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1.
On the coast of Tosa Bay, Southwestern Japan, there is a wide coastal terrace which was formed in the Last Interglacial and has been uplifted to altitudes of 150–200 m above the present sea level by crustal movement. Many valleys dissect the terrace surface with upwardly convex profiles in downstream reaches. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the development of longitudinal profiles of the valleys under the influence of baselevel change and marine erosion. The basic equation used for the calculation had been derived theoretically from the hydraulic mechanism of river erosion. The independent variables are the gradient and curvature of the valley floor and the distance from the divide (drainage area per unit basin width). The parameter in the sediment transport equation is determined based on the results of laboratory experiments. A time sequence of seashore migration which has been caused by marine erosion and relative sea level change due to crustal uplift and glacial eustasy since the Last Interglacial was given as a boundary condition. Numerical calculations were conducted using a finite difference method, starting from 125000 years ago when the shoreline was located at the upper end of the terrace surface, and progressive changes in the valley profiles over time were simulated. The present profiles obtained from the calculation fit quite closely to actual valley profiles, which demonstrates the validity of the equation, and at the same time suggests a formation process for wide coastal terraces.  相似文献   

2.
The distribution of a large number of clay slides in the Målselv valley, northern Norway, is analysed and put into context with the stratigraphic organization of the valley-fill sediments. About 32% of the landslides larger than 104 m3 occur close to the valley margins, where mud is either exposed or at shallow depth. About 57% of the landslides occur mid-valley, where relatively thin (< 15 m) coarse-grained deltaic sediments overlay fine-grained marine and glaciomarine sediments, and about 11% of the landslides occur in front of ice-contact deposits. The slide-prone areas are all characterized by the occurrence of heterogeneous sediments (interbedded clay, silt and sand), in addition to the presence of steep slopes eroded by rivers. The heterogeneous nature of the sediments probably enhanced groundwater drainage and leaching of salts from the clay, increasing sensitivity. Thus, the distribution and organization of the valley-fill sediments and groundwater drainage probably controlled the position of the slide scars and sliding planes. Since deglaciation of the valley (11,500 BP–present), isostatic rebound has enhanced fluvial incision and the creation of steep slopes due to a fall in relative sea level of up to 80 m.Arcuate-shaped, ‘bottleneck’ landslide scars ranging from c. 104 to 107 m3 in size is the dominant morphological signature of the slides, typical for quick clay slides or earth flows involving fluid mud. Their most common triggering mechanism is probably erosion at the toe slopes by the river Målselv or its tributaries. River erosion close to the valley margin, where glaciomarine and marine sediments are present, seems to give the most severe slides. The overall valley-fill organization controls the distribution of clay slides, which may apply to other fjord valleys having similar sediment distribution.  相似文献   

3.
This paper discusses direct current resistivity soundings and geomorphological studies of Quaternary deposits in two glacial troughs in the Abisko Mountains of northern Sweden. The subject of the fieldwork is the depth of Pleistocene glacial erosion. Studies were carried out in 1998 and 2003 in the Kärkevagge and Vassivagge. The estimated thickness of Quaternary deposits and bedrock properties are discussed in the broader context of glacial erosion studies in the Abisko area. Geophysical and geomorphological studies suggest that the depth of glacial erosion was highly differentiated from –190 m in the Torneträsk basin to the metric overall erosion on the upland plateau. In medium‐sized valleys several kilometres long, erosion depth measures 30–50 m. Present‐day stream channel patterns reveal a strong relation to the bedrock configuration in valley floors  相似文献   

