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Abstract: Continental chemical weathering is central in Earth''s surface biogeochemical cycles as it redistributes elements across reservoirs such as the crust and the oceans. However the evolution of weathering through time and its response to external forcing such as changes in climate remain poorly constrained. In this work, a composite sediment record from the Bay of Bengal is used to document the evolution of chemical weathering in the Himalayan system (Himalayan range and Indo-Gangetic floodplain), the world largest sediment conveyor to the oceans, since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The degree of weathering of the sediments is documented using mobile to immobile ratios such as K/Si and H2O+/Si as well as detrital calcite abundance. Robust weathering proxies are derived by correcting the chemical composition of sediment for sorting effects that occur during transport and deposition. The Bay of Bengal record is also further compared to the chemical composition of modern river sediments from the Ganga and Brahmaputra basin. Weathering proxies all indicate that the sediments exported by the Ganga and Brahmaputra Rivers became increasingly weathered over the past ∼21kyr, whereas, Sr, Nd and major elements suggest a constant sediment provenance in the system over the last 21kyr. These changes in the degree of weathering of the sediments show that the weathering flux exported by the system to the Indian Ocean during the LGM was significantly lower than at present and demonstrate that chemical weathering in continental scale basins such as the Ganga and Brahmaputra responds to Late Quaternary climate changes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Modern erosion of the Himalaya, the world''s largest mountain range, transfers huge dissolved and particulate loads to the ocean. It plays an important role in the long-term global carbon cycle, mostly through enhanced organic carbon burial in the Bengal Fan. To understand the role of past Himalayan erosion, the influence of changing climate and tectonic on erosion must be determined. Here we use a 12Myr sedimentary record from the distal Bengal Fan (Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 218) to reconstruct the Mio-Pliocene history of Himalayan erosion. We use carbon stable isotopes (δ 13C) of bulk organic matter as paleo-environmental proxy and stratigraphic tool. Multi-isotopic — Sr, Nd and Os — data are used as proxies for the source of the sediments deposited in the Bengal Fan over time. δ 13C values of bulk organic matter shift dramatically towards less depleted values, revealing the widespread Late Miocene (ca. 7.4Ma) expansion of C4 plants in the basin. Sr, Nd and Os isotopic compositions indicate a rather stable erosion pattern in the Himalaya range during the past 12Myr. This supports the existence of a strong connection between the southern Tibetan plateau and the Bengal Fan. The tectonic evolution of the Himalaya range and Southern Tibet seems to have been unable to produce large re-organisation of the drainage system. Moreover, our data do not suggest a rapid change of the altitude of the southern Tibetan plateau during the past 12Myr. Variations in Sr and Nd isotopic compositions around the late Miocene expansion of C4 plants are suggestive of a relative increase in the erosion of High Himalaya Crystalline rock (i.e. a simultaneous reduction of both Transhimalayan batholiths and Lesser Himalaya relative contributions). This could be related to an increase in aridity as suggested by the ecological and sedimentological changes at that time. A reversed trend in Sr and Nd isotopic compositions is observed at the Plio-Pleistocene transition that is likely related to higher precipitation and the development of glaciers in the Himalaya. These almost synchronous moderate changes in erosion pattern and climate changes during the late Miocene and at the Plio-Pleistocene transition support the notion of a dominant control of climate on Himalayan erosion during this time period. However, stable erosion regime during the Pleistocene is suggestive of a limited influence of the glacier development on Himalayan erosion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Bank sediments and suspended loads of the Brahmaputra River and its important tributaries were collected from the Himalayan front to Bangladesh along with most of the important tributaries. Chemical and isotopic compositions of the sediments are used to trace sediment provenance and to understand erosion patterns in the basin. Overall isotopic compositions range from 0.7053 to 0.8250 for Sr and ∊Nd from −20.5 to −6.9. This large range derives from the variable proportions of sediments from Himalayan formations with high Sr isotopic ratios and low ∊Nd, and Transhimalayan plutonic belt with lower Sr isotopic ratios and higher ∊Nd. The latter are exposed