Articles | Volume 4, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-435-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-435-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Cosmogenic nuclide and solute flux data from central Cuban rivers emphasize the importance of both physical and chemical mass loss from tropical landscapes
Mae Kate Campbell
Department of Geology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405,
USA
Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Paul R. Bierman
Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources, the
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Department of Geosciences, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074, USA
Rita Sibello Hernández
Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos, Departamento de Estudio de la Contaminación Ambiental. AP 5, 59350, Ciudad Nuclear, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Alejandro García-Moya
Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos, Departamento de Estudio de la Contaminación Ambiental. AP 5, 59350, Ciudad Nuclear, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Lee B. Corbett
Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources, the
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Alan J. Hidy
Atmospheric, Earth, and Energy Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Héctor Cartas Águila
Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos, Departamento de Estudio de la Contaminación Ambiental. AP 5, 59350, Ciudad Nuclear, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Aniel Guillén Arruebarrena
Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos, Departamento de Estudio de la Contaminación Ambiental. AP 5, 59350, Ciudad Nuclear, Cienfuegos, Cuba
Greg Balco
Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
David Dethier
Department of Geosciences, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
Marc Caffee
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Catherine M. Collins, Nicolas Perdrial, Pierre-Henri Blard, Nynke Keulen, William C. Mahaney, Halley Mastro, Juliana Souza, Donna M. Rizzo, Yves Marrocchi, Paul C. Knutz, and Paul R. Bierman
Clim. Past, 21, 1359–1381, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1359-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1359-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Camp Century subglacial core stores information about past climates and glacial and interglacial processes in northwestern Greenland. In this study, we investigated the core archive, making large-scale observations using computed tomography (CT) scans and micron-scale observations observing physical and chemical characteristics of individual grains. We find evidence of past ice-free conditions, weathering processes during warmer periods, and past glaciations.
Greg Balco
Geochronology, 7, 247–253, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-247-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-247-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes measurements of cosmogenic neon-21 concentrations in a widely distributed mineral standard material that is routinely used for quality control and interlaboratory comparison for measurements of other cosmic-ray-produced nuclides useful for various geochronology applications. Broadly, this facilitates improvement of precision and accuracy of these measurements and their applications in geochronology.
Christopher T. Halsted, Paul R. Bierman, Alexandru T. Codilean, Lee B. Corbett, and Marc W. Caffee
Geochronology, 7, 213–228, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-213-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-213-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Sediment generation on hillslopes and transport through river networks are complex processes that influence landscape evolution. In this study, we compiled sand from 766 river basins and measured its subtle radioactivity to unravel timelines of sediment routing around the world. With these data, we empirically confirm that sediment from large lowland basins in tectonically stable regions typically experiences long periods of burial, while sediment moves rapidly through small upland basins.
Marie Bergelin, Greg Balco, and Richard A. Ketcham
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3033, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3033, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a faster and simpler way to measure helium gas in rocks to determine how long they have been exposed at Earth's surface. Instead of separating minerals within the rocks by hand, our method uses heat to release gas from specific minerals. This reduces time, cost, and physical work, making it easier to collect large amounts of data when studying landscape change or when only small rock samples are available.
Anna Ruth W. Halberstadt and Greg Balco
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2008, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2008, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a new framework for testing how well computer models of the Antarctic ice sheet match geological measurements of past ice thinning. By using more data and higher-spatial-resolution modeling, we improve how well models capture complex regions. Our approach also makes it easier to include new data as they become available. We describe multiple metrics for comparing models and data. This can help scientists better understand how the ice sheet changed in the past.
Richard A. Becker, Aaron M. Barth, Shaun A. Marcott, Basil Tikoff, and Marc W. Caffee
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1370, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1370, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We report 31 new 10Be and 26 recalculated 36Cl dates from the Sierra Nevada Mountains (USA) and conclude that deglaciation’s final and rapid phase began at 16.4 ± 0.8 ka. In comparing this timing with high-resolution regional paleoclimate proxies, we interpret that rapid deglaciation most likely began at 16.20 ± 0.13 ka, which is indistinguishable in timing from Heinrich Event 1. We interpret that the range’s deglaciation was likely driven by a reunification of the polar jet stream at this time.
Marie Bergelin, Andrew Gorin, Greg Balco, and William Cassata
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-928, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-928, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Helium gas accumulates over time in minerals, but loss can occur depending on temperature. If partially retained, its loss can potentially be used for determining past surface temperatures. This study uses a model that accounts for complex gas loss to analyze helium retention in two minerals commonly found on the surface of Antarctica. We find one of the minerals retains helium while the other loses nearly all of the gas within hundred years, making it unsuitable as a climate reconstruction.
Joanne S. Johnson, John Woodward, Ian Nesbitt, Kate Winter, Seth Campbell, Keir A. Nichols, Ryan A. Venturelli, Scott Braddock, Brent M. Goehring, Brenda Hall, Dylan H. Rood, and Greg Balco
The Cryosphere, 19, 303–324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-303-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-303-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Determining where and when the Antarctic ice sheet was smaller than present requires recovery and exposure dating of subglacial bedrock. Here we use ice sheet model outputs and field data (geological and glaciological observations, bedrock samples, and ground-penetrating radar) to assess the suitability for subglacial drilling of sites in the Hudson Mountains, West Antarctica. We find that no sites are perfect, but two are feasible, with the most suitable being Winkie Nunatak (74.86°S, 99.77°W).
Gordon R. M. Bromley, Greg Balco, Margaret S. Jackson, Allie Balter-Kennedy, and Holly Thomas
Clim. Past, 21, 145–160, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-145-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-145-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We constructed a geologic record of East Antarctic Ice Sheet thickness from deposits at Otway Massif to directly assess how Earth's largest ice sheet responds to warmer-than-present climate. Our record confirms the long-term dominance of a cold polar climate but lacks a clear ice sheet response to the mid-Pliocene Warm Period, a common analogue for the future. Instead, an absence of moraines from the late Miocene–early Pliocene suggests the ice sheet was less extensive than present at that time.
Joseph P. Tulenko, Greg Balco, Michael A. Clynne, and L. J. Patrick Muffler
Geochronology, 6, 639–652, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-639-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-639-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating is an exceptional tool for reconstructing glacier histories, but reconstructions based on common target nuclides (e.g., 10Be) can be costly and time-consuming to generate. Here, we present a cost-effective proof-of-concept 21Ne exposure age chronology from Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA, USA, that broadly agrees with nearby 10Be chronologies but at lower precision.
