Geochronological reconstruction of the Pleistocene evolution of the Sarre valley (France and Germany) using OSL and ESR dating techniques

This paper focuses upon the Pleistocene terraces of the Sarre River, a right bank tributary of the Moselle River (NE France and SW Germany) flowing through the Vosges Massif, the eastern Paris Basin and the Rhenish Massif. Recent research has allowed the recognition of 12 well preserved alluvial ter...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geomorphology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Netherlands), 2012-09, Vol.165-166, p.91-106
Main Authors: Cordier, Stéphane, Harmand, Dominique, Lauer, Tobias, Voinchet, Pierre, Bahain, Jean-Jacques, Frechen, Manfred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
basins
climate
Climate change
cold
ESR
floodplains
Fluvial terraces
Geochronology
Geography
glaciers
Humanities and Social Sciences
luminescence
Massifs
methodology
Moselle River
OSL
Pleistocene
Reconstruction
Rivers
Sarre River
stratigraphy
Terraces
Valleys
watersheds
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper focuses upon the Pleistocene terraces of the Sarre River, a right bank tributary of the Moselle River (NE France and SW Germany) flowing through the Vosges Massif, the eastern Paris Basin and the Rhenish Massif. Recent research has allowed the recognition of 12 well preserved alluvial terraces (Sa1 youngest to Sa12 oldest) between the present floodplain Sa0 and +120m relative height. The youngest terraces were dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). A first chronological framework was also provided for older terraces by Electron-Spin-Resonance (ESR) dating. The ages range between the end of the Early Pleistocene and the last glacial–interglacial cycle of the Late Pleistocene (ca. 1.1Ma to 50ka). Age ranges are consistent with the terrace elevation and stratigraphy, allowing correlation of the youngest terraces with established global climate cycles and with the younger terraces in the Moselle valley. In particular, an erosional period was recognised at the end of the Saalian, (end of MIS 6) suggesting that the terrace incision occurred at the cold-to-warm transition. This result contrasts with those obtained for the Moselle and Meurthe Rivers, where previous studies suggest that major incision took place at the beginning of the cold periods. The differences are attributed to a variable fluvial response to climate change which could relate to the presence or absence of glaciers in the upper catchment.
ISSN:0169-555X
1872-695X
DOI:10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.12.038