Tectonic Geomorphology - Lectures

Lecture 1: Tectonic geomorphology -

application, field methodologies
Lecture 2: Physics of geomorphic
proceses
Lecture 3: Modeling of geomorphic
processes and coupling to tectonic models
Tectonic Geomorphology - Lectures
Lecture 1:
Concept of geomorphic markers
Methods of dating geomorphic features
Case studies of fluvial terrace analysis
 Tectonic Geomorphology
Fundamental Objectives:

Use the landscape to establish

tectonic conditions of surface uplift
and surface deformation

Use tectonic information to predict

landscape response
 Tectonic Geomorphology
Coupled system:

Tectonics -- Climate -- Landscapes

Timescales: Orogenesis

uplift youth maturity old age

rock-uplift rate: short-lived, constant
maximum
relief altitude of Davis
highest divides
altitude of main
valley floors

waxing waning
rock-uplift rate: variable
altitude of
highest divides
Penck
altitude of main
valley floors

dynamic equilibrium
rock-uplift rate: long-lived, constant
altitude of Hack
highest divides
altitude of main
valley floors

time
Figure 1.2: Classical models of tectonic forcing and landscape
responses after the theories of Davis (top), Penck (middle),
and Hack (bottom).
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
Timescales: Climate cycles Holocene
full
interglacial

full
glacial

0 1 04

one climate cycle

full
interglacial

full
glacial

0 1 05
a million years
full
interglacial

full
glacial

0 1 06
years before present
Figure 1.1: Schematic illustration of climate change scaled at
orders of magnitude (Holocene, one glacial cycle, middle-late
Pleistocene).
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
Timescales and Spatial scale of Earthquakes
characteristic earthquakes
repeated magnitude
of offset at any location

earthquake 3

earthquake 2

earthquake 1

trace of the fault

random earthquakes
variable magnitude
of offset at any location

earth- earthquake 3
quake 4 earth-
earth- quake 5
quake 2
earthquake 1

trace of the fault

Figure 1.6: Schematic illustration of characteristic earthquake
displacement versus unpredictable, random displacement.
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
Geomorphic Markers
 potential mass
movement
sea cliff
abrasion
shoreline ramp eustatic sea level
angle

wave-cut
notch ~1! slope time
Figure 2.1: Abraision platform, sea cliff, wave-cut notch, and
shoreline angle.
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
 A original shape of older reef
subaerial erosion
meters cliff face
10

Acropora
lagoon sediment 'humilis' and 'cuneata'
Maximal
0
patch sea level
reef
older reef
Favia
-1 0

-20

B
sea level 3, 4

sea level 2

sea
level 1
4 1 2 3 4
3 time
reef profiles
1 2
at times 1, 2, 3, 4.

C notches indicate
short stillstands

meters
30

time
20

10

Figure 2.2: Coral reef stratigraphy and sea level change.

Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
 1000's of years before present
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
10
-10 modern sea level

-30

-50
-70
last interglaciation
-90

-110
glacial maximum
-130

Figure 2.5: Variations in real sea level based primarily on dated

terraces on the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea.
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
 beach ridges

A
Turakirae Head
240
A A'
200

160 Pacific
elevation of Ocean
120 beach ridge 10
miles
24 m
80 22 m
16 m moder n A'
beach ridge
40 7.8 m
0.0 1.0
km 2.3 m sea
0 level

Figure 2.6: Beach ridges.

Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
Figure 2.7b: Lacustrine shorelines formed by Pleistocene Lake
Bonneville.
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
Figure 2.7b: Lacustrine shorelines formed by Pleistocene Lake
Bonneville.
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
a. present stream b. upthrown
block
down-
thrown
0 20 block
12 m meters
12 m fault
trace

present stream
beheaded
1-m beheaded
streams
contours streams

Figure 2.15: Beheaded streams.

Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
Streams offset by strike-slip fault
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
 proxy for water level:
topset topset-foreset contactforeset

bottomset

coarse medium fine

Figure 2.9: Internal bedding geometries in a simple delta.
Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
 Fluvial Terraces
a.
Fill 1 Fill 2 aggradational
terraces
Fill 3

gravel cap
on strath
degradational
terraces

b.
paired
terraces

unpaired
terraces

aggradational
terrace 1
strath terrace aggradational cut-and-fill history
terrace 2 aggradational
c. degradational
terrace 3 incision
aggradation
terraces

time

Figure 2.11: Schematic configurations of river terraces.

Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
Terraces can map uplift a. x
P2
P1
x
x
upper
terracex surface
x x
hinge graben
x x
x xx

Pattern.
x T1 xx
x x
xx
xx
8.4m amount 20
P3
x
x
x
x
x of offset
x
x x x
T1 x
x 18
x x x
x
x
x
7.7m x offset terrace 16
P4 T1
x
x x
x
x
x surface 14
x x x x x
x x x x
x
x
x
x 8.7m x
x
12
x T'0
x
x x x
x
10
x
x
9.0m x
x x
8
x
T'0
x
x x
x 6
x
x
x
x
4
T'0
x
x
x
2
x x
0
b.
?

hinge
graben

c.
20

15

10 survey points
9.7-m offset
of terrace surface

0
0 100 200 300
horizontal distance (meters)

Figure 2.13: Faulted fan surfaces of the Tien Shan.

Copyright © 2001 Douglas Burbank and Robert Anderson. This figure may be downloaded and used for
teaching purposes only. It may not be reproduced in any publication, commercial or scientific, without
permission from the publishers, Blackwell Publishing, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.
Noller & Sowers 2000
Tree-rings, varves

Ojala & Tiljander, 2003

NYTimes
Historical data

NYTimes
 RADIOCARBON
 dating the “late Quaternary”

•  Isotopes: 10C - 16C

•  Abundance 12C – 98.9 % (stable)
13C – 1.1 % (stable)
14C < 10-9 % (radioactive)

•  Decay method compared to built-up method of in-situ produced cosmogenic nuclides

 In the early days …
•  14C
production rate is constant over time
•  14C:12C ratio in biosphere, lithosphere and

hydrosphere is in equilibrium with the

atmosphere
•  Decay rate known
•  Methods
- conventional/
radiometric
(radiation produced
by decay of 14C atoms (b-)
 gas proportional counting
 liquid scintillation counting

- AMS
(measurement of the
14C atoms relative to
13C or 12C)
 Sample material
•  Characoal, wood, cellulose, plant material
(seads, leaves), animal bone & tissue
•  Carbonates (shells, ... )
•  Sediments (peat, soils, paleosoils …)
•  textiles, canvas, art works
Range of application

>300yrs - <55kyrs
 LUMINESCENCE
•  OSL – optical stimulated luminescence
•  TL – thermoluminescence

•  ESR – electron spin resonance

•  ISR – infrared stimulated luminescence
•  Physics

–  Radiation energy upon minerals by radioisotopes (235U, 238U,

232Th, 40K, 87Rb, and daughter products) within the crystal lattice, in

the surrounding or by cosmic rays (= radiation dose rate)

–  energy absorbed by minerals in lattice defects (impurities,
structural defects, …= traps)

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LA-UR-01-6064) K. Lepper

•  Principal

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LA-UR-01-6064) K. Lepper

•  Sampling

http://crustal.usgs.gov/laboratories/luminescence_dating/sampling.html
Applications of Luminescence
Deposit Age Range (years)

Glass / Volcanic Ash 10-250,000

Loess 8,000-416,000

Fluvial Modern-400,000

Colluvium / Alluvium 100-150,000

Eolian 10-70,000

Paleodischarge - A&C Horizons 3,000-190,000

 Cosmogenic
Isotope Dating
Cosmic ray
cascade
•  Primary cosmic rays  secondary
cosmic rays

•  At the top of the atmosphere:

- 87% protons
- 12% a-particles
- <1% heavier nuclei, electrons and
positrons

-  Typical energies:
MeV …~1020 eV
 Nuclear Reactions
•  Spallation
–  Neutrons and protons sputtered off

