The role of aridification in constraining the elevation range of Holocene solifluction processes and associated landforms in the periglacial belt of the Sierra Nevada (southern Spain)

ABSTRACT Climate variability during the Mid‐Late Holocene has influenced the activity of geomorphic processes in the current periglacial belt of the Sierra Nevada. We studied two types of sedimentary records that reveal a synchronous timing for slope instability in this high semi‐arid massif: solifl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Earth surface processes and landforms 2011-08, Vol.36 (10), p.1279-1291
Main Authors: Oliva, Marc, Schulte, Lothar, Ortiz, Antonio Gómez
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Belts
Bgi / Prodig
Climate
climate variability
Europe
Geomorphology
Holocene
lake sediments
Lakes
Landforms
Massifs
Phases
Physical geography
Sediments
Sierra Nevada
solifluction landforms
The Iberian peninsula
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Summary:ABSTRACT Climate variability during the Mid‐Late Holocene has influenced the activity of geomorphic processes in the current periglacial belt of the Sierra Nevada. We studied two types of sedimentary records that reveal a synchronous timing for slope instability in this high semi‐arid massif: solifluction landforms and mountain lake sediments. Lithological and sedimentological properties of both records have recorded numerous cycles of different magnitude of slope processes in the massif. Solifluction deposits record seven phases of solifluction activity and soil development during the last 7 ka bp and lake sediments show evidence of eight periods with increased geomorphic activity in the catchments over the last 6 ka bp. Although present‐day climate conditions do not promote active solifluction processes in the Sierra Nevada, colder and wetter periods during the Holocene triggered solifluction and transported coarse‐grained sediments into the lakes. By contrast, warm phases favoured soil formation and spread an incipient vegetation cover over the headwaters of the highest valleys, diminishing the grain size of the particles reaching the lakes. Lake sediments record an aridification trend in the massif intensifying since 4·2 ka bp that has conditioned solifluction activity to shift gradually to higher elevations. During major cooler phases such as the Little Ice Age active solifluction was recorded back down to 2500 m altitude. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0197-9337
1096-9837
1096-9837
DOI:10.1002/esp.2116