Soil-stratigraphic techniques in the study of soil and landform evolution across the Southern Alps, New Zealand

The Southern Alps lie along the convergent Pacific-Indian plate boundary. Geomorphically distinct eastern, axial and western regions reflect the east-west gradient in tectonic uplift (1 to 10 mm a⁻¹) and precipitation (600 to 10,000 mm a⁻¹). The eastern region is divided into front-ange and basin-and-range subregions. Soil-sequence studies on terraces established temporal contrasts in pedogenesis within and between eastern and western regions encompassing Entisols, Inceptisols and Spodosols. On Late Pleistocene and early Holocene terraces Dystrochrepts are persistent soils in the eastern region and Aquods in the western region. These soil sequences are used in the interpretation of relative soil age, stratigraphy and erosion history in hill and mountain drainage basins of the eastern and western regions. In the subhumid to humid eastern front-range subregion, simple soil forms occur as catenary sequences, and there is little evidence of erosion following the destruction of forests in the last millenium. Mollisols are dominant in the subhumid, and Dystrochrepts in humid areas, respectively. Soil-debris mantle regoliths date from the early Holocene and are still developing on slopes. The soil pattern on mountain slopes in the humid, eastern basin-and-range subregion is a complex array of simple, eroded, composite and compound soils. This pattern has resulted from erosion following forest destruction within the last millenium. The oldest surface or buried forest soils are Dystrochrepts dating from the Late Pleistocene to early Holocene. Wind erosion of these low-fertility soils contributes to the loessial sediments in which younger soils have formed. In the western region, soil patterns and soil stratigraphy indicate continous instability with a complex pattern of highly leached, shallow Orthents and bedrock outcrops on slopes. The soils are eroded from slopes within 2 ka. These contrasts in soil development and erosion periodicity in the eastern and western regions of the Southern Alps parallel the east-west contrasts in erosion rates of ca. 1–10 mm a⁻¹.     

Contrasting soils and landscapes of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, eastern United States

The Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic provinces comprise 80 percent of the Atlantic Coastal states from New Jersey to Georgia. The provinces are climatically similar. The soil moisture regime is udic. The soil temperature regime is typically thermic from Virginia through Georgia, although it is mesic at altitudes above 400 m in Georgia and above 320 m in Virginia. The soil temperature regime is mesic for the Piedmont and Coastal Plain from Maryland through New Jersey. The tightly folded, structurally complex crystalline rocks of the Piedmont and the gently dipping “layer-cake” clastic sedimentary rocks and sediments of the Coastal Plain respond differently to weathering, pedogenesis, and erosion. The different responses result in two physiographically contrasting terrains; each has distinctive near-surface hydrology, regolith, drainage morphology, and morphometry.The Piedmont is predominantly an erosional terrain. Interfluves are as narrow as 0.5 to 2 km, and are convex upward. Valleys are as narrow as 0.1 to 0.5 km and generally V-shaped in cross section. Alluvial terraces are rare and discontinuous. Soils in the Piedmont are typically less than 1 m thick, have less sand and more clay than Coastal Plain soils, and generally have not developed sandy epipedons. Infiltration rates for Piedmont soils are low at 6–15 cm/h. The soil/saprolite, soil/rock, and saprolite/rock boundaries are distinct (can be placed within 10 cm) and are characterized by ponding and/or lateral movement of water. Water movement through soil into saprolite, and from saprolite into rock, is along joints, foliation, bedding planes and faults. Soils and isotopic data indicate residence times consistent with a Pleistocene age for most Piedmont soils.The Coastal Plain is both an erosional and a constructional terrain. Interfluves commonly are broader than 2 km and are flat. Valleys are commonly as wide as 1 km to greater than 10 km, and contain numerous alluvial and estuarine terrace sequences that can be correlated along valleys for tens of kilometers. Coastal Plain soils are typically as thick as 2 to 8 m, have high sand content throughout, and have sandy epipedons. These epipedons consist of both A and E horizons and are 1 to 4 m thick. In Coastal Plain soils, the boundaries are transitional between the solum and the underlying parent material and between weathered and unweathered parent material. Infiltration rates for Coastal Plain soils are typically higher at 13–28 cm/h, than are those for Piedmont soils. Indeed, for unconsolidated quartz sand, rates may exceed 50 cm/h. Water moves directly from the soil into the parent material through intergranularpores with only minor channelization along macropores, joints, and fractures. The comparatively high infiltration capacity results in relatively low surface runoff, and correspondingly less erosion than on the Piedmont uplands.Due to differences in Piedmont and Coastal Plain erosion rates, topographic inversion is common along the Fall Zone; surfaces on Cenozoic sedimentary deposits of the Coastal Plain are higher than erosional surfaces on regolith weathered from late Precambrian to early Paleozoic crystalline rocks of the Piedmont. Isotopic, paleontologic, and soil data indicate that Coastal Plain surficial deposits are post-middle Miocene to Holocene in age, but most are from 5 to 2 Ma. Thus, the relatively uneroded surfaces comprise a Pliocene landscape. In the eastern third of the Coastal Plain, deposits that are less than 3.5 Ma include alluvial terraces, marine terraces and barrier/back-barrier complexes as morphostratigraphic units that cover thousands of square kilometers. Isotopic and soil data indicate that eastern Piedmont soils range from late Pliocene to Pleistocene in age, but are predominantly less than 2 Ma old. Thus, the eroded uplands of the Piedmont “peneplain” comprise a Pleistocene landscape.     

Rock varnish microlamination dating of late Quaternary geomorphic features in the drylands of western USA

Varnish microlamination (VML) dating is a correlative age determination technique that can be used to date and correlate various geomorphic features in deserts. In this study, we establish a generalized late Quaternary (i.e., 0–300 ka) varnish layering sequence for the drylands of western USA and tentatively correlate it with the SPECMAP oxygen isotope record. We then use this climatically correlated varnish layering sequence as a correlative dating tool to determine surface exposure ages for late Quaternary geomorphic features in the study region. VML dating of alluvial fan deposits in Death Valley of eastern California indicates that, during the mid to late Pleistocene, 5–15 ky long aggradation events occurred during either wet or dry climatic periods and that major climate shifts between glacial and interglacial conditions may be the pacemaker for alteration of major episodes of fan aggradation. During the Holocene interglacial time, however, 0.5–1 ky long brief episodes of fan deposition may be linked to short periods of relatively wet climate. VML dating of alluvial desert pavements in Death Valley and the Mojave Desert reveals that pavements can be developed rapidly (< 10 ky) during the Holocene (and probably late Pleistocene) in the arid lowlands (< 800 m msl) of these regions; but once formed, they may survive for 74–85 ky or even longer without being significantly disturbed by geomorphic processes operative at the pavement surface. Data from this study also support the currently accepted, “being born at the surface” model of desert pavement formation. VML dating of colluvial boulder deposits on the west slope of Yucca Mountain, southern Nevada, yields a minimum age of 46 ka for the emplacement of these deposits on the slope, suggesting that they were probably formed during the early phase of the last glaciation or before. These results, combined with those from our previous studies, demonstrate that VML dating has great potential to yield numerical age estimates for various late Quaternary geomorphic features in the western USA drylands.     

Blind testing of rock varnish microstratigraphy as a chronometric indicator: results on late Quaternary lava flows in the Mojave Desert, California

Rock varnish is a manganiferous dark coating ubiquitous in desert landscapes. To test the validity of varnish microstratigraphy as a chronometric indicator, varnish samples were collected from radiometrically dated and undated late Quaternary lava flows in Amboy, Cima, and Pisgah volcanic fields (AVF, CVF, PVF) in the Mojave Desert of California, western United States. Varnish microstratigraphies show a replicable layering sequence that appears to record regional climate changes that likely correspond in time to the Younger Dryas and Heinrich events in the North Atlantic region. Microstratigraphic patterns on these volcanic fields match patterns found in varnishes from other western US sites with available radiometric age constraints. Based on this regional chronology, varnishes from the A flow, H flow, and a stone pavement surface in the Cima volcanic field were estimated to be 16.5–24, 74–85, and 74–85 ka, respectively; these ages are consistent with previously published cosmogenic ³He ages of 18–20, 72–74, and 80–85 ka for these geomorphic surfaces. Varnishes from the I flow at Cima yielded a puzzling age estimate of 39 ka, which is consistent with an older ³He age of 37±6 ka reported for the I flow, but inconsistent with a younger ³He age of 31±7 ka and a cosmogenic ³⁶Cl age of 27±1.3 ka for the same flow. Reinterpretation of the original varnish age data, with knowledge of then available field mapping results of the I flow, suggests that the I cone is polycyclic and different flow units were probably unintentionally sampled in the field. The revised varnish ages of 30 and 39 ka for the I flow thus may be in good agreement with their corresponding ³He and ³⁶Cl ages. In a blind test of the method, varnishes from the Phase 1 flow at Pisgah, an unnamed flow (called here the I′ flow) at Cima, and the Amboy flow were estimated to be 24–30, 46–60, and 74–85 ka, respectively; these ages agree well with ³⁶Cl ages of 22.5±1.3, 46±2, and 79±5 ka reported for the same flows by Phillips [Geomorphology (2002).]. These test results provide convincing evidence that varnish microstratigraphy, once radiometrically calibrated, can be used as a valid dating tool to estimate surface exposure ages of desert landforms in the western US drylands.     

