Examining the links and potential feedbacks between tectonics and climate requires understanding the processes and variables controlling erosion. At the orogen scale, tectonics and climate are thought to be linked through the influence of mountain elevation on orographic precipitation and glaciation; the only documented erosional processes capable of balancing rapid rock-uplift rates are glacial erosion or coupled river incision and landsliding. Our 20 new ¹⁰Be derived catchment-averaged denudation rates from the Western Southern Alps of New Zealand generally range between 0.6 and 9 mm/yr, within the same order of magnitude as fault-throw rates, exhumation rates, and erosion rates estimated from suspended sediment yields and landslide inventories. Combining our data with previously published ¹⁰Be denudation rates, we find that the proportion of catchment area in the 1,500–2,000 m elevation window is the variable that best explains denudation rate variability and the disparity between rock-uplift rates and denudation rates. This correlation indicates that enhanced erosion likely occurs at 1,500–2,000 m above sea level, where periglacial and paraglacial processes have been proposed to be most active. We find that these temperature-controlled erosional processes, which are also elevation-dependent, can play a greater role in modulating erosion during interglacials than precipitation or glaciation. Our data suggest that temperature-controlled peri- and paraglacial erosion could be efficient enough to balance some of the fastest rock-uplift rates on Earth. Hence, temperature-controlled erosion could contribute to limiting orogen elevations and modulating the erosion rates dictated by rock-uplift, playing an essential role in linking tectonics and climate.

中文翻译：

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与海拔相关的冰缘和冰缘过程调节新西兰南阿尔卑斯山西部的构造控制侵蚀

检查构造与气候之间的联系和潜在反馈需要了解控制侵蚀的过程和变量。在造山带尺度上，构造和气候被认为是通过山脉海拔对地形降水和冰川作用的影响而联系在一起的。唯一有记录的能够平衡快速岩石隆起率的侵蚀过程是冰川侵蚀或河流切割和滑坡。我们从新西兰南阿尔卑斯山西部推导出的 20 个新的 10 Be 流域平均剥蚀率一般在 0.6 至 9 毫米/年之间，与根据悬浮流估计的断层抛掷率、折返率和侵蚀率处于同一数量级^。沉积物产量和滑坡库存。将我们的数据与之前发布的¹⁰ Be 剥蚀率相结合，我们发现 1,500-2,000 m 高程窗口中的流域面积比例是最能解释剥蚀率变异性以及岩石隆起率与剥蚀率之间差异的变量。这种相关性表明，侵蚀加剧可能发生在海拔 1,500-2,000 米处，这里的冰缘和冰缘过程被认为最为活跃。我们发现，这些温度控制的侵蚀过程也与海拔有关，在调节间冰期侵蚀方面比降水或冰川作用更能发挥作用。我们的数据表明，受温度控制的冰周和冰缘侵蚀可能足以平衡地球上一些最快的岩石隆起率。因此，温度控制的侵蚀可能有助于限制造山带海拔并调节岩石隆起所决定的侵蚀速率，在连接构造和气候方面发挥重要作用。