© 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Eos, Vol. 94, No. 5, 29 January 2013

Linking Deep Earth and Surface Processes

PAGES 53–54

One of the important developments in

Earth science over the past decade has been

recognition of the significance of linking

deep Earth dynamic processes with surface

and near-surface geologic processes [e.g.,

Braun , 2010 ]. Deep Earth research, encom-

passing fields such as seismology and mantle

geodynamics, has traditionally operated

distinctly from fields focusing on dynamics

of the Earth’s surface, such as sedimentology

and geomorphology. However, these

endeavors have in common the study of

Earth’s topography and the prediction of

changes in its surface. Observables from

surface studies, such as basin stratigraphy,

geomorphology of landscapes, changes in

surface elevation, and changes in sea level,

provide some of the principal constraints on

geodynamic and tectonic models.

Conversely, deep geodynamic processes give

rise to the topography, erosion, and sediment

generation that are the basis of surface

geology. Surface manifestations of deep

geodynamic processes have significant

societal impact by creating natural hazards,

such as earthquakes and mass movements,

and controlling the distribution of natural

resources such as fossil fuels or geothermal

energy. The relevance of research conducted

in both the deep Earth and surface regimes

is thus enhanced through a focus on their

interaction.

Recognition of this common ground has

given rise to a multidisciplinary program in

Europe under the umbrella name of TOPO-

EUROPE. The program represents a bottom-up,

community effort to self-organize and

cross-fertilize the disparate fields within the

geological and geophysical communities.

Launched with a workshop in 2005 and a

white paper [ Cloetingh and TOPO-EUROPE

Working Group , 2007 ] describing its scientific

scope, the program has continued to grow

with annual meetings and other activities. The

heart of these research activities was

supported through funding of a European

Collaborative Research (EUROCORES)

program administered by the European

Science Foundation (ESF), which coordinates

funding commitments made by national

science funding agencies across Europe.

Funding organizations in 21 countries agreed

to support TOPO-EUROPE with the goal of

better understanding the evolution of

topography in Europe, its uplift and subsid-

ence, and accompanying changes in sea level.

The TOPO-EUROPE EUROCORES program

funded 10 projects (see Table  1 ). The scale of

these projects varies in scientific and

administrative scope, but the final statistics

show participation of 23 countries and nearly

20 million Euro invested.

The scope of the research conducted

within the EUROCORES projects is broad.

As a consequence of interest in both deep

Earth geodynamic processes and surface

processes, all projects are multidisciplinary.

Observations range from measuring the

geoid and monitoring sea level through

satellites to onshore and offshore acquisition

of new deep seismic data, dedicated

geological field studies and acquisition of

geochemical data, low-temperature thermo-

chronometric ages, and cosmogenic isotope

concentrations. Extensive use of analytical

facilities and integration of numerical and

analog modeling are other important

characteristics of the program.

Natural Laboratory Model

TOPO-EUROPE is organized around a

“natural laboratory” concept. Each of the

projects focuses on a specific geographic

region and includes diverse disciplines such

as seismology, geodesy, geodynamics,

tectonics, sedimentology, geochemistry, and

geomorphology, applied within the common

“laboratory.” The European continent

exhibits a broad diversity of tectonic,

climatic, and geographic settings, providing

an excellent opportunity for a full spectrum

of studies. Moreover, as one of the most

densely populated regions on the planet, the

societal impact of better understanding

tectonic processes is immediate.

The scope of the individual projects

reflects that diversity. The Vertical Anatolian

Movements Project (VAMP) addressed uplift

of the Anatolian plateau and Taurides over

the last few million years [ Schildgen et al .,

2012 ]. The Pyrenean tectonics project

(PYRTEC) investigated the relationship

between deformation in thrust belts and

sedimentation in piggyback and foredeep

basins. The Topo-4D project focused on the

effects of mantle processes on surface

deformation by studying plate motions and

slab dynamics, including detachment and its

impacts on surface topography [ Duretz et al .,

2011 ]. The TopoMed project characterized

the tectonic regime in the western and

central Mediterranean through acquisition

and analysis of onshore-offshore seismic and

magnetotelluric data, interpreted through

numerical and analog modeling of initiation

of subduction along the North Africa margin

[ Baes et al ., 2011 ].

