Milankovitch-paced erosion in the southern Central Andes

G. Burch Fisher (), Lisa V. Luna, William H. Amidon, Douglas W. Burbank, Bas Boer, Lennert B. Stap, Bodo Bookhagen, Vincent Godard, Michael E. Oskin, Ricardo N. Alonso, Erik Tuenter and Lucas J. Lourens
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G. Burch Fisher: University of Texas at Austin
Lisa V. Luna: University of Potsdam
William H. Amidon: Middlebury College
Douglas W. Burbank: University of California
Bas Boer: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Lennert B. Stap: Utrecht University
Bodo Bookhagen: University of Potsdam
Vincent Godard: CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CEREGE
Michael E. Oskin: University of California
Ricardo N. Alonso: Universidad Nacional de Salta
Erik Tuenter: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI)
Lucas J. Lourens: Utrecht University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract It has long been hypothesized that climate can modify both the pattern and magnitude of erosion in mountainous landscapes, thereby controlling morphology, rates of deformation, and potentially modulating global carbon and nutrient cycles through weathering feedbacks. Although conceptually appealing, geologic evidence for a direct climatic control on erosion has remained ambiguous owing to a lack of high-resolution, long-term terrestrial records and suitable field sites. Here we provide direct terrestrial field evidence for long-term synchrony between erosion rates and Milankovitch-driven, 400-kyr eccentricity cycles using a Plio-Pleistocene cosmogenic radionuclide paleo-erosion rate record from the southern Central Andes. The observed climate-erosion coupling across multiple orbital cycles, when combined with results from the intermediate complexity climate model CLIMBER-2, are consistent with the hypothesis that relatively modest fluctuations in precipitation can cause synchronous and nonlinear responses in erosion rates as landscapes adjust to ever-evolving hydrologic boundary conditions imposed by oscillating climate regimes.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36022-0

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