Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Transformation of tectonic and climatic signals from source to sedimentary archive

Nature Geoscience volume 4, pages 231–235 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

The Earth’s sedimentary successions are an archive of past tectonic and climate events1,2. The physical characteristics of the sediment record are controlled by three main factors: the sediment supply from the eroding source region, the grain size distribution of that sediment supply, and the area available for sediment accumulation in the downstream regions3,4. The interplay of these factors can make the interpretation of a climatic or tectonic signal complex, particularly as these processes are nonlinear. Here we assess the evolution of a tectonically active landscape undergoing erosional and depositional processes, using a numerical model that incorporates variations in grain size and the volumetric sediment budget. Our simulations indicate that changes in precipitation and tectonic uplift both generate characteristic patterns of grain size and stratigraphic geometry. An increase in catchment precipitation results in the deposition of a laterally extensive sheet of coarse gravel. The responses to a changing tectonic regime are more diverse: a large increase in uplift rate results first in the deposition of sediments of larger grain size at proximal sites, followed by a reduction in grain size at distal locations. We conclude that the stratigraphic record is strongly controlled by the grain size of sediments released from catchments undergoing tectonic or climatic change.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Diagram of model domain.
Figure 2: Response of the sedimentary system to climate and tectonic perturbations.
Figure 3: Predicted response to a fivefold increase in uplift within the Gole di Celano and the Fucino basin system.
Figure 4: Down-system grain size signals following a doubling of subsidence and uplift from 1 mm yr−1 to 2 mm yr−1.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Zhang, P. Z., Molnar, P. & Downs, W. R. Increased sedimentation rates and grain sizes 2–4 Myr ago due to the influence of climate change on erosion rates. Nature 410, 891–897 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Duller, R. A. et al. From grain size to tectonics. J. Geophys. Res. 115, F03022 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Flemings, P. B. & Jordan, T. E. A synthetic stratigraphic model of Foreland basin development. J. Geophys. Res. 94, 3851–3866 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Paola, C., Heller, P. & Angevine, C. The large-scale dynamics of grainsize variation in alluvial basins: 1. Theory. Basin Res. 4, 73–90 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Braun, J. in Anologue and Numerical Modelling of Crustal-Scale Processes Vol. 253 (eds Buiter, S. J. H. & Schreurs, G.) 307–325 (Geological Society, Special Publications, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Humphrey, N. F. & Heller, P. L. Natural oscillations in coupled geomorphic systems—an alternative origin for cyclic sedimentation. Geology 23, 499–502 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Clevis, Q., d Boer, P. & Wachter, M. Numerical modelling of drainage basin evolution and three-dimensional alluvial fan stratigraphy. Sedim. Geol. 163, 85–110 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Montgomery, D. R. & Stolar, D. B. Reconsidering Himalayan river anticlines. Geomorphology 82, 4–15 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Whittaker, A. C. et al. Contrasting transient and steady-state rivers crossing active normal faults: New field observations from the Central Apennines, Italy. Basin Res. 19, 529–556 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cowie, P. A. et al. New constraints on sediment-flux-dependent river incision: Implications for extracting tectonic signals from river profiles. Geology 36, 535–538 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Allen, P. A. in Landscape Evolution: Denudation, Climate and Tectonics Over Different Time and Space Scales Vol. 269 (eds Gallacher, K., Jones, K. S. J. & Wainwright, J.) 7–28 (Geological Society, Special Publications, 2008).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Horton, B. K., Constenius, K. N. & DeCelles, P. G. Tectonic control on coarse grained foreland-basin sequences: An example from the Cordilleran foreland basin, Utah. Geology 32, 637–640 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Smith, T. R. & Bretherton, F. Stability and conservation of mass in drainage basin evolution. Wat. Resour. Res. 8, 1506–1529 (1972).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Simpson, G. & Schlunegger, F. Topographic evolution and morphology of surfaces evolving in response to coupled fluvial and hillslope sediment transport. J. Geophys. Res. 108, B62300 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Densmore, A. L., Allen, P. A. & Simpson, G. Development and response of a coupled catchment fan system under changing tectonic and climatic forcing. J. Geophys. Res. 112, F01002 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Fedele, J. J. & Paola, C. Similarity solutions for fluvial sediment fining by selective deposition. J. Geophys. Res. 112, F02038 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Wiberg, P. L. & Smith, J. D. Calculations of the critical shear–stress for motion of uniform and heterogeneous sediments. Wat. Resour. Res. 23, 1471–1480 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Attal, M. et al. Modelling fluvial incision and transient landscape evolution: Influence of dynamic channel adjustment. J. Geophys. Res. 113, F03013 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Whittaker, A. C., Attal, M. & Allen, P. A. Characterising the origin, nature and fate of sediment exported from catchments perturbed by active tectonics. Basin Res. 22, 809–828 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Heller, P. L. & Paola, C. The large-scale dynamics of grain size variation in alluvial basins, 2: Application to syntectonic conglomerate. Basin Res. 4, 91–102 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lindsay, E. H. et al. Sediments, geomorphology, magnetostratigraphy and vertebrate paleontology in the San Pedro Valley, Arizona. J. Geol. 98, 605–619 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Schmitz, B. & Pujalte, V. Abrupt increase in seasonal extreme precipitation at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary. Geology 35, 215–218 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Dühnforth, M. et al. Controls on sediment evacuation from glacially modified and unmodified catchments in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 33, 1602–1613 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Pepin, E., Carretier, S. & Herail, G. Erosion dynamics modelling in a coupled catchment–fan system with constant external forcing. Geomorphology 122, 78–90 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Cavinato, G. P. et al. Sedimentary and tectonic evolution of Plio-Pleistocene alluvial and lacustrine deposits of Fucino Basin (central Italy). Sedim. Geol. 148, 29–59 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Roberts, G. P. et al. Fault scaling relationships, deformation rates and seismic hazards: An example from the Lazio-Abruzzo Apennines, central Italy. J. Struct. Geol. 26, 377–398 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Anders, M. H. et al. The growth of fault-bounded tilt blocks. Tectonics 12, 1451–1459 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Zienkiewicz, O. C. & Taylor, R. L. The Finite Element Method Vol. 1. (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Bull, W. B. Geomorphology of Segmented Alluvial Fans in Western Fresno County, California (Prof. Paper, US Geological Survey, 1964).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  30. Paola, C. & Seal, R. Grain size patchiness as a cause of selective deposition and downstream fining. Wat. Resour. Res. 31, 1395–1407 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The numerical model was developed through collaborations with G. Simpson (Université de Geneve) and A. Densmore (University of Durham), and with the help of H.M. Nick (Utrecht University). We would also like to thank H. M. Bjornseth and I. Lunt (Statoil) for their constructive input on this work. This work was funded by Statoil through a generic research programme on sediment routing systems.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    John J. Armitage, Robert A. Duller, Alex C. Whittaker & Philip A. Allen

Authors
  1. John J. Armitage
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert A. Duller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alex C. Whittaker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Philip A. Allen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

J.J.A. designed and carried out the numerical experiments. All authors contributed equally to the analysis of the results and writing of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John J. Armitage.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 326 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Armitage, J., Duller, R., Whittaker, A. et al. Transformation of tectonic and climatic signals from source to sedimentary archive. Nature Geosci 4, 231–235 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1087

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1087

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing