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Climate of the Past

Harmonising plant functional type distributions for evaluating Earth system models

A simple but powerful method for the biomisation of plant functional type distributions is introduced and tested for six different dynamic global vegetation models based on pre-industrial and palaeo-simulations. The method facilitates the direct comparison between vegetation distributions simulated by different Earth system models and between model results and the pollen-based biome reconstructions. It is therefore a powerful tool for the evaluation of Earth system models.

The Cryosphere

Thaw processes in ice-rich permafrost landscapes represented with laterally coupled tiles in a land surface model

The Cryosphere
DOI 10.5194/tc-13-591-2019
18 February 2019

Many permafrost landscapes contain large amounts of excess ground ice, which gives rise to small-scale elevation differences. This results in lateral fluxes of snow, water, and heat, which we investigate and show how it can be accounted for in large-scale models. Using a novel model technique which can account for these differences, we are able to model both the current state of permafrost and how these landscapes change as permafrost thaws, in a way that could not previously be achieved.

Biogeosciences

Towards a more complete quantification of the global carbon cycle

Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-16-831-2019
14 February 2019

Globally, C is added to the atmosphere from fossil fuels and deforestation, balanced by ocean uptake and atmospheric increase. The difference (residual sink) is equated to plant uptake. But this omits cement carbonation; transport to oceans by dust; riverine organic C and volatile organics; and increased C in plastic, bitumen, wood, landfills, and lakes. Their inclusion reduces the residual sink from 3.6 to 2.1 GtC yr^-1 and thus the inferred ability of the biosphere to alter human C emissions.

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

A simple topography-driven and calibration-free runoff generation module

Supported by large-sample ecological observations, a novel, simple and topography-driven runoff generation module (HSC-MCT) was created. The HSC-MCT is calibration-free, and therefore it can be used to predict in ungauged basins, and has great potential to be generalized at the global scale. Also, it allows us to reproduce the variation of saturation areas, which has great potential to be used for broader hydrological, ecological, climatological, and biogeochemical studies.

Biogeosciences

Mineral formation induced by cable bacteria performing long-distance electron transport in marine sediments

Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-16-811-2019
13 February 2019

Multicellular cable bacteria form long filaments that can reach lengths of several centimeters. They affect the chemistry and mineralogy of their surroundings and vice versa. How the surroundings affect the cable bacteria is investigated. They show three different types of biomineral formation: (1) a polymer containing phosphorus in their cells, (2) a sheath of clay surrounding the surface of the filament and (3) the encrustation of a filament via a solid phase containing iron and phosphorus.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Evidence for a major missing source in the global chloromethane budget from stable carbon isotopes

Chloromethane is the most important natural carrier of chlorine to the stratosphere. From a newly determined carbon isotope effect of −11.2 ‰ for the tropospheric loss of CH₃Cl we derive a tropical rainforest CH₃Cl source of 670 ± 200 Gg a⁻¹, 60 % smaller than previous estimates. A revision of previous bottom-up estimates using above-ground biomass instead of rainforest area strongly supports this lower estimate. Our results suggest a large unknown tropical value of 1530 ± 200 Gg a⁻¹.

The Cryosphere

Four decades of Antarctic surface elevation changes from multi-mission satellite altimetry

We developed an approach to combine measurements of seven satellite altimetry missions over the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Our resulting monthly grids of elevation changes between 1978 and 2017 provide unprecedented details of the long-term and interannual variation. Derived mass changes agree well with contemporaneous data of surface mass balance and satellite gravimetry and show which regions were responsible for the significant accelerations of mass loss in recent years.

Solid Earth

Power spectra of random heterogeneities in the solid earth

Solid Earth
DOI 10.5194/se-10-275-2019
5 February 2019

Recent seismological observations clarified that the velocity structure of the crust and upper mantle is randomly heterogeneous. I compile reported power spectral density functions of random velocity fluctuations based on various types of measurements. Their spectral envelope is approximated by the third power of wavenumber. It is interesting to study what kinds of geophysical processes created such a power-law spectral envelope at different scales and in different geological environments.

