A 1500-year record of temperature and glacial response inferred from varved Iceberg Lake, southcentral Alaska

We present a varve thickness chronology from glacier-dammed Iceberg Lake in the southern Alaska icefields. Radiogenic evidence confirms that laminations are annual and record continuous sediment deposition from A.D. 442 to A.D. 1998. Varve thickness is positively correlated with Northern Hemisphere temperature trends, and more strongly with a local, ∼600 yr long tree ring width chronology. Varve thickness increases in warm summers because of higher melt, runoff, and sediment transport (as expected), but also because shrinkage of the glacier dam allows shoreline regression that concentrates sediment in the smaller lake. Varve thickness provides a sensitive record of relative changes in warm season temperatures. Relative to the entire record, temperatures implied by this chronology were lowest around A.D. 600, warm between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1300, cooler between A.D. 1500 and A.D. 1850, and have increased dramatically since then. Combined with stratigraphic evidence that contemporary jökulhlaups (which began in 1999) are unprecedented since at least A.D. 442, this record suggests that 20th century warming is more intense, and accompanied by more extensive glacier retreat, than the Medieval Warm Period or any other time in the last 1500 yr.     

Climate change effects on snow melt and discharge of a partly glacierized watershed in Central Switzerland (SoilTrec Critical Zone Observatory)

A comprehensive hydrological modeling study in the drainage area of a hydropower reservoir in central Switzerland is presented. Two models were tested to reproduce the measured discharge dynamics: (1) a detailed energy-balance model (ALPINE3D) primarily designed for snow simulations; (2) a conceptual runoff model system (PREVAH), including a distributed temperature-index snow and ice melt model. Considerable effort was put into distributing available meteorological station data to the model grids as forcing data. The recent EU regional climate modeling initiative ENSEMBLES provided up-to-date climate predictions for two 30-a periods in mid and late 21st century. These were used to estimate evolutions in the water supply of the hydropower reservoir in response to expected climate changes. The simulations suggest a shift of spring peak-flow by almost two months for the end of the century. Warmer winter temperatures will cause higher winter base-flow. Due to glacier retreat, late-summer flow will decrease at the end of the century.     

Autumn snowfall and hydroclimatic variability during the past millennium inferred from the varved sediments of meromictic Lake A, northern Ellesmere Island, Canada

We examined the hydroclimatic signal in a record of annual lamina (varve) thickness from High Arctic Lake A, Ellesmere Island (83°00.00′N, 75°30.00′W). In this unglacierized catchment, nival melt is the dominant source for meltwater and transport of sediment to the lake, and autumn snowfall is highly influential on varve thickness through the amount of snow available for melt in the following year. For the period during which climatic data are available, varve thickness in Lake A was significantly correlated (r = 0.50, p < 0.01) with the cumulative snowfall from August to October (ASO) during the previous year and, to a lesser extent, ASO mean daily temperature (r = 0.39, p < 0.01) at Alert, Nunavut (175 km east). The varve thickness record, interpreted as a proxy record of ASO snowfall and, by extension, ASO temperature, indicated above-mean conditions during five periods of the past millennium, including most of the 20th century. These results corresponded well to other available high-resolution proxy climate records from the region, with some discrepancies prior to AD 1500 and during the period AD 1700-1900.     

Climate variability and glacial processes in eastern Iceland during the past 700 years based on varved lake sediments

Striberger, J., Björck, S., Ingólfsson, Ó., Kjær, K. H., Snowball, I. & Uvo, C. B. 2010: Climate variability and glacial processes in eastern Iceland during the past 700 years based on varved lake sediments. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00153.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Properties of varved sediments from Lake Lögurinn in eastern Iceland and their link to climate and glacial processes of Eyjabakkajökull, an outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull icecap, were examined. A varve chronology, which covers the period AD 1262–2005, was constructed from visual observations, high‐resolution images, X‐ray density and geochemical properties determined from X‐radiography and X‐ray fluorescence scanning. Independent dating provided by ¹³⁷Cs analysis and eight historical tephras verify the varve chronology. The thickness of dark‐coloured seasonal laminae, formed mainly of coarser suspended matter from the non‐glacial river Grímsá, is positively correlated (r=0.70) with winter precipitation, and our 743‐year‐long varve series indicates that precipitation was higher and more varied during the later part of the Little Ice Age. Light‐coloured laminae thickness, controlled mainly by the amount of finer suspended matter from the glacial river Jökulsáí Fljótsdal, increased significantly during the AD 1972 surge of Eyjabakkajökull. As a consequence of the surge, the ice‐dammed Lake Háöldulón formed and recurrently drained and delivered significant amounts of rock flour to Lake Lögurinn. Based on these observations, and the recurring cyclic pattern of periods of thicker light‐coloured laminae in the sediment record, we suggest that Eyjabakkajökull has surged repeatedly during the past 743 years, but with an increased frequency during the later part of the Little Ice Age.     

