Base-level Fall Research Articles

A chronology of alluvial fan response to Late Quaternary sea level and climate change, Crete

To better understand how fluvial systems respond to late Quaternary climatic forcing OSL and U-series dating was applied to stratigraphically significant sedimentary units within a small (<6.5 km2) alluvial fan system (the Sphakia fan) in southwest Crete. The resultant chronology (comprising 32 OSL and U-series ages) makes Sphakia fan one of the best dated systems in the Mediterranean and suggests that Cretan fans responded to climate in two ways. First, during the transitions between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a/4 and MIS 2/1 Sphakia fan was characterised by significant entrenchment and distal shift in the zone of deposition. It is proposed that the phases of entrenchment were driven by sea level induced base level fall during MIS 5a/4 and landscape stabilisation during the onset of the current interglacial (MIS 2/1). Second, with the exception of these two entrenchment episodes fan alluviation occurred across the entire last interglacial/glacial cycle in all climatic settings i.e. interglacials, interstadials and stadials. It is likely that the topographic setting of the catchment supplying sediment to Sphakia fan maintained high sediment transfer rates during most climatic settings enabling fan aggradation to occur except during major climatic driven transitions i.e. major sea level fall and postglacial vegetation development.

Seismo-stratigraphic evidences for deep base level control on middle to late Pleistocene drift evolution and mass wasting along southern Levant continental slope (Eastern Mediterranean)

Since early Pliocene, a counterclockwise surface gyre transported Nile derived silt and clay northeastwards along the Levant coast, where a basinward prograding plastered drift emerged. Based on high-resolution seismic reflection data we develop a middle to late Pleistocene sequence stratigraphic scheme for this plastered drift. For creating stacked sections of the seismic data we used the common reflection surface (CRS) stack technology which enhanced lateral reflection continuity and visibility of deep reflections. The shelf comprises stratigraphic sequences which show classical, systems tract like stacking patterns of sea level controlled sequences such as offlapping forced regression deposits or diachronous ravinement surfaces which formed during base level rise. On the slope, base level was periodically located well below the wave base and thus rather controlled by hydrodynamics, presumably by high-velocity contour currents. Hence, the term ‘deep base level’ is introduced. The deep base level controlled especially down and backstepping slope deposits. This example shows that care has to be taken when interpreting subsurface data containing typical systems tract like seismic sequences, since such geometries do not necessarily imply shallow water deposition of the sediments. A chronostratigraphic analysis based on the seismic stratigraphy indicates that base level fluctuations were related to eccentricity driven glacio-eustatic fluctuations. Periodic mass wasting, facilitated by foreset over-steepening and possibly triggered by salt tectonics or erosion by the contour current occurred during late base level fall or early base level rise.

Weathering-limited hillslope evolution in carbonate landscapes

Understanding topographic evolution requires integrating elementary processes acting at the hillslope scale into the long-wavelength framework of landscape dynamics. Recent progress has been made in the quantification of denudation of eroding landscapes and its links with topography. Despite these advances, data is still sparse in car-bonate terrain, which covers a significant part of the Earth's surface. In this study, we measured both long-term denudation rates using in situ-produced 36 Cl concentrations in bedrock and regolith clasts and surface convexity at 12 sites along ridges of the Luberon carbonate range in Provence, Southeastern France. Starting from ∼30 mm/ka for the lowering of the summit plateau surface, denudation linearly increases with increasing hilltop convexity up to ∼70 mm/ka, as predicted by diffusive mass transport theory. Beyond this point denuda-tion rates appear to be insensitive to the increase in hilltop convexity. We interpret this constant denudation as indicating a transition from a regime where hillslope evolution is primarily controlled by diffusive downslope regolith transport, toward a situation in which denuda-tion is limited by the rate at which physical and chemical weathering processes can produce clasts and lower the hilltop. Such an abrupt transition into a weathering-limited dynamics may prevent hillslope 1 denudation from balancing the rate of base level fall imposed by the river network and could potentially explain the development of high local relief in many Mediterranean carbonate landscapes.

Cosmogenic3He Measurements Provide Insight into Lithologic Controls on Bedrock Channel Incision: Examples from the South African Interior

Resistant bedrock outcrops can exert control on river long-profile adjustment, upstream transmission of base level fall, and valley development, particularly in postorogenic settings. To examine how variation in lithologic resistance impacts landscape development in the postorogenic eastern South African interior, cosmogenic 3He in pyroxene from Karoo dolerite was measured in samples from valleys of the Klip and Mooi Rivers and the Schoonspruit. The denudation rates measured from cosmogenic 3He in the Klip and Mooi Rivers and the Schoonspruit are widely variable, with channel bed denudation rates ranging from 14 to 255 m/m.yr. and valley side and top denudation rates ranging from 11 to 50 m/m.yr. Various processes of channel bed erosion occurring at grain to block scales (abrasion, plucking, subaerial weathering) result in the widely ranging channel bed incision rates. In this setting, river incision rates are restricted by moderate unit stream powers (∼20 to >50 W/m2) and by limited sediment supply, resulting in a lack of abrasive tools. In many dolerite valleys, channel bed incision is commonly slow enough for local base levels to remain essentially stable for extended periods of time (>10 k.yr.). These results suggest that in the postorogenic eastern South African interior, resistant dolerite in channel long profiles can result in spatially variable rates of channel bed incision, with implications for the patterns and tempo of wider landscape dynamics.

Autogenic incision and terrace formation resulting from abrupt late-glacial base-level fall, lower Chippewa River, Wisconsin, USA

A paucity of research exists regarding the millennial-scale response of inland alluvial streams to abrupt base-level fall. Studies of modern systems indicate that, over short time scales, the response is a diffusion-like process of upstream-propagating incision. In contrast, evidence from the lower Chippewa River (LCR), located in the upper Midwest of the USA, suggests that autogenic controls operating over time scales of several millennia can overwhelm diffusion, resulting in incision that is prolonged and episodic. During the Last Glacial Maximum, the LCR drained the Chippewa Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet to the glacial upper Mississippi River (UMR). As a meltwater stream, it aggraded and filled its valley with glacial outwash, as did its largest tributaries, which were also meltwater streams. Its nonglacial tributaries aggraded, too, filling their valleys with locally derived sediment. During deglaciation, the UMR incised at least twice, abruptly lowering the LCR's base level — ~15m at 16ka or earlier and an additional 40m at ca. 13.4ka. Each of these base-level falls initiated incision of the LCR, led by upstream migrating knickpoints. The propagation of incision has, however, been a lengthy process. The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of terrace alluvium indicate that, by 13.5ka, incision had advanced up the LCR only 15km, and by 9ka, only 55km. The process has also been episodic, resulting in the formation of fill-cut terraces (inferred from GPR surveys and exposures of terrace alluvium) that are younger and more numerous in the upstream direction. Autogenic increases in sediment load and autogenic bed armoring, the result of periodic tributary-stream rejuvenation and preferential winnowing of fines by the incising river, may have periodically caused knickpoint migration and incision to slow and possibly stop, allowing lateral erosion and floodplain formation to dominate. A decline in sediment flux from stabilizing incised tributary stream systems would have led to renewed knickpoint migration and incision when floods of sufficient magnitude to breach the channel armor occurred. Minimal floodplain development along the upper section of the present-day LCR, along with the channel morphology of an unstable wandering gravel-bed river immediately downstream from it, suggest that the river is still responding to the base-level falls that happened many millennia ago. The autogenic controls on the LCR's response to UMR incision are a direct consequence of the thick fills of noncohesive sediment that accumulated in its valley and the valleys of its tributary streams during the Late Wisconsinan, making the LCR a prime example of a former proglacial river that remains a paraglacial fluvial system.

