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Journal of the Geological Society; 1999; v. 156; issue.2; p. 209-212;
DOI: 10.1144/gsjgs.156.2.0209
© 1999 Geological Society of London

SPECIAL

Denudation rates for the southern Drakensberg escarpment, SE Africa, derived from in-situ-produced cosmogenic 36C1: initial results

A. FLEMING1, M. A. SUMMERFIELD1, J. O. STONE2, L. K. FIFIELD3 & R. G. CRESSWELL3

1 Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 8XP, UK (e-mail: af{at}geo.ed.ac.uk)
2 Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
3 Department of Nuclear Physics, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia

Cosmogenic 36C1 concentrations in basalt samples from the Drakensberg escarpment on the SE African passive margin give quantitative estimates of denudation and scarp retreat rates. Over the 104–106 year timespan addressed by these data, the calculated escarpment retreat rate has been 50–95 m Ma-1 and the average summit denudation rate 6 m Ma-1. The scarp retreat rate is an order of magnitude less than previously suggested. The rate of summit lowering is sufficient to prevent the long-term intact survival of erosion cycle surfaces formed in the Mesozoic that were previously inferred for this region.

Key Words: SE Africa • cosmogenic isotopes • denudation • landscapes • scarps




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