Geomorphological records of a ‘flood-dominated regime’ in the Rhône Delta (France) between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. What correlations with the catchment paleohydrology?

In the Rhône Delta, numerous paleoenvironmental indicators coming from geomorphology, sedimentology, paleoecology and archeology provide evidences of remarkable hydrological regime change at the beginning of the Roman Antiquity. A significant reinforcement in the Rhône Riverˈs competence is indicated by the increase in grain size of the sediments deposited in the floodplain, within the immediate proximity of the channel. Increase in the fluvial sediment yield is indicated by the increase in rate of sedimentation in the floodplain. Increase in water levels is indicated by the deposition of hydromorphous facies, the development of hydrophytic species, and the decrease in activity of terrestrial lombricoids in the floodplain. Numerous crevasse splays were formed by short-term avulsions of the Rhône River between the first century BC and the AD first century. Their frequency is related to an increase of Rhône River paleodischarge, which makes the channel network incapable of evacuating large volumes of water brought in by the river. The littoral zone experienced a phase of progradation between the AD 1st and the 3rd centuries, in relation to the increase of terrigenous deposits coming from the Rhône of Ulmet. The increase in solid discharge, in the flood-dominated regime (FDR) context, can be related to the overall increase in detrital output from the catchment. The Rhône Delta rather appears in phase with the northern Alps and Massif Central from the 1st century BC to the AD 1st century. The FDR at the beginning of the Christian era contrasts with the drought-dominated regime (DDR) and the reduction of torrential rainfall in the Mediterranean and south Alpine areas. These observations allow to confirm the hydroclimatic limit which could distinguish the southern part of the catchment (Provence, Durancian Alps) from the rest of the Rhône basin.     

A debris-flow alarm system for the Alpine Illgraben catchment: design and performance

We describe the development, implementation, and first analyses of the performance of a debris-flow warning system for the Illgraben catchment and debris fan area. The Illgraben catchment (9.5 km²), located in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in the Rhone River valley, is characterized by frequent and voluminous sediment transport and debris-flow activity, and is one of the most active debris-flow catchments in the Alps. It is the site of an instrumented debris-flow observation station in operation since the year 2000. The residents in Susten (municipality Leuk), tourists, and other land users, are exposed to a significant hazard. The warning system consists of four modules: community organizational planning (hazard awareness and preparedness), event detection and alerting, geomorphic catchment observation, and applied research to facilitate the development of an early warning system based on weather forecasting. The system presently provides automated alert signals near the active channel prior to (5–15 min) the arrival of a debris flow or flash flood at the uppermost frequently used channel crossing. It is intended to provide data to support decision-making for warning and evacuation, especially when unusually large debris flows are expected to leave the channel near populated areas. First-year results of the detection and alert module in comparison with the data from the independent debris-flow observation station are generally favorable. Twenty automated alerts (alarms) were issued, which triggered flashing lights and sirens at all major footpaths crossing the channel bed, for three debris flows and 16 flood flows. Only one false alarm was issued. The major difficulty we encountered is related to the variability and complexity of the events (e.g., events consisting of multiple surges) and can be largely solved by increasing the duration of the alarm. All of the alarms for hazardous events were produced by storms with a rainfall duration and intensity larger than the threshold for debris-flow activity that was defined in an earlier study, supporting our intention to investigate the use of rainfall forecasts to increase the time available for warning and implementation of active countermeasures.     

Deep-sea avulsion and morphosedimentary evolution of the Rhône Fan Valley and Neofan during the Late Quaternary (north-western Mediterranean Sea)

