MODELING FEEDBACKS BETWEEN CLIMATE AND EROSION AT CONVERGENT MARGINS

Our current understanding of convergent wedges indicates that the rate and distribution of rock uplift at convergent margins is dependent upon the geometry of the system. The geometry of a convergent margin can be altered if there is a change in the rate or pattern of erosion at the surface. As rates and patterns of erosion are dependent on climate, this indicates that there is a possible feedback between climate and tectonics. This idea is numerically tested using a new geodynamic model that couples a thermo-mechanical model of crustal shortening with a landscape evolution model that includes glacial evolution. The model predicts that the rate and distribution of tectonic uplift at active orogens may be strongly controlled by changes in the climate, through both fluvial (via erosion and sedimentation) and glacial (via erosion and isostatic loading) mechanisms.