Oscillations of levels and cool phases of the Laurentian Great Lakes caused by inflows from glacial Lakes Agassiz and Barlow-Ojibway

Two distinct episodes of increased water flux imposed on the Great Lakes system by discharge from upstream proglacial lakes during the period from about 11.5 to 8 ka resulted in expanded outflows, raised lake levels and associated climate changes. The interpretation of these major hydrological and climatic effects, previously unrecognized, is mainly based on the evidence of former shorelines, radiocarbon-dated shallow-water sediment sequences, paleohydraulic estimates of discharge, and pollen diagrams of vegetation change within the basins of the present Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Nipissing. The concept of inflow from glacial Lake Agassiz adjacent to the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet about 11–10 and 9.5–8.5 ka is generally supported, with inflow possibly augmented during the second period by backflooding of discharge from glacial Lake Barlow-Ojibway.Although greater dating control is needed, six distinct phases can be recognized which characterize the hydrological history of the Upper Great Lakes from about 12 to 5 ka; 1) an early ice-dammed Kirkfield phase until 11.0 ka which drained directly to Ontario basin; 2) an ice-dammed Main Algonquin phase (11.0–10.5 ka) of relatively colder surface temperature with an associated climate reversal caused by greater water flux from glacial Lake Agassiz; 3) a short Post Algonquin phase (about 10.5–10.1 ka) encompassing ice retreat and drawdown of Lake Algonquin; 4) an Ottawa-Marquette low phase (about 10.1–9.6 ka) characterized by drainage via the then isostatically depressed Mattawa-Ottawa Valley and by reduction in Agassiz inflow by the Marquette glacial advance in Superior basin; 5) a Mattawa phase of high and variable levels (about 9.6–8.3 ka) which induced a second climatic cooling in the Upper Great Lakes area. Lakes of the Mattawa phase were supported by large inflows from both Lakes Agassiz and Barlow-Ojibway and were controlled by hydraulic resistance at a common outlet — the Rankin Constriction in Ottawa Valley — with an estimated base-flow discharge in the order of 200000 m³s^–1. 6) Lakes of the Nipissing phase (about 8.3–4.7 ka) existed below the base elevation of the previous Lake Mattawa, were nourished by local precipitation and runoff only, and drained by the classic North Bay outlet to Ottawa Valley.Geological Survey of Canada Contribution 42488.This is the twelfth of a series of papers to be published by this journal that was presented in the paleolimnology sessions organized by R. B. Davis and H. Löffler for the XIIth Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), which took place in Ottawa, Canada in August 1987. Dr. Davis is serving as guest editor of this series.     

Hillslope gullying in the Solway Firth — Morecambe Bay region, Great Britain: Responses to human impact and/or climatic deterioration?

In the Solway Firth — Morecambe Bay region of Great Britain there is evidence for heightened hillslope instability during the late Holocene (after 3000 cal. BP). Little or no hillslope geomorphic activity has been identified occurring during the early Holocene, but there is abundant evidence for late Holocene hillslope erosion (gullying) and associated alluvial fan and valley floor deposition. Interpretation of the regional radiocarbon chronology available from organic matter buried beneath alluvial fan units suggests much of this geomorphic activity can be attributed to four phases of more extensive gullying identified after 2500–2200, 1300–1000, 1000–800 and 500 cal. BP. Both climate and human impact models can be evoked to explain the crossing of geomorphic thresholds: and palaeoecological data on climatic change (bog surface wetness) and human impact (pollen), together with archaeological and documentary evidence of landscape history, provide a context for addressing the causes of late Holocene geomorphic instability. High magnitude storm events are the primary agent responsible for gully incision, but neither such events nor cooler/wetter climatic episodes appear to have produced gully systems in the region before 3000 cal. BP. Increased gullying after 2500–2200 cal. BP coincides with population expansion during Iron Age and Romano-British times. The widespread and extensive gullying after 1300–1000 cal. BP and after 1000–800 cal. BP coincides with periods of population expansion and a growing rural economy identified during Norse times, 9–10th centuries AD, and during the Medieval Period, 12–13th centuries AD. These periods were separated by a downturn associated with the ‘harrying of the north’ AD 1069 to 1070. The gullying episode after 500 cal. BP also coincides with increased anthropogenic pressure on the uplands, with population growth and agricultural expansion after AD 1500 following 150 years of malaise caused by livestock and human (the Black Death) plagues, poor harvests and conflicts on the Scottish/English border. The increased susceptibility to erosion of gullies is a response to increased anthropogenic pressure on upland hillslopes during the late Holocene, and the role of this pressure appears crucial in priming hillslopes before subsequent major storm events. In particular, the cycles of expansion and contraction in both population and agriculture appear to have affected the susceptibility of the upland landscape to erosion, and the hillslope gullying record in the region, therefore, contributes to understanding of the timing and spatial pattern of human exploitation of the upland landscape.     

