Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T21:17:35.088Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Recent hydrological variability of the Moroccan Middle Atlas Mountains inferred from microscale sedimentological and geochemical analyses of lake sediments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2018

Guillaume Jouve ,
Laurence Vidal ,
Rachid Adallal ,
Ali Rhoujjati ,
Abdelfattah Benkaddour ,
Emmanuel Chapron ,
Kazuyo Tachikawa ,
Edouard Bard ,
Thierry Courp  and
Laurent Dezileau
...Show all authors
Guillaume Jouve*
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
Laurence Vidal
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
Rachid Adallal
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France Laboratoire de Géoressources-Unité, Unité de Recherche Associée au Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CNRST, URAC 42), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco
Ali Rhoujjati
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Géoressources-Unité, Unité de Recherche Associée au Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CNRST, URAC 42), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco
Abdelfattah Benkaddour
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Géoressources-Unité, Unité de Recherche Associée au Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CNRST, URAC 42), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco
Emmanuel Chapron
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Géographie de l’Environnement (GEODE UMR 5602), Université Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France
Kazuyo Tachikawa
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
Edouard Bard
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
Thierry Courp
Affiliation:
CEntre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens (CEFREM UMR5110), Université de Perpignan, Perpignan, France
Laurent Dezileau
Affiliation:
Géosciences Montpellier, Montpellier, France
Bertil Hebert
Affiliation:
CEntre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens (CEFREM UMR5110), Université de Perpignan, Perpignan, France
William Rapuc
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
Anaëlle Simonneau
Affiliation:
Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orléans, ISTO, CNRS UMR 7327, Université d’Orléans, Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), Orléans, France
Corinne Sonzogni
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
Florence Sylvestre
Affiliation:
Aix-Marseille Université, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Collège de France, Centre Européen de Recherche et d’Enseignement en Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
*
*Corresponding author at: Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Coll France, CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France. E-mail address: jouve@cerege.fr (G. Jouve).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Study of the hydro-sedimentary dynamics of lakes provides key information on hydrological changes. In this work, we investigate Lake Azigza in the Moroccan Middle Atlas, a region that suffers from a scarcity of observational hydrological data necessary for a coherent management of water resources. Sedimentary deposits of Lake Azigza (32°58′N, 5°26′W, 1,550 m above sea level) were dated and analyzed by combining geochemical and mineralogical measurements coupled with microfacies characterization for the last 134 yr. The detrital component derived from X-ray fluorescence elemental composition and microstructures analysis of the lake sediments provided proxies of runoff activity and lake-level changes, respectively. These proxies were calibrated with regional hydro-climatic and instrumental measurements available over the last 50 yr and used to reconstruct past hydrological changes on inter-annual to decadal time scales between 1879 and 2013. Since 1879, lake level and runoff proxies responded in phase to regional inter-annual precipitation variations. We also show that after the major lake-level drop observed in 2008, the response of the runoff proxy to variable precipitation regime is enhanced. Such an approach emphasizes the potential of these hydro-climate-sensitive sedimentary archives to assess the impact of climate change in the Mediterranean region.