Bradley W. Goodfellow, Marc W. Caffee, Greg Chmiel, Ruben Fritzon, Alasdair Skelton, and Arjen P. Stroeven
Solid Earth, 15, 1343–1363, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1343-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-1343-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Reconstructions of past earthquakes are useful to assess earthquake hazard risk. We assess a limestone scarp exposed by earthquakes along the Sparta Fault, Greece, using 36Cl and rare-earth elements and yttrium (REE-Y). Our analyses indicate an increase in the average scarp slip rate from 0.8–0.9 mm yr-1 at 6.5–7.7 kyr ago to 1.1–1.2 mm yr-1 up to the devastating 464 BCE earthquake. REE-Y indicate clays in the fault scarp; their potential use in palaeoseismicity would benefit from further study.
Greg Balco, Andrew J. Conant, Dallas D. Reilly, Dallin Barton, Chelsea D. Willett, and Brett H. Isselhardt
Geochronology, 6, 571–584, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-571-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-571-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes how krypton isotopes produced by nuclear fission can be used to determine the age of microscopic particles of used nuclear fuel. This is potentially useful for international safeguard applications aimed at tracking and identifying nuclear materials, as well as geoscience applications involving dating post-1950s sediments or understanding environmental transport of nuclear materials.
Allie Balter-Kennedy, Joerg M. Schaefer, Greg Balco, Meredith A. Kelly, Michael R. Kaplan, Roseanne Schwartz, Bryan Oakley, Nicolás E. Young, Jean Hanley, and Arianna M. Varuolo-Clarke
Clim. Past, 20, 2167–2190, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2167-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2167-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We date sedimentary deposits showing that the southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet was at or near its southernmost extent from ~ 26 000 to 21 000 years ago, when sea levels were at their lowest, with climate records indicating glacial conditions. Slow deglaciation began ~ 22 000 years ago, shown by a rise in modeled local summer temperatures, but significant deglaciation in the region did not begin until ~ 18 000 years ago, when atmospheric CO2 began to rise, marking the end of the last ice age.
Paul R. Bierman, Andrew J. Christ, Catherine M. Collins, Halley M. Mastro, Juliana Souza, Pierre-Henri Blard, Stefanie Brachfeld, Zoe R. Courville, Tammy M. Rittenour, Elizabeth K. Thomas, Jean-Louis Tison, and François Fripiat
The Cryosphere, 18, 4029–4052, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4029-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4029-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In 1966, the U.S. Army drilled through the Greenland Ice Sheet at Camp Century, Greenland; they recovered 3.44 m of frozen material. Here, we decipher the material’s history. Water, flowing during a warm interglacial when the ice sheet melted from northwest Greenland, deposited the upper material which contains fossil plant and insect parts. The lower material, separated by more than a meter of ice with some sediment, is till, deposited by the ice sheet during a prior cold period.
Matias Romero, Shanti B. Penprase, Maximillian S. Van Wyk de Vries, Andrew D. Wickert, Andrew G. Jones, Shaun A. Marcott, Jorge A. Strelin, Mateo A. Martini, Tammy M. Rittenour, Guido Brignone, Mark D. Shapley, Emi Ito, Kelly R. MacGregor, and Marc W. Caffee
Clim. Past, 20, 1861–1883, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1861-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1861-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Investigating past glaciated regions is crucial for understanding how ice sheets responded to climate forcings and how they might respond in the future. We use two independent dating techniques to document the timing and extent of the Lago Argentino glacier lobe, a former lobe of the Patagonian Ice Sheet, during the late Quaternary. Our findings highlight feedbacks in the Earth’s system responsible for modulating glacier growth in the Southern Hemisphere prior to the global Last Glacial Maximum.
Marie Bergelin, Greg Balco, Lee B. Corbett, and Paul R. Bierman
Geochronology, 6, 491–502, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-491-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-491-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Cosmogenic nuclides, such as 10Be, are rare isotopes produced in rocks when exposed at Earth's surface and are valuable for understanding surface processes and landscape evolution. However, 10Be is usually measured in quartz minerals. Here we present advances in efficiently extracting and measuring 10Be in the pyroxene mineral. These measurements expand the use of 10Be as a dating tool for new rock types and provide opportunities to understand landscape processes in areas that lack quartz.
Alia J. Lesnek, Joseph M. Licciardi, Alan J. Hidy, and Tyler S. Anderson
Geochronology, 6, 475–489, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-475-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-475-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present an improved workflow for extracting and measuring chlorine isotopes in rocks and minerals. Experiments on seven geologic samples demonstrate that our workflow provides reliable results while offering several distinct advantages over traditional methods. Most notably, our workflow reduces the amount of isotopically enriched chlorine spike used per rock sample by up to 95 %, which will allow researchers to analyze more samples using their existing laboratory supplies.
Peyton M. Cavnar, Paul R. Bierman, Jeremy D. Shakun, Lee B. Corbett, Danielle LeBlanc, Gillian L. Galford, and Marc Caffee
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2233, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2233, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
To investigate the Laurentide Ice Sheet’s erosivity before and during the Last Glacial Maximum, we sampled sand deposited by ice in eastern Canada before final deglaciation. We also sampled modern river sand. The 26Al and 10Be measured in glacial deposited sediments suggests that ice remained during some Pleistocene warm periods and was an inefficient eroder. Similar concentrations of 26Al and 10Be in modern sand suggests that most modern river sediment is sourced from glacial deposits.
Bradley W. Goodfellow, Arjen P. Stroeven, Nathaniel A. Lifton, Jakob Heyman, Alexander Lewerentz, Kristina Hippe, Jens-Ove Näslund, and Marc W. Caffee
Geochronology, 6, 291–302, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-291-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-291-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Carbon-14 produced in quartz (half-life of 5700 ± 30 years) provides a new tool to date exposure of bedrock surfaces. Samples from 10 exposed bedrock surfaces in east-central Sweden give dates consistent with the timing of both landscape emergence above sea level through postglacial rebound and retreat of the last ice sheet shown in previous reconstructions. Carbon-14 in quartz can therefore be used for dating in landscapes where isotopes with longer half-lives give complex exposure results.