Cap carbonate platform facies model, Noonday Formation, SE California

The Neoproterozoic outcrop belt of the Death Valley region, California, preserves an oblique cross section of the Noonday Formation, a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform that hosts distinctive basal Ediacaran cap carbonate−affiliated sedimentary structures, stromatolite textures, and δ^(13)C_(carb) values. The Noonday platform encompasses two depositional sequences that reveal two cycles of relative sea-level change within strata conventionally considered to record a single, rapid, postglacial sea-level rise. In updip localities, facies of the first depositional sequence record the transition from a carbonate ramp to a stromatolite-bearing, “tubestone”-textured, reef-rimmed platform; downdip, localities seaward of the reefal escarpment variably preserve a thin and condensed onlapping foreslope wedge. Base-level fall exposed the reef crest to karstic dissolution and propagated submarine incised valleys into the seaward margin of the reef. Overlying strata record the backfilling of a submarine incised valley and reestablishment of a back-stepping, carbonate-dominated ramp prior to a second subaerial exposure event that defines the contact between the Noonday and Johnnie formations. We address the relative contributions of syndepositional tectonism and recovery from low-latitude deglaciation in dictating Noonday platform architecture and the intra−Noonday Formation sequence boundary. Noonday Formation deposition coincided with extension of the Laurentian margin during disaggregation of the Rodinian supercontinent. Within this framework, previous work has suggested that the intra−Noonday Formation sequence boundary records growth faulting that reinforced differential topography, uplifting reef-rimmed horsts—exposing the reef crest to karstic dissolution—and downdropping grabens. However, we trace the intra−Noonday Formation sequence boundary seaward of the reef crest and demonstrate that, for a time, wave base was situated downdip of the reef escarpment on putatively downdropped fault blocks. Thus, if the Noonday margin were undergoing extension, then the creation of the intra−Noonday Formation sequence boundary required a concomitant decrease in accommodation due, perhaps, to postglacial isostatic uplift attendant with low-latitude deglaciation. We speculate that Noonday Formation sequence architecture records (1) immediate deglacial flooding, (2) shoaling and exposure due to isostatic rebound induced by either a hiatus in meltwater flux or rapid ice-sheet collapse against a background of global deglaciation, and (3) resumed flooding following complete deglaciation. As rift-related tectonism could amplify or counter glacial isostasy, inferences of the amplitude of local postglacial sea-level change will require robust estimates of syndepositional extension across the Noonday margin.

Landslides, threshold slopes, and the survival of relict terrain in the wake of the Mendocino Triple Junction

Establishing landscape response to uplift is critical for interpreting sediment fluxes, hazard potential, and topographic evolution. We assess how landslides shape terrain in response to a wave of uplift traversing the northern California Coast Ranges (United States) in the wake of the Mendocino Triple Junction. We extracted knickpoints, landslide erosion rates, and topographic metrics across the region modified by Mendocino Triple Junction migration. Landslide erosion rates mapped from aerial imagery are consistent with modeled uplift and exhumation, while hillslope gradient is invariant across the region, suggesting that landslides accommodate uplift, as predicted by the threshold slope model. Landslides are concentrated along steepened channel reaches downstream of knickpoints generated by base-level fall at channel outlets, and limit slope angles and relief. We find evidence that landslide-derived coarse sediment delivery may suppress catchment-wide channel incision and landscape denudation over the time required for the uplift wave to traverse the region. We conclude that a landslide cover effect may provide a mechanism for the survival of relict terrain and orogenic relief in the northern Californian Coast Ranges and elsewhere over millennial time scales.

Spatial and Temporal Variation of Fluvial Architecture In A Prograding Clastic Wedge of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Basin (Kaiparowits Plateau), U.S.A.

Abstract Patterns and distribution of fluvial architectural elements in the John Henry Member (Upper Cretaceous, Straight Cliffs Formation) are documented in the southwestern Kaiparowits Plateau, Utah through detailed, outcrop-based facies characterization and mapping across ∼ 20 km down depositional dip. Observed facies associations and fluvial architectures define seven distinct depositional units (DUs), from stratigraphic base to top: DU-0, braided-river channel belts and tide-influenced channels; DU-1, highly amalgamated meandering-river channel belts with local braided and tide-influenced interdistributary channels; DU-2, laterally extensive, highly sinuous meandering-river channel belts; DU-3, straight channels in thick floodplain deposits; DU-4, laterally restricted, moderately amalgamated meandering-river channel belts; DU-5, laterally extensive, moderately amalgamated braided-river channel belts; and DU-6, highly amalgamated braided-river channel belts. The John Henry Member is characterized by two trends: from DU-1 to DU-3, an upward decrease in grain size, channel-belt frequency and lateral extent, and a shift from braided to meandering channel geometries with episodic tidal influence; and from DU-4 to DU-6, an upward increase in grain size, channel-belt frequency and lateral extent, and a shift from meandering to braided channel geometries. Overall, these trends represent a hybrid of previous models for the formation of nonmarine depositional sequences. To the west, the lower trend was bounded at the base by an erosional surface that may represent a local valley-fill succession. Incision is potentially linked to a tectonically induced relative base-level fall, although other factors such as eustasy and autogenic processes cannot be discounted. A subsequent period of high accommodation is reflected in DUs 2, 3, and 4, and correlates to transgressive marginal marine strata located ∼ 60 km down depositional dip. The upper trend in the John Henry Member fluvial strata can be explained by up-dip, mainly tectonic controls on subsidence and sediment supply, and autogenic progradation of a large, distributive fluvial fan system in DUs 4, 5, and 6.

