TY  - JOUR
A1  - Smith, Taylor
A1  - Bookhagen, Bodo
T1  - Climatic and biotic controls on topographic asymmetry at the global scale
T2  - Journal of geophysical research : JGR, Earth surface
N2  - Insolation differences play a primary role in controlling microclimate and vegetation cover, which together influence the development of topography. Topographic asymmetry (TA), or slope differences between terrain aspects, has been well documented in small-scale, field-based, and modeling studies. Here we combine a suite of environmental (e.g., vegetation, temperature, solar insolation) and topographic (e.g., elevation, drainage network) data to explore the driving mechanisms and markers of TA on a global scale. Using a novel empirical TA analysis method, we find that (1) steeper terrain has higher TA magnitudes, (2) globally, pole-facing terrain is on average steeper than equator-facing terrain, especially in mid-latitude, tectonically quiescent, and vegetated landscapes, and (3) high-elevation and low-temperature regions tend to have terrain steepened toward the equator. We further show that there are distinct differences in climate and vegetation cover across terrain aspects, and that TA is reflected in the size and form of fluvial drainage networks. Our work supports the argument that insolation asymmetries engender differences in local microclimates and vegetation on opposing terrain aspects, which broadly encourage the development of asymmetric topography across a range of lithologic, tectonic, geomorphic, and climatic settings.
KW  - erosion
KW  - freeze-thaw cycling
KW  - solar radiation
KW  - topographic asymmetry
KW  - topography
KW  - vegetation cover
Y1  - 2020
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/57380
SN  - 2169-9003
SN  - 2169-9011
VL  - 126
IS  - 1
PB  - American Geophysical Union
CY  - Washington
ER  -