Keywords

North Africa hydrologyMoroccan Middle AtlasLake sedimentsMicrofaciesXRFRunoffLake level
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 91 , Issue 1 , January 2019 , pp. 414 - 430
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018. 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bénard, Y., 1996. Les techniques de fabrication des lames minces de sol. [In French.] Cahiers techniques Institut Nationale de Recherche Agronomique 37, 29–42.Google Scholar
Benkaddour, A., 1993. Changements hydrologiques et climatiques dans le Moyen Atlas Marocain: chronologie, minéralogie, géochimie isotopique et élémentaire des sédiments lacustres de Tigalmamine. [In French.] PhD dissertation, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay.Google Scholar
Benkaddour, A., Rhoujjati, A., Nour El Bait, M., 2008. Hydrologie et sédimentation actuelles au niveau des lacs Iffer et Aguelmam Azigza (Moyen Atlas, Maroc). In: H. Aouraghe, H. Haddoumi & K. El Hammouti (eds.), Le Quaternaire marocain dans son contexte méditerranéen. [In French]. Actes de la quatrième rencontre des quaternaristes marocains (RQM4), Oujda, 15-17 novembre 2007. Volume 1: Géologie, Paléoenvironnements et Datations. Publications de la Faculté des Sciences d’Oujda, Oujda, 108–118.Google Scholar
Bouaicha, R., Benabdelfadel, A., 2010. Variabilité et gestion des eaux de surface au Maroc. [In French.] Sécheresse 21, 1–5.Google Scholar
Brauer, A., Mangili, C., Moscariello, A., Witt, A., 2008. Palaeoclimatic implications from micro-facies data of a 5900 varve time series from the Piànico interglacial sediment record, southern Alps. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 259, 121–135.Google Scholar
Burnett, A., Soreghan, M., Scholz, C., Brown, E., 2011. Tropical East African climate change and its relation to global climate: a record from Lake Tanganyika, tropical East Africa, over the past 90 + kyr. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 303, 155–167.Google Scholar
Cambray, R.S., Playford, K., Lewis, G.N.J., Carpenter, R.C., 1989. Radioactive Fallout in Air and Rain: Results to the End of 1987. AERE-R-13226. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell.Google Scholar
Carroll, A.R., 1998. Upper Permian lacustrine organic facies evolution, Southern Junggar Basin, NW China. Organic Geochemistry 25, 649–667.Google Scholar
Chapron, E., Ariztegui, D., Mulsow, S., Villarosa, G., Pino, M., Outes, V., Juvignié, E., Crivelli, E., 2006. Impact of the 1960 major subduction earthquake in Northern Patagonia. Quaternary International 158, 58–71.Google Scholar
Chawchai, S., Kylander, M.E., Chabangborn, A., Löwemark, L., Wohlfarth, B., 2016. Testing commonly used X-ray fluorescence core scanning-based proxies for organic-rich lake sediments and peat. Boreas 45, 185–189.Google Scholar
Corella, J.P., Benito, G., Rodriguez-Lloveras, X., Brauer, A., Valero-Garcés, B.L., 2014. Annually-resolved lake record of extreme hydro-meteorological events since AD 1347 in NE Iberian Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews 93, 77–90.Google Scholar
Croudace, I.W., Rindby, A., Rothwell, R.G., 2006. ITRAX: description and evaluation of a new multifunction X-ray core scanner. In: Rothwell, R.G. (Ed.), New Techniques in Sediment Core Analysis. Special Publications 267. Geological Society of London, London, pp. 51–63.Google Scholar
Cuven, S., Francus, P., Lamoureux, S.F., 2010. Estimation of grain size variability with micro X-ray fluorescence in laminated lacustrine sediments, Cape Bounty, Canadian High Arctic. Journal of Paleolimnology 44, 803–817.Google Scholar
Czymzik, M., Brauer, A., Dulski, P., Plessen, B., Naumann, R., von Grafenstein, U., Scheffler, R., 2013. Orbital and solar forcing of shifts in Mid- to Late-Holocene flood intensity from varved sediments of pre-alpine Lake Ammersee (southern Germany). Quaternary Science Reviews 61, 96–110.Google Scholar
Damnati, B., 2000. Holocene lake records in northern Hemisphere of Africa. Journal of African Earth Sciences 31, 253–262.Google Scholar