Greg Balco, Alan J. Hidy, William T. Struble, and Joshua J. Roering
Geochronology, 6, 71–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-71-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-71-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a new method of reconstructing the long-term, pre-observational frequency and/or intensity of wildfires in forested landscapes using trace concentrations of the noble gases helium and neon that are formed in soil mineral grains by cosmic-ray bombardment of the Earth's surface.
Andrew G. Jones, Shaun A. Marcott, Andrew L. Gorin, Tori M. Kennedy, Jeremy D. Shakun, Brent M. Goehring, Brian Menounos, Douglas H. Clark, Matias Romero, and Marc W. Caffee
The Cryosphere, 17, 5459–5475, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5459-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5459-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Mountain glaciers today are fractions of their sizes 140 years ago, but how do these sizes compare to the past 11,000 years? We find that four glaciers in the United States and Canada have reversed a long-term trend of growth and retreated to positions last occupied thousands of years ago. Notably, each glacier occupies a unique position relative to its long-term history. We hypothesize that unequal modern retreat has caused the glaciers to be out of sync relative to their Holocene histories.
Eric W. Portenga, David J. Ullman, Lee B. Corbett, Paul R. Bierman, and Marc W. Caffee
Geochronology, 5, 413–431, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-413-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-413-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
New exposure ages of glacial erratics on moraines on Isle Royale – the largest island in North America's Lake Superior – show that the Laurentide Ice Sheet did not retreat from the island nor the south shores of Lake Superior until the early Holocene, which is later than previously thought. These new ages unify regional ice retreat histories from the mainland, the Lake Superior lake-bottom stratigraphy, underwater moraines, and meltwater drainage pathways through the Laurentian Great Lakes.
Jacob T. H. Anderson, Toshiyuki Fujioka, David Fink, Alan J. Hidy, Gary S. Wilson, Klaus Wilcken, Andrey Abramov, and Nikita Demidov
The Cryosphere, 17, 4917–4936, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4917-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4917-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Antarctic permafrost processes are not widely studied or understood in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Our data show that near-surface permafrost sediments were deposited ~180 000 years ago in Pearse Valley, while in lower Wright Valley sediments are either vertically mixed after deposition or were deposited < 25 000 years ago. Our data also record Taylor Glacier retreat from Pearse Valley ~65 000–74 000 years ago and support antiphase dynamics between alpine glaciers and sea ice in the Ross Sea.
Benoit S. Lecavalier, Lev Tarasov, Greg Balco, Perry Spector, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Christo Buizert, Catherine Ritz, Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Robert Mulvaney, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Michael J. Bentley, and Jonathan Bamber
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3573–3596, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3573-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3573-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Antarctic Ice Sheet Evolution constraint database version 2 (AntICE2) consists of a large variety of observations that constrain the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last glacial cycle. This includes observations of past ice sheet extent, past ice thickness, past relative sea level, borehole temperature profiles, and present-day bedrock displacement rates. The database is intended to improve our understanding of past Antarctic changes and for ice sheet model calibrations.
Allie Balter-Kennedy, Joerg M. Schaefer, Roseanne Schwartz, Jennifer L. Lamp, Laura Penrose, Jennifer Middleton, Jean Hanley, Bouchaïb Tibari, Pierre-Henri Blard, Gisela Winckler, Alan J. Hidy, and Greg Balco
Geochronology, 5, 301–321, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-301-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cosmogenic nuclides like 10Be are rare isotopes created in rocks exposed at the Earth’s surface and can be used to understand glacier histories and landscape evolution. 10Be is usually measured in the mineral quartz. Here, we show that 10Be can be reliably measured in the mineral pyroxene. We use the measurements to determine exposure ages and understand landscape processes in rocks from Antarctica that do not have quartz, expanding the use of this method to new rock types.
Giulia Sinnl, Florian Adolphi, Marcus Christl, Kees C. Welten, Thomas Woodruff, Marc Caffee, Anders Svensson, Raimund Muscheler, and Sune Olander Rasmussen
Clim. Past, 19, 1153–1175, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1153-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1153-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The record of past climate is preserved by several archives from different regions, such as ice cores from Greenland or Antarctica or speleothems from caves such as the Hulu Cave in China. In this study, these archives are aligned by taking advantage of the globally synchronous production of cosmogenic radionuclides. This produces a new perspective on the global climate in the period between 20 000 and 25 000 years ago.
Greg Balco, Nathan Brown, Keir Nichols, Ryan A. Venturelli, Jonathan Adams, Scott Braddock, Seth Campbell, Brent Goehring, Joanne S. Johnson, Dylan H. Rood, Klaus Wilcken, Brenda Hall, and John Woodward
The Cryosphere, 17, 1787–1801, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1787-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Samples of bedrock recovered from below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet show that part of the ice sheet was thinner several thousand years ago than it is now and subsequently thickened. This is important because of concern that present ice thinning in this region may lead to rapid, irreversible sea level rise. The past episode of thinning at this site that took place in a similar, although not identical, climate was not irreversible; however, reversal required at least 3000 years to complete.
Anna Ruth W. Halberstadt, Greg Balco, Hannah Buchband, and Perry Spector
The Cryosphere, 17, 1623–1643, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1623-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1623-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper explores the use of multimillion-year exposure ages from Antarctic bedrock outcrops to benchmark ice sheet model predictions and thereby infer ice sheet sensitivity to warm climates. We describe a new approach for model–data comparison, highlight an example where observational data are used to distinguish end-member models, and provide guidance for targeted sampling around Antarctica that can improve understanding of ice sheet response to climate warming in the past and future.
Aaron M. Barth, Elizabeth G. Ceperley, Claire Vavrus, Shaun A. Marcott, Jeremy D. Shakun, and Marc W. Caffee
Geochronology, 4, 731–743, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-731-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-731-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Deposits left behind by past glacial activity provide insight into the previous size and behavior of glaciers and act as another line of evidence for past climate. Here we present new age control for glacial deposits in the mountains of Montana and Wyoming, United States. While some deposits indicate glacial activity within the last 2000 years, others are shown to be older than previously thought, thus redefining the extent of regional Holocene glaciation.
