The setting of the Mt. Carmel caves reassessed

Four caves on the SW flank of Mt. Carmel, es Skhul, el Wad, el Jaml and et Tabun, were first excavated in the 1930s by a team led by Dorothy Garrod. They yielded human remains whose age and evolutionary status remain controversial partly because the complexity of the cave deposits invites conflicting interpretations. The abrasion of artefacts and pebbles in el Wad and es Skhul, which was originally ascribed to spring flow within the caves, is explained here by wave action, with the implication that during part of the Middle Palaeolithic the caves were on the shoreline rather than being separated from it—as they now are—by several kilometres of coastal plain and a height difference of some 45 m. U-series, thermoluminescence (TL) and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating suggests that this occurred about 120,000 years ago, when sea level in the eastern Mediterranean stood 5–6 m above its present position. It follows that Mt. Carmel has subsequently undergone some 40 m of uplift. During the period of maximum submergence, the coastal route between Africa and the northern Mediterranean would have been partly blocked, but the loss of the coastal plain for transit and as a source of animal food was offset by easier access from the caves to marine resources.     

岩溶洞穴古河漫滩沉积物特征及其沉积环境演变——以山王洞中段为例

为揭示岩溶洞穴沉积物对沉积环境与沉积过程的指示作用,文章在分析双河洞洞系形成过程及山王洞区域地质调查资料的基础上,选取贵州山王洞中段古河漫滩沉积物为研究对象,采用粒度分析法与萨胡公式对洞穴沉积物粒度特征与沉积环境的相关性进行分析,推断不同沉积韵律期的沉积环境演变过程,研究结果表明:（1）古河漫滩表层沉积物以极细砂、粉砂和黏土为主,平均含量达94.42%,且中上部含有一层粗砂砾夹层;（2）沉积模式主要为跳跃和悬浮沉积,水动力条件整体稳定,搬运颗粒粒径平均值为637 μm,其最大沉积物颗粒粒径为864.2 μm;（3）以沉积物粒度特征为依据,将古河漫滩沉积过程划分为三级沉积韵律,一级沉积韵律厚度为404～275 cm ,二级沉积韵律厚度为285～165 cm,三级沉积韵律厚度为165～0 cm。上述研究为确定区域侵蚀基准面和地层升降运动过程提供有力证明,也为山王洞古气候环境研究提供了重要依据。      

Effects of bears on rockshelter sediments at Tanay Sur‐les‐Creux,southwestern Switzerland

Sur‐les‐Creux rockshelter is located in the Prealps of southwestern Switzerland. The sequence of deposits in the rockshelter is 80 cm thick and consists of weathered gravels in a phosphate‐rich matrix. A few Middle Palaeolithic artifacts and the bones of cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) were recorded in the fill. We present the results of sedimentological, geochemical, and micromorphological analyses of the rockshelter sediment. All analyses suggest an endokarstic origin of the sediments. The alteration cortices of the gravels imply in situ weathering over a long period. The phosphates are essentially biogenic and have an apatitelike nature. Phosphatization and intense mixing of the sediment are attributed to cave bear (digging of lairs, input of excrements, and carcasses). Only rare carnivore coprolites (lynx) were preserved in the cave deposits. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Surface Geophysical Methods used to Verify the Karst Geological Structure in the Built-up Area: A Case Study of Specific Engineering-Geological Conditions

This article presents a research study of complex limestone karst engineering-geological conditions in the municipality Valaská near Banská Bystrica in Slovakia. The aim of the study is to demonstrate the impossibility of spatial identification of cave spaces using surface geophysical methods due to the specific engineering-geological conditions of a thick surface layer of anthropogenic fill containing highly heterogeneous anthropogenic material. Its maximum thickness is 3 m. Another specificific condition of the study area is its location in the built-up area, due to which the applicability of geophysical methods was limited. The article contains methodological recommendations to be used in analogous geological conditions with karst structures topped with anthropogenic fill, which complicates the identification of cave spaces. The recommended solution herein is the identification of the cave system using underground mapping of the karst and its projection onto the surface for which surface geophysical methods have been combined.     

