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Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences

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A special issue of Quaternary (ISSN 2571-550X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 40387

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Prof. Dr. David Bridgland

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Department of Geography, Durham University, Lower Mountjoy, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Interests: quaternary stratigraphy; fluvial archives; palaeolithic; landscape evolution; geo-conservation
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Prof. Dr. Xianyan Wang

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School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Interests: fluvial processes and landforms; gemorphic responses; drainage evolution; tectonic geomorphology
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Prof. Dr. Jef Vandenberghe

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Department of Earth Sciences, VU University, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Interests: fluvial geomorphology; morphological evolution; fluvial sedimentology; aeolian sediments; periglacial landforms
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This is a second Special Issue in the innovative open-access journal Quaternary in association with the Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG), a multi-disciplinary international research group that offers researchers involved in the study of past river systems a forum within which to exchange and develop ideas. The activities of FLAG in its 24 years of existence have filled the pages of more than twenty previous collections of papers, many arising from conferences and/or field meetings. The previous Special Issue in Quaternary, entitled “Special External Effects on Fluvial System Evolution”, appeared in 2018. In the extraordinary year that is 2020, it is clear that fluvial research has not stopped, even though the sharing of ideas at conferences has been interrupted. Therefore, following the fruitful collaboration between Quaternary and FLAG in 2018, the journal will waive authors’ fees in this second Special Issue.

The new Special Issue will disseminate information on ongoing and recently developed lines of fluvial research, based in different climatic and topographic settings, that are ripe for reporting to the wider community. These include research in a variety of environments, encompassing both types of setting, including the temperate to Mediterranean climatic zone, the monsoonal and (sub)tropical zones, and mountainous, foreland and basinal regions, and in proglacial, periglacial and paraglacial systems. These various settings can have distinct impacts on fluvial riverine activity and resultant fluvial archives, sedimentary and otherwise, all of which might deviate from generally understood concepts.

The Special Issue will be open to contributions within the scope of the above, with the guest editors seeking broad coverage. There will be an editorial overview in which these contributions will be set within the context of enhanced contemporary understanding of riverine records, particularly under the auspices of the Fluvial Archives Group.

Prof. Dr. David Bridgland
Dr. Xianyan Wang
Prof. Dr. Jef Vandenberghe
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Quaternary is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. From 26 April 2021 to 31 October 2021, all submissions (once accepted after peer review) to Quaternary will be published free of charge. To take advantage of this opportunity, please submit before the deadline. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

fluvial archives
climatic influences
topographical influences
glacial–periglacial–paraglacial

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

38 pages, 12694 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Mid-Late Quaternary Fluvial Archives near the Margin of the MIS 12 Glaciation in Southern East Anglia, UK: Amalgamation of Multi-Disciplinary and Citizen-Science Data Sources

by Peter Allen, David R. Bain, David R. Bridgland, Paul Buisson, Jan-Pieter Buylaert, Rachel Bynoe, William H. George, B. Andrew Haggart, David J. Horne, Ellen-May Littlewood, Alan R. Lord, Anna C. March, Ian Mercer, Rosalind Mercer, Andrew S. Murray, Kirsty E. H. Penkman, Richard C. Preece, John Ratford, Danielle C. Schreve, Andrew J. R. Snelling, Kadri Sohar, John Whittaker, Mark J. White and Tom S. White Show full author list Hide full author list

Quaternary 2022, 5(3), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5030037 - 3 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4413

Abstract

This paper presents an updated geological reconstruction of the Quaternary evolution of the River Thames at its downstream extremities, close to the North Sea coast, based on new data from multi-disciplinary and citizen-science sources. In this area, the interaction of the Thames with the MIS 12 (Anglian) glaciation is an important part of the Quaternary archive. The Anglian ice sheet, which reached parts of north and east London, was responsible for diverting the Thames southwards into its present course, although the footprint of the maximum ice sheet(s) does not reach the North Sea coast south of Hollesley, Suffolk. Further south, the coastal zone hosts pre-Anglian and early Anglian river-terrace deposits of the pre-diversion Thames system, superimposed upon which are products of later post-Anglian rivers, of both Middle and Late Pleistocene age. On the peninsula between the Stour and Blackwater–Colne estuaries, the lowest and most recent terrace of the pre-diversion Thames includes evidence directly pertaining to the glacial disruption event, for which geochronological data are reported here for the first time. The first post-diversion terrace of the Thames also reaches this peninsula, the river having essentially re-joined its original valley before crossing the alignment of the modern coastline. This terrace passes beneath Clacton-on-Sea, where it includes the type locality of the Clactonian Palaeolithic Industry. The area of interest to this paper, in NE Essex and southern Suffolk, includes a number of interglacial and Palaeolithic sites, the data from which assist in constraining the chronostratigraphy of the sequence. In some cases, there has been uncertainty as to whether these sites represent pre-Anglian environments and hominin occupations, part of the palaeo-Thames sequence, or whether they are the product of later post-Anglian streams, formed after the Thames had migrated southwards. This paper compiles evidence from a wide range of recent sources, including developer-funded archaeological appraisal and citizen-science activities, to explore and update the evidence from sites at Ipswich, Upper Dovercourt and Thorpe-le-Soken, as well as a number of localities associated with the Clacton Channel Deposits (host to the type-Clactonian), amongst others. The resulting new data are placed within the wider context of the Quaternary fluvial archives in southern Britain, with a discussion of how disparate sources of information, including the work of citizen scientists, have contributed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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26 pages, 16630 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evolution of the Upper Reaches of Fluvial Systems within the Area of the East European Plain Glaciated during MIS 6

by Andrey Panin, Olga Borisova, Vladimir Belyaev, Yuri Belyaev, Ekaterina Eremenko, Yulia Fuzeina, Elena Sheremetskaya and Aleksey Sidorchuk

Quaternary 2022, 5(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5010013 - 22 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2965

Abstract

The headwaters of fluvial systems on the East European Plain between the boundaries of the Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2) and MIS 6 glaciations evolved during the last 150,000 years. At least three main events of high surface runoff caused intensive erosion: at the end of MIS 6, at the end of MIS 2 and in the Middle Holocene. Erosion developed in the territory with variable resistance of geological substrate, from hard-to-erode tills to weak sandy deposits. All erosional features in moraines formed in the pre-Holocene time. Even relatively large forms, such as balkas (small dry valleys), have not yet reached concave longitudinal profiles. A general tendency of their development was deepening. Short episodes of incision occurring during climatic events with increased water flow alternated with long periods of stabilization. Sand-covered areas are most favorable for linear erosion. The gullies formed in the Middle Holocene developed concave longitudinal profiles. The diversity of catchment areas, initial slope inclinations and sediment properties causing their resistance to erosion led to greater differences in the relief features and evolution of the upper reaches of the fluvial systems within the MIS 6 glaciation area compared to the more uniform landscape conditions in the extraglacial regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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16 pages, 7460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Holocene Aridity-Induced Interruptions of Human Activity along a Fluvial Channel in Egypt’s Northern Delta

by Jean-Daniel Stanley, Tobias Ullmann and Eva Lange-Athinodorou

Quaternary 2021, 4(4), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040039 - 18 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3204

Abstract

Geoarchaeological information presented here pertains to a subsidiary Nile channel that once flowed west of the main Sebennitic distributary and discharged its water and sediments at Egypt’s then north-central deltaic coast. Periodical paleoclimatic episodes during the later Middle and Upper Holocene included decreased rainfall and increased aridity that reduced the Nile’s flow levels and thus likely disrupted nautical transport and anthropogenic activity along this channel. Such changes in this deltaic sector, positioned adjacent to the Levantine Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean, can be attributed to climatic shifts triggered as far as the North Atlantic to the west, and African highland source areas of the Egyptian Nile to the south. Of special interest in a study core recovered along the channel are several sediment sequences without anthropogenic material that are interbedded between strata comprising numerous potsherds. The former are interpreted here as markers of increased regional aridity and reduced Nile flow which could have periodically disrupted the regional distribution of goods and nautical activities. Such times occurred ~5000 years B.P., ~4200–4000 years B.P., ~3200–2800 years B.P., ~2300–2200 years B.P., and more recently. Periods comparable to these are also identified by altered proportions of pollen, isotopic and compositional components in different radiocarbon-dated Holocene cores recovered elsewhere in the Nile delta, the Levantine region to the east and north of Egypt, and in the Faiyum depression south of the delta. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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15 pages, 12551 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Quaternary Climatic and Tectonic Development of the Murat River Valley (Muş Basin, Eastern Turkey) as Recorded by Fluvial Deposits Dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence

by Nurcan Avşin, Mehmet Korhan Erturaç, Eren Şahiner and Tuncer Demir

Quaternary 2021, 4(3), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4030029 - 14 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3090

Abstract

The paper describes climatic and tectonic effects on fluvial processes of East Anatolia. This study from the Muş Basin contains three alluvial terrace levels (T3-T1) ranging from 30–35 m to 3–5 m above the present Murat River in its middle section. In order to provide a chronology for the evaluation of the significant, effects of climatic changes and tectonic uplift, we used optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the river deposits of the youngest (T3) and medium terrace (T2). The ages from these terrace deposits show that the T3 has formed approximately 6.5 ka ago, i.e., during the last part of the Holocene (MIS 1) and T2 has formed nearly 25 ka ago, i.e., during MIS 2 at the ending of the last glacial period. According to these results, it appears that the Murat River established its terrace sequences both in cold and warm periods. The variations in climate oriented fluvial evolution between the East Anatolia fluvial system and the temperate-periglacial fluvial systems in Europe may be the conclusion of different vegetation cover and melting thicker snow coverings in cold periods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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24 pages, 29163 KiB

Open AccessArticle

First Chronological Constraints for the High Terraces of the Upper Ebro Catchment

by Josep M. Parés, Mathieu Duval, Angel Soria-Jáuregui and María José González-Amuchástegui

Quaternary 2021, 4(3), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4030025 - 5 Aug 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3751

Abstract

The Cenozoic sedimentary basins in the Iberian Peninsula show a change from long-term basin infill to incision, a transition that indicates a period of major drainage reorganization that culminated in the throughflow of the networks to the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans. Both the cause of the transition from aggradation to degradation and the linkages to tectonic, climatic, and geomorphic events hinge on the chronology of the fluvial network incision and excavation of the basin’s sedimentary fills. In this paper, we describe the first chronologic data on the highest fluvial terraces of the upper area of the Ebro River, one of the largest fluvial systems in the Iberian Peninsula, to determine the onset of incision and excavation in the basin. For this purpose, we combine electron spin resonance (ESR) and paleomagnetism methods to date strath terraces found at 140, 90, and 85 m above the current river level. Our results show ages of ca. 1.2 and 1.5 Ma for the uppermost river terraces in the upper Ebro catchment, constraining the minimum age of the entrenchment of the upper Ebro River. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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38 pages, 2645 KiB

Open AccessArticle

History of Mid- and Late Holocene Palaeofloods in the Yangtze Coastal Lowlands, East China: Evaluation of Non-Pollen Palynomorph Evidence, Review and Synthesis

by James B. Innes and Yongqiang Zong

Quaternary 2021, 4(3), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4030021 - 9 Jul 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4974

Abstract

The surface of the lowland deltaic plain around Taihu (Lake Tai), south of the Yangtze river mouth in eastern China, lies near sea level and until recent drainage and development by human societies was mostly covered by wetlands of various types. It was created by regular overbank flooding, mainly from the Yangtze, and the deposition of mostly mineral sediments over the several millennia since sea level regained its current altitude in the early mid-Holocene and progradation of the Yangtze delta began. Fluvial activity has therefore been the dominant influence on sedimentation in the Taihu lowlands, and in the lower Yangtze valley generally, and has determined the character of the mainly inorganic sediment sequences that have accumulated there, with autochthonous deposition of organic sediments within the local wetland plant communities playing a minor role. The presence of both clastic flood horizons and peat layers within the deposits of the Taihu plain attests to great variability in the magnitude of fluvial input from the Yangtze, with repeated extreme floods occurring at some periods, but with periods when the growth of peat layers shows low water tables, little exogenic sediment input and so little fluvial influence. We have examined the published evidence for these different depositional environments in the lower Yangtze and the Taihu plain during the Holocene, comparing the flood history with the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze catchment. Discrete phases of high or low flooding influence are recognised, and these correspond with large-scale Holocene climate history. Intensified human land use in recent millennia has complicated this relationship, amplifying the flooding signal. Our palynological research shows that algal microfossil type and abundance is a useful proxy for changing water depth and quality in the aquatic environments of the Holocene Taihu wetlands, and can recognise flooding events that are not registered in the floodplain lithological sequences. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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18 pages, 4901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Extension of the Upper Yellow River into the Tibet Plateau: Review and New Data

by Zhengchen Li, Xianyan Wang, Jef Vandenberghe and Huayu Lu

Quaternary 2021, 4(2), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4020014 - 25 Apr 2021

Viewed by 3678

Abstract

The Wufo Basin at the margin of the northeastern Tibet Plateau connects the upstream reaches of the Yellow River with the lowland catchment downstream, and the fluvial terrace sequence in this basin provides crucial clues to understand the evolution history of the Yellow River drainage system in relation to the uplift and outgrowth of the Tibetan Plateau. Using field survey and analysis of Digital Elevation Model/Google Earth imagery, we found at least eight Yellow River terraces in this area. The overlying loess of the highest terrace was dated at 1.2 Ma based on paleomagnetic stratigraphy (two normal and two reversal polarities) and the loess-paleosol sequence (12 loess-paleosol cycles). This terrace shows the connections of drainage parts in and outside the Tibetan Plateau through its NE margin. In addition, we review the previously published data on the Yellow River terraces and ancient large lakes in the basins. Based on our new data and previous researches, we conclude that the modern Yellow River, with headwaters in the Tibet Plateau and debouching in the Bohai Sea, should date from at least 1.2 Ma. Ancient large lakes (such as the Hetao and Sanmen Lakes) developed as exorheic systems and flowed through the modern Yellow River at that time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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19 pages, 17802 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Interplay between Tectonic Activity, Climate and Sea-Level Change in the Suriname River Valley, Tropical South America

by Kathleen S. Gersie, Ronald T. Van Balen and Salomon B. Kroonenberg

Quaternary 2021, 4(2), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4020011 - 25 Mar 2021

Viewed by 4216

Abstract

Suriname is part of the Guiana Shield, a cratonic area in northern South America. It is drained by several major rivers that are characterized by river terraces. The formation of terraces along the Suriname river is closely related to climatic changes during the Quaternary, due to the effects of climate on vegetation and precipitation changes. The terraces along the Suriname River valley show levels of 5, 15, and 20 m above the current mean water level. The reason behind the scarce terrace differentiation is the limited amount of long-term vertical incision. Therefore, each level along the Suriname River valley encompasses multiple climate cycles, which cannot be separated on morphological grounds. The limited incision reflects tectonic stability, which is typical for cratonic areas. Fieldwork along the river combined with topographic maps were used to determine and correlate the various terrace levels. While in the upper part of the river, climatically induced changes in vegetation cover and sediment delivery is dominant. In the lowermost reach, sea level change is especially important. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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28 pages, 6885 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Detailed Record of Deglacial and Early Post-Glacial Fluvial Evolution: The River Ure in North Yorkshire, UK

by James Innes, Wishart Mitchell, Charlotte O’Brien, David Roberts, Mairead Rutherford and David Bridgland

Quaternary 2021, 4(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4010009 - 8 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4103

Abstract

The lower reaches of the River Ure, on the flanks of the Pennine Hills in northern England, contain sedimentary and erosional landforms that are a record of fluvial activity during deglaciation and valley-glacier retreat at the end of the last (Devensian) glacial period, and in the subsequent post-glacial Holocene. Terraces and channels, most of which are now relict features well above the altitude of the present river, attest to the impacts of massive meltwater discharge and deposition of sand and gravel outwash, and dynamic river regimes with rapid incision. Through field survey, we have created a detailed geomorphological map of these landforms and glacial and fluvioglacial surface deposits, as well as the terraces and palaeochannels that were abandoned by the river due to avulsion and incision-driven course changes. We have recorded the nature of the outwash gravels, now effectively terrace features, from exposed sections in working quarries, one of which we discuss here. The palaeochannels have accumulated sediment fills and we have examined several which lie within the range of 100 and 16 m above present sea level. The results of lithostratigraphic, palynological, and radiocarbon analyses at two main and three subsidiary sites indicate that palaeochannel ages range from almost 14,000 to approximately 4000 calibrated years ago in a clear altitudinal sequence. The oldest are probably caused by rapid incision due to deglaciation-driven isostatic uplift. The similarity in date of the three downstream sites suggests that a late Holocene combination of climatic deterioration and increased human activity in the catchment caused instability and entrenchment. Pollen data from the channel fills provide relative dating, and agree well with pollen records from other regional Lateglacial and Holocene sites. Non-pollen palynomorph (NPP) analysis at one of the sites allows reconstruction of the hydrological history of channel infill. This research shows that the application of an integrated suite of research techniques can yield a highly detailed understanding of fluvial evolution and landscape history. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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30 pages, 15913 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Late Quaternary Evolution of the Upper Reaches of Fluvial Systems in the Southern East European Plain

by Andrey Panin, Olga Borisova, Evgeny Konstantinov, Yury Belyaev, Ekaterina Eremenko, Andrey Zakharov and Aleksey Sidorchuk

Quaternary 2020, 3(4), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat3040031 - 13 Nov 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4074

Abstract

Networks of dry valleys (or balkas) and hollows in the upper reaches of fluvial basins in extraglacial areas in the Penultimate Glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage 6—MIS 6) regions of the East European Plain demonstrate clear incision/aggradation rhythms corresponding to global glacial/interglacial climate cycles. The first phase of each incision/aggradation rhythm began after the global glacial maximum and was characterized by a cool and humid climate, permafrost and sparse vegetation, when high surface runoff and active linear erosion formed a dense network of gullies. The second phase occurred at the glacial–interglacial transition and the subsequent interglacial period with its warm and humid climate and dense vegetation. This phase was distinguished by the partial filling of fluvial forms with slopewash deposits, the transformation of gullies into dry valleys (balkas) and the subsequent stabilization of fluvial forms marked by the formation of mature soils on the sides and bottoms of balkas. The third phase of the rapid accumulation of balkas developed during the cold and dry part of the next glacial epoch, resulting in the balkas becoming shallow hollows filled in with sediments. The last full incision/aggradation rhythm occurred in the late MIS 6 to mid-MIS 2. The erosion network formed during the late MIS 6 was almost completely filled by mid-MIS 2, and its manifestation in the modern topography is limited to a network of shallow hollows in the upper parts of the fluvial systems. The modern (incomplete) incision/aggradation rhythm began in the late MIS 2 and caused the formation of the modern erosion landscape in the upper reaches of fluvial systems. This rhythm is now in the stabilization phase, and the main accumulation phase of this rhythm is still far in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluvial Archives: Climatic and Topographical Influences)

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