Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 441-448 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | TERRA NOVA |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2016 |
Abstract
Wind gaps in actively growing mountain ranges are unique geomorphological features testifying to the competition between tectonics and fluvial incision. Although it is clear that these landforms reflect the defeat of rivers during sustained rock uplift, the role of climate changes in their formation has never been explored. Here, we use a coupled tectonics–landscape evolution model to show that temporal changes in precipitation rate exert an important control on wind gap formation. In models with a constant precipitation rate, rivers flowing across a growing range are either defeated at an early stage or they abandon their valleys very late, if at all. If precipitation varies, wind gaps form mostly c. 100–200 ka after a transition to drier conditions because of sediment aggradation upstream of the range. Our results suggest that the Pliocene–Quaternary aridification of Central Asia contributed to wind gap formation in active mountain ranges in the foreland of northeastern Tibet.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Geology
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In: TERRA NOVA, Vol. 28, No. 6, 01.12.2016, p. 441-448.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Role of climate changes for wind gap formation in a young, actively growing mountain range
AU - Hampel, Andrea
AU - Hetzel, Ralf
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - Wind gaps in actively growing mountain ranges are unique geomorphological features testifying to the competition between tectonics and fluvial incision. Although it is clear that these landforms reflect the defeat of rivers during sustained rock uplift, the role of climate changes in their formation has never been explored. Here, we use a coupled tectonics–landscape evolution model to show that temporal changes in precipitation rate exert an important control on wind gap formation. In models with a constant precipitation rate, rivers flowing across a growing range are either defeated at an early stage or they abandon their valleys very late, if at all. If precipitation varies, wind gaps form mostly c. 100–200 ka after a transition to drier conditions because of sediment aggradation upstream of the range. Our results suggest that the Pliocene–Quaternary aridification of Central Asia contributed to wind gap formation in active mountain ranges in the foreland of northeastern Tibet.
AB - Wind gaps in actively growing mountain ranges are unique geomorphological features testifying to the competition between tectonics and fluvial incision. Although it is clear that these landforms reflect the defeat of rivers during sustained rock uplift, the role of climate changes in their formation has never been explored. Here, we use a coupled tectonics–landscape evolution model to show that temporal changes in precipitation rate exert an important control on wind gap formation. In models with a constant precipitation rate, rivers flowing across a growing range are either defeated at an early stage or they abandon their valleys very late, if at all. If precipitation varies, wind gaps form mostly c. 100–200 ka after a transition to drier conditions because of sediment aggradation upstream of the range. Our results suggest that the Pliocene–Quaternary aridification of Central Asia contributed to wind gap formation in active mountain ranges in the foreland of northeastern Tibet.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84991585218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ter.12238
DO - 10.1111/ter.12238
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84991585218
VL - 28
SP - 441
EP - 448
JO - TERRA NOVA
JF - TERRA NOVA
SN - 0954-4879
IS - 6
ER -