The Petit-Rhône Fan Valley (north-western Mediterranean) is a broad, sinuous, filled valley that is deeply incised by a narrow, sinuous thalweg. The valley fill is differentiated into three seismic subunits on high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles. The lower chaotic subunit probably consists of channel lag deposits that seem to be in lateral continuity with high-amplitude reflections representing levee facies. The intermediate transparent subunit, which has an erosional base and clearly truncates levee deposits, is interpreted to be mass-flow deposits resulting from the disintegration of the fan-valley flanks. The upper bedded subunit shows an overall lens-shaped geometry and the seismic reflections onlap either onto the top of the underlying transparent subunit or onto the Rhône levees. Piston core data show that the upper few meters of this upper subunit consist of thin turbidites, probably deposited by overflow processes. The few available ¹⁴C ages suggest that the upper stratified subunit filled the Petit-Rhône Fan Valley between 21 and 11 kyr BP. The upper bedded subunit is deposited within the Petit-Rhône Fan Valley downslope of a major decrease in slope gradient. This upper subunit and the thalweg are genetically related and represent a small channel/levee system confined within the fan valley. Previous studies interpreted this thalweg to be an erosional feature resulting from a recent avulsion of the major channel course. Our interpretation implies that the thalweg is not a purely erosional feature but a depositional/erosional channel. This small channel/levee system is superimposed on a large muddy channel/levee system after the sediment supply changed from thick muddy flows during the main phase of aggradation of the Rhône Fan levees, to thin, mixed (sand and mud) flows at the end of Isotope Stage 2 (～16–18 ka BP). The pre-existing morphology of the Petit-Rhône Fan Valley played a determinant role in the sediment dispersal leading to the creation of this small and confined channel/levee system. These mixed flows have undergone flow stripping resulting from the changes in the slope gradient along the thalweg course. The finer sediment overflowed from the thalweg and were deposited in the Petit-Rhône Fan Valley. Coarser channelled sediment remaining in the thalweg were deposited as a ‘sandy’lobe (Neofan). As indicated by ¹⁴C dating, sedimentation on this lobe continued until very recently, suggesting a further evolution of the turbidity flows from small mixed flows to small sandy flows. the deposition of this study lobe and the sedimentary fill of the Petit-Rhône Fan Valley may be related to widespread shelf edge and canyon wall failures with a resulting downslope evolution of failed sediment into turbidity currents.     

Geomorphological records of a ‘flood-dominated regime’ in the Rhône Delta (France) between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. What correlations with the catchment paleohydrology?

Abstract

In the Rhône Delta, numerous paleoenvironmental indicators coming from geomorphology, sedimentology, paleoecology and archeology provide evidences of remarkable hydrological regime change at the beginning of the Roman Antiquity. A significant reinforcement in the Rhône River's competence is indicated by the increase in grain size of the sediments deposited in the floodplain, within the immediate proximity of the channel. Increase in the fluvial sediment yield is indicated by the increase in rate of sedimentation in the floodplain. Increase in water levels is indicated by the deposition of hydromorphous facies, the development of hydrophytic species, and the decrease in activity of terrestrial lombricoids in the floodplain. Numerous crevasse splays were formed by short-term avulsions of the Rhône River between the first century BC and the AD first century. Their frequency is related to an increase of Rhône River paleodischarge, which makes the channel network incapable of evacuating large volumes of water brought in by the river. The littoral zone experienced a phase of progradation between the AD 1st and the 3rd centuries, in relation to the increase of terrigenous deposits coming from the Rhône of Ulmet. The increase in solid discharge, in the flood-dominated regime (FDR) context, can be related to the overall increase in detrital output from the catchment. The Rhône Delta rather appears in phase with the northern Alps and Massif Central from the 1st century BC to the AD 1st century. The FDR at the beginning of the Christian era contrasts with the drought-dominated regime (DDR) and the reduction of torrential rainfall in the Mediterranean and south Alpine areas. These observations allow to confirm the hydroclimatic limit which could distinguish the southern part of the catchment (Provence, Durancian Alps) from the rest of the Rhône basin. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.     

Cause of dominance by sheetflood vs. debris-flow processes on two adjoining alluvial fans, Death Valley, California

Two large, adjoining alluvial fans of the Panamint Range piedmont, Death Valley, California, are composed of different facies assemblages deposited by contrasting sedimentary processes. The Anvil Spring fan was built solely by water-flow processes (incised-channel floods and sheetfloods), whereas the neighbouring Warm Spring fan has been constructed principally by debris flows. The boundary between these fans delineates a sharp provincial piedmont contact between sheetflood-dominated fans to the south and debris-flow-dominated fans to the north. Factors such as climate, catchment area, fan area, catchment relief, aspect, vegetation types and density, and neotectonic setting are essentially identical for these two fans. The key difference between them is that their catchments are underlain by dissimilar bedrock types, which weather to yield distinctive sediment suites. Weathering of the granite and andesite of the Anvil fan catchment produces significant volumes of medium to very coarse sand, granules, pebbles, cobbles and boulders, but minimal silt and clay. In contrast, the shale, quartzite and dolomite that dominate bedrock in the Warm Spring catchment weather to yield a wide suite of sedimentary particles spanning from clay to boulders. The abundance of mud, and the unsorted character of the yielded sediment, cause precipitation-induced slope failures in the Warm Spring catchment to transform readily into debris flows. This propensity is due to the low permeability of the colluvial sediment, which causes added water to become trapped quickly and pore pressure to rise rapidly, promoting transformations to debris flows. In contrast, the limited volume of sediment finer than medium sand yielded from the Anvil fan catchment causes the colluvium to have high permeability. This factor prevents the transformation of wet colluvium to a debris flow during hydrologically triggered slope failures, instead maintaining sediment transport as entrained bed load or suspended load in a water flow.     