Soils and landscape evolution of eolian plains: the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico

Sheets of eolian sediment cover many areas of the earth's surface, sand seas, dune fields, and loess sheets being the best known examples of such features. Less well known are deposits of sandy, eolian sediment forming extensive plains. An excellent example of such a region is the semi-arid Southern High Plains (northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico). The level landscape of the area was created by deposition of multiple, extensive (≈ 80,000 km²) sheets of eolian sediment (Blackwater Draw Formation) over the past 1.4+ Ma. This deposit grades from sandy (southwest) to silty and clayey (northeast) and is up to 27 m thick. Surface soils (at least 30,000 and possibly 120,000 years old) are well developed (5YR hues, agrillic horizons, 1–2m thick with prismatic structure, Stage II–III calcic horizons) and are generally Paleustolls and Paleustalfs, with some Paleargids and Haplargids. Morphologic variation is due mainly to textural variation of the eolian parent material, although locally thickness of the parent material and wind erosion and cumulization are important factors, and locally slight variation in effective precipitation may be significant. The Blackwater Draw Formation contains as many as six well-developed buried soils, each formed in individual layers of eolian sediment, similar to or more strongly expressed (2.5YR hues, higher illuvial clay content) than the regional surface soils. The presence of the buried soils indicates that sedimentation was episodic and separated by long periods of relative landscape stability. Eolian processes also appear to have been important during the periods of stability and pedoenesis by providing clayey, calcareous dust that was added to the soil, promoting formation of the argillic and calcic horizons. The sedimentologic and pedologic uniformity of the deposit suggests that the regional environment has not varied significantly during the Quaternary except for periods of increased sedimentation or wind deflation. Underlying the Blackwater Draw Formation is an Upper Tertiary deposit (up to 36 m thick) of eolian sand, silt, and clay (Ogallala Formation). This deposit contains buried soils very similar to those in the Blackwater Draw Formation, suggesting that the geomorphic processes that created the Quaternary landscape of the Southern High Plains began to operate in the late Tertiary, perhaps as much as 11 million years ago.     

Impacts of interrelated biotic and abiotic processes during the past 125 000 years of landscape evolution in the Northern Mojave Desert, Nevada, USA

Interrelated, biotic (flora and fauna) and abiotic (pedogenesis and hydrology) processes were examined at four sites (30, and approximately 1000–3000, 7000–12 000, and 125 000 years before present) in the northern Mojave Desert. Data collected at each included floral and faunal surveys; soil texture, structure, and morphology; and soil hydraulic properties. Separate measurements were made in shrub undercanopy and intercanopy microsites. At all sites, shrubs made up greater than 86 percent of total perennial cover, being least on the youngest site (4 percent) and most on the 7000–12 000-year-old site (31 percent). In the intercanopy, winter annual density was highest on the 1000- to 3000-year-old site (249 plants/m²) and lowest on the oldest site (4 plants/m²). Faunal activity, measured by burrow density, was highest on the 1000–3000- and 7000–12 000-year-old sites (0.21 burrows/m²) and density was twice as high in the undercanopy versus the intercanopy. Burrow density was lower at the two oldest sites, although density was not statistically greater in the undercanopy than intercanopy. At the older sites, the soil water balance was increasingly controlled by Av horizons in intercanopy soils in which saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) decreased 95 percent from the youngest to the oldest site. No significant reduction in K_sat in undercanopy soils was observed. Decreases in the intercanopy sites correlated with decreases in annual plant density and bioturbation, suggesting these processes are interrelated with surface age.     

