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Middle-Late Pleistocene landscape evolution of the Dover Strait inferred from buried and submerged erosional landforms
Garcia-Moreno, D.; Gupta, S.; Collier, J.S.; Oggioni, F.; Vanneste, K.; Trentesaux, A.; Verbeeck, K.; Versteeg, W.; Jomard, H.; Camelbeeck, T.; De Batist, M. (2019). Middle-Late Pleistocene landscape evolution of the Dover Strait inferred from buried and submerged erosional landforms. Quat. Sci. Rev. 203: 209-232. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.11.011
In: Quaternary Science Reviews. Pergamon Press: Oxford; New York. ISSN 0277-3791; e-ISSN 1873-457X
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
    Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Open Marine Archive 329534 [ download pdf ]
Keyword
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Geomorphology; Pleistocene; Palaeogeography; Megaflood; Western Europe
Authors  Top 
  • Garcia-Moreno, D.
  • Gupta, S.
  • Collier, J.S.
  • Oggioni, F.
  • Vanneste, K.
  • Trentesaux, A.
  • Verbeeck, K.
  • Versteeg, W.
  • Jomard, H.
  • Camelbeeck, T.
  • De Batist, M.
Abstract
    Prominent landforms, either buried or preserved at the seafloor, provide important constraints on the processes that led to the opening and present-day configuration of the Dover Strait. Here, we extend previous investigations on two distinct landform features, the Fosse Dangeard and Lobourg Channel, to better understand the poly-phase history of their formation and inferences for the opening and Pleistocene evolution of the Dover Strait. The Fosse Dangeard consist of several interconnected palaeo-depressions. Their morphology and spatial distribution are interpreted to be the result of plunge-pool erosion generated at the base of north-eastward retreating waterfalls. Their infills comprise internal erosional surfaces that provide evidence for the occurrence of several erosional episodes following their initial incision. The Lobourg Channel comprises various sets of erosional features, attesting to the occurrence of several phases of intense fluvial and/or flood erosion. The last one of these carved a prominent inner channel, which truncates the uppermost infill of the Fosse Dangeard. The morphology of the Lobourg inner channel and the erosional features associated with its incision strongly resemble landforms found in megaflood-eroded terrains, indicating that this valley was likely eroded by one or several megafloods. Our study therefore corroborates the existence of waterfalls in the Dover Strait at least once during the Pleistocene Epoch. It also provides evidence of the occurrence of multiple episodes of fluvial and flood erosion, including megafloods. Finally, this study allows us to establish a relative chronology of the erosional/depositional episodes that resulted in the present-day morphology of this region.
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