Jonathan R. Adams, Joanne S. Johnson, Stephen J. Roberts, Philippa J. Mason, Keir A. Nichols, Ryan A. Venturelli, Klaus Wilcken, Greg Balco, Brent Goehring, Brenda Hall, John Woodward, and Dylan H. Rood
The Cryosphere, 16, 4887–4905, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4887-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4887-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glaciers in West Antarctica are experiencing significant ice loss. Geological data provide historical context for ongoing ice loss in West Antarctica, including constraints on likely future ice sheet behaviour in response to climatic warming. We present evidence from rare isotopes measured in rocks collected from an outcrop next to Pope Glacier. These data suggest that Pope Glacier thinned faster and sooner after the last ice age than previously thought.
Benjamin J. Stoker, Martin Margold, John C. Gosse, Alan J. Hidy, Alistair J. Monteath, Joseph M. Young, Niall Gandy, Lauren J. Gregoire, Sophie L. Norris, and Duane Froese
The Cryosphere, 16, 4865–4886, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4865-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4865-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was the largest ice sheet to grow and disappear in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glaciation. In northwestern Canada, it covered the Mackenzie Valley, blocking the migration of fauna and early humans between North America and Beringia and altering the drainage systems. We reconstruct the timing of ice sheet retreat in this region and the implications for the migration of early humans into North America, the drainage of glacial lakes, and past sea level rise.
Natacha Gribenski, Marissa M. Tremblay, Pierre G. Valla, Greg Balco, Benny Guralnik, and David L. Shuster
Geochronology, 4, 641–663, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-641-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-641-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We apply quartz 3He paleothermometry along two deglaciation profiles in the European Alps to reconstruct temperature evolution since the Last Glacial Maximum. We observe a 3He thermal signal clearly colder than today in all bedrock surface samples exposed prior the Holocene. Current uncertainties in 3He diffusion kinetics do not permit distinguishing if this signal results from Late Pleistocene ambient temperature changes or from recent ground temperature variation due to permafrost degradation.
Adrian M. Bender, Richard O. Lease, Lee B. Corbett, Paul R. Bierman, Marc W. Caffee, James V. Jones, and Doug Kreiner
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 1041–1053, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1041-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1041-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
To understand landscape evolution in the mineral resource-rich Yukon River basin (Alaska and Canada), we mapped and cosmogenic isotope-dated river terraces along the Charley River. Results imply widespread Yukon River incision that drove increased Bering Sea sedimentation and carbon sequestration during global climate changes 2.6 and 1 million years ago. Such erosion may have fed back to late Cenozoic climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon as observed in many records worldwide.
Marie Bergelin, Jaakko Putkonen, Greg Balco, Daniel Morgan, Lee B. Corbett, and Paul R. Bierman
The Cryosphere, 16, 2793–2817, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2793-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2793-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier ice contains information on past climate and can help us understand how the world changes through time. We have found and sampled a buried ice mass in Antarctica that is much older than most ice on Earth and difficult to date. Therefore, we developed a new dating application which showed the ice to be 3 million years old. Our new dating solution will potentially help to date other ancient ice masses since such old glacial ice could yield data on past environmental conditions on Earth.
Joanne S. Johnson, Ryan A. Venturelli, Greg Balco, Claire S. Allen, Scott Braddock, Seth Campbell, Brent M. Goehring, Brenda L. Hall, Peter D. Neff, Keir A. Nichols, Dylan H. Rood, Elizabeth R. Thomas, and John Woodward
The Cryosphere, 16, 1543–1562, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1543-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1543-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Recent studies have suggested that some portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet were less extensive than present in the last few thousand years. We discuss how past ice loss and regrowth during this time would leave its mark on geological and glaciological records and suggest ways in which future studies could detect such changes. Determining timing of ice loss and gain around Antarctica and conditions under which they occurred is critical for preparing for future climate-warming-induced changes.
Leah A. VanLandingham, Eric W. Portenga, Edward C. Lefroy, Amanda H. Schmidt, Paul R. Bierman, and Alan J. Hidy
Geochronology, 4, 153–176, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-153-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-153-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents erosion rates of the George River and seven of its tributaries in northeast Tasmania, Australia. These erosion rates are the first measures of landscape change over millennial timescales for Tasmania. We demonstrate that erosion is closely linked to a topographic rainfall gradient across George River. Our findings may be useful for efforts to restore ecological health to Georges Bay by determining a pre-disturbance level of erosion and sediment delivery to this estuary.
Brendon J. Quirk, Elizabeth Huss, Benjamin J. C. Laabs, Eric Leonard, Joseph Licciardi, Mitchell A. Plummer, and Marc W. Caffee
Clim. Past, 18, 293–312, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-293-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glaciers in the northern Rocky Mountains began retreating 17 000 to 18 000 years ago, after the end of the most recent global ice volume maxima. Climate in the region during this time was likely 10 to 8.5° colder than modern with less than or equal to present amounts of precipitation. Glaciers across the Rockies began retreating at different times but eventually exhibited similar patterns of retreat, suggesting a common mechanism influencing deglaciation.
Jamey Stutz, Andrew Mackintosh, Kevin Norton, Ross Whitmore, Carlo Baroni, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Richard S. Jones, Greg Balco, Maria Cristina Salvatore, Stefano Casale, Jae Il Lee, Yeong Bae Seong, Robert McKay, Lauren J. Vargo, Daniel Lowry, Perry Spector, Marcus Christl, Susan Ivy Ochs, Luigia Di Nicola, Maria Iarossi, Finlay Stuart, and Tom Woodruff
The Cryosphere, 15, 5447–5471, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the long-term behaviour of ice sheets is essential to projecting future changes due to climate change. In this study, we use rocks deposited along the margin of the David Glacier, one of the largest glacier systems in the world, to reveal a rapid thinning event initiated over 7000 years ago and endured for ~ 2000 years. Using physical models, we show that subglacial topography and ocean heat are important drivers for change along this sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Sandra M. Braumann, Joerg M. Schaefer, Stephanie M. Neuhuber, Christopher Lüthgens, Alan J. Hidy, and Markus Fiebig
Clim. Past, 17, 2451–2479, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2451-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2451-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier reconstructions provide insights into past climatic conditions and elucidate processes and feedbacks that modulate the climate system both in the past and present. We investigate the transition from the last glacial to the current interglacial and generate beryllium-10 moraine chronologies in glaciated catchments of the eastern European Alps. We find that rapid warming was superimposed by centennial-scale cold phases that appear to have influenced large parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Andrew J. Christ, Paul R. Bierman, Jennifer L. Lamp, Joerg M. Schaefer, and Gisela Winckler
Geochronology, 3, 505–523, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-505-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-505-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating is commonly used to constrain the timing of past glacier extents. However, Antarctic exposure age datasets are often scattered and difficult to interpret. We compile new and existing exposure ages of a glacial deposit with independently known age constraints and identify surface processes that increase or reduce the likelihood of exposure age scatter. Then we present new data for a previously unmapped and undated older deposit from the same region.
