Late Quaternary denudation of the Alps,valley and lake fillings and modern river loads

The coastal areas of the island of Delos, located at the centre of the Cyclades archipelago (Greece), are rich in submerged Hellenistic archaeological vestiges. This submersion can be explained by changes in relative sea-level: the recent 14C datings of submerged beachrock occurrences of Delos and the nearby islands of Mykonos and Rhenia suggest that the sea level was at about -2.5 m (± 0.5 m) around 400 BC [1, 2]. Such result has enabled to confirm and refine Negris'early-twentieth-century hypothesis that the submersion can be accounted for by the relative sea-level rise.

From this result, together with bathymetric maps, archaeological studies and stratigraphic data, the Hellenistic coastal landscapes on the western side of Delos have been reconstructed.

The Sacred Harbour (including the Agora of the Competaliasts) and the “Pointe des Pilastres” landscapes (located to the South) resembled those of the current Greek harbours: the paved walkways or esplanades bordering buildings or shops were separated from the sea by a beach onto which boats were drawn. The landscape of the “Maisons au flanc de la Colline” sector (located to the North) seems to have been different. These houses were located on a rocky platform, in a sector exposed to the north swell.     

Infilling of the Younger Kathmandu–Banepa intermontane lake basin during the Late Quaternary (Lesser Himalaya,Nepal): a sedimentological study

The Kathmandu and Banepa Basins, Central Nepal, are located in a large syncline of the Lesser Himalayas. The Older Kathmandu Lake evolved during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene; the Younger Kathmandu Lake, which is the focus of this study, is infilled with late Quaternary sediments. Three formations, arranged in stratigraphical order, the Kalimati, Gokarna and Thoka Formations formed during the infilling stage of this lacustrine basin. Structural and textural sedimentological analyses, a chemical survey across the basin and mineralogical investigations of fine‐grained sediments form the basis of this palaeogeographical study. The basin under investigation was covered by a perennial freshwater lake before 30 000 yr BP. The lake was infilled with alluvial and fluvial sediments delivered mainly from the mountains north of the basin. A fairly low gradient was favourable for the formation of diatomaceous earths, carbonaceous mudstones and siltstones, which were laid down in the centre of the lake and in small ponds. Towards the basin edge, lacustrine sediments gave way to deltaic deposits spread across the delta plain. Crevasse splays and anastomosing rivers mainly delivered suspended load for the widespread siltstones and mudstones. The proximal parts of the alluvial–fluvial sedimentary wedge contain debris flows that interfinger with fine‐grained floodplain deposits. Three highstands of the water‐level (>30 000 yr BP, 28 000–19 000 yr BP, 11 000–4000 yr BP (?)) have been recognised in the sedimentary record of the younger Kathmandu Lake in the Late Quaternary. Second‐order water‐level fluctuations are assumed to be triggered by local processes (damming by tectonically induced landslides). First‐order water‐level fluctuations are the result of climatic changes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Palaeoclihlatic Indicators of China's Quaternary Saline Lake Sediments and Hydrochemistry

In this paper the authors classify saline lake sediments into the cold, warm and eurythermal phases, reveal the consistency between the zoning of hydrochemical types of modern saline lake water and climatic zoning and give climatic parameters under the conditions of typical cold phase (mirabilite and natron), warm phase (thenar-dite) and slightly warm phase (bloedite) saline lake deposition.     

Late Holocene glacial and periglacial evolution in the upper Orco Valley, northwestern Italian Alps

The sediments present in some areas of the Orco Valley provide indications on climatic variations that occurred during the last 6000 years on the southern slopes of the Alps. In particular, distribution and ages of peat layers help define periods and extent of glacial fluctuation in the last 2200 years. Sampling of soils involved in periglacial processes provided a basis for development of a chronological framework of late Holocene environmental change. The data indicate a trend toward cooler climate in the second half of the Holocene. A strong relationship exists between phases of River Po flooding and expansion/retreat phases of the Swiss glaciers: major glacial advances were coeval with periods of intense flooding of the River Po, whereas the phases of glacial retreat coincided with periods of little flooding of the Po. Only in three cases do relationships between glacier activity and floods show weak correlations; two of the cases relate to the warmest periods in approximately the last 2200 years, while the third is the present period. Paleoclimatic evidence from the study region indicates the relatively warm Roman Period between about 2200 and 1900 cal yr BP appears to better represent modern conditions than does the Medieval Warm Period.     

西藏纳木错第四纪湖相地层划分及纳木错群的建立

第四纪湖相地层剖面实测和水准仪测量表明,在西藏纳木错沿岸,发育有拔湖48m以下的6级湖岸阶地和拔湖48m以上最高至139.2m的高位湖相沉积。纳木错湖相或湖滨相沉积的铀系等时线年龄测定结果表明,高位湖相沉积形成于晚更新世早期,第六至第三级阶地则分别形成于晚更新世中期至晚期。14C法测年表明,第二和第一级阶地的形成时间介于13820～2350年间,属全新世。根据沉积相、岩相组合等特征,并结合同位素测年、微体古生物鉴定等资料,将该套地层命名为纳木错群,由上更新统干玛弄组和全新统扎弄淌组组成。     

Late Quaternary landscapes in Central Australia: sedimentary history and palaeoecology of Puritjarra rock shelter

Puritjarra rock shelter provides a long record of late Quaternary vegetation in the Australian arid zone. Analysis of the sedimentary history of this rock shelter is combined with reanalysis of charcoal and phytolith records to provide a first‐order picture of changing landscapes in western Central Australia. These show a landscape responding to increasing aridity from 45 ka with deflation of clay‐rich red palaeosols (<45 ka) and sharp declines in grassland and other vegetation at 40–36 ka, and at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (24 ka). Vegetation in the catchment of the rock shelter recovered after 15 ka with expansion of both acacia woodland and spinifex grasslands, registering stronger summer rainfall in the interior of the continent. By 8.3 ka re‐vegetation of local palaeosols and dunes had choked off sediment supply to the rock shelter and the character of the sediments changed abruptly. Poaceae values peaked at 5.8 ka, suggesting the early–mid Holocene climatic optimum in Central Australia is bracketed between 8.3 and 5.8 ka. Local vegetation was disrupted in the late Holocene with a sharp decline in Poaceae at 3.8 ka, coinciding with an abrupt intensification of ENSO. Local grasslands recovered over the next two millennia and by 1.5 ka the modern vegetation appears to have become established. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary distal tephra-fall deposits in lacustrine sediments, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Tephra-fall deposits from Cook Inlet volcanoes were detected in sediment cores from Tustumena and Paradox Lakes, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, using magnetic susceptibility and petrography. The ages of tephra layers were estimated using 21 ¹⁴C ages on macrofossils. Tephras layers are typically fine, gray ash, 1-5 mm thick, and composed of varying proportions of glass shards, pumice, and glass-coated phenocrysts. Of the two lakes, Paradox Lake contained a higher frequency of tephra (0.8 tephra/100 yr; 109 over the 13,200-yr record). The unusually large number of tephra in this lake relative to others previously studied in the area is attributed to the lake's physiography, sedimentology, and limnology. The frequency of ash fall was not constant through the Holocene. In Paradox Lake, tephra layers are absent between ca. 800-2200, 3800-4800, and 9000-10,300 cal yr BP, despite continuously layered lacustrine sediment. In contrast, between 5000 and 9000 cal yr BP, an average of 1.7 tephra layers are present per 100 yr. The peak period of tephra fall (7000-9000 cal yr BP; 2.6 tephra/100 yr) in Paradox Lake is consistent with the increase in volcanism between 7000 and 9000 yr ago recorded in the Greenland ice cores.     

Geomorphological hazards related to deep dissolution phenomena in the Western Italian Alps: Distribution, assessment and interaction with human activities

Deep dissolution affects great part of soluble rocks (e.g. gypsum and anhydrite) of the Western Italian Alps. The related superficial phenomena (sinkholes, gravity-induced processes and a local worsening of geomechanical rock properties) are not limited to typical karsts landscape and cause slope instability also affecting populated sites and infrastructures. The paper aims to describe general characteristic of dissolution phenomena, to interpret their conditioning factors and evolutionary stages and to assess possible hazards due to their superficial effects.The search for evidences of deep dissolution leads to the selection of representative sites in the central part of the Western Italian Alps (Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta Region). Detailed geological and geomorphological studies have been used to classify the selected sites by type, size and variable state of activity. Very different evolutionary stages of dissolution phenomena have been interpreted by comparison of case-studies: some are early “embryonic”; others are more evolved, up to typical sinkholes, or even remodelled by other phenomena. Some cases show an extreme complexity in the interactions between corrosion phenomena and other geomorphic processes: slope deformations, from one side, and karst, fluvial and glacial phenomena, to the other. A wide range of movement rates on slope instabilities induced by deep dissolution have been estimated by topographic and geomorphic data. Geochemical data on removed rocks by dissolution indicate 0.4 mm/year values for local subsidence. Historical and technical data indicate low frequency of major dissolution-induced collapses, but highlight widespread damages to tunnels, roads and buildings, especially along slopes.     

Late Neogene–Quaternary evolution of the intermontane Clusone Basin (Southern Alps,Italy): integration of seismic and geological data

In the Clusone Basin (a large intermontane basin filled by thick late Neogene–Quaternary sediments in the Middle Val Seriana, Southern Alps), two high‐resolution seismic profiles have been acquired in order to reconstruct the geometries of the sediments that fill the depression, with a maximum thickness of more than 200 m as documented by available well data, and to define their relationships with the bedrock, consisting of Late Triassic carbonates. In addition to standard seismic reflection processing, a seismic refraction inversion technique has been applied. The integration of geological (both surface and well data) and seismic data indicates a complex history of the drainage patterns of the Clusone Basin, documenting a shift of the Serio River from a palaeodrainage toward the southeast (Val Borlezza) to the present situation, toward the south (Val Seriana): between the older and the present‐day drainages an important depositional stage occurred, as documented by the thick sediments that fill the Clusone Basin, controlling the capture of the Serio River along the Val Seriana. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

6600 years of earthquake record in the Julian Alps (Lake Bohinj,Slovenia)

Sequences of lake sediments often form long and continuous records that may be sensitive recorders of seismic shaking. A multi‐proxy analysis of Lake Bohinj sediments associated with a well‐constrained chronology was conducted to reconstruct Holocene seismic activity in the Julian Alps (Slovenia). A seismic reflection survey and sedimentological analyses identified 29 homogenite‐type deposits related to mass‐wasting deposits. The most recent homogenites can be linked to historical regional earthquakes (i.e. 1348 ad , 1511 ad and 1690 ad ) with strong epicentral intensity [greater than ‘damaging’ (VIII ) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale]. The correlation between the historical earthquake data set and the homogenites identified in a core isolated from local stream inputs, allows interpretation of all similar deposits as earthquake related. This work extends the earthquake chronicle of the last 6600 years in this area with a total of 29 events recorded. The early Holocene sedimentary record is disturbed by a seismic event (6617 ± 94 cal yr bp ) that reworked previously deposited sediment and led to a thick sediment deposit identified in the seismic survey. The period between 3500 cal yr bp and 2000 cal yr bp is characterized by a major destabilization in the watershed by human activities that led to increases in erosion and sedimentation rates. This change increased the lake's sensitivity to recording an earthquake (earthquake‐sensitivity threshold index) with the occurrence of 72 turbidite‐type deposits over this period. The high turbidite frequency identified could be the consequence of this change in lake earthquake sensitivity and thus these turbidites could be triggered by earthquake shaking, as other origins are discarded. This study illustrates why it is not acceptable to propose a return period for seismic activity recorded in lake sediment if the sedimentation rate varies significantly.     

Lake sedimentary processes and vegetation changes over the last 45k cal a bp in the uplands of south-eastern Amazonia

This study addresses paleoclimate influences in a southern Amazonia ecotone based on multiproxy records from lakes of the Carajás region during the last 45k cal a bp. Wet and cool environmental conditions marked the initial deposition in shallow depressions with detrital sediments and high weathering rates until 40k cal a bp. Concomitantly, forest and C3 canga plants, along with cool-adapted taxa, developed; however, short drier episodes enabled expansion of C4 plants and diagenetic formation of siderite. A massive event of siderite formation occurred approximately 30k cal a bp under strong drier conditions. Afterwards, wet and cool environmental conditions returned and persisted until the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The LGM was marked by lake-level lowstands and subaerial exposure. The transition from the LGM to the Holocene is marked by the onset of oscillations in temperature and humidity, with an expansion of forest and canga plants. Cool taxa were present for the last time in the Carajás region ~ 9.5–9k cal a bp. After 10k cal a bp , shallow lakes became upland swamps due to natural infilling processes, but the current vegetation types and structures of the plateaus were acquired only after 3k cal a bp under wetter climatic conditions.     

青藏高原中部湖泊岩芯记录的第四纪湖平面变化及气候意义

通过对羌塘地区中部羌D1井长181·6m第四系岩芯的研究,分析湖泊沉积记录的岩相旋回和Fe/Mn和Sr/Ba等微量元素古环境参数的变化,结合样品的热释光(TL)测年数据,讨论晚更新世该区湖泊扩张和湖面升降变化过程。结果表明,晚更新世以来该区湖泊环境的演化,经历了二次湖进过程,二次湖平面上升期之间出现了一次广泛的干化低水位时期。其中15~7万年期间的湖泛事件可以在区域上进行追踪对比,它对应于深海氧同位素的第5阶段,可以作为高原中央气候转型期的标志。     

晚第四纪柴达木盆地东部古湖泊高湖面光释光年代学

高湖面是湖泊演化的鼎盛期,指示区域的温暖湿润气候。关于青藏高原湖泊高湖面的年代有不同的观点。一种观点(主要是基于14C测年)认为在氧同位素三阶段晚期青藏高原普遍存在"大湖期"或"泛湖期",并且其温度和降水可能比全新世还高。另一种观点(主要基于释光、铀系测年等)认为青藏高原湖泊的最高古湖面出现在氧同位素五阶段,之后湖面逐渐下降。柴达木盆地位于青藏高原的东北部,其高湖面年代的研究可为认识青藏高原环境演化提供基础资料。本文选择柴达木盆地东部的托素湖和尕海湖高出现代湖面的湖相沉积和湖岸砂堤为研究对象,利用石英光释光测年方法建立其年代序列。根据沉积物沉积特征和光释光年代结果认为,尕海湖和托素湖古高湖面出现在82～73ka、63～55ka、34.4ka和全新世早期。通过与青藏高原及周边湖泊高湖面年代记录对比,认为尕海湖和托素湖的最高湖面主体出现在氧同位素五阶段,之后湖面逐渐下降。     

Late Quaternary palaeoenvironment of northern Guatemala: evidence from deep drill cores and seismic stratigraphy of Lake Petén Itzá

Long sediment cores were collected in spring 2006 from Lake Petén Itzá, northern Guatemala, in water depths ranging from 30 to 150 m, as part of an International Continental Scientific Drilling Program project. The sediment records from deep water consist mainly of alternating clay, gypsum and carbonate units and, in at least two drill sites, extend back >200 kyr. Most of the lithostratigraphic units are traceable throughout the basin along seismic reflections that serve as seismic stratigraphic boundaries and suggest that the lithostratigraphy can be used to infer regional palaeoenvironmental changes. A revised seismic stratigraphy was established on the basis of integrated lithological and seismic reflection data from the basin. From ca 200 to ca 85 ka, sediments are dominated by carbonate‐clay silt, often interbedded with sandy turbidites, indicating a sediment regime dominated by detrital sedimentation in a relatively humid climate. At ca 85 ka, an exposure horizon consisting of gravels, coarse sand and terrestrial gastropods marks a lake lowstand or partial basin desiccation, indicating dry climate conditions. From ca 85 to ca 48 ka, transgressive carbonate‐clay sediments, overlain by deep‐water clays, suggest a lake level rise and subsequent stabilization at high stage. From ca 48 ka to present, the lithology is characterized by alternating clay and gypsum units. Gypsum deposition correlates with Heinrich Events (i.e. dry climate), whereas clay units coincide with more humid interstadials.     

Facies and basin architecture of the Late Carboniferous Salvan-Dorénaz continental basin (Western Alps, Switzerland/France)

The Salvan‐Dorénaz Basin formed during the Late Palaeozoic within the Aiguilles‐Rouges crystalline basement (Western Alps) as an asymmetric, intramontane graben elongated in a NE–SW direction and bounded by active faults. At least 1700 m of fluvial, alluvial fan and volcanic deposits provide evidence for a strong tectonic influence on deposition with long‐term, average subsidence rates of > 0·2 mm yr^?1. The early basin fill was associated with coarse‐grained alluvial fans that were dominated by braided channels (unit I). These issued from the south‐western margin of the basin. The fans then retreated to a marginal position and were overlain by muddy floodplain deposits of an anastomosed fluvial system (unit II) that drained towards the NE. Deposition of thick muds resulted from a reduction in the axial fluvial gradient caused by accelerated tectonic subsidence. Overlying sand‐rich meandering river deposits (unit III) document a reversal in the drainage direction from the NE to the SW caused by synsedimentary tectonism, reflecting large‐scale topographic reorganization in this part of the Variscides with subsidence now preferentially in the W and SW and uplift in the E and NE. Coarse‐grained alluvial fan deposits (unit IV) repeatedly prograded into, and retreated from, the basin as documented by coarsening‐upward cycles tens of metres thick reflecting smaller scale tectonic cycles. Volcanism was active throughout the evolution of the basin, and U/Pb isotopic dating of the volcanic deposits restricts the time of basin development to the Late Carboniferous (308–295 Ma). ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of detrital white mica indicate rapid tectonic movements and exhumation of the nearby basement. In unit I, youngest ages are close to that of the host sediment, but the age spectrum is wide. In unit II, high subsidence and/or sedimentation rates coincide with very narrow age spectra, indicating small, homogeneous catchment areas. In unit III, age spectra became wider again and indicate growing catchment areas.     

用OSL方法确定雅鲁藏布江大拐弯第四纪晚期冰川堰塞湖年龄

雅鲁藏布江是青藏高原上的一条大河, 其河谷地貌和地质环境演化的发育历史对于青藏高原地质研究有重要意义。前人用ESR和14C测年方法对雅鲁藏布江河谷两岸广泛分布河湖相沉积物、冰碛物测年确定了有四期堰塞湖。作者用光释光(OSL, Opically Stimulated Luminesecence)测年方法分析采集到的湖相样品年龄为(50.9±2.1) ka BP和(1.8±0.1) ka BP, 证明雅鲁藏布江大拐弯处末次冰期早冰阶和新冰期存在 古堰塞湖。     

Quaternary colluvium in west-central Anatolia: sedimentary facies and palaeoclimatic significance

The Quaternary colluvial aprons in Lake Eğirdir area, Taurus Mountains, consist of steep coalescent fans, up to 17–20 m thick and 350–450 m in plan-view radius, and the sedimentary succession comprises four lithostratigraphic divisions. The basal red–brown colluvium consists of a chaotic, bouldery fan-core rubble covered with bedded, openwork to matrix-rich gravel, whose deposition is attributed to rockfalls and cohesive debrisflows, with minor grainflows and sheetwash processes. The middle part of this division contains interbeds of early Pleistocene tephra. The overlying light-grey colluvium consists of bedded gravel with numerous palaeogullies and its deposition is attributed to waterflow, rockfalls and cohesive debrisflows. The younger, medium-grey colluvium consists of stratified pebbly sand interspersed with cobble/boulder gravel and its deposition is attributed to sheetwash processes accompanied by rockfalls and wet snowflows/slushflows. A bulk-pollen radiocarbon date indicates Late Würm age. The youngest, yellow–grey colluvium consists of bedded, mainly pebbly and openwork gravel, whose deposition is attributed to dry grainflows, rockfalls and minor cohesive debrisflows. Based on the sedimentary facies assemblages and available isotopic dates, the four colluvial divisions are correlated with the following stages of the region's climatic history: (1) the latest Pliocene to Early Pleistocene stage of warm–humid climate with pronounced phases of drier conditions; (2) the Late Pleistocene stage of colder climate, with alternating phases of higher and lower humidity; (3) the last glacial (Würm) stage of coldest climate; and (4) the Holocene stage of warm semi-arid climate. It is concluded that colluvial depositional systems bear a valuable proxy record of climatic changes and regional geoclimatic differences.     

晚第四纪湖泊沉积物盐类与碎屑矿物反相关关系的沉积学解释

湖泊沉积物中矿物组合是古气候环境研究的敏感性指标之一, 充分认识湖泊沉积物中各类矿物组合类型、沉积过程, 对正确解释矿物学指标有重要意义. 我国晚第四纪湖泊沉积记录中, 盐类矿物与碎屑矿物含量普遍存在反相关关系, 影响了矿物组合作为气候指标的解释和应用. 从地球科学的角度正确理解这种关系, 可以为湖泊动力学以及古气候环境定量研究提供重要的科学依据. 选择甘肃民勤盆地石羊河下游终端湖猪野泽不同位置5个全新世剖面, 在明确湖泊沉积物来源、搬运方式和沉积动力机制的基础上, 研究了以碳酸盐矿物为主的盐类矿物含量与粒度指标之间的关系. 结果表明:猪野泽各剖面砂层富含的中砂、细砂沉积物主要是来自于巴丹吉林沙漠和腾格里沙漠的风成砂; 水动力作用主导了湖相沉积层200 μm以下沉积物的沉积, 风力作用对20~70 μm粉砂组分沉积也有所贡献. 同时, 猪野泽湖相沉积层中高含量的碳酸盐主要来自于流水搬运, 湖相沉积层位200 μm以下的粉砂和极细砂是碳酸盐的主要富集区. 综上所述, 干旱区湖泊沉积物中盐类矿物含量与其沉积过程密切相关, 盐类矿物在全球变化研究中的应用要建立在充分研究其沉积动力机制的基础上.