Unravelling the evolution of an Alpine to post-glacially active fault in the Swiss Alps

The Gemmi fault is a prominent NW–SE striking lineament that crosses the Gemmi Pass in the central Swiss Alps. A multidisciplinary investigation of this structure that included geological mapping, joint profiling, cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy, stable isotope measurements, luminescence- and U-TH-dating, 3D ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying and trenching reveals a history of fault movements from the Miocene to the Holocene. The main fault zone comprises a 0.5–3 m thick calcite cataclasite formed during several cycles of veining and brittle deformation. Displaced Cretaceous rock layers show an apparent dextral slip of 10 m along the fault.A detailed study of a small sediment-filled depression that crosses the fault provides evidence for a post-glacial reactivation of the fault. A trench excavated across the fault exposed a Late-Glacial-age loess layer and late Holocene colluvial-like slope-wash deposits that showed evidence for fault displacement of a few centimeters, indicating a recent strike-slip reactivation of the fault. Focal mechanisms of recent instrumentally recorded earthquakes are consistent with our findings that show that the fault at the Gemmi Pass, together with other parallel faults in this area, may be reactivated in today's stress field. Taking together all the observations of its ancient and recent activity, the Gemmi fault can be viewed as a window through geological space and time.     

Exposure dating and reinterpretation of coarse debris accumulations (‘rock glaciers’) in the Cairngorm Mountains,Scotland

Relict rock glaciers have considerable potential for contributing to palaeoclimatic reconstruction, but this potential is often undermined by lack of dating control and problems of interpretation. Here we reinvestigate and date four proposed ‘rock glaciers’ in the Cairngorm Mountains and show that the morphology of only one of these appears consistent with that of a true rock glacier produced by creep of underlying ice or ice‐rich sediment. All four features comprise rockslide or rock avalanche runout debris, and the possibility that all four represent unmodified runout accumulations cannot be discounted. Surface exposure dating of the four debris accumulations using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be produced uncertainty‐weighted mean ages of 15.4 ± 0.8 ka, 16.2 ± 1.0 ka, 12.1 ± 0.6 ka and 12.7 ± 0.8 ka. All four ages imply emplacement under cold stadial conditions, two prior to the Windermere Interstade of ca. 14.5–12.9 cal. ka BP and two during the Loch Lomond Stade of ca. 12.9–11.5 cal. ka BP. The above ages indicate that paraglacial rock‐slope failure on granite rockwalls occurred within a few millennia after deglaciation. The mean exposure ages obtained for runout debris at two sites – Strath Nethy (16.2 ± 1.0 ka) and Lairig Ghru (15.4 ± 0.8 ka) – are consistent with basal radiocarbon ages from Loch Etteridge, 22 km to the southwest (mean = 15.6 ± 0.3 cal. ka BP) and imply widespread deglaciation of the Cairngorms and adjacent valleys before 15 ka and possibly 16 ka. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Koralm Complex (Eastern Alps): constraints from microstructures and textures of the ‘Plattengneis’ shear zone

Lattice preferred orientations (LPO) of quartz have been investigated along a south–north oriented section across the Plattengneis of the Koralm Complex (Eastern Alps). The Plattengneis forms an important shear zone within the Austroalpine nappe complex of the Eastern Alps, which has developed during the Cretaceous evolution of the Alpine orogen. The quartz c-axes form small circle distributions in the southernmost parts of the Koralm Complex, which represent the uppermost structural level of the Plattengneis. Further to the North two maxima between the Y and Z directions of the finite strain can be interpreted in terms of preferred slip on the rhomb planes. These fabrics continuously grade into (type I and type II crossed) girdle distributions in a northward direction. A strong maximum near the Y-axis with the tendency to be distributed along a single girdle, with three corresponding maxima of a-axes near the margin of the pole figure, can be observed in the central and northern parts. Such LPO are characteristic for both high grade metamorphic conditions and high finite strain. The microstructures display that the deformation within the Plattengneis shear zone was synmetamorphic. A continuous increase of peak temperatures (and pressure) from approximately 550 °C to approximately 750 °C from the South to the central parts can be inferred from geothermometric calculations. The temperatures then decrease to approximately 650 °C from the central parts to the North. The related pressures increase from 8 to 16 kbar, and then decrease to 10 kbar. The LPO changes that have been observed in the study area are best interpreted in terms of temperature dependence of the activation of glide systems within quartz aggregates. The temperature and pressure evolution may indicate that the central parts of the Koralm Complex have been exhumed by larger amounts than the northern and southern parts. This is also documented by the LPO evolution. Therefore, we assume that the Plattengneis shear zone formed during the exhumation of the Koralm Complex, and is related to the exhumation of high-pressure units in the footwall of this shear zone. Accordingly, the kinematics of the Plattengneis shear zone is rather extensional than thrust-related. The implications for the structural evolution of the Eastern Alps are shortly discussed.     