to erosion in the Tsangpo and in the eastern tributary drainages. Overall erosion of the Himalayan rocks is dominant, representing ca 70% of the detrital influx. Compositions of the Brahmaputra main channel are rather stable between 0.7177 and 0.7284 for Sr and between −14.4 and −12.5 for ∊Nd throughout its course in the plain from the Siang-Tsangpo at the foot of the Himalayan range down to the delta. This stability, despite the input of large Himalayan rivers suggests that the Siang-Tsangpo River represents the major source of sediment to the whole Brahmaputra. Geochemical budget implies that erosion of the Namche Barwa zone represents about 45% of the total flux at its outflow before confluence with the Ganga from only 20% of the mountain area. Higher erosion rates in the eastern syntaxis compared to the other Himalayan ranges is related to the rapid exhumation rates of this region, possibly triggered by higher precipitation over the far-eastern Himalaya and the high incision potential of the Tsangpo River due to its very high water discharge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present high-resolution analyses of clay mineral assemblages combined with analysis of Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of the <2 μm silicate fraction of sediments from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1430 in the southern Sea of Japan, in order to trace the sources of clay minerals and reconstruct proxy records of past changes in Asian eolian input to the basin since 15 Ma. The clay mineral assemblages at IODP Site U1430 mainly consist of smectite (∼51%) and illite (∼36%), with minor kaolinite (∼7%) and chlorite (∼6%). Provenance analysis suggests that the fine-grained sediment at the study site is a two end-member mixture of eolian dust from Central Asia and fluvial input from the Japanese islands. The Central Asian end member supplied illite-rich and high 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and low ε Nd(0) eolian dust to the study site by wind, while the Japanese end member, characterized by young volcanic rocks, contributed smectite-rich, low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and high ε Nd(0) weathering products via rivers. The ratio of illite/smectite and ε Nd(0) values of clay-sized silicate sediments at Site U1430 were used as proxies for tracing the changing strength of central Asian eolian input to the Sea of Japan, and thus reconstruct the aridification history of its source region. Our study presents for the first time a continuous, high-resolution record that highlights the four-step drying of Central Asia that occurred at ∼11.8 Ma, 8 Ma, 3.5 Ma and 1.2 Ma. Considered the nature and timing of major climatic and tectonic events in Asia, we conclude that the strengthened aridification of Central Asia starting at ∼11.8 Ma was possibly driven by the combined effect of Tibetan surface uplift and global cooling, whereas the rapid drying at ∼8 Ma was caused primarily by the uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau. In contrast, global cooling, overwhelming the influence of Tibetan Plateau uplift, has become the primary control on Central Asia aridification since ∼3.5 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Organic matter carried by rivers and deposited in continental and marine sediments contains valuable information on past environmental conditions and their impact on the terrestrial biosphere. In order to use sedimentary records to reconstruct past environmental conditions on the continents, such as vegetation cover and type, or precipitation intensity, we need to understand the provenance of the organic signatures and how they are transferred, and potentially modified, by fluvial transport to the sedimentary reservoir. In particular, we need to understand how environmental conditions are imprinted in the composition of riverine particulate organic carbon. Here we investigate the stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic signatures of vascular plant leaf wax biomarkers in the modern-day Ganges and Brahmaputra river complex, one of the largest fluvial systems on Earth. The distribution of n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids in Ganges–Brahmaputra river sediments suggests that vascular plant inputs are consistently a significant component of the organic carbon pool. Molecular δ13C measurements reveal that C3 vegetation inputs delivered by the Himalayan rivers are partly degraded and replaced by mixed C3/C4 vegetation input in the floodplain. The hydrogen isotopic composition of long-chain (C24+) n-alkanoic acids, in combination with their stable C isotopic composition, provides constraints on the isotopic composition of the environmental water used by higher plants within the drainage basin. Calculated compositions compare well with the depleted δD isotopic ratios of the river water during the summer monsoon, suggesting that