Damnati, B., 2009. Données lacustres et reconstitution du climat en Afrique Nord hémisphère depuis le dernier maximum glaciaire jusqu’à l’Actuel. [In French.] Africa Geoscience Reviews 16, 49–59.Google Scholar
Damnati, B., Etebaai, I., Benjilani, H., El Khoudri, K., Reddad, H., Taieb, M., 2016. Sedimentology and geochemistry of lacustrine terraces of three Middle Atlas lakes: paleohydrological changes for the last 2300 cal. BP in Morocco (western Mediterranean region). Quaternary International 404, 163–173.Google Scholar
Damnati, B., Etebaai, I., Reddad, H., Benhardouz, H., Benhardouz, O., Miche, H., Taieb, M., 2012. Recent environmental changes and human impact since mid-20th century in Mediterranean lakes: Ifrah, Iffer and Afourgagh, Middle Atlas Morocco. Quaternary International 262, 44–55.Google Scholar
Deer, W.A., Howie, R.A., Zussman, J., 1992. An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals. 3rd ed. Longman, London.Google Scholar
Demory, F., Oberhänsli, H., Nowaczyk, N.R., Gottschalk, M., Wirth, R., Naumann, R., 2005. Detrital input and early diagenesis in sediments from Lake Baikal revealed by rock magnetism. Global and Planetary Change 46, 145–166.Google Scholar
Driouech, F., Déqué, M., Sánchez-Gómez, E., 2010. Weather regimes-Moroccan precipitation link in a regional climate change simulation. Global and Planetary Change 72, 1–10.Google Scholar
Esper, J., Frank, D., Büntgen, U., Verstege, A., Luterbacher, J., Xoplaki, E., 2007. Long-term drought severity variations in Morocco. Geophysical Research Letters 34. http:dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007GL030844.Google Scholar
Etebaai, I., Damnati, B., Reddad, H., Benhardouz, H., Benhardouz, O., Miche, H., Taieb, M., 2012. Impacts climatiques et anthropiques sur le fonctionnement hydrogéochimique du Lac Ifrah (Moyen Atlas marocain). [In French.] Hydrological Science Journal 57, 547–561.Google Scholar
Flower, R.J., Foster, I.D.L., 1992. Climatic implications of recent changes in lake level at Lac Azigza (Morocco). Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 163, 91–96.Google Scholar
Flower, R.J., Stevenson, A.C., Dearing, J.A., Foster, I.D., Airey, A., Rippey, B., Wilson, J.P.F., Appleby, P.G., 1989. Catchment disturbance inferred from paleolimnological studies of three contrasted sub-humid environments in Morocco. Journal of Paleolimnology 1, 293–322.Google Scholar
Gao, X., Pal, J.S., Giorgi, F., 2006. Projected changes in mean and extreme precipitation over the Mediterranean region from a high resolution double nested RCM simulation. Geophysical Research Letters 33, L03706. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005GL024954.Google Scholar
Gayral, P., Panouse, J.B., 1954. L’Aguelmame azigza recherches physiques et biologiques. [In French.] Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles et Physiques du Maroc, 1954, 34, 135–159.Google Scholar
Giguet-Covex, C., Arnaud, F., Enters, D., Poulenard, J., Millet, L., Francus, P., David, F., Rey, P.-J., Wilhelm, B., Delannoy, J.-J., 2012. Frequency and intensity of high-altitude floods over the last 3.5 ka in northwestern French Alps (Lake Anterne). Quaternary Research 77, 12–22.Google Scholar
Gilli, A., Anselmetti, F.S., Glur, L., Wirth, S.B., 2013. Lake sediments as archives of recurrence rates and intensities of past flood events. In: Schneuwly-Bollschweiler, M., Stoffel, M., Rudolf-Miklau, F. (Eds.), Dating Torrential Processes on Fans and Cones: Advances in Global Change Research. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp. 225–242.Google Scholar
Giorgi, F., Lionello, P., 2008. Climate change projections for the Mediterranean region. Global and Planetary Change 63, 90–104.Google Scholar
Guyard, H., Chapron, E., St-Onge, G., Anselmetti, F., Arnaud, F., Magand, O., Francus, P., Mélières, M.-A., 2007. High-altitude varve records of abrupt environmental changes and mining activity over the last 4000 years in the Western French Alps (Lake Bramant, Grandes Rousses Massif). Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 2644–2660.Google Scholar