Holocene vegetation and land‐use changes in response to climatic changes in the forelands of the southwestern Alps,Italy

The Holocene sediment of Lago Piccolo di Avigliana (Piedmont, Italy, 356 m a.s.l.) was dated by ¹⁴C and analysed for pollen to reconstruct the vegetation history of the area. The early‐ and mid‐Holocene pollen record shows environmental responses to centennial‐scale climatic changes as evidenced by independent palaeoclimatic proxies. When human impact was low or negligible, continental mixed‐oak forests decreased at ca. 9300 BC in response to the early‐Holocene Preboreal climatic oscillation. Abies alba expanded in two phases, probably in response to higher moisture availability at ca. 6000 and ca. 4000 BC , while Fagus expanded later, possibly in response to a climatic change at 3300 BC . During and after the Bronze Age five distinct phases of intensified land use were detected. The near synchroneity with the land‐use phases detected in wetter regions in northern and southern Switzerland points to a common forcing factor in spite of cultural differences. Increasing minerogenic input to the lake since 1000 BC coincided with Late Bronze—Iron Age technical innovations and probably indicate soil erosion as a consequence of deforestation in the lake catchment. The highest values for cultural indicators occurred at 700–450 and at 300–50 BC , coinciding with periods of high solar activity (inferred from Δ¹⁴C). This suggests that Iron Age land use was enhanced by high solar activity, while re‐occupation of partly abandoned areas after crises in earlier periods match better with the GRIP stable isotope record. On the basis of our data and comparison with independent palaeoclimatic proxies we suggest that precipitation variation was much more important than temperature oscillations in driving vegetation and societal changes throughout the Holocene. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

U–Pb zircon geochronological and petrographic constraints on late to post‐collisional Variscan magmatism and metamorphism in the Ligurian Alps,Italy

In the Ligurian Alps, the Barbassiria massif (a Variscan basement unit of the Briançonnais domain) is made up of orthogneisses derived from K‐rich rhyolite protoliths and minor rhyolite dykes. However, on account of subsequent Alpine deformation and a related blueschist facies metamorphic overprint that are pervasive within the Barbassiria Orthogneisses, little evidence of the earlier Variscan metamorphism is preserved. In this study, new U–Pb laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) dating of zircon from the Barbassiria Orthogneisses and dykes was undertaken to unravel the relationships between protolith magmatism and the Variscan metamorphic overprint. The results suggest a protolith age for the Barbassiria Orthogneisses of ~315–320 Ma (i.e., Early/Late Carboniferous), and constrain the age of a subsequent rhyolite dyke emplacement event to 260.2 ± 3.1 Ma (i.e., Late Permian). The Variscan high‐temperature (greenschist–amphibolite facies) metamorphic event that affected the Barbassiria Orthogneisses was likely associated with both tectonic burial and compression during the final stages of the Variscan collision during the Late Carboniferous period. Emplacement of late‐stage rhyolite dykes that cut the Barbassiria Orthogneisses is linked to a diffuse episode of Late Permian rhyolite volcanism that is commonly observed in the Ligurian Alps. The age of this dyke emplacement event followed a ~10–15 Ma Mid‐Permian gap in the volcano‐sedimentary cover sequence of the Ligurian Alps, and represents the post‐orogenic stage in this segment of the Variscides. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Origin and age of The Hillocks and implications for post‐glacial landscape development in the upper Lake Wakatipu catchment,New Zealand

