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Denudation, sediment transport and landscape evolution over deforming crustal templates

English title Denudation, sediment transport and landscape evolution over deforming crustal templates
Applicant Willett Sean D.
Number 113255
Funding scheme Project funding
Research institution Geologisches Institut ETH Zürich
Institution of higher education ETH Zurich - ETHZ
Main discipline Geology
Start/End 01.10.2006 - 31.08.2007
Approved amount 48'951.00
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Keywords (11)

Thermochronology; faults; denudation; Erosion; Sediment transport; Active tectonics; Alluvial fans; Debris flows; tectonics; faulting; landscape evolution

Lay Summary (English)

Lead
Lay summary
This project has investigated the the evolution of landscape and sediment transfer in tectonically active regions, with specific attention to the tilted fault blocks of extensional terranes, such as the Basin and Range Province of the western USA. We have focused on the patterns of denudation in extensional fault footwalls using low-temperature thermochronology. Initial estimates of the timing of footwall denudation have now been confirmed by further apatite fission-track (AFT) and (U-Th)/He analyses, the first data to systematically assess dendudation as a function of fault displacement. The results show that denudation decreases predictably from the center of the footwall to the tips, and that relay zones (where fault slip is distributed among several strands) are sites of very low long-term erosion rates. Cooling rates and peak paleo-temperatures also vary systematically along strike, so that the thermochronological data can be used to constrain the magnitude of fault displacement along the fault array.
Direct link to Lay Summary Last update: 21.02.2013

Responsible applicant and co-applicants

Employees

Name Institute
Krugh William

Associated projects

Number Title Start Funding scheme
117334 High-pressure rig for the measurement of seismic attenuation 01.07.2007 R'EQUIP
105225 Denudation, sediment transport and landscape evolution over deforming crustal templates 01.11.2004 Project funding

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