Evolution of the Late Pleistocene Aspe River (Western Pyrenees, France). Signature of climatic events and active tectonics

Abstract

We make use of the cosmogenic nuclide 10Be exposure to date an alluvial terrace of the Aspe River in the foothills of the northwestern Pyrenees. Initially ascribed to the Rissian glaciation, our dating shows that the terrace was abandoned at 18±2kyr. In reference to the Late Pleistocene climatic chronology, two kinds of terraces can be distinguished: high-standing fill terraces probably deposited during glacial events and lower cut-in-fill and strath terraces cut during the postglacial river incision. A part of the terrace aggradations could have occurred during the Würmian glacial episodes. Hence, the dated terrace fits in with the prevailing view of incision during climate transitions. Our study also shows that elevation is not a good criterion of terrace correlation, which should be better carried out on the basis of absolute dating. In addition, this dating also suggests a potential Late Pleistocene fault reactivation of the Mail Arrouy thrust in this tectonically active area of the Western Pyrenees.