TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hippe, Kristina
A1  - Kober, Florian
A1  - Zeilinger, Gerald
A1  - Ivy-Ochs, Susan
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
A1  - Wieler, Rainer
T1  - Short and long-term denudation rates at the Altiplano margin, La Paz region, Bolivia
Y1  - 2009
UR  - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00167037
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2009.05.006
SN  - 0016-7037
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kober, Florian
A1  - Ivy-Ochs, Susan
A1  - Zeilinger, Gerald
A1  - Schlunegger, Fritz
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
A1  - Baur, Heinrich
A1  - Wieler, Rainer
T1  - Complex multiple cosmogenic nuclide concentration and histories in the arid Rio Lluta catchment, northern Chile
N2  - Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) concentrations measured in river sediments can be used to estimate catchment-wide denudation rates. By investigating multiple TCN the steadiness of sediment generation, transport and depositional processes can be tested. Measurements of Be-10, Ne-21 and Al-26 from the hyper- to semi-arid Rio Lluta catchment, northern Chile, yield average single denudation rates ranging from 12 to 75 m Myr(-1) throughout the catchment. Paired nuclide analysis reveals complex exposure histories for most of the samples and thus the single nuclide estimates do not exclusively represent catchment-wide denudation rates. The lower range of single nuclide denudation rates (12-17 m Myr(-1)), established with the noble gas Ne-21, is in accordance with palaeodenudation rates derived from Ne-21/Be-10 and Al-26/Be-10 ratio analysis. Since this denudation rate range is measured throughout the system, it is suggested that a headwater signal is transported downstream but modulated by a complex admixture of sediment that has been stored and buried at proximal hillslope or terrace deposits, which are released during high discharge events. That is best evidenced by the stable nuclide Ne-21, which preserves the nuclide concentration even during storage intervals. The catchment-wide single Ne-21 denudation rates and the palaeodenuation rates contrast with previous TCN-derived erosion rates from bedrock exposures at hillslope interfluves by being at least one order of magnitude higher, especially in the lower river course. These results support earlier studies that identified a coupling of erosional processes in the Western Cordillera contrasting with decoupled processes in the Western Escarpment and in the Coastal Cordillera.
Y1  - 2009
UR  - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%291096-9837
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/Esp.1748
SN  - 0197-9337
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kober, Florian
A1  - Zeilinger, Gerald
A1  - Ivy-Ochs, Susan
A1  - Dolati, A.
A1  - Smit, J.
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
T1  - Climatic and tectonic control on fluvial and alluvial fan sequence formation in the Central Makran Range, SE-Iran
JF  - Global and planetary change
N2  - The geomorphic evolution of the Makran Range of SE-Iran and SW-Pakistan has been controlled by the prevailing SW-Asian monsoon and Mediterranean winter rainfall climate and the surface uplift processes resulting from the Arabia-Eurasia collision. The impact of climate on Quaternary fluvial and alluvial sequence formation and their regional correlation has been little investigated due to limited age control of these sequences. Using Be-10 cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages we established a Middle to Late Pleistocene terrace chronology. Our record tentatively indicates that terrace levels were abandoned towards the transition to or during warmer/pluvial periods (interglacials and/or interstadials) back to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7, but abandoned ages show a large spread. It is hypothesized that pluvial phases correspond with times of enhanced SW-monsoons and a northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Furthermore, orbital periodidties can be deduced on frequencies related to obliquity and precession cycles. Overall, caution has to be placed in sampling and interpreting alluvial deposits, which may have complex inheritance patterns and spatially and temporarily variable catchment erosion histories and terrace-channel dynamics.