Melisa A. Diaz, Lee B. Corbett, Paul R. Bierman, Byron J. Adams, Diana H. Wall, Ian D. Hogg, Noah Fierer, and W. Berry Lyons
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1363–1380, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We collected soil surface samples and depth profiles every 5 cm (up to 30 cm) from 11 ice-free areas along the Shackleton Glacier, a major outlet glacier of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), and measured meteoric beryllium-10 and nitrate concentrations to understand the relationship between salts and beryllium-10. This relationship can help inform wetting history, landscape disturbance, and exposure duration.
Nicolás E. Young, Alia J. Lesnek, Josh K. Cuzzone, Jason P. Briner, Jessica A. Badgeley, Alexandra Balter-Kennedy, Brandon L. Graham, Allison Cluett, Jennifer L. Lamp, Roseanne Schwartz, Thibaut Tuna, Edouard Bard, Marc W. Caffee, Susan R. H. Zimmerman, and Joerg M. Schaefer
Clim. Past, 17, 419–450, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-419-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-419-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) margin is exposing a bedrock landscape that holds clues regarding the timing and extent of past ice-sheet minima. We present cosmogenic nuclide measurements from recently deglaciated bedrock surfaces (the last few decades), combined with a refined chronology of southwestern Greenland deglaciation and model simulations of GrIS change. Results suggest that inland retreat of the southwestern GrIS margin was likely minimal in the middle to late Holocene.
Greg Balco, Benjamin D. DeJong, John C. Ridge, Paul R. Bierman, and Dylan H. Rood
Geochronology, 3, 1–33, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-1-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The North American Varve Chronology (NAVC) is a sequence of 5659 annual sedimentary layers that were deposited in proglacial lakes adjacent to the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet ca. 12 500–18 200 years ago. We attempt to synchronize this record with Greenland ice core and other climate records that cover the same time period by detecting variations in global fallout of atmospherically produced beryllium-10 in NAVC sediments.
Cited articles
Balco, G. and Shuster, D. L.: Production rate of cosmogenic 21Ne in quartz estimated from 10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne concentrations in slowly eroding Antarctic bedrock surfaces, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 281, 48–58, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.02.006, 2009.
Balco, G., Stone, J. O., Lifton, N. A., and Dunai, T. J.: A complete and
easily accessible means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion
rates from 10Be and 26Al measurements, Quat. Geochronol., 3, 174–195, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2007.12.001, 2008.
Balter-Kennedy, A., Bromley, G., Balco, G., Thomas, H., and Jackson, M. S.: A 14.5-million-year record of East Antarctic Ice Sheet fluctuations from the central Transantarctic Mountains, constrained with cosmogenic 3He, 10Be, 21Ne, and 26Al, The Cryosphere, 14, 2647–2672, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2647-2020, 2020.
Barreto, H. N., Varajão, C. A. C., Braucher, R., Bourlès, D. L.,
Salgado, A. A. R., and Varajão, A. F. D. C.: Denudation rates of the
Southern Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil, determined by in
situ-produced cosmogenic beryllium-10, Geomorphology, 191, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.01.021, 2013.
Beck, H. E., de Roo, A., and van Dijk, A. I. J. M.: Global Maps of
Streamflow Characteristics Based on Observations from Several Thousand
Catchments, J. Hydrometeorol., 16, 1478–1501, https://doi.org/10.1175/jhm-d-14-0155.1, 2015.
Beck, H. E., Vergopolan, N., Pan, M., Levizzani, V., van Dijk, A. I. J. M., Weedon, G. P., Brocca, L., Pappenberger, F., Huffman, G. J., and Wood, E. F.: Global-scale evaluation of 22 precipitation datasets using gauge observations and hydrological modeling, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 6201–6217, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-6201-2017, 2017.
Bennett, H. H. and Allison, R. V.: The soils of Cuba, Tropical Plant
Research Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1928.
Betancourt, C., Suárez, R., and Jorge, F.: Influencia de los procesos
naturales yr antrópicos sobre la calidad del agua en cuatro embalses
cubanos, Limnetica, 31, 193–204, 2012.
Bierman, P. R. and Caffee, M.: Slow Rates of Rock Surface Erosion and
Sediment Production across the Namib Desert and Escarpment, Southern Africa,
Am. J. Sci., 301, 326–358, https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.301.4-5.326, 2001.
Bierman, P. R. and Steig, E.: Estimating rates of denudation using cosmogenic
isotope abundances in sediment, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 21, 103–203, 1996.
Bierman, P. R., Marsella, K. A., Patterson, C., Davis, P. T., and Caffee,
M.: Mid-Pleistocene cosmogenic minimum-age limits for pre-Wisconsinan
glacial surfaces in southwestern Minnesota and southern Baffin Island: a
multiple nuclide approach, Geomorphology, 27, 27–39, 1999.
Bierman, P. R., Herdandez, R. S., Schmidt, A., Aguila, H. C., Alvazrez, Y.,
Arruebarrena, A., Campbell, M. K., Dethier, D., Dix, M., Massey-Bierman, M.,
Moya, A. G., Perdrial, J., Racela, J., and Alonso-Hernandez, C.: !`Cuba!
River Water Chemistry Reveals Rapid Chemical Weathering, the Echo of Uplift,
and the Promise of More Sustainable Agriculture, GSA Today, 30, 4–10, 2020.
Brocard, G. Y., Willenbring, J. K., Scatena, F. N., and Johnson, A. H.:
Effects of a tectonically-triggered wave of incision on riverine exports and
soil mineralogy in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico, Appl. Geochem., 63,
586–598, 2015.
Brown, E. T., Stallard, R. F., Larsen, M. C., Raisbeck, G. M., and Yiou, F.:
Denudation rates determined from the accumulation of in situ-produced 10Be in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 129, 193–202, https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(94)00249-X, 1995.
