This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Cockburn, H. A.P. Articles by Summerfield, M. A. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Geomorphological applications of cosmogenic isotope analysis

Institute of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia

Michael A. Summerfield

Institute of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK, mas{at}geo.ed.ac.uk

Cosmogenic isotope analysis involves the measurement of cosmogenic nuclides that have accumulated in the upper few metres of the Earth’s surface as a result of interactions between cosmic rays and target elements. The concentrations of these cosmogenic nuclides can provide quantitative estimates of the timing and rate of geomorphic processes. In dating applications the concentration of cosmogenic nuclides is interpreted as reflecting the time elapsed since a surface exposure event. However, over most of the Earth’s surface for most of the time the landsurface experiences incremental denudation and in these circumstances cosmogenic nuclide concentrations are related to the rate of denudation. Applications of event dating using cosmogenic isotopes include constructional landforms such as volcanic and depositional features, fault displacement, meteorite impacts, rapid mass movement, bedrock surfaces rapidly eroded by fluvial or wave action or exposed by glacial retreat, and the burial of sediment or ice. Strategies for quantifying rates of incremental change include estimates of denudation rates from site-specific samples and from fluvial sediment samples reflecting catchment-wide rates, and measurements of cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in soils and regolith to quantify rates of rock weathering. The past decade has seen a rapid growth in applications of cosmogenic isotope analysis to a wide range of geomorphological problems, and the technique is now playing a major role in dating and quantifying rates of landscape change over timescales of several thousands to several millions of years.

Key Words: cosmogenic isotope analysis • cosmogenic nuclides • dating • denudation rates • geomorphology

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. T. Codilean, P. Bishop, F. M. Stuart, T. B. Hoey, D. Fabel, and S. P.H.T. Freeman Single-grain cosmogenic 21Ne concentrations in fluvial sediments reveal spatially variable erosion rates Geology, February 1, 2008; 36(2): 159 - 162. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Walker and J. Lowe Quaternary science 2007: a 50-year retrospective Journal of the Geological Society, December 1, 2007; 164(6): 1073 - 1092. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. T. Codilean, P. Bishop, and T. B. Hoey Surface process models and the links between tectonics and topography Progress in Physical Geography, July 1, 2006; 30(3): 307 - 333. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. P. Briner, D. S. Kaufman, W. F. Manley, R. C. Finkel, and M. W. Caffee Cosmogenic exposure dating of late Pleistocene moraine stabilization in Alaska GSA Bulletin, July 1, 2005; 117(7-8): 1108 - 1120. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-D. Garcia-Ramon On Diversity and Difference in Geography: A Southern European Perspective European Urban and Regional Studies, October 1, 2004; 11(4): 367 - 370. [Abstract] [PDF]