Accurate surface exposure dating with lichens

2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Bull

AbstractLichenometry accurately dates exposure times of glacial moraines and landslides when measuring the longest axis of the largest crustose lichen on many blocks, as demonstrated by numerous examples. In Sweden, the sizes ofRhizocarponsubgenusRhizocarpondescribe five pulses of glacial moraine creation in 120 yr. Six historic California earthquakes, between AD 1800 and 1906, caused many landslides that constrain lichen growth as linear with a dating accuracy of±0.5 yr. Crustose lichen sizes date earthquake-created additions to Sierra Nevada talus with an accuracy of±5 yr. The oldest lichen ages are 400 yr forLecanora sierrae, 800 yr forLecidea atrobrunnea, and 1100 yr forAcarospora chlorophanaandRhizocarponsubgenusRhizocarpon. Lichen sizes also record differing spatial attenuation of ground shaking from the magnitude (Mw) ~7.9 San Andreas earthquake of AD 1857 and the more distant, smaller San Jacinto AD 1800 earthquake, which both caused Sierra Nevada rockfalls. AD 1800 seismic shaking was relatively stronger than that of AD 1857 farther north, perhaps expressing stronger Love and Rayleigh styles of surface waves from the north-trending AD 1800 surface rupture that were particularly efficient in causing rockfalls at greater distances.

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 646-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan H. Rood ◽  
Douglas W. Burbank ◽  
Robert C. Finkel

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zech ◽  
Ch. Kull ◽  
P. W. Kubik ◽  
H. Veit

Abstract. Surface exposure dating (SED) is an innovative tool already being widely applied for moraine dating and for Late Quaternary glacier and climate reconstruction. Here we present exposure ages of 28 boulders from the Cordillera Real and the Cordillera Cochabamba, Bolivia. Our results indicate that the local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Eastern Cordilleras occurred at ~22–25 ka and was thus synchronous to the global temperature minimum. We were also able to date several Late Glacial moraines to ~11–13 ka, which likely document lower temperatures and increased precipitation ("Coipasa" humid phase). Additionally, we recognize the existence of older Late Glacial moraines re-calculated to ~15 ka from published cosmogenic nuclide data. Those may coincide with the cold Heinrich 1 event in the North Atlantic region and the pronounced "Tauca" humid phase. We conclude that (i) exposure ages in the tropical Andes may have been overestimated so far due to methodological uncertainties, and (ii) although precipitation plays an important role for glacier mass balances in the tropical Andes, it becomes the dominant forcing for glaciation only in the drier and thus more precipitation-sensitive regions farther west and south.


Author(s):  
Jérôme van der Woerd ◽  
Yann Klinger ◽  
Kerry Sieh ◽  
Paul Tapponnier ◽  
Frederick J. Ryerson ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 839-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zech ◽  
Ch. Kull ◽  
P. W. Kubik ◽  
H. Veit

Abstract. Surface exposure dating (SED) is an innovative tool being already widely applied for moraine dating and for Late Quaternary glacier and climate reconstruction. Here we present exposure ages of 28 boulders from the Cordillera Real and the Cordillera Cochabamba, Bolivia. Our results indicate that the local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Eastern Cordilleras occurred at ~22–25 ka and thus synchronous to the global temperature minimum. We were also able to date several Late Glacial moraines to ~11–13 ka, which likely document lower temperatures and increased precipitation ("Coipasa" humid phase). Additionally, we recognize the existence of older Late Glacial moraines re-calculated to ~15 ka from published cosmogenic nuclide data. Those may coincide with the cold Heinrich 1 event in the North Atlantic region and the pronounced "Tauca" humid phase. We conclude that (i) exposure ages in the tropical Andes may have been substantially overestimated so far due to methodological uncertainties, and (ii) although precipitation plays an important role for glacier mass balances in the tropical Andes, it becomes the dominant forcing for glaciation only in the drier and thus more precipitation-sensitive regions further west and south.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-412
Author(s):  
Endra Gunawan ◽  
Takuya Nishimura ◽  
Susilo Susilo ◽  
Sri Widiyantoro ◽  
Nanang T. Puspito ◽  
...  

AbstractOn 6 December 2016 at 22:03 UTC, a devastating magnitude 6-class strike-slip earthquake occurred along an unidentified and unmapped fault in Pidie Jaya, northern Sumatra. We analysed the possible fault using continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) observation available in the region. In our investigation, we searched for the fault source parameters of the north- and south-dipping left-lateral faults and the west- and east-dipping right-lateral faults. We identified that the fault responsible for the earthquake was located offshore, with a southwest-northeast direction. We also computed the Coulomb failure stress and compared the result with the distribution of the aftershocks. In this study, we demonstrated that the result of the geological field survey conducted soon after the mainshock was attributed to the secondary effects of ground shaking and near-surface deformation, and not surface faulting. The newly identified offshore fault proposed by this study calls for further investigation of the corresponding submarine morphological attributes in this particular region.


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