中国海岸风沙沉积记录的环境变化

海岸是陆、海、气相互作用的地带。海岸风沙沉积是这一特殊动力环境的产物,是研究海岸环境演变及海平面变化的良好信息载体。中国海岸主要存在3种风沙沉积,分别为“老红砂”、沙丘岩及海岸沙丘。本文通过比较已报道的风沙堆积的物质组成、地层变化等,进一步总结了海岸风沙沉积的特征;选择已开展绝对测年的沉积剖面,利用概率密度函数分析了风沙沉积年代的分布特征,考察了中国海岸风沙活动历史,结合其他气候记录,探讨了不同地质历史时期海岸风沙堆积的关键影响因素。结果表明：“老红砂”沉积主要记录了冰期-间冰期尺度的风沙活动,在120 ka BP前后、73—55 ka BP等时期,风沙活动主要与海平面下降时陆架提供的丰富沙源和强盛的冬季风有关;而在105 ka BP、80 ka BP前后,风沙活动与高海平面时期丰富的沙源或季风气候的季节性增强有关;55 ka BP以来风沙活动强度降低更多地反映了沉积记录保存环境的变化,末次冰期海岸风沙沉积大多分布在现代海面之下,并不代表实际的海岸风沙活动减弱。相比之下,海岸沙丘沉积所记录的风沙活动主要发生在近3 000 a,可能与中国海岸冬季风的增强有关。     

Smith Canyon dune field, Washington, U.S.A: relation to glacial outburst floods, the Mazama eruption, and Holocene paleoclimate

Sedimentary deposits from the Smith Canyon dune field, south-central Columbia Basin, Washington, U.S.A. document climatically-influenced Late Pleistocene and Holocene aeolian and fluvial deposition in a region impacted by glacial outburst floods and tephra falls. The depositional history is summarized by five environmentally distinctive and climatically sensitive sedimentary units (temporal limits estimated): Unit 1 (c. 15·5–8 ka), pedogenically altered glacial outburst flood and minor aeolian silt and clay; Unit 2 (c. 8–6·9 ka), fluvial and minor aeolian sand; Unit 3 (c. 6·9–6·8 ka), flood-induced fluvial sand with gravel-sized tephra clasts; Unit 4 (c. 6·8–3·9 ka), aeolian dune sand; Unit 5 (c. 3·9 ka to present), pedogenically altered, stabilized dune sand. Estimated age ranges are based on stratigraphic position, tephrochronology, and correlation with temporally constrained strata from elsewhere in the region.     

Temporal patterns of arid-humid transitions in the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula based on optical dating

The Rub Al Khali aeolian system of the Arabian Peninsula is the world's largest erg. While the region is presently hyper-arid, evidence for multiple past humid periods has been documented in previous studies. Radiocarbon dating of lacustrine, travertine and palaeogroundwater deposits suggests that the climate was humid at 10–6 and 35–25 ka. These phases have been associated with summer rainfall increases occurring in tandem with an intensification and northward migration of the monsoon system during Northern hemisphere precessional maxima. Published optical dating studies have focused on preserved sand dune and aeolianite deposits to establish ages for the intervening arid phases. Here we present a summary of this work and additional optical dating results for samples of aeolian sediment from a deep drill core, which provides insights into the style of barchan dune accretion in the Liwa region of the United Arab Emirates. The large dune accreted rapidly during the mid-late Holocene. The results suggest that the transitions from humid to arid conditions and resulting accumulation of aeolian sediment in the form of large bedforms occurred abruptly at around 6 ka. Further aeolian sedimentation has not been constant since that time, with initial gradual dune growth followed by rapid vertical accretion, and possible termination of accumulation around c. 2 ka.     

