ALBERT

Description: Climate change affects the stability and erosion of high‐alpine rock walls above glaciers (headwalls) that deliver debris to glacier surfaces. Since supraglacial debris in the ablation zone alters the melt behaviour of the underlying ice, the responses of debris‐covered glaciers and of headwalls to climate change may be coupled. In this study, we analyse the beryllium‐10 (10Be)‐cosmogenic nuclide concentration history of glacial headwalls delivering debris to the Glacier d'Otemma in Switzerland. By systematic downglacier‐profile‐sampling of two parallel medial moraines, we assess changes in headwall erosion through time for small, well‐defined debris source areas. We compute apparent headwall erosion rates from 10Be concentrations ([10Be]), measured in 15 amalgamated medial moraine debris samples. To estimate both the additional 10Be production during glacial debris transport and the age of our samples we combine our field‐based data with a simple model that simulates downglacier debris trajectories. Furthermore, we evaluate additional grain size fractions for eight samples to test for stochastic mass wasting effects on [10Be]. Our results indicate that [10Be] along the medial moraines vary systematically with time and consistently for different grain sizes. [10Be] are higher for older debris, closer to the glacier terminus, and lower for younger debris, closer to the glacier head. Computed apparent headwall erosion rates vary between ~0.6 and 10.8 mm yr−1, increasing over a maximum time span of ~200 years towards the present. As ice cover retreats, newly exposed headwall surfaces may become susceptible to enhanced weathering and erosion, expand to lower elevations, and contribute formerly shielded bedrock of likely different [10Be]. Hence, we suggest that recently lower [10Be] reflect the deglaciation of the debris source areas since the end of the Little Ice Age.

Description: In glacial landscapes, systematic downglacier‐sampling of medial moraine debris holds the potential to assess changes in headwall erosion through time. Cosmogenic beryllium‐10 (10Be) concentrations within the medial moraines of Glacier d'Otemma, Switzerland, broadly increase downglacier and translate into increasing headwall erosion rates towards the present. These trends may reflect processes associated with the exposure of new bedrock surfaces across recently deglaciating source headwalls.

Description: European Research Council (ERC) H2020‐EU.1.1.

Description: https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.3.3.2021.007

Description: As reverse weathering has been shown to impact long-term changes in atmospheric CO2 levels, it is crucial to develop quantitative tools to reconstruct marine authigenic clay formation. We explored the potential of the beryllium (Be) isotope ratio (10Be/9Be) recorded in marine clay-sized sediment to track neoformation of authigenic clays. The power of such proxy relies on the orders-of-magnitude difference in 10Be/9Be ratios between continental Be and Be dissolved in seawater. On riverine and marine sediments collected along a Chilean margin transect we chemically extracted reactive phases and separated the clay-sized sediment fraction. We compare the riverine and marine 10Be/9Be ratio of this fraction. Moreover, we compare the elemental and mineralogical composition and the Nd and Sr-isotopic composition of these samples. 10Be/9Be ratios increase four-fold from riverine to marine sediment. We attribute this increase to the incorporation of Be high in 10Be/9Be from dissolved biogenic opal, which also serves as a Si-source for the precipitation of marine authigenic clays. 10Be/9Be ratios thus sensitively track reverse-weathering reactions forming marine authigenic clays.

Description: To determine the depositional age and the long-term delivery of meteoric 10Be (10Bem) to the Rio Bermejo floodplain (northern Argentina), we collected floodplain sediment samples at four locations identified as point bars of abandoned Rio Bermejo channels. We used a stainless-steel hand auger to collect sediment down to a maximum depth of ~5 m, or until refusal. For 10Bem and 9Bereac analysis, we extracted samples that integrated material from 0-20 cm below the surface, 20-50 cm, and regularly spaced 40 cm intervals for lower depths. We homogenized the material prior to packing into clean plastic bags. Sediment particle size distributions were measured on ~10 mg aliquots using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer (Horiba LA-950). The total reactive phase, including amorphous oxyhydroxides and crystalline oxide grain coatings, was extracted from the sediment samples using a procedure adapted from Wittmann et al. (2012, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2012.04.031). 10Be was purified from the extracted material, spiked with a 9Be carrier solution containing 150 µg of 9Be, and packed into targets for AMS measurement at the University of Cologne Centre for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (Cologne, Germany). 10Be/9Be measurements were normalized to the KN01-6-2 and KN01-5-3 standards (Dewald et al., 2013, doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2012.04.030) that are consistent with a 10Be half-life of 1.36 ± 0.07 x10 yrˉ¹ (Nishiizumi et al., 2007, doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2007.01.297). 10Bem was calculated from the normalized and blank-corrected 10Be/9Be ratios. The reported 1σ uncertainties include counting statistics and the uncertainties of both standard normalization and blank correction. Stable 9Be concentrations were measured on a separate aliquot of the sample solution using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Uncertainty of ICP-OES measurements was 5%. We used coarse quartz grain OSL analysis to determine depositional ages for each floodplain core. For OSL analysis, we collected light-sealed samples by driving an opaque tube into our floodplain cores at two select depths in each core. OSL measurements were performed using a Risø DA 15 OSL/TL reader equipped with a 90Sr beta irradiator (4.9 Gy/min). OSL signals were stimulated with blue LEDs (470 nm, 50 s, 125 ºC) and detected through an optical filter (U 340 Hoya). For each sample, 40 aliquots were measured using the single-aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) protocol (Murray and Wintle, 2000, doi:10.1016/S1350-4487(03)00053-2) for equivalent dose determination.