A 3000-year varved record of glacier activity and climate change from the proglacial lake Hvítárvatn,Iceland

A suite of environmental proxies in annually laminated sediments from Hvítárvatn, a proglacial lake in the central highlands of Iceland, are used to reconstruct regional climate variability and glacial activity for the past 3000 years. Sedimentological analysis is supported by tephrostratigraphy to confirm the continuous, annual nature of the laminae, and a master varve chronology places proxies from multiple lake cores in a secure geochronology. Varve thickness is controlled by the rate of glacial erosion and efficiency of subglacial discharge from the adjacent Langjökull ice cap. The continuous presence of glacially derived clastic varves in the sediment fill confirms that the ice cap has occupied the lake catchment for the duration of the record. Varve thickness, varve thickness variance, ice-rafted debris, total organic carbon (mass flux and bulk concentration), and C:N of sedimentary organic matter, reveal a dynamic late Holocene climate with abrupt and large-scale changes in ice-cap size and landscape stability. A first-order trend toward cooler summers and ice-cap expansion is punctuated by notable periods of rapid ice cap growth and/or landscape instability at ca 1000 BC, 600 BC, 550 AD and 1250 AD. The largest perturbation began ca 1250 AD, signaling the onset of the Little Ice Age and the termination of three centuries of relative warmth during Medieval times. Consistent deposition of ice-rafted debris in Hvítárvatn is restricted to the last 250 years, demonstrating that Langjökull only advanced into Hvítárvatn during the coldest centuries of the Little Ice Age, beginning in the mid eighteenth century. This advance represents the glacial maximum for at least the last 3 ka, and likely since regional deglaciation 10 ka. The multi-centennial response of biological proxies to the Hekla 3 tephra deposition illustrates the significant impact of large explosive eruptions on local environments, and catchment sensitivity to perturbations.     

The varve-related ice-dammed lake events in Glen Roy and vicinity: a new interpretation

This paper presents a new interpretation of the sequence of events in Glen Roy and vicinity during the Loch Lomond Stadial that can be inferred from a detailed varve record constructed by Palmer et al. (2010). 300 years of Younger Dryas glacier advance in the Scottish Highlands are recorded by very thin varves formed in an ice-dammed lake up to 35 km long. At a varve site now occupied by Loch Laggan the lake stood permanently at 260 m, but in Glen Roy varves were also laid down in a lake at 325 m and, later, 350 m caused by glacier advance. Initial ice retreat recorded by a gradual increase in varve thickness was soon followed by much thicker varves. The varve sequences are interrupted by a sand bed caused by sudden drainage of the 350 m lake. The major varves of the Glen Roy sequence show that storminess was still increasing in intensity at least 160 years after glacier retreat had begun. At the Loch Laggan site 15 cm of deformed sediments register an earthquake that produced 3 m faulted uplift of all three Glen Roy shorelines, a response to the abrupt removal of 5 km³ of water when the 260 m lake was catastrophically drained by jökulhlaup. The deformed sediments are immediately followed by varves deposited in a local lake, ice-dammed lake sedimentation now having ceased, having lasted more than 460 years.     

A new varve thickness record from Allt Bhraic Achaidh Fan,middle Glen Roy,Lochaber: implications for understanding the Loch Lomond Stadial glaciolacustrine varve sedimentation trends

Glen Roy, Lochaber is a key UK site for understanding Late Devensian environmental change, as it contains an annually-resolved glaciolacustrine varve record. This paper develops our understanding of varve sedimentation within Glen Roy through the examination of a new varve sequence located in a more proximal position on the Allt Bhraic Achaidh Fan, one of a series of major fans within the valley. This new varve record consists of c. 203 annual layers, much fewer years than at other sites in the Lochaber area probably due to five significant hiatuses within the record. Varve sediment characteristics and thickness are comparable to, but not statistically correlated with, other varve series that were used to construct a consolidated varve record for the area, the Lochaber Master Varve Chronology. Sedimentological characteristics, analysed by thin section micromorphology, suggest that varve thickness changes within the basin are controlled mainly by distance from the valley sides rather than the position of the ice margin during the Loch Lomond Readvance, as previously proposed.     