青海湖湖东沙地沉积记录的全新世以来风沙活动变化

青海湖湖东沙地典型剖面的AMS¹⁴C测年数据表明该剖面记录了当地约10 ka BP的风沙活动及环境变化。对沉积物的粒度组成特征、粒度参数、粒度环境敏感指标等分析,并结合沉积物磁化率和青海湖盆地相关研究中风成砂、黄土和弱发育古土壤、古土壤的OSL、AMS¹⁴C年代数据等,进行全新世以来的风沙活动及气候环境变化讨论。结果表明：（1）粗颗粒敏感组分（138~156μm）可以用来指示风沙活动的强弱,细颗粒敏感组分（2~5 μm）可以用来指示成壤作用。（2）10~9ka青海湖盆地气候状况较全新世之前略有好转,暖湿程度增加,部分区域开始发育古土壤,但总体上古土壤、弱发育古土壤、黄土、风成砂共存;9~4.2 ka青海湖盆地水热组合条件较好,风沙活动弱,大部分沙丘固定成壤,但9~8 ka和4.2 ka左右风沙活动较为频繁的特征可能指示了8.2 ka和4ka冷事件;4.2 ka之后特别是2 ka之后风沙活动显著增强,气候朝干冷化发展。     

Palaeovalleys in foreland ramp settings: what happens as accommodation decreases down dip?

Recent advances in our understanding of palaeovalleys are largely guided by examples from passive margins, in which accommodation increases down depositional dip. This study tests these models against a dataset from the Pennsylvanian Breathitt Group of the central Appalachian foreland basin, USA. This fluvio‐deltaic succession contains extensive erosionally based fluvio‐estuarine sand bodies that can be tracked over 80 km down depositional dip from a proximal zone of high accommodation close to the orogenic margin to a distal, lower accommodation zone close to the cratonic margin of the basin. The sand bodies are up to 25 m thick, multi‐storey and characterized in their lower parts by strongly amalgamated storeys containing sandy fluvial to estuarine bar accretion elements, and in their middle to upper parts by more fully preserved storeys up to 10 m thick and laterally extensive over 100s of metres. The upper storeys include abandonment channel‐fills of heterolithic marine or marginal marine deposits or muddy to sandy point‐bar elements. Three major regional‐scale architectures include: (i) Tabular sand bodies that everywhere incise open marine prodelta and mouth bar facies and are interpreted as palaeovalleys formed during falling stage and lowstand systems tracts, when eustatic sea‐level fall outpaced tectonic subsidence across the entire study area. (ii) Sand bodies that incise genetically related floodplain lake and/or bay‐fill minor mouth bar deposits up depositional dip and open marine prodelta and mouth bar facies down dip. These stacked distributary channel deposits map down dip into palaeovalleys and formed when up dip subsidence rate resulted in positive, but reduced rate of accommodation creation, while lower tectonic subsidence rate down‐dip resulted in incision. (iii) Sand bodies that incise genetically related floodplain, lake and/or bay‐fill minor mouth bars up dip and pass down‐dip into genetically related unconfined floodplain, prodelta and mouth bar deposits. These sand bodies represent stacked distributary channel fills and channel amalgamation was the product of high rates of lateral migration, typical of the behaviour of channels above their backwater reach. Case (2) sand bodies demonstrate that in rapidly subsiding foreland basins, cross‐shelf palaeovalleys may form down depositional dip from aggradational, distributive fluival strata. Additionally, the genetic relationship between stacked distributary channels and palaeovalleys supports recent models for palaeovalley formation that emphasize diachronous, cut‐and‐fill during falling stage and lowstands of relative sea level.     

The structural and sedimentological setting of the Quaternary deposits in Al-Ain area, UAE

Quaternary sediments represent the main constituent which covers an ENE–WSW elongated depression some 25 km long and 10 km wide (Al-Ain area). This depression is encountered between two north and south low fault scarps and is located perpendicular to the Al Jaww plain and Jabel Hafit axes.Four main types of Quaternary surface deposits were identified belonging to: flood plain and braided channels; desert plain; aeolian sand; and sabkha. The first type shows many pedogenic and non-pedogenic features of which are dolocrete, calcrete and gypcrete.An ENE–WSW closely-spaced dip-slip, stepping pattern fault set could be traced in dolocretized-calcretized braided channel deposits, on the south margin of this depression, where the relationship between fault geometry, displacement and geomorphology suggest a model of either graben or half-graben. The role of this system in developing the landscape of Al-Ain is well documented near the surface but a comprehensive study to assess its role in the sub-surface is needed.     

