A new version of a landscape evolution model that includes the evolution
of an ice cap at a 10(3) to 10(5) year timescale and its associated
erosion patterns is presented and applied to the Southern Alps of New
Zealand. Modeling of the ice cap evolution is performed on a
higher-resolution grid (i.e., similar to 100 m) than previously (Braun
et al., 1998). It predicts which parts of the landscape are, and have
been, affected by glacial erosion. The model results highlight the
complexity of the erosion patterns induced by ice caps and glaciers.
Glacial erosion in a tectonically active area is, as suggested by the
model, not uniform across the mountain range. Furthermore, high rock
uplift rates, heavy precipitation, and climatic oscillations constantly
interact. The feedback mechanisms are such that they render the landform
very dynamic and transient. However, under conditions of reduced rock
uplift rate and precipitation, the landform becomes more stable at the
timescale of the glacial cycle. Finally, the modeling results favor a
tectonic model in the Southern Alps in which the maximum rock uplift is
offset from the Alpine Fault.