Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
model of how the system has worked through
time. For example, interpretation of radio-
metrically determined cooling rates in terms
of  erosional histories commonly relies on
assumptions about the thermal field through
which the rock cooled, which itself is dictated
by the spatial and temporal distribution of
erosion rates. And, again, such interpretations
are typically based on a few scattered dates.
New ways to integrate data from across
ranges  and to assess the patterns of long-term
rock uplift and erosion are needed. Fortun-
ately, many new approaches are now routinely
incorporated into tectonic-geomorphic analyses.
Numerical modeling is another approach to
understanding how landscapes may evolve.
Considerable progress has been made in recent
decades in quantifying the ways in which fluvial,
hillslope, and glacial processes relate to erosion,
sediment transport, water flux, slope gradients,
and rock strength. These data underpin new
generations of numerical models of surface
processes. Similarly, improved geodetic, seismic,
and structural data aid in constraining new
numerical models for the geophysical processes
involved in building mountains: plastic defor-
mation in collisional orogens; crustal deformation
through the seismic cycle on individual faults;
fault propagation and linkage; and broad-scale
isostatic compensation associated with evolving
topographic loads. In the following chapter, the
fundamentals of modeling landscape evolution
are described, and examples of the integration
of surface and tectonic processes in landscape
evolution are examined at a range of spatial and
temporal scales.
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