Reconstructing the paleotopography of mountain belts from the

isotopic composition of authigenic minerals

C. Page Chamberlain* Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA
M. A. Poage

ABSTRACT tains. Because there is a quantitative relationship

The paleorelief of mountain belts can be estimated from the δ18O value of authigenic min- between elevation change and isotopic depletion
erals. Development of relief during mountain building often creates lee-side rain shadows in of precipitation (isotopic lapse rates) and because
which precipitation is depleted in 18O and D. The magnitude of this rain-shadow effect is strongly the isotopic composition of authigenic minerals
correlated to relief. A compilation of δ18O data from surface waters throughout the globe shows records that of surface waters, it is possible to es-
a linear relationship between net elevation change and ∆δ18O (R2 = 0.79). Through the use of this timate past topography. The isotopic composition
relationship, we investigated the timing and magnitude of elevation change in the Southern Alps of authigenic minerals from terrestrial sedimen-
of New Zealand and the Sierra Nevada of California. The δ18O values of kaolinites from New tary sequences from the rain-shadow side of
Zealand show an ~6‰ decrease in the early Pliocene that corresponds to an ~2 km elevation mountain belts should record the surficial uplift
change in the Southern Alps. The δ18O of smectites from the Sierra Nevada show little change (relief) of mountain ranges.
since 16 Ma, suggesting that these mountains have been a long-standing topographic feature. We show that (1) the topographic development
of mountains can be quantitatively estimated by
Keywords: topography, climate change, stable isotopes, uplift, mountain belts. using the relationship between δ18O of surface
waters and elevation, and (2) the δ18O values of
INTRODUCTION 1993; Chamberlain et al., 1999). The distillation clay minerals from sedimentary and volcanic
The relationship between the topographic and of 18O and D in precipitation as air masses move rocks from the Southern Alps of New Zealand
tectonic development of mountain belts is a from the oceans to continents causes the isotopic and the Sierra Nevada of California provide
poorly understood yet important problem in earth values of precipitation to decrease. This lowering quantitative information on the development of
sciences. Numerical models show that climate, of δ18O and δD values is enhanced as air masses these mountains as topographic features.
topography, and tectonics of mountain belts are pass over mountains, resulting in the well-docu-
intimately linked and that the rise of mountains mented “altitude effect” (Ambach et al., 1968). ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF SURFACE
can influence both local and global climate (Rud- As a result the δ18O and δD values of precipita- WATERS AND ELEVATION
diman and Kutzbach, 1989). Thus, estimating pa- tion on the rain-shadow side of mountain belts The isotopic values of precipitation are a func-
leorelief will place constraints on both paleocli- are often much lower than those of the lee-side of tion of temperature, source, evaporation during
mate and tectonic models of mountain-building mountain belts. The magnitude of this isotopic precipitation, degree of cooling since condensa-
events. At present, there are few methods avail- depletion is related to the height of the moun- tion, and kinetic effects (Dansgaard, 1964). De-
able that allow quantitative estimates of paleore-
lief. Information from cooling age, petrologic,
and sedimentological studies provide constraints
on the exhumation of mountains but yield little
information on its elevational history. Therefore,
recent studies for determining paleoaltitudes
have concentrated on other methods, such as ba-
salt vesicularity (Sahagian and Maus, 1994), cos-
mogenic nuclides (Brook et al., 1995), and pale-
obotany (Forest et al., 1999). Although these
paleorelief methods are useful, they all have in-
herent limitations. Thus, it is important to de-
velop other methods that can provide indepen-
dent estimates of paleorelief.
We develop a model whereby the isotopic
composition of authigenic minerals in terrestrial
sedimentary and volcanic rocks can be used as an
indicator of paleorelief. It has been shown that
the δ18O and δD of authigenic minerals provide
information on both past surface temperatures
and sources of surface waters (Lawrence and
Taylor, 1971), and isotopic values of authigenic
minerals can be used to constrain the topography
of mountainous regions (Kolodny and Luz, 1991;
Rye et al., 1993; Lawrence and Rashkes-Meaux,

*E-mail: c.p.chamberlain@dartmouth.edu.

Geology; February 2000; v. 28; no. 2; p. 115–118; 2 figures; 1 table. 115

spite these complications, studies have shown
that there is a relationship between the isotopic
composition of surface waters and elevation
(Table 1). In a Rayleigh model, continued precip-
itation from an air mass as it cools during oro-
graphic ascent results in progressive depletion of
18O and D of the remaining water vapor.
To explore further the relationship between al-
titude and δ18O of surface waters, we plotted the
change in the isotopic composition (∆δ18O) of
surface waters with elevation change (net eleva-
tion) for isotopic data sets collected throughout
the world (Fig. 1; Table 1). The slope of the best-
fit line (R2 = 0.79) through these data gives a
global isotopic lapse rate of 0.21‰/100 m. Fig-
ure 1 can be used to estimate elevation change of
developing mountain ranges. For example, if au-
thigenic minerals in a terrestrial sequence on the
lee side of a mountain range show a 5‰ decrease
in δ18O with time, and all other factors that influ-
ence the isotopic values remain constant, then the
net elevation increase would be 2350 ± 300 m.
Larger isotopic changes have a greater uncer-
tainty because of the few data sets available for
large elevation changes.
Determining the elevation change from the
δ18O value of minerals is complicated by numer-
ous other factors, such as surface temperature
changes, changes of source of precipitation, sea-
sonality of mineral formation, changes in the iso-
topic composition of ocean water through time,
and distance from evaporative moisture source.
As such, these factors must be considered in any
isotopic study of authigenic minerals. However,
the change in the δ18O value of surface waters as
a result of the altitude effect is relatively large
compared to many of these factors and, thus, the
change in the δ18O value of surface waters is a
first-order effect that will strongly influence the
isotopic composition of authigenic minerals. For
example, the rain shadows on the east side of the
Sierra Nevada and the Southern Alps result in a
∆δ18O of ~7‰ and 5‰, respectively (Ingraham
and Taylor, 1991; Chamberlain et al., 1999).
These isotopic anomalies are a direct result of el-
Figure 1. ∆δ18O of surface
waters vs. net elevation
(see Table 1 for refer-
ences). For each of these
data sets we calculated
error (shown as bars that
represent 1 standard er-
ror in Fig. 1; see also
Table 1) associated with
∆δ18O. These errors were
calculated by (1) deter-
mining best-fit line of
∆δ18O vs. elevation, (2)
determining standard er-
ror of Y-intercept (∆δ18O),
and (3) propagating stan-
dard error of Y-intercept
as function of net eleva-
tion change. Also shown is best-fit line for this data set and 95% confidence interval.
116
evation and are larger than isotopic effects due to
temperature changes and changes in the δ18O of
ocean water. In the Southern Alps, for example,
regional cooling events (~6 °C) and isotopic
changes of ocean waters since the Miocene will
cause a decrease of ~2‰ of kaolinite rather than
the observed ~6‰ decrease in δ18O values of ka-
olinite (Chamberlain et al., 1999).
Studying the history of these isotopic anom-
alies provides constraints on elevation changes
during mountain building. This approach is best
used by examining the δ18O of authigenic min-
erals on the rain-shadow side of the mountain
range rather than using a chronosequence of
minerals collected along an altitudinal transect
or an uplifted plateau. Interpretation of the δ18O
of authigenic minerals collected along an altitu-
dinal transect or uplifted plateau is complicated
by the fact that temperature changes with eleva-
tion changes. In addition, by measuring the iso-
topic composition of authigenic minerals in
rocks both from the lee and rain-shadow sides of
a mountain belt it should be possible to separate
the effect of changes of topography from other
factors that also influence the isotopic composi-
tion of minerals.
TOPOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT OF
THE SOUTHERN ALPS AND SIERRA
NEVADA
Southern Alps, New Zealand
In a previous study (Chamberlain et al., 1999)
we constrained the topographic evolution of the
Southern Alps by examining the δ18O of kaolin-
ite from weathered horizons in sedimentary rocks
on the rain-shadow side of the mountains. We se-
lected this area for study because the Southern
Alps is a modern mountain belt (<12 Ma), and is
situated on the western edge of New Zealand,
where the weather pattern is dominated by west-
erly air streams. The effects of changes in atmos-
pheric circulation patterns and source of precipi-
tation on δ18O values are therefore minimized.
We discuss the results of our study of the South-
ern Alps because it provides a baseline for further
studies of other mountain belts in which weather
patterns could be considerably more compli-
cated. We present the published data of the
Southern Alps study and use these data to quan-
tify its elevation changes (Fig. 1).
The Southern Alps are along the Alpine fault
between the Australian and Pacific plates. Oblique
compression along the Alpine fault gave rise to the
Southern Alps sometime since 12 Ma. Despite the
large number of studies on the uplift and exhuma-
tion history, it is still uncertain when the Southern
Alps formed as a topographic feature; estimates
range from 12 to 2.5 Ma (Cutten, 1979; Kamp and
Tippet, 1993).
Our study shows (1) a 5‰–6‰ decrease in
δ18O of kaolinite in lower Pliocene rocks; the val-
ues drop from 18.2‰ in pre-Pliocene rocks to
12.3‰ in post-Pliocene rocks (Fig. 2A), and (2)
post-Pliocene kaolinites are in isotopic equilib-
rium with modern surface waters. We interpret
the decrease in δ18O of kaolinite to be the result
of the development of the rain shadow behind the
Southern Alps. Other possible causes for this iso-
topic shift cannot account for the observed
change in δ18O values (Chamberlain et al., 1999).
By using Figure 1, it is possible to estimate the
elevation change that corresponds with this isoto-
pic shift. It is assumed that the δ18O value of ka-
olinite reflects that of surface waters; a 5‰–6‰
change in surface waters corresponds to a net el-
evation change of 2350 ± 300 to 2800 ± 400 m
(Fig. 1). This elevation change is approximately
the same as the mean elevation of the Southern
Alps (~2400 m).
Because of the uncertainty in the age of kaolin-
ite formation (Fig. 2A), it is impossible to discern
the precise age and rate of topographic develop-
ment of the Southern Alps. However, the isotopic
shift occurs in the lower Pliocene section, which
suggests that before the early Pliocene the South-
ern Alps did not exist as a mountain chain. Our in-
terpretation is consistent with paleoclimate stud-
ies (Mildenhall and Pocknall, 1989) that show
that through the Miocene the South Island had a
temperate moist climate, after which arid cool
conditions prevailed; such a climatic change is
consistent with the development of a rain shadow
on the east side of the rising Southern Alps. The
development of the Southern Alps as a mountain
chain in the early Pliocene corresponds to a
change in plate-motion vectors along the Alpine
fault from dominantly strike-slip motion to
oblique convergence ca. 5 Ma (Sutherland, 1995).
Sierra Nevada, California
The Sierra Nevada is an ~640-km-long, north-
west-trending mountain belt located in eastern
California. The average elevation is ~2800 m and
peaks are as high as 4419 m. On the east side of
the Sierra there is a rain shadow created by
storms that track from either the west or south-
west. The precipitation is complex in this region.
Winter storms track mainly from the west, and
GEOLOGY, February 2000

