Rate of fluvial incision in the Central Alps constrained through joint inversion of detrital 10Be and thermochronometric data

Abstract:

Catchment-wide cosmogenic nuclide concentration (CNCs) measurements of erosion rates have revolutionized the interpretation of processes responsible for generating mountainous landscapes. However, surface processes can vary within a single catchment, leading to spatial and temporal variations in erosion rates. This is particularly apparent for landscapes that have transient topographic features due to changes in tectonics or inherited glacial topography. Detrital thermochronometry provides a means to assess where modern sediment is derived as a function of elevation, and constrains the relative erosion rates across a catchment. To solve the corresponding inverse problem, we build on the Bayesian interpretation of probability of observing a detrital age (Avdeev et al., 2011) and use a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to sample both the parameter space and also the model complexity. Rivers within the Codera watershed of the Bergell Intrusion (Central European Alps) have incised into a glacial valley. We integrate constraints from detrital apatite fission track ages and detrital ¹⁰Be concentrations to interrogate the primary erosion processes shaping this Alpine landscape and constrain rates of erosion across the catchment. We find that modern erosion rates within most downstream portions of the landscape are too low to permit the inferred ∼500 m of incision during the most recent interglacial. Based on the spatial pattern of modern erosion rates, we predict that if the incised fluvial valley was formed solely during interglacial periods, incision is likely to have initiated almost 400,000 years BP. We explore the potential for this type of analysis to study inaccessible landscapes currently covered by ice.

Avdeev, B., Niemi, N.A., Clark, M.K., 2011. Doing more with less: Bayesian estimation of erosion models with detrital thermochronometric data. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 305 (3), 385–395.