Quaternary soil chronosequences on terraces of the Susquehanna river, Pennsylvania

Susquehanna River terraces are used to establish time lines along a 150 km reach of the river, from the Lower Piedmont to the edge of the Appalachian Plateau. This is achieved by generating soil chronosequences at two locations — Marietta, PA, in the Lower Piedmont, and Muncy, PA, near the glacial border on the boundary between the Valley and Ridge province and the Appalachian Plateau. These sites preserve the most complete record of fluvial incision on the Susquehanna River with flights of seven Quaternary terraces ranging in elevation from 3 m to 51 m above the modern river.Soil characteristics used to develop the soil chronosequences include complexity of horizonization, thickness of B horizon, clay content of B horizon, soil color, CBD extractable Fe, Al, and Mn, total extractable Fe, and clay mineralogy. Terrace age constraints are based on soil development, correlation to regional glacial stratigraphy, correlation to dated fluvial and glaciofluvial deposits, and by paleomagnetic analysis of sediments. Terrace ages at the Muncy site range from modern (< 150 ybp) to Middle Middle through Early Middle Pleistocene (∼ 300 ka to ∼ 770 ka). Marietta has terrace ages ranging from modern (< 150 ybp) to Early Pleistocene through Late Pliocene (∼ 770 ka to ∼ 2400 ka).     

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.     

Late Quaternary climates and limnology of the Lake Winnebago basin, Wisconsin, based on ostracodes

Ostracodes document a series of late Quaternary climatic and limnologic changes within the Lake Winnebago basin of east-central Wisconsin. Using a ¹⁴ C, ¹³⁷Cs, and ²¹⁰Pb-based geochronology, Lake Winnebago ostracode abundances were compared to regional patterns of ostracode biogeography and the paleontological, sedimentological, and geochemical records of Elk Lake (Clearwater County), Minnesota, in order to interpret past temperature and hydrochemical changes in Lake Winnebago. Lake Winnebago sediments contain five major ostracode species, Candona ohioensis, Candona rawsoni, Cytherissa lacustris, Limnocythere verrucosa, and Physocypria pustulosa. In combination with sedimentology and geochronology, variations in the abundances of these species allow the late Quaternary record of the Lake Winnebago basin to be subdivided into five major climatic intervals: (1) glacial to post-glacial (15.5–11.0 ka), (2) cold and variable immediate post-glacial (11.0–10.4 ka), (3) warmer and wet early Holocene (10.4–7.8 ka), (4) warm but not particularly dry middle Holocene (7.8–4.2 ka), and (5) warm and moist late Holocene (4.2 ka-present).     

Stable isotopes and soil-geomorphology as indicators of Holocene climate change, northern Chihuahuan Desert

Coeval δ¹³C shifts recorded in buried soils at both piedmont slope and basin floor sites in the northern Chihuahuan Desert indicate a major shift from C₄grasses to C₃desert-scrub between 7 and 9 ka. The age assignments are based on stratigraphic correlations to charcoal dates and carbon-14 dates of carbonate. This shift is synchronous with a period of cooling in the North Atlantic that may have triggered a period of drought in the south-western United States. Coinciding with this vegetation change, geomorphic evidence in Rio Grande, piedmont, and basin floor eolian environments indicates a major period of erosion. Subsequent gradual enrichment of pedogenic carbonateδ¹³ C values in younger deposits suggests that C₄grasses rebounded in the late Holocene (approximately 4 ka), which is consistent with other evidence of increased moisture regionally. A period of less severe aridity at approximately 2·2 ka is indicated by erosion and subsequent deposition along the alluvial fans and within the basin, and correlates with depleted pedogenic carbonate δ¹³C values suggesting a decrease in C₄grasses. Isotope and packrat midden records should be used together to infer past environmental conditions at different elevations.     

Late Quaternary activity of faults and recurrence interval of earthquakes in the eastern Hokuriku region, northern central Japan, on the basis of precise cryptotephra analysis of fluvial terrace sequences

About 2000 active faults are known to exist within the land area of Japan. Most of these active faults have deformed the topographic surfaces which were formed in the late Quaternary, including fluvial terraces; and the formative ages of these terraces are estimated mainly by tephrochronology. Fluvial terraces in the eastern Hokuriku region, comprising the Toyama, Tonami, and Kanazawa Plains, northern central Japan, are widely distributed and have been deformed by reverse active faults. The formative age of terraces in this area has not been reported, as volcanic ash deposits are rarely visible within terrace deposits and the overlying loamy soil, and outcrops of fluvial terraces are quite scarce in this area. In the present study, we carried out a drilling survey on these terraces to obtain samples of the overlying loamy soil and upper part of terrace deposits. From these samples, we extracted some well-known widespread volcanic ash, from which we were able to estimate the approximate age of the terraces and the vertical slip rate of the active faults. Late Quaternary fluvial terraces in eastern Hokuriku are divided into 12 levels: Terraces 1 to 12 in descending order. Widespread tephras such as the Kikai-Tozurahara Tephra (K-Tz: 95 ka) are contained in the lowest part of the loamy soil in Terrace 4 and the Daisen-Kurayoshi Pumice (DKP: 55 ka) is present in the lowest part of the loamy soil in Terrace 6. From the ages and the vertical displacements of the fluvial terraces, the late Quaternary average vertical slip rates of active faults in eastern Hokuriku are estimated to be 0.2–0.9 mm/year (Uozu fault), 0.1–0.4 mm/year (Kurehayama fault), 0.1–0.3 mm/year (Takashozu fault), 0.1–0.4 mm/year (Hohrinji fault), and 0.5–0.8 mm/year (Morimoto-Togashi fault). We also estimated the recurrence interval of earthquakes related to active faults from displacement per event and ages of terraces and no significant difference in vertical displacement per single earthquake for different active faults, and recurrence intervals tend to be inversely proportional to vertical displacement rates. This study demonstrates that a combination of drilling of loamy soil and precise cryptotephra analysis of fluvial terraces can be used to estimate the formative age of the terraces and the average slip rate of active faults in areas where volcanic ash deposits are rare.     

