Quantification and geochemical characterization of total mass fluxes in river catchments of the Rhenish Massif and the Black Forest, Germany

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ralf Hetzel
• Subject Area: Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: from 2006 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 31414553

We aim to determine long-term erosion rates as well as recent mass fluxes including their geochemical and stable isotope signatures in four selected catchments of the Rhenish Massif and the Black Forest (Germany). Spatially-averaged erosion rates integrated over the Holocene/Late Pleistocene will be derived from the 10Be concentration of quartz in river sediments from the different subbasins of each catchment. Recent mass fluxes out of these catchments will be determined from run-off data and the geochemical (main and trace elements) signatures of dissolved and suspended river loads. These will be corrected for organic, atmospheric, and anthropogenic inputs using the stable isotopic signatures of water and dissolved loads (H, C, O, S). The geochemical investigations will be complemented by a geomorphologic analysis to define geomorphic parameters such as relief and slope distribution for each of the sampled subbasins. Our investigations will yield erosion rates on different timescales (a few years and ~104 years) and will provide quantitative constraints on the Late Quaternary denudation of mountain ranges typical of central Europe.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Harald Strauß