Stream capture as driver of transient landscape evolution in a tectonically quiescent setting

Prince, Philip S.; Spotila, James A.; Henika, William S.

doi:10.1130/g32008.1

Cited by 105 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Instead, they reshape themselves based on changing boundary conditions until gravitationally driven equilibrium is achieved between conjoined catchments (Bishop, 1995;Prince et al, 2010Prince et al, , 2011Willett et al, 2014). This spatial rearrangement is driven by slow progressive divide migration and by discrete river capture events (Prince et al, 2010(Prince et al, , 2011Val et al, 2014;Willett et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

River profile response to normal fault growth and linkage: an example from the Hellenic forearc of south-central Crete, Greece

Gallen

Wegmann

2017

Earth Surf. Dynam.

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Abstract. Topography is a reflection of the tectonic and geodynamic processes that act to uplift the Earth's surface and the erosional processes that work to return it to base level. Numerous studies have shown that topography is a sensitive recorder of tectonic signals. A quasi-physical understanding of the relationship between river incision and rock uplift has made the analysis of fluvial topography a popular technique for deciphering relative, and some argue absolute, histories of rock uplift. Here we present results from a study of the fluvial topography from south-central Crete, demonstrating that river longitudinal profiles indeed record the relative history of uplift, but several other processes make it difficult to recover quantitative uplift histories. Prior research demonstrates that the south-central coastline of Crete is bound by a large ( ∼ 100 km long) E-W striking composite normal fault system. Marine terraces reveal that it is uplifting between 0.1 and 1.0 mm yr −1 . These studies suggest that two normal fault systems, the offshore Ptolemy and onshore South-Central Crete faults, linked together in the recent geologic past (ca. 0.4-1 My BP). Fault mechanics predict that when adjacent faults link into a single fault the uplift rate in footwalls of the linkage zone will increase rapidly. We use this natural experiment to assess the response of river profiles to a temporal jump in uplift rate and to assess the applicability of the stream power incision model to this setting. Using river profile analysis we show that rivers in south-central Crete record the relative uplift history of fault growth and linkage as theory predicts that they should. Calibration of the commonly used stream power incision model shows that the slope exponent, n, is ∼ 0.5, contrary to most studies that find n ≥ 1. Analysis of fluvial knickpoints shows that migration distances are not proportional to upstream contributing drainage area, as predicted by the stream power incision model. Maps of the transformed stream distance variable, χ, indicate that drainage basin instability, drainage divide migration, and river capture events complicate river profile analysis in south-central Crete. Waterfalls are observed in southern Crete and appear to operate under less efficient and different incision mechanics than assumed by the stream power incision model. Drainage area exchange and waterfall formation are argued to obscure linkages between empirically derived metrics and quasi-physical descriptions of river incision, making it difficult to quantitatively interpret rock uplift histories from river profiles in this setting. Karst hydrology, break down of assumed drainage area discharge scaling, and chemical weathering might also contribute to the failure of the stream power incision model to adequately predict the behavior of the fluvial system in south-central Crete.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

River profile response to normal fault growth and linkage: an example from the Hellenic forearc of south-central Crete, Greece

Gallen

Wegmann

2017

Earth Surf. Dynam.

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“…By contrast, the western part of the Ebro basin is characterized by more incised valleys, especially in the Cantabrian and in the Cameros-Iberian Range domains, with more complex longitudinal profiles (knickpoints, remnants of highly elevated surfaces). Previous studies (Gutiérrez-Santolalla et al, 1996;Pineda, 1997;Mikes, 2010) have already shown that the Jalón and Homino rivers, which belong to the Ebro basin, have recently captured parts of the Duero basin in the Iberian Range and in the Rioja trough, respectively. Such evolution has been recorded by the occurrence of geomorphological markers as wind gaps and elbows of captures, as well as by the presence of knickpoints and/or remnants of highly elevated surfaces in river long profiles.…”

Section: Evidence Of Divide Mobility Between the Duero And Ebro Catchmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The western part of the Rioja trough to the west of the NE-SW-directed branch of the Bureba anticline ( Fig. 5) used to be drained toward the Duero basin since the Oligocene (Pineda, 1997;Mikes, 2010). The westward migration of the divide to its current location is thought to have occurred in several steps of captures as shown by the occurrence of remnants of escarpments during the late Miocene-Pliocene (Mikes, 2010).…”

