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The transfer of organic carbon from the terrestrial biosphere to the oceans via erosion and riverine transport constitutes an important component of the global carbon cycle. Measurements of particulate organic carbon load and composition in the LiWu river, Taiwan, during cyclone-triggered floods suggest that tropical cyclones may facilitate the delivery of non-fossil particulate organic carbon to the ocean and its subsequent burial. The transfer of organic carbon from the terrestrial biosphere to the oceans via erosion and riverine transport constitutes an important component of the global carbon cycle1,2,3,4. More than one third of this organic carbon flux comes from sediment-laden rivers that drain the mountains in the western Pacific region3,5. This region is prone to tropical cyclones, but their role in sourcing and transferring vegetation and soil is not well constrained. Here we measure particulate organic carbon load and composition in the LiWu River, Taiwan, during cyclone-triggered floods. We correct for fossil particulate organic carbon using radiocarbon, and find that the concentration of particulate organic carbon from vegetation and soils is positively correlated with water discharge. Floods have been shown to carry large amounts of clastic sediment6. Non-fossil particulate organic carbon transported at the same time may be buried offshore under high rates of sediment accumulation7,8,9. We estimate that on decadal timescales, 77–92% of non-fossil particulate organic carbon eroded from the LiWu catchment is transported during large, cyclone-induced floods. We suggest that tropical cyclones, which affect many forested mountains within the Intertropical Convergence Zone10, may provide optimum conditions for the delivery and burial of non-fossil particulate organic carbon in the ocean. This carbon transfer is moderated by the frequency, intensity and duration of tropical cyclones.

A growing literature deals with bedrock channels, erosion processes within them, and their role in landscape evolution. Formal definitions currently in use classify channels as bedrock when alluvial cover is discontinuous or thin. This is equated with a physical property of the flow. Using up-to-date erosion laws and descriptions of channel dynamics, we show that existing definitions are difficult to apply and may lead to conflicting classifications. We propose the definition: A bedrock channel cannot substantially widen, lower or shift its bed without eroding bedrock. Applied to channels in Taiwan, this leads to a different classification than previous definitions. By analysing at-a-station hydraulic geometry of these channels, we show that the classification exposes different controls of sediment effects on dynamics of channels classified as alluvial and bedrock.

[1] Erosion of particulate organic carbon (POC) occurs at very high rates in mountain river catchments, yet the proportion derived recently from atmospheric CO2 in the terrestrial biosphere (POCnon-fossil) remains poorly constrained. Here we examine the transport of POCnon-fossil in mountain rivers of Taiwan and its climatic and geomorphic controls. In 11 catchments we have combined previous geochemical quantification of POC source (accounting for fossil POC from bedrock), with measurements of water discharge (Qw) and suspended sediment concentration over 2 years. In these catchments, POCnon-fossil concentration (mg L−1) was positively correlated with Qw, with enhanced loads at high flow attributed to rainfall driven supply of POCnon-fossil from forested hillslopes. This climatic control on POCnon-fossil transport was moderated by catchment geomorphology: the gradient of a linear relation of POCnon-fossil concentration and Qw increased as the proportion of steep hillslopes (>35°) in the catchment increased. The data suggest enhanced supply of POCnon-fossil by erosion processes which act most efficiently on the steepest sections of forest. Across Taiwan, POCnon-fossil yield was correlated with suspended sediment yield, with a mean of 21 ± 10 tC km−2 yr−1. At this rate, export of POCnon-fossil imparts an upper bound on the time available for biospheric growth, of ∼800 yr. Over longer time periods, POCnon-fossil transferred with large amounts of clastic sediment can contribute to sequestration of atmospheric CO2 if buried in marine sediments. Our results show that this carbon transfer should be enhanced in a wetter and stormier climate, and the rates moderated on geological timescales by the regional tectonic setting.

Large earthquakes deform the Earth's surface and drive topographic growth in the frontal zones of mountain belts. They also induce widespread mass wasting, reducing relief. The sum of these two opposing effects is unknown. Using a time series of landslide maps and suspended sediment transport data, we show that the MW7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan was followed by a period of enhanced mass wasting and fluvial sediment evacuation, peaking at more than five times the background rate and returning progressively to pre-earthquake levels in about six years. Therefore it is now possible to calculate the mass balance and topographic effect of the earthquake. The Choshui River has removed sediment representing more than 30% of the added rock mass from the epicentral area. This has resulted in a reduction of surface uplift by up to 0.25 m, or 35% of local elevation change, and a reduction of the area where the Chi-Chi earthquake has built topography. For other large earthquakes, erosion may evolve in similar, predictable ways, reducing the efficiency of mountain building in fold-and-thrust belts and the topographic expression of seismogenic faults, prolonging the risk of triggered processes, and impeding economic regeneration of epicentral areas.