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

Emergent stationarity in Yellow River sediment transport and the underlying shift of dominance: from streamflow to vegetation

Our study shows that there is declining coupling between sediment concentration and discharge from daily to annual scales for gauges across the Yellow River basin (YRB). Not only the coupling, but also the magnitude of sediment response to discharge variation decreases with long-term mean discharge. This emergent stationarity can be related to sediment retardation by vegetation, suggesting the shift of dominance from water to vegetation as mean annual discharge increases.

Earth Surface Dynamics

Long-term erosion of the Nepal Himalayas by bedrock landsliding: the role of monsoons, earthquakes and giant landslides

We mapped eight monsoon-related (> 100 m²) and large (> 0.1 km²) landslides in the Nepal Himalayas since 1970. Adding inventories of Holocene landslides, giant landslides (> 1 km³), and landslides from the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, we constrain the size–frequency distribution of monsoon- and earthquake-induced landslides. Both contribute ~50 % to a long-term (> 10 kyr) total erosion of ~2 mm yr^-1, matching the long-term exhumation rate. Large landslides rarer than¹⁰Be sampling time drive erosion.

Biogeosciences

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of leaves, litter, and soils of various ecosystems along an elevational and land-use gradient at Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Mount Kilimanjaro is an iconic environmental asset under serious threat due to increasing human pressures and climate change constraints. We studied variations in the stable isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen in plant, litter, and soil material sampled along a strong land-use and altitudinal gradient. Our results show that, besides management, increasing temperatures in a changing climate may promote carbon and nitrogen losses, thus altering the stability of Kilimanjaro ecosystems.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Positive matrix factorization of organic aerosol: insights from a chemical transport model

The ability of positive matrix factorization (PMF) factor analysis to identify and quantify the organic aerosol (OA) sources accurately is tested in this modeling study. The estimated uncertainty of the contribution of fresh biomass burning is less than 30 % and of the other primary sources is less than 40 %, when these sources contribute more than 20 % to the OA. Τhe first oxygenated OA factor includes mainly highly aged OA, while the second oxygenated OA factor contains fresher secondary OA.

Climate of the Past

Heinrich events show two-stage climate response in transient glacial simulations

Heinrich events are among the dominant modes of glacial climate variability. They are caused by massive ice discharges from the Laurentide Ice Sheet into the North Atlantic. In previous studies, the climate changes were either seen as resulting from freshwater released from the melt of the discharged icebergs or by ice sheet elevation changes. With a coupled ice sheet–climate model, we show that both effects are relevant with the freshwater effects preceding the ice sheet elevation effects.

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

Quantifying new water fractions and transit time distributions using ensemble hydrograph separation: theory and benchmark tests

How long does it take for raindrops to become streamflow? Here I propose a new approach to this old problem. I show how we can use time series of isotope data to measure the average fraction of same-day rainfall appearing in streamflow, even if this fraction varies greatly from rainstorm to rainstorm. I show that we can quantify how this fraction changes from small rainstorms to big ones, and from high flows to low flows, and how it changes with the lag time between rainfall and streamflow.

Biogeosciences

Global atmospheric CO2 inverse models converging on neutral tropical land exchange, but disagreeing on fossil fuel and atmospheric growth rate

We have compared global carbon budgets calculated from numerical inverse models and CO₂ observations, and evaluated how these systems reproduce vertical gradients in atmospheric CO₂ from aircraft measurements. We found that available models have converged on near-neutral tropical total fluxes for several decades, implying consistent sinks in intact tropical forests, and that assumed fossil fuel emissions and predicted atmospheric growth rates are now the dominant axes of disagreement.

Solid Earth

A multi-technology analysis of the 2017 North Korean nuclear test

Solid Earth
DOI 10.5194/se-10-59-2019
15 January 2019

On 3 September 2017 official channels of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea announced the successful test of a nuclear device. This study provides a multi-technology analysis of the 2017 North Korean event and its aftermath using a wide array of geophysical methods (seismology, infrasound, remote sensing, radionuclide monitoring, and atmospheric transport modeling). Our results clearly indicate that the September 2017 North Korean event was in fact a nuclear test.

