@article{PAR00020658,
  title = {{I}nfluence of orographic precipitation on the topographic and erosional evolution of mountain ranges},
  author = {{Z}avala, {V}. and {C}arretier, {S}{\'e}bastien and {B}onnet, {S}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he influence of climate on mountain denudation has been the topic of an intense debate for two decades. {T}his debate partly arises from the covariation of rainfall and topography during the growth of mountain ranges, both of which influence denudation. {H}owever, the denudational response of this co-evolution is poorly understood. {H}ere, we use a landscape evolution model where the rainfall evolves according to a prescribed rainfall-elevation relationship. {T}his relationship is a bell curve defined by a rainfall base level, a rainfall maximum and a width around the rainfall peak elevation. {T}his is a first-order model that fits a large range of orographic rainfall data at the ca. 1-km spatial scale. {W}e carried out simulations of an uplifting block with an alluvial apron, starting from an initially horizontal surface, and testing different rainfall-elevation relationships. {W}e find that the denudation history is different from that with constant rainfall models. {T}he results essentially depend on the ratio between the final steady-state summit elevation {H}-ss and the prescribed rainfall peak elevation {H}-p. {T}his ratio is hard to predict because it depends on the transient coupling of rainfall and elevation. {W}e identified three types of results according to {H}-ss/{H}-p. {I}f {H}-ss/{H}-p > 4 ({T}ype {I}), the denudation rates peak when the summits reach values close to {H}-p. {I}f {H}-ss/{H}-p > 1.5 and < 4 ({T}ype {II}), the denudation is strongly accelerated when the elevation of the summits approaches {H}-p, and then the denudation increases slowly towards the uplift rate. {I}f {H}-ss/{H}-p < 1.5 ({T}ype {III}), the denudation evolution is similar to situations with constant and homogeneous rainfall. {I}n the {T}ype {I} and {II} experiments, the mountain top is subjected to aridification once the summits have passed through {H}-p. {T}o adapt to this reduced rainfall, the slopes increase. {T}his can lead to a paradoxical situation where the mountain relief increases faster, whereas the denudation increases more slowly. {T}he development of orographic precipitation may thus favour the stability of the mean denudation rate in a rising mountain. {D}espite the model limitations, including a constant rainfall-elevation relationship, our study suggests that the "classical" exponential increase in the denudation rate predicted by constant rainfall models is not the common case. {I}nstead, the common case involves pulses and acceleration of the denudation even in the absence of uplift or global climate variations.},
  keywords = {landscape evolution model ; mountain denudation ; orographic precipitation},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{B}asin {R}esearch},
  volume = {32},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {1574--1599},
  ISSN = {0950-091{X}},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1111/bre.12443},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/{PAR}00020658},
}