4.
This paper provides data on the landforms, soils, and sediments within a unique northern Michigan landscape known as the Grayling Fingers, and evaluates these data to develop various scenarios for the geomorphic development of this region. Composed of several large, flat-topped ridges that trend N–S, the physiography of the “Fingers” resembles a hand. Previously interpreted as “remnant moraines”, the Grayling Fingers are actually a Pleistocene constructional landscape that was later deeply incised by glacial meltwater. The sediments that comprise the Fingers form a generally planar assemblage, with thick (>100 m), sandy glacial outwash forming the lowest unit. Above the outwash are several meters of till that is remarkably similar in texture to the outwash below; thus, the region is best described as an incised ground moraine. Finally, a thin silty “cap” is preserved on the flattest, most stable uplands. This sediment package and the physiography of the Fingers are suggestive of geomorphic processes not previously envisioned for Michigan.Although precise dates are lacking, we nonetheless present possible sequences of geomorphic/sedimentologic processes for the Fingers. This area was probably a topographic high prior to the advance of marine isotope stage 2 (Woodfordian) ice. Much of the glacial outwash in the Fingers is probably associated with a stagnant, early Woodfordian ice margin, implying that this interlobate area remained ice-free and ice-marginal for long periods during stage 2. Woodfordian ice eventually covered the region and deposited 5–10 m of sandy basal till over the proglacial outwash plain. Small stream valleys on the outwash surface were palimpsested onto the till surface as the ice retreated, as kettle chains and as dry, upland valleys. The larger of these valleys were so deeply incised by meltwater that they formed the large, through-flowing Finger valleys. The silt cap that occupies stable uplands was probably imported into the region, while still glaciated. The Fingers region, a col on the ice surface, could have acted as a collection basin for silts brought in as loess or in superglacial meltwater. This sediment was let down as the ice melted and preserved only on certain geomorphically stable and fluvially isolated locations. This study demonstrates that the impact of Woodfordian ice in this region was mostly erosional, and suggests that Mississippi Valley loess may have indirectly impacted this region.  相似文献   

5.
L. Allan James   《Geomorphology》2003,55(1-4):283
Pleistocene glacial erosion left a strong topographic imprint in the northwestern Sierra Nevada at many scales, yet the specific landforms and the processes that created them have not been previously documented in the region. In contrast, glaciation in the southern and central Sierra was extensively studied and by the end of the 19th century was among the best understood examples of alpine glaciation outside of the European Alps. This study describes glacially eroded features in the northwest Sierra and presents inferred linkages between erosional forms and Pleistocene glacial processes. Many relationships corroborate theoretical geomorphic principles. These include the occurrence of whalebacks in deep ice positions, roches moutonnées under thin ice, and occurrence of P-forms in low topographic positions where high subglacial meltwater pressures were likely. Some of the landforms described here have not previously been noted in the Sierra, including a large crag and tail eroded by shallow ice and erosional benches high on valley walls thought to be cut by ice-marginal channels.  相似文献   

6.
Ireneusz Malik   《Geomorphology》2008,93(3-4):421-436
Small gullies occur in forested gully systems on the undulating loess plateau in southern Poland. The old gully hillslopes are mainly covered with 200-year old beech trees in contrast with the surface of the summit plateau, which is cultivated agricultural land. Beech roots are exposed in the gullies through erosion. Wood vessels in the root tree rings divide into early wood and late wood and, after the roots are exposed, start to make fewer vessels. These anatomical changes in root tree rings allow us to date erosion episodes.Small gullies form in a different manner on the valley floor and on hillslopes. In valley bottoms, erosion features are often formed at some distance from one another, and in time small gullies combine to form a single, longer one. Depending on local conditions, such as the hillslope profile, hillslopes may exhibit headward erosion or may be eroded downwards. Hilllope gullies may be transformed into side valleys as a result of gradual widening and deepening.Dating the exposure of roots indicates that small gullies had already formed in the valley system by 1949. Intensive gully erosion was recorded between 1984 and 2002, during intense precipitation in 1984 and, of particular note, during the extraordinary flood of 1997 which affected all of Central Europe. The mean rate of small gully erosion in the old gully system studied is 0.63 m/year. On hillslopes the mean gully erosion rate is 0.21–0.52 m/year, and on the valley bottoms 0.18–1.98 m/year. High bottom erosion rates resulted from the emergence of long gullies during the erosion episodes in 1984 and 1997. Sheet flow in valley floors intensifies at times of heavy rainfall which causes long gullies to form.Taking into account the fact that conditions favoured erosion, the rate at which the old gullies under forest were transformed should be considered slow. New side gullies form slowly within the valley and it appears that if erosion progressed at the rate observed, new side valleys would take a few hundred years to form.  相似文献   

