Topographic relief and climate-tectonics-erosion interactions in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

• Applicant: Dr. Konstanze Stübner
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 365656695

Although glacial records in the Pamir Mountains, Central Asia, go back >200,000 years, the glacial chronology of the Pamir remains poorly constrained. Highly dispersed age data impede reliable dating of old glacial deposits, and most published data are from a relatively small area in the easternmost part of the mountain belt. In the framework of the first project, we used cosmogenic nuclide exposure age dating to reconstruct the Middle and Late Pleistocene glacial history of the Pamir. We constrained the timing and extent of large glacial advances and demonstrated regional synchroneity of the glacial stages as well as asynchroneity with global glacial cycles. We also conducted comprehensive geomorphologic analyses, which elucidate the effects of glaciation on landscape evolution and erosion patterns in the Pamir. The objective of the present proposal is the synthesis and publication of the age data collected and processed during the past 2 years and the finalization of computer modelling studies to further understand glacial coverage in the Pamir. This will need additional analyses and numerical modelling, which will result in a comprehensive assessment of the glacial history and a better understanding of tectonic and climatic controls on erosion in the Pamir mountains.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Bodo Bookhagen, Ph.D.