The TopoScandiaDeep (TSD) project

studied upper mantle structure beneath the

southern Scandes Mountains of Norway, an

area characterized by persistent topography

at a location far from Europe’s plate bounda-

ries [ Medhus et al ., 2012 ]. The SourceSink

project studied the Danube–Black Sea

system and sediment source-sink relation-

ships in a tectonically active area [ Matenco

and Andriessen , 2013 ] affected by episodic

flooding and seismicity. The TOPOALPS

project had the principal goal of establishing

the erosion rates across the Alps over a range

of timescales from decades to millions of

years. Databases for river sediment loads,

cosmogenic isotope concentrations, and

thermochronometric ages were established

and analyzed, with one of the results being

the characterization of the glacial overprint

on topography and erosion rates over the

late Quaternary (last 2 million years)

[ Sternai et al ., 2012 ] (see Figure  1 ).

The Thermo-Europe project investigated

the tectonic and climatic controls on the

evolution of Europe’s mountain belts through

cooling rates established by thermochronom-

etry. The project found little evidence for

accelerated exhumation in the last few

Table 1. Funded EUROCORES Projects, Region of Study, and Participating Countries

EUROCORES Project Natural Laboratory Participating Countriesa

Topo-4D Europe NL, NO, CH, DE, and IT

TopoMed Mediterranean NL, IT, ES, DE, FR, P, and IR

TOPOALPS The Alps CH, DE, FR, and AT

Thermo-Europe Europe and near

Middle East

FR, NL, PL, ES, CH, DE, IT,

and UK

VAMP Anatolia DE, NL, SK, TK, IT, and CH

PYRTEC Pyrenees and Cantabria NO, ES, FR, NL, and UK

RESEL-GRACE Europe DE, FR, and NL

SourceSink The Danube Basin,

Black Sea system

NL, AT, SK, RO, FR, HU, ES,

SRB, TK, CH, CZ, HR, and

USA

SedyMONT Selected drainage basins

in Norway, Switzerland,

and Italy

CH, DE, IT, UK, NO, and AT

TopoScandiaDeep Scandinavia NO, D, DE, UK, and NL

aAustria (AT), Croatia (HR), Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (D), France (FR), Germany (DE), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IR), Italy (IT), Netherlands (NL), Norway (NO), Poland (PL), Portugal (P), Romania (RO), Serbia (SRB), Slovak Republic (SK), Spain (ES), Switzerland (CH), Turkey (TK), United Kingdom (UK), and United States (USA)

Eos, Vol. 94, No. 5, 29 January 2013

© 2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

million years, although there was evidence

for an increase in relief due to Quaternary

glacial valley carving [ Valla et al ., 2011 ].

SedyMONT focused on human timescale

mass transport through the establishment of

sediment budgets for individual catchments.

It was found that episodic sediment transfer

processes such as debris flows are a

dominant mechanism in sedimentary fan

development but that sediment fluxes and

fan stratigraphy can still be estimated

provided the stochastic nature of sediment

transfer is characterized. The RESEL-GRACE

project addressed Europe-scale sea level

change using satellite gravity data from the

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

(GRACE) mission as well as sea level

monitoring data.

Training Young Scientists

An important component of TOPO-

EUROPE is the training of young scientists,

with more than 60 Ph.D. students and

postdocs receiving funding. In addition,

funds were made available through the ESF

to support interaction between projects.

These were used to fund short courses,

summer schools, and field trips, giving

participating students training in state-of-the-

art research techniques. These programs

also gave students a head start in networking

by creating a cohort of TOPO-EUROPE

students who met and shared experiences at

conferences and courses. The doctoral and

postdoctoral students found this so reward-

ing that they created a “TOPO-EUROPE

Young Researchers” workshop series with

meetings held in Bratislava, Slovak Republic,

and Utrecht, Netherlands.

