Late-Holocene Sediment Storage in Upland Valley Systems in the Gamo Highlands of Southern Ethiopia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15801922 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alemayehu Kasaye Tilahun (0000-0002-5025-1575, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, corresponding author), Gert Verstraeten (0000-0002-6529-7381, KU Leuven), Margaret Chen (0000-0001-5064-6158, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Guchie Gulie (0009-0009-7910-7380, Arba Minch University), Femke Augustijns (0000-0003-1994-0468, KU Leuven), Ward Swinnen (0000-0001-9589-5414, KU Leuven) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 46-46 |
| Publication date | 2022-11-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Quaternary (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2571-550X • E-ISSN: 2571-550X |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/quat5040046 |
| OpenAlex | W4308338780 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
Part of the eroded soil material from the hillslopes is temporarily stored on hillslopes and in river valleys as colluvial and alluvial storage, respectively. This storage component of a catchment’s sediment budget is an important archive reflecting past erosion and sediment delivery processes in relation to both natural and anthropogenic environmental changes. Information on long-term sediment dynamics (i.e., centennial to millennial timescales) is generally lacking for tropical mountain environments. Here, we quantify long-term floodplain sediment storage and sedimentation dynamics in the Gamo highlands of the southern Ethiopia Rift Valley. In two upstream catchments (Chencha and Dembelle), a detailed survey of the floodplain sediment archive was conducted through hand augering of 37 cross-valley transects. Sediment thicknesses vary between 4 and 8 m and total storage equals 0.03 Mt ha−1 floodplain area for the Chencha area and 0.05 Mt ha−1 floodplain area for the Dembelle area. Radiocarbon dating of organic material retrieved from the sediment archives provided a temporal framework for interpretation of sedimentation processes dynamic. The mean sedimentation rate in the Chencha floodplain is ~3.22 ± 0.33 kt ha−1 catchment area, whereas it is ~3.76 ± 0.22 kt ha−1 catchment area for the Dembelle floodplain. Up to 70% of the total sediment mass is stored in the floodplains within the most recent 2000 years. Cumulative probability function plots of radiocarbon dates show that sedimentation started to increase from ca 2000 to ca 1600 cal BP, roughly coincident with an increase in human presence, as is indicated through archaeological data
Alluvial fan · Alluvium · Drainage basin · Erosion · Floodplain · Geography · Geomorphology · Holocene · Hydrology (agriculture · Radiocarbon dating · Sediment · Sediment transport · Sedimentary budget · Sedimentation · Structural basin · Transect · Geological formations and processes · Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes · Soil erosion and sediment transport · Geology · Oceanography · Paleontology
Past hydrological events reflected in the Holocene fluvial record of Europe
Degradation and Conservation of the Resources in the Ethiopian Highlands
The catchment sediment budget as a management tool
Holocene floodplain sediment storage and hillslope erosion within the Rhine catchment
Forest clearance and regrowth in northern Ethiopia during the last 3000 years
Soil erosion and sediment deposition in the Belgian oess belt during the Holocene
Characterization and quantification of Holocene colluvial and alluvial sediments in the Valdaine Region (southern France)
The Transition from Hunting–Gathering to Food Production in the Gamo Highlands of Southern Ethiopia
Developments in the Calibration and Modeling of Radiocarbon Dates
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |