TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kirby, Eric
A1  - Whipple, Kelin X.
T1  - Expression of active tectonics in erosional landscapes
JF  - Journal of structural geology
N2  - Understanding the manner and degree to which topography in active mountain ranges reflects deformation of the Earth's surface remains a first order goal of tectonic geomorphology. A substantial body of research in the past decade demonstrates that incising channel systems play a central role in setting relationships among topographic relief, differential rock uplift rate, and climatically modulated erosional efficiency. This review provides an introduction to the analysis and interpretation of channel profiles in erosional mountain ranges. We show that existing data support theoretical expectations of positive, monotonic relationships between channel steepness index, a measure of channel gradient normalized for downstream increases in drainage area, and erosion rate at equilibrium, and that the transient response to perturbations away from equilibrium engenders specific spatial patterns in channel profiles that can be used to infer aspects of the forcing. These aspects of channel behavior lay the foundation for a series of case studies that we use to illustrate how focused, quantitative analysis of channel morphology can provide insight into the spatial and temporal dynamics of active deformation. Although the complexities of river response to climate, lithology, and uplift patterns mean that multiple interpretations of topographic data alone will always possible, we show that application of stream profile analysis can be a powerful reconnaissance tool with which to interrogate the rates and patterns of deformation in active mountain belts.
KW  - Tectonic geomorphology
KW  - Active tectonics
KW  - River profiles
KW  - Neotectonics
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2012.07.009
SN  - 0191-8141
VL  - 44
SP  - 54
EP  - 75
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kirby, Eric
A1  - Harkins, Nathan
T1  - Distributed deformation around the eastern tip of the Kunlun fault
JF  - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
N2  - Whether active strain within the Indo-Asian collision zone is primarily localized along major strike-slip fault systems or is distributed throughout the intervening crust between faults remains uncertain. Despite refined estimates of slip rates along many of the major fault zones, relatively little is known about how displacement along these structures is accommodated at fault terminations. Here, we show that a systematic decrease in left-lateral slip rates along the eastern similar to 200 km of the Kunlun fault, from > 10 mm/year to < 1 mm/year, is coincident with high topography in the Anyemaqen Shan and with a broad zone of distributed shear and clockwise vorticity within the Tibetan Plateau. Geomorphic analysis of river longitudinal profiles, coupled with inventories of cosmogenic radionuclides in fluvial sediment, reveal correlated variations in fluvial relief and erosion rate across the Anyemaqen Shan that reflect ongoing differential rock uplift across the range. Our results imply that the termination of the Kunlun fault system is accommodated by a combination of distributed crustal thickening and by clockwise rotation of the eastern fault segments.
KW  - Tibetan plateau
KW  - Active tectonics
KW  - Tectonic geomorphology
KW  - Strike-slip faults
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-013-0872-x
SN  - 1437-3254
SN  - 1437-3262
VL  - 102
IS  - 7
SP  - 1759
EP  - 1772
PB  - SPRINGER
CY  - NEW YORK
ER  -