H-isotopic compositions of long-chain alkanoic acids are a valuable proxy for the composition of summer monsoon moisture in the Ganges–Brahmaputra basin. Detailed studies of the “isotopic anatomy” of modern river systems are critical for informed interpretation of marine sedimentary records in river-influenced continental margins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sediments carried in suspension represent a fundamental part of fluvial transport. Nonetheless, largely because of technical problems, they have been hitherto widely neglected in provenance studies. In order to determine with maximum possible precision the mineralogy of suspended load collected in vertical profiles from water surface to channel bottom of Rivers Ganga and Brahmaputra, we combined Raman spectroscopy with traditional heavy-mineral and X-ray diffraction analyses, carried out separately on low-density and dense fractions of all significant size classes in each sample (multiple-window approach). Suspended load resulted to be a ternary mixture of dominant silt enriched in phyllosilicates, subordinate clay largely derived from weathered floodplains, and sand mainly produced by physical erosion and mechanical grinding during transport in Himalayan streams. Sediment concentration and grain size increase steadily with water depth. Whereas absolute concentration of clay associated with Fe-oxyhydroxides and organic matter is almost depth-invariant, regular mineralogical and consequently chemical changes from shallow to deep load result from marked increase of faster-settling, coarser, denser, or more spherical grains toward the bed. Such steady intersample compositional variability can be modeled as a mixture of clay, silt and sand modes with distinct mineralogical and chemical composition. With classical formulas describing sediment transport by turbulent diffusion, absolute and relative concentrations can be predicted at any depth for each textural mode and each detrital component. Based on assumptions on average chemistry of detrital minerals and empirical formulas to calculate their settling velocities, the suspension-sorting model successfully reproduces mineralogy and chemistry of suspended load at different depths. Principal outputs include assessment of contributions by each detrital mineral to the chemical budget, and calibration of dense minerals too rare to be precisely estimated by optical or Raman analysis but crucial in both detrital-geochronology and settling-equivalence studies. Hydrodynamic conditions during monsoonal discharge could also be evaluated. Understanding compositional variability of suspended load is a fundamental pre-requisite to correctly interpret mineralogical and geochemical data in provenance analysis of modern and ancient sedimentary deposits, to accurately assess weathering processes, sediment fluxes and erosion patterns, and to unambiguously evaluate the effects of anthropogenic modifications on the natural environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study investigates the natural processes that control concentration of detrital minerals and consequently chemical elements in river sand. The novelty of our approach consists in the systematic integration of detailed textural, petrographical, mineralogical and chemical data, and in the quantitative description and modeling of relationships among mineralogical and chemical variables for each sample and each grain-size class in each sample. Bed sediment in transit in the largest sedimentary system on Earth chiefly consists of fine-grained lithofeldspathoquartzose sand including rich amphibole–epidote–garnet suites, mixed with minor very-fine-grained-sand to silt subpopulations containing less heavy minerals and representing intermittent suspension. Mineralogical and particularly chemical differences between Ganga and Brahmaputra bedload are orders of magnitude less than both intersample variability associated with selective-entrainment effects and intrasample variability associated with settling-equivalence effects. Any provenance interpretation of mineralogical, chemical, or detrital-geochronology datasets therefore requires quantitative understanding of hydraulically controlled compositional variability. Mineralogical and chemical, intrasample and intersample variability can be deduced with simple equations and numerical solutions. The underlying assumptions on the chemical composition of detrital minerals, as well as the possible pitfalls, uncertainties and approximations involved are discussed. Principal results include calibration of rare REE-bearing ultradense minerals, ill-determined by optical analyses but crucial in both detrital-geochronology and settling-equivalence studies, and assessment of progressively changing concentration for any detrital component with increasing intensity of selective-entrainment effects. Contributions by each mineral group to the chemical