 Beside the dominant climate control on terrace formation, elevated channel steepness indices around major thrusts and numerous knickpoints indicate an additionally tectonic influence on terrace formation. Local incision rates (mean similar to 0.6-0.8 min.a(-1)) are variable in space and time but are similar to uplift rates obtained from coastal terraces and thus suggest a regional surface uplift. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW  - Cosmogenic nuclides
KW  - Monsoon
KW  - Climate
KW  - Tectonics
KW  - Terraces
KW  - Makran
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.09.003
SN  - 0921-8181
SN  - 1872-6364
VL  - 111
SP  - 133
EP  - 149
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Haghipour, Negar
A1  - Burg, Jean-Pierre
A1  - Kober, Florian
A1  - Zeilinger, Gerold
A1  - Ivy-Ochs, Susan
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
A1  - Faridi, Mohammad
T1  - Rate of crustal shortening and non-Coulomb behaviour of an active accretionary wedge - the folded fluvial terraces in Makran (SE, Iran)
JF  - Earth & planetary science letters
N2  - We surveyed fluvial terraces to decipher the Quaternary increment of crustal shortening and shortening rate in the on-shore Makran Accretionary Wedge. We focused on three major catchment basins and associated fold systems. Terrace profiles reconstructed from differential GPS measurements combined with DEM revealed two regional dominant wavelengths, about 5 km in the northern part of the study area and about 15 km to the south. These two wavelengths suggest the existence of two active decollement layers at two rooting depths. The average shortening rate due to folding is estimated at 0.8-1.2 mm/a over the last 130 ka. This accounts for 10-15% of the shortening rate (similar to 8 mm/a) given by kinematic GPS measurements between Chabahar and Bazman and 3% of the convergence between Arabia and Eurasia, across the Makran subduction zone. Despite active deformation and a relatively high shortening rate, the geophysical record shows nearly absent seismic activity in Makran. We propose that strain accumulated in folds over intermediate decollement levels within a thick, incompletely lithified sedimentary cover explains the essentially aseismic, recent tectonics in this region. The importance of folds points to imperfect Coulomb behaviour of the wedge. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW  - fluvial terraces
KW  - Be-10 dating
KW  - accretionary wedge
KW  - shortening rate
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.09.001
SN  - 0012-821X
VL  - 355
SP  - 187
EP  - 198
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kober, Florian
A1  - Zeilinger, Gerold
A1  - Hippe, Kristina
A1  - Marc, Odin
A1  - Lendzioch, Theodora
A1  - Grischott, Reto
A1  - Christl, Marcus
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
A1  - Zola, Ramiro
T1  - Tectonic and lithological controls on denudation rates in the central Bolivian Andes
JF  - Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth
N2  - The topographic signature of a mountain belt depends on the interplay of tectonic, climatic and erosional processes, whose relative importance changes over times, while quantifying these processes and their rates at specific times remains a challenge. The eastern Andes of central Bolivia offer a natural laboratory in which such interplay has been debated. Here, we investigate the Rio Grande catchment which crosses orthogonally the eastern Andes orogen from the Eastern Cordillera into the Subandean Zone, exhibiting a catchment relief of up to 5000 m. Despite an enhanced tectonic activity in the Subandes, local relief, mean and modal slopes and channel steepness indices are largely similar compared to the Eastern Cordillera and the intervening Interandean Zone. Nevertheless, a dataset of 57 new cosmogenic 10Be and 26AI catchment wide denudation rates from the Rio Grande catchment reveals up to one order of magnitude higher denudation rates in the Subandean Zone (mean 0.8 mm/yr) compared to the upstream physiographic regions. We infer that tectonic activity in the thrusting dominated Subandean belt causes higher denudation rates based on cumulative rock uplift investigations and due to the absence of a pronounced climate gradient. Furthermore, the lower rock strength of the Subandean sedimentary units correlates with mean slopes similar to the ones of the Eastern Cordillera and Interandean Zone, highlighting the fact, that lithology and rock strength can control high denudation rates at low slopes.
