Landscape response to normal fault linkage: Insights from numerical modeling

Chuanqi He, Ci Jian Yang, Gang Rao*, Duna C. Roda-Boluda, Xiaoping Yuan, Rong Yang, Lin Gao, Li Zhang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Normal fault linkage has significant impacts on uplift patterns and erosional processes in extensional regions. However, geomorphic process-based constraints on landscape response to normal fault linkage are still scarce. Here, we use landscape evolution models to examine how a landscape responds to the linkage of two normal faults. The results demonstrate that topography dynamically responds to the changes in uplift patterns that accompany fault linkage. Specifically, our results indicate that after fault linkage, (1) the steepest topography and the highest erosion rate shift from the center of each fault segment to the linkage zone; and (2) the main drainage divide evolves from an M-shape to a bow-shape. We apply these findings to the Langshan Mountains in northern China, and suggest that the two piedmont fault segments have linked and that a high geohazard risk exists near the linkage zone, where the steep, transient topography is experiencing intense erosion.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107796
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalGeomorphology
Volume388
Early online date26 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank Alexander L. Densmore for insightful discussions. We are grateful to the editor (Martin Stokes), Sarah J. Boulton, and two anonymous reviewers for their careful reviews and constructive suggestions. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41941016 , 41502203 , 41602210 , and 41602195 ), and the Zhejiang University Academic Award for Outstanding Doctoral Candidates to Chuanqi He (No. 2018016 ).

Funding Information:
We thank Alexander L. Densmore for insightful discussions. We are grateful to the editor (Martin Stokes), Sarah J. Boulton, and two anonymous reviewers for their careful reviews and constructive suggestions. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41941016, 41502203, 41602210, and 41602195), and the Zhejiang University Academic Award for Outstanding Doctoral Candidates to Chuanqi He (No. 2018016). The raw data underlying Figs. 3, 4, 6, 8, Figs. S2, S5?S7, and S10?S11 are provided as a Raw Data file. The Raw Data file, DEMs (in Figs. 2, 5, 7, and Fig. S8), erosion rates (in Figs. 1, 5, 7, and Fig. S8), and Movies S1?S4 are deposited at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12552107.v11. The raw data underlying Figs. 3, 4, 6, 8, Figs. S2, S5?S7, and S10?S11 are provided as a Raw Data file. The Raw Data file, DEMs (in Figs. 2, 5, 7, and Fig. S8), erosion rates (in Figs. 1, 5, 7, and Fig. S8), and Movies S1?S4 are deposited at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12552107.v11. A MATLAB script (BE10_Concentration.m) and a readme file are deposited at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12552107.v11. Based on the results of the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry measurement, this script can export 10Be concentration and its uncertainties.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Divide migration
  • Landscape evolution
  • Langshan Mountains
  • Normal fault linkage
  • Numerical modeling

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