7.
罗布泊东阿奇克谷地雅丹地貌与库姆塔格沙漠形成的关系   总被引：28，自引：15，他引：13  
阿奇克谷地位于罗布泊洼地之东, 93°E以西, 东西长约150km, 南北宽20~30km。为新生代北山与阿尔金山之间的地堑凹地的一部分, 与东面河西走廊的地堑凹地相通。根据出露的雅丹地层河湖相沉积样品所作的ESR测年(2272~10094kaBP)和本区的地质地貌特征可将阿奇克谷地演化与库姆塔格沙漠的发育史归纳为4个时期。①早更新世至中更新世罗布泊古湖扩大时期, 东部湖湾宽约50~60km, 向东延伸至93°15′E或更东; ②中更新世晚期山地上升与古湖湾退缩消失时期, 距今30万年前左右, 青藏高原强烈隆升, 阻挡了海洋水汽的进入, 亚洲内陆加速变干, 由于阿尔金山的左旋向东滑动, 在北面古湖区地层发生了与阿尔山斜交的羽毛状断裂谷群, 并因东北向的断裂上升与东西向的河西地堑谷地斜交, 阻断了疏勒河水不再向西流入罗布泊, 使东部湖湾向西退缩并逐步消失; ③中更新世晚期至晚更新世初, 暴雨径流与强烈的风蚀作用时期, 阿奇克谷地北部的洪积湖相沉积台地支沟口形成雅丹土丘群, 谷地南面库姆塔格沙漠北面羽毛状断裂谷群形成雅丹垄脊和风蚀谷, 谷地中央呈现出季节性的盐碱沼泽和零星雅丹土丘; ④晚更新世末至全新世库姆塔格沙漠扩大, 向北埋没了羽毛状断裂谷(风蚀谷)和雅丹垄脊, 形成了世界上独特的羽毛状沙丘。  相似文献   

8.
The paper analyses uphill-facing scarps and associated troughs developed in the oversteepened slopes of two neighbouring glacial valleys in the central Spanish Pyrenees. Previous studies of sackung landforms in the Pyrenees have argued for deglacial unloading as the genetic mechanism, but this causal and temporal relationship has not been proved due to the lack of chronological data. The antislope scarps in the two studied locations, Vallibierna and Estós, are developed in Palaeozoic metasedimentary rocks (parallel to the contour lines and the structural grain), occur in the intermediate sector of the hillslope, and are up to 0.5 km long and several meters high. A trench was excavated in a sackung trough fill in each of the valleys in order to gain information about their chronology and genesis. Charcoal from the lowermost unit in Vallibierna provided an age of 5.9 cal. ka for the sackung and extrapolation of the three dates obtained in Estós indicates that the trough formed ca. 7.6–7.8 cal. ka. Deglaciation of the studied sectors of the valleys occurred between 16 and 13 ka. The time lag of >5 ka suggests that glacial erosion and the subsequent debutressing of the oversteepened valley walls created slopes predisposed to sackung development, but did not initiate the movement. Seismic shaking is proposed as a probable triggering factor. This hypothesis, although supported by the sudden deformation event recorded by a failure plane exposed in Vallibierna trench, and by the seismic and neotectonic activity of the area, cannot be proved due to the lack of chronological information about paleoearthquakes.  相似文献   