Ambiguous landscape histories can arise from equivocal or incomplete geomorphological, sedimentological or geochronological evidence. In this study, we apply quantitative analyses to robustly assess the origin and age of a field of rounded mounds, known as ‘The Hillocks’. Using clast analysis, the sediment is shown to be consistent with a landslide origin but inconsistent with other glacial sediments in the region. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure age dating suggests The Hillocks formed ~8 ka. Ground‐penetrating radar reveals that the deposit rests upon deltaic foreset beds; combined with topographical data, we calculate a deposit volume of ~15–27 M m³, consistent with the estimated volume of the proposed source area. Overall, our data support a rock avalanche origin, indicating that by 8 ka the valley was ice‐free at The Hillocks’ location, and the level of Lake Wakatipu was lower than 340 m asl by this time. The Dart River delta shoreline was situated somewhere between The Hillocks and the present day shoreline at that time, and has prograded at a maximum average rate of 1 m a^?1 since ~8 ka. These findings are significant given the lack of landforms by which to constrain glacial or post‐glacial landscape histories in this region of New Zealand. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coupled ‘storm‐flood’ depositional model: Application to the Miocene–Modern Baram Delta Province,north‐west Borneo

The Miocene to Modern Baram Delta Province is a highly efficient source to sink system that has accumulated 9 to 12 km of coastal–deltaic to shelf sediments over the past 15 Myr. Facies analysis based on ca 1 km of total vertical outcrop stratigraphy, combined with subsurface geology and sedimentary processes in the present‐day Baram Delta Province, suggests a ‘storm‐flood’ depositional model comprising two distinct periods: (i) fair‐weather periods are dominated by alongshore sediment reworking and coastal sand accumulation; and (ii) monsoon‐driven storm periods are characterized by increased wave‐energy and offshore‐directed downwelling storm flow that occur simultaneously with peak fluvial discharge caused by storm precipitation (‘storm‐floods’). The modern equivalent environment has the following characteristics: (i) humid‐tropical monsoonal climate; (ii) narrow (ca <100 km) and steep (ca 1°), densely vegetated, coastal plain; (iii) deep tropical weathering of a mudstone‐dominated hinterland; (iv) multiple independent, small to moderate‐sized (10² to 10⁵ km²) drainage basins; (v) predominance of river‐mouth bypassing; and (vi) supply‐dominated shelf. The ancient, proximal part of this system (the onshore Belait Formation) is dominated by strongly cyclical sandier‐upward successions (metre to decametre‐scale) comprising (from bottom to top): (i) finely laminated mudstone with millimetre‐scale silty laminae; (ii) heterolithic sandstone–mudstone alternations (centimetre to metre‐scale); and (iii) sharp‐based, swaley cross‐stratified sandstone beds and bedsets (metre to decimetre‐scale). Gutter casts (decimetre to metre‐scale) are widespread, they are filled with swaley cross‐stratified sandstone and their long axes are oriented perpendicular to the palaeo‐shoreline. The gutter casts and other associated waning‐flow event beds suggest that erosion and deposition was controlled by high‐energy, offshore‐directed, oscillatory‐dominated, sediment‐laden combined flows within a shoreface to delta front setting. The presence of multiple river mouths and exceptionally high rates of accommodation creation (characteristic of the Neogene to Recent Baram Delta Province; up to 3000 m Ma⁻¹), in a ‘storm‐flood’‐dominated environment, resulted in a highly efficient and effective offshore‐directed sediment transport system.     

