Study shows how rain shapes mountains
RESEARCHERS have developed a technique that captures precisely how mountains bend to the will of raindrops.
The dramatic effect rainfall has on the evolution of mountainous landscapes is widely debated among geologists.
However, new research led by the University of Bristol clearly calculates its impact, furthering the understanding of how peaks and valleys have developed over millions of years.
Its findings published in Science Advances focused on the Himalaya mountain range.
Researchers say they pave the way for forecasting the possible impact of climate change on landscapes and, in turn, human life.
Lead author Dr Byron Adams, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at the university’s Cabot Institute for the Environment, said: “It may seem intuitive that more rain can shape mountains by making rivers cut down into rocks faster.
“But scientists have also believed rain can erode a landscape quickly enough to essentially ‘suck’ the rocks out of the Earth, effectively pulling mountains up very quickly.
“Both these theories have been debated for decades because the measurements required to prove them are so painstakingly complicated.
“That’s what makes this discovery such an exciting breakthrough, as it strongly supports the notion that atmospheric and solid earth processes are intimately connected.”
The study was based in the central and eastern Himalaya of Bhutan and Nepal, because this region of the world has become one of the most sampled landscapes for erosion rate studies.
Dr Adams, together with collaborators from Arizona State University (ASU) and Louisiana State University, used cosmic clocks within sand grains to measure the speed at which rivers erode the rocks beneath them. Researchers say the findings carry important implications for land use management, infrastructure maintenance, and hazards in the Himalaya.