Climate-Driven Bedrock Incision in an Active Mountain Belt

Measurements of fluvial bedrock incision were made with submillimeter precision in the East Central Range of Taiwan, where long-term exhumation rates and precipitation-driven river discharge are independently known. They indicate that valley lowering is driven by relatively frequent flows of moderat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2002-09, Vol.297 (5589), p.2036-2038
Main Authors: Hartshorn, Karen, Hovius, Niels, Dade, W. Brian, Slingerland, Rudy L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abrasion
Bedrock
Climate
Dry seasons
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Erosion
Erosion (Geology)
Exact sciences and technology
Floods
Freshwater
Geology
Geometry
Geomorphology, landform evolution
Mountains
Observations
Physics
Plate tectonics
Quartzite
Rainy seasons
Schist
Sediments
Statistical median
Surficial geology
Taiwan
Topography
Water
Watersheds
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Summary:Measurements of fluvial bedrock incision were made with submillimeter precision in the East Central Range of Taiwan, where long-term exhumation rates and precipitation-driven river discharge are independently known. They indicate that valley lowering is driven by relatively frequent flows of moderate intensity, abrasion by suspended sediment is an important fluvial wear process, and channel bed geometry and the presence of widely spaced planes of weakness in the rock mass influence erosion rate and style.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1075078