流域生物、化学风化对小冰期气候变化的响应

岱海近500年沉积物的孢粉，介形类和地球化学记录表现了流域生物，化学风化对全球性小冰期气候波动明显而快速的响应，孢粉量的下降，化学风化强度的减弱（高Rb/Sr比值）以及意外湖花介（Limnocythere inopinata)的繁盛反映了小冰期最盛期岱海地区以干旱为特征的气候环境及其造成的高矿化度湖水，其中，介形类丰度及种类对环境变化的反应最迅速，植被生长的调节则要缓慢一些，内陆湖泊流域植被的衰弱与干旱环境下化学风化强度的减弱以及风尘作用的加强是相辅相成的。     

Syn‐rift mass flow generated ‘tectonofacies’ and ‘tectonosequences’ of the Kingston Peak Formation,Death Valley,California, and their bearing on supposed Neoproterozoic panglacial climates

The Kingston Peak Formation of the Pahrump Group in the Death Valley region of the Basin and Range Province, USA, is the thick (over 3 km) mixed siliciclastic–carbonate fill of a long‐lived structurally‐complex Neoproterozoic rift basin and is recognized by some as a key ‘climatostratigraphic’ succession recording panglacial Snowball Earth events. A facies analysis of the Kingston Peak Formation shows it to be largely composed of ‘tectonofacies’ which are subaqueous mass flow deposits recording cannibalization of older Pahrump carbonate strata exposed by local faulting. Facies include siltstone, sandstone and conglomerate turbidites, carbonate megabreccias (olistoliths) and related breccias, and interbedded debrites. Secondary facies are thin carbonates and pillowed basalts. Four distinct associations of tectonofacies (‘base‐of‐scarp’; FA1, ‘mid‐slope’; FA2, ‘base‐of‐slope’; FA3, and a ‘carbonate margin’ association; FA4) reflect the initiation and progradation of deep water clastic wedges at the foot of fault scarps. ‘Tectonosequences’ record episodes of fault reactivation resulting in substantial increases in accommodation space and water depths, the collapse of fault scarps and consequent downslope mass flow events. Carbonates of FA4 record the cessation of tectonic activity and resulting sediment starvation ending the growth of clastic wedges. Tectonosequences are nested within regionally‐extensive tectono‐stratigraphic units of earlier workers that are hundreds to thousands of metres in thickness, recording the long‐term evolution of the rifted Laurentian continental margin during the protracted breakup of Rodinia. Debrite facies of the Kingston Peak Formation are classically described as ice‐contact glacial deposits recording globally‐correlative panglacials but they result from partial to complete subaqueous mixing of fault‐generated coarse‐grained debris and fine‐grained distal sediment on a slope conditioned by tectonic activity. The sedimentology (tectonofacies) and stratigraphy (tectonosequences) of the Kingston Peak Formation reflect a fundamental control on local sedimentation in the basin by faulting and likely earthquake activity, not by any global glacial climate.     

Sedimentology of a debris‐rich,perhumid valley glacier margin in the Rakaia Valley,South Island,New Zealand

The sedimentology and stratigraphy of a multi‐phase glaciation sequence dating to Marine Isotope Stage 6 in the Rakaia Valley, South Island, New Zealand, is presented. This outcrop presents an example of the depositional signature of an end member of temperate valley glaciation, where voluminous sediment supply in a tectonically active setting combines with high annual temperatures and low seasonality to generate significant year‐round glacifluvial activity. Such glacial systems produce geological–climatic units that are dominated by thick sequences of aggradational gravels and proglacial lake sediments trapped behind outwash heads during deglaciation. At Bayfields Cliff, outwash sequences record an oscillating glacier margin marked by a sequence of glacier‐fed, Gilbert‐type deltas. The deltas are cut by numerous small‐scale, syndepositional, normal faults indicating both loss of glacier support and melt‐out of buried ice. A larger‐scale thrust fault system reflects late‐stage ice overrun. Braid plain gravels and chaotic disturbed glacial lake sediments are also recorded. A notable feature of these systems is the virtual absence of till in an environment with much other evidence for proximal ice. Cumulatively we regard these sediment–landform associations as diagnostic of debris‐laden, perhumid, temperate valley glacier systems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multistage metamorphism and deformation in high‐pressure metabasites of the northern Adula Nappe Complex (Central Alps,Switzerland)