The late Quaternary evolution of the Negro River, Amazon, Brazil: Implications for island and floodplain formation in large anabranching tropical systems

The Rio Negro has responded significantly in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene to lagged environmental changes largely associated with activity during the last glacial in the Amazon basin. On the basis of geological structure, the Rio Negro can be divided into six distinct reaches that each reflects very marked differential processes and geomorphological styles. No deposits of the Upper Pleniglacial were recognized in the field. The oldest recognizable Late Pleistocene alluvial unit is the Upper Terrace of Middle Pleniglacial age (ca. 65–25 ka) (reach I), tentatively correlated with the oldest terrace identified on the left bank of reach III. At that time, the river was mainly an aggradational bed load system carrying abundant quartz sand, a product of more seasonal conditions in the upper catchment. The late glacial (14–10 ka) is represented by a lower finer-grained terrace along the upper basin (reach I), which was recognized in the Tiquié, Curicuriarí, and Vaupes rivers. At that time, the river carried abundant suspended load as a response to climatic changes associated with deglaciation.Since about 14 ka, the river has behaved as a progradational system, infilling in downstream series a sequence of structurally controlled sedimentary basins or ‘compartments,’ creating alluvial floodplains and associated anabranching channel systems. Reach II was the first to be filled, then reach III, both accumulating mainly sand. Fine deposits increase downstream in reach III and become predominant in some anabranch islands of the distal reach. The lowermost reaches of the Negro (V and VI) have been greatly affected by a rising base level and associated backwater effect from aggradation of the Amazon during late glacial and recent times. Reach V has acted almost entirely as a fine sediment trap. The remarkable Anavilhanas archipelago is the product of Holocene deposition in the upper part of this sedimentary basin; however, suspended sediment load declined about 1.5 ka, prior to the lower part of this basin becoming infilled.The progradational behavior of the Rio Negro, filling tectonic basins as successive sediment traps with sand in the upper basins and fines in the downstream ones, illustrates how a large river system responses to profound changes in Late Quaternary base level and sediment supply. The most stable equilibrium conditions have been achieved in the Holocene in reaches IIb and IIIa, where an anabranching channel and erosional–relictual island system relatively efficiently convey water and sediment downstream. Reaches IIIb and V never achieved equilibrium conditions during the Holocene, characterised as they are today with incomplete floodplains and open water.     

The evolution of Holocene coastal dunefields, Jutland, Denmark: A record of climate change over the past 5000 years

Coastal dunefields have developed on the west coast of Jutland in Denmark over the past 5000 years. The dunefields are situated in a temperate climate zone with frequent high energy wind events. Dunefield development was characterized by repeated periods of transgressive dune formation punctuated by periods of dune stabilization and soil formation. The chronology of dunefield evolution is based on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of peaty palaeosols (24 samples) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of aeolian sand deposits (19 samples). These dates indicate that the completeness of the stratigraphic record varies considerably, but that the timing of aeolian activity events was identical in the dunefields examined here. Initiation of aeolian activity occurred around 2200 BC, 800 BC, AD 100, AD 1050–1200, and between AD 1550 and 1650. Proxy-climate data from bogs in southwestern Sweden suggest that these periods of dunefield activity were initiated during wet/cool summers. Most likely these climatic situations were associated with a more frequent passage of cyclones across Denmark in the summer seasons (increased storminess) causing aeolian sand movement and dune formation. The continued removal of vegetation in Jutland between 4000 BC and AD 1850 allowed the aeolian sand, when first activated, to move more and more easily across the coastal plains; the final phase of aeolian sand movement between AD 1550–1650 and 1900 had catastrophic implications for many coastal inhabitants in the region.     

