Dynamique de l'érosion dans le Barrois et le Perthois (Est du Bassin de Paris) : incision et karstification dans les bassins-versants de la Marne, de la Saulx et de l'Ornain. [Dynamics of erosion in the Barrois and the Perthois regions (East of the Paris Basin) : incision and karstification in the watersheds of the Marne, Saulx and Ornain rivers.

Abstract

U/Th ages of speleothems from the stepped-karst systems of Poissons, Cousances, and Rupt du Puits, are decreasing to the north Such a dia- chronous karstification is linked to the erosional retreat of the Infra-Cretaceous cover of clay and sand, and to the incision of the rivers in Tithonian limestones Fluvial paleoforms and alluvial formations record 7, 10 and 1 1 incision stages, respectively in the valleys of the Marne, Saulx and Ornain rivers These stages are grouped into 4 major incision episodes, which occurred either before (very old episode D and old episode C), or after (intermediate episode B and recent episode A) the capture of the Ornain-Saulx paleonver towards the Marne The karstic system of Poissons, older than 400 000 years, was reactivated during the D-incision episode, when wide but shallow valleys were encased into the Infra-Cretaceous exhumed surface of the Barrois Plateau The oldest karstic features of Cousances ("viailles") occurred during incision- episode C, when narrow Pleistocene valleys were deeply entrenched into the previous valley system Later shafts of the karst system of Cousances were shaped before circa 100 000 years, the approximate age of the first alluvial sediment of the Marne River deposited after the piracy of the Ornain-Saulx (B episode) U/Th and 14C ages of the active karst system of a tributary of the Saulx nver, the Rupt du Puits, range within the Ocean Oxygen Isotope stages 2 and 1 (A-episode) From these data, the capture of the Ornain-Saulx paleonver occurred probably during Ocean Oxygen Isotope stage 6 Incision rates after this capture reach about 20-25 cm/ka in the clay of the Gault Formation near the elbow of the captured nver (Perthois), and only 7,5 cm/ka in the Tithonian limestones of the Barrois region