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.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Earth science

Erosion by cooling

The thermal history of thousands of rock samples convincingly confirms the idea that climate cooling accelerates the rate of erosion at Earth's surface — and implicates glaciers in particular. See Letter p.423

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

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

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

Figure 1: Carved by glaciers.

DAVID WALL/ALAMY

References

  1. Herman, F. et al. Nature 504, 423–426 (2013).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Montgomery, D. R., Balco, G. & Willett, S. D. Geology 29, 579–582 (2001).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Molnar, P. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 32, 67–89 (2004).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Zachos, J., Pagani, M., Sloan, L., Thomas, E. & Billups, K. Science 292, 686–693 (2001).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Hay, W. W., Sloan, J. L. & Wold, C. N. J. Geophys. Res. 93, 14933–14940 (1988).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhang, P., Molnar, P. & Downs, W. R. Nature 410, 891–897 (2001).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Willenbring, J. K. & von Blanckenburg, F. Nature 465, 211–214 (2010).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Reiners, P. W., Ehlers, T. A. & Zeitler, P. K. Rev. Miner. Geochem. 58, 1–18 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Ruddiman, W. F. & Kutzbach, J. E. J. Geophys. Res. 94, 18409–18427 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Molnar, P. & England, P. Nature 346, 29–34 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Lundbek Egholm.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Egholm, D. Erosion by cooling. Nature 504, 380–381 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/504380a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/504380a

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