Hahn, A., Kliem, P., Oehlerich, M., Ohlendorf, C., Zolitschka, B., Team, P.S., 2014. Elemental composition of the Laguna Potrok Aike sediment sequence reveals paleoclimatic changes over the past 51 ka in southern Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Paleolimnology 52, 349–366.Google Scholar
IPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 1535 pp, doi:10.1017/CBO9781107415324.Google Scholar
Jouve, G., Francus, P., Lamoureux, S., Provencher-Nolet, L., Hahn, A., Haberzettl, T., Fortin, D., Nuttin, L., 2013. Microsedimentological characterization using image analysis and μ-XRF as indicators of sedimentary processes and climate changes during Lateglacial at Laguna Potrok Aike, Santa Cruz, Argentina. Quaternary Science Reviews 71, 191–204.Google Scholar
Jouve, G., Lisé-Pronovost, A., Francus, P., De Coninck, A., 2017. Climatic influence of the latest Antarctic isotope maximum of the last glacial period (AIM4) on Southern Patagonia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 472, 33–50.Google Scholar
Knippertz, P., Christoph, M., Speth, P., 2003. Long-term precipitation variability in Morocco and the link to the large-scale circulation in recent and future climates. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics 83, 67–88.Google Scholar
Kylander, M.E., Ampel, L., Wohlfarth, B., Veres, D., 2011. High-resolution X-ray fluorescence core scanning analysis of Les Echets (France) sedimentary sequence: new insights from chemical proxies. Journal of Quaternary Science 26, 109–117.Google Scholar
Lapointe, F., Francus, P., Lamoureux, S.F., Saïd, M., Cuven, S., 2012. 1750 years of large rainfall events inferred from particle size at East Lake, Cape Bounty, Melville Island, Canada. Journal of Paleolimnology 48, 159–173.Google Scholar
Martin, J., 1981. Le Moyen Atlas Central: étude géomorphologique. [In French.] Notes et Mémoires du Service Géologique du Maroc, Rabat: Editions du service géologique du Maroc, No. 258 bis, 1-447.Google Scholar
Meyers, P.A., 2003. Applications of organic geochemistry to paleolimnological reconstructions: a summary of examples from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Organic Geochemistry 34, 261–289.Google Scholar
Minyuk, P., Brigham-Grette, J., Melles, M., Borkhodoev, V.Y., Glushkova, O.Y., 2007. Inorganic geochemistry of El´gygytgyn Lake sediments, northeastern Russia, as an indicator of paleoclimatic change for the last 250 kyr. Journal of Paleolimnology 37, 123–133.Google Scholar
Mulder, T., Migeon, S., Savoye, B., Faugères, J.C., 2001. Inversely graded turbidite sequences in the deep Mediterranean: a record of deposits from flood-generated turbidity currents? Geo-Marine Letters 21, 86–93.Google Scholar
Mulder, T., Syvitski, J.P.M., Migeon, S., Faugères, J-C., Savoye, B., 2003. Marine hyperpycnal flows: initiation, behavior and related deposits. A review. Marine and Petroleum Geology 20, 861–882.Google Scholar
Ouda, B., El Hamdaoui, A., Ibn Majah, M., 2005. Isotopic composition of precipitation at three Moroccan stations influenced by oceanic and mediterranean air masses-IAEA. Tecdoc 1453, 125–140.Google Scholar
Paillard, D., Labeyrie, L., Yiou, P., 1996. Macintosh program performs time-series analysis. EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union 77, 379–379.Google Scholar
Pailler, D., Bard, E., 2002. High frequency palaeoceanographic changes during the past 140,000 yr recorded by the organic matter in sediments of the Iberian Margin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 181, 431–452.Google Scholar
Schneider, J.-L., Pollet, N., Chapron, E., Wessels, M., Wassmer, P., 2004. Signature of Rhine Valley sturzstrom dam failures in Holocene sediments of Lake Constance, Germany. Sedimentary Geology 169, 75–91.Google Scholar
Schnurrenberger, D.S., Russell, J.M., Kelts, K.R., 2003. Classification of lacustrine sediments based on sedimentary components. Journal of Paleolimnology 29, 141–154.Google Scholar