Mountain building exposes fossil organic carbon (OC fossil ) in exhumed sedimentary rocks. Oxidation of this material releases carbon dioxide from long-term geological storage to the atmosphere. OC fossil is mobilized on hillslopes by mass wasting and transferred to the particu- late load of rivers. In large fl uvial systems, it is thought to be oxidised in transit, but in short, steep rivers that drain mountain islands, OC fossil may escape oxidation and re-enter geological storage due to rapid fl uvial transfer to the ocean. In these settings, the rates of OC fossil transfer and their controls remain poorly constrained. Here we quantify the erosion of OC fossil from the Taiwan mountain belt, combining discharge statistics with measurements of particulate organic carbon load and source in 11 rivers. Annual OC fossil yields in Taiwan vary from 12 ± 1 to 246 ± 22 tC km −2 yr −1 , controlled by the high physical erosion rates that accompany rapid crustal shortening and frequent typhoon impacts. Effi cient transfer of this material ensures that 1.3 ± 0.1 ◊ 10 6 tC yr −1 of OC fossil exhumed in Taiwan is delivered to the ocean, with

Small rivers draining mountain islands are important in the transfer of terrestrial particulate organic carbon (POC) to the oceans. This input has implications for the geochemical stratigraphic record. We have investigated the stable isotopic composition of POC (δ13Corg) in rivers draining the mountains of Taiwan. In 15 rivers, the suspended load has a mean δ13Corg that ranges from −28.1±0.8‰ to −22.0±0.2‰ (on average 37 samples per river) over the interval of our study. To investigate this variability we have supplemented suspended load data with measurements of POC in bedrock and river bed materials, and constraints on the composition of the terrestrial biomass. Fossil POC in bedrock has a range in δ13Corg from −25.4±1.5‰ to −19.7±2.3‰ between the major geological formations. Using coupled δ13Corg and N/C we have found evidence in the suspended load for mixing of fossil POC with non-fossil POC from the biosphere. In two rivers outside the Taiwan Central Range anthropogenic land use appears to influence δ13Corg, resulting in more variable and lower values than elsewhere. In all other catchments, we have found that 5‰ variability in δ13Corg is not controlled by the variable composition of the biomass, but instead by heterogeneous fossil POC. In order to quantify the fraction of suspended load POC derived from non-fossil sources (Fnf) as well as the isotopic composition of fossil POC (δ13Cfossil) carried by rivers, we adapt an end-member mixing model. River suspended sediments and bed sediments indicate that mixing of fossil POC results in a negative trend between N/C and δ13Corg that is distinct from the addition of non-fossil POC, collapsing multiple fossil POC end-members onto a single mixing trend. As an independent test of the model, Fnf reproduces the fraction modern (Fmod) in our samples, determined from 14C measurements, to within 0.09 at the 95% confidence level. Over the sampling period, the mean Fnf of suspended load POC was low (0.29 ± 0.02, n = 459), in agreement with observations from other mountain rivers where physical erosion rates are high and fossil POC enters river channels. The mean δ13Cfossil in suspended POC varied between −25.2±0.5‰ and −20.2±0.6‰ from catchment to catchment. This variability is primarily controlled by the distribution of the major geological formations. It also covers entirely the range of δ13Corg found in marine sediments which is commonly thought to derive from mixing between marine and terrigenous POC. If land-sourced POC is preserved in marine sediments, then changes in the bulk δ13Corg observed offshore Taiwan could instead be explained by changes in the onshore provenance of sediment. The range in δ13Corg of fossil organic matter in sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface is large and given the importance of these rocks as a source of clastic sediment to the oceans, care should be taken in accounting for fossil POC in marine deposits supplied by active mountain belts.

Messy Mountain Meandering Predicting the influence of climate on landscapes is sometimes straightforward; for example, river deposits might grow with increased rainfall because erosion rates and sediment transport increase. However, long-term tectonic processes complicate the geomorphic signatures of more gradual climate-related phenomena that reconfigure landscapes. By correlating a decades-long record of typhoon rainfall in Japan with digital elevation models, Stark et al. (p. 1497 ) show that climate directly influences the extent of river meandering. When expanded to a larger region of the western North Pacific, this analysis revealed a strong climatic imprint on the landscape of humid mountainous areas. The region-wide analysis also revealed that underlying bedrock strength, as opposed to tectonic uplift, acts as a secondary control.

The erosion of mountain belts controls their topographic and structural evolution1,2,3 and is the main source of sediment delivered to the oceans4. Mountain erosion rates have been estimated from current relief and precipitation, but a more complete evaluation of the controls on erosion rates requires detailed measurements across a range of timescales. Here we report erosion rates in the Taiwan mountains estimated from modern river sediment loads, Holocene river incision and thermochronometry on a million-year scale. Estimated erosion rates within the actively deforming mountains are high (3–6 mm yr-1) on all timescales, but the pattern of erosion has changed over time in response to the migration of localized tectonic deformation. Modern, decadal-scale erosion rates correlate with historical seismicity and storm-driven runoff variability. The highest erosion rates are found where rapid deformation, high storm frequency and weak substrates coincide, despite low topographic relief.