budget were inferred with sufficient precision and accuracy. Although complex because of diverse controlling factors including provenance, weathering and anthropogenic pollution, mineralogical and consequently chemical variability of fluvial sediments can be quantitatively predicted. This path, difficult because of insufficient information but far from hopeless, shall eventually lead to more accurate calculation of sediment fluxes and chemical budgets, as well as to a deeper understanding of sedimentary geochemistry and fluvial sedimentology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Boron, carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions were determined at the micrometre scale by high-resolution ion microprobe in a sample of modern coral (massive hermatypic coral, Porites lutea). The ion probe data show for B and O much larger isotopic variations at the micrometre scale than those measured at the millimetre scale by conventional techniques: δ18OPDB values range from −10.6±0.9‰ to −0.2±0.5‰ and δ11B values range from +18.6±1.5‰ to +30.6±1.6‰. By contrast, δ13C values show the same range of variations, from −4.6±0.65‰ to −2.2±0.67‰ at the micrometre and millimetre scales. The range of δ11B values indicates that significant pH variations, from &ap;7.1 to &ap;9.0, are present at the sites of calcification. The largest δ18O variations correspond to the highest δ11B values, i.e. to the highest pHs. This measurement of pH allows modelling the oxygen isotopic fractionation occurring during aragonite precipitation. Taking into account the rate of O isotopic equilibrium between dissolved carbonate species (H2CO3, HCO3− and CO32−) and water via the two reactions of hydration and hydroxylation, the full range of δ18O values measured at the micrometre scale can be modelled for residence times of dissolved carbonates in the calcifying fluid ranging between &ap;1 h and at maximum &ap;12 h. The pH controls the δ18O of the growing carbonate through the relative fractions of dissolved carbonate species and through the kinetics of their isotopic equilibration with water via hydration and hydroxylation. The so-called ‘vital effect’ systematically observed for δ18O in corals can thus be understood as representing an average of rapid pH variations due to coral biology during coral growth. Selectively measuring δ18O values in the zones of coral skeletons that have low δ11B values (i.e. formed at low pH) should significantly improve the quality of palaeoclimatic reconstructions based on δ18O values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The marked rise of the 187Os/188Os ratio of seawater over the Cenozoic Era is generally attributed to increased continental input, and particularly to increased erosion of black shales. Thus Os isotopes are thought to trace the weathering of organic carbon. Here we present evidence that impure marbles, lacking organic carbon, provide an important source of radiogenic Os to the bedload of Himalayan rivers. These marbles provide a critical component necessary for balancing the Os isotopic budget of the bedloads. The analyzed marbles have 187Os/188Os ratios as high as 194 and often contain as much 187Os as typical black shales. Most of this radiogenic Os is not contained in the carbonate itself, but rather in associated phases. These phases are often of hydrothermal origin, and their Os may ultimately be provided by fluids circulating through black shales. While these results complicate the relationship between the Os isotopic ratio of seawater and erosion of organic-rich rocks, they also provide new information necessary for understanding the marine Os isotopic record. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Climate has been proposed to control both the rate of terrestrial silicate weathering and the export rate of associated sediments and terrestrial organic carbon to river-dominated margins – and thus the rate of sequestration of atmospheric CO 2 in the coastal ocean – over glacial–interglacial timescales. Focused on the Ganges–Brahmaputra rivers, this study presents records of post-glacial changes in basin-scale Indian summer monsoon intensity and vegetation composition based on stable hydrogen ( δ D ) and carbon ( δ 13 C ) isotopic compositions of terrestrial plant wax compounds preserved in the channel–levee system of the Bengal Fan. It then explores the role of these changes in controlling the provenance and degree of chemical weathering of sediments exported by these rivers, and the potential climate feedbacks through organic-carbon burial in the Bengal Fan. An observed 40‰ shift in δ D and a 3–4‰ shift in both bulk organic-carbon and plant-wax δ 13 C values between the late glacial and mid-Holocene, followed by a return to more intermediate values during the late Holocene, correlates well with regional post-glacial paleoclimate records. Sediment provenance proxies (Sr, Nd isotopic compositions) reveal