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DOI | 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116196 |
Glacial erosion promotes high mountains on thin crust | |
Robl J.; Hergarten S.; Prasicek G. | |
发表日期 | 2020 |
ISSN | 0012821X |
卷号 | 538 |
英文摘要 | Every mountain range on Earth is unique in its tectonic evolution, but Quaternary climate cooling resulted in alpine landscapes with globally similar landforms such as horn-shaped peaks, cirques and overdeepened valleys. On a global scale, the impact of glacial and periglacial processes on the geometry of mountain ranges and the relative efficiency of glacial and fluvial erosion are still discussed. To address these issues, we analyse a novel, worldwide dataset of more than 16,000 mountain peaks. We relate peak height and steepness to mean elevation and crustal thickness. We show that the geometry of mountain ranges systematically varies with latitude and thus with climate. For peaks of similar height, the steepness increases towards high latitudes, while mean elevation and thickness of the supporting crust decrease. Modelling flexural isostasy based on the topographic load of mountain ranges demonstrates that the crustal thickness required to support peaks of similar height dramatically declines with intensity of glacial erosion. In concert with latitudinal trends in peak steepness, mean elevation and crustal thickness, this shows that Quaternary climate cooling reduces the topographic load by transforming the geometry of mountain landscapes from fluvial to glacial conditions. We conclude that the prevalence of glacial erosion in cold climate reduces the topographic load of mountain ranges and enables the growth of high mountain peaks even on moderately over-thickened crust. © 2020 Elsevier B.V. |
关键词 | crustal thicknessflexural isostasyglacial erosionmountain peaksquaternary climate coolingtopographic load |
英文关键词 | Earth (planet); Erosion; Geodesy; Geometry; Glacial geology; Structural geology; Crustal thickness; flexural isostasy; Glacial erosion; Mountain peaks; Quaternary climate; Landforms; cooling; crustal thickening; crustal thickness; flexure; glacial erosion; glacial landform; isostasy; mountain region; paleoclimate; Quaternary; tectonic evolution |
语种 | 英语 |
来源期刊 | Earth and Planetary Science Letters |
文献类型 | 期刊论文 |
条目标识符 | http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/202864 |
作者单位 | Department of Geography and Geology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria; Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences - Geology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Department of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Robl J.,Hergarten S.,Prasicek G.. Glacial erosion promotes high mountains on thin crust[J],2020,538. |
APA | Robl J.,Hergarten S.,&Prasicek G..(2020).Glacial erosion promotes high mountains on thin crust.Earth and Planetary Science Letters,538. |
MLA | Robl J.,et al."Glacial erosion promotes high mountains on thin crust".Earth and Planetary Science Letters 538(2020). |
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