Publication details

Gneissic tors in the central European upland: Complex Late Pleistocene forms?

Investor logo
Authors

MÁČKA Zdeněk BRAUCHER Régis MIGOŃ Piotr BELOVA Oľga LEICHMANN Jaromír AUMAÎTRE G. BOURLES D. KEDDADOUCHE K.

Year of publication 2023
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Geomorphology
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Science

Citation
Web https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108764
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108764
Keywords Tors; Rock control; 10Be inventory; The Bohemian-Moravian Highland
Description Bedrock outcrops punctuating regolith-covered surfaces in the summit/upper slope and hillside positions (tors and crags) have long been a subject of inquiry in geomorphology for their evolutionary trajectories and now also as valuable geoheritage sites. Methodological advances in research, such as DTM-based geomorphological analysis and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide inventories, create new perspectives to decipher the spatial and temporal context of tor emergence and decay. The shape, structural controls, 10Be inventories and relation to surrounding medium-scale landforms were studied at thirteen conspicuous bedrock outcrops developed in metamorphic and sedimentary lithologies in the Bohemian-Moravian Highland, Czechia. The shapes of studied bedrock outcrops indicate significant litho-structural controls. The general outline is mainly governed by (sub) vertical joints, whereas the inclination of foliation or bedding planes dictates summit and cliff morphology. Some of the tors described in this study developed in exceptionally densely foliated and jointed gneiss, which does not comply with the generally accepted view of tors as massive rock compartments resisting weathering. A series of rock hardness measurements performed at three gneissic tors using Schmidt hammer show statistically significant within-tor variability of R-values, indicating different exposure times to subaerial weathering. The complexity of landform assemblages, within which studied tors/crags are developed, varies from isolated bedrock outcrops surrounded by smooth slopes covered with debris-rich soils to outcrops accompanied by low rock cliffs, debris-covered steps, slope benches, boulder fields and isolated large blocks. The 10Be inventories reveal ages mostly from the Late Pleistocene and rarely from the Holocene. Summit/upper slope tors and hillside crags show considerable variability in maximum denudation rates ranging from 6.4 & PLUSMN; 0.2 to 105.6 & PLUSMN; 4.8 m/Ma. Paired samples from the summits and cliffs of eight outcrops indicate three possible post-emergence evolutionary scenarios with summit downwearing while keeping the outcrop outline, balanced cliff and summit degradation rate, and backwearing as the dominant degradation process.
Related projects:

You are running an old browser version. We recommend updating your browser to its latest version.

More info