•  Thermal neutron capture

–  Neutrons slowed down in the nuclear cascade to thermal energies and
capture by nuclei with larger cross-sections

•  Negative/slow muon capture and fast muon

reactions
–  Reaction at greater depth due to higher attenuation length
 3He
Nuclide-Mineral-systematics
- every mineral (Px, Amp, Ol, not in quartz!!!)
10Be, 21Ne – quartz, Fsp, Px, Amp, Ol

14C, 26Al – quartz

36Cl – mafic minerals, carbonates, (35Cl in quartz)

radionuclides
noble gases

Ivy-Ochs & Schaller, in press

 Spatial variation of CR-production
 applies to radiocarbon too !!!

•  Flux and energy spectrum of cosmic rays

modulated by
–  geomagnetic field (strength and dipole field)
–  absorption by atmosphere (attenuation)
–  solar influence

 time dependent production

Scaling for latitude and altitude

Niedermann, 2002
Topographic shielding - Effects of dip-angle, shielding
and form

Other shielding: snow, soil/regolith, vegetation

Shielding – from DEM analysis
Relative production rates with depth (1)

Heisinger & Nolte, 2002

 Sampling
•  Boulders
•  Bedrock
•  Catchments
•  Caves
•  …
River Incision
River Incision
 Tectonic activity

Dating of incremental slips by normal faults

Benedetti et al., GRL, 2006

Tectonic activity

Dating offsets on thrust faults

Hetzel et al., 2002

Tectonic activity

Dating offsets on thrust faults

Hetzel et al., 2002

 Burial dating

Siebenhengste-Cave-System

Häuselmann et al., 2007

Abrupt
glacial
valley
incision
 Catchment wide denudation rates

Granger, 2006
Catchment wide denudation rates

TCN – basin wide denudation rates

- spatially averaged denudation rates
- integrating over a favorable timescale of 103 to 105 yrs
- using long-lived TCN (Al, Be)  long-term averaged
denudation rates (comparison to short- and other long-term rates)
- potentially to solve between physical and chemical denudation
- identifying driving forces/correlation patterns
Granger et al. 1996

- multiple TCN
- sediment yield
- volume calculations
Catchment wide denudation rates
Catchment wide denudation rates
•  = the “detrital record”
after Von Blanckenburg, 2005
Assumptions and conditions
1.) Denudation in the catchment is uniform over time
 isotopic steady-state
2.) Each eroding area of the catchment must
contribute quarks to the mixed sediment sample in
proportion to its erosion rate
3.) Contributing rock types contain similar grain size
distributions, and the grain sizes released do not
depend on the erosion processes in
operation
4.) Quartz is not enriched on its way to the surface
by preferential dissolution of other
minerals
5.) Sediment storage in a catchment is minimal, such
that the time scale for denudation on hillslopes is
much longer than sediment transfer time scales.
6.) The denudational time scale is smaller than the
time scale for radioactive decay
Erosion rates in the Alps from Cosmogenic Nuclides

Champagnac et al., 2009

Pazzaglia and Brandon, AJS, 2001
strath
 Terrace Fill

Strath

Bedrock
 Terrace Fill
Strath
Bedrock
Pazzaglia and Brandon, AJS, 2001
Pazzaglia and Brandon, AJS, 2001
Cobble Weathering Rind
Pazzaglia and Brandon, AJS, 2001
Pazzaglia and Brandon, AJS, 2001
Pazzaglia and Brandon, AJS, 2001
Lave and Avouac, 2000.
Bagmati Transect
 TOPOGRAPHY
Alpine subduction

Alps
Apennines
subduction

Apennines

Carminati et al., 2004

More than 100 km of continental crust has been
subducted/accreted.

This produces a high rate of orogen accretion and growth

 Present N-Apennines accretionary prism
Late Pleistocene-Active 5 Late Pleistocene-Active 5
Early Pleistocene 4
Late Pliocene 3
Mid-Pliocene 2

Early Pliocene 1

5 km
Po Basin - seismics after Pieri, 1983
 Bedrock streams and strath terraces

Fiume Reno