广西巴马县水晶宫洞穴沉积物特征及其沉积环境

巴马县水晶宫洞内次生化学沉积物景观丰富,类型多样,有石钟乳、石幔、石瀑布、石笋、石柱、石盾等特色景观;尤其是近期仍在发育的洞顶鹅管、卷曲石、石花等是国内外较为罕见的洞穴奇景。据沉积物的沉积类型、物质成分、沉积序次及测年等资料研究表明,水晶宫洞穴沉积物形成于晚第三纪以来。晚第三纪和第四纪早更新世早期,洞内沉积主要为外源水携带的硅质岩、砂岩类砾石沉积形成的钙华砾石层。早更新世中期—中更新世气候温暖湿润,是水晶宫洞穴主要景观的形成期,沉积物景观宏大而壮观,230Th-U系测年得出其分别形成于100～35万年前。晚更新世早期12.5～9万年的末次间冰期主要为温暖气候环境,洞内仅有少量的石笋沉积,且极少保存;9万年后气候环境发生突变,更不利沉积物发育和保存;自4万年后气候环境开始表现为温暖湿润,化学沉积活跃,洞穴沉积物主要由高约50～150 cm的纯白色石笋群和钟乳石组成,为洞穴奇景的形成期,230Th-U系测年得出其分别形成于40 ka BP和7 500 a BP以及1 450 a BP。晚更新世晚期以来形成的洞穴沉积物景观,不仅为水晶宫提供了丰富的旅游资源和价值,同时也为广西重建古气候环境提供了重要的信息载体。      

Geological and geomorphological influences on a recent debris flow event in the Ice-scoured Mountain Quaternary domain,western Scotland

Debris flows in settings that have experienced net glacial erosion within the UK's Ice-scoured Quaternary domain are the result of a complex interaction of a range of geological and geomorphological factors. On the 11^th of August 2016 a rainfall-triggered debris flow deposited 100 t of sediment onto local road and rail infrastructure blocking transport between town of Fort William and port of Mallaig in north-west Scotland. The debris flow occurred in an ice-scoured setting, where current 1:50,000-scale geological maps suggest that little or no sediment is expected on the valley slopes. In this study, we show how weathering and mass-wasting processes have interacted with bedrock structures to fill localised depressions with sediment on the upper parts of the slope. The intense rainfall event of August 2016 caused the destabilisation of this localised sediment, with eventual failure along bedrock joint surfaces resulting in two debris flows. This study demonstrates the combination of processes that can result in thick accumulations of sediment on slopes that are otherwise generally lacking in superficial sediment cover. These sediment accumulations have the potential to pose a significant landslide hazard in areas that might previously have been thought of as lower susceptibility. The research illustrates a need to improve understanding and representation of sediment thickness and distribution on hill slopes – particularly those that show an absence of superficial deposits at the scale of currently available geological maps.     

蜀南地区茅口组古岩溶地貌与缝洞系统发育关系研究

蜀南地区茅口组古岩溶地貌形态对缝洞系统的发育起着控制作用。在恢复茅口组古地貌的基础上,根据上二叠统在区域上的分布厚度、风化壳表面侵蚀特征和茅口组地层保存程度,将茅口组顶部古岩溶面划分为岩溶台地、岩溶坡地(又分为西部陡坡带和北东部缓坡带)和岩溶盆地3个二级地貌单元;研究了各地貌单元和缝洞系统发育关系。结果表明:岩溶台地岩溶水以垂向渗流为主,风化剥蚀强烈,形成垂向的溶缝、溶洞常被泥质等充填,横向连通性弱;岩溶陡坡、岩溶台地和岩溶陡坡过渡带岩溶作用最强,溶孔、溶洞发育,且充填程度低,缝洞系统最为发育,是有利的勘探区带;岩溶缓坡水流速度慢,岩溶作用周期长,溶蚀空间易受充填,不利于缝洞保存;岩溶盆地岩溶发育最弱,储集性能差,是不利的勘探区带。      

Petrology of high pressure clinopyroxenite series xenoliths,Mount Carmel,Israel

The Mount Carmel xenolith suite is composed of a series of garnet granulites of probable lower crustal origin, and a high pressure clinopyroxenite series. The clinopyroxenite series is petrologically diverse with the most common lithologies being garnet-clinopyroxenite, clinopyroxenite, garnet-amphibole-clinopyroxenite, amphibole-clinopyroxenite, amphibole-mica-clinopyroxenite plus megacrystalline nodules of clinopyroxene, garnet, amphibole and mica. Orthopyroxene is extremely rare (1 sample) and olivine is absent in the clinopyroxenite series xenoliths. The clinopyroxenite series is divided into three rock associations based on textures, mineralogy, mineral chemistry and equilibration temperatures: the metaclinopyroxenite, the magmatic garnet-clinopyroxenite and the amphibole-mica-clinopyroxenite associations. Many of the xenoliths contain late phases, largely amphibole, as microphenocrysts in glass and altered glass that was intruded into the xenoliths. Each of the three associations plus the late phases represents the crystallization products of one or more magma batchs. Garnet-clinopyroxene geothermometry and phase relations for alkaline basalts allow estimates of theP/T conditions of equilibration to be made for some of the xenoliths. The metaclinopyroxenites were equilibrated at 1.5–3 GPa and 990–1,115° and the magmatic garnet-clinopyroxenites were equilibrated at 2–3 GPa and 1,160–1,190°. The Mt. Carmel xenoliths are samples from the depth range 50–95 km and fall in the sampling gap between xenoliths typical of alkali basalts (d<60 km) and those typical of kimberlites (d> 90 km).     

塔中西部奥陶系鹰山组古岩溶特征及主控因素

为明确塔中西部奥陶系鹰山组古岩溶储层发育及主控因素,总结鹰山组古岩溶特征及发育条件,划分了岩溶层组类型。在鹰山组古地貌恢复基础上,通过钻井、取心、测井等资料,分析丘状岩溶台地、上丘状岩溶缓坡地和下丘状岩溶缓坡地典型井岩溶缝洞特征。结合大量钻井资料分析了上述3类古地貌单元岩溶缝洞储层发育规律及主控因素。对岩溶缝洞储层发育深度分析表明,岩溶缝洞发育段主要在鹰山组顶面以下0~180 m,受3期海平面控制,发育多层缝洞。表层溶洞主要发育在0~50 m,泥质充填较强,测井GR值较高,溶洞规模多小于2 m。岩溶台地区岩溶缝洞形成受微地貌、水动力条件控制,以小规模溶洞、溶蚀孔洞、溶蚀裂缝为主,缝洞后期易充填。岩溶缓坡地岩溶缝洞形成受岩溶层组、水动力条件控制,以小溶蚀孔洞、溶蚀裂缝为主,后期不易充填。滨岸岩溶带及岩溶岛屿发育海水、混合水岩溶作用,溶蚀作用及冲蚀、侵蚀作用使该区域形成较大洞穴。     

An investigation of engineering and environmental concerns relating to proposed highway construction in a karst terrane

The proposed realignment of a portion of US Highway 58 near Gibson Station, Lee County, Virginia, indicated significant potential impacts to Young-Fugate Cave, a listed Significant Cave. Field inspection of the site in November 1991, revealed fill for the northbound lane would extend in excess of 100 m into the Fugate blind valley and to within 40 m of the Fugate insurgence. Questions were raised about the risks involved in placing a soil fill across an active blind valley and the extent of the geotechnical investigation. The plans-contained no provisions to direct runoff of road salt or leaks and spills from accessing the Fugate insurgence and thereby endangering two species of troglobitic aquatic crustaceans and a unique troglobitic beetle known to inhabit the cave. Concerns about the distances between the roadbed and cave passages prompted a resurvey of the 1.63-km-long cave. Survey teams encountered groundwater pollution problems in the cave. While exiting the cave, two team members lagging behind another surveyor had to press against the cave walls to avoid a shower of raw sewage. Neither the lead surveyor or the team following, separated by minutes, witnessed the event. On the second field day, survey teams were driven from the cave by petroleum fumes at a second location. Subsequent surface investigations revealed a homeowner complaint of petroleum fumes in their basement and a leaking underground storage tank (LUST) site at an active service station. Tank replacement has resolved the gasoline fume complaint. The sewage inputs to the cave have yet to be located or resolved. Based on the available data at the time this paper was submitted for the Sinkhole Conference, there appeared to be on the order of 10 m between the ceiling of the stream passage and the proposed roadbed; however, unsurveyed cave passages were known to cross over the stream passage in the area where the proposed highway would cross the cave. The Virginia Cave Board is negotiating modifications to this construction proposal based on the engineering and environmental problems at this site.     

Late Neogene rift valley fill sediments preserved in caves of the Dead Sea Fault Escarpment (Israel): palaeogeographic and morphotectonic implications

Evaporitic‐lagoonal marl and dolomite laminar fill sediments are preserved in relict dry caves of the Dead Sea Fault Escarpment (Israel) which has been tectonically active since the Late Neogene. The hosting caves are located within Turonian massive carbonate bedrock and at higher altitudes than previously documented fill sediments of the Dead Sea depression. Based on the relative altitudes of the cave sediments, the ‘reversed stratigraphy’ of the Dead Sea depression fill sediments, possible partial correlation of the cave sediments with other fill sedimentary units of the depression, and sedimentary, geochemical and mineralogical characteristics, it is concluded that: (i) the cave sediments are among the oldest of the depression fill; and (ii) the deposition of the cave sediments took place in hypersaline dolomite‐precipitating water bodies of Late Neogene age, during the initial morphotectonic stages of the depression formation. Variable and relatively low Sr/Ca and δ³⁴S ratios of the cave sediments (assuming precipitation from sea water) suggest variable fresh water input into the depositional brine. The present altitudes of the cave sediments reflect Late Neogene levels of water bodies in the depression, modified by vertical post‐Late Neogene tectonic movements within the still active fault escarpment. According to these altitudes, a 50 to 250 m uplift of the western margins of the depression since the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene is inferred.     

海沧大道软土路基施工侧向位移数据分析

就路堤侧向变形观测数据进行整理分析,探讨软土层厚度、反压护道、填筑速率对侧向变形的影响规律,确 定临界填土高度。     

Climate change in southern Illinois, USA, based on the age and δC of organic matter in cave sediments

Matrix-supported diamicton and uniform to laminated, silty, fine-grained sediment deposited from about 42,500 to 27,600 cal yr B.P. under slackwater conditions nearly filled two caves in southwestern Illinois. At some point, most of the sediment was flushed from the caves and from about 22,700 to 4000 cal yr B.P., floods deposited a drape of sandy and silty sediment on remnant slackwater successions, cobbly alluvium, and bedrock (especially from 7700 to 4000 cal yr B.P.). Clay mineral analyses of the slackwater cave sediment reveal a provenance of chiefly Petersburg Silt, a smectite- and illite-rich proglacial lacustrine unit present in the overlying Illinois Episode glacial succession. Today, remnants of the ancient subterranean slackwater deposits nearly fill several secondary passages and, in at least two locations, cover a cobble-mantled strath terrace 1.3 to 1.5 m above active stream channels. Slumping and sinkhole formation appear to have been important mechanisms for deposition of the ancient subterranean deposits. Slumping of these surficial deposits and associated vegetation can occur along the flanks of sinkholes (in addition to sinkhole formation) and enter caves; however, the finer organics, some of them comminuted during transport into the caves, become part of the cave alluvium. This finer organic fraction is the modern analog of the humified organic matter disseminated in slackwater sediment dated in this investigation by radiocarbon methods. Twenty-four ¹⁴C ages on humified organic matter provide chronologic control. The δ¹³C values of the organic matter reflect the proportion of C₄-type to C₃-type vegetation growing in and around swallets and sinkholes at the time of redeposition. Drought-tolerant C₄-type vegetation was more prevalent relative to C₃-type vegetation from 42,500 to 31,200 cal yr B.P. compared to conditions from 28,800 cal yr B.P. to the present. The δ¹³C values are consistent with the results from other investigations of speleothems and organic matter from loessial paleosols.     

High-resolution paleomagnetic correlation of Middle Weichselian ice-dammed lake sediments in two coastal caves, western Norway

Olahola is a wavecut cave positioned well above the postglacial marine limit. The sediment sequence in the cave can be litho- and magnetostratigraphically correlated with the sequence in the Skjonghelleren cave, 36 km northeast of this locality. Three boulder formations in Olahola represent three ice-free periods (including the Holocene) and two formations of laminated clay represent periods of ice-cover. Paleomagnetic excursions in the laminated clays have been correlated with the Lake Mungo/Mono Lake excursion (28 ka), and with the Laschamp excursion (43 ka), but the resolution of these events is much better in the caves than anywhere else. The paleomagnetic records from Skjonghelleren and Olahola suggest that during the Laschamp excursion at least 0.75–1 m of sediment accumulated in Skjonghelleren before sedimentation started in Olahola, indicating also an earlier ice coverage at Skjonghelleren.     

北京西山圣莲山地质公园的岩溶地貌演化

圣莲山地质公园为房山北部大石河上游一个小型完整的岩溶盆地,地质构造属于百花山向斜的南翼。遣景岩石从下至上依次为,寒武纪张夏组鲕粒灰岩、炒米店组条带状石灰岩和奥陶纪石灰岩。遣貌构追为,印支运动．燕山运动和新构造运动。印支运动的南北向挤压形成响山背斜;燕山运动的北西-南东向挤压形成神牛岭和翠屏峰两个方向的岩溶墙;新构遣运动的8次抬升,形成穿洞（通风洞）、孤峰（莲子峰）、脚洞（圣米石塘）,房山地貌（笔架山）、岩溶夷平面（晾马台）、北西向岩溶墙（翠屏峰）、北东向岩溶墙（神牛岭）,溶洞（隐仙洞）岩溶地貌景观。穿洞为北京西山最高的岩溶洞穴,孤峰为残存的新近纪峰林地貌,圣米石塘为孤峰脚洞,笔架山为上新世石林与第四纪岩溶陡壁组合成的房山地貌,晾马台为中更新世形成的岩溶夷平面,翠屏峰和神牛岭为晚更新世形成的岩溶墙,隐仙洞为全新世形成的岩溶洞穴。     

Lithological and geochemical record of mining-induced changes in sediments from Macquarie Harbour,southwest Tasmania,Australia

Macquarie Harbour in southwest Tasmania, Australia, has been affected severely by the establishment of mines in nearby Queenstown in the 1890s. As well as heavy metal-laden acid rock drainage from the Mount Lyell mine area, over 100 Mt of mine tailings and slag were discharged into the Queen and Ring Rivers, with an estimated 10 Mt of mine tailings building a delta of ca. 2.5 km² and ca. 10 Mt of fine tailings in the harbour beyond the delta. Coring of sediments throughout Macquarie Harbour indicated that mine tailings accreted most rapidly close to the King River delta source with a significant reduction in thickness of tailings and heavy metal contamination with increasing distance from the King River source. Close to the King River delta the mine tailings are readily discriminated from the background estuarine sediments on the basis of visual logging of the core (laminations, colour), sediment grain size, sediment magnetic susceptibility and elemental geochemistry, especially concentrations of the heavy metals Cu, Zn and Pb. The high heavy metal concentrations are demonstrated by the very high contamination factors (CF > 6) for Cu and Zn, with CF values mostly >50 for Cu for the mine-impacted sediments. Although the addition of mine waste into the King River catchment has ceased, the catchment continues to be a source of these heavy metals due to acid rock drainage and remobilisation of mine waste in storage in the river banks, river bed and delta. The addition of heavy metals to the harbour sourced from the Mount Lyell mines preceded the advent of direct tailings disposal into the Queen River in 1915 with the metals probably provided by acid rock drainage from the Mount Lyell mining area.     

Stratigraphy,sedimentary development and palaeoenvironmental context of a naturally accumulated pitfall cave deposit from southeastern Australia

McEachern's Deathtrap Cave (G—49/50) is located in the Lower Glenelg region of southeastern Australia and records a Late Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentary record that has been directly influenced by surface processes during its formation. The sedimentary sequence contained within the cave is divided into lower, middle and upper sequences consisting of eight facies. The lower sequence represents the earliest phase of sedimentation, and groundwater fluctuations during the Last Interglacial period resulted in its erosion and redistribution deeper into the cave system. A decrease in the magnitude and frequency of flood events in the cave during the formation of the middle sequence indicates increasingly drier surface conditions prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. The middle sequence has a minimum age of 9840 ± 290 a BP. Moving sand sheets during the Last Glacial blocked the entrance to the cave allowing flowstones to develop on the cave floor. The surface environment surrounding the cave was probably not as dry as contemporaneous inland sites because sedimentation continued to be dominated by flowing water during this period. Holocene sedimentation is represented by the upper sequence and reflects wetter cave conditions between 7680 ± 160 a BP and 5700 ± 110 a BP. A major phase of sediment accretion occurs after 5700 a BP and correlates to a phase of dune instability in the Lower Glenelg region. Flowing water remodelled the sediment cone sometime after 2240 ± 100 a BP, which represents a period of increased surface runoff, although it is not clear whether this is due to climatic or anthropogenic influences.     

湘西要坝洞沉积堆积特征及形成时代

要坝洞在保靖县城北5km,是有旅游和科研价值的洞穴。洞穴发育在保靖-复兴断裂带的裂隙破碎构造控制的白云岩、白云岩化灰岩残体中,是断面陡转缓地段的垂向洞穴,成洞原因与所处的特定地质构造环境有关。在阐述洞穴形成特征的基础上,详细论述了洞穴沉积物及其相关性。洞穴碎屑沉积、次生化学沉积类型齐全,组成高、中、低三个沉(堆)积台面,构成多期(次)沉(堆)积的伴生共存组合体,展示洞穴及其沉积特征和过程。笔者进一步完善了次生化学沉积的成因分类,认为壁流石、钟乳石、石笋、石柱聚集匹配,构成景点,具有旅游观赏价值。同时,选择具有代表性的1号石笋进行同位素测年和综合研究,以其完好的沉积旋回、结构构造特征,显示3～1万a间的冰期气候沉积特征,其冷暖气候转(突)变标志明显。在洞穴及其沉(堆)积综合研究的基础上,根据洞穴沉(堆)积、洞内外新近系、古近系、白垩系的伴生沉积、储存关系,判断要坝洞形成于白垩纪前后。     

探地雷达在岩土工程中的应用

介绍了探地雷达在岩土工程中的实际应用领域及推广应用前景,在岩土工程施工检测中,如特殊地层的桩基施工中遇到的花岗岩风化孤石,隐伏奇异岩溶,地下古旧建筑基础影响桩基设计及施工;桩周空洞引起大量涌水及漏浆,造成桩基施工困难,软土强夯加固改良中的抛镇块石及块石土强夯质量检控问题等,探地雷达都是可为提供有效服务。     

Abandoned channel fill sequences in the tidal estuary of a small mountainous,dry‐summer river

This study proposes a modification of the current model for abandoned channel fill stratigraphy produced in unidirectional flow river reaches to incorporate seasonal tidal deposition. Evidence supporting this concept came from a study of two consecutive channel abandonment sequences in Ropers Slough of the lower Eel River Estuary in northern California. Aerial photographs showed that Ropers Slough was abandoned around 1943, reoccupied after the 1964 flood, and abandoned again in 1974 with fill continuing to the present. Planform geomorphic characteristics derived from these images were used in conjunction with sub‐centimetre resolution stratigraphic analyses to describe depositional processes and their resultant sedimentary deposits. Both abandonment sequences recorded quasi‐annual scale fluvial/tidal deposition couplets. In both cases, tidal deposits contained very little sand, were higher in organic and inorganic carbon content than the sandier, fluvially dominated deposits, and possessed millimetre‐scale horizontal laminations. The two abandonment fills differed significantly in terms of the temporal progression of channel narrowing and fluvial sediment deposition characteristics. Aerial photographic analysis showed that the first abandonment sequence led to a more rapid narrowing of Ropers Slough and produced deposits with a positive relationship between grain size/deposit thickness and discharge. The second abandonment resulted in a much slower narrowing of Ropers Slough and generally thinner fluvial deposits with no clear relationship between grain size/deposit thickness and discharge. The δ¹³C values and organic nitrogen to organic carbon ratios of deposits from the first phase overlapped with Eel River suspended sediment characteristics found for low flows (one to five times mean discharge), while those of the second phase were consistent with suspended sediment from higher flows (seven to ten times mean discharge). When considered together, the results indicate that the early fill sequence recorded a reach experiencing regular fluvial deposition through flow conditions during the wet season, while the latter fill sequence records a reach more disconnected from the main stem in terms of flow and sediment. The major factor affecting the difference in sedimentation between the two fill periods appears to have been the morphology of the upstream river bend in relation to the position of the bifurcation node. During the first fill period, the upstream entrance to Ropers Slough seems to have remained open, in part due to the placement of its entrance on the outside of the mainstem river bend, and despite stronger tidal effects caused by a larger tidal prism and closer proximity to the tidal inlet. By the second fill sequence, the upstream bend morphology had altered, placing the entrance to Ropers Slough on the inner bank of the mainstem bend, which resulted in more rapid plug bar formation. The role of tidal effects in the geomorphic trajectory of the two abandonment sequences is unclear, but appears to have been less important than local bifurcation geometry.