Metabasites from the northern Adula Nappe Complex (ANC) display a complex microstructural evolution recording episodes of deformation and metamorphic re‐equilibration that were obliterated in the surrounding phengite‐bearing schists. Pre‐D1 and D1 deformation episodes are preserved as mineral inclusions within garnet cores of some amphibole‐bearing eclogites and record high‐temperature greenschist‐/amphibolite‐facies conditions. D2 produced an eclogite‐facies foliation which developed at 580 ± 70°C and 19 ± 3 kbar. D3 was a composite deformation episode which can be divided into three sub‐episodes D3m, D3a and D3b which occurred as the metamorphism evolved from post‐eclogitic high‐pressure and low‐temperature conditions through to amphibolite‐facies conditions at 590 ± 30°C and 11.7 ± 1.3 kbar. The D3 deformation episode was responsible for the development of the S3 regional‐scale foliation in the surrounding schists, whilst D4 caused the development of an S4 greenschist foliation. The composite nature of the D3 episode indicates that rocks of the northern ANC experienced a protracted post‐eclogitic structural reworking and that the current structure of this part of the Alps is a late‐Alpine feature. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pollen‐inferred palaeoclimate reconstruction in the Alps during the Lateglacial and the early Holocene: how to estimate the effect of elevation and local parameters

The modern analogue technique (MAT) was applied to six pollen sequences from the Belledonne Massif (northwestern French Alps) to estimate the effect of altitude and local parameters on pollen‐based climate reconstruction during the Lateglacial and the early Holocene. The six sites (Le Vivier (345 m a.s.l.), Les Etelles (700 m a.s.l.), La Coche (980 m a.s.l.), Montendry (1330 m a.s.l.), Le Grand Leyat (1660 m a.s.l.), La Gouille (1800 m a.s.l.)) are located in different vegetation belts (mixed deciduous woods, conifer woods, alpine pastures with maple). The main vegetation changes in the past are recorded at each site. The evolution of four climate parameters (coldest month temperature, warmest month temperature, mean annual temperature, annual precipitation) was quantitatively inferred from pollen data using MAT. The curves obtained were compared to the Les Etelles site, which was the least affected by non‐local pollen transport. The results show consistent trends for the climate parameters reconstructed at the different sites. However, the reconstruction does not indicate a decrease in temperature values related to the increasing elevation. Difficulties in reconstructing the altitudinal variations of climate parameters from pollen data during the periods studied are discussed and perspectives for improvement are considered. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transients of Giggenbach’s ‘Na‐K‐Mg‐Ca Geoindicators’ preceding the 27 October 2004, Mw = 6.0 earthquake in Vrancea area (Romania)

The Na, K, Mg and Ca contents of certain deep‐origin groundwater discharges have been used by Giggenbach (1988) to define a series of ‘geoindicators’, which may provide hints on the up‐flow depth of origin, on the duration of the fluid ascent to the ground surface and on the associated CO₂ flux. On occurrence of a M_w = 6.0 Vrancea earthquake, significant fluctuations of Giggenbach’s geoindicators have been recorded in a saline spring, some 50 km away from the epicentre. A pre‐seismic overall anomaly was monitored for 1 year and a half, the sharpest variations occurring about 3 months before the earthquake. Processes controlling the geoindicator fluctuations assumedly took place at 7–8 km depth, while the earthquake hypocenter depth was about 100 km. This could be an evidence for a mechanical coupling still existing between the seismogenic body in the lithosphere and the overlying crust.     

