John C. Gosse

Recent advances in measuring muon fluxes at great depths for neutrino experiments, along with improvements in in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) measurements, have enhanced our understanding of muogenic nuclide production rates at decametre and hectometre depths. These developments allow us to explore muogenic TCN as a tool for estimating long-term (>10⁵ years) erosion rates. There are theoretical advantages of utilizing muogenic TCN for long-term landscape evolution analysis (µ-paleotopometry). We summarize recent advances in knowledge of deep muon flux used in the interpretation of neutrino interactions at kilometre depths. We discuss strategies being considered for the µ-paleotopometry method to address otherwise intractable landscape evolution questions. We demonstrate an achievable resolution of calculated erosion rates with TCN measurements in quartz at rock depths of 37.8 x 10³ to 67.5 x 10³ g cm^-2 (~ 140 and 250 m). In settings where assumptions of constant erosion rate are suitable, the uncertainty is controlled by nuclide concentration measurement error and the effective time (duration over which the isotope concentration reflects the erosion history) is limited by radio-decay. Other environmental complexities, such as variable glacier cover, unknown complexity in initial topography, or mineral composition of rock may restrict the addressable questions and limit precision. Where a time-varying erosion rate is sought, deeper-time variances have inferior representation.

Recent advances in measuring muon fluxes at great depths for neutrino experiments, along with improvements in in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) measurements, have enhanced our understanding of muogenic nuclide production rates at decametre and hectometre depths. These developments allow us to explore muogenic TCN as a tool for estimating long-term (>10⁵ years) erosion rates. There are theoretical advantages of utilizing muogenic TCN for long-term landscape evolution analysis (µ-paleotopometry). We summarize recent advances in knowledge of deep muon flux used in the interpretation of neutrino interactions at kilometre depths. We discuss strategies being considered for the µ-paleotopometry method to address otherwise intractable landscape evolution questions. We demonstrate an achievable resolution of calculated erosion rates with TCN measurements in quartz at rock depths of 37.8 x 10³ to 67.5 x 10³ g cm^-2 (~ 140 and 250 m). In settings where assumptions of constant erosion rate are suitable, the uncertainty is controlled by nuclide concentration measurement error and the effective time (duration over which the isotope concentration reflects the erosion history) is limited by radio-decay. Other environmental complexities, such as variable glacier cover, unknown complexity in initial topography, or mineral composition of rock may restrict the addressable questions and limit precision. Where a time-varying erosion rate is sought, deeper-time variances have inferior representation.

Recent advances in measuring muon fluxes at great depths for neutrino experiments, along with improvements in in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) measurements, have enhanced our understanding of muogenic nuclide production rates at decametre and hectometre depths. These developments allow us to explore muogenic TCN as a tool for estimating long-term (>10⁵ years) erosion rates. There are theoretical advantages of utilizing muogenic TCN for long-term landscape evolution analysis (µ-paleotopometry). We summarize recent advances in knowledge of deep muon flux used in the interpretation of neutrino interactions at kilometre depths. We discuss strategies being considered for the µ-paleotopometry method to address otherwise intractable landscape evolution questions. We demonstrate an achievable resolution of calculated erosion rates with TCN measurements in quartz at rock depths of 37.8 x 10³ to 67.5 x 10³ g cm^-2 (~ 140 and 250 m). In settings where assumptions of constant erosion rate are suitable, the uncertainty is controlled by nuclide concentration measurement error and the effective time (duration over which the isotope concentration reflects the erosion history) is limited by radio-decay. Other environmental complexities, such as variable glacier cover, unknown complexity in initial topography, or mineral composition of rock may restrict the addressable questions and limit precision. Where a time-varying erosion rate is sought, deeper-time variances have inferior representation.

Recent advances in measuring muon fluxes at great depths for neutrino experiments, along with improvements in in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) measurements, have enhanced our understanding of muogenic nuclide production rates at decametre and hectometre depths. These developments allow us to explore muogenic TCN as a tool for estimating long-term (>10⁵ years) erosion rates. There are theoretical advantages of utilizing muogenic TCN for long-term landscape evolution analysis (µ-paleotopometry). We summarize recent advances in knowledge of deep muon flux used in the interpretation of neutrino interactions at kilometre depths. We discuss strategies being considered for the µ-paleotopometry method to address otherwise intractable landscape evolution questions. We demonstrate an achievable resolution of calculated erosion rates with TCN measurements in quartz at rock depths of 37.8 x 10³ to 67.5 x 10³ g cm^-2 (~ 140 and 250 m). In settings where assumptions of constant erosion rate are suitable, the uncertainty is controlled by nuclide concentration measurement error and the effective time (duration over which the isotope concentration reflects the erosion history) is limited by radio-decay. Other environmental complexities, such as variable glacier cover, unknown complexity in initial topography, or mineral composition of rock may restrict the addressable questions and limit precision. Where a time-varying erosion rate is sought, deeper-time variances have inferior representation.