9.
Snow accumulation is responsible for geomorphic and biogeographic processes taking place in the southern sector of the Peñalara massif in central Spain (40°51′N, 3°57′W; max. altitude 2428 m at Pico de Peñalara). This work compares the intensity of nivation on the eastern slope, leeward of the prevailing westerly winds and heavily eroded by glacial activity during the Pleistocene, to that of the western slope on the windward side, unaffected by glacial erosion and completely covered by a thick weathering mantle. On the eastern slope, nivation is effective only where the weathering mantle is exposed or on morainic formations. It does not occur on the landforms derived from glacial erosion. In contrast, the western side shows almost no evidence of snow action except where catastrophic mass movements have altered the regularity of the slope. During the post-glacial epoch, nivation cirques formed in the scars left by mass wasting. In the last 30 years, spring temperatures have increased and this activity has diminished. The pattern of evolution observed at Peñalara can be extrapolated to other Mediterranean mountains with similar characteristics such as marginal glacial activity during the Pleistocene, unconsolidated formations on the summits caused by chemical weathering, and dry, hot summers that can increase the effectiveness of nivation.  相似文献   

10.
Staircases of strath terraces and strongly incised valleys are the most typical landscape features of Portuguese rivers. This paper examines the incision achieved during the late Cenozoic in an area crossed by the Tejo river between the border with Spain and the small town of Gavião. In the more upstream reach of this area, the Tejo crosses the Ródão tectonic depression, where four levels of terraces are distinguished. During the late Cenozoic fluvial incision stage, the Ródão depression underwent less uplift than the adjacent areas along the river. This is reflected by the greater thicknesses and spatial extent of the terraces; terrace genesis was promoted by impoundment of alluvium behind a quartzitic ridge and the local presence of a soft substratum. Outside this tectonic depression, the Tejo has a narrow valley incised in the Hercynian basement, with some straight reaches that probably correspond to NE–SW and NNW–SSE faults, the terraces being nearly absent. Geomorphological evidence of tectonic displacements affecting the Ródão dissected terrace remnants is described. Geochronological dating of the two younger and lower terrace levels of this depression suggests a time-averaged incision rate for the Tejo in the Ródão area, of ca. 1.0 m/ka over the last 60 thousand years. A clear discrepancy exists between this rate and the 0.1 m/ka estimated for the longer period since the end of the Pliocene. Although episodes of valley incision may be conditioned by climate and base-level changes, they may also have been controlled by local factors such as movement of small fault-bounded blocks, lithology and structure. Regional crustal uplift is considered to be the main control of the episodes of valley incision identified for this large, long-lived river. A model is proposed in which successive regional uplift events—tectonic phases—essentially determined the long periods of rapid river downcutting that were punctuated by short periods of lateral erosion and later by some aggradation, producing strath terraces.  相似文献   

11.
Jansson and Glasser (Jansson, K.N., Glasser, N.F., 2008. Modification of peripheral mountain ranges by former ice sheets: the Brecon Beacons, southern UK. Geomorphology 97, 178–189.) have recently provided unconventional interpretations of selected glacial erosional and depositional landforms in the Brecon Beacons, UK, based on remotely sensed imagery. These new interpretations contradict well-established and reliable evidence for the origins and ages of certain glacial landforms of this upland area and elsewhere. They suggest that during a post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice-sheet event ice flowed up supposed, essentially “fluvial” valleys producing “glacial lineations” and depositing marginal moraines at the valley heads and on cirque floors. We argue that their interpretations of some key landforms are incorrect and that they have ignored much of the previous dating and field geomorphological evidence. Sedimentary and morphological evidence (e.g., lack of erratic content; convex planform with respect to the headwall; relatively large height range of moraines; and close association with headwall extent, height, and steepness) all indicate that higher level cirque-floor and valley-head moraines in the Brecon Beacons (> c. 400 m) were formed by cirque glaciers. Available dating evidence indicates a Younger Dryas age. We demonstrate that the supposed “fluvial” valleys, comprising trough heads with steep headwalls, have more nearly parabolic than V-shaped cross profiles indicating substantial glacial modification. Field evidence shows that proposed key exemplar post-LGM glacial lineations are in fact debris flow deposits. We conclude that whilst the adoption of a macroscale approach can shed new light on large-scale, ice-sheet movements, this approach should not be undertaken without consideration of the associated field evidence.  相似文献   

12.
螺髻山地处青藏高原东南缘,是确切存在第四纪古冰川遗迹的典型山地之一,该区冰川地貌演化对于研究环境变化具有重要的科学意义。螺髻山东坡清水沟保存两套古冰川槽谷,分别为上槽谷和下槽谷,其中下槽谷保存完整,而上槽谷在3450~3600 m的阴坡部分出现缺失。采用野外地貌调查与模型分析相结合的方法,对冰川槽谷地貌进行分析,结果表明:清水沟槽谷的抛物线模型中,|A|值在1.3101~15.2064 之间变动,B 值变化于0.9695~3.2965 之间,且随着海拔由高到低,都存在着先变小后变大的规律,A、B值同时反映出在海拔3450~3600 m处冰川槽谷的演化不符合常态。分析认为岩性差异和河流溯源侵蚀是影响上槽谷形态的主要原因。对保存在清水沟上下槽谷内的高、低侧碛进行ESR年代测定,结果显示:高侧碛形成于58-84 ka BP左右的末次冰期早期,对应深海氧同位素4 阶段(MIS4);低侧碛形成于13-17 ka BP,属于于全球末次冰盛期晚期的产物。两次冰川作用分别塑造出两套冰川槽谷,即在末次冰期早期冰川作用形成上槽谷,末次冰期晚期形成下槽谷。  相似文献   

13.
The glacial buzzsaw hypothesis suggests that efficient erosion limits topographic elevations in extensively glaciated orogens. Studies to date have largely focussed on regions where large glaciers (tens of kilometres long) have been active. In light of recent studies emphasising the importance of lateral glacial erosion in lowering peaks and ridgelines, we examine the effectiveness of small glaciers in limiting topography under both relatively slow and rapid rock uplift conditions. Four ranges in the northern Basin and Range, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, USA, were chosen for this analysis. Estimates of maximum Pleistocene slip rates along normal faults bounding the Beaverhead–Bitterroot Mountains (~ 0.14 mm y− 1), Lemhi Range (~ 0.3 mm y− 1) and Lost River Range (~ 0.3 mm y− 1) are an order of magnitude lower than those on the Teton Fault (~ 2 mm y− 1). We compare the distribution of glacial erosion (estimated from cirque floor elevations and last glacial maximum (LGM) equilibrium line altitude (ELA) reconstructions) and fault slip rate with three metrics of topography in each range: the along-strike maximum elevation swath profile, hypsometry, and slope-elevation profiles. In the slowly uplifting Beaverhead–Bitterroot Mountains, and Lemhi and Lost River Ranges, trends in maximum elevation parallel ELAs, independent of variations in fault slip rate. Maximum elevations are offset ~ 500 m from LGM ELAs in the Lost River Range, Lemhi Range, and northern Beaverhead–Bitterroot Mountains, and by ~ 350 m in the southern Beaverhead–Bitterroot Mountains, where glacial extents were less. The offset between maximum topography and mean Quaternary ELAs, inferred from cirque floor elevations, is ~ 350 m in the Lost River and Lemhi Ranges, and 200–250 m in the Beaverhead–Bitterroot Mountains. Additionally, slope-elevation profiles are flattened and hypsometry profiles show a peak in surface areas close to the ELA in the Lemhi Range and Beaverhead–Bitterroot Mountains, suggesting that small glaciers efficiently limit topography. The situation in the Lost River Range is less clear as a glacial signature is not apparent in either slope-elevation profiles or the hypsometry. In the rapidly uplifting Teton Range, the distribution of ELAs appears superficially to correspond to maximum topography, hypsometry, and slope-elevations profiles, with regression lines on maximum elevations offset by ~ 700 and ~ 350 m from the LGM and mean Quaternary ELA respectively. However, Grand Teton and Mt. Moran represent high-elevation “Teflon Peaks” that appear impervious to glacial erosion, formed in the hard crystalline bedrock at the core of the range. Glacier size and drainage density, rock uplift rate, and bedrock lithology are all important considerations when assessing the ability of glaciers to limit mountain range topography. In the northern Basin and Range, it is only under exceptional circumstances in the Teton Range that small glaciers appear to be incapable of imposing a fully efficient glacial buzzsaw, emphasising that high peaks represent an important caveat to the glacial buzzsaw hypothesis.  相似文献   

14.
Abstract

Bennett, R. G. Lateral benches of glacial valleys in the Svartisen area of North Norway. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. 21, 1967, 254–268.

Some irregular valley benches in the Svartisen area are described and their formation is discussed. It is found that some are structurally controlled, while others are features of glacial and extra-glacial erosion. The conditions under which the larger benches were formed were so different that no genetic classification of these features is possible.  相似文献   

15.
The Southern Alps of New Zealand are the topographic expression of active oblique continental convergence of the Australian and Pacific plates. Despite inferred high rates of tectonic and climatic forcing, the pattern of differential uplift and erosion remains uncertain. We use a 25-m DEM to conduct a regional-scale relief analysis of a 250-km long strip of the western Southern Alps (WSA). We present a preliminary map of regional erosion and denudation by overlaying mean basin relief, a modelled stream-power erosion index, river incision rates, historic landslide denudation rates, and landslide density. The interplay between strong tectonic and climatic forcing has led to relief production that locally attains 2 km in major catchments, with mean values of 0.65–0.68 km. Interpolation between elevations of major catchment divides indicates potential removal of l01–103 km3, or a mean basin relief of 0.51–0.85 km in the larger catchments. Local relief and inferred river incision rates into bedrock are highest about 50–67% of the distance between the Alpine fault and the main divide. The mean regional relief variability is ± 0.5 km.Local relief, valley cross-sectional area, and catchment width correlate moderately with catchment area, and also reach maximum values between the range front and the divide. Hypsometric integrals show scale dependence, and together with hypsometric curves, are insufficient to clearly differentiate between glacial and fluvial dominated basins. Mean slope angle in the WSA (ψ = 30°) is lower where major longitudinal valleys and extensive ice cover occur, and may be an insensitive measure of regional relief. Modal slope angle is strikingly uniform throughout the WSA (φ = 38–40°), and may record adjustment to runoff and landsliding. Both ψ and φ show non-linear relationships with elevation, which we attribute to dominant geomorphic process domains, such as fluvial processes in low-altitude valley trains, surface runoff and frequent landsliding on montane hillslopes, “relief dampening” by glaciers, and rock fall/avalanching on steep main-divide slopes.  相似文献   

16.
Alan D. Howard   《Geomorphology》2007,91(3-4):332
On the highlands of Mars early in the history of the planet precipitation-driven fluvial erosion competed with ongoing impact cratering. This disruption, and the multiple enclosed basins produced by impacts, is partially responsible for a long debate concerning the processes and effectiveness of fluvial erosion. The role of fluvial erosion in sculpting the early Martian landscape is explored here using a simulation model that incorporates formation of impact craters, erosion by fluvial and slope processes, deposition in basins, and flow routing through depressions. Under assumed arid hydrologic conditions, enclosed basins created by cratering do not overflow, drainage networks are short, and fluvial bajadas infill crater basins with sediment supplied from erosion of interior crater slopes and, occasionally from adjacent steep slopes. Even under arid conditions adjacent crater basins can become integrated into larger basins through lateral erosion of crater rims or by rim burial by sediment infilling. Fluvial erosion on early Mars was sufficient to infill craters of 10 km or more in diameter with 500–1500 m of sediment. When the amount of runoff relative to evaporation is assumed to be larger, enclosed basins overflow and deeply incised valleys interconnect basins. Examples of such overflow and interconnection on the Martian highlands suggest an active hydrological cycle on early Mars, at least episodically. When fluvial erosion and cratering occur together, the drainage network is often disrupted and fragmented, but it reintegrates quickly from smaller impacts. Even when rates of impact are high, a subtle fluvial signature is retained on the landscape as broad, smooth intercrater plains that feature craters with variable amounts of infilling and rim erosion, including nearly buried “ghost” craters. The widespread occurrence of such intercrater plains on Mars suggests a strong fluvial imprint on the landscape despite the absence of deep, integrated valley networks. Indisputable deltas and alluvial fans are rare in the crater basins on Mars, in part because of subsequent destruction of surficial fluvial features by impact gardening and eolian processes. Simulations, however, suggest that temporally-varying lake levels and a high percentage of suspended to bedload supplied to the basins could also result in poor definition of fan–delta complexes.  相似文献   

17.
This paper introduces a new hypothesis about the formation of circular moraine features (CMFs) on felsenmeer-covered plateaux of the Varanger Peninsula, northern Norway. CMFs and glacial lineations in the northwestern part of the Varanger Peninsula were mapped from aerial photographs. In two CMF-rich areas, Base œrro-Plateau and Båtsfjordfjellet, the CMFs were investigated during fieldwork. The aim was to investigate possible entrainment, transport and deposition mechanisms of the CMFs in connection to ice sheet properties.The CMFs were deposited in connection with a polythermal ice cover. During glaciations, the ice sheet was cold-based on the boulder field plateaux and warm-based in valleys, especially in ice drainage pathways towards fjords. The CMF material was probably entrained en masse, on the Varanger Peninsula, in transition zones between warm- and cold-based ice. The debris transport took place close to the ice base. During deglaciation, the debris formed dirt cones, slowing down the melting of underlying dead-ice blocks. As material slid down the margins of the cones, the typical CMF shape was formed.  相似文献   

18.
Pleistocene glaciations have promoted important landscape transformations as a result of high rates of erosion and rapid sediment evacuation to adjacent marine basins. In the Patagonian Andes the role of the Patagonian Ice Sheet on landscape evolution, in particular the spatial patterns of glacial erosion and its influence on sediment fluxes, is poorly documented. Here, we investigate the Middle and Late Pleistocene sedimentary record of the continental slope from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 861, offshore Patagonia (46°S), to evaluate the link between glaciations, mountain range erosion and continental margin strata formation. Petrographic analysis of the sand-size fraction (0.063–2 mm) and ɛNd and 87Sr/86Sr measurements in the silt-size fraction (10–63 µm) indicate that glacial erosion over the last 350,000 years has focused within the Patagonian Batholith, with a minor influence of a proximal source to the drilling site, the Chonos Metamorphic Complex. This shows that erosion has focused in the core of the northern Patagonian Andes, coinciding roughly with the location of the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone and the zone of concentrated precipitation during glaciations, suggesting a combined climatic and structural control on glacial erosion. Temporal variation in the provenance signal is contemporaneous with a marked change in the stratigraphy of ODP Site 861 that occurred after the glaciation of MIS 8 (~240 kyr ago). Before MIS 8, a restricted provenance signal and coarse lithofacies accumulated on the continental slope indicates spatially restricted erosion and efficient transfer of sediment towards the ocean. In contrast, very high provenance variability and finer continental slope lithofacies accumulation after MIS 8 suggest a disorganized expansion of the areas under erosion and a more distal influence of ice sediment discharge to this site. We argue that this change may have been related to a re-organization of the drainage patterns of the Patagonian Ice Sheet and flow of outlet glaciers to the continental margin during the last two glaciations.  相似文献   

