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. Scientists have now investigated the effect of global cooling and glaciation on topogrpahy over the last two to three million years. 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.

Read the whole article on Science Daily

More from Science Daily