© 2007 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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The right of David J. Nash and Sue J. McLaren to be identified as the Authors of the Editorial Material in this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.

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First published 2007 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

1 2007

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Geochemical sediments and landscapes/edited by David J. Nash, Sue J. McLaren.

p. cm. – (RGS-IBG book series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978–1-4051–2519-2 (hardcover: acid-free paper) 1. Sediments (Geology) – Analysis. 2. Geomorphology. I. Nash, David J. II. McLaren, Sue J.

QE471.2.G462 2007

551.3–dc22

2007018801

Figures

Tables

Contributors

Dr Andrea Borsato – Museo Tridentino de Scienze Naturali, via Calepina 14, 38100 Trento, Italy. Email: borsato@mtsn.tn.it

Professor Allan R. Chivas – GeoQuEST Research Centre, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia. Email: toschi@uow.edu.au

Professor Ronald I. Dorn – School of Geographical Sciences, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870104, Tempe, Arizona 85287–0104, USA. Email: ronald.dorn@asu.edu

Professor Ian Fairchild – School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Email: i.j.fairchild@bham.ac.uk

Dr Silvia Frisia – School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. Email: silvia.frisia@newcastle.edu.au

Professor Eberhard Gischler – Institut für Geowissenschaften, Universität Frankfurt am Main, Senckenberganlage 32–34, Postfach 11 19 32, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Email: gischler@em.unifrankfurt.de

Professor Andrew S. Goudie – School of Geography, Centre for the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK. Email: andrew.goudie@stx.ox.ac.uk

Dr Elaine Heslop – School of Geography, Centre for the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK.

Dr John McAlister – School of Geography, Queens University, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK. Email: j.mcalister@qub.ac.uk

Dr Sue J. McLaren – Department of Geography, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK. Email: sjm11@leicester.ac.uk

Dr David J. Nash – School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK. Email: d.j.nash@bton. ac.uk

Dr Allan Pentecost – Department of Life Sciences, Kings College London, Franklin-Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford St, London SE1 9NN, UK. Email: allan.pentecost@kcl.ac.uk

Professor Bernie J. Smith – School of Geography, Queens University, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK. Email: b.smith@qub.ac.uk

Dr Anna Tooth – Groundwater and Contaminated Land, The Environment Agency, Guildbourne House, Chatsworth Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1LD, UK. Email: anna.tooth@environment-agency.gov.uk

Dr J. Stewart Ullyott – School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK. Email: j.s.ullyott@bton.ac.uk

Professor Eric P. Verrecchia – Institut de Géologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, CP 2, CH-2007 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Email: eric.verrecchia@unine.ch

Dr Heather A. Viles – School of Geography, Centre for the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK. Email: heather.viles@ouce.ox.ac.uk

Dr Mike Widdowson – Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK. Email: m.widdowson@open.ac.uk

Professor V. Paul Wright – School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK. Email: wrightvp@cardiff.ac.uk

Series Editors’ Preface

The RGS-IBG Book Series only publishes work of the highest international standing. Its emphasis is on distinctive new developments in human and physical geography, although it is also open to contributions from cognate disciplines whose interests overlap with those of geographers. The Series places strong emphasis on theoretically-informed and empiricallystrong texts. Reflecting the vibrant and diverse theoretical and empirical agendas that characterize the contemporary discipline, contributions are expected to inform, challenge and stimulate the reader. Overall, the RGSIBG Book Series seeks to promote scholarly publications that leave an intellectual mark and change the way readers think about particular issues, methods or theories.

For details on how to submit a proposal please visit:www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/rgsibg.pdf

Kevin Ward

University of Manchester, UK

Joanna Bullard

Loughborough University, UK

RGS-IBG Book Series Editors

Acknowledgements

In addition to the editors, who reviewed all the individual chapters, numerous external referees, selected for their expertise in specific geochemical sediments, provided constructive and conscientious reviews of the manuscript. These included: Ana Alonso-Zarza, Department of Petrology and Geochemistry, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; Mark Bateman, Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, UK; Joanna Bullard, Department of Geography, Loughborough University, UK; Ian Candy, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Frank Eckardt, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Frank McDermott, School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Eire; Martyn Pedley, Department of Geography, University of Hull, UK; Heather Viles, School of Geography, Centre for the Environment, University of Oxford, UK; John Webb, Department of Earth Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; and Brian Whalley, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, UK.

The majority of the photographs, line diagrams and tables within this volume are the authors’ own. The following organisations and publishers are thanked for their permission to reproduce figures (which, in some instances, may have been redrawn or slightly modified): Association des géologues du bassin de Paris,for permission to reproduce Figure 4.9B (from Thiry, M. & Bertrand-Ayrault, M., 1988, ‘Les grès de Fontainebleau: Genèse par écoulement de nappes phréatiques lors de l’entaille des vallées durant le Plio-Quaternaire et phénomènes connexes’, Bulletin d’Information des géologues du Bassin de Paris 25, 25–40. © Association des géologues du bassin de Paris). Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration, for permission to reproduce Figure 3.9 (from Anand, R.R., 2005, ‘Weathering history, landscape evolution and implications for exploration’, In: Anand, R.R. & de Broekert, P. (Eds) (2005) Regolith Landscape Evolution Across Australia, pp. 2–40. © Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration). Elsevier, for permission to reproduce Figure 4.10C (from Summerfield, M.A., 1982, ‘Distribution, nature and genesis of silcrete in arid and semi-arid southern Africa’, Catena Supplement 1, 37–65. © Elsevier). Quaternary Research Association, for permission to reproduce Figure 7.2B (from Smart, P.L. & Francis, P.D., 1990, Quaternary Dating Methods – A User’s Guide. © Quaternary Research Association). E. Schweizerbart’sche Science Publishers, for permission to reproduce Figure 3.11 (from Borger, H., 2000, Mikromorphologie und Paläoenvironment: Die Mineralverwitterung als Zeugnis der cretazisch-tertiären Umwelt in Süddeutschland. © E. Schweizerbart Science Publishers). SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), for permission to reproduce Figures 7.7A and 7.10E (from Genty, D. & Quinif, Y., 1996, ‘Annually laminated sequences in the internal structure of some Belgian stalagmites – importance for paleoclimatology’, Journal of Sedimentary Research 66, 275–288. © Society for Sedimentary Geology). Springer Science and Business Media, for permission to reproduce Figures 10.4 and 10.8 (from Eugster, H.P. & Hardie, L.A., 1978, ‘Saline lakes’. In: Lerman, A. (ed) Lakes: Chemistry, Geology, Physics, pp. 237–293. © Springer, New York). UNESCO, for permission to reproduce Figure 10.7 (from Valyashko, M.G., 1972, Playa lakes – a necessary stage in the development of a saltbearing basin. In: Richter-Bernberg, G. (ed.) Geology of Saline Deposits, pp. 41–51. © UNESCO, Paris). United States Geological Survey, for permission to reproduce Figure 10.6 (from Eakin, T.E., Price, D. & Harrill, J.R., 1976, Summary appraisals of the nation’s ground-water resources – Great Basin region. USGS Professional Paper 813-G. © United States Geological Survey). John Wiley and Sons Ltd, for permission to reproduce Figure 3.13 (from Thomas, M.F., 1994,Geomorphology in the Tropics. A Study of Weathering and Denudation in Low Latitudes. © John Wiley and Sons Ltd), Figure 4.10A (from Shaw, P.A. & Nash, D.J., 1998, Dual mechanisms for the formation of fluvial silcretes in the distal reaches of the Okavango Delta Fan, Botswana. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 23, 705–714 © John Wiley and Sons Ltd) and Figure 4.10B (modified from Ollier, C.D. & Pain, C.F., 1996, Regolith, Soils and Landforms © John Wiley and Sons Ltd).

Finally, our thanks go to the British Geomorphological Research Group (now British Society for Geomorphology) for supporting the working group from which this collection arose, and to Jacqueline Scott, Angela Cohen and Rebecca du Plessis at Blackwell Publishing for their patience and assistance during the long, painful gestation period leading to the publication of Geochemical Sediments and Landscapes.

David J. Nash

Sue J. McLaren

Brighton and Leicester, August 2007