Geoscience Communication

Demystifying academics to enhance university–business collaborations in environmental science

Worldwide there is intense interest in converting research excellence in universities into commercial success, but there has been scant attention devoted to exactly how individual scientists’ workload and incentive structures may be a key barrier to this. Our work reveals the real challenge posed by a time-constrained university culture, better describes how work with business might fit into an academic job, and gives tips on working together in anuser guidefor scientists and (re)insurers.

Climate of the Past

Indian winter and summer monsoon strength over the 4.2 ka BP event in foraminifer isotope records from the Indus River delta in the Arabian Sea

A foraminifer oxygen isotope record from the northeastern Arabian Sea was used to reconstruct winter and summer monsoon strength from 5.4 to 3.0 ka. We found a 200-year period of strengthened winter monsoon (4.5–4.3 ka) that coincides with the earliest phase of the Mature Harappan period of the Indus Civilization, followed by weakened winter and summer monsoons by 4.1 ka. Aridity spanning both rainfall seasons at 4.1 ka may help to explain some of the observed archaeological shifts.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Volatile organic compounds and ozone in Rocky Mountain National Park during FRAPPÉ

Rocky Mountain National Park experiences high ozone concentrations that can exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standard. As part of the FRAPPÉ field campaign, a suite of volatile organic compounds were measured to characterize the sources of ozone precursors that contribute to high ozone in the park. These measurements indicate emissions from the Front Range in Colorado tied to oil and gas operations, urban areas, and the stratosphere contribute to episodes of elevated ozone.

Ocean Science

Atmospheric histories, growth rates and solubilities in seawater and other natural waters of the potential transient tracers HCFC-22, HCFC-141b, HCFC-142b, HFC-134a, HFC-125, HFC-23, PFC-14 and PFC-116

Ocean Science
DOI 10.5194/os-15-33-2019
11 January 2019

Use of CFCs as oceanic transient tracers is difficult for recently ventilated water masses as their atmospheric mole fractions have been decreasing. To explore novel tracers, we synthesized consistent annual mean atmospheric histories of HCFC-22, HCFC-141b, HCFC-142b, HFC-134a, HFC-125, HFC-23, PFC-14 (CF4) and PFC-116 in both hemispheres and reconstructed their solubility functions in water and seawater. This work is also potentially useful for tracer studies in a range of natural waters.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Structural changes in the shallow and transition branch of the Brewer–Dobson circulation induced by El Niño

This paper assesses the structural changes in the shallow and transition branches of the BDC induced by El Nino using the Lagrangian model simulations driven by ERAi and JRA-55 combined with MLS observations. We found a clear evidence of a weakening of the transition branch due to an upward shift in the dissipation height of the planetary and gravity waves and a strengthening of the shallow branch due to enhanced GW breaking in the tropics–subtropics and PW breaking at high latitudes.

SOIL

Refining physical aspects of soil quality and soil health when exploring the effects of soil degradation and climate change on biomass production: an Italian case study

SOIL
DOI 10.5194/soil-5-1-2019
10 January 2019

This study is restricted to soil physical aspects of soil quality and health with the objective to define procedures with worldwide rather than only regional applicability, reflecting modern developments in soil physical research and focusing on important questions regarding possible effects of soil degradation and climate change.

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

Exploring the use of underground gravity monitoring to evaluate radar estimates of heavy rainfall

In this study, we explore the use of an underground superconducting gravimeter as a new source of in situ observations for the evaluation of radar-based precipitation estimates. The comparison of radar and gravity time series over 15 years shows that short-duration intense rainfall events cause a rapid decrease in the measured gravity. Rainfall amounts can be derived from this decrease. The gravimeter allows capture of rainfall at a much larger spatial scale than a traditional rain gauge.

Climate of the Past

The onset of neoglaciation in Iceland and the 4.2 ka event

Compositing climate proxies in sediment from seven Iceland lakes documents abrupt summer cooling between 4.5 and 4.0 ka, statistically indistinguishable from 4.2 ka. Although the decline in summer insolation was an important factor, a combination of superposed changes in ocean circulation and explosive Icelandic volcanism were likely responsible for the abrupt perturbation recorded by our proxies. Lake and catchment proxies recovered to a colder equilibrium state following the perturbation.