Quaternary sediments in the Dien Bien Phu fault zone, NW Vietnam: a record of young tectonic processes in the light of OSL-SAR dating results

The Dien Bien Phu fault zone (DBP), orientated NNE to N, is one of the most seismically active zones in Indochina. In NW Vietnam, this zone is 160 km long and 6–10 km wide, cutting sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of the Late Proterozoic, Palaeozoic and Mesozoic age, as well as Palaeozoic and Late Triassic granitoids. Along the DBP relatively small, narrow pull-apart basins occur, the three largest of which (Chan Nua, Lai Chau and Dien Bien Phu) have been studied in detail. All of them are bounded by sinistral and sinistral-normal faults, responsible for offset and deflected drainage, presence of numerous shutter ridges and displaced terraces and alluvial fans. The normal component of motion is testified to by well-preserved triangular facets on fault scarps, highly elevated straths in river watergaps, overhanging tributary valleys, as well as high and uneven river-bed gradients.Our observations indicate a minimum recent sinistral offset ranging from 6–8 to 150 m for Holocene valleys to 1.2–9.75 km for middle–late Pleistocene valleys in different fault segments. The thickness of Quaternary sediments varies from 5–25 m in the Lai Chau area to some 130 m in the Dien Bien Phu Basin. In the Lai Chau Basin, the middle terrace (23 m) alluvia of Nam Na River at Muong Te bridge have been optically stimulated luminescence/single aliquot regenerative dose technique (OSL-SAR) dated at 23–40 to 13 ka. These sediments were normal-faulted by some 11 m after 13 ka, and mantled by vari-coloured slope loams, 8–12 m thick, containing colluvial wedges composed of angular debris. These wedges were probably formed due to at least three palaeoseismic events postdating 6 ka. In the Dien Bien Phu Basin, in turn, alluvium of the upper Holocene terraces has been OSL-SAR dated to 6.5–7 and 1.7–1.0 ka, whereas the younger (sub-recent) terrace sediments give ages of 0.5–0.2 ka.Displaced terraces and alluvial fans allow us to suppose that the sinistral and sinistral-normal faults bounding narrow pull-apart basins in the southern portion of the DBP fault reveal minimum rates of left-lateral strike-slip ranging from 0.6 to 2 mm/year in Holocene and 0.5–3.8 mm/year in Pleistocene times, whereas rates of Holocene uplift tend to attain 1 mm/year north of Lai Chau and 0.4–0.6 mm/year west of Dien Bien Phu. More precise estimations, however, are difficult to obtain due to poor age control of the displaced drainage. Rates of Quaternary strike-slip are comparable with those of the Red River fault; the sense of movement being, however, opposite. Taking into account the presence of two phases of Late Cenozoic strike-slip of contrasting sense of motion, as well as the geometry of the two fault zones, we hypothesize that the Red River and Dien Bien Phu faults are conjugate faults capable of generating relatively strong earthquakes in the future.     