衡阳盆地始新世含鱼地层的成因分析

衡阳市郊五马归槽始新世鱼化石保存在黑色湖相纹层中。根据纹层序列的对比,发现该地的鱼化石均为同一层位;根据鱼化石在纹层序列中的具体位置及鱼化石的保存状况,笔者推测鱼群的死亡并非由于季节更替,而是由气候干旱引起的湖水盐度升高所控制;黑白纹层的变化是由大气降雨所致。     

渤海南部莱州湾晚更新世以来沉积演化特征

晚更新世以来渤海南部莱州湾发生了3次重要海侵-海退事件及沉积演化过程,渤海南部多源河流三角洲对莱州湾沉积环境改变作用明显。本文选择莱州湾剖面进行沉积地层对比,结合调查资料和测试数据,初步建立莱州湾沉积地层格架,分析晚更新世以来莱州湾沉积演化过程。研究发现,渤海南部中小河流与黄河泥沙为莱州湾沉积物的共同物质来源,二者在不同阶段分别对莱州湾沉积演化起主导作用。提出本区沉积地层具有分期性、分段性和相关性规律。在124.6~72.0 ka B.P.,60.0~24.4 ka B.P.和10.2~4.0 ka B.P.出现过3次暖湿期,分别对应沧州海侵、献县海侵和黄骅海侵,主要发育滨浅海相沉积,向南退积为三角洲/潮坪—河流沉积;由陆向海,短源河流沉积贡献降低,黄河沉积贡献增加。在72.0~60.0 ka B.P.和24.4~10.2 ka B.P.出现2次冷干期,分别对应玉木早冰期和玉木晚冰期,河流相发育,三角洲进积。受海陆交互作用影响,晚更新世以来渤海南部莱州湾大致经历了浅海相—三角洲—潮坪—浅海相—三角洲—陆相的沉积演化。     

A local clay-varve chronology and proglacial sedimentary environment in glacial Lake Peipsi, eastern Estonia

Ten cores consisting of varved clay from the northern part of Lake Peipsi in eastern Estonia have been correlated using varve thickness variations and specific marker varves into a 375-year floating varve chronology. Continuous sedimentation during gradual ice recession is concluded from a clear transition from proximal to distal varves. Cyclic variations in varve thickness are caused mainly by thickness changes of clayey winter layers. This is interpreted to indicate increased influx of finer material due to faster melting of the glacier. The cyclic pattern of thickness change is explained by alternating periods of increased and decreased melting of the ice. Simultaneous accumulation of varved clay in glacial Lake Peipsi and in the Luga and Neva basins of Russia is concluded from the good visual correlation between the mean varve thickness diagrams for the three chronologies. Because the varve chronologies from northwestern Russia have been tentatively correlated to the Swedish varve chronology, the timing of the clay accumulation in glacial Lake Peipsi is placed between c . 13 500 and 13 100 varve years BP.     

The 1.5-ka varved record of Lake Montcortès (southern Pyrenees,NE Spain)

The karstic Lake Montcortès sedimentary sequence spanning the last 1548 yr constitutes the first continuous, high-resolution, multi-proxy varved record in northern Spain. Sediments consist of biogenic varves composed of calcite, organic matter and detrital laminae and turbidite layers. Calcite layer thickness and internal sub-layering indicate changes in water temperature and seasonality whereas the frequency of detrital layers reflects rainfall variability. Higher temperatures occurred in Lake Montcortès in AD 555–738, 825–875, 1010–1322 and 1874–present. Lower temperatures and prolonged winter conditions were recorded in AD 1446–1598, 1663–1711 and 1759–1819. Extreme and multiple precipitation events dominated in AD 571–593, 848–922, 987–1086, 1168–1196, 1217–1249, 1444–1457, 1728–1741 and 1840–1875, indicating complex hydrological variability in NE Spain since AD 463. The sedimentary record of Lake Montcortès reveals a short-term relation between rainfall variability and the detrital influx, pronounced during extended periods of reduced anthropogenic influences. In pre-industrial times, during warm climate episodes, population and land use increased in the area. After the onset of the industrialization, the relationship between climate and human activities decoupled and population dynamics and landscape modifications were therefore mostly determined by socio‐economic factors.     