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques

A shape model of internally mixed soot particles derived from artificial surface tension

We developed a shape model of coated soot particles and created a dataset of their optical properties. To simulate the detailed shape properties of mixtures of soot aggregates and adhered water-soluble substances, we propose a simple model of surface tension derived from the artificial surface potential. The results of some single-scattering properties including lidar backscattering were discussed.

Earth System Dynamics

ESD Ideas: Photoelectrochemical carbon removal as negative emission technology

Current CO₂ emission rates are incompatible with the 2 °C target for global warming. Negative emission technologies are therefore an important basis for climate policy scenarios. We show that photoelectrochemical CO₂ reduction might be a viable, high-efficiency alternative to biomass-based approaches, which reduce competition for arable land. To develop them, chemical reactions have to be optimized for CO₂ removal, which deviates from energetic efficiency optimization in solar fuel applications.

Climate of the Past

What climate signal is contained in decadal- to centennial-scale isotope variations from Antarctic ice cores?

Proxy data on climate variations contain noise from many sources and, for reliable estimates, we need to determine those temporal scales at which the climate signal in the proxy record dominates the noise. We developed a method to derive timescale-dependent estimates of temperature proxy signal-to-noise ratios, which we apply and discuss in the context of Antarctic ice-core records but which in general are applicable to a large set of palaeoclimate records.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Photochemical box modelling of volcanic SO2 oxidation: isotopic constraints

Volcanic sulfur can have climatic impacts for the planet via sulfate aerosol formation, leading also to pollution events. We provide model constraints on tropospheric volcanic sulfate formation, with implications for its lifetime and impacts on regional air quality. Oxygen isotope investigations from our model suggest that in the poor tropospheric plumes of halogens, the O2/TMI sulfur oxidation pathway might significantly control sulfate production. The produced sulfate has no isotopic anomaly.

The Cryosphere

Retreat of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, over the next 100 years using various ice flow models, ice shelf melt scenarios and basal friction laws

Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, has experienced rapid grounding line retreat and mass loss in the past decades. In this study, we simulate the evolution of Thwaites Glacier over the next century using different model configurations. Overall, we estimate a 5 mm contribution to global sea level rise from Thwaites Glacier in the next 30 years. However, a 300% uncertainty is found over the next 100 years, ranging from 14 to 42 mm, depending on the model setup.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

The impact of mineral dust on cloud formation during the Saharan dust event in April 2014 over Europe

The impact of desert dust on cloud formation is investigated for a major Saharan dust event over Europe by interactive regional dust modeling. Dust particles are very efficient ice-nucleating particles promoting the formation of ice crystals in clouds. The simulations show that the observed extensive cirrus development was likely related to the above-average dust load. The interactive dust–cloud feedback in the model significantly improves the agreement with aircraft and satellite observations.

Geoscientific Model Development

ESM-SnowMIP: assessing snow models and quantifying snow-related climate feedbacks

This paper provides an overview of a coordinated international experiment to determine the strengths and weaknesses in how climate models treat snow. The models will be assessed at point locations using high-quality reference measurements and globally using satellite-derived datasets. How well climate models simulate snow-related processes is important because changing snow cover is an important part of the global climate system and provides an important freshwater resource for human use.

Climate of the Past

Hydro-climatic variability in the southwestern Indian Ocean between 6000 and 3000 years ago

The 4.2 ka eventbetween 4.2 and 3.9 ka has been widely discussed in the Northern Hemsiphere but less reported in the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we use speleothem records from Rodrigues in the southwestern Indian Ocean spanning from 6000 to 3000 years ago to investigate the regional hydro-climatic variability. Our records show no evidence for an unusual climate anomaly between 4.2 and 3.9 ka. Instead, it shows a multi-centennial drought between 3.9 and 3.5 ka.

Earth System Dynamics

Light absorption by marine cyanobacteria affects tropical climate mean state and variability

We use an Earth system model to study the effects of light absorption by marine cyanobacteria on climate. We find that cyanobacteria have a considerable cooling effect on tropical SST with implications for ocean and atmosphere circulation patterns as well as for climate variability. The results indicate the importance of considering phytoplankton light absorption in climate models, and specifically highlight the role of cyanobacteria due to their regulative effect on tropical SST and climate.