Infrasound produced by debris flow: propagation and frequency content evolution

Rapid mass movements such as avalanches, debris flows, and rock fall are periodic or episodic phenomena that occur in alpine regions. Recent studies have shown that debris flows generate characteristic signals in the low-frequency infrasonic spectrum (4–15 Hz). Infrasound can travel thousands of kilometers and can still be detectable. This characteristic provides a basis for the development of wide area automated monitoring systems that can operate in locations unaffected by the activity of the process. This study focuses on the infrasound vibrations produced by a debris flow at the Lattenbach torrent, Tyrol (Austria), and by two events at the Illgraben torrent, Canton of Valais (Switzerland). The Lattenbach torrent is a very active torrent, which is located in the west of Tyrol in a geologic fault zone between the Silvrettakristallin and the Northern Limestone Alps. It has a large supply of loose sediment. The Illgraben torrent, which is well known for its frequent sediment transport and debris flow activity, has been equipped with instruments for debris flow monitoring since the year 2000. This study shows that debris flow emits low-frequency infrasonic signals that can be monitored and correlated with seismic signals. During the passage of the debris flow, several surges were identified by ultrasonic gauges and detected in the time series and the running spectra of infrasonic data.     

Sedimentology of the debris-flow-dominated Warm Spring Canyon alluvial fan, Death Valley, California

Facies analysis of widely distributed exposures of the 32·6 km² and 8·1-km-long Warm Spring Canyon fan, central Death Valley, shows that it has been built principally by debris-flow deposits. These deposits were derived from a mature Panamint Range catchment mostly underlain by Precambrian mudrock, quartzite and dolomite. Stacked, clast-rich and matrix-supported debris-flow lobes of slightly bouldery, muddy, pebble–cobble gravel in beds 20–150 cm thick dominate the fan from apex to toe, accounting for 75–98% of most exposures. Interstratified with the debris flows are less abundant (2–25% of cuts), thinner (5–30 cm) and more discontinuous beds of clast-supported and imbricated, pebble–cobble gravel deposited by overland flows and gully flows. This facies formed by the surficial fine-fraction water winnowing of the debris flows primarily during recessional flood stage of the debris-flow events. Two other facies associations make up a small part of the fan. The incised-channel tract consists of a 250-m-wide clast-supported ribbon of irregularly to thickly bedded, boulder, pebble, cobble gravel nested within debris-flow deposits. This channel fill is oriented generally perpendicular to the Panamint range front. It formed by extensive erosion and winnowing of debris flows deposited within the incised channel, into which all water discharge from the catchment is funnelled. The limited presence of this facies only straddling the present incised channel indicates that this channel overall has maintained a consistent position on the fan except for slight lateral shifts, some caused by strike-slip offset. Fault offset temporarily closed the upper incised channel, causing recessional debris-flow mud to be ponded behind the dam. The other local facies assemblage consists of subrounded to rounded, moderately sorted pebble gravel in low-angle cross-beds that slope both basinwards and fanwards. This gravel was deposited in beachface, backshore and shoreface barrier-spit environments that developed where Lake Manly impinged on the Warm Spring fan during late Pleistocene time. These deposits straddle headcuts into, and were derived from, erosion of the debris-flow deposits. Wave energy sorted finer sediment from the shore zone, concentrated coarser sediment and rounded the coarse to very coarse pebble fraction by selective reworking.     