Problems with identifying the ‘8200‐year cold event’ in terrestrial records of the Atlantic seaboard: a case study from Dooagh,Achill Island,Ireland

The Northern Hemisphere cooling event 8200 years ago is believed to represent the last known major freshwater pulse into the North Atlantic as a result of the final collapse of the North American Laurentide ice sheet. This pulse of water is generally believed to have occurred independently of orbital variations and provides an analogue for predicted increases in high‐latitude precipitation and ice melt as a result of anthropogenically driven future climate change. The precise timing, duration and magnitude of this event, however, are uncertain, with suggestions that the 100‐yr meltwater cooling formed part of a longer‐term cold period in the early Holocene. Here we undertook a multiproxy, high‐resolution investigation of a peat sequence at Dooagh, Achill Island, on the west coast of Ireland, to determine whether the 8200‐year cold event impacted upon the terrestrial vegetation immediately ‘downwind’ of the proposed changes in the North Atlantic. We find clear evidence for an oscillation in the early Holocene using various measures of pollen, indicating a disruption in the vegetation leading to a grassland‐dominated landscape, most probably driven by changes in precipitation rather than temperature. Radiocarbon dating was extremely problematic, however, with bulk peat samples systematically too young for the North Atlantic event, suggesting significant contamination from downward root penetration. The sustained disruption to vegetation over hundreds of years at Dooagh indicates the landscape was impacted by a long‐term cooling event in the early Holocene, and not the single century length 8200‐year meltwater event proposed in many other records in the North Atlantic region. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cavity‐filling dolomite speleothems and submarine cements in the Ediacaran Dengying microbialites,South China: Responses to high‐frequency sea‐level fluctuations in an ‘aragonite–dolomite sea’

Speleothems, mostly composed of calcium carbonate, are widely present in modern karst‐originated caves, but have rarely been reported in palaeokarst systems. This study presents a novel type of dolomite speleothem and subsequent submarine dolomite cement, which are widely present in the upper Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the upper Yangtze area. These precipitated materials occur in the cavity system that cuts across several peritidal cycles. The interconnected cavity networks with irregular shapes, embayed walls, internal breccias on cavity floor and their preferential development in the shallower cycle tops (for example, tepee‐deformed beds) suggest that they were initially generated by subaerial dissolution. As the earliest infills, the hemispherical protrusions, icicle‐like pendants and ground‐up columns show similar morphological features and occurrence patterns to the cave popcorn, stalactites and stalagmites, respectively. Thus, these earliest infills are speleothems resulting from associated meteoric precipitation during subaerial exposure. The isopachous growth pattern of subsequent more extensive fibrous dolomite cements points to a submarine diagenetic environment in which they were precipitated. Microscopically, the micritic to micro‐crystalline dolomite, acicular dolomite in speleothems and the subsequent fibrous dolomite share similar crystal fabrics to metastable precursors (for example, Mg‐calcite). Meanwhile, the carbon‐oxygen isotope compositions of the speleothem and fibrous dolomite, although partly altered by burial diagenesis, share a large overlap with host rock and coeval marine carbonates all over the Yangtze Platform. For these reasons, these speleothems and fibrous cements are considered to have been initially precipitated as metastable carbonate precursors in meteoric and submarine environments, respectively, and stabilized during submarine mimetic dolomitization. The cyclic occurrence of cavity systems filled with speleothems and submarine cements reflects periodic subaerial exposure and marine flooding of broad tidal flat in the upper Yangtze area, driven by high‐frequency sea‐level fluctuations. Furthermore, the Neoproterozoic seawater chemistry that favoured early dolomitization of carbonate precursor mineralogies was an advantage for the preservation of fabrics from metastable precursor minerals.     

‘Fire in the House’: Gendered experiences of drunkenness and violence in Siem Reap, Cambodia

After decades of turmoil and international isolation, Cambodia has embarked on a threefold transition: from armed conflict to peace, from political authoritarianism to liberal democracy, and from a socialist economic system to one based on market-driven capitalist growth. In this context of transition, the paper explores the perceived linkages that exist between drinking, drunkenness and gender-based violence in rural and urban Siem Reap, home to the global tourism site of Angkor. By considering the ways in which men and women relate alcohol use with violence, the paper questions what implications these social constructions have for tackling gender-based violence and concludes that challenging such external explanations for violence is needed in order for gender-based violence to be understood as the struggle for equality in men and women’s everyday lives.     