Description: To test the potential of meteoric 10Be (10Bem) as a river sediment transit time proxy, we measured 10Bem concentrations in river suspended sediment of the Rio Bermejo (northern Argentina), which is a river with a ~1300 km lowland flowpath void of tributaries. We collected fluvial suspended sediment in vertical depth profiles at five sampling locations along the length of the Rio Bermejo (northern Argentina) during near-bankfull conditions, when discharge varied between 675 and 1080 m**3/s and banks were actively eroding. Additionally, we collected one depth profile from Rio San Francisco (RSF) and one from the Rio Bermejo 10 km upstream of the RSF confluence. Combining these profiles and weighting them by the relative proportions of their total sediment load input to the mainstem Bermejo serves as an integrated headwater depth profile. In the thalweg, we collected water and suspended sediment from a boat using a weighted 8-liter horizontal sampling bottle (Wildco Beta Plus bottle) with an attached pressure transducer to measure sampling depth. We separated sediment from the water using a custom-built 5-liter pressurized filtration unit with a 293 mm diameter, 0.2 µm polyethersulfone filter. In the laboratory, we rinsed sediment off the filters directly into an evaporating dish with ultrapure 18.2 MΩ water (pH~7; when needed, we added NH3 solution to the water to maintain pH~7). Samples were dried in an oven at 40ºC, and subsequently homogenized. Sediment particle size distributions were measured on ~10 mg aliquots using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer (Horiba LA-950). Specific surface area (SSA) of bulk sediment samples was measured on ~4 g aliquots using a Quantachrome NOVAtouch LX gas sorption analyzer and the Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) theory (Brunauer et al., 1938). The total reactive phase, including amorphous oxyhydroxides and crystalline oxide grain coatings, was extracted from the sediment samples using a procedure adapted from Wittmann et al. (2012, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2012.04.031). 10Bem was purified from the extracted material, spiked with a 9Be carrier solution containing 150 µg of 9Be, and packed into targets for AMS measurement at the University of Cologne Centre for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (Cologne, Germany). 10Be /9Be measurements were normalized to the KN01-6-2 and KN01-5-3 standards (Dewald et al., 2013, doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2012.04.030) that are consistent with a 10Be half-life of 1.36 ± 0.07 x10^6 yrˉ¹ (Nishiizumi et al., 2007, doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2007.01.297). [10Be]m was calculated from the normalized and blank-corrected 10Be/9Be ratios. The reported 1σ uncertainties include counting statistics and the uncertainties of both standard normalization and blank correction. Stable 9Be concentrations were measured on a separate aliquot of the sample solution using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Uncertainty of ICP-OES measurements was 5%.

Description: To study the transformation of organic carbon through long distance transport in rivers, we measured the composition of bulk organic carbon in river suspended sediment of the Rio Bermejo (northern Argentina). This river has a ~1300 km lowland flowpath with no significant tributaries. We collected fluvial suspended sediment in vertical depth profiles at five sampling locations along the length of the Rio Bermejo (northern Argentina) during near-bankfull conditions, when discharge varied between 675 and 1080 m3/s and banks were actively eroding. Additionally, we collected one depth profile from the Rio San Francisco (RSF) and one from the Rio Bermejo 10 km upstream of the RSF confluence. Combining these profiles and weighting them by the relative proportions of their total sediment load input to the mainstem Bermejo serves as a depth profile representing the headwaters. At each depth profile location, we collected water and suspended sediment from the channel thalweg by boat. We used a weighted 8-liter horizontal sampling bottle (Wildco Beta Plus bottle) with an attached pressure transducer to measure sampling depth. We separated sediment from the water using a custom-built 5-liter pressurized filtration unit with a 293 mm diameter, 0.2 µm polyethersulfone filter. In the laboratory, we rinsed sediment off the filters directly into an evaporating dish with ultrapure 18.2 MΩ water (pH~7). Samples were dried in an oven at 40ºC, and subsequently homogenized. Sediment particle size distributions were measured on ~10 mg aliquots using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer (Horiba LA-950). Specific surface area (SSA) of bulk sediment samples was measured on ~4 g aliquots using a Quantachrome NOVAtouch LX gas sorption analyzer and the Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) theory (Brunauer et al., 1938). Aliquots for organic carbon measurements were first treated with 4% HCl solution to remove inorganic carbon, following Galy et al. (2007, doi:10.1111/j.1751-908X.2007.00864.x). Total organic carbon (TOCPOC) and δ13C of POC was measured in duplicate at Durham University using a Costech elemental analyzer (EA) coupled to a CONFLO III and Thermo Scientific Delta V Advantage isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). Radiocarbon content was measured using an EA coupled to an accelerator mass spectrometer (EA-AMS) at ETH Zurich. We report 14C content as fraction modern (F14C), by normalizing measurements to 95% of the 1950 NBS Oxalic Acid II standard (δ13C = -17.8‰) and correcting for mass-dependent fractionation using a common δ13C value of -25‰. OC loading is the mass of organic carbon in a sample normalized by the sample's specific surface area (SSA). Reactive metals in the amorphous oxyhydroxide and crystalline oxide grain coatings, were extracted from the sediment samples using a procedure adapted from Wittmann et al. (2012, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2012.04.031). The extracted oxyhydroxides and oxides were dried down and diluted in 3M HNO3. A 100 μl aliquot was taken for measurement of metal concentrations. Al, Fe, Mg, and Mn concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Uncertainty of ICP-OES measurements was 〈5%. All depth-integrated values are calculated as a function of the suspended sediment concentration relative to the depth-averaged suspended sediment concentration.

Description: We use cosmogenic nuclide-derived denudation rates from in situ-produced 10Be in river sediment to determine sediment production rates for the central Amazon River and its major tributaries. Recent developments have shown that this method allows calculating denudation rates in large depositional basins despite intermediate sediment storage, with the result that fluxes of the sediment-producing hinterland can now be linked to those discharged at the basins' outlet. In rivers of the central Amazonian plain, sediment of finer grain sizes (125-500 {micro}m) yields a weighted cosmogenic nuclide-derived denudation rate of 0.24 {+/-} 0.02 mm/yr that is comparable to the integrated rate of all main Andean-draining rivers (0.37 {+/-} 0.06 mm/yr), which are the Beni, Napo, Mamore, Ucayali, and Maranon rivers. Coarser-grained sediment (〉500 {micro}m) of central Amazonian rivers is indicative of a source from the tectonically stable cratonic headwaters of the Guyana and Brazilian shields, for which the denudation rate is 0.01-0.02 mm/yr. Respective sediment loads can be calculated by converting these cosmogenic nuclide-derived rates using their sediment-producing areas. For the Amazon River at Obidos, a sediment production rate of [~]610 Mt/yr results; non-Andean source areas contribute only [~]45 Mt/yr. A comparison with published modern sediment fluxes shows similarities within a factor of [~]2 with an average gauging-derived sediment load of [~]1000 Mt/yr at Obidos, for example. We attribute this similar trend in cosmogenic versus modern sediment loads first to the absence of long-term deposition within the basin and second to the buffering capability of the large Amazon floodplain. The buffering capability dampens short-term, high-amplitude fluctuations (climatic variability in source areas and anthropogenic soil erosion) by the time the denudation rate signal of the hinterland is transmitted to the outlet of the basin.

Description: Abstract

Description: These datasets were used to evaluate the main controls on last ~6 million years erosion rate variability of the northwestern Himalaya. The Earth’s climate has been cooling during the last ~15 million years and started fluctuating between cold and warm periods since ~2-3 million years ago. Many researchers think that these long-term climatic changes were accompanied by changes in continental erosion. However, quantifying erosion rates in the geological past is challenging, and previous studies reached contrasting conclusions. In this study, we quantified erosion rates in the north-western Indian Himalaya over the past 6 million years by measuring in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be in exhumed older foreland basin sediments. The 10Be is produced by cosmic rays in minerals at the Earth's surface, and its abundance indicates erosion rates. Our reconstructed erosion rates show a quasi-cyclic pattern with a periodicity of ~1 million year and a gradual increase towards the present. We suggest that both patterns—cyclicity and gradual increase—are unrelated to climatic changes. Instead, we propose that the growth of the Himalaya by repeatedly scraping off rocks from the Indian plate (basal accretion), resulted in changes of its topography that were accompanied by changes in erosion rates. In this scenario, basal accretion episodically changes rock-uplift patterns, which brings landscapes out of equilibrium and results in quasi-cyclic variations in erosion rates. We used numerical landscape evolution simulations to demonstrate that this hypothesis is physically plausible. Datasets provided here includes summary of the location, depositional age, and stratigraphic position of 41 Siwalik sandstone samples collected from the Haripur section in Himachal Pradesh, India (Dataset S1); 10Be analysis results of Siwalik samples (2021-006_Mandal-et-al_Dataset-S1); sample location and 10Be analysis results of modern river sands from the Yamuna River and its tributaries near the Dehradun Basin (2021-006_Mandal-et-al_Dataset-S2); input parameters for the calculation of paleoerosion rates (2021-006_Mandal-et-al_Dataset-S3); and reconstructed 10Be paleoconcentrations and paleoerosion rates (Dataset S4). Moreover, the data include a compilation of published magnetostratigraphy-derived sediment accumulation rates in the late Cenozoic Himalayan foreland basin (2021-006_Mandal-et-al_Dataset-S5). We also include a movie (2021-006_Mandal-et-al_Movie-S1) that is a complete numerical landscape evolution model run with four consecutive accretion cycles of equal magnitude. For more information (for e.g., sampling method, analytical procedure, and data processing) please refer to the associated data description file and the main article (Mandal et al., 2021).