Des « cailloux roulés » basaltiques haut perchés à l’histoire du Rhône : observations et spéculations de Gui de Mortessagnes (1782)

The abbey Gui de Mortessagnes, well known for his contribution to the discovery of the Vivarais-Velay volcanoes (1778), faced with the deposits of basaltic pebbles in the Rhône valley. From its own observations, he emphasized the distribution of these deposits on the left bank, at a higher levels than the modern valley and downstream from Montélimar, thence very far from their roots. The fluvialist theory failing in the explanation, Mortessagnes suggests that a diluvial stream have submerged this country and that later collapses induced the Rhône valley. So, he is joined to neodiluvianist trend but he considered that this deluge event is not unique in the earth history and admits a long age for the earth. From his handwritten notes, we apprehend his work in relation with the concepts that time and in the light of the present geological knowledge on the Rhône valley.     

A combined study of radar facies,lithofacies and three‐dimensional architecture of an alpine alluvial fan (Illgraben fan,Switzerland)

Alluvial fans serve as useful archives that record the history of depositional and erosional processes in mountainous regions and thus can reveal the environmental controls that influenced their development. Economically, they play an important role as groundwater reservoirs as well as host rocks for hydrocarbons in deeply buried systems. The interpretation of these archives and the evaluation of their reservoir architecture, however, are problematic because marked heterogeneity in the distribution of sedimentary facies makes correlation difficult. This problem is compounded because the accumulated sedimentary deposits of modern unconsolidated fan systems tend to be poorly exposed and few such systems have been the focus of investigation using high‐resolution subsurface analytical techniques. To overcome this limitation of standard outcrop–analogue studies, a geophysical survey of an alpine alluvial fan was performed using ground‐penetrating radar to devise a scaled three‐dimensional subsurface model. Radar facies were classified and calibrated to lithofacies within a fan system that provided outcropping walls and these were used to derive a three‐dimensional model of the sedimentary architecture and identify evolutionary fan stages. The Illgraben fan in the Swiss Alps was selected as a case study and a network of ca 60 km sections of ground‐penetrating radar was surveyed. Seven radar facies types could be distinguished, which were grouped into debris‐flow deposits and stream‐flow deposits. Assemblages of these radar facies types show three depositional units, which are separated by continuous, fan‐wide reflectors; they were interpreted as palaeo‐surfaces corresponding to episodes of sediment starvation that affected the entire fan. An overall upward decline in the proportion of debris‐flow deposits from ca 50% to 15% and a corresponding increase in stream‐flow deposits were identified. The uppermost depositional unit is bounded at its base by a significant incision surface up to 700 m wide, which was subsequently filled up mostly by stream‐flow deposits. The pronounced palaeo‐surfaces and depositional trends suggest that allocyclic controls governed the evolution of the Illgraben fan, making this fan a valuable archive from which to reconstruct past sediment fluxes and environmental change in the Alps. The results of the integrated outcrop–geophysical approach encourage similar future studies on fans to retrieve their depositional history as well as their potential reservoir properties.     

Multi‐phase late‐Neogene exhumation history of the Aar massif,Swiss central Alps

The late‐Neogene evolution of the European Alps was influenced by both tectonic and climatically driven erosion processes, which are difficult to disentangle. We use low‐temperature thermochronometry data from surface and borehole samples in the Aar massif–Rhône valley (Swiss central Alps) to constrain the exhumation history of the region. Multiple exhumation events are distinguished and linked to regional‐scale tectonic deformation (before 5 Ma), short‐lived climatically driven orogen contraction (between 4 and 3 Ma), and glacial valley carving since c. 1 Ma. Compared with previous studies, we clearly show the existence of two separate exhumation phases in the Late Miocene–Pliocene and better constrain the onset of glacial valley carving. The hydrothermal activity and geothermal anomalies currently observed in the borehole have been local and short‐lived, with only a minor influence on thermochronometric observations. We thus suggest that late‐stage glacial valley carving may have triggered topography‐driven fluid flow and transient hydrothermal circulation.     

Sur submarine slide, Monterey Fan, central California

The Sur debris slide and associated debris flow cover more than 1000 km² of the eastern part of Monterey submarine fan and extend from the base of the continental slope near the apex of the fan to the Monterey fan valley. The flow is generally confined between the continental slope and remnants of an older channel (Monterey East fan valley). The hummocky surface of the debris slide and diffuse echo returns from the surface of the nearly acoustically transparent debris flow, as seen in 3.5 kHz profiles, are common to large submarine slides described from passive-margin continental-slope and rise deposits. Piston cores from the Sur slide recovered contorted and sheared fan turbidite units as well as clast- and matrix-supported mudlump debris flows. The cores show that the slide debris is overlain by 0.23–0.87 m of mud and turbidite sand that limit the age of the slide to latest Holocene, although more than one stage of emplacement is possible.     