Campbell, M. K., Bierman, P. R., Schmidt, A. H., Sibello Hernández, R. Y., Garcia-Moya, A., Corbett, L. B., Hidy, A. J., Cartas Aguila, H. A., Guillén Arruebarrena, A., Balco, G., Dethier, D., and Caffee, M. W.: In situ Be-10, Al-26, and Ne-21 measurements of detrital river sediment in central Cuba, PANGAEA [data set], https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.940051, 2022.
Chapela Lara, M., Buss, H. L., Pogge von Strandmann, P. A. E., Schuessler,
J. A., and Moore, O. W.: The influence of critical zone processes on the Mg
isotope budget in a tropical, highly weathered andesitic catchment, Geochim.
Cosmochim. Ac., 202, 77–100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2016.12.032, 2017.
Cherem, L. F. S., Varajão, C. A. C., Braucher, R., Bourlés, D.,
Salgado, A. A. R., and Varajão, A. C.: Long-term evolution of
denudational escarpments in southeastern Brazil, Geomorphology, 173–174,
118–127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.06.002, 2012.
Codilean, A. T., Munack, H., Cohen, T. J., Saktura, W. M., Gray, A., and Mudd, S. M.: OCTOPUS: an open cosmogenic isotope and luminescence database, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 2123–2139, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-2123-2018, 2018.
Codilean, A. T., Fülöp, R. H., Munack, H., Wilcken, K. M., Cohen, T.
J., Rood, D. H., Fink, D., Bartley, R., Croke, J., and Fifield, L. K.:
Controls on denudation along the East Australian continental margin,
Earth-Sci. Rev., 214, 103543, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103543, 2021.
Corbett, L. B., Bierman, P. R., and Rood, D. H.: An approach for optimizing
in situ cosmogenic 10Be sample preparation, Quat. Geochronol., 33,
24–34, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2016.02.001, 2016.
Corbett, L. B., Bierman, P. R., Woodruff, T. E., and Caffee, M. W.: A
homogeneous liquid reference material for monitoring the quality and
reproducibility of in situ cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al analyses, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 456, 180–185, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2019.05.051, 2019.
Derrieux, F., Siame, L. L., Bourlès, D. L., Chen, R.-F., Braucher, R.,
Léanni, L., Lee, J.-C., Chu, H.-T., and Byrne, T. B.: How fast is the
denudation of the Taiwan mountain belt? Perspectives from in situ cosmogenic
10Be, J. Asian Earth Sci., 88, 230–245, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2014.03.012, 2014.
Dixon, J. L., Heimsath, A. M., and Amundson, R.: The critical role of
climate and saprolite weathering in landscape evolution, Earth Surf.
Proc. Land., 34, 1507–1521, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1836, 2009a.
Dixon, J. L., Heimsath, A. M., Kaste, J., and Amundson, R.: Climate-driven
processes of hillslope weathering, Geology, 37, 975–978, https://doi.org/10.1130/g30045a.1, 2009b.
Duxbury, J., Bierman, P. R., Portenga, E. W., Pavich, M. J., Southworth, S.,
and Freeman, S. P.: Erosion rates in and around Shenandoah National Park,
Virginia, determined using analysis of cosmogenic 10Be, Am. J. Sci., 315, 46–76, 2015.
Erlanger, E., Rugenstein, J., Bufe, A., Picotti, V., and Willett, S.:
Controls on Physical and Chemical Denudation in a Mixed
Carbonate-Siliciclastic Orogen, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 126, e2021JF006064.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006064, 2021.
Ferrier, K. L. and Kirchner, J. W.: Effects of physical erosion on chemical
denudation rates: A numerical modeling study of soil-mantled hillslopes,
Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 272, 591–599, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2008.05.024, 2008.
French, C. D. and Schenk, C. J.: Map showing geology, oil and gas fields,
and geologic provinces of the Caribbean Region, U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report 97-470-K, 2004.
Galford, G. L., Fernandez, M., Roman, J., Monasterolo, I., Ahamed, S.,
Fiske, G., González, P., and Kaufman, L.: Cuban land use and
conservation, from rainforests to coral reefs, B. Mar. Sci., 94, 171–191, https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2017.1026, 2018.
Granger, D. E.: A review of burial dating methods using 26Al and 10Be, Special Paper of the Geological Society of America, 415, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1130/2006.2415(01), 2006.
Granger, D. E. and Muzikar, P.: Dating sediment burial with in situ-produced
cosmogenic nuclides: theory, techniques, and limitations, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 188, 269–281, 2001.
Granger, D. E., Kirchner, J. W., and Finkel, R.: Spatially Averaged
Long-Term Erosion Rates Measured from In Situ-Produced Cosmogenic Nuclides
in Alluvial Sediment, J. Geol., 104, 249–257, 1996.
Hijmans, R. J., Cameron, S. E., Parra, J. L., Jones, P. G., and Jarvis, A.:
Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas,
Int. J. Climatol., 25, 1965–1978, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1276, 2005.
Hinderer, M., Pflanz, D., and Schneider, S.: Chemical Denudation Rates in
the Humid Tropics of East Africa and Comparison with 10Be-Derived Erosion Rates, Proced. Earth Plan. Sc., 7, 360–364, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2013.03.047, 2013.
Hu, X., Kirby, E., Pan, B., Granger, D. E., and Su, H.: Cosmogenic burial
ages reveal sediment reservoir dynamics along the Yellow River, China,
Geology, 39, 839–842, https://doi.org/10.1130/g32030.1, 2011.
Iturralde-Vinent, M. A., García-Casco, A., Rojas-Agramonte, Y.,
Proenza, J. A., Murphy, J. B., and Stern, R. J.: The geology of Cuba: A
brief overview and synthesis, GSA Today, 26,, 4–10, https://doi.org/10.1130/gsatg296a.1, 2016.
Jonell, T. N., Clift, P. D., Hoang, L. V., Hoang, T., Carter, A., Wittmann,
H., Böning, P., Pahnke, K., and Rittenour, T.: Controls on erosion
patterns and sediment transport in a monsoonal, tectonically quiescent
drainage, Song Gianh, central Vietnam, Basin Res., 29, 659–683, https://doi.org/10.1111/bre.12199, 2017.
Klein, J., Giegengack, R., Middleton, R., Sharma, P., Underwood, J., and
Weeks, R.: Revealing histories of exposure using in situ produced 26Al and 10Be in Libyan Desert glass, Radiocarbon, 28, 547–555, 1986.
