Sea-level control on turbidite activity in the Rhone canyon and the upper fan during the Last Glacial Maximum and early Deglacial

Type Article
Date 2015-06
Language English
Author(s) Lombo Tombo Swesslath1, 2, Dennielou BernardORCID2, Berne Serge1, Bassetti Maria-Angela1, Toucanne SamuelORCID2, Jorry StephanORCID2, Jouet Gwenael2, Fontanier Christophe2
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Perpignan, CEFREM UMR 5110, F-66860 Perpignan, France.
2 : IFREMER, UR Geosci Marines, Lab Environm Sedimentaires, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
Source Sedimentary Geology (0037-0738) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2015-06 , Vol. 323 , P. 148-166
DOI 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.04.009
WOS© Times Cited 32
Keyword(s) Rhone Turbidite System, Turbidites, Hyperpycnite, Sea level, Last Glacial Maximum, Western Mediterranean
Abstract The timing, routing and processes of sediment transfer from the continents to the oceans at millennial time-scale are still largely unknown. The potential of turbidite systems (dominantly deposited during sea-level lowstands) to record global or regional environmental fluctuations is usually under-exploited because of the difficulty to obtain robust chronostratigraphic constraints in turbiditic deposits, and therefore to tie changes in sedimentary processes to environmental fluctuations. We were able to obtain a millennial-scale chronostratigraphy based on oxygen isotopes of the scarce foraminifera preserved in turbiditic deposits of the Rhone Turbidite System within the Western Mediterranean. Our results show that 1) objective criteria can be defined for the selection of foraminifera preserved within the pelagic intervals between the turbiditic sequences, in order to obtain a reliable isotope stratigraphy; 2) Turbidites triggered by hyperpycnal currents are described for the first time within the Rhone Turbidite System. They are related to the periods of direct fluvial connection with the canyon head (during the sea-level lowstand and early rise), and to a period of high sediment flux in relation with the massive recession of the Rhone glaciers in the Alps; 3) The lithofacies change passing from hyperpycnal to “Bouma-type” is dated at ca 19 cal. ka BP, which might correspond to an acceleration of sea-level rise (19-ka Meltwater Pulse,).
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Lombo Tombo Swesslath, Dennielou Bernard, Berne Serge, Bassetti Maria-Angela, Toucanne Samuel, Jorry Stephan, Jouet Gwenael, Fontanier Christophe (2015). Sea-level control on turbidite activity in the Rhone canyon and the upper fan during the Last Glacial Maximum and early Deglacial. Sedimentary Geology, 323, 148-166. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.04.009 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00266/37712/