Origin and evolution of playas and blowouts in the semiarid zone of Tierra de Pinares (Duero Basin, Spain)

A large number of blowouts and playas occur in the marginal sectors of the aeolian deposits located in the southern sector of the Duero Depression (Tierra de Pinares) in Spain. The blowouts are relict landforms that were developed on sand sheets by deflation during dry periods with lower vegetation cover and a deeper water table. The studied blowouts form complexes of NW–SE and NNW–SSE elongated hollows with accompanying dunes up to 4 km long in the leeward margins. Some hollows host lakes or swampy areas related to a shallow water table. The dunes formed by NE–ENE winds show steep windward slopes and gentle leeward slopes. The studied playas, with prevalent NNW–SSE orientations, result from the aeolian excavation of terrace deposits and the underlying marly bedrock. It is probable that the formation of these depressions in an initial stage was related to deflation processes affected preferentially NNW–SSE sandy channels perpendicular to the dominant wind direction. The precipitation of salts in the playas generates aggregates of clay particles (peloids) that are easily removed by the wind. Once the bottom reached the substratum, the deepening of the depressions progressed by the deflation of particles produced by weathering of the argillaceous bedrock.     

River stabilisation due to changing climate and vegetation during the late Quaternary in western Tasmania, Australia

The Stanley River in western Tasmania, Australia, contains sub-fossil rainforest logs within the channel and floodplain. Of the more than 85 radiocarbon dates obtained, all but 3 date from 17 ka to the present and permit an interpretation of fluvial and related environmental changes over this period. Particular attention is focused on the interactive relationship between the river and its riparian rainforest. Following the Last Glacial Maximum, the Stanley River was a laterally active gravel-load system reworking most of its valley floor in the upstream reaches. With ameliorating conditions at the end of the Pleistocene, climate became less seasonal and flow regimes less energetic. Huon pines already present in the catchment, re-asserted themselves in the form of dense tree cover along the river banks and floodplains with basal floodplain deposition shifting from gravels to coarse sands and granules. By about 3.5 ka, a further change in climate reduced stream discharges substantially. As a result the channel reduced in size, transported finer sediment, became laterally stable, and the floodplain accreted with overbank deposits of sand and silt. Huon pines falling into the channel formed obstructions of woody debris, some surviving for 2 ka. These have reduced stream power and boundary shear stress, further contributing to channel stability. Generational sequences of Huon pines on the river banks, some extending back 1–2 ka, are additional evidence of this stability. Since the Pleistocene, changing climate and the re-establishment of dense riparian rainforest appear to have stabilised the river channels and floodplains of western Tasmania.     

Grain-size features of aeolian sand on the east coast of Hainan Island and the revealed evolutionary processes of the sedimentary environment

The Mudui stratigraphic section represents the typical records of sedimentation processes of sand dunes and interdune depressions on the east coast of Hainan Island.Based on high-density sampling and optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) dating of the strata of the section,the grain-size composition,grain-size parameters,cumulative distribution probability curve,and grain-size-sensitivity indexes(SC/D) were analyzed.The analyzed results show that the grain-size features of aeolian sand,weakly developed sandy paleosol,two-facies(aeolian and aqueous) deposits,and lagoon deposits are all different.This indicates four evolutionary phases of the sedimentary environment of the east coast of Hainan Island since 38 ka B.P.Phase I:38-22 ka B.P.;phase II:22-17 ka B.P.;phase III:17-10 ka B.P.;phase IV:10 ka B.P.-present.The climate experienced the hot-wet/hot-dry,hot-wet/hot-dry,and warm-wet/hot-wet fluctuations,and the sedimentary environment also underwent lagoon deposition,dune and interdune depression deposition,dune stabilization and soil development,shifting sand deposition,and evolutionary processes.     

