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Background

Background

This project, which began in 2000, aimed to compile data from, and to correlate between, long sedimentary sequences from rivers all over the globe. Rivers are responsible for a substantial part of the sedimentary record from the terrestrial environment. Except in subsiding areas such sediments have little chance of becoming part of the long-term geological record, but there are very detailed fluvial records from the Quaternary in many parts of the World and in a few places the record goes further back into the Cenozoic. These ‘fluvial archives’ are of potential value as records of climatic and environmental change and as a context for evidence for (e.g.) mammalian evolution; human occupation and migration; tectonic history; sea-level and base-level histories and other related topics (see sub-themes). The project built on progress previously made since the foundation of the FLuvial Archive Group (FLAG).

IGCP 449 Tasks:

  • Compilation of a database on fluvial sequences
  • Production of explanatory diagrams (see examples)
  • Organisation of meetings to provide discussion of methodology, correlation and to show examples, both in presentations (oral and poster) and in the field
  • Representation at relevant meetings organised for other purposes
  • Publication of data (as journal articles, books and on the internet)

Database – data to be archived (by river system):

  • Lithostratgraphy & alternative nomenclature
  • Biostratigraphy
  • Geomorphology
  • Geoarchaeology
  • Geochronology
  • Event stratigraphy: e.g. marine transgressions; glaciations; volcanic eruptions
  • Suggested marine isotope stage correlations
  • Names and locations of key sites (with links to separate database of descriptions of key sites)
  • Key references (with links to separate database of references)

Sub-themes (existing and potential subgroups, themes for meetings contributing to IGCP 449 & 518, etc.):

  • Fluvial sequences on the continental shelf (links with IGCP 396 & successor projects)
  • Record of human occupation of ‘Old World’ areas from fluvial sequences
  • Biostratigraphy from fluvial sequences
  • Tectonic and related activity as recorded by fluvial archives

The project is co-led by David Bridgland, University of Durham, UK, Sampat Tandon, University of Delhi, India and Liping Zhou, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Anyone with data to add is urged to join successor project IGCP518 (see links): Please contact David Bridgland.