Quaternary vertical crustal motion and drainage evolution in East Anglia and adjoining parts of southern England: chronology of the Ingham River terrace deposits

Prior to its disruption during the Anglian glaciation (MIS 12), the Ingham or Bytham River used to flow eastwards across central England and East Anglia into the southern North Sea. It thus had a much larger catchment than any extant river system in Britain; its headwaters may well have been as far away as North Wales and/or NW England. Terrace deposits of this former river system crop out across East Anglia and, as for any other river, can be used to investigate uplift, landscape evolution and the physical properties of the underlying continental crust. However, such an investigation has hitherto been hampered by inconsistencies between different authors' terrace schemes; furthermore, and controversially, one such scheme has formed the basis for the inference that the region was affected by a pre‐Anglian (MIS 16) glaciation. By re‐examining the raw data, the Ingham River deposits are shown to be disposed in three terraces, inferred to date from MIS 16, 14 and 12. The evidence previously attributed to pre‐Anglian glaciation is associated with the youngest of these terraces, and thus marks the MIS 12 (i.e. Anglian) glaciation; the argument for glaciation of the region in MIS 16 is thus an artefact of previous miscorrelation of the terrace deposits. It is inferred that development of the very large Ingham River was synchronous with decapitation of the former ‘Greater Thames’, or ‘High‐level Kesgrave Thames’ river, some time between MIS 18 and MIS 16. Uplift histories at representative localities across East Anglia have been modelled using composite data sets, combining the terrace deposits of the Ingham River and of the post‐Anglian rivers Lark and Waveney. The sites modelled are typefied by much faster uplift in the early Middle Pleistocene than in the late Middle Pleistocene; this effect is shown to be a consequence of the relative thinness (no more than ～7–8 km thick) of the mobile lower‐crustal layer, itself a consequence of the low surface heat flow in the London Platform crustal province. The post‐Early Pleistocene uplift tapers eastward, consistent with the observed downstream convergence of the Ingham and Waveney terraces, and is close to zero near the modern coastline around Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. Stratigraphic relationships between the Ingham terrace deposits and temperate‐stage marine and terrestrial deposits in this coastal area allow sites to be dated; thus, Pakefield and Corton date from MIS 15, whereas Norton Subcourse dates from MIS 17. The oldest known Lower Palaeolithic sites in the region, characterized by flake artefacts, are Pakefield (MIS 15) and Hengrave (?MIS 14); younger pre‐Anglian sites that have yielded handaxes and/or fossil material of the water vole Arvicola cantiana date from MIS 13. The minimal vertical crustal motion in this coastal area, where temperate‐stage deposits from different climate cycles crop out close to present‐day sea level, does not imply high crustal stability; instead, it indicates a ‘hinge zone’ between the uplifting hinterland and the subsiding depocentre in the southern North Sea.     

Sea‐level changes,river activity,soil development and glaciation around the western margins of the southern North Sea Basin during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene: evidence from Pakefield,Suffolk, UK

This paper outlines evidence from Pakefield (northern Suffolk), eastern England, for sea‐level changes, river activity, soil development and glaciation during the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 20–12) within the western margins of the southern North Sea Basin. During this time period, the area consisted of a low‐lying coastal plain and a shallow offshore shelf. The area was drained by major river systems including the Thames and Bytham. Changes in sea‐level caused several major transgressive–regressive cycles across this low‐relief region, and these changes are identified by the stratigraphic relationship between shallow marine (Wroxham Crag Formation), fluvial (Cromer Forest‐bed and Bytham formations) and glacial (Happisburgh and Lowestoft formations) sediments. Two separate glaciations are recognised—the Happisburgh (MIS 16) and Anglian (MIS 12) glaciations, and these are separated by a high sea level represented by a new member of the Wroxham Crag Formation, and several phases of river aggradation and incision. The principal driving mechanism behind sea‐level changes and river terrace development within the region during this time period is solar insolation operating over 100‐kyr eccentricity cycles. This effect is achieved by the impact of cold climate processes upon coastal, river and glacial systems and these climatically forced processes obscure the neotectonic drivers that operated over this period of time. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2005. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a glaciotectonized Early and Middle Pleistocene land surface, palaeosol and river sediments: Great Sampford, Suffolk, England

Glaciotectonized sediments and palaeosol at Great Sampford, western Suffolk, England are reconstructed to their original positions in order to determine the form of the original land surface and the associated soil development. The restored stratigraphy consists of Early Pleistocene Kesgrave Sands and Gravels which were deposited by the 'pre-glacial' river Thames, with the Early-Middle Pleistocene Valley Farm Soil developed on a terrace surface. These units are overlain by Sampford Deformation Till and Lowestoft Till, which were formed during the Middle Pleistocene Anglian glaciation. The micromorphological features of the reconstructed soil are interpreted in terms of three climatic cycles, each comprising a period of temperate climate soil formation followed by cold climate soil disruption. The final stage of disruption is associated with the periglacial climate that preceded Anglian glacierization. This pedological reconstruction is the most complex yet recognized from British Early and Middle Pleistocene palaeosols and provides an insight into major climatic oscillations prior to the Anglian Glaciation. The surface upon which the soil developed is one of the oldest terraces of the 'pre-glacial' River Thames that were formed when this river flowed northwards through East Anglia.     

The Widdington Sands: High-level Kesgrave Sands and Gravels near the Cam-Stort interfluve,Northwest Essex,UK

A small but stratigraphically significant exposure of Quaternary sandy sediments (Widdington Sands) was observed and recorded in the early 1970s in northwest Essex. These data are here re-examined and re-evaluated, yielding new insights into early proto-Thames aggradation following the marine recession of the Norwich Crag Formation (MIS 74–71, about 2 Ma). As the proto-Thames trajectory shifted south eastwards, a period of landscape stability ensued in the early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 19–13) during which the Valley Farm Soil was formed. This and the succeeding Barham Soil can be recognised in the stratigraphy, the second palaeosol heralding the arrival of glaciation in the Anglian Stage (MIS 12, 480–420 ka). These pedogenic signatures are enclosed within palaeokarstic features in the form of infilled sinkhole pipes. A large doline has functioned as a sediment trap preserving pre-truncation structures including reverse ring faults. These confirm basal support removal leading to upward migration of a dissolution cavity and roof collapse within the sinkhole pipe. The process and timing of subsidence can thus be defined more clearly than for similar features found in comparable Kesgrave aggradations of the Middle Thames. The likely glacitectonic origin of the planar sub-till surface is examined and discussed. Dating of Early Pleistocene fluvial activity is constrained by estimating the height of a former terrace surface whose elevation points to a correlation with the higher Stoke Row Member (MIS 64, 1.8 Ma), suggesting the oldest known proto-Thames activity within southern East Anglia.     

Evidence from the Trent terrace archive, Lincolnshire, UK, for lowland glaciation of Britain during the Middle and Late Pleistocene

The late Middle Pleistocene fluvial terrace sequence of the lower Trent system, Lincolnshire (eastern England), provides an excellent record of environmental change, including evidence for the last two interglacial episodes. It also provides important stratigraphical evidence for the timing and extent of three separate glaciations. Two of these, the Anglian and Devensian, are well-established correlatives of Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 12 and 2 respectively; the third is a hitherto un-named post-Anglian-pre-Devensian glaciation in eastern England that has been the subject of much previous speculation, but can now be attributed with some confidence to MIS 8. Crucially, the recognition of MIS 7 interglacial deposits within the Balderton-Southrey terrace of the proto-Trent indicates that the underlying Wragby Till, which is ascribed to this additional glaciation, was emplaced no later than MIS 8. The oldest terrace preserved within the lower Trent staircase, the Eagle Moor-Martin Terrace, is considered to be a complex glacial outwash terrace related to the Wragby Till glaciation. It is suggested that deposits representing MIS 11-9, which are conspicuously absent throughout the Trent system, were removed by this glaciation. This is a departure from previous interpretations, which have suggested MIS 10 or MIS 6 as the most likely stages in which an extensive post-Anglian-pre-Devensian lowland glaciation might have occurred in Britain. However, the widespread preservation of undisrupted post-MIS 8 fluvial sequences throughout the Trent valley and in neighbouring systems, within which MIS 7 interglacial deposits have now been recognized at a number of localities, indicates that ice sheets are unlikely to have advanced further into this catchment during MIS 6 than during the Devensian (MIS 2). Recognition of a British glaciation during MIS 8 corresponds with widespread evidence in Europe, which suggests that glacial deposits classified as ‘Saalian’ represent both MIS 8 and MIS 6; in many areas, distinguishing these remains controversial, as confident correlation with either stage is often only possible where glacial sediments interdigitate with well-constrained fluvial records.     

