Cosmogenic nuclide dating: Landscape evolution

The measurement of cosmogenic nuclides produced in mineral grains has revolutionized the study of landscape evolution by providing methods to measure rates of erosion, soil production, and river incision over timescales ranging from thousands to millions of years. For example, cosmogenic nuclides at the soil–bedrock interface show that soil production rates depend strongly on soil depth. Cosmogenic nuclides in stream sediments show that basin-wide erosion rates are more strongly controlled by tectonics rather than climate. Cosmogenic nuclides on river terraces and in caves show that river incision is strongly episodic and in some cases can be linked to Quaternary climate change. Cosmogenic nuclides in glaciated areas give not only the timing of deglaciation, but also indicate where ice has eroded bedrock and where it has not. In these ways and more, cosmogenic nuclides can contribute both to quantifying the rates of surface processes and to establishing the timing of landscape response to important events in climate, tectonics, or drainage history.