The Cryosphere

Seasonal to decadal variability in ice discharge from the Greenland Ice Sheet

We derive the first continuous record of total ice discharged from all large Greenland outlet glaciers over the 2000–2016 period, resolving a distinct pattern of seasonal variability. We compare these results to glacier retreat and meltwater runoff and find that while runoff has a limited impact on ice discharge in summer, long-term changes in discharge are highly correlated to retreat. These results help to better understand Greenland outlet glacier sensitivity over a range of timescales.

The Cryosphere

Cold-to-warm flow regime transition in snow avalanches

Snow avalanches show complicated flow behaviour, characterized by several flow regimes which coexist in one avalanche. In this work, we analyse flow regime transitions where a powder snow avalanche transforms into a plug flow avalanche by incorporating warm snow due to entrainment. Prediction of such a transition is very important for hazard mitigation, as the efficiency of protection dams are strongly dependent on the flow regime, and our results should be incorporated into avalanche models.

Annales Geophysicae

Solar wind and kinetic heliophysics

This paper originated from the lecture I gave as the Hannes Alfvén medalist at the EGU General Assembly in Vienna in spring 2018. The paper reviews various aspects of modern solar wind physics and elucidates the role Alfvén waves play in solar wind acceleration and turbulence, which prevail in the low corona and inner heliosphere. Our understanding of the solar wind has recently made considerable progress based on remote sensing, in situ measurements, kinetic simulation and fluid modeling.

Ocean Science

What can seabirds tell us about the tide?

Ocean Science
DOI 10.5194/os-14-1483-2018
29 November 2018

This paper describes a feasibility study carried out to determine if information gathered for one discipline could berepurposedto provide insight in another. Data gathered during a study of bird distribution were used to investigate whether these same data could be used to measure tidal current velocities and direction. The paper concludes that there is potential to use GPS-tagged birds asdrifters of opportunityand that interdisciplinary sharing of data can provide additional insight.

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Field survey of Typhoon Hato (2017) and a comparison with storm surge modeling in Macau

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-18-3167-2018
29 November 2018

Typhoon Hato was one of the most damaging natural disaster events in the western Pacific region in 2017. It caused the the worst flooding in Macau since its instrumental records began in 1925. We present a high-resolution survey map recording inundation depths and distances at 278 sites in Macau. We provide a series of inundation maps under different tidal and sea levels. The maps that highlight adaptive strategies are essential in order to keep up with the pace of rising sea level.

Climate of the Past

Carbon burial in deep-sea sediment and implications for oceanic inventories of carbon and alkalinity over the last glacial cycle

A data-based reconstruction of carbon-bearing deep-sea sediment shows significant changes in the global burial rate over the last glacial cycle. We calculate the impact of these deep-sea changes, as well as hypothetical changes in continental shelf burial and volcanic outgassing. Our results imply that these geological fluxes had a significant impact on ocean chemistry and the global carbon isotopic ratio, and that the natural carbon cycle was not in steady state during the Holocene.

Climate of the Past

Connecting the Greenland ice-core and U/Th timescales via cosmogenic radionuclides: testing the synchroneity of Dansgaard–Oeschger events

The last glacial period was characterized by a number of rapid climate changes seen, for example, as abrupt warmings in Greenland and changes in monsoon rainfall intensity. However, due to chronological uncertainties it is challenging to know how tightly coupled these changes were. Here we exploit cosmogenic signals caused by changes in the Sun and Earth magnetic fields to link different climate archives and improve our understanding of the dynamics of abrupt climate change.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Mesospheric bores at southern midlatitudes observed by ISS-IMAP/VISI: a first report of an undulating wave front

Spatial structures of wave disturbances in the upper atmosphere were investigated with space-borne imaging from the International Space Station. The wave disturbance occurred around an altitude of 100 km, and is called a mesospheric bore. The large-scale structure of mesospheric bores has not been fully captured by previous ground-based imagers, but the space-borne imaging captured a bore with a wide field of view, and showed that bores can have a large undulating wave front as long as 2000 km.

