Abstract
Structural and lithological controls in mountain valleys have been shown
to affect the erosional connectivity of hillslopes, tributaries and
alluvial fans, as well as the formation and preservation of strath
terraces. In this study we explore the synchronicity of fluvial bedload
aggradation and bedrock incision in valleys of one river draining a
collisional mountain belt through geomorphological, sedimentological and
chronological datasets of strath terraces. Along the M’Goun River on the
southern flank of the central High Atlas Mountains strath surfaces and
bedload sediments are preserved in valleys with differing structure and
lithology throughout the thrust front and wedge-top basin. We (1)
extract terrace surface and river channel elevations from a digital
elevation model and field mapping to reconstruct river long profiles;
(2) collect grain size and lithology data from terraces to derive
information on sediment source and transport; (3) constrain the timing
of bedload aggradation within the two latest strath levels using a new
approach to OSL dose rate correction of gravels. Strath terraces form in
weak sedimentary bedrock in valleys confined by limestone and
conglomerate units, and are capped by up to 3 to 10 m of gravel bedload
and overbank sands. The record of strath burial and incision extends to
180 ka, but only includes one synchronous bedload aggradation event
during the last interglacial maximum MIS 5a (~130-110
ka). Reconstructed paleo-river long profiles and chronology demonstrate
time-transgressive bedrock incision through the thrust front and
wedge-top basin on the order of 10^4 – 10^5 yrs, representing
strath incision of 12 to 40 m. A lack of a downstream bedload grain-size
trend and presence of locally derived clast lithologies indicate lateral
input of gravel from valleys in addition to downstream transport. These
results allow for the development of a conceptual model of asynchronous
strath terrace formation in a collisional mountain belt.