Development of cosmogenic nuclide capabilities in South Africa and applications in Southern African geomorphology

Cosmogenic nuclide (CN) applications offer methods to quantify rates of landscape change and of dating geomorphological deposits and surfaces. Over the past two decades, CNs have been used to determine denudation rates, constrain uplift rates and determine burial ages of sediments in different geomo...

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Published inSouth African geographical journal Vol. 103; no. 1; pp. 99 - 118
Main Authors Makhubela, Tebogo V., Winkler, Stephan, Mbele, Vela, Kramers, Jan D., Khosa, Rivoningo R., Moabi, Hendric P., Konyana, Sibusiso M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 05.01.2021
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Aluminum
Beryllium
Cenozoic
Cosmogenic nuclides
Denudation
denudation rates
Erosion rates
Geomorphology
Great Escarpment
Infrastructure
Laboratories
Sample preparation
Southern African Landscape
South Africa
Southern Africa
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Summary:Cosmogenic nuclide (CN) applications offer methods to quantify rates of landscape change and of dating geomorphological deposits and surfaces. Over the past two decades, CNs have been used to determine denudation rates, constrain uplift rates and determine burial ages of sediments in different geomorphological settings across the Southern African landscape. Here, we first give an overview of the landscape evolution of Southern Africa and how CN-based studies have contributed to this subject. Then we give a compilation of CN denudation data from Southern Africa, which show that average erosion rates have decreased by an order of magnitude since the late Cenozoic. Finally, we present the state of CN infrastructure and capabilities in South Africa as well as envisaged future developments. An Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) has become operational for carbon-14, beryllium-10 and aluminium-26 measurements at the National Research Foundation (NRF) iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (LABS) in Gauteng since 2017. The measurements' accuracy and precision compare well with other AMS laboratories internationally. Local sample preparation laboratories are currently available with limited capabilities and are mostly still under development.
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ISSN:0373-6245
2151-2418
DOI:10.1080/03736245.2020.1775689