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National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 13(119), 2022

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115077119

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Sensitivity of rift tectonics to global variability in the efficiency of river erosion

Journal article published in 2022 by Jean-Arthur Olive ORCID, Luca C. Malatesta ORCID, Mark D. Behn ORCID, W. Roger Buck ORCID
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

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Abstract

Significance The efficiency of erosion in leveling relief mainly depends on climate and strength of exposed rocks. However, whether erosion is sufficiently efficient to influence the architecture of a tectonic plate boundary remains a topic of debate. Here, we analyze continental rift landscapes reworked by river incision to assess a globally representative range of fluvial erosion efficiency. We then simulate crustal extension exposed to surface processes acting within this documented range. We find that more efficient erosion favors the growth of half-grabens over horsts, which can explain contrasting tectonic styles across the Basin and Range province and the East African Rift. This suggests that variability in Earth’s geological structures partly reflects variability in hydrological conditions and associated surface processes.