Luminescence chronology of river adjustment and incision of Quaternary sediments in the alluvial plain of the Sabarmati River, north Gujarat, India

River adjustment and incision in the Sabarmati basin, Gujarat, India have been examined at a site near Mahudi. Towards this, the morphostratigraphy and depositional chronometry of the middle alluvial plains were investigated. The upper fluvial sequence, along with the overlying aeolian sand and riverbed scroll plains, provide clues to the evolution of the present Sabarmati River. Sedimentological analyses of the upper fluvial sequence indicate its deposition by a meandering river system during what is believed to be a persistent wetter phase. Luminescence chronology bracketed this sequence to between 54 and 30 ka, which corresponds to Oxygen Isotope Stage-3, during which the SW monsoon was enhanced. The overlying aeolian sand has been dated to 12 ka, indicating that dune accretion occurred simultaneously with the strengthening of the SW monsoon during the Early Holocene. Adjustment of the Sabarmati along a N–S transect is placed around 12 ka and the incision is bracketed between 12 and 4.5 ka. River adjustment could have been tectonic; however, the incision was facilitated by the availability of continuous flow in the river caused by the SW monsoon. The basin experienced two tectonic events at about 3 and 0.3 ka, as demonstrated by the morphology of the scroll plains.     

基于光释光测年的共和盆地风沙活动历史研究

位于青藏高原东北缘的共和盆地处于亚洲冬、夏季风和西风环流作用交替控制的干旱—半干旱区,盆地中分布着大面积的沙漠,是重建过去气候的重要载体。就前人对共和盆地25个风成剖面的102个光释光(OSL)年代结果进行分析,总结出晚更新世以来共和盆地的风沙活动在各个时期都有发生,黄土堆积主要是更新世末期到早全新世,古土壤主要是晚全新世发育的,但其测年工作缺乏高密度光释光测年检验。通过对共和盆地西南部的羊曲剖面进行系统的高密度光释光年代学研究发现,羊曲剖面主要是末次冰消期沉积的,9.6～7.1 ka风沙活动迅速减弱,7.1～2 ka存在明显的沉积间断,说明基于单个剖面进行环境演变重建需谨慎。结合盆地内已发表OSL年代结果,末次冰消期以来,风沙活动在共和盆地一直存在,其最强烈时期是14～10 ka左右,黄土主要是末次冰消期14～10 ka沉积的,古土壤发育主要集中在3～2 ka和6～4 ka,此外在9～8 ka也有发育。     

基于光释光测年的共和盆地风沙活动历史研究

位于青藏高原东北缘的共和盆地处于亚洲冬、夏季风和西风环流作用交替控制的干旱-半干旱区,盆地中分布着大面积的沙漠,是重建过去气候的重要载体。前人对共和盆地25个风成剖面的102个OSL年代结果进行分析,得出晚更新世以来共和盆地的风沙活动在各个时期都有发生,黄土堆积主要是更新世末期到早全新世,古土壤主要是晚全新世发育的, 但其测年工作缺乏高密度光释光测年检验。通过对共和盆地西南部的羊曲剖面进行系统的高密度光释光年代学研究发现,羊曲剖面主要是末次冰消期沉积的,9.6-7.1 ka风沙活动迅速减弱,7.1-2 ka存在明显的沉积间断,说明基于单个剖面进行环境演变重建需谨慎。结合盆地内已发表OSL年代结果,末次冰消期以来,风沙活动在共和盆地一直存在,其最强烈时期是14-10 ka左右,黄土主要是末次冰消期14-10 ka沉积的,古土壤发育主要集中在3-2 ka和6-4 ka,此外在9-8 ka也有发育。     

Chronology of relict lake deposits in the Spiti River, NW Trans Himalaya: Implications to Late Pleistocene–Holocene climate-tectonic perturbations