汶川8.0级地质发震断层逆冲活动的地震地貌与古地震初步研究

与河流阶地相关的地震地貌包括地震阶地和阶地断错两方面。地震阶地是古地震事件的直接反映; 阶地断错则是多次古地震事件的累积效应。文章在汶川8.0级地震破裂带调查的基础上,讨论了平行断裂的河流和横穿断裂的河流两种情况下的阶地发育特征。在此基础上,应用差分GPS测量技术,分别对虹口附近的地震阶地和映秀附近阶地断错现象进行了测量。研究结果表明,虹口附近地震阶地反映了自白沙河Ⅱ级阶地形成以来发生了5次规模基本相当的断错事件; 映秀附近的阶地累积位错量反映了不同级阶地经历了不同数量的地震事件,其中,Ⅱ级阶地形成以来大致经历了5次与汶川8.0级地震位错相当的地震事件。两个地点的地震阶地和阶地位错研究得到了一致的古地震次数。本文进一步讨论了前人对该区阶地的测年数据,从而推测得到汶川8.0级地震发震断层的古地震复发间隔约为4ka。     

Fluvial deposits within the Pleistocene Crag at Thorpe St Andrew,Norwich, England

This paper records the findings at a temporary exposure at Thorpe St Andrew near Norwich, Norfolk, UK in Early and early Middle Pleistocene Crag deposits. The British Geological Survey (BGS) describes the particular formation exposed as Norwich Crag consisting of Early Pleistocene shallow marine sediments. The section shows a succession of sorted sands and gravels overlain by a sandy diamicton. Based on field evidence and clast analysis, the sands and gravels are interpreted as the product of point bar and overbank sedimentation and represent the product of a river cutting into and aggrading within the more widespread shallow marine deposits. Composition of the sediments indicates derivation, primarily from Wroxham Crag Formation, with a contribution from Norwich Crag. The sandy diamicton is interpreted as late Middle Pleistocene Corton Till that is recorded in the area. A distinct pattern of colour changes at the top of the sands and gravels is interpreted as a soil that developed on the fluvial sediments before being overridden by the glacier that deposited the Corton Till. The existence of the fluvial sediments within the regional shallow marine deposits suggests that a fall of sea-level, possibly due to climate cooling, while the elevation of the sediments and the adjacent Crag implies that the site has been uplifted since sedimentation. This is the first observation of terrestrial sediments within the shallow marine Crag. The paper also makes a contribution to understanding the diagenetic processes that give deposits within this region some distinctive colour and sediment patterns.     

OSL‐based chronostratigraphy of river terraces in mountainous areas,Dunajec basin,West Carpathians: a revision of the climatostratigraphical approach

The technique of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating applied to fluvial sediments provided a geochronological framework of river terrace formation in the middle part of the Dunajec River basin – a reference area for studies of evolution of river valleys in the northern part of the Carpathians (West Carpathians). Fluvial sediments at 18–90 m above valley bottoms were dated in the valleys of the Dunajec River and one of its tributaries. The resulting ages range from 158.9±8.3 to 12.2±1.3 ka. This indicates that some of the terrace sediments were deposited much later than previously assumed on the grounds of a combined morphostratigraphical and climatostratigraphical approach. The OSL‐based chronostratigraphy of terrace formation consists of seven separate phases of fluvial aggradation, separated by periods of incision and lateral erosion. Some of the ages determined correspond to warm stages of the Pleistocene – Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) and MIS 5 – demonstrating that some terraces were formed during interstadial or interglacial periods. The results provide a key for evaluating rates of neotectonic uplift, allowing us to decipher the response of a fluvial system to climate change within the context of the glacial–interglacial scheme.     

黄河黑山峡口最高阶地宇宙核素的初步年龄 及所反映的新构造运动*

黄河深切于青藏高原东北缘的构造山地中,留下了山地和黄河形成演化的记录,但其高阶地年龄因超出常规测年技术的范围而存在困难。文章尝试用原地成因宇宙核素¹⁰ Be和²⁶ Al以及垂直剖面取样技术,通过剖面X²最小统计同时求出了年龄、侵蚀速率、继承浓度以及阶地沉积物密度等参数,所获得的黑山峡口247m最高基座阶地的参考年龄和剥蚀速率分别约为2.4Ma和15.5 ＋8 -4 m/Ma,这是该河段高阶地测年的一次新探索。根据这一结果及相关的构造地貌特征,认为香山-天景山断裂带西段2.4Ma前以逆冲为主,以后逐渐过渡到左旋走滑,该段黄河诞生于逆冲作用减弱时期。     

Possible ice-rafted erratics in late Early to early Middle Pleistocene shallow marine and coastal deposits in northeast Norfolk, UK

Erratic clasts with a mass of up to 15 kg are described from preglacial shallow marine and coastal deposits (Wroxham Crag Formation) in northeast Norfolk. Detailed examination of their petrology has enabled them to be provenanced to northern Britain and southern Norway. Their clustered occurrence in coastal sediments in Norfolk is believed to be the product of ice-rafting from glacier incursions into the North Sea from eastern Scotland and southern Norway, and their subsequent grounding and melting within coastal areas of what is now north Norfolk. The precise timing of these restricted glaciations is difficult to determine. However, the relationship of the erratics to the biostratigraphic record and the first major expansion of ice into the North Sea suggest these events occurred during at least one glaciation between the late Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene (c. 1.1–0.6 Ma). In contrast to the late Middle (Anglian) and Late Pleistocene (Last Glacial Maximum) glaciations, where the North Sea was largely devoid of extensive marine conditions, the presence of far-travelled ice-rafted materials implies that earlier cold stage sea-levels were considerably higher.     

The Quaternary history of the Wash fluvial network, UK

This paper appraises and compares the Middle-Upper Pleistocene sedimentary sequences preserved in the fluvial systems draining into the Fenland Basin and the Wash estuary. Of the main Fenland rivers the longest records, which extend back to the initial Anglian (glacial) formation of the basin, are found in the Great Ouse and its tributaries, particularly the Cam and the Nar. These sequences preserve sediments representing all four post-Anglian interglacials. The Nene also has an extensive post-Anglian history, with evidence for a Hoxnian estuary that is presumed to have been the precursor of the Wash. North of the Nene, however, the Welland and Witham (proto-Trent) have relatively short sequences, which are thought to commence with a later (post-Anglian-pre-Devensian) glaciation that affected Lincolnshire and fed the previously-recognized Tottenhill outwash delta south of Kings Lynn. Prior to Devensian deglaciation the Witham valley was occupied by the Trent, which was the trunk river of the late Middle Pleistocene Wash system. During periods of low sea level the river would have extended north-eastwards across what is now the floor of the North Sea, possibly via the Inner Silver Pit. Several of the central Fenland sequences show evidence of infrequent terrace formation during the late Quaternary, although this might in part be due to poor vertical separation between terraces, so that differentiating them has been difficult; this has been exacerbated by mixed biostratigraphical signals due to the preservation of sediments representing more than one interglacial beneath a single terrace surface. In several of the systems there is evidence for valley rejuvenation to the lowest terrace or valley-floor level during the MIS 4-3 transition. The observed differences within what, during the predominant periods of lower sea level, would have been a single Wash river system are difficult to explain.     

The British Pleistocene fluvial archive: East Midlands drainage evolution and human occupation in the context of the British and NW European record

This paper reviews the Pleistocene evolution and human occupation of the River Trent, the major fluvial artery draining Midland Britain, and places it within a modern Quaternary context. In contrast to the sedimentary records of the River Thames and the erstwhile Bytham system, which extend back to the early Pleistocene, present knowledge of the terrace sequence of the Trent, its tributary systems and associated ancestral courses extends back only to the Anglian glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12), although the regional pre-Anglian drainage configuration is demonstrably complex. The post-Anglian sequence is well developed, with major terrace sand and gravel aggradations associated with each subsequent cold stage. Temperate-climate sediments correlating with MIS 7 and 5e have been recorded, although deposits relating to earlier interglacials during MIS 11 and 9 have yet to be identified. Evidence for human occupation in the form of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts has been recorded from terrace sediments correlated with MIS 8 and MIS 4, but the majority of this material is heavily rolled and abraded, suggesting significant reworking from older deposits. This review demonstrates that there is a rich palaeo-environmental record from the Trent but the lack of a high-resolution chronostratgraphic framework raises issues about correlation with other systems.     

Late Quaternary fluvial terraces near the Daocheng Ice Cap,eastern Tibetan Plateau

The timing of terrace formation relative to the glacial–interglacial cycle and what factors control that timing, such as changes in climate and/or uplift, are controversial. Here we present a study of the terraces along the Yazheku River using electron spin resonance (ESR) dating and analysis of the sedimentary characteristics in order to establish the timing of terrace formation and to assess the forcing mechanisms that have been proposed. The Yazheku River flows in glacial trough leading from the Haizi Shan, on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The range was uplifted during the Quaternary and repeatedly glaciated by ice caps. The four highest major terraces (T5, T4, T3, and T2) are the result of both climatic and tectonic influences. Strath terraces T5–T2 were created during Haizi Shan glacial expansions during MIS 16, 12, 6 and 3–4, respectively. The major aggradation phases of the four terraces occurred during the deglaciations at the ends of MIS 16, 12, 6, and 2. Down-cutting, which led to the generation of the four terraces, immediately followed the deposition of the T5–T2 gravel units. These incisions occurred during the transitions between MIS 16–15, MIS 12–11, MIS 6–5, and MIS 2–1.     

龙虎山丹霞地貌区河流阶地地貌面的热释光测年研究

采用热释光(TL)测年方法对龙虎山丹霞地貌区泸溪河的阶地进行了年代学研究,获得了低阶地沉积物的堆积年代及其阶地面的形成时代,该区河流主要发育两级阶地,T1阶地堆积于3 400~6 000 a B.P.,其地貌面形成于3 400~4 000 a,T2阶地堆积于7 600~11 200 a B.P.,该级地貌面形成于7 600~8 000 a B.P.。利用低阶地地貌面的年代学成果,推算出龙虎山丹霞地貌区地壳隆升速率为0.33~0.63 m/ka,根据这一速率推算得出,第一夷平面形成于6×104a左右,第二夷平面形成于28×104a左右。分布于这些夷平面上的丹霞地貌景观的年龄与此相当。     

The role of glacio-isostasy in the formation of post-glacial river terraces in relation to the MIS 2 ice limit: evidence from northern England

In recent years it has been demonstrated that the formation of long-timescale river terrace sequences, which are generally found in areas beyond the extent of most if not all of the Middle and Late Pleistocene ice sheets, has invariably been a response to uplift during the Late Cenozoic and especially the Quaternary. Climatic fluctuation at a Milankovitch timescale has driven the alternations of aggradation and incision recorded in such terraces. It has been widely observed, however, that fluvial terraces also occur in areas glaciated during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which coincides with marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 2. This paper, in seeking to compare records from inside and outside of the LGM ice limit, concentrates on a single English river system, that of the Humber. The Humber estuary is shared by the largely Pennine-derived drainage of the Yorkshire Ouse, to the north and entirely within the MIS 2 glacial limit, and, to the south, the Trent, which is almost wholly outside the LGM limit. Thus the Trent has a terrace sequence extending back to the Middle Pleistocene, whereas in the component rivers of the Ouse system, records begin with the melting of the last glacial ice. Importantly, there is considerable difference in the disposition of the post-LGM fluvial deposits in these two subsystems. In the Ouse system there are modest terrace staircases, commencing with full glacial deposits that stand up to 30 m above the modern floodplain. In the Trent, in contrast, last glacial gravels form the foundation of the modern floodplain, with Holocene sediments emplaced directly above them. Thus there is little or no post-LGM incision in the Trent, whereas in the Ouse several incision events are recorded, continuing into the later stages of the Holocene. Wider comparison reveals that the Ouse system is an exemplar for other sequences within the MIS 2 limit, whereas systems beyond this glaciation typically have last glacial sediments beneath their modern floodplains and show little evidence of Holocene incision. The various possible explanations of these differences are discussed, with emphasis placed on glacio-isostatic uplift of areas glaciated during MIS 2 as the main reason for the significant post-glacial incision that typifies valleys in such regions. A new approach to modelling glacio-isostatic adjustment is outlined, from which it is concluded that lower-crustal flow plays a significant role in this process in regions of relatively hot and dynamic crust, like northern England, in addition to the mantle flow that is considered in conventional analyses of glacio-isostasy. Lower-crustal flow has a significant effect due to the combination of the small spatial scale of the glaciated region of northern England and the high mobility of the lower-crustal layer beneath it, due to the heating effect of the widespread Palaeozoic granite in the area.     

青藏高原东北缘黄河黑山峡出口段阶地特征与断层活动

青藏高原东北缘黄河黑山峡出口地段夜明山 -长流水沟一带 ,黄河的河流阶地发育和保存的较好。阶地的形成不仅记录了青藏高原北部第四纪以来地壳的 7次隆升过程的特点 ,而且阶地的空间展布及其特征反映了断层F8(7) 和F2 0 1活动的特点。详细的观测研究表明F8(7) 以南发育并保存有 7级阶地 ,而F8(7) 和F2 0 1之间及F2 0 1以北仅保存有 5级阶地。所有的阶地都为基座阶地。其中Ⅰ和Ⅱ级阶地前缘在区内连续展布 ,横跨断层F8(7) 两侧的Ⅲ级阶地前缘仍保持连续 ,但阶地宽度陡然变宽 ,Ⅳ级阶地前缘即Ⅲ级阶地后缘左旋位移 15 0m左右。横跨断层F2 0 1两侧 ,Ⅱ级阶地宽度由 2 0 0m急剧变宽为 710m ,Ⅱ级以上阶地前缘左旋位移均在 4 0 0m左右。断层F8(7) 和F2 0 1两侧阶地宽度的变化和阶地前缘的左旋位移记录了断层F8(7) 和F2 0 1第四纪晚期活动的时空规律 ,为断层的活动性评价提供了良好的依据     

Major river systems of central and southern Britain during the Early and Middle Pleistocene

Central and southern Britain was drained by two main river systems during the larger part of the Early and Middle Pleistocene: the Thames and Bytham rivers. Evidence for these rivers and their Quaternary history is represented by their sediments (the Kesgrave and Bytham Sands and Gravels, respectively), the geomorphological position of the sediments, biostratigraphy and amino acid geochronology. Evidence from the earlier parts of the Early Pleistocene (Tiglian C4b and earlier) indicates low-energy river systems and marine conditions over much of East Anglia. For most of the Early Pleistocene (Tiglian C4c to the Cromerian Complex) the ancestral Thames was the main river with, at its maximal extent, a catchment that extended into Wales, and across East Anglia and what is now the North Sea, to join the ancestral Rhine. During this period, glaciers in the uplands of Wales and periglacial mass movement elsewhere supplied material to the catchment and it was at this time that the bulk of the sorted Quaternary ssediments of lowland Britain were deposited. The Bytham river system has no successor because the landscape now in existence has been fundamentally altered by glacial erosion. This catchment drained most of Midland England and joined the Thames in central East Anglia. Initially, the Bytham river was a tributary of the Thames, but over time it extended its catchment and at the beginning of the 'Cromerian Complex'it became the main river of southern Britain. With the Anglian Glaciation (01 Stage 121, the Bytham river was destroyed and the Thames was diverted to its present route through London.     

Development and chronology of the lower Vistula River valley, North PÖland

The geomorphology of the river terraces in the lower Vistula River valley of North PÖland is briefly described. They were earlier regarded as Late Wiirmian (terraces IX-IV) and Holocene (terraces III–I). Litho- and biostratigraphical studies of terrace depressions together with radiocarbon datings of their bottom layers indicate that even terrace II was formed during the Allerød Chronozone (11,800 to 11,000 B.P.) or earlier. In addition, radiocarbon datings have shown that the surface sediments of the flood plain were deposited in middle Holocene. These datings are of importance to the chronology of other large river valleys in the southern Baltic region. The interrelationship between erosion/accumulation in the Vistula valley and the shore level of the Baltic is also discussed.     

山西河曲黄河阶地序列初步研究

黄河干流奇特的"几"字形格局是其复杂发育历史的表现。由于流域内的地质与气候条件复杂多样,分段开展深入研究是全面认识黄河的基础。晋陕峡谷是研究黄河演化的关键地段之一,河流阶地忠实地记录着河流发育的历史。文章选择山西河曲县城附近黄河阶地发育典型的河段进行研究,在实测河流阶地地貌剖面的基础上,系统采集了20个年代样品进行光释光(OSL)测年。依据地貌类型、沉积特征以及定年结果,建立了该河段黄河阶地的演化序列,得出以下结论:1)河曲地区黄河曲流凸岸形成有4级阶地,T₄阶地的形成主要受构造控制,而T₃,T₂和T₁阶地的形成主要与气候变化有关,各阶地的年龄分别是T₄为90ka,T₃为30ka,T₂为20ka,T₁为3.4ka。2)河曲地区约140ka以来河流地貌的演化经历了5个阶段,各阶段以下切侵蚀开始,结束于各阶地堆积面的塑造。约90ka以来,该地区河谷谷底下降速度和曲流可能最大侧蚀速度的平均值分别为0.9mm/a和33.4mm/a。在不同阶段,二者的大小变化及组合状况各异,在构造相对稳定条件下,河流以侧蚀作用为主,其侧蚀速度与气候和岩性条件有关。3)河曲地区的黄河曲流是在河流下切过程中逐渐侧蚀、演化而成的,具有内生曲流的特点。4)T₄阶地的泥流沉积和加积堆积,可能记录了地方性气候变化,其范围和意义有待进一步研究,另外,T₃,T₂和T₁形成过程中气候变化的作用也有待探讨。