Kohl, C. P. and Nishiizumi, K.: Chemical isolation of quartz for measurement
of in-situ -produced cosmogenic nuclides, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 56,
3583–3587, 1992.
Kurtz, A. C., Lugolobi, F., and Salvucci, G.: Germanium-silicon as a flow
path tracer: Application to the Rio Icacos watershed, Water Resour. Res., 47, W06516, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010wr009853, 2011.
Lal, D.: Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: in situ nuclide production
rates and erosion models, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 104, 424–439, 1991.
Lal, D. and Chen, J.: Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces II: Special
cases of exposure histories of boulders, soils and beach terraces, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 236, 797–813, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2005.05.025, 2005.
Larsen, I. J., Montgomery, D. R., and Greenberg, H. M.: The contribution of
mountains to global denudation, Geology, 42, 527–530, https://doi.org/10.1130/g35136.1,
2014a.
Larsen, I. J., Almond, P. C., Eger, A., Stone, J. O., Montgomery, D. R., and
Malcolm, B.: Rapid soil production and weathering in the Southern Alps, New
Zealand, Science, 343, 637–640, 2014b.
Linari, C., Bierman, P., Portenga, E., Pavich, M., Finkel, R., and Freeman,
S.: Rates of erosion and landscape change along the Blue Ridge escarpment,
southern Appalachian Mountains, estimated from in situ cosmogenic 10Be,
Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 42, 928–940, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4051, 2017.
Llacer, I. D.: Comportamiento de la precipitación en estaciones
meteorológicas seleccionadas de Cuba, BA thesis, Facultad de Geografía, La Universidad de la Habana, La Habana, Cuba, 2012.
LP DAAC: ASTER GDEM, vol. 2019, NASA [data set], https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003, last access: 20 January 2022.
Lukens, C. E., Riebe, C. S., Sklar, L. S., and Shuster, D. L.: Grain size
bias in cosmogenic nuclide studies of stream sediment in steep terrain,
J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 121, 978–999, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016jf003859, 2016.
Makhubela, T. V., Kramers, J. D., Scherler, D., Wittmann, H., Dirks, P. H.
G. M., and Winkler, S. R.: Effects of long soil surface residence times on
apparent cosmogenic nuclide denudation rates and burial ages in the Cradle
of Humankind, South Africa, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 44, 2968–2981, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4723, 2019.
Mandal, S. K., Lupker, M., Burg, J.-P., Valla, P. G., Haghipour, N., and
Christl, M.: Spatial variability of 10Be-derived erosion rates across the southern Peninsular Indian escarpment: A key to landscape evolution across passive margins, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 425, 154–167, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2015.05.050, 2015.
Marshall, J. A., Roering, J. J., Gavin, D. G., and Granger, D. E.: Late
Quaternary climatic controls on erosion rates and geomorphic processes in
western Oregon, USA, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 129, 715–731, https://doi.org/10.1130/b31509.1, 2017.
Modenesi-Gauttieri, M. C., de Toledo, M. C. M., Hiruma, S. T., Taioli, F.,
and Shimada, H.: Deep weathering and landscape evolution in a tropical
plateau, Catena, 85, 221–230, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2011.01.006, 2011.
Moore, O. W., Buss, H. L., and Dosseto, A.: Incipient chemical weathering at
bedrock fracture interfaces in a tropical critical zone system, Puerto Rico,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 252, 61–87, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2019.02.028, 2019.
Nearing, M. A., Xie, Y., Liu, B., and Ye, Y.: Natural and anthropogenic
rates of soil erosion, International Soil and Water Conservation Research,
5, 77–84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2017.04.001, 2017.
Nishiizumi, K.: Preparation of 26Al AMS standards, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 223–224, 388–392, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2004.04.075, 2004.
Nishiizumi, K., Winterer, E. L., Kohl, C. P., Klein, J., Middleton, R., Lal,
D., and Arnold, J. R.: Cosmic ray production rates of 10Be and 26Al in quartz from glacially polished rocks, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 17907–17915, https://doi.org/10.1029/JB094iB12p17907, 1989.
Nishiizumi, K., Imamura, M., Caffee, M. W., Southon, J. R., Finkel, R. C.,
and McAninch, J.: Absolute calibration of 10Be AMS standards, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 258, 403–413, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2007.01.297, 2007.
Ollier, C. D.: Deep Weathering, Groundwater and Climate, Geogr. Ann., 70, 285–290, 1988.
Pardo, G.: Geology of Cuba: AAPG Studies in Geology 58, vol. 58, AAPG,
ISBN 0-89181-065-X, 2009.
Pérez Zorrilla, W. and Ya Karasik, G.: El escurrimiento solido y la
erosion hidrica actual de Cuba, Ciencias de la tierra y del espacio, 15–16,
67–76, 1989.
Pope, G. A.: Weathering in the tropics, and related extratropical processes,
in: Treatise on Geomorphology, edited by: Shroder, J., Weathering and Soils
Geomorphology, Elsevier Inc., ISBN 9780080885223, 2013.
Portenga, E. W. and Bierman, P. R.: Understanding Earth's eroding surface
with 10Be, GSA Today, 21, 4–10, https://doi.org/10.1130/g111a.1, 2011.
Portenga, E. W., Bierman, P. R., Trodick Jr., C. D., Greene, S. E., DeJong,
B. D., Rood, D. H., and Pavich, M. J.: Erosion rates and sediment flux
within the Potomac River basin quantified over millennial timescales using
beryllium isotopes, Bulletin, 131, 1295–1311, 2019.
Préndez, M., López, R., and Carrillo, E.: Physical and Chemical
Components of Cuba's Rain: Effects on Air Quality, Int. J. Atmos. Sci., 2014, 1–8, https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/680735, 2014.
Pulina, M. and Fagundo, J. R.: Tropical karst and chemical denudation of
western Cuba, Geographia Polonica, 60, 195–216, 1992.
Quock, M., Schmidt, A. H., Corbett, L. B., Bierman, P. R., Hidy, A. J., and
Caffee, M.: Hurricanes alter 10Be concentrations in tropical river sediment but do not change regional erosion rate estimates, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 47, 1196–1211, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5310, 2021.
Rad, S., Allegre, C., and Louvat, P.: Hidden erosion on volcanic islands,
Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 262, 109–124, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2007.07.019, 2007.