‘Little ice age’ variations of outlet glaciers from the jostedalsbreen ice-cap,Southern Norway: A regional lichenometric-dating study of ice-marginal moraine sequences and their climatic significance

Complex moraine-ridge sequences in front of seven outlet glaciers of the Jostedalsbreen ice-cap (Austerdalsbreen, Bergsetbreen, Fåbergstølsbreen, Lodalsbreen, Stegaholbreen, Tuftebreen, Bødalsbreen) are dated using families of lichenometric dating curves established previously at an eighth outlet (Nigardsbreen). Applicability of the Nigardsbreen curves at the regional level is tested using independent historical evidence: moraines deposited during the present century are dated to an accuracy of ± 9.4 yr (16.0%), and most of them are dated to an accuracy of ± 5.5 yr (9.4%). Results from the moraine sequences are combined to form a composite ‘Jostedalsbreen’ record. Median predicted dates for moraine ridges cluster around AD 1939 ± 2 yr, 1929 ± 3, 1908 ± 3, 1886 ± 5, 1875 ± 2, 1867 ± 4, 1855 ± 3, 1842 ± 5, 1822 ± 5, 1807 ± 4 and 1785 ± 5. At least four glaciers reached their ‘Little ice age’ maxima prior to AD 1780, two (Nigardsbreen and Bødalsbreen) at ca. 1750, one (Fåbergstølsbreen) at ca. 1705. Stegaholbreen attained its maximum ca. 1863. Since the ‘Little ice age’ maximum, and despite large differences in glacier size, frontal variations of the various outlets have exhibited a high degree of synchroneity, which suggests that the moraine sequences contain a sensitive record of high-frequency climatic variations over the last ca. 250 yr. During the early twentieth century, measured readvances of the order of 5–150 m over 1–10 yr led to moraine formation. Dendroclimatic evidence indicates that since the late eighteenth century, moraine ridges formed about 5 yr after summer temperature minima and correlate with runs of cool summers (temperature depression of 0.5–1.0°C below the AD 1700–1950 average). Almost simultaneous glacier advances appear to have been caused by reduced ablation. This near-immediate response to climatic variation, by glacier tongues that descend to relative low altitudes, is superimposed upon the longer-term dynamic response of the ice cap to climate.     

River‐dominated,shelf‐edge deltas: delivery of sand across the shelf break in the absence of slope incision

Shelf‐edge deltas record the potential magnitude of sediment delivery from shallow water shelf into deep water slope and basin floor and, if un‐incised, represent the main increment of shelf‐margin growth into the basin, for that period. The three‐dimensional complexity of shelf‐edge delta systems and along‐strike variability at the shelf edge in particular, remains understudied. The Permian–Triassic Kookfontein Formation of the Tanqua Karoo Basin, South Africa, offers extensive three‐dimensional exposure (>100 km²) and therefore a unique opportunity to evaluate shelf‐edge strata from an outcrop perspective. Analysis of stratal geometry and facies distribution from 52 measured and correlated stratigraphic sections show the following: (i) In outer‐shelf areas, parasequences are characterized by undeformed, river‐dominated, storm‐wave influenced delta mouth‐bar sandstones interbedded with packages showing evidence of syn‐depositional deformation. The amount and intensity of soft‐sediment deformation increases significantly towards the shelf edge where slump units and debris flows sourced from collapsed mouth‐bar packages transport material down slope. (ii) On the upper slope, mouth‐bar and delta‐front sandstones pinch out within 2 km of the shelf break and most slump and debris flow units pinch out within 4 km of the shelf break. (iii) Further down the slope, parasequences consist of finer‐grained turbidites, characterized by interbedded, thin tabular siltstones and sandstones. The results highlight that river‐dominated, shelf‐edge deltas transport large volumes of sand to the upper slope, even when major shelf‐edge incisions are absent. In this case, transport to the upper slope through slumping, debris flows and un‐channellized low density turbidites is distributed evenly along strike.