A δ 18 O kaolinite
10 12 14 16 18 20
0 0
5 5
Age (Ma)
B δ 18 O smectite
10 12 14 16 18 20
Figure 2. A: δ18O of kaolinite from
terrestrial sedimentary rocks
within intermontane basins east
of Southern Alps, New Zealand.
Bars show possible range of
ages for these kaolinite samples
(Chamberlain et al., 1999). B: δ18O
The decrease of δD values of fluid inclusions in
the past 2 m.y. in Death Valley may record other
influences such as decreased evaporation coinci-
dent with the onset of Pleistocene glaciation. We
have not measured the δ18O values of smectites
from ashes younger than 2 Ma, so a direct com-

10 10
15 Cretaceous
15
20 20
Southern Alps Sierra Nevada
Stewart Valley (open triangle), Coal Valley (solid dots), Buffalo Canyon (open squares), Cave Spring
Wash (solid triangles), and Fish Lake Valley (solid squares).
their source is from the Pacific Ocean, whereas
summer storms are a mixture of Pacific-source
precipitation and precipitation originating from
either the Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of California.
The area immediately east of the Sierra Nevada,
where we collected isotopic data on clay miner-
als, is dominated by winter precipitation with
winter:summer ratios ranging from 1.1 to 3.7
(Friedman et al., 1992). Studies have docu-
mented a 50‰–60‰ difference in the δD of pre-
cipitation and surface waters across the Sierra
Nevada (Ingraham and Taylor, 1991); the more
negative values are on the east side. This creates
one of the largest isotopic anomalies on Earth
and is the direct result of the present-day topog-
raphy of the Sierra Nevada.
There has been debate concerning the timing of
the topographic development of the Sierra Ne-
vada, and understanding the long-term stability of
this isotopic anomaly will provide information
about its elevational history. The long-standing
view was that the development of topography was
largely a post–10 Ma event (e.g., Huber, 1981). It
has been suggested that the Sierra Nevada existed
as a prominent topographic feature as early as
20 Ma and may have actually decreased in eleva-
tion since 10 Ma (Small and Anderson, 1995;
Wernicke et al., 1996; Wolfe et al., 1997).
To test this hypothesis, we determined the
δ18O values of smectite in ash layers along the
east side of the Sierra Nevada. These ash layers
are interbedded within lower Miocene to Pleis-
tocene terrestrial sedimentary units exposed in
basins of the western Basin and Range province.
Because there is no complete stratigraphic sec-
tion spanning the range in ages proposed for the
Sierra, we sampled numerous sections and cre-
ated a composite section that ranges in age from
ca. 2 to 16 Ma (Fig. 2B).
We concentrated our studies on ash layers for
three reasons. First, by using ash layers, it is pos-
sible to place a maximum age on the time of
smectite formation. Second, we found smectite as
a weathering product even in our youngest sam-
ples, suggesting that smectite forms soon after de-
position. This observation is consistent with stud-
of smectite from altered ashes.
All smectites are in equilibrium
with modern waters if mean an-
nual temperature of 14 °C (Feng
et al., 1999) is assumed and frac-
tionation equation of Savin and
Lee (1988) holds. Ashes were
collected from five localities to
produce this composite section:
ies showing that smectite forms relatively rapidly
during the weathering of terrestrial sedimentary
rocks (Blum and Erel, 1997). Third, it has been
shown that smectite preserves its isotopic compo-
sition after formation (Stern et al., 1997).
Our results show that (1) there is little change
of δ18O values of smectite from 2 to 16 Ma and
(2) smectites are in oxygen isotope equilibrium
with modern water. There are several possible
interpretations of these isotopic data. First, all
smectite formed recently and records only mod-
ern surface-water values. Second, smectite δ18O
values have been reset by recent interaction with
surface waters. Third, there has been no signifi-
cant change in the δ18O values of surface waters
on the east side of the Sierra Nevada since
16 Ma. We prefer the latter explanation because
it has been shown that smectites retain their
δ18O values after formation and, because of the
rapid rate of smectite formation during weather-
ing, it is unlikely that smectite formed in the
ashes only recently.
We suggest that the isotopic anomaly in mod-
ern surface waters observed on the east side of the
Sierra Nevada has been present at least since
16 Ma. The persistence of this anomaly suggests
that the Sierra Nevada has been approximately at
the same elevation at least since 16 Ma, which is
consistent with results from recent studies men-
tioned here. Our data, however, are inconsistent
with a similar study by Winograd et al. (1985),
who presented an ~2 m.y. δD isotope record of
fluid inclusions from a calcite vein from the east
side of Death Valley. They found a 40‰ decrease
in δD values and the recent samples were isotopi-
cally similar to modern ground water. They as-
signed this isotopic shift to the rise of the Sierra
Nevada during the past 2 m.y. As it appears that
our smectite samples are also in isotopic equilib-
rium with modern ground waters, and we observe
little change in the δ18O of smectite from 16 to
2 Ma, it is unclear why our interpretation differs
from that of Winograd et al. (1985). Smectites ex-
amined in our study were directly in the rain
shadow of the Sierra Nevada and should, there-
fore, more closely record any elevation changes.
parison of the two data sets is not possible.
CONCLUSIONS
The relationship between the ∆δ18O of surface
waters and net elevation shown in Figure 1 can be
used to infer paleorelief. Because of topographic
effects, surface waters are strongly depleted in 18O
and D on the rain-shadow sides of mountain
ranges. Therefore, by determining the isotopic
composition of paleo–surface waters in chronose-
quences on the rain-shadow side of mountain
belts, it is possible to reconstruct their topographic
development. By using this approach, we suggest
that the Southern Alps of New Zealand formed
ca. 5 Ma, during a time when the Alpine fault
changed from strike slip to oblique convergence,
and that the Sierra Nevada of California has been
a long-standing topographic feature since 16 Ma.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank X. Feng for assisting in the statistical anal-
ysis of surface waters and H. Schorn for helping to lo-
cate sedimentary sections. We appreciate the review of
D. Sahagian.
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Manuscript received June 9, 1999
Revised manuscript received September 27, 1999
Manuscript accepted October 5, 1999
GEOLOGY, February 2000