Rad, S., Rivé, K., Vittecoq, B., Cerdan, O., and Allègre, C. J.:
Chemical weathering and erosion rates in the Lesser Antilles: An overview in
Guadeloupe, Martinique and Dominica, J. South Am. Earth Sci., 45, 331–344, 2013.
Regard, V., Carretier, S., Boeglin, J.-L., Ndam Ngoupayou, J.-R., Dzana,
J.-G., Bedimo Bedimo, J.-P., Riotte, J., and Braun, J.-J.: Denudation rates
on cratonic landscapes: comparison between suspended and dissolved fluxes,
and10Be analysis in the Nyong and Sanaga River basins, south Cameroon, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 41, 1671–1683, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3939, 2016.
Reinhardt, L. J., Bishop, P., Hoey, T. B., Dempster, T. J., and Sanderson,
D. C. W.: Quantification of the transient response to base-level fall in a
small mountain catchment: Sierra Nevada, southern Spain, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F03S05, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006jf000524, 2007.
Reusser, L., Bierman, P., and Rood, D.: Quantifying human impacts on rates
of erosion and sediment transport at a landscape scale, Geology, 43,
171–174, 2015.
Riebe, C. S. and Granger, D. E.: Quantifying effects of deep and
near-surface chemical erosion on cosmogenic nuclides in soils, saprolite,
and sediment, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 38, 523–533, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3339, 2013.
Riebe, C. S., Kirchner, J. W., and Granger, D. E.: Quantifying quartz
enrichment and its consequences for cosmogenic measurements of erosion rates
from alluvial sediment and regolith, Geomorphology, 40, 15–19,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(01)00031-9, 2001a.
Riebe, C. S., Kirchner, J. W., Granger, D. E., and Finkel, R. C.: Minimal
climatic control on erosion rates in the Sierra Nevada, California, J. Geol., 29, 447–450, 2001b.
Riebe, C. S., Kirchner, J. W., and Finkel, R. C.: Long-term rates of
chemical weathering and physical erosion from cosmogenic nuclides and
geochemical mass balance, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 67, 4411–4427, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-7037(03)00382-x, 2003.
Salgado, A. A. R., Braucher, R., Colin, F., Nalini, H. A., Varajão, A.
F. D. C., and Varajão, C. A. C.: Denudation rates of the
Quadrilátero Ferrífero (Minas Gerais, Brazil): Preliminary results
from measurements of solute fluxes in rivers and in situ-produced cosmogenic
10Be, J. Geochem. Explor., 88, 313–317, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2005.08.064, 2006.
Scherler, D., Bookhagen, B., and Strecker, M. R.: Tectonic control
on 10Be-derived erosion rates in the Garhwal Himalaya, India, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 119, 83–105, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jf002955, 2014.
Schopka, H. H. and Derry, L. A.: Chemical weathering fluxes from volcanic
islands and the importance of groundwater: The Hawaiian example, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 339–340, 67–78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2012.05.028, 2012.
Small, E. E., Anderson, R. S., and Hancock, G. S.: Estimates of the rate of
regolith production using 10Be and 26Al from an alpine hillslope,
Geomorphology, 27, 131–150, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(98)00094-4, 1999.
Sosa Gonzalez, V., Bierman, P. R., Fernandes, N. F., and Rood, D. H.:
Long-term background denudation rates of southern and southeastern Brazilian
watersheds estimated with cosmogenic 10Be, Geomorphology, 268, 54–63, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.05.024, 2016a.
Sosa Gonzalez, V., Bierman, P. R., Nichols, K. K., and Rood, D. H.:
Long-term erosion rates of Panamanian drainage basins determined using in
situ 10Be, Geomorphology, 275, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.04.025, 2016b.
Struck, M., Jansen, J. D., Fujioka, T., Codilean, A. T., Fink, D., Egholm,
D. L., Fülöp, R.-H., Wilcken, K. M., and Kotevski, S.: Soil
production and transport on postorogenic desert hillslopes quantified with
10Be and 26Al, GSA Bulletin, 130, 1017–1040, https://doi.org/10.1130/b31767.1, 2018.
VanLandingham, L. A., Portenga, E. W., Lefroy, E. C., Schmidt, A. H.,
Bierman, P. R., and Hidy, A. J.: Comparison of basin-scale in situ and
meteoric 10Be erosion and denudation rates in felsic lithologies across an elevation gradient at the George River, northeast Tasmania, Australia,
Geochronology, 4, 153–176, 2022.
Vasconcelos, P. M., Farley, K. A., Stone, J., Piacentini, T., and Fifield,
L. K.: Stranded landscapes in the humid tropics: Earth's oldest land
surfaces, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 519, 152–164, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2019.04.014, 2019.
von Blanckenburg, F., Hewawasam, T., and Kubik, P. W.: Cosmogenic nuclide
evidence for low weathering and denudation in the wet, tropical highlands of
Sri Lanka, J. Geophys. Res., 109, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JF000049, 2004.
Whitbeck, R. H.: Geographical Relations in the Development of Cuban
Agriculture, Geogr. Rev., 12, 223–240, https://doi.org/10.2307/208738, 1922.
White, A. F. and Blum, A. E.: Effects of climate on chemical weathering in
waterhseds, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 59, 1729–1747, 1995.
White, A. F., Blum, A., Schulz, M., Vivit, D., Stonestrom, D., Larsen, M.,
Murphy, S., and Eberl, D.: Chemical weathering in a tropical watershed,
Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: I. Long-term versus short-term weathering
fluxes, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 62, 209–226, 1998.
Wittmann, H., von Blanckenburg, F., Maurice, L., Guyot, J. L., and Kubik, P.
W.: Recycling of Amazon floodplain sediment quantified by cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be, Geology, 39, 467–470, https://doi.org/10.1130/g31829.1, 2011.
Short summary
We used cosmogenic radionuclides in detrital river sediment to measure erosion rates of watersheds in central Cuba; erosion rates are lower than rock dissolution rates in lowland watersheds. Data from two different cosmogenic nuclides suggest that some basins may have a mixed layer deeper than is typically modeled and could have experienced significant burial after or during exposure. We conclude that significant mass loss may occur at depth through chemical weathering processes.
We used cosmogenic radionuclides in detrital river sediment to measure erosion rates of...