Triggering upstream channel incision in the fluvial systems of the trunk valley of Wadi Watir drainage basin, South Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

Dredging the alluvial fans for repaving the international road located in the bottom of the Wadi Watir valley produced vertical cliff faces of different heights, and at different locations of the fans. The heights of the cliff faces resulted in considerable elevation differences between the surface of the dredged alluvial fans and the local base level provided by the Watir trunk valley. The principal geomorphic response to this anthropogenic intervention is triggering upstream channel incision waves at different intensities in the fluvial systems of the downstream reaches of the Watir drainage basin. The channel incision processes resulted in subsequent geomorphic adjustment scenarios that vary from widening the active channels on the surface of the dredged fans, triggering rockfalls from the adjacent hillslopes, and transporting coarse alluvial deposits from the main sediment sources of the fluvial systems, and eventually re-depositing them as sheetform gravel, channelform gravel, and new fan lobes. The major outcome of the various geomorphic adjustment processes was changing the role of the alluvial fans within the fluvial systems from buffer zones where fan aggradation was dominant into dynamic coupled zones. Being coupled zones, the dredged alluvial fans allowed high potential of mass transmission from the feeder catchment areas into the Watir trunk valley. Under such conditions, it could be stipulated that considerable changes in the morphology of landscapes are highly anticipated in response to flash flood events that intermittently occur in the Watir drainage basin.     

Response scenarios for the deltaic plain of the Rhône in the face of an acceleration in the rate of sea-level rise with special attention to<Emphasis Type="Italic">Salicornia</Emphasis>-type environments

One of the most critical problems facing many deltaic wetlands is a high rate of relative sea-level rise due to a combination of eustatic sea-level rise and local subsidence. Within the Rhône delta, the main source of mineral input to soil formation is from the river, due to the low tidal range and the presence of a continuous sea wall. We carried out field and modeling studies to assess the present environmental status and future conditions of the more stressed sites, i.e.,Salicornia-type marshes with a shallow, hypersaline groundwater. The impacts of management practices are considered by comparing impounded areas with riverine areas connected to the Rhône River. Analysis of vegetation transects showed differences between mean soil elevation ofArthrocnemum fruticosum (+31.2 cm),Arthrocnemum glaucum (+26.5 cm), bare soil (+16.2 cm), and permanently flooded soil (?12.4 cm). Aboveground and belowground production showed that root:shoot ratio forA. fruticosum andA. glaucum was 2.9 and 1.1, respectively, indicating more stressful environmental conditions forA. glaucum with a higher soil salinity and lack of soil drainage. The annual leaf litter production rate of the two species is 30 times higher than annual stem litter production, but with a higher long-term decomposition rate associated with leaves. We developed a wetland elevation model designed to predict the effect of increasing rates of sea-level rise on wetland elevation andSalicornia production. The model takes into account feedback mechanisms between soil elevation and river mineral input, and primary production. In marshes still connected to the river, mineral input decreased quickly when elevation was over 21 cm. Under current sea-level rise conditions, the annual amount of riverine mineral input needed to maintain the elevation of the study marshes is between 3,000 and 5,000 g m^?2 yr^?1. Simulations showed that under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change best estimate sea-level rise scenario, a mineral input of 6,040 g m^?2 yr^?1 is needed to maintain marsh elevation. The medium term response capacity of the Rhône deltaic plain with rising sea level depends mainly on the possibility of supplying sediment from the river to the delta, even though the Rhône Delta front is wave dominated. Within coastal impounded marshes, isolated from the river, the sediment supply is very low (10 to 50 g m^?2 yr^?1), and an increase of sea-level rise would increase the flooding duration and dramatically reduce vegetation biomass. New wetland management options involving river input are discussed for a long-term sustainability of low coastal Mediterranean wetlands.     

Secondary aspects of the harnessing of the Rhône (not considering the question of energy)

Since a 1921 law the harnessing of the Rhône River from Lyon to the Mediterranean has been directed by a national company composed of the public sector (fromthe valley) as well as of various consumers or distributors of current such as the SNCF or the EDF. This company, the National Company of the Rhône (CNR), was a precursor to the establishment of the TVA in the United States, although it did not begin operations until aftetr the TVA due to prolonged technical negotiations and to the difficulties involved in locating financial support in a period of economic crisis. Even though the utilization of hydraulic power constitutes the prime aim of the CNR, it has also focused on navigation, irration and “other agricultural uses” from the outset. This article will not further discuss the hydro-electric stations on the Rhône which usually supply more than 22% of French hydro-electric output from thirteen stations now in operation (total power is 2,350 MW and annual average output is 13,000 GWh). This paper will treat the question of the nature and importance of the side effects of the harnessing of the Rhône apart from its essential energy function.     