 Low denudation rates measured at the outlet of the Rio Grande catchment (Abapo) are interpreted to be a result of a biased cosmogenic nuclide mixing that is dominated by headwater signals from the Eastern Cordillera and the Interandean zone and limited catchment sediment connectivity in the lower river reaches. Therefore, comparisons of short- (i.e., sediment yield) and millennial denudation rates require caution when postulating tectonic and/or climatic forcing without detailed studies. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
KW  - Rio Grande
KW  - seismicity
KW  - uplift
KW  - rock strength
KW  - cosmogenic nuclides
KW  - denudation
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.06.037
SN  - 0040-1951
SN  - 1879-3266
VL  - 657
SP  - 230
EP  - 244
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hippe, Kristina
A1  - Kober, Florian
A1  - Zeilinger, Gerold
A1  - Ivy-Ochs, Susan
A1  - Maden, Colin
A1  - Wacker, Lukas
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
A1  - Wieler, Rainer
T1  - Quantifying denudation rates and sediment storage on the eastern Altiplano, Bolivia, using cosmogenic Be-10, Al-26, and in situ C-14
JF  - Geomorphology : an international journal on pure and applied geomorphology
N2  - Denudation processes and sediment transfer are investigated in a high-elevation, low-relief environment (eastern Altiplano, Bolivia) using Be-10, Al-26, and in situ C-14 analysis in fluvial sediments. Concentrations of the long-lived nuclides Be-10 and Al-26 yield consistently low catchment-wide denudation rates of similar to 3-29 mm ky(-1) (integrating over 21-194 ky), which reflect the low geomorphic gradients and the discontinuity of fluvial transport along the eastern Altiplano margin. No significant correlation is recorded between denudation rates of individual catchments and morphological basin parameters (slope, area, elevation). This is attributed to the overall little variability in morphology. The agreement between the denudation rates and published modern sediment discharge data suggests steady landscape evolution of the eastern Altiplano from the latest Pleistocene until today. While Be-10 and Al-26 provide long-term estimates on sediment production, in situ cosmogenic C-14 is used to trace short-term sediment storage. In situ C-14 concentrations are comparatively low indicating that C-14 decayed during alluvial storage over at least the past similar to 11-20 ky. We assume storage at shallow depth (2 m) and consider the influence of soil-mantled hillslopes on the in situ C-14 concentration. Our results illustrate the importance of sediment storage even over short distances and demonstrate the potential of in situ C-14 to study sediment routing and transfer times within drainage systems. However, this study also demonstrates that the long-lived Be-10 and Al-26 nuclides can provide adequate estimates on long-term denudation rates even if sediment transport is not fast but interrupted by several thousands of years of storage.
KW  - Cosmogenic nuclides
KW  - Denudation
KW  - Sediment storage
KW  - In situ C-14
KW  - Altiplano
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.07.031
SN  - 0169-555X
VL  - 179
IS  - 22
SP  - 58
EP  - 70
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sanhueza-Pino, Katia
A1  - Korup, Oliver
A1  - Hetzel, Ralf
A1  - Munack, Henry
A1  - Weidinger, Johannes T.
A1  - Dunning, Stuart A.
A1  - Ormukov, Cholponbek
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
T1  - Glacial advances constrained by Be-10 exposure dating of bedrock landslides, Kyrgyz Tien Shan
JF  - Quaternary research : an interdisciplinary journal
N2  - Numerous large landslide deposits occur in the Tien Shan, a tectonically active intraplate orogen in Central Asia. Yet their significance in Quaternary landscape evolution and natural hazard assessment remains unresolved due to the lack of "absolute" age constraints. Here we present the first Be-10 exposure ages for three prominent (>10(7) m(3)) bedrock landslides that blocked major rivers and formed lakes, two of which subsequently breached, in the northern Kyrgyz Tien Shan. Three Be-10 ages reveal that one landslide in the Alamyedin River occurred at 11-15 ka, which is consistent with two C-14 ages of gastropod shells from reworked loess capping the landslide. One large landslide in Aksu River is among the oldest documented in semi-arid continental interiors, with a Be-10 age of 63-67 ka. The Ukok River landslide deposit(s) yielded variable Be-10 ages, which may result from multiple landslides, and inheritance of Be-10. Two Be-10 ages of 8.2 and 5.9 ka suggest that one major landslide occurred in the early to mid-Holocene, followed by at least one other event between 1.5 and 0.4 ka. Judging from the regional glacial chronology, all three landslides have occurred between major regional glacial advances. Whereas Alamyedin and Ukok can be considered as postglacial in this context, Aksu is of interglacial age. None of the landslide deposits show traces of glacial erosion, hence their locations and I Be ages mark maximum extents and minimum ages of glacial advances, respectively. Using toe-to-headwall altitude ratios of 0.4-0.5, we reconstruct minimum equilibrium-line altitudes that exceed previous estimates by as much as 400 m along the moister northern fringe of the Tien Shan. Our data show that deposits from large landslides can provide valuable spatio-temporal constraints for glacial advances in landscapes where moraines and glacial deposits have low preservation potential. (C) 2011 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
KW  - Landslide
KW  - Rock avalanche
KW  - Be-10 exposure dating
KW  - Quaternary glaciations
KW  - Tien Shan
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2011.06.013
SN  - 0033-5894
VL  - 76
IS  - 3
SP  - 295
EP  - 304
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - San Diego
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bloethe, Jan H.
