In:
Earth Surface Dynamics, Copernicus GmbH, Vol. 7, No. 2 ( 2019-05-23), p. 459-473
Abstract:
Abstract. Worldwide erosion rates seem to have increased strongly since the beginning
of the Quaternary, but there is still discussion about the role of glaciation
as a potential driver and even whether the increase is real at all or an
artifact due to losses in the long-term sedimentary record. In this study we
derive estimates of average erosion rates on the timescale of some tens of
millions of years from the terrestrial impact crater inventory. This approach
is completely independent from all other methods to infer erosion rates such
as river loads, preserved sediments, cosmogenic nuclides, and
thermochronometry. Our approach yields average erosion rates as a function of
present-day topography and climate. The results confirm that topography
accounts for the main part of the huge variation in erosion on Earth, but
also identifies a significant systematic dependence on climate in contrast to
several previous studies. We found a 5-fold increase in erosional efficacy
from the cold regimes to the tropical zone and that temperate and arid
climates are very similar in this context. Combining our results
into a worldwide mean erosion rate,
we found that erosion rates on the timescale of some tens of millions of
years are at least as high as present-day rates and suggest that glaciation
has a rather regional effect with a limited impact at the continental scale.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2196-632X
DOI:
10.5194/esurf-7-459-2019
DOI:
10.5194/esurf-7-459-2019-supplement
Language:
English
Publisher:
Copernicus GmbH
Publication Date:
2019
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2736054-4
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