Hydrogeochemistry of the Chhota Shigri glacier meltwater,Chandra basin,Himachal Pradesh,India: solute acquisition processes,dissolved load and chemical weathering rates

The chemical compositions of various ions in meltwater of the Chhota Shigri glacier were analysed during the observation period from May to October 2010. Total 164 samples of meltwater were collected in two times a day at 8.0 a.m and 6.0 p.m. Bicarbonate and calcium were the dominant anion and cation in meltwater of the investigation area. High ratios of (Ca + Mg) versus TZ⁺ and (Ca + Mg) versus (Na + K) demonstrate that hydrogeochemistry of the study area was mainly governed by carbonate type weathering. The average sulphate mass fraction of meltwater was computed to be 0.31 ± 0.12, showing dominancy of bicarbonate over sulphate. This excess bicarbonate would be generated by an alternative proton supply mechanism due to biological activities in the bed rock lithology and sulphide oxidation may be about the same as carbonation as a driver of chemical weathering at Chhota Shigri glacier. In general, major ions and total dissolved solid concentrations showed decreasing trend with increasing discharge from the study area. The average daily mean dissolved load of this glacier was much lower than that of the Gangotri glacier, which may be due to low meltwater runoff and lithology of the investigation area. The cation weathering rates of study area for early, peak and late melt seasons were computed to be 694, 1631 and 481 meq m^?2 a^?1, respectively. The average value of chemical denudation rates of the Chhota Shigri glacier meltwater was found lower than that of the Dokriani glacier.     

Snowmelt runoff prediction under changing climate in the Himalayan cryosphere: A case of Gilgit River Basin

There are serious concerns of rise in temperatures over snowy and glacierized Himalayan region that may eventually affect future river flows of Indus river system. It is therefore necessary to predict snow and glacier melt runoff to manage future water resource of Upper Indus Basin(UIB). The snowmelt runoff model(SRM) coupled with MODIS remote sensing data was employed in this study to predict daily discharges of Gilgit River in the Karakoram Range. The SRM was calibrated successfully and then simulation was made over four years i.e. 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 achieving coefficient of model efficiency of 0.96, 0.86, 0.9 and 0.94 respectively. The scenarios of precipitation and mean temperature developed from regional climate model PRECIS were used in SRM model to predict future flows of Gilgit River. The increase of 3 C in mean annual temperature by the end of 21 th century may result in increase of 35-40% in Gilgit River flows. The expected increase in the surface runoff from the snow and glacier melt demands better water conservation and management for irrigation and hydel-power generation in the Indus basin in future.     

Depositional processes and the inferred history of ice-margin retreat associated with the deglaciation of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet: The sedimentary record from Flathead Lake,northwest Montana,USA

A series of piston cores from Flathead Lake, Montana, USA and a new radiocarbon date from the sedimentary record provide the basis for describing sedimentary processes related to deglaciation of the Flathead Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet and for interpreting the retreat history of the lobe. The oldest part of Flathead Lake sediment core records is Late Pleistocene in age and consists of cm-scale rhythmites of silt and clay, interpreted here as annual varves. Each varve contains a light-colored coarser-grained portion, inferred to represent deposition during peak annual runoff, and a darker-colored finer-grained portion interpreted to represent sediment accumulation during seasonal low-flow conditions. The coarser-grained portions, especially in the stratigraphically older sections of each core, contain sedimentary structures that reflect traction transport. Based on these sedimentary structures, their facies characteristics, and their spatial distribution within the lake, we interpret the thicker, light-colored portion of each varve to be deposited by hyperpycnal flows caused by seasonal melt events rather than more classic turbidity currents.Immediately overlying Late Pleistocene rhythmites in all Flathead Lake cores is a unique, significantly coarser-grained dm-scale silt bed with a median grain size up to 50 µm. This silt bed has a sharp, locally erosional base and fines upward but does not contain any other sedimentary structures. In contrast to the rhythmites, we interpret this silt bed to represent a single, short-lived catastrophic sedimentation event generated by a large glacial outburst flood. Overlying this distinct bed are several other cm-scale beds of mainly silt that exhibit a basal upward-coarsening followed by an upward-fining median grain size profile. We interpret these beds and their grain size trends as reflecting the rising and falling hydrograph limbs of outburst floods derived from more distal sources located in the upstream parts of the upper Flathead watershed.The sediment record from Flathead Lake, together with results from geologic and geomorphologic 1:24,000 scale mapping around the lake margins, provide a series of constraints regarding the paleogeographic evolution of the area during deglaciation. Overall upward-thinning and upward-fining of the varved portion of the sediment core records reflects northward retreat of the southern Flathead Lobe ice margin starting at latest 14,475 ± 150 cal yr BP, the depositional age of the oldest varve in any of our cores. The depositional age of silt beds overlying the varved records is constrained as between 14,150 ± 150 cal yr BP and 13,180 ± 120 cal yr BP. Within the available chronostratigraphic constraints, the outburst floods interpreted to have delivered this silt to the Flathead Lake basin also downcut a bedrock nick point below the Flathead Lake outlet, oriented a series of large boulders downstream, and deposited a series of large flood bars on the lower Flathead River floodplain.     