A1  - Munack, Henry
A1  - Korup, Oliver
A1  - Fuelling, Alexander
A1  - Garzanti, Eduardo
A1  - Resentini, Alberto
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
T1  - Late Quaternary valley infill and dissection in the Indus River, western Tibetan Plateau margin
JF  - Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal
N2  - The Indus, one of Earth's major rivers, drains large parts of the NW Himalaya and the Transhimalayan ranges that form part of the western Tibetan Plateau margin. In the western Himalayan syntaxis, where local topographic relief exceeds 7 km, the Indus has incised a steep bedrock gorge at rates of several mm yr(-1). Upstream, however, the upper Indus and its tributaries alternate between bedrock gorges and broad alluvial flats flanked by the Ladakh and Zanskar ranges. We review the late Quaternary valley history in this region with a focus on the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar Rivers, where vast alluvial terrace staircases and lake sediments record major episodes of aggradation and incision. New absolute dating of high-level fluvial terrace remnants using cosmogenic Be-10, optically and infrared stimulated luminescence (OSL, IRSL) indicates at least two phases of late Quaternary valley infilling. These phases commenced before similar to 200 ka and similar to 50-20 ka, judging from terrace treads stranded >150 m and similar to 30-40 m above modern river levels, respectively. Numerous stacks of lacustrine sediments that straddle the Indus River >200 km between the city of Leh and the confluence with the Shyok River share a distinct horizontal alignment. Constraints from IRSL samples of lacustrine sequences from the Leh-Spituk area reveal a protracted lake phase from >177 ka to 72 ka, locally accumulating >50-m thick deposits. In the absence of tectonic faulting, major lithological differences, and stream capture, we attribute the formation of this and other large lakes in the region to natural damming by large landslides, glaciers, and alluvial fans. The overall patchy landform age constraints from earlier studies can be reconciled by postulating a major deglacial control on sediment flux, valley infilling, and subsequent incision that has been modulated locally by backwater effects of natural damming. While comparison with Pleistocene monsoon proxies reveals no obvious correlation, a lateor post-glacial sediment pulse seems a more likely source of this widespread sedimentation that has partly buried the dissected bedrock topography. Overall, the long residence times of fluvial, alluvial and lacustrine deposits in the region (>500 ka) support previous studies, but remain striking given the dominantly steep slopes and deeply carved valleys that characterise this high-altitude mountain desert. Recalculated late Quaternary rates of fluvial bedrock incision in the Indus and Zanskar of 1.5 +/- 0.2 mm yr(-1) are at odds with the longevity of juxtaposed valley-fill deposits, unless a lack of decisive lateral fluvial erosion helps to preserve these late Pleistocene sedimentary archives. We conclude that alternating, similar to 10(4)-yr long, phases of massive infilling and incision have dominated the late Quaternary history of the Indus valley below the western Tibetan Plateau margin. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW  - Himalaya
KW  - Indus
KW  - Valley fills
KW  - Glaciation
KW  - Erosion
KW  - Lake sediment
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.04.011
SN  - 0277-3791
VL  - 94
SP  - 102
EP  - 119
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Munack, Henry
A1  - Korup, Oliver
A1  - Resentini, Alberto
A1  - Limonta, Mara
A1  - Garzanti, Eduardo
A1  - Bloethe, Jan H.