Experimental migration of knickpoints: influence of style of base-level fall and bed lithology

Abstract. Knickpoints are fascinating and common geomorphic features whose dynamics influence the development of landscapes and source-to-sink systems – in particular the upstream propagation of erosion. Here, we study river profiles and associated knickpoints experimentally in a microflume filled with a cohesive substrate made of silica, water and kaolinite. We focus on the effect on knickpoint dynamics of varying the distribution of base-level fall (rate, increment, and period) and substrate strength, i.e., kaolinite content. Such simple cases are directly comparable to both bedrock and alluvial river systems. Under a constant rate of base-level fall, knickpoints of similar shape are periodically generated, highlighting self-organized dynamics in which steady forcing leads to multiple knickpoint events. Temporary shielding of the bed by alluvium controls the spacing between these unit knickpoints. Shielding is, however, not effective when base-level drops exceed alluvium thickness. While the base-level fall rate controls the overall slope of experiments, it is not instrumental in dictating the major characteristics of unit knickpoints. Instead the velocity, face slope and associated plunge pool depth of these knickpoints are all strongly influenced by lithology. The period between knickpoints is set by both alluvium thickness and base-level fall rate, allowing use of knickpoint spacing along rivers as an indicator of base-level fall rate.

Cenozoic rivers of northeast Africa: Evidence of trans-Saharan drainage

Radar imagery of the Sahara of Egypt and eastern Libya has dramatically changed previous concepts in regard to long term aridity of this region, revealing an extensive network of buried fluvial channels documenting the river systems that developed in the proto-Sahara during the Late Paleogene and Neogene, following the early Eocene regression of the Mediterranean Sea, and prior to Pleistocene aridification. The fall in base level associated with the end-Miocene Messinian desiccation of the Mediterranean led to deep down-cutting and extension of river systems throughout much of North Africa and South Europe. The deep, infilled canyons beneath the modern Rhone and Nile are well known, but the radar imagery identifies other deep canyons under the North African Sahara that are now invisible. In eastern Libya, drainage from Serir Tebisti (Tebisti Massif) into the Mediterranean via the Sirt Basin was channeled by two main rivers, the Sahabi in the west and the Kufra in the east; these were subsequently united in the Early Pliocene when the latter captured the former. The Gilf River was another important channel that drained north from the Uweinat-Gilf highland in southwest Egypt, in a system that may have been connected with the Kufra during the Neogene and enabling fish to move from the presently isolated Chad Basin to northern Libya and Egypt. The interplay of these north-flowing rivers and the constant northward retreat of the Mediterranean shoreline from Oligocene onward resulted in deposits of fluvial and marine sedimentation in every possible combinaton that have been described by many authors in the region between the Tebisti and the present Mediterranean shoreline. Prior to the establishment of the Nile, a southwestward drainage, the Qena River, was initiated by Oligocene uplift and lateral faulting along the Red Sea shoulder of the East African Rift. This river discharged into a distributive network known as the Radar Rivers near latitude 23° 30'N in the Southwestern Desert. It has been suggested that waters from the Qena River continued to flow southwestward to the Atlantic Ocean, in what is known as Trans African Drainage System (TADS).

