Fluvial responses to climate and sea‐level change: a review and look forward

作者：Michael D. Blum, Torbjörn E. Törnqvist · 发表于：Sedimentology · 年份：2000 · DOI：10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00008.x · 被引用次数：1265 · 研究领域：Geological formations and processes、Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes

Summary Fluvial landforms and deposits provide one of the most readily studied Quaternary continental records, and alluvial strata represent an important component in most ancient continental interior and continental margin successions. Moreover, studies of the long‐term dynamics of fluvial systems and their responses to external or ‘allogenic' controls, can play important roles in research concerning both global change and sequence‐stratigraphy, as well as in studies of the dynamic interactions between tectonic activity and surface processes. These themes were energized in the final decades of the twentieth century, and may become increasingly important in the first decades of this millennium. This review paper provides a historical perspective on the development of ideas in the fields of geomorphology/Quaternary geology vs. sedimentary geology, and then summarizes key processes that operate to produce alluvial stratigraphic records over time‐scales of 103−106 years. Of particular interest are changes in discharge regimes, sediment supply and sediment storage en route from source terrains to sedimentary basins, as well as changes in sea‐level and the concept of accommodation. Late Quaternary stratigraphic records from the Loire (France), Mississippi (USA), Colorado (Texas, USA) and Rhine–Meuse (The Netherlands) Rivers are used to illustrate the influences of climate change on continental interior rivers, as well as the influence of interacting climate and sea‐level change on...