Abstract
The in-situ terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) are produced from the interactions with cosmic ray bombardments with terrestrial rocks. The TCN exposure history measurement method is undergoing major developments in the Earth Science field. This method can be applied to various geological problems including tectonics, coastal environments changes and climate changes. The method is employed in the geological studies of which time scale ranges from 102 to 107 years using currently established method (3He, 10Be, 21Ne, 26Al, and 36Cl). Combining measurements of nuclides which have different half-lives is particularly useful to determine the history of the surface process and hence quartz grains have been widely used for this types of research since they contain both in-situ 10Be and 26Al. In this paper we present some examples using TCN to reveal past histories of earth surface processes. Tibetan plateau is the widest plateau in the world and the detailed mechanisms of its tectonics have been under debate. TCN have revealed new insights into the Himalaya-Tibet regional tectonics in these days and its impact on the global climatic evolutions. In this short paper, we introduce the theory and some applications of study using TCN.