Fluvial responses to environmental perturbations in the Northern Mediterranean since the Last Glacial Maximum

The numerical model HydroTrend, that produces daily time series of water discharge and sediment load to the ocean, is applied to three Mediterranean drainage basins to: (i) simulate the water and sediment flux changes to sedimentary basins through time and (ii) determine the impact of potential forcing factors on sediment and water fluxes to sedimentary basins and how this impact varied through time. Climate (precipitation, temperature and glacier equilibrium line) and drainage basin (basin elevation, drainage area and reservoir) reconstructions of the Po, Rhône and Têt river basins over the last 21 000 Cal. years B.P. are used as input to the model.Simulated sediment fluxes at the river mouth for the Po, Rhône and Têt River systems during the late Pleistocene were considerably higher compared to Holocene pristine sediment flux, with a factor 3.5, 2.4 and 2.4 respectively. For the Po River system and the Rhône River, deglaciation in the late Pleistocene is the main factor, responsible for these higher sediment fluxes. Drainage basin area change due to sea-level rise is the main cause of decrease in sediment flux for the Têt River system and to a certain extent for the Po River system. Man-made reservoirs reduced sediment flux to the ocean for the Po, Rhône and Têt rivers over the last 3–6 decades with a factor of 1.3, 3.8 and 2.4 respectively.Fluvial responses to climate and basin variations are reflected in the peak flood discharge and sediment concentration curves, where present-day water peak flood curves for all three rivers are the highest in the last 21 000 Cal. years B.P. However, their associated sediment concentration curves show opposite results because of diminishing glacial area and the impact of reservoirs. The Têt River system has the ability to generate hyperpycnal plumes although the occurrence frequency changes over time. Prior to 15 500 Cal. years B.P. the river system area was extended due to the low sea level, causing a less favorable regime to generate hyperpycnal events. Presently sediment trapping due to man-made reservoirs alters the river ability to generate hyperpycnal events.     

小秦岭大湖峪矿渣型泥石流的物源特征及其危险度评价

河南省灵宝市大湖峪峪道金矿开采活动强烈,采矿废渣成为当地泥石流主要的物源隐患。在2007年对峪道内采矿废渣堆进行实地调查的基础上,依据矿渣型泥石流的特点,选择渣堆规模、河道堵塞程度、渣堆稳定性、沟谷纵坡降比、河流弯曲度和沟谷汇水面积6个因子,利用层次分析法确定各因子的权重,进而对大湖峪主峪道及其支沟进行了泥石流危险度评价。结果表明,13条沟谷中有10条为高危险度区,其中东峪黑峪子沟、东峪主峪道、西峪东槽桐沟和槽桐沟均为泥石流极高危险区。大湖峪泥石流危险度评价结果为泥石流的防治和预警提供了科学依据。     

Glacimarine lithofacies,provenance and depositional processes on a West Greenland trough‐mouth fan

Along the West Greenland continental margin adjoining Baffin Bay, bathymetric data show a series of large submarine fans located at the mouths of cross‐shelf troughs. One of these fans, termed here ‘Uummannaq Fan’, is a trough‐mouth fan built largely by debris delivered from a fast‐flowing outlet of the Greenland Ice Sheet during past glacial maxima. Cores from this fan provide the first information on glacimarine sedimentary facies within a major West Greenland trough‐mouth fan and on the nature of Late Weichselian–Holocene glacigenic sediment delivery to this region of the Baffin Bay margin. Glacigenic debris flows deposited on the upper slope and extending to at least 1800 m water depth in front of the trough‐mouth are related to the remobilization of subglacial debris that was delivered onto the upper slope at times when an ice stream was positioned at the shelf edge. In contrast, sedimentary facies from the northern sector of the fan are characterized by hemipelagic and ice‐rafted sediments and turbidites; glacigenic debris flows are notably absent in cores from this region. Quantitative X‐ray diffraction studies of the <2‐mm sediment fraction indicate that the bulk of the sediment in the fan is derived from Uummannaq Trough but there are distinct intervals when sediment from northern Baffin Bay sources dominates, especially on the northern limit of the fan. These data demonstrate considerable variation in the nature of sediment delivery across the Uummannaq Fan when the Greenland Ice Sheet was at the shelf edge. They highlight the variability of glacimarine depositional processes operating on trough‐mouth fans on high‐latitude continental margins during the last glacial maximum and indicate that glacigenic debris flows are just one of a number of mechanisms by which such large depocentres form. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

