Abstract

Denudation counteracts surface uplift and plays a major role in the Earth system. Despite numerous studies on its physical and chemical processes, uncertainties remain regarding how these are modulated by climate. Here, we modelled 10Be-derived denudation rates—spanning 102 to 105 yr—for over a thousand basins worldwide to advance understanding of climatic influence on denudation. Results suggest that water and associated biological activity exert a direct, ‘visible’ positive effect on denudation across the full climatic range, from dry to humid conditions. This effect is modulated by terrain slope through processes such as the energy expended by rivers on their beds, the feedback between erosion and chemical weathering, and the production and transport rates of soils. Consequently, along an aridity gradient, denudation changes little in flat landscapes, but can vary by up to a factor of forty in mountainous settings. We also observed that, all else being equal, greater water availability results in steeper basins, indicating that climate exerts an additional indirect or “hidden” effect on denudation over geological timescales through topographic steepening. The results could be useful for numerical landscape modelling and highlight the importance of climate on denudation.