Abstract
Sediment archives in the terrestrial and marine realm are regularly analyzed to infer changes in climate, tectonic, or anthropogenic boundary conditions of the past. However, contradictory observations have been made regarding whether short period events are faithfully preserved in stratigraphic archives; for instance, in marine sediments offshore large river systems. On the one hand, short period events are hypothesized to be non-detectable in the signature of terrestrially derived sediments due to buffering during sediment transport along large river systems. On the other hand, several studies have detected signals of short period events in marine records offshore large river systems. We propose that this apparent discrepancy is related to the lack of a differentiation between different types of signals and the lack of distinction between river response times and signal propagation times. In this review, we (1) expand the definition of the term ‘signal’ and group signals in sub-categories related to hydraulic grain size characteristics, (2) clarify the different types of ‘times’ and suggest a precise and consistent terminology for future use, and (3) compile and discuss factors influencing the times of signal transfer along sediment routing systems and how those times vary with hydraulic grain size characteristics. Unraveling different types of signals and distinctive time periods related to signal propagation addresses the discrepancies mentioned above and allows a more comprehensive exploration of event preservation in stratigraphy – a prerequisite for reliable environmental reconstructions from terrestrially derived sedimentary records.
Highlights
Sediment archives are regularly analyzed to reconstruct climatic and tectonic conditions of the past
In order to quantify signal transfer times, it is not enough to quantify sediment transport times, one needs to detect the onset of the signal in the sink
Even during phases of low connectivity and enhanced sediment storage, a certain fraction of the sediment is still bypassed to the sink (e.g., Blum et al., 2013)
Summary
Sediment archives are regularly analyzed to reconstruct climatic and tectonic conditions of the past. In order to quantify signal transfer times, it is not enough to quantify sediment transport times (see section “Sediment Transport Times”), one needs to detect the onset of the signal in the sink.
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