Floodplain evolution in a confluence zone: Paraná and Ivaí rivers, Brazil

In this study we investigated floodplain development at the confluence of the Paraná and Ivaí rivers, Brazil. We evaluated paleochannels with sedimentary facies and morphometry from cartographic products, which enabled us to identify compartments that indicate homologous morphogenesis. These results contributed to the distinction in the floodplain of areas reworked by the Paraná, Ivaí, or both river systems. Additionally, investigations that included dating deposits on the terrace that borders the floodplain and an alluvial fan (also in contact with the floodplain) reinforced the interpretation of the fluvial landscape. The identified stages of geomorphological evolution demonstrated the existence of a paleoconfluence of the Paraná and Ivaí rivers during the late Pleistocene that was located 6km upstream from the current confluence. This paleoconfluence displays a different configuration in relation to the current confluence, and its features resemble and contribute to understanding the former braided channel pattern of the Paraná River. The abandonments of the Paraná River channels identified in this study were initial and crucial process in the development of the floodplain. This channel change favored the formation of extensive wetlands and consequently the confluence migration, which resulted in the fluvial reworking indicated by the paleochannels of the Ivaí River. Another implication from the confluence migration was a base level fall, which contributed to maintaining the stability of the Ivaí River and its embedded meanders. In addition, investigations of an alluvial fan in the Paraná River valley provided evidence of massive deposition of sediments from a tributary of the Ivaí River onto the floodplain, which is associated with a regional dry period in the late Holocene as well as neotectonic control.

Evaluating process domains in small arid granitic watersheds: Case study of Pima Wash, South Mountains, Sonoran Desert, USA

This paper provides support for the concept of geomorphic process domains developed by Montgomery (1999) by linking geomorphic processes to ecological variations seen in the Pima arid granitic watershed of the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix, Arizona. Closer joint spacing shows a statistically significant correlation with lower percentages of mineral grain attachment as measured by digital image processing of backscattered electron microscope imagery. Lower mineral grain attachment leads to more frequent spalling of rock surfaces, as measured by varnish microlamination (VML) ages of the last spalling event. In contrast, more distant joint spacing leads to in situ 10Be erosion rates of 3.4–8.5mm/ka and the emergence of low domes and kopje granitic landforms; these low domes also serve as knickpoints along ephemeral washes. Distant jointing thus plays a key role in generating the bare bedrock surfaces that funnel limited precipitation to bedrock margins — enhancing the canopy cover of perennial plants next to the bare bedrock. Joint-influenced geomorphic processes at Pima Wash generate four distinct process domains: (PD1) armored drainage divides; (PD2) slopes with different granite landforms; (PD3) mid- and upper basin channels that mix knickzones, strath floodplains, and sandy alluvial sections; and (PD4) the main ephemeral channel transitioning to the piedmont. Distant jointing promotes bedrock exposure and rock armoring along drainage divides in PD1 that then concentrates runoff and promotes perennial plant growth. More distant joint spacing on slopes in PD2 promotes exposure of granitic bedrock forms that shed overland flow to their margin and promotes flora and fauna growths along the margins of low granitic domes and kopjes. Similarly, wider joint spacing along ephemeral washes in PD3 leads to knickpoints, which in turn act to concentrate moisture immediately downstream. The stream terraces in PD4 influence the ecology through xeric desert pavements on terrace treads and roofs for coyotes (Canis latrans) and gray fox (Urocyon Cinereoargenteus) dens on terrace scarps via stage 3 pedogenic carbonate. These four process domains occur in six other randomly selected granitic watersheds with drainage areas <5km2 in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. Results on rates of geomorphic processes in the Pima Wash watershed provide new insight in the desert geomorphology of small granitic watersheds. Catchment-wide denudation rates (CWDRs) recorded by 10Be sampled along the main ephemeral wash vary between 15 and 23mm/ka and do not appear to be influenced by knickpoint or knickzone occurrence; instead slightly lower CWDRs appear to be associated with sediment contributions by subbasins with more abundance of bare bedrock forms. Resampling for CWDR after a 500-year flood event from hurricane moisture at two sites along the main ephemeral channel revealed no detectable changes; this finding confirms the average representativeness of CWDR as a long-term denudation proxy and also means that sediment transport on these arid granitic hillslopes must be incremental and without rapid crest to wash transport. The first reported measurements of incision rates into a small granitic Sonoran Desert watershed, using 10Be and VML, reveal rates on the order of 70–180mm/ka in the lower quarter of Pima Wash for the last 60ka — producing a narrow and deep trench. As this base-level fall propagates upstream, erosion focuses on weaker material with higher joint densities; this facilitates the emergence of domes and kopje landforms with more widely spaced jointing.

Characterizing the transient geomorphic response to base-level fall in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Characterizing the transient geomorphic response to base-level fall in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Quantitative Characterization of Architecture Elements and Their Response To Base-Level Change In A Sandy Braided Fluvial System At A Mountain Front

Abstract: The Rockcave Member of the Yungang Formation (Middle Jurassic), in the Datong Basin, China, is a multistory sandstone that is interpreted as a sandy braided fluvial deposit based on grain size, lithofacies, and architectural elements. The depositional setting was the mountain front of the Datong Basin, which was tens of kilometers from the shoreline of a lacustrine basin during the Middle Jurassic. The concept of base level is used to analyze the architectural elements of the braided system obtained from photographic mosaics and high-resolution measurement of six outcrop sections from Yungang Rock Cave. Grain size, lithology, and bounding surfaces together with scale and dimension parameters of the sedimentary structures in various architectural elements were used to quantitatively characterize each group of architectural elements and stratigraphic units. Width/thickness values of trough crossbeds were found to be a fundamental component of the hydrodynamic regimes. During base-level rise the braided fluvial system developed large-scale channel units, bar units, and overbank fills. The relatively high proportion of bar units and overbank fills reflect processes operating during positive accommodation. However, during base-level fall there are a high proportion of small-scale channel units that reflect incision-dominated processes such as channels with low W/T values for trough crossbeds and less common overbank fines.

Post-tectonic landscape evolution of a coupled basin and range: Pinaleño Mountains and Safford Basin, southeastern Arizona

The Pinaleno Mountains and adjacent Safford Basin are a landscape defined by the extensional tectonics of the Basin and Range physiographic province. However, over the last ∼4 m.y., this coupled basin and range have been actively degrading in the absence of widespread regional extension. While rates of relief generation and upland erosion during active subsidence ca. 12–5 Ma are reflected in the geometry of the basin’s structure and the stratigraphy it contains, rates of post-tectonic landscape evolution from the Pliocene to the present have been heretofore unknown. We combined topographic analyses of the Pinaleno Mountains with cosmogenic nuclide–derived catchment-averaged erosion rates and burial dates of axial and piedmont deposits to quantify rates of post-tectonic landscape evolution and define a chronology for the last stages of deposition and subsequent incision in Safford Basin. In addition to constraining the timing of a deposit’s formation, cosmogenic nuclide burial dates provide paleo-upland erosion rates at the time of deposition. Erosion rates in the Pinaleno Mountains have been generally moderate over the past 4 m.y., ranging between ∼30 and 60 m/m.y. with no strong relationship to the drainage basins’ modern topography. A potential acceleration of erosion rates to 100–250 m/m.y. between 3.5 and 2 Ma correlates with an inferred period of enhanced precipitation as well as the arrival from upstream of the Gila River in Safford Basin sometime shortly before 2.8 Ma. Widespread incision of Safford Basin was under way by ca. 2 Ma, as recorded by the dissection of piedmont basin highstand deposits (Frye Mesa) and two intermediate Gila River terraces on the northeast margin of Safford Basin (dated to 1.8 Ma and 0.64 Ma). Gila River incision rates have ranged from 30 to 60 m/m.y. over the past 3 m.y. Paleo-upland erosion rates and modern millennial-scale upland erosion rates fall within the same range as incision rates of the Gila River in Safford Basin, suggesting that upland erosion rates are predominantly a function of base-level fall driven by axial incision. However, based on similarities between catchment-averaged erosion rates and topography from basins draining into the integrated Safford Basin and the still internally drained Sulphur Springs Basin to the south, it appears that upland erosion rates during the Quaternary are not being driven exclusively by regional incision rates.

