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Geophysical imaging reveals topographic stress control of bedrock weathering.

Publication ,  Journal Article
St Clair, J; Moon, S; Holbrook, WS; Perron, JT; Riebe, CS; Martel, SJ; Carr, B; Harman, C; Singha, K; Richter, DD
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.)
October 2015

Bedrock fracture systems facilitate weathering, allowing fresh mineral surfaces to interact with corrosive waters and biota from Earth's surface, while simultaneously promoting drainage of chemically equilibrated fluids. We show that topographic perturbations to regional stress fields explain bedrock fracture distributions, as revealed by seismic velocity and electrical resistivity surveys from three landscapes. The base of the fracture-rich zone mirrors surface topography where the ratio of horizontal compressive tectonic stresses to near-surface gravitational stresses is relatively large, and it parallels the surface topography where the ratio is relatively small. Three-dimensional stress calculations predict these results, suggesting that tectonic stresses interact with topography to influence bedrock disaggregation, groundwater flow, chemical weathering, and the depth of the "critical zone" in which many biogeochemical processes occur.

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Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

October 2015

Volume

350

Issue

6260

Start / End Page

534 / 538

Related Subject Headings

  • General Science & Technology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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St Clair, J., Moon, S., Holbrook, W. S., Perron, J. T., Riebe, C. S., Martel, S. J., … Richter, D. D. (2015). Geophysical imaging reveals topographic stress control of bedrock weathering. Science (New York, N.Y.), 350(6260), 534–538. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2210
St Clair, J., S. Moon, W. S. Holbrook, J. T. Perron, C. S. Riebe, S. J. Martel, B. Carr, C. Harman, K. Singha, and D deB Richter. “Geophysical imaging reveals topographic stress control of bedrock weathering.Science (New York, N.Y.) 350, no. 6260 (October 2015): 534–38. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab2210.
St Clair J, Moon S, Holbrook WS, Perron JT, Riebe CS, Martel SJ, et al. Geophysical imaging reveals topographic stress control of bedrock weathering. Science (New York, NY). 2015 Oct;350(6260):534–8.
St Clair, J., et al. “Geophysical imaging reveals topographic stress control of bedrock weathering.Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 350, no. 6260, Oct. 2015, pp. 534–38. Epmc, doi:10.1126/science.aab2210.
St Clair J, Moon S, Holbrook WS, Perron JT, Riebe CS, Martel SJ, Carr B, Harman C, Singha K, Richter DD. Geophysical imaging reveals topographic stress control of bedrock weathering. Science (New York, NY). 2015 Oct;350(6260):534–538.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

October 2015

Volume

350

Issue

6260

Start / End Page

534 / 538

Related Subject Headings

  • General Science & Technology