川藏铁路某车站泥石流群发育特征及对线路的影响

川藏铁路某车站位于藏东南冻错曲沟谷内,处于泥石流集中暴发区。采用现场调查、遥感解译等方法对影响车站的泥石流群孕灾环境和发育特征进行了深入研究。结果表明:该区以发育包括10条暴雨型泥石流与2条冰湖溃决泥石流在内的泥石流群为特征,地形地貌、水源动力和物源对泥石流群的发育起主要控制性作用。泥石流沟的流域形态完整系数集中在0.15～0.55之间,多为长条形与栎叶形,沟床的纵比降整体偏大,有利于泥石流的水源汇聚和发生。而泥石流流域内的沟道岸坡坡度多为20°～40°,相对有利于泥石流物源的补给。对该泥石流群中的12条泥石流沟进行动力学参数计算,分析其运动特征和发展趋势,认为该泥石流群的堆积扇普遍比较明显且未修建防治工程,在极端暴雨条件下,再次暴发较大规模泥石流的可能性大。最后评价了单沟暴发及冻错曲两岸对冲暴发场景下泥石流群对线路的潜在工程影响并给出了防治对策,建议线路在穿越泥石流沟部位布设排导槽或停淤堤进行束流归流,并对桥墩做好迎水面防块石撞击措施。研究结果对川藏铁路泥石流防治工程规划设计具有一定指导意义,也可为山区交通干线的合理选线提供科学依据。     

Plio-Pleistocene landscape evolution in Northern Switzerland

Re-evaluation of the river history, palaeosurface levels and exhumation history in northern Switzerland for the last 10 million years reveals that distinct morphotectonic events about 4.2 and 2.8 million years ago (Ma) caused major reorganisation of river networks and morphosculpture. As a result of the earlier formation of the Swiss Jura, potential relief energy in the piggy-back North Alpine Foreland Basin (NAFB) of northern central Switzerland south of the Jura fold belt was built up after 11–10 Ma. It was suddenly released by river capture at about 4.2 Ma when the Aare-Danube was captured by a tributary of the Rhône-Doubs river system which rooted southeast of the Black forest. This event triggered rapid denudation of weakly consolidated Molasse sediments, in the order of about 1 km, as constrained by apatite fission track data from drillholes in the NAFB. Likely mechanisms of river capture are (a) headward erosion of Rhône-Doubs tributaries, (b) uplift and rapidly increasing erosion of the Swiss Alps after about 5.3 Ma, and (c) gravel aggradation at the eastern termination of the Jura fold belt in the course of eastward and northward tilt of the piggy-back NAFB. A morphotectonic event between 4.2 and 2.5 Ma, probably at about 2.8 Ma, caused a phase of planation, accompanied by local gravel aggradation and temporary storage of Alpine debris. Between 2.8 and 2.5 Ma, the Aare-Rhône river system is cannibalised by the modern Rhine River, the latter later connecting with the Alpine Rhine River.     

浅层滑坡诱发沟谷泥石流的地形和降雨条件

2011年贵州省望谟县打易镇的大范围浅层滑坡诱发的沟谷泥石流提供了研究这类泥石流地形和降雨条件的机会。在地质条件一致和小区域内的降雨条件基本一致的情况下,地形条件就是这些泥石流暴发与否的唯一决定因素。对比一些重要的地形因素与泥石流暴发的关系,得出了由流域面积、沟床纵比降和25°~45°山坡坡度面积比组成的泥石流综合地形因子T。在地形因子T的基础上,研究获得了由前期降雨量、1 h降雨强度、年平均降雨量等组成的降雨因子R。由地形因子T和降雨因子R获得的临界条件P可以判断该区域的泥石流暴发。由于研究工作部分基于泥石流的形成机理,研究成果还可用于其他区域的泥石流形成预测,为泥石流的预测预报提供了一个较好的方法。