rock surfaces inclined 0 75 with respect to the horizontal the principal uncertainty arises due to the lack of a precise date for the glacial retreat event about 10 the 26al 10be ratio at production 6 0 is determined more accurately since the exposure age of the samples is 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the mean lives of the two nuclides production rates of 10be and 26al in quartz at other latitudes and altitudes in the troposphere can be determined from the present measurements by scaling using the known altitude and latitude dependence of cosmic ray fluxes of nucleons and negative muons knowledge of the production rates of these nuclides is a prerequisite for their application in erosion and geomorphological studies

holocene alluvial stratigraphy and response to climate change in the roaring river valley front range colorado usa abstract stratigraphic analyses and radiocarbon geochronology of alluvial deposits exposed along the roaring river colorado lead to three principal conclusions 1 the opinion that stream channels in the higher parts of the front range are relics of the pleistocene and nonalluvial under the present climate as argued in a water rights trial usa v colorado is untenable 2 beds of clast supported gravel alternate in vertical succession with beds of fine grained sediment sand mud and peat in response to centennial scale changes in snowmelt driven peak discharges and 3 alluvial strata provide information about holocene climate history that complements the history provided by cirque moraines periglacial deposits and paleontological data most alluvial strata are of late holocene age and record among other things that 1 the largest peak flows since the end of the pleistocene occurred during the late holocene 2 the occurrence of a mid to late holocene interval 2450 1630 cal yr bp of warmer climate which is not clearly identified in palynological records and 3 the little ice age climate seems to have had little impact on stream channels except perhaps for minor 1 m incision

scaling factors for production rates of in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides a critical reevaluation abstract new scaling factors are presented describing the altitude and latitudinal dependence of production rates for in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides the new factors incorporate the influence of the non dipole contributions to the geomagnetic field on the cosmic ray flux the currently used scaling factors of lal earth planet sci lett 104 1991 424 439 are based on the assumption of a dipole field the overall strategy used in deriving the new scaling factors is however very similar to that of lal and relies on the same and or similar nuclear data in this reevaluation data are only used if the effective geomagnetic parameters inclination horizontal field strength can be reconstructed for the time of measurement the absorption free pathlengths for cosmic rays selected for this study are based on observational data at altitudes relevant for exposure age dating sea level to 7000 m at sea level and latitudes between 20 and 40 the new factors are up to 18 lower and at high altitudes more than 30 higher than those of lal in addition to accounting for the influence of the effective geomagnetic field and providing more applicable estimates of the new factors also allow for correction for the significant deviations from the standard pressure altitude relationship that exist in the atmosphere 10

structural segmentation controlled the 2015 mw 7 8 gorkha earthquake rupture in nepal the ongoing collision of india with asia is partly accommodated by slip on the main himalayan thrust mht the 25 april 2015 m w 7 8 gorkha earthquake is the most recent major event to rupture the mht which dips gently northward beneath central nepal although the geology of the range has been studied for decades fundamental aspects of its deep structure remain disputed here we develop a structural cross section and a three dimensional geologically informed model of the mht that are consistent with seismic observations from the gorkha earthquake a comparison of our model to a detailed slip inversion data set shows that the slip patch closely matches an ovalshaped gently dipping fault surface bounded on all sides by steeper ramps the gorkha earthquake rupture seems to have been limited by the geometry of that fault segment this is a significant step forward in understanding the deep geometry of the mht and its effect on earthquake nucleation and propagation published models of fault locking do not correlate with the slip patch or our fault model in the vicinity of the earthquake further suggesting that fault geometry was the primary control on this event our result emphasizes the importance of adequately constraining subsurface fault geometry in megathrusts in order to better assess the sizes and locations of future earthquakes

middle pleistocene glaciation in patagonia dated by cosmogenic nuclide measurements on outwash gravels the well preserved glacial record in argentine patagonia offers a 1 ma archive of terrestrial climate extremes in southern south america these glacial deposits remain largely undated beyond the range of radiocarbon dating at ca 40 ka dating old glacial deposits several 105 a by cosmogenic surface exposure methods is problematic because of the uncertainty in moraine degradation and boulder erosion rates here we show that cobbles on outwash terraces can reliably date old glacial deposits in the lago pueyrredon valley 47 5 s argentina favorable environmental conditions e g aridity and strong winds have enabled continuous surface exposure of cobbles and preservation of outwash terraces the data demonstrate that nuclide inheritance is negligible and we therefore use the oldest surface cobbles to date the deposit 10be concentrations in outwash cobbles reveal a major glacial advance at ca 260 ka concurrent with marine isotope stage 8 mis 8 and dust peaks in antarctic ice cores a 10be concentration depth profile in the outwash terrace supports the age and suggests a low terrace erosion rate of ca 0 5 mm ka 1 we compare these data to exposure ages obtained from associated moraines and find that surface boulders underestimate the age of the glaciation by 100 ka thus the oldest boulders in this area do not date closely moraine deposition the 10be concentration in moraine cobbles help to constrain moraine degradation rates these data together with constraints from measured 26al 10be ratios suggest that all moraine boulders were likely exhumed after original deposition we determine the local last glacial maximum lgm occurred at 27 25 ka consistent with the maximum lgm in other parts of patagonia

26al and10be dating of late pleistocene and holocene fill terraces a record of fluvial deposition and incision colorado front range cosmogenic 26al 10be and 14c dating of fluvial fill terraces in steep canyons of the colorado front range provides a temporal framework for analysing episodic aggradation and incision results from boulder canyon show that terrace heights above the modern channel grade can be divided into 1 bull lake 100 ka 20 15 m above grade 2 pinedale 32 10 ka 15 4 m above grade and 3 holocene age 15 m above grade record bull lake deposition well preserved terraces of pinedale age suggest that the range of terrace height above grade reflects short term fluctuations in the river profile during periods of rapidly changing stream load and power net river incision apparently occurred during transitions to interglacial periods soil development and stratigraphic position along with limited cosmogenic and 14c dating suggest that 130 ka terraces in boulder canyon correlate with the louviers alluvium and that 32 to 10 ka fills in the canyon correlate with the broadway alluvium on the adjacent high plains late pleistocene incision rates 0 15 m ka 1 along boulder canyon exceed pre late pleistocene incision rates and are higher than middle to late pleistocene incision rates 0 04 m ka 1 on the high plains this study provides an example of how modern geochronologic techniques allow us to understand better rivers that drain glaciated catchments copyright 2002 john wiley sons ltd

disequilibrium of holocene sediment yield in glaciated british columbia it is generally supposed that specific sediment yield the quantity of sediment passing a monitored river cross section per unit area drained upstream of that section declines as the area drained increases1 3 part of the sediment mobilized from the land surface is supposed to go back into storage at field edges and on footslopes and floodplains in contrast we show here that data from british columbian rivers reveal a pattern of increasing specific sediment yield at all spatial scales up to 3 104 km2 this results from the dominance of secondary remobilization of quaternary sediments along river valleys over primary denudation of the land surface the result controverts the conventional model which has been derived from studies of small highly disturbed agricultural catch ments the rivers are still responding to the last glaciation giving a landscape relaxation time greater than 10 kyr this holds pro found implications for geomorphological theory and for studies of erosion