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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1993; v. 75; p. 147-162;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.075.01.09
© 1993 Geological Society of London

Pleistocene Rhine gravel: deposits of a braided river system with dominant pool preservation

Christoph Siegenthaler & Peter Huggenberger

Federal Institute for Water Resources and Water Pollution Control (EAWAG), CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland

An example of a gravelly braided river deposit is described which exhibits a rather low structural diversity as compared to other ancient and modern braided river sediments. The presented model is based on a study of the Rhine gravel, formed in front of the Würm stage extension of the Rhine glacier (northern part of Switzerland). The observations in the Rhine gravel suggest that only processes which operate generally at a low topographic level of the braided river system generate a response in the geological record, i.e. (1) pool deposits produced at the junction of two channels (cross-bedded trough fills); (2) channel sediments which reflect thin bedload sheets deposited by moderate-magnitude flow stages with low suspension concentrations; (3) sheet flow deposits produced by extraordinary high-magnitude flow stages with high suspension concentrations, probably due to outbursts from glacial lakes.

Therefore, we postulate that in the Rhine gravel system only a limited number of braided river structures have a significant preservation potential: any deposit generated at an elevated geometric level, such as flood plain deposits or bars, are successively destroyed by channel formation and are replaced by channel deposits, which in turn may be reworked by pools which operate at the lowest geometric level. It is suggested that similar preservational hierarchies could eventually exist also in other braided river deposits.





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