Tectonics, erosion, and climate in orogenic settings: evolution and interactions determined from sediment records

TS4.1/GM3.9/SSP3.27

The interlinked influences of tectonics, erosion and climate govern the topographic and debatably also structural evolution of mountain belts. In turn, the evolution of any given mountain belt can influence the development of the regions’ climate, erosion and sedimentation patterns. Sedimentary records can preserve a rich archive of a region’s tectonics, erosion and/or climate history that can be interrogated through application of a number of approaches utilising, for example,  sediment provenance, detrital thermochronology, determination of sedimentation rates and facies, and stable isotope studies. Suitable continental records may exist in foreland basins and retro-arc settings located proximal to the mountain sources, and scientific drilling has been important in recovering records from the modern oceans.  Located potentially far from the mountains, many submarine fans may preserve more complete and readily dated sedimentary sections. Analysis and comparison of strata across different parts of a mountain belt can potentially allow a more detailed spatial and temporal understanding of climatic and tectonic evolution of a region as an orogen uplifts and subsequently collapses. Although the Asian Monsoon-Himalayan system is the classic example of tectonic-erosion-climate interactions, similar relationships have been invoked in South America, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and the Pyrenees during the Cenozoic alone. We invite contributions that utilise sediment records to unravel the links and relationships between tectonics, erosion or climate change, in recent or ancient orogenic settings, using traditional and novel application of field, laboratory and/or modelling techniques.

Convener: Yani Najman 
Co-conveners: Peter Clift and Tara Jonell