Cosmogenic Nuclide Applications in Geomorphic Analysis

Cosmogenic nuclide analysis has become a cornerstone in quantifying rates of surface exposure, erosion and sediment transport. By measuring concentrations of rare isotopes such as 10Be, 26Al and 36Cl that accumulate in mineral surfaces upon cosmic‐ray bombardment, geomorphologists reconstruct timelines of landscape change across scales from individual boulders to entire mountain ranges. This approach yields insights into rates of glacial erosion, periglacial processes and long-term denudation, and bridges spatial and temporal gaps left by other dating methods. Applications span arid polar deserts where chemical weathering is negligible, to temperate and high-altitude regions with complex glacial–interglacial histories. Integrated with modelling of climate forcing, tectonics and ice-sheet dynamics, cosmogenic nuclide concentrations inform our understanding of landscape evolution, sediment budgets and crustal uplift. They have revealed transient pulses of erosion under ice sheets, the persistence of ancient landforms on plateaux and differential denudation in response to climatic fluctuations. Globally, these methods underpin reconstruction of past ice-sheet extents, rates of glacier retreat and the interplay between climate change and surface processes.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have leveraged cosmogenic nuclide inventories to elucidate the heterogeneity of glacial erosion. One analysis integrated nuclide‐derived erosion rates with geophysical datasets from a major ice sheet to demonstrate that subglacial erosion varies by orders of magnitude, controlled ultimately by basal thermal regime, lithology and ice dynamics. Another work applied 10Be and 26Al measurements on plateau bedrock to reveal that ice sheets can erode extensive high-elevation surfaces, challenging the notion that plateaux are preserved pre-glacial landforms. Together, these studies underscore the transient but powerful nature of ice-driven erosion and its spatial complexity, while emphasising the need to incorporate transient ice dynamics in landscape evolution models.

Cosmogenic Nuclide Applications in Geomorphic Analysis publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in cosmogenic nuclide applications in geomorphic analysis across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Cosmogenic nuclide: Rare isotope produced in situ within minerals at Earth’s surface by cosmic rays, used for dating exposure and erosion.

Exposure age: Time elapsed since a rock surface became exposed to cosmic radiation, derived from nuclide concentration.

Erosion rate: Rate at which material is removed from a surface, estimated by loss of nuclides relative to production.

Depth profile: Vertical distribution of nuclide concentrations in a sediment or rock column, used to infer burial and exposure histories.

Glacial isostatic adjustment: Deformation of Earth’s crust in response to loading and unloading by ice sheets, affecting surface elevation and nuclide production rates.

References

1. The extreme yet transient nature of glacial erosion. Nature Communications (2022).
2. Widespread erosion on high plateaus during recent glaciations in Scandinavia. Nature Communications (2018).
3. Antarctic permafrost processes and antiphase dynamics of cold-based glaciers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys inferred from 10Be and 26Al cosmogenic nuclides. The Cryosphere (2023).
4. A 14.5-million-year record of East Antarctic Ice Sheet fluctuations from the central Transantarctic Mountains, constrained with cosmogenic 3He, 10Be, 21Ne, and 26Al. The Cryosphere (2020).
5. Impact of glacial isostatic adjustment on cosmogenic surface-exposure dating. Quaternary Science Reviews (2019).