Articles | Volume 8, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-579-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-579-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
The impact of earthquakes on orogen-scale exhumation
Oliver R. Francis
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff university, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, 33 Park
Place, Cardiff, CF10 3BA, UK
Tristram C. Hales
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff university, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, 33 Park
Place, Cardiff, CF10 3BA, UK
Daniel E. J. Hobley
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff university, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
Xuanmei Fan
The State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment
Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, China
Alexander J. Horton
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff university, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
Gianvito Scaringi
Institute of Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Applied Geophysics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 46 Prague 2, Prague, Czech Republic
Runqiu Huang
The State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment
Protection, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, Sichuan, China
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Cited
12 citations as recorded by crossref.
- A thermo-hydro-mechanical approach to soil slope stability under climate change G. Scaringi & M. Loche https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108108
- Coseismic Debris Remains in the Orogen Despite a Decade of Enhanced Landsliding L. Dai et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095850
- Geomorphological and hydrological controls on sediment export in earthquake-affected catchments in the Nepal Himalaya E. Graf et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-135-2024
- The Fate of Sediment After a Large Earthquake O. Francis et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006352
- The dynamic threat from landslides following large continental earthquakes K. Arrell et al. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308444
- Challenges and Responses in the Mechanisms and Prediction of Strong-earthquake-triggered Geological Hazards X. Fan et al. https://doi.org/10.3724/BNSFC-2025-0040
- Surface temperature controls the pattern of post-earthquake landslide activity M. Loche et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-04992-8
- Long-term evolution of earthquake-triggered cascading landslides: insights from 15 years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake C. Dai et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135349
- ConcentrationTracker: Landlab components for tracking material concentrations in sediment L. Roberge et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-1387-2026
- Preservation and transportation of large landslide deposits under decadal and millennial timescales in the Taiwan orogenic belt C. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108402
- Scale-dependency, rainfall, and lithologic controls on the hypsometry of the Western Ghats, India S. Banerjee et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02068-3
- Earthquakes act as a capacitor for terrestrial organic carbon J. Liu et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68341-3
12 citations as recorded by crossref.
- A thermo-hydro-mechanical approach to soil slope stability under climate change G. Scaringi & M. Loche https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108108
- Coseismic Debris Remains in the Orogen Despite a Decade of Enhanced Landsliding L. Dai et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095850
- Geomorphological and hydrological controls on sediment export in earthquake-affected catchments in the Nepal Himalaya E. Graf et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-135-2024
- The Fate of Sediment After a Large Earthquake O. Francis et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006352
- The dynamic threat from landslides following large continental earthquakes K. Arrell et al. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308444
- Challenges and Responses in the Mechanisms and Prediction of Strong-earthquake-triggered Geological Hazards X. Fan et al. https://doi.org/10.3724/BNSFC-2025-0040
- Surface temperature controls the pattern of post-earthquake landslide activity M. Loche et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-04992-8
- Long-term evolution of earthquake-triggered cascading landslides: insights from 15 years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake C. Dai et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.135349
- ConcentrationTracker: Landlab components for tracking material concentrations in sediment L. Roberge et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-1387-2026
- Preservation and transportation of large landslide deposits under decadal and millennial timescales in the Taiwan orogenic belt C. Chen et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2022.108402
- Scale-dependency, rainfall, and lithologic controls on the hypsometry of the Western Ghats, India S. Banerjee et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02068-3
- Earthquakes act as a capacitor for terrestrial organic carbon J. Liu et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68341-3
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 14 Nov 2026
Short summary
Large earthquakes can build mountains by uplifting bedrock, but they also erode them by triggering large volumes of coseismic landsliding. Using a zero-dimensional numerical model, we identify that the storage of sediment produced by earthquakes can affect surface uplift and exhumation rates across the mountain range. However, the storage also reduces the time span at which the impact of the earthquake can be measured, preventing the recognition of single earthquakes in many long-term records.
Large earthquakes can build mountains by uplifting bedrock, but they also erode them by...
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