Sediment supply from landslide-dominated catchments: implications for basin-margin fans

The sediment flux from a mountainous catchment can be expressed as a function of a landslide rate constant κ which accounts for the vigour of hillslope erosion. Since the incising drainage network flushes all or a portion of the products of hillslope erosion to a range front where fan deposition takes place, a conservation of solid sediment volume allows the fan area and progradation distance to be calculated. These parameters are related primarily to the discharge of sediment from the catchment and to local tectonic subsidence.
A survey of modern alluvial fans in a wide range of climatic and tectonic settings shows that the effects of climate and bedrock lithology cannot be discriminated in the scatter of data of catchment area vs. fan area. However, by focusing on over 100 fans in the arid and semiarid zone of SW USA, the impact of tectonic subsidence rate is unambiguous. Although further quantitative data on local tectonic subsidence rates are urgently required, our preliminary analysis suggests considerable potential for reconstructing palaeocatchments where basin tectonic subsidence rates can be estimated. The progradation distances of fans from the northern and southern margins of the Middle Devonian Hornelen Basin of Norway, and the western and north-eastern margins of the Mio-Pliocene Ridge Basin, California, allow catchment sizes and denudation rates to be approximated. Although unique solution sets are not possible, an iteration of parameter values allows plausible parameter combinations to be calculated which shed light on the tectonic and sedimentary history of the proximal basin and upland source regions. Model results suggest significant asymmetry in basin subsidence rates, catchment slopes and transport mechanics between the two margins.     

Sediment flux from an uplifting fault block

The stratigraphy of rift basins is a direct result of sediment liberation and transport through catchment–fan systems whose dynamics are controlled by both external and internal factors. We investigate the response of catchment–fan systems established across an active normal fault to variations in both tectonic and climatic boundary conditions. Numerical experiments show that the ratio of fan area to catchment area provides a sensitive indicator of tectonic activity. A step decrease in fault slip rate results in a delayed response by the catchment–fan systems; the response time is ∼50 kyr for a variety of parameter values. Decreased slip rate also gives rise to an abrupt but transient pulse in sediment discharge from the fans due to a drop in the hangingwall subsidence rate. In contrast, variations in climatic activity, using precipitation rate as a proxy, produce extremely rapid responses throughout the catchment–fan system. Thus, high-frequency climatic changes will overprint lower frequency tectonic variations in the stratigraphic record of fan deposits. Finally, we map out possible combinations of fault geometry, fault slip rate and precipitation rate that allow fan progradation and high rates of sediment discharge from the system.     

Significance of variations in the wind energy environment over the past 50 years with respect to dune activity and desertification in arid and semiarid northern China

Climate data from 339 meteorological stations collected from the 1950s to the early 2000s was employed to discuss aeolian activity in arid and semiarid northern China. The results show that at decadal time scales, erosivity varied greatly in this region. Most of arid and semiarid northern China was characterised by environments with moderate to low wind energy. After the 1980s, the erosivity was only 20 to 50% of that beforehand, and this difference had a significant impact on the environmental changes observed during the two periods. The dune mobility index was consistent with the observed dune activity. After the 1980s dune activity decreased and in some deserts with vegetated dune systems during the 1970s most of the dune plinths were active until the 1980s, after which only the crests were active. Some mobile dunes that had developed at the margins of mobile deserts were replaced by semi-anchored or anchored dunes. Because most desert areas with vegetated dune systems in arid and semiarid northern China are used for farming or grazing, the results of our monitoring show that the desertification trends were consistent with the trends in erosivity and dune activity in this region. Desertification was controlled much more by climatic changes than has previously been acknowledged, and especially by fluctuations in wind energy.     

Tectonic control of fan size: the importance of spatially variable subsidence rates

We study the geophysical controls on the size of alluvial fans. Simple relationships between catchment characteristics, sediment yield, subsidence patterns and fan size are developed. As predicting fan size is essentially a conservation of mass problem, our analysis is general, applying to all types of fan landform. The importance of spatially variable subsidence rates has gone largely unrecognized in previous studies of modern fans. Here we stress that the distribution of subsidence rates in the depositional basin is a primary control on relative fan size. Both free coefficients in the oft-cited power-law correlation of fan area and catchment area can be shown to be set primarily by the tectonic setting, taken to include source area uplift rate and the subsidence distribution in the depositional basin. In the case of a steady-state landscape, relative fan size is shown to be independent of both climate and source lithology; only during times of significant departure from steady state can relative fan size be expected to vary with either climate or source lithology. Transients associated with (1) a sudden increase in rock uplift rate, (2) a sudden change in climate and (3) the unroofing of strata with greatly differing erodibilities may produce variation of relative fan areas with both climate and source lithology. Variation of relative fan size with climate or lithology, however, requires that catchment–fan system response to perturbations away from steady state is sensitive to climate and lithology. Neither the strength of transient system responses nor their sensitivity to climate or lithology are known at present. Furthermore, internal feedbacks can significantly dampen any climatic or lithological effect. Thus theoretical considerations of the importance of climatic and lithological variables are inconclusive, but suggest that climatic and lithological effects are probably of secondary importance to tectonic effects. Field data from an unsteady landscape in Owens Valley, California, support and illustrate theoretical predictions regarding tectonic control of fan size. Field data from Owens Valley allow, but do not prove, a secondary dependence on source lithology. In addition, the Owens Valley field data indicate no relationship between relative fan size and climate. Headward catchment growth and enhanced sediment bypassing of fans during times of increased sediment yield (glacial) are put forward as plausible explanations.     

基于改进层次分析法的干旱扬水灌区水土环境变迁响应评估

受大量的外调水资源和人工灌溉的影响,干旱扬水灌区的水土环境变迁过程具有独特性,其对区域环境要素的响应是长期、潜在而缓慢的,该过程可通过科学的评估与分析描述其发展的趋势。评价过程是否合理,评价结果是否准确是灌区可持续发展的关键。通过应用改进的层次分析法,对干旱扬水灌区水土环境变迁响应进行了评价。结果表明:干旱扬水灌区水土环境变迁响应因子都属于"微敏感"因子;地表水对水土环境的变迁响应相对较为强烈,其次为地下水、区域气候,而土地利用最为迟缓; 18个响应因子中最为敏感的是灌区提水量及灌溉用水量,次之为地下水水位及回归水水质。该评价模型的评价结果与当前灌区水土环境变化现状相吻合,验证了改进层次分析法在干旱扬水灌区水土环境变迁响应评价中的有效性和可操作性,可为灌区的建设和管理提供科学合理的参考依据。     

Nebkha （coppice dune） formation and significance to environmental change reconstructions in arid and semiarid areas

Environments in arid and semiarid regions are extremely sensitive to climate changes.High wind activity in these regions has resulted in an extensively developed arid geomorphology,but past environmental changes are poorly understood because of the absence of relatively high-resolution proxies.The accumulation characteristics of nebkhas,which have developed extensively in these regions,can be used as a method of reconstructing environmental changes.Here we summarized recent advances in research on the formation,development,and sediment characteristics of nebkhas and their significance to environmental changes in arid and semiarid regions.Based on the studies of our colleagues,we suggested that research on nebkha formation can provide distinct clues about environmental changes in arid and semiarid regions;however,continued studies are needed.     

亚洲内陆干旱区NDVI与树木生长的气候响应及其影响因素

基于亚洲内陆干旱区的树木年轮宽度指数（RWI）、归一化差异植被指数（NDVI）和气候数据,采用空间统计方法和相关分析法分析了NDVI和RWI变化的一致性,探讨了NDVI和RWI对气候的响应,揭示了影响NDVI和RWI气候响应的相关因素。结果表明：1982—2000年亚洲内陆干旱区的树木生长和NDVI均呈增加趋势,生长季NDVI与RWI大多具有同步性变化特征,大多数地区5、6月NDVI受同期气温的影响,而4、5月NDVI主要受同期降水的影响;RWI主要受6—7月气温和4、6月和7月降水或帕默尔干旱指数（PDSI）的影响;大部分地区的NDVI和RWI对气温的响应具有一致性,但它们对降水或PDSI的响应存在很大差异;海拔和水热条件对不同地区的NDVI和RWI的气候响应有较大的影响。本研究对于认识亚洲内陆干旱区植被与树木生长的气候响应及其影响因素具有一定的科学意义。     

干旱荒漠土壤动物分布格局对降水脉动的响应研究进展

在干旱荒漠区,降水呈现强烈的脉动特征（即降水频率、强度及数量的高度变异性）,降水脉动变化对荒漠土壤动物的分布格局有显著影响。目前对降水脉动如何影响和调控荒漠土壤动物分布格局形成与维持的生态机制的认识非常有限。因此,深入开展干旱荒漠区降水脉动变化对土壤动物群落分布及多样性影响研究具有重要的科学意义。本文围绕“降水脉动驱动资源脉动影响土壤动物食物网结构”这一核心问题,重点从自然降水变化、冬季降雪变化和夏季降雨变化等方面对国内外的研究动态及最新研究进展做比较系统的评述。在此基础上,探索干旱荒漠生态系统响应降水变化研究中应重点关注的几个前沿科学问题,这可为中国干旱荒漠生态系统生物多样性保护管理提供科学依据,促进荒漠生态系统生物多样性保育理论、资源脉动生态学理论和研究方法的发展。     

Merged remotely sensed data for geomorphological investigations in deserts: examples from central Saudi Arabia

Image merging has gained acceptance in geological remote sensing, however it has rarely been applied in geomorphology. We report on the usefulness of principal components substitution (PCS) to merge IRS panchromatic data with multispectral Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, to map commonly encountered desert geomorphological features, and in relative age dating of alluvial surfaces. The merged data were applied to the identification and mapping of geomorphological features along two geolo-gically different mountain fronts in central Saudi Arabia. Two types of geomorphological maps have been created. A morphogenetic map that distinguishes between aeolian landforms, fluvial landforms, desert pavements, and gypsum crusts. Second, a morphochronological map, which shows the relative age of four geomorphic surfaces developed on an alluvial fan. The construction of the two maps is supported by field observations and laboratory measurements. Using the optimum index factor (OIF), a TM band 1, 5 and 7 image (of 20 merged composites) was found to be the optimum colour composite image for the geomorphological features in this arid environment. We discuss our findings in the context of the spatial and spectral properties required for applied geomorphological remote sensing.     

Influence of late Holocene hillslope processes and landforms on modern channel dynamics in upland watersheds of central Nevada

Stratigraphic, geomorphic, and paleoecological data were collected from upland watersheds in the Great Basin of central Nevada to assess the relationships between late Holocene climate change, hillslope processes and landforms, and modern channel dynamics. These data indicate that a shift to drier, warmer climatic conditions from approximately 2500 to 1300 YPB led to a complex set of geomorphic responses. The initial response was massive hillslope erosion and the simultaneous aggradation of both side-valley alluvial fans and the axial valley system. The final response was fan stabilization and axial channel incision as fine-grained sediments were winnowed from the hillslope sediment reservoirs, and sediment yield and runoff processes were altered. The primary geomorphic response to disturbance for approximately the past 1900 years has been channel entrenchment, suggesting that the evolutionary history of hillslopes has produced watersheds that are prone to incision. The magnitude of the most recent phase of channel entrenchment varies along the valley floor as a function of geomorphic position relative to side-valley alluvial fans. Radial fan profiles suggest that during fan building, fan deposits temporarily blocked the flow of sediment down the main stem of the valley, commonly creating a stepped longitudinal valley profile. Stream reaches located immediately upvalley of these fans are characterized by low gradients and alternating episodes of erosion and deposition. In contrast, reaches coincident with or immediately downstream of the fans exhibit higher gradients and limited valley floor deposition. Thus, modern channel dynamics and associated riparian ecosystems are strongly influenced by landforms created by depositional events that occurred approximately 2000 years ago.     

Late Quaternary sedimentation on the Leidy Creek fan, Nevada–California: geomorphic responses to climate change

Well-dated surface and subsurface deposits in semiarid Fish Lake Valley, Nevada and California, demonstrate that alluvial-fan deposition is strongly associated with the warm dry climate of the last two interglacial intervals, and that fans were stable and (or) incised during the last glaciation. Fan deposition was probably triggered by a change from relatively moist to arid conditions causing a decrease in vegetation cover and increases in flash floods and sediment yield. We think that this scenario applies to most of the other valleys in the southern Basin and Range. Radiocarbon, tephra, and a few thermoluminescence and cosmogenic ages from outcrops throughout Fish Lake Valley and from cores on the Leidy Creek fan yield ages of >100–50 ka and 11–0 ka for the last two periods of alluvial-fan deposition. Mapping, coring and shallow seismic profiling indicate that these periods were synchronous throughout the valley and on the proximal and distal parts of the fans. From 50 to 11 ka, fan deposition ceased, a soil formed on the older alluvium and the axial drainage became active as runoff and stream competence increased. Slow deposition due to sheet flow or aeolian processes locally continued during this interval, producing cumulic soil profiles. The soil was buried by debris-flow sediment beginning at about 11 ka, coincident with the onset of relatively dry and warm conditions in the region. However, ground-water discharge maintained a large freshwater marsh on the valley floor throughout the Holocene. Pulses of deposition during the Holocene are recorded in the marsh and fan deposits; some pulses coincided with periods of or transitions to warm, dry climate indicated by proxy climate records, whereas others may reflect local disturbances associated with volcanism and fires. Within the marsh deposits, much of the clastic material is probably desert loess. In addition, the deposition of coppice dunes within the fan deposits coincides with two dry periods during the late Holocene.     

榆林剖面的热释光测年及其对这一地区干旱事件的讨论

用热释光测年方法对陕西榆林地区蔡家沟和石峁剖面的风成砂－黄土－古土壤序列进行了系统的测年，结果表明末次冰期的风成沉积中夹有三层古风成砂，由此反映了末次冰期中有三次沙漠扩大的气候干旱时期。根据年代测定结果最末一次干旱事件出现在１２～＜２７ｋａＢ．Ｐ．之间，基本上与末次冰期极盛期相当，可以与深海氧同位素阶段２对应。第二次干旱期出现在４８ｋａＢ．Ｐ．左右，大致与氧同位素阶段３的中期相当。最早的干旱期出现在５５～＜７５ｋａＢ．Ｐ．之间，与阶段４对应。令人感兴趣的是虽然与阶段２、阶段４对应的干旱期在世界上其它地区同样有记录，但是大致相当于阶段３中期的这期干旱事件却以榆林剖面反映最好，表现为末次冰期的间冰段期间，毛乌素沙漠也曾经大规模扩大，这从一个侧面说明了中国的沙漠－黄土边界带对气候变化的敏感性。此外，热释光测年结果还表明了末次冰期的沉积由风成砂与黄土迭覆而成，而末次间冰期则由古土壤与黄土迭覆而成，因此，无论是冰期还是间冰期，气候条件都不是以持续的干冷或温暖为特点，而是叠加了更次一级的气候变化。毛乌素沙漠在第四纪时期并非持续存在，而是在气候的调节下经历了沙漠出现与固定的多次转变     

河西走廊西端灌丛沙丘发育过程及其对沙漠化的指示意义

在风沙活动强烈的荒漠地区开展环境变化研究常缺乏符合要求的地质测年材料。灌丛沙丘是干旱区发育的一种特殊生物地貌类型,具有计年和储存环境信息的功能,可以用来重建沙丘的发育过程和过去的环境变化。以河西走廊西端花海盆地发育的灌丛沙丘沉积剖面为研究对象,基于AMS¹⁴C年代学及沉积物粒度、碳酸盐含量、地球化学元素等代用指标的分析,与文献记载、沙漠化监测数据和近几十年的器测气象资料对比分析,试图揭示区域灌丛沙丘的发育过程及其环境指示意义。结果表明：花海盆地灌丛沙丘的发育时间已超过800 年;20世纪60年代中后期至70年代早期人类活动的干扰曾使灌丛沙丘的堆积过程中断,但丰富的物源随后又促使灌丛沙丘再次快速发育。沙丘物源曾发生过剧烈的变化,使得灌丛沙丘沉积物中的粗颗粒组分和中值粒径并不适于作为环境代用指标重建区域的风沙环境变化,而细颗粒组分（<63 μm和<10 μm）和碳酸盐含量的变化,则揭示了研究区在20世纪70-80年代（沙丘高度300~420 cm）时获得了丰富的物质来源。灌丛沙丘沉积物中的Zr/Rb比值,能够作为良好的环境代用指标指示1970-1988年（沙丘高度300~420 cm）区域处在风沙活动较强烈的环境;近几十年花海盆地土地沙漠化明显,尤其是20世纪70年代和80年代。灌丛沙丘可以作为有较高可信度的地质记录载体,在河西走廊西端重建较长时间尺度的、高分辨率的区域气候环境演变历史。     

Climate and surface properties: hydrological response of small arid and semi-arid watersheds

A positive relationship between annual rainfall and geomorphic processes (runoff and erosion rates) and environmental factors (water regime, soil and vegetation cover) is often assumed for arid and semi-arid areas with an annual rainfall in the range of 100–300 mm. This assumption disregards the fact that changes along a climatic gradient, at desert margins, are not limited to purely climatic factors. They are often accompanied by a parallel change in surface properties; especially the relative extent of rocky or soil covered surfaces that differ greatly in their response to rainfall. This raises the issue whether the change in surface properties along a climatic gradient enhances the assumed positive effects of rainfall increase or limits it. The hypothesis advanced in this paper is that runoff generation and rate in arid and semi-arid areas are primarily controlled by surface properties rather than by the absolute amounts of storm and annual rain amounts. Hydrological data collected at two instrumented watersheds, located one in an arid rocky area, and the second in a semi-arid soil covered area, support this hypothesis. The implications of data obtained for runoff generation and flow continuity under changing climatic conditions are analyzed. They point to the fact that the same regional climatic change may have different, and even opposite effects, on the hydrological response of different adjoining surface units. This response is expected to be strongly controlled by the specific local surface conditions that prevailed in the area prior to the climatic change.     

Little ice age alluvial fan development in Langedalen, western Norway

This paper reports a preliminary investigation of the sedimentary succession in two alluvial fans in western Norway. Sedimentological information is supplemented by palaeoecological data from pollen analysis and the age of the sequence is constrained by six radiocarbon age estimates on woody fragments and peat. These data suggest that significant accumulation of fan sediments took place after AD 1637–1685. Before this, the fluvial landscape and the adjacent slopes may have been more stable with the development of Betula , Salix and Alnus woodland on the valley floor and sides. Although there is no indication of gradual climatic deterioration in the vegetation record from these sites, the radiocarbon chronology suggests that enhanced fan development was coincident with the climatic change associated with the 'Little Ice Age'. This was probably a response to glacier expansion and increased discharge and sediment supply to the alluvial fans from outlets of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap on the southern side of Langedalen. Initial response to climate change in this setting was therefore enhanced geomorphic activity and instability of the valley-side slopes.     

Desert pavement characteristics on wadi terrace and alluvial fan surfaces: Wadi Al-Bih, U.A.E. and Oman

In arid mountain areas, the dating and correlation of alluvial depositional surfaces is often uncertain. Especially in regions where the geomorphology is not well known, surface modification by the development of soil and desert pavement may allow the correlation of geomorphic surfaces and estimation of at least their relative ages. Pleistocene wadi terraces and associated alluvial fans occur in Wadi Al-Bih, U.A.E. and Oman, for which correlations and age relationships are not known. Three age-related groups of fans and terraces have been identified and mapped on the basis of their morphostratigraphic relationships. Deposition of the oldest terrace sediments and associated fans followed a long period of sustained incision after Miocene uplift of the region. The younger two groups of terraces and fans are inset within the older group. To identify the gross effects of pavement development, comparisons have been made between terrace surface and subsurface particle-size distributions. The older terraces have finer surface sediments and a greater contrast between finer surface and subsurface sediments than the younger terraces. This reflects the degree of pavement development. Particle size on the fan surfaces is comparable with that on the equivalent terrace surfaces. Criteria for the classification of pavements were developed based on clast fracturing and angularity, size, sorting, packing, and surface texture, from which a simple index of pavement development has been derived. Other properties, rock varnish and weathering characteristics, were also recorded; but these proved to be less discriminatory than pavement characteristics. The pavement data have been augmented by observations on soils. Detailed studies of pavements on terraces (8 sites, 12 samples covering the three age groups) and fans (5 sites, 10 samples covering the three age groups) allow differentiation between age-groups. The three terraces show three different age-related pavement types, expressed by differences in the pavement development index. Weakly-developed pavements (little fracturing, sub-rounded clasts, some modification of the depositional fabric, incipient soil development, stage I CaCO₃ accumulation) occur on the youngest terrace and fan surfaces. Moderately-developed pavements (clast fracturing, sub-angular clasts, moderate sorting and packing, deeper soil development, stage II CaCO₃ accumulation) occur on the middle terrace and fan surfaces. Well-developed pavements (complete clast fracturing into small angular fragments, mature sorting and packing of the pavement surface, deep soil development with strong horizonation, stage III CaCO₃ accumulation) occur on the highest terrace and oldest fan surfaces. There are minor differences between the youngest pavements on terraces and fans, which reflect initial sedimentological differences. These differences become less as the pavements develop. On the basis of comparative studies, the oldest terrace is estimated to date from sometime prior to ca. 100 ka BP, the second terrace and the most extensive fan surface from the Late Pleistocene, and the youngest terrace and fan phase from the Latest Pleistocene or Early Holocene.     

