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Spatial and temporal variations in denudation of the Wasatch Mountains, Utah, USA

¹DIVISION OF RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE, YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, EL PORTAL, CALIFORNIA 95318, USA
²SCHOOL OF EARTH AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30332–0340, USA
³DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48109–1005, USA
⁴WILLIAM LETTIS AND ASSOCIATES, INC., AUGUSTA, GEORGIA 30901–0851, USA
⁵DEPARTMENT OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94720–4767, USA, AND CENTRE EUROPÉEN DE RECHERCHE ET D'ENSELIGNEMENT DES GÉOSCIENCES DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT (CEREGE), 13545 AIX EN PROVENCE, FRANCE

Correspondence: *E-mails: greg_stock{at}nps.gov, kfrankel{at}gatech.edu.

We evaluate spatial and temporal variations in denudation of the north-central Wasatch Mountains, Utah, by determining catchment-wide denudation rates with ¹⁰Be concentrations in alluvial sediment and comparing these rates with previously published data on rock uplift and exhumation of the range. Catchments draining the range front show relatively little variation in denudation rate (0.07–0.17 mm/yr), while steeper (mean hillslope gradient >30°) catchments in the core of the range show larger variation (0.17–0.79 mm/yr). We attribute the larger spatial variation in catchment-wide denudation in the core of the range to landsliding of hillslopes at threshold gradients; faster denudation in this region may signify landscape adjustment to late Pleistocene glaciations. The mean denudation rate for all catchments (0.2 mm/yr) is generally consistent with longer-term exhumation rates derived from thermochronometers and with shorter-term vertical fault displacement rates, suggesting that denudation of the north-central Wasatch has been roughly steady, or decreasing slightly, over the past 5 m.y. Although ¹⁰Be-based catchment-wide denudation rates are sensitive to localized geomorphic processes and events, overall, they appear to reflect the larger tectonic forces that have driven denudation of the Wasatch Mountains over longer time scales.