Collaborative Research: Linking erosional and climatic processes in regions of active mountain building

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Topography in mountainous regions is a product of the erosion and export of material across the landscape. The frequency and magnitude of erosion events occurring in these regions is controlled by the local climate. The topography of the mountain ranges, in turn, influences the climate. This suggests a coupling between atmospheric and geomorphic processes in regions of active mountain building. Observational studies of climate-topography-erosion relationships, however, have been equivocal. One potential reason for this disparity in observational results is that the modern climate, for which most studies depend on, is a poor representation of the integrated climate history over landscape. Over the timescale of mountain building, climate can vary due to orbital variations, greenhouse gas concentrations, and the development of topography. This work will develop a coupled climate-landscape evolution model framework to quantitatively investigate interactions between climate, topography, and erosion on geologic timescales. The co-evolution of climate and landscapes will be modeled at different latitudes (e.g. tropical, sub-tropical, and mid-latitude) and for different orbital configurations in order to increase our understanding of the spatial and temporal variability inherent in the coupled climate and landscape systems. This work will complement previous and ongoing empirical studies exploring the interaction of climate and topography. Quantifying the interaction between the climate and topography is relevant to a number of societal issues including the rate of sediment input to reservoirs, the terrestrial carbon cycle, and the intensity of erosion processes in agricultural and uplands systems. The role of climate in controlling erosion rates also has broader geological implications due its potential influence on tectonic processes in regions of active mountain building. Moreover, fully understanding the Earth as a system, including surface and lithospheric components, requires a quantitative framework for linking climate, erosion, and tectonics. This research will contribute towards this goal. Additionally, the proposed project will develop a deployable middle-school curriculum and interactive museum display in collaboration with the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.