Articles | Volume 7, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-213-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-7-213-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Jul 2025
Research article |
| 11 Jul 2025
| 11 Jul 2025
Global analysis of in situ cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be and inferred erosion rate ratios in modern fluvial sediments indicates widespread sediment storage and burial during transport
Department of Geosciences, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
Paul R. Bierman
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Alexandru T. Codilean
School of Science and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH), University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522, Australia
Lee B. Corbett
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Marc W. Caffee
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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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
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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.
Emma Rehn, Haidee Cadd, Scott Mooney, Tim J. Cohen, Henry Munack, Alexandru T. Codilean, Matthew Adeleye, Kristen K. Beck, Mark Constantine IV, Chris Gouramanis, Johanna M. Hanson, Penelope J. Jones, A. Peter Kershaw, Lydia Mackenzie, Maame Maisie, Michela Mariani, Kia Matley, David McWethy, Keely Mills, Patrick Moss, Nicholas R. Patton, Cassandra Rowe, Janelle Stevenson, John Tibby, and Janet Wilmshurst
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 2681–2692, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2681-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-2681-2025, 2025
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This paper presents SahulCHAR, a new collection of palaeofire (ancient fire) records from Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. SahulCHAR version 1 contains 687 records of sedimentary charcoal or black carbon, including digitized data, records from existing databases, and original author-submitted data. SahulCHAR is a much-needed update to past charcoal compilations that will also provide greater representation of records from this region in future global syntheses to understand past fire.
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
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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.
Alexandru T. Codilean and Henry Munack
Geochronology, 7, 113–122, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-113-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-113-2025, 2025
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OCTOPUS v2.3 updates CRN Denudation, adding 1311 new river basins to the CRN Global and CRN Australia collections, totalling 5611 basins with recalculated beryllium-10 denudation rates and 561 with aluminium-26 rates. New fields include basin centroid latitude, effective atmospheric pressure, glacier extent, and quartz-bearing lithology percentages, improving data quality and interoperability with online erosion calculators.
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
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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.
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
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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
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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
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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.
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
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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
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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.
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
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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
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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.
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
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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.
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
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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.
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
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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.
Alexandru T. Codilean, Henry Munack, Wanchese M. Saktura, Tim J. Cohen, Zenobia Jacobs, Sean Ulm, Paul P. Hesse, Jakob Heyman, Katharina J. Peters, Alan N. Williams, Rosaria B. K. Saktura, Xue Rui, Kai Chishiro-Dennelly, and Adhish Panta
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3695–3713, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3695-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3695-2022, 2022
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OCTOPUS v.2 is a web-enabled database that allows users to visualise, query, and download cosmogenic radionuclide, luminescence, and radiocarbon ages and denudation rates associated with erosional landscapes, Quaternary depositional landforms, and archaeological records, along with ancillary geospatial data layers. OCTOPUS v.2 hosts five major data collections. Supporting data are comprehensive and include bibliographic, contextual, and sample-preparation- and measurement-related information.
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
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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.
Mae Kate Campbell, Paul R. Bierman, Amanda H. Schmidt, Rita Sibello Hernández, Alejandro García-Moya, Lee B. Corbett, Alan J. Hidy, Héctor Cartas Águila, Aniel Guillén Arruebarrena, Greg Balco, David Dethier, and Marc Caffee
Geochronology, 4, 435–453, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-435-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-435-2022, 2022
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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.
Klaus M. Wilcken, Alexandru T. Codilean, Réka-H. Fülöp, Steven Kotevski, Anna H. Rood, Dylan H. Rood, Alexander J. Seal, and Krista Simon
Geochronology, 4, 339–352, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-339-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-339-2022, 2022
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Cosmogenic nuclides are now widely applied in the Earth sciences; however, more recent applications often push the analytical limits of the technique. Our study presents a comprehensive method for analysis of cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al samples down to isotope concentrations of a few thousand atoms per gram of sample, which opens the door to new and more varied applications of cosmogenic nuclide analysis.
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
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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
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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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
Sediment generation on hillslopes and transport through river networks are complex processes...
