Climatic and vegetation control on sediment dynamics during the last glacial cycle

Research Article| May 01, 2010 Climatic and vegetation control on sediment dynamics during the last glacial cycle A. Dosseto; A. Dosseto * 1GEMOC National Key Centre, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia *Current address: GeoQuEST Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; E-mail: tonyd@uow.edu.au. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar P.P. Hesse; P.P. Hesse 2Department of Environment and Geography, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar K. Maher; K. Maher 3Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar K. Fryirs; K. Fryirs 2Department of Environment and Geography, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar S. Turner S. Turner 1GEMOC National Key Centre, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information A. Dosseto * 1GEMOC National Key Centre, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia P.P. Hesse 2Department of Environment and Geography, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia K. Maher 3Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA K. Fryirs 2Department of Environment and Geography, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia S. Turner 1GEMOC National Key Centre, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia *Current address: GeoQuEST Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; E-mail: tonyd@uow.edu.au. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 19 Sep 2009 Revision Received: 16 Nov 2009 Accepted: 17 Nov 2009 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2010 Geological Society of America Geology (2010) 38 (5): 395–398. https://doi.org/10.1130/G30708.1 Article history Received: 19 Sep 2009 Revision Received: 16 Nov 2009 Accepted: 17 Nov 2009 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation A. Dosseto, P.P. Hesse, K. Maher, K. Fryirs, S. Turner; Climatic and vegetation control on sediment dynamics during the last glacial cycle. Geology 2010;; 38 (5): 395–398. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G30708.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract As climate is changing rapidly, there is an increasing need to understand how water and soil resources respond to climate change. Soil and sediment dynamics are sensitive to several external factors such as climate, vegetation type and distribution, human activity, and tectonic activity. However, the relationship between erosion and changes in these factors is difficult to constrain with current available approaches. Here we show that uranium isotopes in sediments from river paleochannels can be used to reconstruct variations in the residence time of sediments in a catchment over the past 100 k.y. We find that sediment residence times increase by an order of magnitude during interglacials compared to glacial periods. This is interpreted as a change in sediment stores in the landscape that are tapped by catchment erosion: young, upland soils during glacial periods, reworking of old alluvial sediments during interglacials. A direct correlation is found between the sediment residence time and climatic parameters (sea-surface temperature, atmospheric carbon dioxide content, and paleorainfall estimates), suggesting that during a glacial cycle, sediment dynamics closely follow variations in climate. However, this relationship is not simple because there is no correlation between sediment residence time and paleodischarge estimates. Because sediment residence time variations correlate with changes in vegetation inferred from pollen data, it is hypothesized that the influence of climate on erosion over a glacial cycle may be indirect, and operates via the influence of climate on the type of plant ecosystems within a catchment. If verified elsewhere, this conclusion would emphasize the important role of biology in the physical evolution of Earth's surface, here observed over a 100 k.y. time scale. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.