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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-888
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-888
07 Sep 2022
 | 07 Sep 2022

Short Communication: age2exhume – A Matlab script to calculate steady-state vertical exhumation rates from thermochronologic ages in regional datasets and application to the Himalaya

Peter van der Beek and Taylor F. Schildgen

Abstract. Interpreting cooling ages from multiple thermochronometric systems and/or from steep elevation transects with the help of a thermal model can provide unique insights into the spatial and temporal patterns of rock exhumation. This information can, in turn, provide clues to the driving mechanisms of landscape evolution. Although several well-established thermal models allow for a detailed exploration of how cooling (and sometimes exhumation) rates evolved in a limited area or along a transect, information from large, regional datasets has been largely underutilized. Here, we present age2exhume, a thermal model in the form of a Matlab script, which can be used to rapidly provide a synoptic overview of exhumation rates from large, regional thermochronologic datasets. The model incorporates surface temperature based on a defined lapse rate and a local relief correction that is dependent on the thermochronometric system of interest. Other inputs include sample cooling age, uncertainty, thermochronometric system, and an initial (unperturbed) geothermal gradient. The model is simplified in that it assumes steady, vertical rock-uplift and unchanging topography when calculating exhumation rates. For this reason, it does not replace more powerful and versatile thermal-kinematic models, but it has the advantage of simple implementation and rapidly calculated results. In our example dataset, we show exhumation rates calculated from 1785 cooling ages from the Himalaya associated with five different thermochronometric systems. Despite the synoptic nature of the results, we show how they reflect known segmentation patterns and changing exhumation rates in areas that have undergone structural reorganization. Moreover, the rapidly calculated results enable an exploration of the sensitivity of the results to various input parameters, and an illustration of the importance of explicit modelling of thermal fields when calculating exhumation rates from thermochronologic data.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

16 Jan 2023
Short communication: age2exhume – a MATLAB/Python script to calculate steady-state vertical exhumation rates from thermochronometric ages and application to the Himalaya
Peter van der Beek and Taylor F. Schildgen
Geochronology, 5, 35–49, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-35-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-35-2023, 2023
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Short summary
Thermochronometric data can provide unique insights into the patterns of rock exhumation and the...
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