TY - JOUR A1 - Landgraf, Angela A1 - Dzhumabaeva, A. A1 - Abdrakhmatov, Kanatbek E. A1 - Strecker, Manfred A1 - Macaulay, E. A. A1 - Arrowsmith, J. Ramón A1 - Sudhaus, Henriette A1 - Preusser, F. A1 - Rugel, Georg A1 - Merchel, Silke T1 - Repeated large-magnitude earthquakes in a tectonically active, low-strain continental interior: The northern Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan JF - Journal of geophysical research : Solid earth N2 - The northern Tien Shan of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan has been affected by a series of major earthquakes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To assess the significance of such a pulse of strain release in a continental interior, it is important to analyze and quantify strain release over multiple time scales. We have undertaken paleoseismological investigations at two geomorphically distinct sites (Panfilovkoe and Rot Front) near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. Although located near the historic epicenters, both sites were not affected by these earthquakes. Trenching was accompanied by dating stratigraphy and offset surfaces using luminescence, radiocarbon, and Be-10 terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide methods. At Rot Front, trenching of a small scarp did not reveal evidence for surface rupture during the last 5000 years. The scarp rather resembles an extensive debris-flow lobe. At Panfilovkoe, we estimate a Late Pleistocene minimum slip rate of 0.2 +/- 0.1 mm/a, averaged over at least two, probably three earthquake cycles. Dip-slip reverse motion along segmented, moderately steep faults resulted in hanging wall collapse scarps during different events. The most recent earthquake occurred around 3.6 +/- 1.3 kyr ago (1 sigma), with dip-slip offsets between 1.2 and 1.4 m. We calculate a probabilistic paleomagnitude to be between 6.7 and 7.2, which is in agreement with regional data from the Kyrgyz range. The morphotectonic signals in the northern Tien Shan are a prime example of deformation in a tectonically active intracontinental mountain belt and as such can help understand the longer-term coevolution of topography and seismogenic processes in similar structural settings worldwide. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JB012714 SN - 2169-9313 SN - 2169-9356 VL - 121 SP - 3888 EP - 3910 PB - American Geophysical Union CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Luna, Lisa Victoria A1 - Bookhagen, Bodo A1 - Niedermann, Samuel A1 - Rugel, Georg A1 - Scharf, Andreas A1 - Merchel, Silke T1 - Glacial chronology and production rate cross-calibration of five cosmogenic nuclide and mineral systems from the southern Central Andean Plateau JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - Glacial deposits on the high-altitude, arid southern Central Andean Plateau (CAP), the Puna in northwestern Argentina, document past changes in climate, but the associated geomorphic features have rarely been directly dated. This study provides direct age control of glacial moraine deposits from the central Puna (24 degrees S) at elevations of 3900-5000 m through surface exposure dating with cosmogenic nuclides. Our results show that the most extensive glaciations occurred before 95 ka and an additional major advance occurred between 46 and 39 ka. The latter period is synchronous with the highest lake levels in the nearby Pozuelos basin and the Minchin (Inca Huasi) wet phase on the Altiplano in the northern CAP. None of the dated moraines produced boulder ages corresponding to the Tauca wet phase (24-15 ka). Additionally, the volcanic lithologies of the deposits allow us to establish production ratios at low latitude and high elevation for five different nuclide and mineral systems: Be-10, Ne-21, and Al-26 from quartz (11 or 12 samples) and He-3 and Ne-21 from pyroxene (10 samples). We present production ratios for all combinations of the measured nuclides and cross-calibrated production rates for 21Ne in pyroxene and quartz for the high, (sub-)tropical Andes. The production rates are based on our Be-10-normalized production ratios and a weighted mean of reference 10Be production rates calibrated in the high, tropical Andes (4.02 +/- 0.12 at g(-1) yr(-1)). These are, Ne-21(qtz): 18.1 +/- 1.2 at g(-1) yr(-1) and Ne-21(px): 36.6 +/- 1.8 at g(-1) yr(-1) (En(88-94)) scaled to sea level and high latitude using the Lal/Stone scheme, with 1 sigma uncertainties. As He-3 and Al-26 have been directly calibrated in the tropical Andes, we recommend using those rates. Finally, we compare exposure ages calculated using all measured cosmogenic nuclides from each sample, including 11 feldspar samples measured for Cl-36, and a suite of previously published production rates. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. KW - cosmogenic nuclides KW - production rate KW - cross-calibration KW - South American Monsoon KW - Quaternary climate change KW - moraine Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.034 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 500 SP - 242 EP - 253 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rosenwinkel, Swenja A1 - Landgraf, Angela A1 - Schwanghart, Wolfgang A1 - Volkmer, Friedrich A1 - Dzhumabaeva, Atyrgul A1 - Merchel, Silke A1 - Rugel, Georg A1 - Preusser, Frank A1 - Korup, Oliver T1 - Late Pleistocene outburst floods from Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan? JF - Earth surface processes and landforms : the journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group KW - outburst flood KW - lake-level changes KW - Issyk Kul KW - Kyrgyzstan KW - cosmogenic nuclides Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4109 SN - 0197-9337 SN - 1096-9837 VL - 42 SP - 1535 EP - 1548 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwanghart, Wolfgang A1 - Bernhardt, Anne A1 - Stolle, Amelie A1 - Hoelzmann, Philipp A1 - Adhikari, Basanta R. A1 - Andermann, Christoff A1 - Tofelde, Stefanie A1 - Merchel, Silke A1 - Rugel, Georg A1 - Fort, Monique A1 - Korup, Oliver T1 - Repeated catastrophic valley infill following medieval earthquakes in the Nepal Himalaya JF - Science N2 - Geomorphic footprints of past large Himalayan earthquakes are elusive, although they are urgently needed for gauging and predicting recovery times of seismically perturbed mountain landscapes. We present evidence of catastrophic valley infill following at least three medieval earthquakes in the Nepal Himalaya. Radiocarbon dates from peat beds, plant macrofossils, and humic silts in fine-grained tributary sediments near Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city, match the timing of nearby M > 8 earthquakes in ~1100, 1255, and 1344 C.E. The upstream dip of tributary valley fills and x-ray fluorescence spectrometry of their provenance rule out local sources. Instead, geomorphic and sedimentary evidence is consistent with catastrophic fluvial aggradation and debris flows that had plugged several tributaries with tens of meters of calcareous sediment from a Higher Himalayan source >60 kilometers away. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac9865 SN - 0036-8075 SN - 1095-9203 VL - 351 SP - 147 EP - 150 PB - American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stolle, Amelie A1 - Schwanghart, Wolfgang A1 - Andermann, Christoff A1 - Bernhardt, Anne A1 - Fort, Monique A1 - Jansen, John D. A1 - Wittmann, Hella A1 - Merchel, Silke A1 - Rugel, Georg A1 - Adhikari, Basanta Raj A1 - Korup, Oliver T1 - Protracted river response to medieval earthquakes JF - Earth surface processes and landforms : the journal of the British Geomorphological Research Group N2 - Mountain rivers respond to strong earthquakes by rapidly aggrading to accommodate excess sediment delivered by co-seismic landslides. Detailed sediment budgets indicate that rivers need several years to decades to recover from seismic disturbances, depending on how recovery is defined. We examine three principal proxies of river recovery after earthquake-induced sediment pulses around Pokhara, Nepal's second largest city. Freshly exhumed cohorts of floodplain trees in growth position indicate rapid and pulsed sedimentation that formed a fan covering 150 km2 in a Lesser Himalayan basin with tens of metres of debris between the 11th and 15th centuries AD. Radiocarbon dates of buried trees are consistent with those of nearby valley deposits linked to major medieval earthquakes, such that we can estimate average rates of re-incision since. We combine high-resolution digital elevation data, geodetic field surveys, aerial photos, and dated tree trunks to reconstruct geomorphic marker surfaces. The volumes of sediment relative to these surfaces require average net sediment yields of up to 4200 t km–2 yr–1 for the 650 years since the last inferred earthquake-triggered sediment pulse. The lithological composition of channel bedload differs from that of local bedrock, confirming that rivers are still mostly evacuating medieval valley fills, locally incising at rates of up to 0.2 m yr–1. Pronounced knickpoints and epigenetic gorges at tributary junctions further illustrate the protracted fluvial response; only the distal portions of the earthquake-derived sediment wedges have been cut to near their base. Our results challenge the notion that mountain rivers recover speedily from earthquakes within years to decades. The valley fills around Pokhara show that even highly erosive Himalayan rivers may need more than several centuries to adjust to catastrophic perturbations. Our results motivate some rethinking of post-seismic hazard appraisals and infrastructural planning in active mountain regions. KW - fluvial response KW - sediment yield KW - earthquakes KW - Nepal KW - Himalaya Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4517 SN - 0197-9337 SN - 1096-9837 VL - 44 IS - 1 SP - 331 EP - 341 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER -