Sedimentary architecture of a glaciolacustrine braidplain delta: proxy evidence of a pre‐Middle Wisconsinan glaciation (Grimshaw gravels,Interior Plains,Canada)

The erosional nature of glacial systems commonly results in removal of direct evidence of previous glaciation (e.g. till and moraine). Therefore, reconstruction of former ice‐margin positions may rely, in part, on indirect (proxy) evidence from the sedimentary record. This study examines the facies and sedimentary architecture of a pre‐Middle Wisconsinan sand and gravel deposit (the ‘Grimshaw gravels’), which is positioned between areas where previous stratigraphical investigations have identified single (Late Wisconsinan) and multiple (pre‐Middle to Late Wisconsinan) glaciation by the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Five facies associations (FAs) are characterized within the deposit, which, together with the sedimentary architecture, record a transition from a braided river environment in the west (FA1‐3) to a gravelly braidplain delta front in the east (FA4 and 5). We propose that the Grimshaw gravels braid delta formed at the margin of a body of water that occupied the ancestral Peace River valley, probably impounded by the LIS; hence, the Grimshaw braid delta provides proxy evidence of the presence of an ice margin (previously unrecognized) in the Peace River lowland prior to the Middle Wisconsinan. This study provides further understanding of the origin of the Grimshaw gravels deposit, allowing re‐evaluation of previous models of formation. These findings offer insight into the glacial history of the southwestern margin of the LIS, and may help to refine ice‐sheet reconstructions spanning the Wisconsinan glaciation.     

Controls on the sedimentology of an ice-contact jökulhlaup-dominated delta,Kangerlussuaq, west Greenland

This paper characterises the sedimentary impact of a glacial outburst flood or ‘jökulhlaup’ on an ice-contact delta topset at Russell Glacier, Kangerlussuaq, west Greenland. Rapid drainage of an ice-dammed lake in July 1987 generated a jökulhlaup with a peak discharge of ∼ 1300 m³ s^− 1, which drained across a 500-m-wide, 200-m-long, delta top into a proglacial lake. The delta topset comprises boulder clusters, ice block obstacle marks with relief of up to 4 m, and is graded to lake levels up to 6 m higher than those during typical non-jökulhlaup conditions. The delta top was dissected by the 1987 jökulhlaup causing a fan-shaped extension of the delta front by 30 m. Surface grain size on the delta decreases rapidly away from the main flood flow direction, reflecting rapid downstream reduction in sediment transport capacity. The 1987 jökulhlaup was predominantly fluidal and turbulent and had peak stream powers of 2846 W m^− 2 proximally and < 400 W m^− 2 distally. Delta topset sedimentation can be characterised by four lithofacies associations in order of decreasing flow energy: (A) coarse-grained deposits related to a flow expansion; (B) finer-grained peripheral deposits located at the margins of the main flow; (C) lobate bars and delta fronts deposited within distal locations and (D) fine-grained deposits at distance from the delta front associated with slackwater conditions. Jökulhlaup-dominated delta topsets are controlled by the geometry of the channel expansion into the proglacial lake, jökulhlaup hydrograph form, the sediment availability and character, proglacial lake basin depth and surface area, lake outflow spillway erodibility and cross-sectional area, and history of previous jökulhlaups.     

Glacier outburst floods and outwash plain development: Skeiäarársandur, Iceland

Outwash plains, such as Skeiäarársandur, serve as prototypes for braided river facies and analogs for the Mars Pathfinder and Viking 1 landing sites on the margins of the Chryse Basin. Glacier outburst floods (jökulhlaups) have generated some of the largest known terrestrial freshwater flows and recent studies suggest that the stratigraphy of outwash plains (sandur) is dominated by sedimentary sequences laid down during jökulhlaups, rather than by braided river facies produced by an ablation-related flow regime. The modern point-source drainage configuration on Skeiäarársandur evolved from a diffuse, multipoint distributary system during glacier retreat, when meltwater began to be routed parallel to the ice front. The contemporary pattern of water and sediment dispersal across Skeiäarársandur differs from the conditions that prevailed when the ice front was coupled to the sandur, and the November 5–6 1996 outburst flood from Skeiäarárjökull had little impact on the proximal surface of Skeiäarársandur beyond the confines of the entrenched channels that traverse it. Thus, the point-source dispersal system on Skeiäarársandur may not provide an exact analogue for the pattern of meltwater dispersal responsible for the sediment assemblage laid down during past jökulhlaups, and caution may be required when comparing conditions on Skeiäarársandur to those presumed to have been experienced during massive outburst floods elsewhere.     

Sedimentary architecture of a canyon-style fairway feeding a deep-water clastic system,the Miocene Cingöz Formation,southern Turkey: significance for reservoir characterisation and modelling

The sedimentary architecture of a submarine canyon-fill supplying sediment to a deep-water fan system in the Adana Basin, southern Turkey is described and quantified. The canyon is at least 9-km long, 3–4-km wide, asymmetric in cross-section and has an exposed fill, 360-m thick consisting of sands and gravels deposited in sheets across the entire width of the canyon. Normal graded and nongraded pebbly sandstones reflecting deposition from both waning and waxing high-density turbidity currents dominate these deposits. Facies are identified and correlated between closely spaced sedimentary logs. A hierarchy of bedding scales is recognised, ranging from individual beds and their sedimentary structures through 3–21-m-thick packages of beds to 100+m thick major units. This hierarchy provides the framework for computer-generated 3D models where sandstone bodies and facies are stochastically modelled to provide a better understanding of the internal sedimentary architecture within similar types of canyons in subsurface or in areas of poor exposure.     

Architectural analysis of a volcaniclastic jökulhlaup deposit, southern Iceland: sedimentary evidence for supercritical flow

The 1918 eruption of the glacially capped Katla volcano, southern Iceland, generated a violent jökulhlaup, or glacial outburst flood, inundating a large area of Mýrdalssandur, the proglacial outwash plain, where it deposited ca 1 km³ of volcaniclastic sediment. The character of the 1918 jökulhlaup is contentious, having been variously categorized as a turbulent water flow, a hyperconcentrated flow or as a debris flow, based on localized outcrop analysis. In this study, outcrop‐based architectural analyses of the 1918 deposits reveal the presence of lenticular and tabular bedsets associated with deposition from quasi‐stationary antidunes and down‐current migrating antidunes, and from regular based bedsets, associated with transient chute‐and‐pool bedforms, all of which are associated with turbulent, transcritical to supercritical water flow conditions. Antidune wavelengths range from 24 to 96 m, corresponding to flow velocities of 6 to 12 m sec^?1 and average flow depths of 5 to 19 m. This range of calculated flow velocities is in good agreement with estimates made from eyewitness accounts. Architectural analysis of the 1918 jökulhlaup deposits has led to an improved estimation of flow parameters and flow hydraulics associated with the 1918 jökulhlaup that could not have been achieved through localized outcrop analysis. The observations presented here provide additional sedimentological and architectural criteria for the recognition of deposits associated with transcritical and supercritical water flow conditions. The physical scale of sedimentary architectures associated with the migration of bedforms is largely dependent on the magnitude of the formative flow events or processes; sedimentary analyses must therefore be undertaken at the appropriate physical scale if reliable interpretations, regarding modes of deposition and formative flow hydraulics, are to be made.     

Provenance and sediment characteristics of contemporary gravel deposits at Sellicks Beach,eastern shore of Gulf St Vincent,South Australia

Sellicks Beach, located on the eastern shore of Gulf St Vincent, South Australia, is subject to wave-dominated processes and northward longshore transport. During winter, when wave energy is typically vigorous, gravel deposits are exposed across most of the beach, and three step-like berms are well developed. Sand is restricted to a narrow strip that is exposed only at low tide. In contrast, during summer, when wave energy is generally moderate to low, much of the gravel is covered by a thin veneer of sand and only the high berm, on the landward edge of the beach, remains as an obvious feature. Steeply dipping Neoproterozoic to Cambrian strata that outcrop strongly across Sellicks Hill are the original source rocks for the beach gravel; distinctive sedimentary textures, structures and fossils in the cobble-size clasts can be confidently matched with those of the provenance rocks. Much of the sediment entered the modern beach environment as a consequence of coastal erosion of transitional alluvial fan sediments. The oldest alluvial fan sediments are of late Pliocene to earliest Pleistocene age. Mount Terrible Gully provides a conduit for the input of fluvial sediment at the mouth of Cactus Canyon, where clasts as large as boulders accumulate across the beach. Sellicks Beach gravels are subject to longshore transport northwards. Relatively softer clasts, such as those derived from the Heatherdale Shale, are rare beyond Cactus Canyon. In contrast, quartzite clasts are more abundant towards the north. This lithological differentiation is attributed to preferential survivorship of clasts that are physically harder and chemically less reactive. The change in the shapes of clasts northwards, from predominately shingle-like ‘very platy’ and ‘very bladed’ at Cactus Canyon, to more ‘compact’ towards the boat ramp, is in accord with the more massive fabric of the surviving quartzite clasts. At Sellicks Beach, preservation of uplifted, coarse gravels, with entire and comminuted marine molluscan shells, of last interglacial age, provides evidence of neotectonism. At the landward margin of the beach, imbricated gravels in which pore spaces have been infilled with mud, and which show no evidence of modern coastal erosion, may provide evidence of continuing uplift during the recent Holocene. The geological setting, geomorphic framework and modern sedimentary regime at Sellicks Beach combine to provide an exceptionally useful outdoor laboratory for education in field geology.     

The Oyambre coastal terrace: a detailed sedimentary record of the Last Interglacial Stage in northern Iberia (Cantabrian coast,Spain)

A detailed study is presented of a 15.3-m-thick Pleistocene coastal terrace located on the Cantabrian coast (northern Spain). Stratigraphic, sedimentological, topographic and micropalaeontological information is combined with a chronology based on luminescence dating to characterize the deposits. The sedimentary succession records: (i) a basal transgressive system, consisting of a wave-cut surface covered by a lower layer of beach gravels and upper beach pebbly sands; and (ii) a thicker upper highstand system (aggrading), comprising medium to very fine aeolian sands interbedded with thin palustrine muds. Luminescence dating involved a detailed sampling strategy (36 samples and two modern analogues) and the use of both quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and feldspar post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence single aliquot regeneration protocols; feldspar results were used to confirm the completeness of bleaching of the quartz OSL signal. The quartz OSL luminescence age–depth relationship shows significant dispersion, but nevertheless two rapid phases of deposition can be clearly identified: one at ~130 ka [Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5] and one at ~100 ka (MIS 5c). The top of the succession is dated to ~70 ka. The MIS 5e marine maximum flooding surface is identified at an elevation of 6.85 m above mean seal level. This elevation provides evidence of a regional sea-level highstand for this sector of the Cantabrian coast.     

Geomorphic,sedimentary and hydraulic reconstruction of a glacial lake outburst flood in northern Alberta,Canada

Glacial lake outburst floods occurred frequently during the last deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Within the Interior Plains, these floods carved large spillway systems; however, due to a lack of abundant sediment, deposits within prairie spillways are rarely preserved. Here, we present geomorphic and sedimentary evidence and hydraulic modelling of the eastern Beaver River Spillway, formed by the catastrophic drainage of the ice‐dammed glacial Lake Algar, in north central Alberta. During this flood, coarse‐grained sediment eroded from local till formed large pendant bars. Within the first ~50 km of the spillway (Reach 1), pendant bars contain downstream orientated foresets overlain by horizontally bedded coarser gravels. The remaining pendant bars (Reach 2), present downflow of a moraine barrier, differ, comprising massive, matrix‐supported, inversely graded gravels capped by a boulder layer. We use a HEC‐GeoRAS/HEC‐RAS system in conjunction with palaeostage indicators to estimate the steady‐state water surface elevation. Modelling results show that peak discharge within Reach 1 of the eastern Beaver River Spillway was approximately 14 000–21 000 m³ s^?1. For Reach 2, 30 km downstream, the peak discharge was estimated at 23 000–40 000 m³ s^?1 (n_bulked 18 000–26 000 m³ s^?1). The downstream discharge increase, consistent with the sedimentary change in pendant bar deposits, is attributed to sediment bulking of the flood flow. This provides the opportunity to observe a range of flow conditions, and associated sedimentology, from a single flood event. The reconstructed flow conditions, coupled with lake volume estimates from the ponding above the moraine barrier suggest a minimum flow duration of 3–5 days.     

The lateglacial lakes of Glens Roy,Spean and vicinity (Lochaber district,Scottish Highlands)

This paper summarises the evidence for glacial ice advance into lower Glen Spean during the Loch Lomond Stadial which involved the blockage of westward-flowing drainage to form a series of ice-dammed lakes, the former surfaces of which are marked by prominent shorelines. Detailed mapping of glacigenic landforms and instrumental levelling of the shorelines reveals a dynamic interplay between the glacier margins and lake formation. Subsequent deglaciation led to lowering of the lake levels, at times by catastrophic drainage beneath the ice (jökulhlaup). The abandoned shorelines have been warped and dislocated in numerous places as a result of glacio-isostatic deformation, faulting and landslip activity. The pattern of retreat of the ice can be deduced from the mapped distributions of retreat moraines and the levelled altitudes of numerous kame and fluvial terrace fragments. The sequence of events outlined in this paper provides important context for understanding the evolution of the landscape of the Glen Roy area during the Loch Lomond Stadial, and a prelude to more recent studies reported in other contributions to this thematic issue.     

四川攀枝花昔格达组下伏砾石层成因和时代探讨与古金沙江河谷发育

本文主要描述和讨论了四川省攀枝花市沿金沙江分布、并以炳草岗地龙箐剖面为代表的昔格达组湖相沉积下伏的砾石层的沉积特征及其河流相成因.根据前人对昔格达组湖相沉积的磁性地层学研究结果,为4.2/3.28～2.6/2.12/1.78 MaBP的上新世中、晚期或至早更新世早期,表明其下伏厚达50 m的砾石层的形成时代约为4.2～4.5/5 MaBP的上新世早期.早上新世金沙江河流相砾石层在接近金沙江谷底位置的发现,表明金沙江很早就已经从青藏高原主夷平面下切了2000 m以上、已在接近其现今谷底的位置上存在.这对于探讨古金沙江的河谷发育及其与青藏高原隆升的关系,具有重要的指示意义.     

Glacial extent and catastrophic meltwater events during the deglaciation of Southern Iceland

Reconstruction of the paleoenvironment of South Iceland based on lithofacies and chronological studies of the Búdi morainal complex, lacustrine deposits at Ófærugil and a sediment core from Lake Hestvatn, South Iceland, revealed evidence for repeated catastrophic flood (jökulhlaup) activities during the late Younger Dryas (YD) and the early Preboreal (PB) chronozones. During this time, thin and lobate outlet glaciers from the retreating Iceland Ice Cap extended from major valleys and calved into the paleobay of southern lowlands of Iceland where relative sea level was at least 70 m higher than today. A number of ice-marginal lakes formed during the stepwise retreat of the South Iceland ice sheet at the transition of the YD and PB. Primary geomorphic and sedimentologic impact of the jökulhlaups was erosion of multiple channels downstream from the most prominent moraines in South Iceland and through the coastal sediment, accompanied by net aggradation of chaotically stratified sand and silt lenses. At the ice-distal environment, these floods accumulated in the form of recurrent turbidity currents. Volcanic eruptions, supplemented by a catastrophic release of the ice-marginal lakes, are postulated as the main triggers for the jökulhlaup activity. The jökulhlaup events evidenced in this study and subsequent break-up of the partly marine-based glacier may have contributed to the ice-rafting events found in the North Atlantic paleoenvironmental record.     

Terrace reconstruction and long profile projection: a case study from the Solent river system near Southampton,England

River terrace sequences are important frameworks for archaeological evidence and as such it is important to produce robust correlations between what are often fragmentary remnants of ancient terraces. This paper examines both conceptual and practical issues related to such correlations, using a case study from the eastern part of the former Solent River system near Southampton, England. In this region two recent terrace schemes have been constructed using different data to describe the terrace deposits: one based mainly on terrace surfaces; the other on gravel thicknesses, often not recording the terrace surface itself. The utility of each of these types of data in terrace correlation is discussed in relation to the complexity of the record, the probability of post-depositional alteration of surface sediments and comparison of straight-line projections with modern river long profiles. Correlation using age estimates is also discussed, in relation to optically stimulated luminescence dating of sand lenses within terrace gravels in this region during the PASHCC project. It is concluded that the need for replication at single sites means that this approach has limited use for correlative purposes, although dating of sediments is important for understanding wider landscape evolution and patterns of human occupation.     

Stratigraphy and origin of New Forest brickearths,England

The thin, loamy brickearth deposits overlying the flinty terrace gravels of the New Forest are divided into older and younger members. The Lower (older) Brickearth includes sediments thought to be mainly loess, with some aeolian sand and possible river floodloam (overbank sediment). These share the common feature of palaeo-argillic soil horizons in their upper layers. Two separate phases of pre-Holocene temperate pedogenesis often can be distinguished in the palaeo-argillic horizons. The Lower Brickearth is the most extensive pre-Devensian loess in Britain. The Upper (younger) Brickearth consists mainly of Late Devensian (Oxygen Isotope Stage 2) loess, but its lower layers also contain fine sand derived mainly from local Tertiary strata. Both brickearths occur on all the terrace surfaces of the New Forest and indicate that the terraces date from Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 or earlier.     

Sedimentology of tsunami inflow and backflow deposits: key differences revealed in a modern example

Onshore tsunami deposits may consist of inflow and backflow deposits. Grain sizes can range from clay to boulders of several metres in diameter. Grain‐size distributions reflect the mode of deposition and may be used to explore the hydrodynamic conditions of transport. The absence of unique sedimentary features identifying tsunami deposits makes it difficult in some cases to distinguish inflow from backflow deposits. On Isla Mocha off central Chile, the 27 February 2010 tsunami left behind inflow and backflow deposits of highly variable character. Tsunami inflow entrained sands, gravels and boulders in the upper shoreface, beach, and along coastal terraces. Boulders of up to 12 t were transported up to 300 m inland and 13 m above sea‐level. Thin veneers of coarse sand were found up to the maximum runup at 600 m inland and 19 m above sea‐level. Backflow re‐mobilized most of the sands and gravels deposited during inflow. The orientation of erosional structures indicates that significant volumes of sediment were entrained also during backflow. A major feature of the backflow deposits are widespread prograding fans of coarse sediment developed downcurrent of terrace steps. Fan sediments are mostly structureless but include cross‐bedding, imbrication and ripples, indicating deposition from bedload traction currents. The sediments are poorly sorted, grain sizes range between medium to coarse sand to gravel and pebbles. An assessment of the backflow transport conditions of this mixed material suggests that bedload transport at Rouse numbers >2·5 was achieved by supercritical flows, whereas deposition occurred when currents had decelerated sufficiently on the low‐gradient lower coastal plain. The sedimentary record of the February 2010 tsunami at Isla Mocha consists of backflow deposits to more than 90%. Due to the lack of sedimentary structures, many previous studies of modern tsunami sediments found that most of the detritus was deposited during inflow. This study demonstrates that an uncritical use of this assumption may lead to erroneous interpretations of palaeotsunami magnitudes and sedimentary processes if unknowingly applied to backflow deposits.     

Pleistocene deposits at Stoke Goldington,in the valley of the Great Ouse,UK

At Stoke Goldington in the valley of the Great Ouse in Buckinghamshire a river terrace at a height of about 7 m above the floodplain is underlain by fluvial sediments representing climatic fluctuations in the late Middle Pleistocene. Near the base of the succession, at a level only 1 m above the modern floodplain, a fossil assemblage, including pollen, plant macrofossils, molluscs, insects and ostracods, provides evidence for the local development of herb-rich grassland under temperate climatic conditions. The fossil record, amino-acid racemisation ratios and uranium disequilibrium dating all suggest deposition of this material during Oxygen Isotope Stage 7. The deposits containing the temperate assemblage are immediately overlain by typical cold-climate gravels of the Great Ouse. These have been subjected to a later cut-and-fill episode, with the fill accumulating in cool climatic conditions. The cut-and-fill episode was succeeded by aggradation, forming the overlying terrace surface. Amino-acid racemisation ratios indicate that the fill was emplaced, and the terrace surface created, during or after Oxygen Isotope Stage 5. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incised palaeo-channels of the late Middle Pleistocene Thames: age,origins and implications for fluvial palaeogeography and sea-level reconstruction in the southern North Sea basin

Multidisciplinary investigations of the infills of steeply-incised buried channels on the coast of Essex, England, provide important insights into late Middle Pleistocene climate and sea-level change and have a direct bearing on the differentiation of MIS 11 and MIS 9 in terrestrial records. New data are presented from Rochford and Burnham-on-Crouch where remnants of two substantial palaeo-channels filled with interglacial sediment can be directly related to the terrace stratigraphy of the Thames. The sediments in both channels accumulated in an estuarine environment early in an interglacial when mixed oak forest was becoming established. Lithological evidence suggests that the interglacial beds post-date the brackish-water infill of an older palaeo-channel ascribed to the Hoxnian and correlated with part of MIS 11, and pre-date terrace gravels (Barling Gravel) ascribed to MIS 8. An MIS 9 attribution is supported by molluscan biostratigraphy, palaeo-salinity and amino-acid racemization data. The relative sea-level record in this area thus includes evidence for two major marine transgressions during MIS 11 and MIS 9, with local maxima of >10 m O.D. Both are associated with sediments that show ‘Hoxnian’ palynological affinities. The wider significance of these findings, and of an intermediate phase of pronounced fluvial incision during MIS 10, is discussed.     

Chronology of Quaternary terrace deposits at the locality Hohle Gasse (Pratteln,NW Switzerland)

The Quaternary stratigraphy of the Alpine Foreland consists of distinct terrace levels, which have been assigned to four morphostratigraphic units: Höhere (Higher) Deckenschotter, Tiefere (Lower) Deckenschotter, Hochterrasse (High Terrace) and Niederterrasse (Lower Terrace). Here, we focus on the terrace gravels at Hohle Gasse, SSE of Pratteln near Basel, which are mapped as Tiefere Deckenschotter. Petrographic and morphometric data established from clasts allowed to infer the transport mechanisms and sources of the gravels. Sedimentological analyses indicate that the gravels were transported by a braided river and deposited in a distal glaciofluvial setting. In addition, it can be shown that the majority of the clasts display multiple reworking and only a minority maintained a distinct glaciofluvial shape. Cosmogenic multi-isotope dating using ¹⁰Be and ³⁶Cl allowed direct dating of the sediments at the study site. A depth-profile age of \(2 70_{ - 1 90}^{ + 8 30}\) ka for ¹⁰Be was achieved for the deposits at Hohle Gasse. Unfortunately, no age could be modelled from the ³⁶Cl concentrations as the blank correction was too high. Furthermore, this age proves that the studied terrace level should be assigned to the morphostratigraphic unit Hochterrasse.     

Pleistocene fluvial terraces from northern France (Seine,Yonne, Somme): synthesis,and new results from interglacial deposits

The Seine, Yonne and Somme are the main rivers draining northwestern France and flowing into the Channel. During Pleistocene cold stages they were tributaries of the “Fleuve Manche”. They are characterised by well-developed stepped terrace systems showing up to 10 incision steps for the last 1 Ma. After 15 years of research and the synthesis of stratigraphical, sedimentological, bioclimatical data and numerical dating, these terrace systems are interpreted as the response of the fluvial environments to climatic cyclicity, superimposed on a background of slow tectonic uplift. The comparison of these three terrace systems shows that the incision budget is similar within the studied area (about 55–65 m/1 Ma), implying relative homogeneity of uplift. In the main part of the area, beyond marine influence, the analysis of each stepped alluvial formation shows regular sediment balance generally composed of coarse periglacial gravels (pleniglacial), covered by fine-grained sediments locally overlain by calcareous tufa (interglacial). However, in the Lower Seine valley, close to the present coast, the low terrace includes two estuarine interglacial units interbedded within periglacial gravel units. Nevertheless, until recently evidence of full interglacial conditions remained elusive in fluvial contexts, especially in the Somme. To address these issues a new research programme has been launched on tufa deposits that are the best candidate to register the climatic optimum. Initial results from la Celle (Seine), Saint-Acheul and Caours (Somme) allow palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of MIS 11 and 5e, and thus confirm the importance of calcareous tufa to define a reference record of Pleistocene Interglacials for northern France. Moreover, it has been previously demonstrated that the main incision leading to terrace formation can be attributed to the transition between interglacial and glacial (during early glacial phases). The new results from interglacial records have important implications concerning the precise occurrence of the major incision phases within the climatic cycle as they provide the starting point immediately preceding downcutting.     

A morphometric analysis of terrace gravels in Santa Ynez basin,Santa Barbara County,California

An analysis of 6,300 pebbles from eighteen river terraces within the five subareas of the Santa Ynez River basin has revealed significant differences in particle sphericity and roundness of the various terrace gravels.Using the Cailleux technique of pebble measurement, Krumbein's sphericity ratio formula (Y) and the author's own roundness ratio or the I/L¹ ratio (R) the computed values derived for $\text{Y}$ range from 0.92 to 1.11, and for $\text{R}$ from 0.66 to 0.79 on these benches.An analysis of variance, based on the F-test applied to samples has established that: (a) gravel sphericity and roundness increase significantly from upstream to the river mouth; (b) in the subareas themselves pebble sphericity and roundness vary significantly from bench to bench indicating varied energy conditions of deposition; (c) all terrace gravels measured show higher sphericity and roundness than the underlying Orcutt gravels. This suggests a reworking of the latter by the Santa Ynez River.     

Transferable wavelet method for grain‐size distribution from images of sediment surfaces and thin sections,and other natural granular patterns

In images of sedimentary or granular material, or simulations of binary (two‐phase) granular media, in which the individual grains are resolved, the complete size distribution of apparent grain axes is well‐approximated by the global power spectral density function derived using a Morlet wavelet. This approach overcomes many limitations of previous automated methods for estimating the grain‐size distribution from images, all of which rely on either: identification and segmentation of individual grains; calibration and/or relatively large sample sizes. The new method presented here is tested using: (i) various types of simulations of two‐phase media with a size distribution, with and without preferred orientation; (ii) 300 sample images drawn from 46 populations of sands and gravels from around the world, displaying a wide variability in origin (biogenic and mineralogical), size, surface texture and shape; (iii) petrographic thin section samples from nine populations of sedimentary rock; (iv) high‐resolution scans of marine sediment cores; and (v) non‐sedimentary natural granular patterns including sea ice and patterned ground. The grain‐size distribution obtained is equivalent to the distribution of apparent intermediate grain diameters, grid by number style. For images containing sufficient well‐resolved grains, root mean square errors are within tens of percent for percentiles across the entire grain‐size distribution. As such, this method is the first of its type which is completely transferable, unmodified, without calibration, for both consolidated and unconsolidated sediment, isotropic and anisotropic two‐phase media, and even non‐sedimentary granular patterns. The success of the wavelet approach is due, in part, to it quantifying both spectral and spatial information from the sediment image simultaneously, something which no previously developed technique is able to do.