Mountain erosion accelerates under a cooling climate
The Earth's continental topography reflects the balance between tectonics, climate, and their interaction through erosion. However, understanding the impact of individual factors on Earth's topography remains elusive. Professor Todd Ehlers of the University of Tübingen Geoscience Department, in cooperation with international colleagues, has studied the coupling of climate and erosion on a global scale. The scientists investigated the effect of global cooling and glaciation on topogrpahy over the last two to three million years. To quantify erosion, they compiled bedrock thermochronometric data from around the world. Their data show that mountain erosion rates have increased since circa 6 million years and most rapidly in the last 2 million years. Moreover, alpine glaciers play a significant role in the increase of erosion rates under a cool climate. The results are published in the current edition of Nature.