US-Brazil Cooperative Research on The Cause of Erosion and Deposition Cycles in Humid Landscapes: An Integrated Study of Process and Stratigraphy in Southeastern Brazil

该奖项支持加州大学伯克利分校的威廉·迪特里希和巴西里约热内卢联邦大学的安娜·科埃略·内托在地层学方面进行的合作研究。他们将调查巴西东南部山坡和河谷的侵蚀和沉积循环的原因。寻求对这些特征的机械解释，是因为这些是晚更新世和全新世气候变化的证据的解释是基于对侵蚀和径流过程的不充分的年代学控制和有限的理解。在拟议的工作中，研究人员将测定足够数量的地层，以确定区域范围广泛的堆积层是否足够同步，以提供气候解释。这两个小组在这个问题上独立工作了十多年。每个小组发展的不同技能和洞察力将补充另一个小组的技能和见解，并有助于进一步了解景观中侵蚀循环的原因。迪特里希在加利福尼亚州的堆积洞和山体滑坡方面的工作对地貌学做出了巨大贡献，而研究巴西景观的机会将加强这项工作。除了对基础研究的意义外，还对减轻灾害(山体滑坡)有重要影响。

This award supports cooperative research in stratigraphy to be carried on by William Dietrich of the University of California at Berkeley and Ana Coelho Netto of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They will investigate the cause of erosion and deposition cycles on hillsides and river valleys in southeastern Brazil. A mechanistic explanation for these features is sought because the interpretation that these are evidence of climatic variation of late Pleistocene and Holocene climates is based on inadequate chronologic controls and limited understanding of erosion and runoff processes. In the proposed work the investigators will date a sufficient number of layers to determine whether the regionally extensive colluvial layers are synchronous enough to provide a climatic interpretation. These two groups have been working independently on this problem for over ten years. The different skills and insights developed by each group will complement those of the other and lead to further understanding of the cause of erosion cycles in landscapes. Dietrich's work on colluvial hollows and landslides in California have contributed greatly to geomorphology and the opportunity to study the Brazilian landscape will augment this work. In addition to the significance to basic research, there are important implications for hazard (landslides) mitigation.