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Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE
Includes abstract.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Geological Sciences
2014
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| _version_ | 1867613748929232896 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Scharf, Taryn E |
| author2 | De Wit, Maarten |
| author_browse | De Wit, Maarten Scharf, Taryn E |
| author_facet | De Wit, Maarten Scharf, Taryn E |
| author_sort | Scharf, Taryn E |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Includes abstract. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/4220 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:05.321Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publishDateRange | 2014 |
| publishDateSort | 2014 |
| publisher | Department of Geological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Geological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/4220 Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE Scharf, Taryn E De Wit, Maarten Codilean, Alexandru T Geology Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references. Southern Africa is host to a unique mountain system, the Cape Mountains, which includes the coastal Cape Fold Belt (CFB) and an inland Escarpment. Apatite fission track analysis has shown that this mountain system is an erosion feature, exhumed from beneath 2-7 km of overburden by large-scale denudation processes affecting the subcontinent during Gondwana break-up (ca. 140 – 65 Ma). Despite its antiquity and location on a passive continental margin, the ruggedness of the present-day topography of the Cape Mountains compares to that of the world’s active orogens. The coastal Cape Mountains are traversed by deeply-incised, meandering rivers that cut canyons through the most resistant quartzite ridges of these mountains, perpendicular to their structural grain inherited from the CFB. The evolution of this landscape is poorly understood, because little quantitative data exists on the denudation history of the Cape Mountains. This study presents the first in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be inventories determined for quartz from catchment sediments and bedrock surfaces within the coastal Cape Mountains, with which to quantify denudation rates, exposure ages and the recent geomorphic evolution of these Cape Mountains. River sediments sampled from catchments within the Langeberg and Swartberg Ranges of the Western Cape, as well as bedrock from the Tradouw River traversing the Langeberg Range, were analysed. In addition, charcoal from alluvial material was collected for radiocarbon dating. Catchment-averaged denudation rates reported from these mountains range between 2.1 ± 0.3 and 6.9 ± 1.9 m·Myr-1. These are amongst the lowest reported rates globally, despite the rugged terrain of the mountain system. The spatial consistency between the low denudation rates suggests a landscape approaching geomorphic steady-state. This finding is best attributed to lithological control on denudation rates in a tectonically quiescent environment, and a relatively dry climate. 2014-07-30T17:28:03Z 2014-07-30T17:28:03Z 2012 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4220 eng application/pdf Department of Geological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Geology Scharf, Taryn E Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE |
| title_full | Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE |
| title_fullStr | Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE |
| title_full_unstemmed | Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE |
| title_short | Denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the Cape Mountains, determined by the analysis of the in situ-produced cosmogenic 10BE |
| title_sort | denudation rates and geomorphic evolution of the cape mountains determined by the analysis of the in situ produced cosmogenic 10be |
| topic | Geology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4220 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT scharftaryne denudationratesandgeomorphicevolutionofthecapemountainsdeterminedbytheanalysisoftheinsituproducedcosmogenic10be |