Recent advances in measuring muon fluxes at great depths for neutrino experiments, along with improvements in in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) measurements, have enhanced our understanding of muogenic nuclide production rates at decametre and hectometre depths. These developments allow us to explore muogenic TCN as a tool for estimating long-term (>10⁵ years) erosion rates. There are theoretical advantages of utilizing muogenic TCN for long-term landscape evolution analysis (µ-paleotopometry). We summarize recent advances in knowledge of deep muon flux used in the interpretation of neutrino interactions at kilometre depths. We discuss strategies being considered for the µ-paleotopometry method to address otherwise intractable landscape evolution questions. We demonstrate an achievable resolution of calculated erosion rates with TCN measurements in quartz at rock depths of 37.8 x 10³ to 67.5 x 10³ g cm^-2 (~ 140 and 250 m). In settings where assumptions of constant erosion rate are suitable, the uncertainty is controlled by nuclide concentration measurement error and the effective time (duration over which the isotope concentration reflects the erosion history) is limited by radio-decay. Other environmental complexities, such as variable glacier cover, unknown complexity in initial topography, or mineral composition of rock may restrict the addressable questions and limit precision. Where a time-varying erosion rate is sought, deeper-time variances have inferior representation.

Recent advances in measuring muon fluxes at great depths for neutrino experiments, along with improvements in in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) measurements, have enhanced our understanding of muogenic nuclide production rates at decametre and hectometre depths. These developments allow us to explore muogenic TCN as a tool for estimating long-term (>10⁵ years) erosion rates. There are theoretical advantages of utilizing muogenic TCN for long-term landscape evolution analysis (µ-paleotopometry). We summarize recent advances in knowledge of deep muon flux used in the interpretation of neutrino interactions at kilometre depths. We discuss strategies being considered for the µ-paleotopometry method to address otherwise intractable landscape evolution questions. We demonstrate an achievable resolution of calculated erosion rates with TCN measurements in quartz at rock depths of 37.8 x 10³ to 67.5 x 10³ g cm^-2 (~ 140 and 250 m). In settings where assumptions of constant erosion rate are suitable, the uncertainty is controlled by nuclide concentration measurement error and the effective time (duration over which the isotope concentration reflects the erosion history) is limited by radio-decay. Other environmental complexities, such as variable glacier cover, unknown complexity in initial topography, or mineral composition of rock may restrict the addressable questions and limit precision. Where a time-varying erosion rate is sought, deeper-time variances have inferior representation.

Recent advances in measuring muon fluxes at great depths for neutrino experiments, along with improvements in in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) measurements, have enhanced our understanding of muogenic nuclide production rates at decametre and hectometre depths. These developments allow us to explore muogenic TCN as a tool for estimating long-term (>10⁵ years) erosion rates. There are theoretical advantages of utilizing muogenic TCN for long-term landscape evolution analysis (µ-paleotopometry). We summarize recent advances in knowledge of deep muon flux used in the interpretation of neutrino interactions at kilometre depths. We discuss strategies being considered for the µ-paleotopometry method to address otherwise intractable landscape evolution questions. We demonstrate an achievable resolution of calculated erosion rates with TCN measurements in quartz at rock depths of 37.8 x 10³ to 67.5 x 10³ g cm^-2 (~ 140 and 250 m). In settings where assumptions of constant erosion rate are suitable, the uncertainty is controlled by nuclide concentration measurement error and the effective time (duration over which the isotope concentration reflects the erosion history) is limited by radio-decay. Other environmental complexities, such as variable glacier cover, unknown complexity in initial topography, or mineral composition of rock may restrict the addressable questions and limit precision. Where a time-varying erosion rate is sought, deeper-time variances have inferior representation.

Alkalinity generation from rock weathering modulates Earth’s climate at geological time scales. Although lithology is thought to dominantly control alkalinity generation globally, the role of other first-order controls appears elusive. Particularly challenging remains the discrimination of climatic and erosional influences. Based on global observations, here we uncover the role of erosion rate in governing riverine alkalinity, accompanied by areal proportion of carbonate, mean annual temperature, catchment area, and soil regolith thickness. We show that the weathering flux to the ocean will be significantly altered by climate warming as early as 2100, by up to 68% depending on the environmental conditions, constituting a sudden feedback of ocean CO₂ sequestration to climate. Interestingly, warming under a low-emissions scenario will reduce terrestrial alkalinity flux from mid-latitudes (–1.6 t(bicarbonate) a⁻¹ km⁻²) until the end of the century, resulting in a reduction in CO₂ sequestration, but an increase (+0.5 t(bicarbonate) a⁻¹ km⁻²) from mid-latitudes is likely under a high-emissions scenario, yielding an additional CO₂ sink.