Beryllium-10-derived denudation rates in the Roda Catchment, Germany

Abstract. Denudation is a key geomorphological process shaping landscapes. In-situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be has been used to quantify millennial denudation rates worldwide. Long-term denudation rates in the European lowlands can provide valuable insights into the roles of periglacial processes and human activity in landscape evolution. Here, we quantify local and catchment-wide denudation rates in the Roda Catchment in Thuringia, central Germany. Specifically, we constrain 17 catchment-wide denudation rates based on 10Be concentrations in river sediments and 5 local denudation rates based on 10Be concentrations from soil samples on the flat catchment divides. Catchment-wide denudation rates vary between 23.8 ± 5.4 and 79 ± 18 mm kyr−1, and local denudation rates range from 23.4 ± 5.6 to 41.9 ± 9.8 mm kyr−1. These catchment-wide denudation rates are consistent with published European data, which are generally higher than those reported from other regions worldwide. This difference can be attributed to periglacial dynamics during the last glacial period. The 10Be-derived long-term denudation rates in Europe are generally higher than recent, short-term erosion rates, despite vast human activities and intensive land use in recent decades. This could be due to past periglacial activity; large-scale forest clearance during the Roman and Medieval times; and the limitations of short-term measurements in capturing low-frequency, high-magnitude events. The observed differences between catchment-wide and local denudation rates suggest that denudation has led to changes in topographic relief in the Roda Catchment at a mean rate of 0–28 mm kyr−1 over the past 10 ka.