The History of the Great Northwest European Rivers During the Past Three Million Years
The History of the Great Northwest European Rivers During the Past Three Million Years
复制标题
欧洲西北部大河流过去三百万年的历史
DOI：
10.1098/rstb.1988.0024
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发表时间：
1988
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
P. Gibbard
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
P. Gibbard
本文基于对易北河、萨勒河、威悉河、莱茵河、默兹河、斯海尔德河、泰晤士河、索姆河和塞纳河的历史的回顾。另外两条已不存在的河流：波罗的海河和海峡河也包括在内。这些河流的历史说明了构造和气候的相互作用如何影响晚新生代欧洲西北部的排水系统。现代排水系统的基础是在中新世奠定的，当时与阿尔卑斯山造山作用和北大西洋开放有关的地球运动达到了顶峰。一般来说，这些早期河流占据浅谷，仅输送耐化学腐蚀的矿物和岩性。更新世的标志是寒冷气候的出现。这些气候导致了河流对地貌的解剖，首先剥离了风化层，然后剥离了冰缘过程产生的新鲜物质。这种物质以砾石和沙沉积物的形式积累在河谷中，构成了更新世河流沉积物的绝大多数。寒冷期河流一般呈辫状河道。深切的现代河谷系统的形成很大程度上是过去 2.4 Ma 左右气候快速变化的结果。在此期间，河流系统因大陆冰川作用而经历了反复调整。对这些回应进行了讨论。特别关注安格利亚-埃尔斯特冰川的影响，该冰川阻塞了北海南部，形成了一个巨大的冰坝湖，溢出的湖水形成了多佛海峡。相比之下，间冰期沉积物主要由细小的、通常含有化石的沉积物组成，河流通常采用单线河道，而河口沉积物则沉积在高海平面波动的区域。考虑了海平面变化对河流长度及其河道的影响。
This paper is based on a review of the histories of the Rivers Elbe, Saale, Weser, Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, Thames, Somme and Seine. Two further rivers no longer in existence, the Baltic and Channel rivers, are also included. The histories of these rivers illustrate how the interplay of tectonics and climate have influenced the northwest European drainage system through the late Cainozoic. The foundations of the modern drainage system were laid in the Miocene when earth movements associated with Alpine orogenesis and the opening of the North Atlantic were at their height. In general, these early rivers occupied shallow valleys and transported only chemically resistant minerals and lithologies. The Pleistocene was marked by the appearance of cold climates. These climates resulted in fluvial dissection of the landscape, which stripped first regolith, then fresh material derived by periglacial processes. This material accumulated in the river valleys as gravel and sand deposits, which make up the overwhelming bulk of Pleistocene fluvial sediments. The rivers generally adopted braided courses during cold stages. The deeply incised modern valley system has developed largely as a result of rapid climatic changes over the past 2.4 Ma or so. Throughout this period the river system has undergone repeated adjustments in response to continental glaciation. These responses are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the Anglian-Elsterian glaciation that blocked the southern North Sea to produce a vast ice-dammed lake, the overspill from which initiated the Dover Straits. By contrast, interglacial sedimentation comprises predominantly fine, often fossiliferous sediments with rivers normally adopting single-thread channels, while estuarine sediments were deposited in areas invaded by high eustatic sea levels. The impact of sea-level change on the length of rivers and their courses is considered.