The Spiti River that drains through the arid Trans-Himalayan region is studied here. The relict deposits exposed along the river provide an opportunity to understand the interaction between the phases of intense monsoon and surface processes occurring in the cold and semi arid to-arid Trans-Himalayan region. Based on geomorphological observation the valley is broadly divided into the upper and lower Spiti Valley. The braided channel and the relict fluvio-lacustrine deposits rising from the present riverbed characterize the upper valley. The deposits in the lower valley occur on the uplifted bedrock strath and where the channel characteristics are mainly of meandering nature. Conspicuous is the occurrence of significantly thick lacustrine units within the relict sedimentary sequences of Spiti throughout the valley. The broad sedimentary architecture suggests the formation of these palaeolakes due landslide-driven river damming. The Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz derived from the bounding units of the lacustrine deposits suggests that the upper valley preserves the phase of deposition around 14–6 ka and in the lower valley around 50–30 ka. The review of published palaeoclimatic palaeolake chronology of Spiti Valley indicates that the lakes were probably formed during the wetter conditions related to Marine Isotope Stage III and II. The increased precipitation during these phases induced excessive landsliding and formation of dammed lakes along the Spiti River. The older lacustrine phase being preserved on the uplifted bedrock strath in the lower valley indicates late Pleistocene tectonic activity along the Kaurick Chango normal fault.     

60ka来腾格里沙漠东南缘风成沉积与沙漠演化

对腾格里沙漠东南缘风成沉积相典型剖面(中卫南山剖面)年代的测定,建立了60 ka以来腾格里沙漠演化的时间序列,并结合各地层粒度组分分析结果认为60 ka以来腾格里沙漠演化共经历了5个阶段。60~20 ka B.P.,腾格里沙漠的范围远没有到达现在的位置;20~10 ka B.P.,沙漠向东南方向大规模扩展,奠定了东南缘现代沙漠环境的格局;8.1~5.2 ka B.P.,沙漠东南部得到固定,沙漠范围缩小;11~8.1ka B.P.与5.2 ka B.P.至现代两阶段和现代沙漠环境接近。     

“源汇”沉积体系主导下的现代风成相发育模式探讨:以青海湖东岸为例

湖泊滨岸带风成沉积一直是湖泊沉积研究的薄弱点。占据青海湖湖盆面积近五分之一的东岸沙丘为研究现代湖泊滨岸带提供了一个现代沉积实例。随着沉积学的不断发展,研究内容已经从"一元"的传统相模式逐渐过渡为"二元"的"源-汇"体系。以野外地质考察和遥感影像资料为基础,结合文献调研和相关测试分析资料,进行分析。结果表明：团保山前发育有相对广阔的滨岸沉积,指示了青海湖湖水曾经达到山前地带。大面积的滨岸沉积和古沙丘出露水面以及风对山体的吹蚀,为湖东风砂堆积提供了物源基础。干旱-半干旱气候为沙丘的形成提供了有利的气候条件。断陷湖盆的长条形地貌使得风沿着长轴方向吹扬,造成风成堆积物在长轴的一端堆积。高大的团保山/达坂山的山前复杂地貌特征为金字塔沙丘的形成提供了有利的地形条件。西北风产生的波浪和沿岸流作用于沙岛和海晏湾的滨岸带,导致滨浅湖的砂堆积形成沿岸沙坝。随着湖平面的下降,沿岸沙坝出露水面,并逐渐闭合形成障壁岛-泻湖沉积。     

高精度光释光测年揭示的晚第四纪毛乌素和浑善达克沙地沙丘的固定与活化过程

利用光释光测年技术对毛乌素沙地和浑善达克沙地7个地点的沉积剖面进行了年代测试,结合地层特征,获得了最近60kaBP以来两个沙地沙丘固定与活化时间的年代学控制60kaBP以来毛乌素沙地的固定期分别为距今37.71ka、8.54ka、8.32ka、7.93ka、7.77ka、7.57ka、7.39ka和2.39ka以后;活化的时间分别为距今57.08ka、52.50ka、13.65ka、13.13ka、7.20ka前后、2.39ka以前和0.29ka以来。在10.97kaBP、10.04kaBP、9.81kaBP和8.67kaBP前后沙地处于气候干湿交替时期。全新世期间,浑善达克沙地在距今8.74～8.72ka、7.79ka前后,沙丘活化;5.69kaBP、4.25kaBP、2.75kaBP、1.53kaBP和0.71kaBP前后,沙丘处于相对固定阶段,0.15kaBP以来,沙丘处于半固定状态。晚第四纪气候千年至百年尺度的变化可能是两个沙地沙丘活化与固定的主导因素。     