Knickpoint evolution on the Yarlung river: Evidence for late Cenozoic uplift of the southeastern Tibetan plateau margin

A salient geomorphic feature of the Yarlung River is its abundance of large knickpoints, which in many cases coincide with north–south trending rifts. Across one of these rifts, near the town of Jiacha, the Yarlung falls nearly 500 m from an elevation of ∼3500 m over 80 river kilometers, making this the second largest knickpoint on the river. We propose that the Jiacha knickpoint represents a wave of incision migrating upstream through the drainage network in response to a downstream base level fall, not a disturbance in the channel to due rift tectonics.Longitudinal profile slope-area and chi (χ) analysis of Yarlung River tributaries and those of several major rivers in southeastern Tibet indicate several knickpoints are present at ∼3500 m elevation, all resulting from a single regional-scale base level fall. Retreat rates calculated from celerity modeling indicate that the Jiacha knickpoint was located at the upstream edge of the Namche Barwa massif at ∼10 Ma, a history consistent with apatite 4He/3He thermochronometry data and thermokinematic modeling from that region. These data suggest the Yarlung River has flowed in its present course through this area since at least 10 Ma and imply that at least 500 m of incision occurred within this canyon over this time period. The spatial scale of these observations suggests that these knickpoints resulted from surface uplift of southeastern Tibet of 500 to 2500 m just prior to ∼10 Ma. Additionally, our mapped knickpoint locations indicate that reorganization of the drainage network just east of the Namche Barwa massif occurred prior to this time.

Architecture and facies model in a non-marine to shallow-marine setting with continuous base-level rise: An example from the Cretaceous Denglouku Formation in the Changling Depression, Songliao Basin, China

The analysis of 2D and 3D seismic data, drilled cores and well log data has resulted in a sequence stratigraphic framework of the Cretaceous Denglouku Formation in the Changling Depression in the underfilled Songliao Basin. The Cretaceous Denglouku Formation can be divided into four third-order sequences. Each sequence consists of two systems tracts: a transgressive systems tract and a highstand systems tract. A braided river delta is the main sedimentary facies in the study interval. These sequences were deposited in a back-arc rift basin during a transitional period from fault-dominant subsidence to downwarp subsidence. A sequence stratigraphic model is discussed based on the above interpretations. Typical unconformities are absent due to the absence of base level fall. Instead, maximum regressive surfaces, which are generally reworked by transgressive ravinement, act as the sequence boundaries. Each sequence bounded by these surfaces can be divided into two depositional units: a transgressive unit (TST) and normal regressive unit (HST). On land, a TST is characterized by a decreasing channel/floodplain ratio, and an HST is characterized by an increasing channel/floodplain ratio. Lakes are analogs to marine settings in which the shoreline moves forwards and backwards, and their strata show alternating retrogradation and progradation patterns. The results of this study may encourage the application of similar approaches to the correlation of successions within and beyond the Songliao Basin.

Subsidence history and basin-fill evolution in the South Caspian Basin from geophysical mapping, flexural backstripping, forward lithospheric modelling and gravity modelling

Abstract This study summarizes the subsidence history and aspects of the geodynamic evolution of the South Caspian Basin based on the integration of geophysical observations, and subsidence and gravity modelling on selected two-dimensional (2D) profiles. This analysis implies the presence of an attenuated ‘oceanic-type’ crust in the northern portion of the South Caspian Basin, demonstrates characteristics of basin subsidence on variable crustal types and describes sediment-fill evolution in several different parts of the basin. Modelling conducted in this study shows that the observed pattern of subsidence and sedimentation in the South Caspian Basin can be explained by a process of thermal subsidence following Jurassic rifting and further enhanced subsidence that resulted from sediment-induced loading in the Late Tertiary, especially after a large-scale base-level fall after 6 Ma. Variation in crustal type is reflected in differences observed in the degree of subsidence and sediment fill in the overlying stratigraphy. The western part of the South Caspian Basin has subsided differently to the eastern part because of this difference in crustal type. This is also confirmed by gravity modelling, which shows that the South Caspian Basin crustal density is compatible with an oceanic composition in the western part of the South Caspian Basin: the crust in the eastern part of the basin, however, is thicker.

