Lin Li
Research Scientist
Department of Geosciences
University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
E-mails: linli2@arizona.edu; li.lin8611@gmail.com
Webpages: Google Scholar; Web of Science
Tectonics, topographic growth, and climate change
Continental tectonics, especially in contractional settings (e.g., subduction and collision), can cause extensive deformation and shortening in the upper crust, as well as geodynamic processes at depth, thus forming high-elevation orogenic belts and plateaus, such as the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau.
Active deformation enhances weathering and erosion, causing deposition in the hinterland and/or foreland basins. On the other hand, elevated elevations in mountain belts can influence atmospheric circulations, causing intensified precipitation on the windward side but aridification on the leeward side.
Sedimentary basins as an archive
Sedimentary basins accumulate detritus that is predominantly eroded from surrounding orogenic belts, and thus preserve a wealth of information about past tectonic activities (orogenesis). It is viable to explore the processes and mechanisms of orogenesis by the study of sedimentary processes, as well as detrital geochronology and thermochronology.
Sedimentary basins also preserve chemical deposits, such as authigenic carbonates, the stable and clumped isotopes of which record key climatic and environmental parameters that can be used to reconstruct paleoelevation and paleoclimate.
Updated on October, 2022