that these changes likely coincided with a subtle focusing of erosion on the southern flank of the Himalayan range during periods of greater monsoon strength and enhanced sediment discharge. However, grain-size-normalized organic-carbon concentrations in the Bengal Fan remained constant through time, despite order-of-magnitude level changes in catchment-scale monsoon precipitation and enhanced chemical weathering (recorded as a gradual increase in K/Si ⁎ and detrital carbonate content, and decrease in H 2 O + /Si ⁎ , proxies) throughout the study period. These findings demonstrate a partial decoupling of climate change and silicate weathering during the Holocene and that marine organic-carbon sequestration rates primary reflect rates of physical erosion and sediment export as modulated by climatic changes. Together, these results reveal the magnitude of climate changes within the Ganges–Brahmaputra basin following deglaciation and a closer coupling of monsoon strength with OC burial than with silicate weathering on millennial timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The erosion of major mountain ranges is thought to be largely cannibalistic, recycling sediments that were deposited in the ocean or on the continents prior to mountain uplift. Despite this recognition, it has not yet been possible to quantify the amount of recycled material that is presently transported by rivers to the ocean. Here, we have analyzed the Li content and isotope composition (δ7Li) of suspended sediments sampled along river depth profiles and bed sands in three of the largest Earth's river systems (Amazon, Mackenzie and Ganga-Brahmaputra rivers). The δ7Li values of river-sediments transported by these rivers range from +5.3 to -3.6‰ and decrease with sediment grain size. We interpret these variations as reflecting a mixture of unweathered rock fragments (preferentially transported at depth in the coarse fraction) and present-day weathering products (preferentially transported at the surface in the finest fraction). Only the finest surface sediments contain the complementary reservoir of Li solubilized by water-rock interactions within the watersheds. Li isotopes also show that river bed sands can be interpreted as a mixture between unweathered fragments of igneous and sedimentary rocks. A mass budget approach, based on Li isotopes, Li/Al and Na/Al ratios, solved by an inverse method allows us to estimate that, for the large rivers analyzed here, the part of solid weathering products formed by present-day weathering reactions and transported to the ocean do not exceed 35%. Li isotopes also show that the sediments transported by the Amazon, Mackenzie and Ganga-Brahmaputra river systems are mostly sourced from sedimentary rocks (>60%) rather than igneous rocks. This study shows that Li isotopes in the river particulate load are a good proxy for quantifying both the erosional rock sources and the fingerprint of present-day weathering processes. Overall, Li isotopes in river sediments confirm the cannibalistic nature of erosion and weathering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Himalayas represent the archetype of mountain building due to active continental collision and are considered in many studies as the locus of intense interactions between climate, denudation and tectonics. Estimates of modern denudation rates across the entire range remain, however, relatively sparse. In this study, in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be concentrations were measured in detritic quartz in order to determine basin-scale denudation rates for the central part of the Himalayan range. River sand was sampled over several years in the main trans-Himalayan rivers, from the Himalayan front to the Ganga outlet in Bangladesh. The calculated 10Be denudation rates of the trans-Himalayan river basins range from 0.5 to 2.4mmyr−1 (average 1.3mmyr−1) and vary by up to a factor of 3 between sampling years. These denudation rates strongly contrast with the 0.007mmyr−1 denudation rate of southern tributary basins draining the Indian craton. This work also shows that in the Ganga basin, no systematic evolution of average 10Be concentrations is observed during floodplain transfer, implying that distal samples can be used to estimate the integrated denudation rate of the whole central Himalayan range. Samples from the Ganga in Bangladesh display remarkably low variability in 10Be concentration, implying an average Himalayan denudation rate of 1.0–1.1mmyr−1. However, within the floodplain, several samples suggest a recent perturbation of sediment transport dynamics with a recent increase in the relative sediment contribution from southern tributaries. The Himalayan sediment flux, deduced from the 10Be denudation rate of the range, is 610±230Mtyr−1. This flux is consistent, within uncertainty, with sediment fluxes derived from sediment gauging. The similarity of the two