Surface uplift above the Jemez mantle anomaly in the past 4 Ma based on40Ar/39Ar dated paleoprofiles of the Rio San Jose, New Mexico, USA

We combine 15 new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages with existing age constraints of basalts to investigate the incision and denudation history of the ∼150-km-long Rio San Jose (RSJ) of west-central New Mexico (USA) over the past 4 Ma. Temporal and spatial scales of differential incision may help evaluate the relative importance of neotectonic, geomorphic and climatic forcings. The RSJ is a southeast-flowing river that orthogonally crosses the northeast-trending Jemez volcanic lineament, which is underlain by a zone of low-velocity mantle. Preserved basalt flows along the length of the river at different elevations that directly overlie river gravels are used to construct paleoprofiles of the RSJ and give insight into the differential incision history, which can test the hypothesis that epeirogenic uplift associated with the Jemez lineament influenced differential incision of the RSJ. Observations include (1) a northeast-trending graben along the central reach of the RSJ (El Malpais valley graben) which is parallel to the Jemez lineament, (2) the present-day east tilt of the originally west-flowing 3.7 Ma Mesa Lucero flow along the eastern edge of the Jemez lineament, and (3) modern profile convexities that are colocated with ca. 3 Ma paleoprofile convexities and are centered above the Jemez lineament. The arched ca. 3 Ma paleoprofile defined by the pre–Mount Taylor strath has greater convexity than younger profiles, suggesting neotectonic bowing of ∼135 m (∼50 m/Ma) in this reach over the past ∼3 Ma relative to areas off axis of the Jemez lineament, in spite of graben subsidence and aggradational fill in this reach exceeding 100 m. Differential incision of the 184 ka Suwanee flow at the edge of the Colorado Plateau may be attributable to base-level fall in downstream reaches of the RSJ and/or headwater uplift, and more erosive climate in the past several hundred thousand years. However, these observations, when considered together, cannot be explained entirely by geomorphic or climatic forcings. Rather, they are best interpreted as resulting from surface uplift centered over the northeast-trending Jemez lineament, and our model suggests that both the faulting and broad bending may relate to mantle driven epeirogeny that caused differential river incision. Several interacting neotectonic and magmatic mechanisms may have contributed to postulated uplift. Magmatically driven geodynamic uplift forcings may include construction of the Mount Taylor stratovolcano just north of the RSJ that changed surface elevation by several kilometers at the volcanic peak itself. However, semisteady denudation and similar incision rates in other rivers in the region indicate that a regional erosional landscape was the primary driver of differential river incision over the past 5–8 Ma. Our focus on the pre–Mount Tayler RSJ paleoprofile reinforces this conclusion. Other mantle-related uplift mechanisms that may have generated mantle buoyancy include thermal buoyancy or magmatic inflation due to dike and sill networks related to the building of the Mount Taylor stratovolcano and eruption of Zuni-Bandera volcanic fields. Both could have contributed to uplift, but their relative importance is unknown. Broad epeirogenic uplift is also possible due to small-scale upper mantle convection beneath a thin elastic plate and resulting dynamic topography.

Late Pleistocene sea-level changes recorded in tidal and fluvial deposits from Itaubal Formation, onshore portion of the Foz do Amazonas Basin, Brazil

ABSTRACTThe Pleistocene deposits exposed in the Amapá Coastal Plain (onshore portion of the Foz do Amazonas Basin, northeastern South America) were previously interpreted as Miocene in age. In this work, they were named as "Itaubal Formation" and were included in the quaternary coastal history of Amazonia. The study, through facies and stratigraphic analyses in combination with optically stimulated luminescence (single and multiple aliquot regeneration), allowed interpreting this unit as Late Pleistocene tidal and fluvial deposits. The Itaubal Formation, which unconformably overlies strongly weathered basement rocks of the Guianas Shield, was subdivided into two progradational units, separated by an unconformity related to sea-level fall, here named as Lower and Upper Units. The Lower Unit yielded ages between 120,600 (± 12,000) and 70,850 (± 6,700) years BP and consists of subtidal flat, tide-influenced meandering stream and floodplain deposits, during highstand conditions. The Upper Unit spans between 69,150 (± 7,200) and 58,150 (± 6,800) years BP and is characterized by braided fluvial deposits incised in the Lower Unit, related to base-level fall; lowstand conditions remained until 23,500 (± 3,000) years BP. The studied region was likely exposed during the Last Glacial Maximum and then during Holocene, covered by tidal deposits influenced by the Amazon River.