Biogeosciences

Distribution and cycling of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon in peatland-draining rivers and coastal waters of Sarawak, Borneo

The carbon cycle is a key control for the Earth’s climate. Every year rivers deliver a lot of organic carbon to coastal seas, but we do not know what happens to this carbon, particularly in the tropics. We show that rivers in Borneo deliver carbon from peat swamps to the sea with at most minimal biological or chemical alteration in estuaries, but sunlight can rapidly oxidise this carbon to CO₂. This means that south-east Asian seas are likely hotspots of terrestrial carbon decomposition.

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

Global phosphorus recovery from wastewater for agricultural reuse

Phosphorus (P) is important to global food security. Thus it is concerning that natural P reserves are predicted to deplete within the century. Here we explore the potential of P recovery from wastewater (WW) at global scale. We identify high production and demand sites to determine optimal market prices and trade flows. We show that 20% of the agricultural demand can be met, yet only 4 % can be met economically. Nonetheless, this recovery stimulates circular economic development in WW treatment.

Earth System Dynamics

ESD Ideas: The stochastic climate model shows that underestimated Holocene trends and variability represent two sides of the same coin

Long-term sea surface temperature trends and variability are underestimated in models compared to paleoclimate data. The idea is presented that the trends and variability are related, which is elaborated in a conceptual model framework. The temperature spectrum can be used to estimate the timescale-dependent climate sensitivity.

Climate of the Past

A 900-year New England temperature reconstruction from in situ seasonally produced branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs)

We measured biomarker production over a year in a small inland lake in the northeastern USA. Understanding biomarkers in the modern environment helps us improve reconstructions of past climate from lake sediment records. We use these results to interpret a 900-year decadally resolved temperature record from this lake. Our record highlights multi-decadal oscillations in temperature superimposed on a long-term cooling trend, providing novel insight into climate dynamics of the region.

SOIL

Spatial assessments of soil organic carbon for stakeholder decision-making – a case study from Kenya

SOIL
DOI 10.5194/soil-4-259-2018
7 November 2018

Land degradation impacts the health and livelihoods of about 1.5 billion people worldwide. The state of the environment and food security are strongly interlinked in tropical landscapes. This paper demonstrates the integration of soil organic carbon (SOC) and land health maps with socioeconomic datasets into an online, open-access platform called the Resilience Diagnostic and Decision Support Tool for Turkana County in Kenya.

Earth System Dynamics

Cascading transitions in the climate system

We introduce a framework of cascading tipping, i.e. a sequence of abrupt transitions occurring because a transition in one system affects the background conditions of another system. Using bifurcation theory, various types of these events are considered and early warning indicators are suggested. An illustration of such an event is found in a conceptual model, coupling the North Atlantic Ocean with the equatorial Pacific. This demonstrates the possibility of events such as this in nature.

Biogeosciences

Predominance of methanogens over methanotrophs in rewetted fens characterized by high methane emissions

Rewetting drained peatlands may lead to prolonged emission of the greenhouse gas methane, but the underlying factors are not well described. In this study, we found two rewetted fens with known high methane fluxes had a high ratio of microbial methane producers to methane consumers and a low abundance of methane consumers compared to pristine wetlands. We therefore suggest abundances of methane-cycling microbes as potential indicators for prolonged high methane emissions in rewetted peatlands.

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Towards risk-based flood management in highly productive paddy rice cultivation – concept development and application to the Mekong Delta

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
DOI 10.5194/nhess-18-2859-2018
5 November 2018

In this study we provide an estimation of flood damages and risks to rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta. The derived modelling concept explicitly takes plant phenomenology and timing of floods in a probabilistic modelling framework into account. This results in spatially explicit flood risk maps to rice cultivation, quantified as expected annual damage. Furthermore, the changes in flood risk of two land-use scenarios were estimated and discussed.

Solid Earth

The influence of upper-plate advance and erosion on overriding plate deformation in orogen syntaxes

Solid Earth
DOI 10.5194/se-9-1207-2018
5 November 2018

In this modeling study, we investigate rock uplift at plate corners (syntaxes). These are characterized by a unique bent geometry at subduction zones and exhibit some of the world’s highest rock uplift rates. We find that the style of deformation changes above the plate’s bent section and that active subduction is necessary to generate an isolated region of rapid uplift. Strong erosion there localizes uplift on even smaller scales, suggesting both tectonic and surface processes are important.