Distinguishing tectonic from climatic controls on range-front sedimentation

Geologic and chronometric studies of alluvial fan sequences in south-central Australia provide insights into the roles of tectonics and climate in continental landscape evolution. The most voluminous alluvial fans in the Flinders Ranges region have developed adjacent to catchments uplifted by Plio-Quaternary reverse faults, implying that young tectonic activity has exerted a first-order control on long-term sediment accumulation rates along the range front. However, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of alluvial fan sequences indicates that late Quaternary facies changes and intervals of sediment aggradation and dissection are not directly correlated with individual faulting events. Fan sequences record a transition from debris flow deposition and soil formation to clast-supported conglomeritic sedimentation by ∼30 ka. This transition is interpreted to reflect a landscape response to increasing climatic aridity, coupled with large flood events that episodically stripped previously weathered regolith from the landscape. Late Pleistocene to Holocene cycles of fan incision and aggradation post-date the youngest-dated surface ruptures and are interpreted to reflect changes in the frequency and magnitude of large floods. These datasets indicate that tectonic activity controlled long-term sediment supply but climate governed the spatial and temporal patterns of range-front sedimentation. Mild intraplate tectonism appears to have influenced Plio-Quaternary sedimentation patterns across much of the southern Australian continent, including the geometry and extent of alluvial fans and sea-level incursions.     

Environmental zonation across the Australian arid region based on long-term vegetation dynamics

Zonation of landscapes is generally based on broad scale biophysical data, field surveys, imagery and expert knowledge. Such zonation represents a static view of the environment and does not reflect dynamics and function. Arid environments are however often highly dynamic, and spatial and temporal patterns may be expressed over long periods of time. These dynamics need to be understood for management. Our aim is to understand the dynamics and functional response of vegetation in the Australian arid zone, and use this to inform and potentially improve the currently employed stratification. Principal component analysis of 25 years of satellite imagery identified underlying factors influencing patterns of arid vegetation growth, and regions of similar long-term response. Dominant factors of variation were identified as the spatial distribution of total vegetation growth, seasonality of growth, magnitude of seasonal variability in growth, and regularity of variation in growth. Additional variation resulted from episodic vegetation growth of limited spatial extent and duration. Classes expressing these functional components were compared with the existing biogeographical regions, revealing agreement in some instances, and in other cases adding information previously not available. The study demonstrates a new approach to Australian landscape zonation that has potential for much wider application.     

模拟增温和改变降雨频率对干旱半干旱区土壤呼吸的影响

温度和降水是干旱半干旱区土壤呼吸的重要扰动因子,全球气候变化导致的未来干旱半干旱区增温和降水变率增大对土壤呼吸有着重要影响.研究通过人工设置P16×2.5mm、P8×5mm、P4×10mm、P2×20mm、P1×40mm的降雨频率梯度和增温2℃左右的控制试验,探讨不同降雨频率和增温处理对干旱半干旱区土壤呼吸的影响,以及...     

Source‐to‐sink analysis of ancient sedimentary systems using a subsurface case study from the Møre‐Trøndelag area of southern Norway: Part 2 – sediment dispersal and forcing mechanisms

The composition, volume and stratigraphic organisation of submarine fan systems deposited along continental margins are expected to reflect the landscape from which the sediment was derived. During the Late Cretaceous, the Møre‐Trøndelag margin, Norwegian North Sea was dominated by the deposition of deep‐marine fines; the emplacement of 11 sand‐rich submarine fan systems occurred only during a c. 3 Myr period in the Turonian‐Coniacian. The systems were fed by sediment that was routed through submarine canyons incised into the basin margin; the canyons are underlain by angular unconformities and are interpreted to have resulted from tectonically induced changes in slope physiography and erosion by gravity flows. The areal extent of the onshore drainage catchments that supplied sediment to the fans has been estimated based on scaling relationships derived from modern source‐to‐sink systems. The results of our study suggest that the Turonian fans were sourced by drainage catchments that were up to ca.3600 km², extending more than ca.100 km inland from the palaeo‐shoreline. The estimated inboard catchment extent correlates with the innermost structures of a large, long‐lived, basement‐involved, normal fault complex. On the basis of our analysis, we conclude that increased sediment supply to the Turonian fan systems reflects tectonic rejuvenation of the landscape, rather than eustatic sea‐level or climate fluctuations. The duration of fan deposition is thus interpreted to reflect the ‘relaxation time’ of the landscape following tectonic perturbation, and fan system retrogradation and abandonment is interpreted to reflect the eventual depletion of the onshore sediment source. We demonstrate that a better understanding of the stratigraphic variability in deepwater depositional systems can be gained by taking a complete source‐to‐sink view of ancient sediment dispersal systems.