flux estimates suggests that Himalayan erosion fluxes have remained stable over the last centuries, even if the large uncertainties associated with each method hamper more precise assessments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rivers continuously discharge dissolved material to the oceans. Dissolved compounds partially result from water–rock interactions, which produce a large range of water chemical and isotopic compositions. These waters are collected by rivers, that are commonly assumed to be well-mixed with regard to their different tributaries, as a result of turbulent dispersion. In this paper, we test this hypothesis on the Solimões River (at Manacapuru), the largest tributary of the Amazon River, by analyzing the sodium concentration and strontium isotopic composition of river water on a transverse section at different depths. High-precision measurements reveal lateral heterogeneities. This reflects poor mixing between two main river masses, that have distinct chemical and isotopic signatures, a hundred kilometers downstream from their confluence: the Solimões mainstream and the Purús River. Using sodium concentration data, the transverse dispersion coefficient is estimated for the studied Solimões reach (the Earth''s largest river on which such an estimate now exists), and is found to be 1.8±0.2m2/s. Comparison with previously reported data highlights the potential role of bed morphology and islands in the efficiency of lateral mixing in large rivers. We finally demonstrate that the characteristic length of lateral mixing downstream from confluences in large rivers is at least of several tens of kilometers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Gas discharges have been identified at the Syabru–Bensi hot springs, located at the front of the High Himalaya in Central Nepal, in the Main Central Thrust zone. The hot spring waters are characterized by a temperature reaching 61 °C, high salinity, high alkalinity and δ 13C varying from +0.7‰ to +4.8‰. The gas is mainly dry carbon dioxide, with a δ 13C of −0.8‰. The diffuse carbon dioxide flux, mapped by the accumulation chamber method, reached a value of 19000 g m−2day−1, which is comparable with values measured on active volcanoes. Similar values have been observed over a two-year time interval and the integral around the main gas discharge amounts to 0.25±0.07 mol s−1, or 350±100 ton a−1. The mean radon-222 concentration in spring water did not exceed 2.5 Bq L−1, exponentially decreasing with water temperature. In contrast, in gas bubbles collected in the water or in the dry gas discharges, the radon concentration varied from 16000 to 41000 Bq m−3. In the soil, radon concentration varied from 25000 to more than 50000 Bq m−3. Radon flux, measured at more than fifty points, reached extreme values, larger than 2 Bq m−2s−1, correlated to the larger values of the carbon dioxide flux. Our direct observation confirms previous studies which indicated large degassing in the Himalaya. The proposed understanding is that carbon dioxide is released at mid-crustal depth by metamorphic reactions within the Indian basement, transported along pre-existing faults by meteoric hot water circulation, and degassed before reaching surface. This work, first, confirms that further studies should be undertaken to better constrain the carbon budget of the Himalaya, and, more generally, the contribution of mountain building to the global carbon balance. Furthermore, the evidenced gas discharges provide a unique natural laboratory for methodological studies, and appear particularly important to study as a function of time, especially in relation to the seismic activity. For this purpose, the observed high radon-222 flux is a particularly interesting asset. Indeed, while the relationship between radon and carbon dioxide needs to be better understood, radon measurements, using the available radon sensors, constitute a powerful tool for robust and cost effective long term monitoring. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We use petrographic and mineralogical data on modern sediments to investigate erosion patterns in the Marsyandi basin of the central Himalaya, a privileged natural laboratory in which a series of multidisciplinary geomorphological, sedimentological, geochemical and geochronological studies have been recently carried out to unravel the interrelationships between tectonic, climatic and sedimentary processes in high-relief orogenic belts. Although relative erosion patterns are effectively constrained by analyses of replicate samples along six successive tracts of the Marsyandi River, uncertainties are caused by potential compositional variation between the monsoon and post-monsoon season. Estimates of erosion rates are significantly affected by poor knowledge of total sediment flux through the basin. Our results support focused erosion of the southern, tectonically-lower part