中国冰冻圈水文未来变化及其对干旱区水安全的影响

受气候变暖持续影响, 中国冰冻圈水文过程正在发生着显著变化。在梳理已有过去冰冻圈融水变化基础上, 重点分析了冰冻圈融水径流未来变化特点, 尤其是对冰川融水拐点及温升2 ℃阈值情况下, 到2050年和21世纪末, 冰川融水的可能变化进行了辨析, 进而研判了冰冻圈水文变化对流域、 重点是干旱区内陆河流域水安全的影响。研究表明, 中国未来大部分流域冰川融水径流总体呈现减少趋势, 并呈现冰川径流持续减少、 在不久的将来出现峰值和持续增加三种情况; 单条冰川融水可能会出现拐点, 而且拐点是否出现和出现的时间与升温速率和冰川面积大小有关; 在流域尺度上, 冰川覆盖率较大、 大型冰川面积占比较高的流域, 到2050年融水径流持续稳定增加; 冰川规模较小的流域, 冰川径流峰值早已出现; 介于上述两种情况之间的大多数流域, 冰川融水峰值在2020 - 2030年相继出现或变化呈现不显著增加或减少, 相对稳定; RCP情景温升2 ℃阈值下, 到21世纪末, 西北干旱区冰川融水量减少34% ~ 74%。冰冻圈水文变化导致水源涵养能力下降、 径流补给量减少、 对水资源的调节作用减弱、 流域径流变化幅度增加、 发生旱涝的风险增加、 春汛提前进而影响用水制度。     

Sedimentological proof and dating of the Early Holocene volcanic eruption of Ulmener Maar (Vulkaneifel,Germany)

A minerogeniclayer occurs in early postglacial organic sediments from five maar lakes (West Eifel Volcanic Field, Germany). The mineralogy and stratigraphic position of this tephra suggests that it is related to the youngest German volcano, Ulmener Maar, nearby. Radiocarbon dating of wood from the base of the Ulmener Maar Tephra at two locations provide ages in agreement with an accelerator mass spectrometer ¹⁴C date for the minerogenic layer from sediments of Lake Holzmaar situated 13 km south-west of Ulmener Maar. The mean radiocarbon age is 9 560 years BP. Dating by varve chronology provides an age of 10017 years VT (varve time in years before 1950) or 10 895 years corrected VT. Based on palynology the Ulmener Maar Tephra was deposited at the end of the Preboreal. High values of natural remnant magnetization intensity, typical of pyroclastic material, confirm that this minerogenic layer differs in composition from other clastic deposits of the sedimentary record. Geochemical analyses reveal increased values of total trace elements for the Laacher See Tephra and Ulmener Maar Tephra. An isopach map based on thickness variations of the Ulmener Maar Tephra at five investigated maar lakes indicates that the tephra was mainly transported to the south west.     

Microfacies of detrital event layers deposited in Quaternary varved lake sediments of the Piànico-Sèllere Basin (northern Italy)

A Quaternary interglacial lake sediment record from the Piànico-Sèllere Basin (northern Italy) consists of biochemical calcite varves with intercalated detrital layers. At the end of the Piànico Interglacial, continuous varve formation was replaced by predominantly detrital sedimentation. However, 427 varve-years before this shift, an abrupt increase in the frequency and thickness of detrital layers occurred. Microfacies analyses reveal a total of 152 detrital layers, ranging from 0·2 to 20·15 mm in thickness, deposited during the last 896 years of the Piànico Interglacial. Three microfacies types are distinguished: (i) graded layers, (ii) non-graded silt layers, and (iii) matrix-supported layers. The position of detrital layers within an individual varve provides additional information on the season in which they have been deposited. Microfacies analyses in combination with varve counting further enabled precise varve-to-varve correlation of the detrital layers for two sediment sections cropping out ca 130 m apart. The detailed intra-basin correlation allows the source regions of detrital layers to be inferred. Moreover, micro-erosion at sub-millimetre scale has been established. Of the described facies types, only the accumulation of summer and spring graded and non-graded silt layers abruptly increased before the end of interglacial varve formation whereas non-graded winter silt and matrix-supported layers are randomly distributed over the entire study period. Heavy rainfalls are assumed to have triggered spring and summer graded layers, so that the occurrence of these layers is thought to be a proxy for extreme precipitation events in the past.     

Centennial-scale oscillations in oxygen and carbon isotopes of endogenic calcite from a 15,500 varve year record of the Piànico interglacial

The palaeolake record from Piànico (Southern Alps) comprises a sequence of 15,500 continuous calcite varves formed during peak interglacial conditions around 400 ka ago. The varved nature of these deposits allows precise sub-sampling of five varve year intervals for stable isotope analyses. All samples consist of calcite precipitated in the epilimnion of the lake, with contents of detrital carbonate below 4%. Four significant negative δ¹⁸O oscillations occurred during the upper half of the interglacial. The most prominent of these oscillations has an amplitude of −1.1‰ and lasted 780 varve years. The three other oscillations are shorter (125–195 varve years) and of lower amplitude (0.4–0.9‰). An additional major drop in δ¹⁸O occurs 315 varve years before the end of continuous calcite precipitation in the lake. This shift marks the end of long interglacial conditions and the beginning of harsher climate conditions and glacier advances in the Southern Alps. In contrast, the four δ¹⁸O oscillations within the period of continuous formation of calcite varves reflect natural intra–interglacial climate dynamics.     

Magnitude and frequency in proglacial rivers: a geomorphological and sedimentological perspective

Proglacial fluvial sedimentary systems receive water from a variety of sources and have variable discharges with a range of magnitudes and frequencies. Little attention has been paid to how these various magnitude and frequency regimes interact to produce a distinctive sedimentary record in modern and ancient proglacial environments. This paper reviews the concept of magnitude and frequency in relation to proglacial fluvial systems from a geomorphic and sedimentary perspective rather than a hydrological or statistical perspective. The nature of the meltwater inputs can be characterised as low-magnitude–high-frequency, primarily controlled by ablation inputs from the source glacier, or high-magnitude–low-frequency, primarily controlled by ‘exceptional’ inputs. The most important high-magnitude–low-frequency inputs are catastrophic outburst floods, often referred to by the term jökulhlaup (Icelandic for glacier-burst). Glacier surges are an additional form of cyclical variation impacting the proglacial environment, which briefly alter the volumes and patterns of meltwater input. The sedimentary consequences of low-magnitude–high-frequency discharges are related to frequent variations in stage, the greater directional variability that sediment will record, and the increased significance of channel confluence sedimentation. In contrast, the most significant characteristics of high-magnitude–low-frequency flooding include the presence of large flood bars and mid-channel ‘jökulhlaup’ bars, hyperconcentrated flows, large gravel dunes, and the formation of ice-block kettle hole structures and rip-up clasts. Glacier surges result in a redistribution of low-magnitude–high-frequency processes and products across the glacier margin, and small floods may occur at the surge termination. Criteria for distinguishing magnitude and frequency regimes in the proglacial environment are identified based on these major characteristics. Studies of Quaternary proglacial fluvial sediments are used to determine how the interaction of the various magnitude and frequency regimes might produce a distinctive sedimentary record. Consideration of sandur architecture and stratigraphy shows that the main controls on the sedimentary record of proglacial regions are the discharge magnitude and frequency regime, sediment supply, the pattern of glacier advance or retreat, and proglacial topography. A model of sandur development is suggested, which shows how discharge magnitude and frequency, in combination with sandur incision and aggradation (controlled by glacier advance and retreat) can control sandur stratigraphy.