Middle and Upper Pleistocene fluvial evolution of the Meurthe and Moselle valleys in the Paris Basin and the Rhenish Massif

Abstract

The terrace systems of the River Meurthe (Me), and the River Moselle (M) downstream from the present Moselle-Meurthe confluence are composed of eight stepped alluvial terraces (Me8-M8 to Me1-M1), situated at less than 90 m above the modern floodplain Me0-M0. Morphological, mineralogical and petrographical studies evidence that the oldest five terraces (Me8-M8 to Me4-M4) were formed by the "Palaeo-Meurthe", while the Upper Moselle flowed towards the Meuse valley. Downstream from the confluence, the three youngest alluvial terraces (Me3-M3 to Me1-M1) contain crystalline sediments from the Upper Moselle basin; they have been formed since the Upper Moselle capture, dated about 250-270 ka before present. IRSL and radiocarbon datings provide independent absolute age control for these post-capture terraces, which respectively correlate with the end of the Saalian (Me3-M3) and the Weichselian (Me2-M2 and Me1-M1).The constant relative height of the terraces between France, Luxemburg and Germany gives evidences that there was no differenciated tectonic movements along the valley since at least the capture.A cyclic evolution scheme for the formation of the terraces is presented. The main gravel sedimentation occurred during cold periods (pleniglacial and late glacial phases), with a minor erosive period at the beginning of late glacial periods. Major incision occurs at the warm-to-cold transition. Meurthe (Me), et de la Moselle en aval de la confluence avec la Meurthe (M), présentent, à travers le Bassin parisien et le Massif schisteux rhénan, huit terrasses alluviales (Me8-M8 à Me1-M1) étagées à moins de 90 m au-dessus du fond de vallée Me0-M0. Les analyses morphologiques et sédimentologiques (minéralogie et pétrographie) indiquent que les terrasses alluviales les plus anciennes (Me8-M8 à Me4-M4) ont été déposées par la Paléo-Meurthe alors que la Haute-Moselle s'écoulait vers la Meuse. En revanche, les terrasses alluviales plus récentes (Me3-M3 à Me0-M0) contiennent, en aval de la confluence Moselle-Meurthe, de nombreux éléments cristallins provenant du bassin supérieur de la Moselle ; elles ont été mises en place après la capture de la Haute-Moselle survenue vers 250-270 ka (OIS 8). Les datations IRSL et 14 C montrent que ces terrasses datent respectivement de la fin du Saalien (Me3-M3) et du Weichselien (Me2-M2 et Me1-M1). Le parallélisme des terrasses (et en particulier des terrasses encadrant la capture Me4-M4 et Me3-M3) en France, au Luxembourg et en Allemagne montre qu'aucun soulèvement tectonique différenciel n'est survenu le long de la vallée depuis au moins la capture.La genèse des terrasses alluviales semble s'effectuer de manière cyclique ; la sédimentation aurait lieu principalement lors des phases pléniglaciaires et tardiglaciaires du cycle climatique, avec une phase érosive mineure en début de phase tardiglaciaire ; l'incision majeure responsablede l'étagement des terrasses surviendrait durant la transition interglaciaire-pléniglaciaire. Mots-clés :Vallées de la Meurthe et de la Moselle, terrasses alluviales,...

Methodological Aspects on Luminescence Dating of Fluvial Sands from the Moselle Basin, Luxembourg

“…These age estimates are in good agreement with the expected ages for sediments from below terrace M1, which was assumed to have been formed during MIS 2, since the upper terrace M2 is allocated to MIS 4-3 and the present floodplain M0 has a Lateglacial to Holocene age (MIS 1, Cordier et al, 2005;. These results indicate that the main terrace incision took place at the warm-tocold transition (e.g.…”

“…While the first analyses mostly focused on the determination of numerical ages (Cordier et al, 2005;, our new research carried out at the LIAG in Hannover made it possible to develop a methodological robust basis for the luminescence dating of fluvial samples from the Moselle basin. More accurate and precise D e values have been obtained by incorporating thorough performance tests (preheat plateau, dose-recovery tests, and fading correction for feldspars) for the SAR protocol, and by using small aliquots (in spite of large aliquots) including statistical models to select the appropriate D e values from well-bleached grains.…”

“…The basin is located within a syncline depression developed in the Keuper and Liassic marls and clays. While the upper terraces are well preserved on the right bank of the Moselle in Germany, the lower terrace M1 (Cordier et al, 2005) is welldeveloped 3 m above the present alluvial floodplain (M0) on the left bank in Luxembourg (Fig. 1b).…”

“…Boenigk and Frechen, 2006;Erkens et al, 2009). Luminescence dating of fluvial sands has been carried out in the basin of the Moselle River, a main left-bank tributary of the Rhine (Cordier et al, 2005;. The dating results allowed to provide a first chronological frame for the youngest fluvial aggradation periods.…”

Late Pleistocene fluvial dynamics in the Hochrhein Valley and in the Upper Rhine Graben: chronological frame

“…The older lower terrace most likely covers older terrace sediments but cannot be distinguished from older deposits owing to the lack of an appropriate dating method. Cordier et al (2005Cordier et al ( , 2006 found evidence for a third ''Lower Terrace'' along the river Moselle, as the main tributary of the Rhine in the Middle Rhine area, which most likely accumulated during the early Pleniglacial. The older lower terrace most likely correlates to the Last Pleniglacial and/or Late Glacial.…”