Differential erosion and sediment fluxes in the Landquart basin and possible relationships to lithology and tectonic controls

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Landquart drainage basin, where we explore geomorphic signals related to the spatial differences in bedrock lithology and differential uplift. We use concentrations of cosmogenic 10Be to quantify the sediment flux patterns in the region. Furthermore we use the chemical composition of the fine fraction (< 63 μm) of the river sediment to determine the provenance of the material, and we quantify the landscape properties through the calculation of normalized steepness values for the tributary basins. The results show that the upstream segment of the Landquart basin is a glacially imprinted landscape and contributes to about 20–50% of the total modern sediment flux of the Landquart River. Contrariwise, the landscape of the downstream part is dominated by a V-shaped landscape where tributary basins are characterized by a generally high steepness. This downstream area has delivered about 50–80% of the total eroded material. Because this lowermost part of the Landquart basin is c. 50% smaller than the upstream region (200 km2 downstream versus 400 km2 upstream), the sediment budget points to very high erosion at work in this lowermost segment. Interestingly, the bedrock of this area comprises flysch and particularly ‘Bündnerschiefer’ deposits that have a high erodibility. In addition, apatite fission track ages are much younger (c. 5–10 Ma) than in the headwater reaches (10–30 Ma). This suggests the occurrence of ongoing yet long-term rock uplift that has occurred at higher rates in the downstream segment than in the headwaters. It appears that the landscape shape and denudation rate pattern in the Landquart basin reflect the combined effect of tectonic processes and fast surface response, where uplift has promoted the exhumation of bedrock with high erodibilities, and where the low erosional resistance of the exposed lithologies has promoted the streams to respond by fast erosion.