Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental controls on concentric talus evolution in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain)

 

Peña-Monné, J.L., Sampietro-Vattuone, M.M., Picazo-Millán, J.V., 2022. Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental controls on concentric talus evolution in the Central Ebro Basin (NE Spain). Environmental Earth Sciences, 81, 422,   in: Gomes, A., García, H., Gomez, A., Chaminé, H.I. (Eds.) Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on Earth Surface Processes and Environment in a Changing World: Sustainability, Climate Change and Society. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10547-x

 

 

 

ABSTRACT.

The polyphasic evolution of the testimonial buttes in the central area of the Ebro basin (Los Monegros) is analysed. This is a
semiarid area that favours high erosion rates. An evolutionary model of the Jubierre hills is presented that shows the environmental
cycles represented by aggradational and degradative processes on the slopes that resulted in the present arrangement
of talus flatiron rings. In the four studied cases, talus relicts are composed of detritic material from a disappeared caprock
pediment. Four slope stages (S4 to S1) that formed under stable climate conditions are identified. Older stages (S4 and
S3) are estimated by comparison with other talus flatirons in the region. The S2 stage contains Bronze Age archaeological
remains and the radiocarbon age obtained was 1608–1446 years cal BC (2σ), while S1 is younger. A palaeoenvironmental
interpretation was made for these aggradational stages (S4 to S1). The active erosion of these hills led to a relief inversion,
and talus flatirons remain as the only features revealing the presence of the relict hills and past human occupations.