Looking Forward

Although the EUROCORES funding for

TOPO-EUROPE is now phasing out, there

remains a future for TOPO-EUROPE. The

connections between deep geodynamic

processes and surface processes continue to

be recognized as an important problem with

much future potential [ National Academy of

Sciences , 2012 ]. TOPO-EUROPE is playing this

role in the European research community,

and its success points to the continuing need

for such multidisciplinary approaches in

Earth sciences. Community building is a

long-term process, and the TOPO-EUROPE

community continues to be active. TOPO-

EUROPE has also provided motivation for the

ongoing European Commission–funded

European Plate Observing System (EPOS),

which supports research infrastructure,

integrating seismic networks, volcanic

monitoring facilities, experimental laborato-

ries, and analog and numerical tectonic

modeling infrastructure.

Acknowledgments

The results discussed here are part of the

outcome of a collective and dedicated effort

of the TOPO-EUROPE research community.

We thank Paola Campus and Anne-Sophie

Gabin from the European Science Foundation

for effective support for the coordination of

the program. Primary research support came

from the respective national funding bodies

as listed in Table 1 . Continuing support is also

acknowledged from the International

Lithosphere Programme and the European

Academy of Sciences.

References

Baes , M. , R. Govers , and R. Wortel ( 2011 ), Switching

between alternative responses of the lithosphere

to continental collision , Geophys. J. Int. , 187 ,

1151 – 1174 , doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2011.05236.x .

Braun , J. ( 2010 ), The many surface expressions of

mantle dynamics , Nat. Geosci. , 3 , 825 – 833 .

Cloetingh , S. , and TOPO-EUROPE Working Group

( 2007 ), TOPO-EUROPE: The geoscience of

coupled deep Earth and surface processes ,

Global Planet. Change , 58 , 1 – 118 .

Duretz , T. , T. V. Gerya , and D. A. May ( 2011 ),

Numerical modelling of spontaneous slab

breakoff and subsequent topographic response ,

Tectonophysics , 502 ( 1–2 ), 244 – 256 , doi: 10.1016/j.

tecto.2010.05.024 .

Matenco , L. , and P. Andriessen (Eds.) ( 2013 ), From

Source to Sink, Global Planet. Change , in press.

Medhus , A. B. , N. Balling , B. H. Jacobson , C.

Weidle , R. W. England , R. Kind , H. Thybo , and P.

Voss ( 2012 ), Upper-mantle structure beneath the

Southern Scandes mountains and the Northern

Tornquist Zone revealed by P -wave traveltime

tomography , Geophys. J. Int. , 189 , 1315 – 1334 .

National Academy of Sciences ( 2012 ), New

Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences , Natl.

Acad. Press , Washington, D. C.

Schildgen , T. F. , D. Cosentino , A. Caruso , R.

Buchwaldt , C. Yıldırım , S. A. Bowring , B. Rojay ,

H. Echtler , and M. R. Strecker ( 2012 ), Surface

expression of eastern Mediterranean slab

dynamics: Neogene topographic and structural

evolution of the southwest margin of the Central

Anatolian Plateau, Turkey , Tectonics , 31 , TC2005 ,

doi: 10.1029/2011TC003021 .

Sternai , P. , F. Herman , J.-D. Champagnac , M. Fox ,

B. Salcher , and S. D. Willett ( 2012 ), Pre-glacial

topography of the European Alps , Geology ,

40 ( 12 ), 1067 – 1070 , doi: 10.1130/G33540.1 .

Valla , P. G. , D. L. Shuster , and P. A. van der Beek

( 2011 ), Significant increase in relief of the

European Alps during mid-Pleistocene glacia-

tions , Nat. Geosci. , 4 , 688 – 692 .

— SIERD CLOETINGH, Faculty of Geosciences,

Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands; Email:

sierd.cloetingh@uu.nl; and SEAN D. WILLETT, Earth

Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

Fig 1. Isostatic uplift in response to mass removed by carving of glacial valleys in the Alps (from

Sternai et al. [2012]). This uplift occurs in addition to regional uplift by tectonic processes .