GY1004 TEST 

WEATHERING SOILS AND LANDFORMS 

Thursday 17 February 

BENNETT F75B 11:30 AND 12:05

See 1st year notice board

The test on Thursday is compulsory. If you miss the test for good cause (e.g. medical reasons or personal problems), you must submit either a self-certification form (available from the general office) or a medical certificate from your doctor to be eligible to sit the test at a later date. If you are absent without good cause and/or do not self-certificate or provide a medical certificate from your doctor, you will not be allowed to sit the test at a later date and you will be awarded a mark of zero.

If you do miss the test for good cause, it is your responsibility to seek an opportunity to sit the test at a later date. Failure to do so will result in a mark of zero. I will not chase students who miss the test on Monday, whatever the reason.

GY1004 Principles of Physical Geography B

Lecture 9Uplift and denudation

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

Uplift

Causes of uplift

Orogenic uplift – uplift associated with active tectonics

Eperiogenic uplift - uplift without significant folding and faulting

Measurement and estimation

Rates of orogenic uplift

Minima Alps and Himalayas 300-800 m Ma-1

(300-800 mm ka -1)

Southern Tibet 2000 m Ma-1 Himalayas , Andes 5000 m Ma-1

(2000-5000 mm ka-1)

MaximaSouthern Alps 10,000 m M a-1 New Zealand (=10,000 mm ka-1

or 10 mm a-1).

Rates of orogenic uplift

Rates of eperiogenic uplift Colorado Plateau, USA 100 m Ma-1

Deccan Plateau, India 15 m Ma-1

Florida, USA 20 mm a-1 (unsutsainable)

Europe after glaciation 100 000 mm ka-1

15,000 BP 5-10,000 mm ka-1

Current 5-20,000 mm ka-1

SummaryOrogenic uplift

Minimum rates - 300-800 m Ma-1 (Alps, Himalayas)High rates – 5,000 m Ma-1 (Southern Tibet)Maximum rates – 10,000 m Ma-1 (Southern Alps New Zealand)

 Eperiogenic uplift

Typical rates – 10-200 m Ma-1 (Deccan and Colorado Plateaus)

All averaged over several million years

Agents of erosion

Mass wasting

Water Wind Ice

Himalayas

Global fluvial denudation rates

Source Mt a-1

Total mechanical denudation 15,000

Total solute denudation 2,200

Total denudation 17,200

= 116 t km-2 a-1

= 43 mm ka-1

Excluding areas ofinternal drainage = 61 mm ka-1

Deriving rates of fluvial denudation

River sediment loads;Reservoir sedimentation;Marine sedimentation;Dating surfaces of knownerosional age.

Results are representative of progressively longer time spans

Long term rates of fluvial denudation

Minima c. 1 m M a-1

Maxima > 5000 m M a-1

These are similar to range of estimates of present day denudation rates.

Radiometric estimates for Cenozoic era (65 Ma BP) in regions of subdued relief of 30 m Ma-1 are not incompatible with a global average of 40-60 m Ma-1.

Uplift and denudation, New Zealand

How high can a mountain become?

Range Crest width Crest height

S. Alps N. Zealand 80 km 3,000 m

Himalayas 350 km 7,500 m

S. AlpsHimalayas

Summary

Denudation is the lowering of the land surface by erosional processes.

In most terrestrial environments, the action of water dominates the removal of weathered products.

Summary

The mean global denudation rate is about 61 mm per thousand years.

Mechanical denudation is by far the most important, contributing 85%

Solution contributes 15%.

Summary

Denudation rates are controlled by several factors including climate, relief, basin size, lithology and anthropogenic impacts.

Maximum rates of orogenic uplift and denudation lie between 5000 and 10,000 mm ka-1.

Rates of crustal uplift and denudation in young mountain ranges are approximately equal, reflecting the achievement of a steady state.

Learning outcomes revisited

These lectures have explored how the planetary systems of the atmosphere and lithosphere interact to determine the character and nature of the earth’s surface. It has concentrated on how tectonically created land surfaces are modified by surficial processes. Of particular concern have been the processes by which rocks at or near the earth surface are broken down into a mantle of waste called regolith (weathering), the transformation of regolith into soil (pedogenesis) and the processes which cause the erosion of the earth’s surface (denudation). We have also considered the geographical distribution of soils and landforms at the global scale.