Section: Fluvial Captures and Related Knickpoints In The Rioja Troughmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also occurs when drainage was reorganized in response to capture (Yanites et al, 2013;Willett et al, 2014). River capture actually drives a drop in the spatial position of drainage divide (Prince et al, 2011) but also produces a wave of erosion in the captured reach (Yanites et al, 2013) that may impact divide position. Historically, migration of divides has been inferred by changes in the provenance of sediments stored in sedimentary basins (e.g., Kuhlemann et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drainage reorganization and divide migration induced by the excavation of the Ebro basin (NE Spain)

2018

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Abstract. Intracontinental endorheic basins are key elements of source-to-sink systems as they preserve sediments eroded from the surrounding catchments. Drainage reorganization in such a basin in response to changing boundary conditions has strong implications on the sediment routing system and on landscape evolution. The Ebro and Duero basins represent two foreland basins, which developed in response to the growth of surrounding compressional orogens, the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian mountains to the north, the Iberian Ranges to the south, and the Catalan Coastal Range to the east. They were once connected as endorheic basins in the early Oligocene. By the end of the Miocene, new post-orogenic conditions led to the current setting in which the Ebro and Duero basins are flowing in opposite directions, towards the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Although these two hydrographic basins recorded a similar history, they are characterized by very different morphologic features. The Ebro basin is highly excavated, whereas relicts of the endorheic stage are very well preserved in the Duero basin. The contrasting morphological preservation of the endorheic stage represents an ideal natural laboratory to study the drivers (internal and/or external) of post-orogenic drainage divide mobility, drainage network, and landscape evolution. To that aim, we use field and map observations and we apply the χ analysis of river profiles along the divide between the Ebro and Duero drainage basins. We show here that the contrasting excavation of the Ebro and Duero basins drives a reorganization of their drainage network through a series of captures, which resulted in the southwestward migration of their main drainage divide. Fluvial captures have a strong impact on drainage areas, fluxes, and their respective incision capacity. We conclude that drainage reorganization driven by the capture of the Duero basin rivers by the Ebro drainage system explains the first-order preservation of endorheic stage remnants in the Duero basin, due to drainage area loss, independently from tectonics and climate.

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“…This pulse of erosion is also propagated upstream through both the captured and original river basins. Few studies have quantified the rates and magnitudes of fluvial erosion associated with river capture events [e.g., Gunnell and Harbor, 2010;Schlunegger and Mosar, 2011;Prince et al, 2011;Andrews et al, 2012;Brocard et al, 2012], and we are not aware of studies that have explored the implications of drainage capture for landscape evolution with a numerical model.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High magnitude and rapid incision from river capture: Rhine River, Switzerland

et al. 2013

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[1] Landscape evolution is controlled by the development and organization of drainage basins. As a landscape evolves, drainage reorganization events can occur via river capture or piracy, whereby one river basin grows at the expense of another. The river downstream of a capture location will generate a transient topographic response as the added water discharge increases sediment transport and erosion efficiency. This erosional response will propagate upstream through both the captured and original river basins. Here we focus on quantifying the impact of drainage reorganization along the Rhine/Aare River system (~45,000 km 2 ) during the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene, where gravel remnants indicate total incision of~650 m during the last~4.2 Myr in the region of the recent Aare-Rhine confluence. We develop a numerical model of drainage capture to quantify the range of possible magnitudes of erosion and the transient river response resulting from the reorganization of the Rhine River. The model accounts for both fluvial incision and sediment transport. Our model estimates 400-800 m of river elevation change (lowering profiles) during the last~4 Myr due to river capture events, providing an important component to the recent exhumation budget of the Swiss Alpine Foreland. The model indicates a rapid response to capture events (re-equilibration timescale of~1 Myr). The predicted incision magnitudes are consistent with incision measured from the elevation of Pliocene and early Pleistocene river gravels, suggesting that across northern Switzerland, a significant amount of incision can be explained by drainage reorganization.

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Stream capture as driver of transient landscape evolution in a tectonically quiescent setting

Cited by 105 publications

References 25 publications

River profile response to normal fault growth and linkage: an example from the Hellenic forearc of south-central Crete, Greece

River profile response to normal fault growth and linkage: an example from the Hellenic forearc of south-central Crete, Greece

Drainage reorganization and divide migration induced by the excavation of the Ebro basin (NE Spain)

High magnitude and rapid incision from river capture: Rhine River, Switzerland

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