克里雅河尾闾圆沙三角洲古河道剖面所记录全新世古绿洲环境变化

塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地克里雅河沿岸的古绿洲与人类活动遗迹丰富,伴随着河流的变迁,遗址印记了古代文明的消失,河道成为孕育绿洲的证据。在浩瀚的沙漠中,古代文明与古绿洲属于依附关系。以圆沙古城为代表的圆沙古三角洲绿洲是孕育沙漠文明的典型。采自圆沙古城北侧深度约11 m的沉积剖面(KYN22),光释光测年和沉积学分析结果所示,剖面记录了13.8~2.3 ka时间段内圆沙古三角洲的环境变化:克里雅河全新世大部分时间活动于圆沙一带,早期大致经历了由风沙环境向河流环境的转变过程,13.8 ka至9.0~10.0 ka河流与风沙环境均有出现,中期以来至2.3 ka河流环境稳定。KYN22剖面所示克里雅河在圆沙的活动或为全新世气候变暖的结果。研究工作可为全新世克里雅河与塔里木盆地南缘环境演变研究提供新材料。     

Characteristics of freshly deposited sand and finer sediments along an island-braided, gravel-bed river: The roles of water, wind and trees

Over the past two decades there has been a growing interest in the geomorphological mosaic along large floodplain rivers where channel dynamics are seen to drive habitat-patch creation and turnover and to contribute to high biological diversity. This has required a new perspective on fluvial geomorphology that focuses on biological scales of space and time. This study examines the spatial pattern of surface fine sediment accumulations along a reach of a large gravel-bed river, the Tagliamento River in NE Italy; an area with a moist Mediterranean climate and seasonal flow regime. The study investigates changes in sediment characteristics during the summer low-flow period between April and September. Focussing on five areas representing a gradient from open, bar-braided to wooded island-braided morphologies, the paper demonstrates the importance of riparian vegetation and aeolian–fluvial interactions.Significant contrasts in particle size distributions and organic content of freshly deposited sand and finer sediments were found between sampling areas, geomorphological settings, and sampling dates. In particular, wooded floodplain and established islands supported consistently finer sediment deposits than both open bar surfaces and the lee of pioneer islands, and in September significantly finer sediments were also found in deposits located in the lee of pioneer islands than on open bar surfaces. Overall, the September samples had a greater variability in particle size characteristics than those obtained from the same sites in April, with a general coarsening of the D₅ (φ) (i.e., the coarse tail of the particle size distribution). Also in September, crusts of fine sediment (30 μm < D₅₀ < 64 μm) had formed on the surface of some of the open bar and pioneer island deposits within the more open sampling areas along the study reach. These crusts possessed similar particle size characteristics to aeolian crusts found in more arid environments. They were significantly finer than April samples and September subcrust samples obtained from the same sites and had similar particle size characteristics to some samples taken from wooded floodplain, established island surfaces and the lee of pioneer islands that were not crusted.Local climatological and river level data confirm significant wind and rainfall events during a period of consistently low river levels between the April and September sampling periods. These support deflation, deposition and rain wash of finer sediment during the summer, with windblown sediments being deposited on bar surfaces and in the lee of pioneer islands where wood and young trees provide foci for accelerated sedimentation and island growth as well as on marginal floodplains and established islands. We conclude that along braided rivers in moist settings but with a distinct dry season, aeolian reworking of sediment deposits may have a more important role in driving habitat dynamics than previously considered.