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Frequency and intensity of high-altitude floods over the last 3.5 ka in northwestern French Alps (Lake Anterne)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Charline Giguet-Covex ,
Fabien Arnaud ,
Dirk Enters ,
Jérôme Poulenard ,
Laurent Millet ,
Pierre Francus ,
Fernand David ,
Pierre-Jérôme Rey ,
Bruno Wilhelm  and
Jean-Jacques Delannoy
Charline Giguet-Covex*
Affiliation:
EDYTEM, Université de Savoie, CNRS Pôle Montagne, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Fabien Arnaud
Affiliation:
EDYTEM, Université de Savoie, CNRS Pôle Montagne, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Dirk Enters
Affiliation:
EDYTEM, Université de Savoie, CNRS Pôle Montagne, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France GEOPOLAR, Institute of Geography, University of Bremen, Germany
Jérôme Poulenard
Affiliation:
CARRTEL, INRA, Université de Savoie, Campus universitaire, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Laurent Millet
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chrono-Environnement, UMR 6249 CNRS, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Université de Franche-Comté, 25030 Besançon cedex, France
Pierre Francus
Affiliation:
Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Eau, Terre et Environnment, Québec (Qc), Canada G1K 9A9 GEOTOP, Geochemistry and Geodynamics Research Center, CP 8888, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8
Fernand David
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Univ, CEREGE, UMR 6635, 13545 Aix en Provence cedex 4, France
Pierre-Jérôme Rey
Affiliation:
EDYTEM, Université de Savoie, CNRS Pôle Montagne, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Bruno Wilhelm
Affiliation:
EDYTEM, Université de Savoie, CNRS Pôle Montagne, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
Jean-Jacques Delannoy
Affiliation:
EDYTEM, Université de Savoie, CNRS Pôle Montagne, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address:charline.giguet-covex@univ-savoie.fr (C. Giguet-Covex).
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Abstract

In central Western Europe, several studies have shown that colder Holocene periods, such as the Little Ice Age, also correspond to wet periods. However, in mountain areas which are highly sensitive to erosion processes and where precipitation events can be localized, past evolution of hydrological activity might be more complicated. To assess these past hydrological changes, a paleolimnological approach was applied on a 13.4-m-long sediment core taken in alpine Lake Anterne (2063 m asl) and representing the last 3.5 ka. Lake sedimentation is mainly composed of flood deposits triggered by precipitation events. Sedimentological and geochemical analyses show that floods were more frequent during cold periods while high-intensity flood events occurred preferentially during warmer periods. In mild temperature conditions, both flood patterns are present. This underlines the complex relationship between flood hazards and climatic change in mountain areas. During the warmer and/or dryer times of the end of Iron Age and the Roman Period, both the frequency and intensity of floods increased. This is interpreted as an effect of human-induced clearing for grazing activities and reveals that anthropogenic interferences must be taken into account when reconstructing climatic signals from natural archives.

Keywords

Grain sizeItrax core scannerFlood frequencyExtreme precipitation eventsClimatic changesLand use
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 77 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 12 - 22
Copyright
University of Washington

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