of the Greater Himalaya in the hangingwall of the MCT Zone, where the summer monsoon reaches its peak intensity (up to 5 m/a), and sediment yields and erosion rates reach 14,100±3400 t/km2 and 5.1±1.2 mm/a. Erosion rates sharply decrease southward in low-relief Lesser Himalayan units (1.6±0.6 mm/a), and also progressively decrease northwards in the high-altitude, tectonically-upper part of the Greater Himalaya, where rainfall decreases rapidly to <2 m/a. Even areas of extreme topography such as the Manaslu Granite are characterized by relatively low erosion rates (2.4±0.9 mm/a), because precipitations become too scarce to feed significant ice flux and glacial activity. Monsoonal rainfall decreases further to <0.5 m/a in the Tethys Himalayan zone farther north, where erosion rates are ∼ 1 mm/a. Coupling between erosion and peak monsoonal rainfall along the southern front of the Greater Himalaya is consistent with both channel-flow models of tectonic extrusion and tectonic uplift above a mid-crustal ramp. Altitude and relief are not the principal factors controlling erosion, and the central Nepal eight-thousanders may be viewed as topographic anomalies in cold desert climate at the southern edge of the Tibetan rain shadow. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Because of a systematic enrichment in deuterium, the insoluble organic matter (IOM) of the carbonaceous chondrites is considered to have formed in the interstellar medium. However, the D / H ratios in IOM remain much lower than those measured in the organic molecules commonly observed in the dense interstellar medium. In this study, the D / H ratio of different aromatic and aliphatic molecular fragments of IOM from the Orgueil meteorite was measured by GC-irMS (gas chromatography–isotopic ratio mass spectrometry). No correlation was observed between the D / H ratios and structural parameters characterizing the IOM, such as the H / C ratio. However, the δD of the benzylic, aliphatic and aromatic hydrogen into the IOM can be determined to be 1250‰, +550‰ and +150‰, respectively, relative to SMOW. This indicates that D-enrichment in IOM is correlated with the C–H bond dissociation energy. Such a correlation rules out IOM formation from observed interstellar molecules and suggests instead that the different components of IOM have acquired their D / H ratios by an exchange with a deuterium-rich reservoir after its synthesis. The same process can be invoked to account for the D / H composition of meteoritic water. Findings point to a common process for deuterium enrichment in the solar system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The high-relief and tectonically active Himalayan range, characterized by markedly varying climate but relatively homogeneous geology along strike, is a unique natural laboratory in which to investigate several of the factors controlling the composition of orogenic sediments. Coupling of surface and tectonic processes is most evident in the eastern Namche Barwa syntaxis, where the Tsangpo–Siang–Brahmaputra River, draining a large elevated area in south Tibet, plunges down the deepest gorge on Earth. Here composition of river sands changes drastically from lithic to quartzofeldspathic. After confluence with the Lohit River, draining the Transhimalayan-equivalent Mishmi arc batholiths, sediment composition remains remarkably constant across Assam, indicating subordinate contributions from Himalayan tributaries. Independent calculations based on petrographical, mineralogical, and geochemical data indicate that the syntaxis, representing only ∼4% of total basin area, contributes 35±6% to the total Brahmaputra sediment flux, and ∼20% of total detritus reaching the Bay of Bengal. Such huge anomalies in erosion patterns have major effects on composition of orogenic sediments, which are recorded as far as the Bengal Fan. In the Brahmaputra basin, in spite of very fast erosion and detrital evacuation, chemical weathering is not negligible. Sand-sized carbonate grains are dissolved partially in mountain reaches and completely in monsoon-drenched Assam plains, where clinopyroxenes are selectively altered. Plagioclase, instead, is preferentially weathered only in detritus from the Shillong Plateau, which is markedly enriched in microcline. Most difficult to assess is the effect of hydraulic sorting in Bangladesh, where quartz, garnet and epidote tend to be sequestered in the bedload and trapped on the coastal plain, whereas cleavable feldspars and amphiboles are concentrated in the suspended load and eventually deposited in the deep sea. High-resolution petrographic and dense-mineral studies of fluvial sands provide a basis for calculating sediment budgets, for tracing patterns of erosion in mountain belts, and for better understanding the complex dynamic feedback between surface processes and crustal-scale tectonics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]