19.
The Rio Negro has responded significantly in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene to lagged environmental changes largely associated with activity during the last glacial in the Amazon basin. On the basis of geological structure, the Rio Negro can be divided into six distinct reaches that each reflects very marked differential processes and geomorphological styles. No deposits of the Upper Pleniglacial were recognized in the field. The oldest recognizable Late Pleistocene alluvial unit is the Upper Terrace of Middle Pleniglacial age (ca. 65–25 ka) (reach I), tentatively correlated with the oldest terrace identified on the left bank of reach III. At that time, the river was mainly an aggradational bed load system carrying abundant quartz sand, a product of more seasonal conditions in the upper catchment. The late glacial (14–10 ka) is represented by a lower finer-grained terrace along the upper basin (reach I), which was recognized in the Tiquié, Curicuriarí, and Vaupes rivers. At that time, the river carried abundant suspended load as a response to climatic changes associated with deglaciation.Since about 14 ka, the river has behaved as a progradational system, infilling in downstream series a sequence of structurally controlled sedimentary basins or ‘compartments,’ creating alluvial floodplains and associated anabranching channel systems. Reach II was the first to be filled, then reach III, both accumulating mainly sand. Fine deposits increase downstream in reach III and become predominant in some anabranch islands of the distal reach. The lowermost reaches of the Negro (V and VI) have been greatly affected by a rising base level and associated backwater effect from aggradation of the Amazon during late glacial and recent times. Reach V has acted almost entirely as a fine sediment trap. The remarkable Anavilhanas archipelago is the product of Holocene deposition in the upper part of this sedimentary basin; however, suspended sediment load declined about 1.5 ka, prior to the lower part of this basin becoming infilled.The progradational behavior of the Rio Negro, filling tectonic basins as successive sediment traps with sand in the upper basins and fines in the downstream ones, illustrates how a large river system responses to profound changes in Late Quaternary base level and sediment supply. The most stable equilibrium conditions have been achieved in the Holocene in reaches IIb and IIIa, where an anabranching channel and erosional–relictual island system relatively efficiently convey water and sediment downstream. Reaches IIIb and V never achieved equilibrium conditions during the Holocene, characterised as they are today with incomplete floodplains and open water.  相似文献   

20.
Remnants of a high plateau have been identified on Nuussuaq and Disko, central West Greenland. We interpret the plateau as an erosion surface (the summit erosion surface) formed mainly by a fluvial system and graded close to its former base level and subsequently uplifted to its present elevation. It extends over 150 km east–west, being of low relative relief, broken along faults, tilted westwards in the west and eastwards in the east, and having a maximum elevation of ca. 2 km in central Nuussuaq and Disko. The summit erosion surface cuts across Precambrian basement rocks and Paleocene–Eocene lavas, constraining its age to being substantially younger than the last rift event in the Nuussuaq Basin, which took place during the late Maastrichtian and Danian. The geological record shows that the Nuussuaq Basin was subjected to subsidence of several kilometres during Paleocene–Eocene volcanism and was transgressed by the sea later during the Eocene. By comparing with results from apatite fission track analysis and vitrinite reflectance maturity data, it is suggested that formation of the erosion surface was probably triggered by an uplift and erosion event starting between 40 and 30 Ma. Surface formation was completed prior to an uplift event that started between 11 and 10 Ma and caused valley incision. This generation of valleys graded to the new base level and formed a lower erosion surface, at most 1 km below the summit erosion surface, thus indicating the magnitude of its uplift. Formation of this generation of valleys was interrupted by a third uplift event also with a magnitude of 1 km that lifted the landscape to near its present position. Correlation with the fission-track record suggests that this uplift event started between 7 and 2 Ma. Uplift must have been caused initially by tectonism. Isostatic compensation due to erosion and loading and unloading of ice sheets has added to the magnitude of uplift but have not significantly altered the configuration of the surface. It is concluded that the elevations of palaeosurfaces (surfaces not in accordance with present climate or tectonic conditions) on West Greenland's passive margin can be used to define the magnitude and lateral variations of Neogene uplift events. The striking similarity between the landforms in West Greenland and those on many other passive margins is also noted.  相似文献   

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