A1  - Scherler, Dirk
A1  - Wittmann, Hella
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
T1  - Postglacial denudation of western Tibetan Plateau margin outpaced by long-term exhumation
JF  - Geological Society of America bulletin
N2  - The Indus River, one of Asia's premier rivers, drains the western Tibetan Plateau and the Nanga Parbat syntaxis. These two areas juxtapose some of the lowest and highest topographic relief and commensurate denudation rates in the Himalaya-Tibet orogen, respectively, yet the spatial pattern of denudation rates upstream of the syntaxis remains largely unclear, as does the way in which major rivers drive headward incision into the Tibetan Plateau. We report a new inventory of Be-10-based basinwide denudation rates from 33 tributaries flanking the Indus River along a 320 km reach across the western Tibetan Plateau margin. We find that denudation rates of up to 110 mm k.y.(-1) in the Ladakh and Zanskar Ranges systematically decrease eastward to 10 mm k.y.(-1) toward the Tibetan Plateau. Independent results from bulk petrographic and heavy mineral analyses support this denudation gradient. Assuming that incision along the Indus exerts the base-level control on tributary denudation rates, our data show a systematic eastward decrease of landscape downwearing, reaching its minimum on the Tibetan Plateau. In contrast, denudation rates increase rapidly 150-200 km downstream of a distinct knick-point that marks the Tibetan Plateau margin in the Indus River longitudinal profile. We infer that any vigorous headward incision and any accompanying erosional waves into the interior of the plateau mostly concerned reaches well below this plateau margin. Moreover, reported long-term (>10(6) yr) exhumation rates from low-temperature chronometry of 0.1-0.75 mm yr(-1) consistently exceed our Be-10-derived denudation rates. With averaging time scales of 10(3)-10(4) yr for our denudation data, we report postglacial rates of downwearing in a tectonically idle landscape. To counterbalance this apparent mismatch, denudation rates must have been higher in the Quaternary during glacial-interglacial intervals.
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1130/B30979.1
SN  - 0016-7606
SN  - 1943-2674
VL  - 126
IS  - 11-12
SP  - 1580
EP  - 1594
PB  - American Institute of Physics
CY  - Boulder
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hetzel, Ralf
A1  - Tao, M. X.
A1  - Stokes, S.
A1  - Niedermann, Samuel
A1  - Ivy-Ochs, Susan
A1  - Gao, B.
A1  - Strecker, Manfred
A1  - Kubik, Peter W.
T1  - Late Pleistocene / Holocene slip rate of the Zhangye thrust (Qilian Shan, China) and implications for the active growth of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau
N2  - We derive a slip rate for a thrust at the central Qilian Shan mountain front by combining structural investigations, satellite imagery, topographic profiling, luminescence dating, and Be-10 exposure dating. The seismically active Zhangye thrust transects late Pleistocene alluvial fan deposits and forms a prominent north facing scarp. The fault consists of two segments that differ in orientation, scarp height, and age. A series of loess-covered terraces records the uplift history of the western thrust segment. Loess accumulation on all terraces started at 8.5 +/- 1.5 kyr and postdates terrace formation. Gravels from the highest terrace yielded a Be-10 exposure age of 90 +/- 11 kyr, which dates the onset of faulting. With a displacement of 55-60 m derived from fault scarp profiles, this yields a vertical slip rate of 0.64 +/- 0.08 mm yr(-1). Along the eastern thrust segment, three Be-10 ages from the uplifted alluvial fan constrain that faulting started at similar to31 +/- 5 kyr. Together with a displacement of 25-30 m this leads to a vertical faulting rate of 0.88 +/- 0.16 mm yr(-1). A dip estimate of 40degrees to 60degrees for the fault plane combined with lower and upper limits of similar to0.6 and similar to0.9 mm yr(-1) for the vertical slip rate gives minimum and maximum horizontal shortening rates of 0.4 and 1.1 mm yr(-1) across the Zhangye thrust. Our results are consistent with geologic and GPS constraints, which suggest that NNE directed shortening across the northeastern Tibetan Plateau is distributed on several active faults with a total shortening rate of 4 to 10 mm yr(-1)
Y1  - 2004
SN  - 0278-7407
ER  -