Soils and geomorphic evolution of bedrock facets on a tectonically active mountain front, western Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

Soil profiles, colluvial stratigraphy, and detailed hillslope morphology are key elements used for geomorphic interpretations of the form and long-term evolution of triangular facets on a 1200 m high, tectonically active mountain front. The facets are developed on Precambrian gneisses and Tertiary volcanic and plutonic rocks along a complexly segmented, active normal-fault zone in the Rio Grande rift of northern New Mexico. The detailed morphologies of 20− to 350 m high facets are defined by statistical and time-series analyses of 40 field transects that were keyed to observations of colluvium, bedrock, microtopography, and vegetation. The undissected parts of most facets are transport-limited hillslopes mantled with varying thicknesses (0.1 to > 1 m thick) of sand and gravel colluvium between generally sparse (≤10–30%) bedrock outcrops. Facet soils range from (a) thin (≤ 0.2 m) weakly developed soils with cumulic silty A or transitional A/B epipedons above Cox horizons in bedrock or colluvium, to (b) deep (≥0.5–1 m) moderately to strongly developed profiles containing thick cambic (Bw) and/or argillic (Bt) horizons that commonly extend into highly weathered saprolitic bedrock. The presence of strongly weathered profiles and thick colluvium suggests that rates of colluvial transport and hillslope erosion are less than or equal to rates of soil development over at least a large part of the Holocene.The catenary variation of soils and colluvium on selected facet transects indicate that the degree of soil development generally increases and the thickness of colluvium decreases upslope on most facets. This overall pattern is commonly disrupted on large facet hillslopes by irregular secondary soil variations linked to intermediate-scale (20–60 + m long) concave slope elements. These features are interpreted to reflect discontinuous transport and erosion of colluvium down-slope below bedrock outcrops. The degree of weathering in subsurface bedrock commonly increases more systematically upslope on most facets than colluvial soils. This pattern is consistent with an increase in age with height on these fault-generated facet hillslopes.The characteristic range of internal variation in soils and colluvial deposits on a given facet also varies greatly among facets with differing overall morphologies and external environments. Deep cumulic soils and thick colluvium occur consistently on steep (≥ 30°), high, and relatively undissected facets above the narrow central sections of fault segments. Much thinner and less weathered colluvium and soils overlie saprolitic bedrock at shallow depths on low, highly dissected, gently sloping (≤ 20°) facets above complex fault segment boundaries. Parametric and nonparametric analyses of variance indicate that these large-scale contrasts in facet morphology correlate primarily with a few facet subgroups related, in decreasing importance, to variations in range-front faulting, bedrock lithology, and piedmont dissection or aggradation. These factors are related to facet morphology, drainage evolution, and hillslope-soil stratigraphy in a general geomorphic model for fault-generated facets. In this model, segmentation-related changes in the geometry and/or rates of faulting most strongly affect facet size, slope gradient, the thickness of colluvium and soil development, and drainage patterns. Facets of varying heights have similar hillslope forms at the same position on the range front; these characteristic morphologies are established under prevailing tectonic and nontectonic conditions on facets as bedrock is initially exposed from beneath alluvial-covered fault scarps above a height threshold of 15–35 m.     

Late Quaternary systematic stream offsets caused by repeated large seismic events along the Kunlun fault, northern Tibet

The Kunlun fault is one of the largest strike-slip faults in northern Tibet, China. In this paper, we focus upon the Kusai Lake–Kunlun Pass segment of the fault to understand the geomorphic development of offset streams caused by repeated large seismic events, based on tectono-geomorphic analysis of high-resolution satellite remote sensing images combined with field studies. The results indicate that systematic left-lateral stream offsets appear at various scales across the fault zone: Lateral offsets of small gullies caused by the 2001 M_w 7.8 Kunlun earthquake vary typically from 3 m to 6 m, meanwhile streams with cumulative offsets of 10 m, 25–30 m, 50–70 m, 250–300 m and 750–1400 m have resulted from repeated large seismic events during the late Quaternary. An average slip rate of 10 ± 1 mm/year has been estimated from the lateral stream offsets and ¹⁴C ages of alluvial fan surfaces incised by the streams. A three-dimensional model showing tectono-geomorphic features along a left-lateral strike-slip fault is also presented. The Kusai Lake–Kunlun Pass segment provides an opportunity to understand the relationship between geomorphic features produced by individual large seismic events and long-term geomorphic development caused by repeated large seismic events along a major strike-slip fault.     

Quaternary geomorphological evolution of the Kunlun Pass area and uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau

There is a set of Late Cenozoic sediments in the Kunlun Pass area, Tibetan Plateau, China. Paleomagnetic, ESR and TL dating suggest that they date from the Late Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene. Analyses of stratigraphy, sedimentary characteristic, and evolution of the fauna and flora indicate that, from the Pliocene to the early Quaternary (about 5–1.1 Ma BP), there was a relatively warm and humid environment, and a paleolake occurred around the Kunlun Pass. The elevation of the Kunlun Pass area was no more than 1500 m, and only one low topographic divide existed between the Qaidam Basin and the Kunlun Pass Basin. The geomorphic pattern in the Kunlun Pass area was influenced by the Kunlun–Yellow River Tectonic Movement 1.1–0.6 Ma BP. The Wangkun Glaciation (0.7–0.5 Ma) is the maximum Quaternary glaciation in the Pass and in other areas of the Plateau. During the glaciation, the area of the glaciers was 3–5 times larger than that of the present glacier in the Pass area. There was no Xidatan Valley that time. The extreme geomorphic changes in the Kunlun Pass area reflect an abrupt uplift of the Tibet Plateau during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. This uplift of the Plateau has significance on both the Plateau itself and the surrounding area.     

