Response to Comment on "Slip-Rate Measurements on the Karakorum Fault May Imply Secular Variations in Fault Motion"

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 309; no. 5739; p. 1326
• Main Authors: Chevalier, M.-L., Ryerson, F. J., Tapponnier, P., Finkel, R. C., Van Der Woerd, J., Haibing, Li, Qing, Liu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 26.08.2005
• Subjects: China, People's Rep., Xizang
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1112629

Brown et al. argue that the dispersion in the exposure ages we obtained from the Manikala glacier moraines is influenced by postdepositional processes and that only the oldest boulder age on each moraine group can be used to assess its abandonment age. Determining the appropriate age of a geomorphic offset from a dispersed age population does indeed present a considerable challenge, especially where dates from surface samples are not supported by subsurface sampling, radiocarbon dating, or climatic correlation. In general, predepositional exposure will yield ages that are too old, and postdepositional processes will yield ages that are too young.