Simonneau, A., Chapron, E., Vannière, B., Wirth, S.B., Gilli, A., Di Giovanni, C., Anselmetti, F.S., Desmet, M., Magny, M., 2013. Mass-movement and flood-induced deposits in Lake Ledro, southern Alps, Italy: implications for Holocene palaeohydrology and natural hazards. Climate of the Past 9, 825–840.Google Scholar
St-Onge, G., Mulder, T., Piper, D.J.W., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Stoner, J.S., 2004. Earthquake and flood induced turbidites on the Saguenay Fjord (Québec): a Holocene paleoseismicity record. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 283–294.Google Scholar
Tramblay, Y., Neppel, L., Carreau, J., Najib, K., 2012. Non-stationary frequency analysis of heavy rainfall events in southern France. Hydrological Sciences Journal 58, 1–15.Google Scholar
Tramblay, Y., Ruelland, D., Somot, S., Bouaicha, R., Servat, E., 2013. High-resolution Med-CORDEX regional climate model simulations for hydrological impact studies: a first evaluation of the ALADIN-Climate model in Morocco. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 17, 3721–3739.Google Scholar
Tucker, M.E., 1991. Sedimentary Petrology: An Introduction to the Origin of Sedimentary Rocks. Blackwell Science Publications, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Unkel, I., Björck, S., Wohlfarth, B., 2008. Deglacial environmental changes on Isla de los Estados (54.4°S), southeastern Tierra del Fuego. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, 1541–1554.Google Scholar
Vanniere, B., Magny, M., Wirth, S., Simonneau, A., Gilli, A., Joannin, S., Chapron, E., Anselmetti, F., 2013. 10000 years of floods frequency, human induced soil erosion and climate changes at Lake Ledro (Northern Italy). Climate of the Past, European Geosciences Union (EGU) 9, 1193–1209.Google Scholar
Vidal, L., Rhoujjati, A., Adallal, R., Jouve, G., Bard, E., Benkaddour, A., Chapron, E., et al. 2016. Past hydrological variability in the Moroccan Middle Atlas inferred from lakes and lacustrine sediments. In: Thiébault S., Moatti Jean-Paul (eds.). The Mediterranean Region under Climate Change. Marseille: IRD; AllEnvi, 57-69. (Synthèses). COP. Convention des Parties de la convention Cadre des Nations Unies sur le Changement climatique, 22., Marrakech (MAR), 2016/11/7-18. ISBN 978-2-7099-2219-7.Google Scholar
Wassenburg, J.A., Immenhauser, A., Richter, D.K., Niedermayr, A., Riechelmann, S., Fietzke, J., Scholz, D., et al., 2013. Moroccan speleothem and tree ring records suggest a variable positive state of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the Medieval Warm Period. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 375, 291–302.Google Scholar
Weltje, G.J., Tjallingii, R., 2008. Calibration of XRF core scanners for quantitative geochemical logging of sediment cores: theory and application. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 274, 423–438.Google Scholar
Wilhelm, B., Arnaud, F., Sabatier, P., Crouzet, C., Brisset, E., Chaumillon, E., Disnar, J.-R., et al., 2012. 1400 years of extreme precipitation patterns over the Mediterranean French Alps and possible forcing mechanisms. Quaternary Research 78, 1–12.Google Scholar
Wilhelm, B., Arnaud, F., Sabatier, P., Magand, O., Chapron, E., Courp, T., Tachikawa, K., et al., 2013. Palaeoflood activity and climate change over the last 1400 years recorded by lake sediments in the NW European Alps. Journal of Quaternary Science 28, 189–199.Google Scholar
Wilhelm, B., Ballesteros-Cánovas, J.A., 2016. A cross-disciplinary initiative to analyze past floods. PAGES Magazine 24, 76.Google Scholar
Zaragosi, S., Bourillet, J.F., Eynaud, F., Toucanne, S., Denhard, B., Van Toer, A., Lanfumey, V., 2006. The impact of the last European deglaciation on the deep-sea turbidite systems of the Celtic-Armorican margin (Bay of Biscay). Geo-Marine Letters 26, 317–329.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Jouve et al. supplementary material

Table S1 and Figures S1-S5

Download Jouve et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 721.3 KB