Late Pleistocene–Holocene hydrologic changes in the interfluve areas of the central Ganga Plain, India

Abandoned channel belts, ponds and point bar deposits of palaeochannels in the interfluve regions of the central Ganga Plain suggest changes in the morphohydrologic conditions during the Latest Pleistocene–Holocene. Stratigraphy of these ponds comprises channel sand at the base overlain by shell-bearing clayey silt. The contact of the two facies marks the phase when channels converted into standing water bodies. Point bar deposits of some palaeochannels are overlain by oxidised aeolian sand, indicating that the channel abandonment possibly occurred due to the desiccation and aridity in the region.Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronometry of the pond sediments suggests that the deposition of the basal channel sand started before 13 ka and continued up to 8 ka. The ponds formed around 8–6 ka when the channel activity ceased. Evidence from the point bar deposits also indicates that the fluvial activity in the region ended sometime during 7–5 ka. This was followed by aeolian aggradation. The present study thus suggests that the hydrologic conditions in the Gangetic plains, i.e. initiation of channels and their abandonment, formation of microgeomorphologic features such as ponds and their eventual siltation, were controlled largely by climatic changes (i.e. monsoon changes) supported by tectonic activity. For the past 2 ka, increasing human and related agricultural activity has substantially accentuated the natural siltation rate of ponds.     

Fan beheading and drainage diversion as evidence of a 3200-2800 BP earthquake event in the Esmeraldas-Tumaco seismic zone: A case study for the effects of great subduction earthquakes

The San Lorenzo area belongs to the Esmeraldas–Tumaco seismic zone where some of the strongest earthquakes of South America occurred during the 20th century. This paper provides evidence for a succession of geomorphic changes characterized by the disruption of the Quaternary drainage network and the reshaping of the Cayapas–Santiago estuary. The rise of the La Boca uplift bordered by the La Boca and San Lorenzo faults is responsible for the southward diversion of the Palabi, Tululbi, Bogotá and Carolina rivers toward the Santiago and Cayapas rivers. The increase of the discharge directed to the Cayapas River generated the change of the channel pattern downstream from the confluence, and the avulsion of a new estuary through the coastal plain. According to the dating of beach ridges the avulsion occurred in the period 3200–2800 BP. This period corresponds also to a faster accretion of the beach ridge margin, interpreted as a response to a small uplift of the shore. The coherency of the three morphologic evidences—diversion of drainage network, avulsion and increase of coastal accretion—suggest a unique morphotectonic event, in relation with the activity of the Esmaraldas–Tumaco seismic zone. The opening of a direct communication through the mangrove margin may have brought favorable conditions for the development of the La Tolita archaeological site after 3000 BP.     

Human influence, plant landscape evolution and climate inferences from the archaeobotanical records of the Wadi Teshuinat area (Libyan Sahara)

Central Sahara rock shelters offer an early and middle Holocene environmental reconstruction. This paper summarises palynological research carried out within a multidisciplinary archaeological research project on the Wadi Teshuinat area (Tadrart Acacus Mts., in south-western Fezzan, Libya). The sites were occupied by hunter-gatherer and pastoralist cultures. On-site pollen data, treated as a single ‘regional site’, showed that different pollen stratigraphies and flora characterised the past phases. Plant macro-remains also helped to understand local plant exploitation and landscape evolution. Pollen spectra showed the following climate oscillations: wet and cool (approx. 8800–8250 cal. BC), dry and warm (approx. 7920–7520 cal. BC), wet (approx. 7550–7200 cal. BC), dry (approx. 6340–6210 cal. BC—geoarchaeological evidence), wet and warm (approx. 6250–4300 cal. BC, including a wetter and warmer phase at approx. 5500–4600 cal. BC); dry and warm (approx. 4250–2900 cal. BC); drier and warm (approx. 2900–1600 cal. BC, up to the present). Since the early Holocene, both climatic and anthropic factors have played an important and strictly interconnected role in transforming the environment. Thus, while subsistence strategies were adjusting to climatic and environmental changes, the plant landscape was also being slowly and continuously shaped by humans.