Lothar Schulte

Climatic and human influence on river systems and glacier fluctuations in southeast Spain since the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract The semi-desert environments of the Mediterranean region are most sensitive to climatic changes and human land exploitation. This paper is focused on the Late Pleistocene and Holocene geomorphic evolution of southeast Spain, one of the driest regions in Europe. Late Pleistocene and Holocene chronosequences of river terraces were established for the Antas and Aguas valleys, respectively. The deposition of up to four fluvial terraces during isotope stage 2 points to important erosion and accumulation processes at the end of Late Pleistocene in the Vera basin. In contrast to the stage 2 deposits, the Holocene terraces are composed of point bar deposits accumulated by meandering rivers with less sediment discharge. According to the obtained 14C-dating and extracted pottery fragments, Holocene terrace deposition occurred during the Atlantic period, early Middle Ages, Little Ice Age (LIA) and the 20th century. The most outstanding site in southern Spain for studying Holocene glacier shifts (up to five end-moraines) is the Veleta cirque in Sierra Nevada, where the southernmost glacier of Europe persisted during the Little Ice Age. The climate changes of the LIA probably are recorded by two glacier fluctuations, as indicated by 210Pb dating and historical data. The reconstruction of the evolution of the Aguas and Antas valleys stress that the aggradations of the lower terraces is mostly climate-induced although during the last 500 years, human interference in the landscape (Christian conquest, mining boom of the 19th century, etc.) may have played an important role to river dynamics.

EVIDENCES FROM HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS OF LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION AFTER LITTLE ICE AGE OF A MEDITERRANEAN HIGH MOUNTAIN AREA, SIERRA NEVADA, SPAIN (EIGHTEENTH TO TWENTIETH CENTURIES)

Abstract. The Sierra Nevada is the highest mountain system on the Iberian Peninsula (Mulhacén 3482 m; Veleta 3308 m) and is located in the extreme SE region of Spain (lat 37°N, long 3°W). Bibliographic resources, particularly from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, provide insights into the changing summit landscape as the effects of cold, ice, snow and wind shaped its morphology. The selected references emphasize the Sierras evolving climate reflected in the glaciers and snow hollows, and in the sparse vegetation above certain altitudes. Scientists had established bioclimatic conditions for the entire range in the early nineteenth century, and their works reflect the progression of ideas, particularly in the area of natural sciences, that influenced the period chosen for this study. This information, in addition to current knowledge about the morphogenetic dynamics of the Sierra Nevada, provides the basis for a comparison of the dominant environments from the Little Ice Age to the present, using the most significant high mountain morphological features as a guide. The most relevant findings indicate that cold climate processes (soli‐gelifluction, frost creep and nivation) were more predominant during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries than they are today.

Do high‐resolution fan delta records provide a useful tool for hazard assessment in mountain regions?

Purpose – The multidisciplinary Fluvalps‐3000 research project focuses on the variability of the Late Holocene and historical fluvial dynamics in alpine catchments. The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of a 3,600 year‐long record composed from fluvial deposits for flood hazard assessment.Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a multi‐proxy approach integrating methods of various disciplines as sedimentology, geochronology, pedology, geomorphology, palynology, history, and archaeology. This paper considers particularly the sedimentological and geocronological methods applied to the fluvial records of several key sections of the Lutschine and Lombach fan deltas.Findings – The sedimentary data of the high‐resolution fan delta record show up to seven major aggradation pulses from 3,600 cal yr BP to present. Furthermore, 19 minor burial episodes occur between 3,600 and 1,050 cal yr BP at average intervals between 113 years (Lutschine) and 105 years (Lombach) suggesting that agg...