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How Erosion Builds Mountains
(from 2005)
From https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-erosion-builds-mountains-2005-07/
How Erosion Builds Mountains
An understanding of how tectonic, erosional and climatic forces interact to shape mountains permits clearer insights into Earth's history
By Mark T. Brandon, Nicholas Pinter on July 1, 2005
Mountains have evoked awe and inspired artists and adventurers throughout human existence. Recent research has led to important new insights into how these most magnificent of Earths formations came to be. Mountains are created and shaped, it appears, not only by the movements of the vast tectonic plates that make up Earths exterior but also by climate and erosion. In particular, the interactions between tectonic, climatic and erosional processes exert strong control over the shape and maximum height of mountains as well as the amount of time necessary to build--or destroy--a mountain range. Paradoxically, the shaping of mountains seems to depend as much on the destructive forces of erosion as on the constructive power of tectonics. In fact, after 100 years of viewing erosion as the weak sibling of tectonics, many geologists now believe erosion actually may be the strong one in the family. In the words of one research group, "Savor the irony should mountains owe their [muscles] to the drumbeat of tiny raindrops."
Because of the importance of mountain building in the evolution of Earth, these findings have significant implications for earth science. To a geologist, Earth's plains, canyons and, especially, mountains reveal the outline of the planets development over hundreds of millions of years. In this sprawling history, mountains indicate where events in or just below Earth's crust, such as the collisions of the tectonic plates, have thrust this surface layer skyward. Thus, mountains are the most visible manifestation of the powerful tectonic forces at work and the vast time spans over which those forces have operated.
The effort to understand mountain building has a long history. One of the first comprehensive models of how mountains evolve over time was the Geographic Cycle, published in 1899. This model proposed a hypothetical life cycle for mountain ranges, from a violent birth caused by a brief but powerful spasm of tectonic uplift to a gradual slide into "old age" caused by slow but persistent erosion. The beauty and logic of the Geographic Cycle persuaded nearly a century of geologists to overlook its overwhelming limitations.
[...]
An understanding of how tectonic, erosional and climatic forces interact to shape mountains permits clearer insights into Earth's history
By Mark T. Brandon, Nicholas Pinter on July 1, 2005
Mountains have evoked awe and inspired artists and adventurers throughout human existence. Recent research has led to important new insights into how these most magnificent of Earths formations came to be. Mountains are created and shaped, it appears, not only by the movements of the vast tectonic plates that make up Earths exterior but also by climate and erosion. In particular, the interactions between tectonic, climatic and erosional processes exert strong control over the shape and maximum height of mountains as well as the amount of time necessary to build--or destroy--a mountain range. Paradoxically, the shaping of mountains seems to depend as much on the destructive forces of erosion as on the constructive power of tectonics. In fact, after 100 years of viewing erosion as the weak sibling of tectonics, many geologists now believe erosion actually may be the strong one in the family. In the words of one research group, "Savor the irony should mountains owe their [muscles] to the drumbeat of tiny raindrops."
Because of the importance of mountain building in the evolution of Earth, these findings have significant implications for earth science. To a geologist, Earth's plains, canyons and, especially, mountains reveal the outline of the planets development over hundreds of millions of years. In this sprawling history, mountains indicate where events in or just below Earth's crust, such as the collisions of the tectonic plates, have thrust this surface layer skyward. Thus, mountains are the most visible manifestation of the powerful tectonic forces at work and the vast time spans over which those forces have operated.
The effort to understand mountain building has a long history. One of the first comprehensive models of how mountains evolve over time was the Geographic Cycle, published in 1899. This model proposed a hypothetical life cycle for mountain ranges, from a violent birth caused by a brief but powerful spasm of tectonic uplift to a gradual slide into "old age" caused by slow but persistent erosion. The beauty and logic of the Geographic Cycle persuaded nearly a century of geologists to overlook its overwhelming limitations.
[...]
