Sedimentary facies and geomorphic evolution of a blocked‐valley lake: Lake Futululu,northern Kwazulu‐Natal,South Africa |
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| Authors: | SUZANNE E GRENFELL WILLIAM N ELLERY MICHAEL C GRENFELL LISA F RAMSAY TYREL J FLÜGEL |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Geography, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa. (E‐mail: se.grenfell@gmail.com);2. Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;3. School of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4RJ, UK;4. Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK;5. Department of Environmental & Geographical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South AfricaAssociate Editor – Daniel Ariztegui |
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| Abstract: | Blocked‐valley lakes are formed when tributaries are impounded by the relatively rapid aggradation of a large river and its floodplain. These features are common in the landscape, and have been identified in the floodplains of the Solimões‐Amazon (Brazil) and Fly‐Strickland Rivers (Papua New Guinea), for example, but their inaccessibility has resulted in studies being limited to remotely sensed image analysis. This paper documents the sedimentology and geomorphic evolution of a blocked‐valley lake, Lake Futululu on the Mfolozi River floodplain margin, in South Africa, while also offering a context for the formation of lakes and wetlands at tributary junctions. The study combines aerial photography, elevation data from orthophotographs and field survey, and longitudinal sedimentology determined from a series of cores, which were sub‐sampled for organic content and particle size analysis. Radiocarbon dating was used to gauge the rate and timing of peat accumulation. Results indicate that following the last glacial maximum, rising sea‐levels caused aggradation of the Mfolozi River floodplain. By 3980 years bp , aggradation on the floodplain had impounded the Futululu drainage line, creating conditions suitable for peat formation, which has since occurred at a constant average rate of 0·13 cm year?1. Continued aggradation on the Mfolozi River floodplain has raised the base level of the Futululu drainage line, resulting in a series of back‐stepping sedimentary facies with fluvially derived sand and silt episodically prograding over lacustrine peat deposits. Blocked‐valley lakes form where the trunk river has a much larger sediment load and catchment than the tributary stream. Similarly, when the relative difference in sediment loads is less, palustrine wetlands, rather than lakes, may be the result. In contrast, where tributaries drain a steep, well‐connected catchment, they may impound much larger trunk rivers, creating lakes or wetlands upstream. |
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| Keywords: | Blocked‐valley lake floodplain sedimentary facies wetland |
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