Holocene evolution of coastal dunes in western France: regional reconstruction from archaeological and historical data - Archive ouverte HAL
Article Dans Une Revue Aeolian Research Année : 2023

Holocene evolution of coastal dunes in western France: regional reconstruction from archaeological and historical data

Aneta Gorczynska
Clement Nicolas
Aurélie Pénaud
Ophélie David
Muriel Vidal
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Bernard Le Gall

Résumé

The link between episodic sand invasion and changes in climate conditions (enhanced storminess) has been previously evidenced along the Atlantic coasts of Europe from stratigraphical, geomorphological and chronological investigations of recent aeolian sand-dune deposits. While well-constrained timing templates of dune accretion during Holocene were reconstructed in Portugal, Spain and Ireland, available data about the French Atlantic coast are limited to the Aquitaine dune complex (SW France). This lack of data is mainly due to the absence of well-developed palaeosoils interbedded within the aeolian sand deposits, especially in Brittany where only thin humic layers are preserved within the coastal dune sediment sequences. An alternative approach is here applied to the coastal dunes of Brittany by also integrating available and partly revised archaeological dataset, excavated from the end of the 19th century, and used as chrono-stratigraphical markers to reconstruct at a regional scale the periods of coastal dunes mobility during the last ca. 7,000 years. This analysis was further completed with historical data about the last few centuries. 221 sites have been selected to provide chrono-stratigraphic data about 78 coastal sand-dune systems. Four main episodes of aeolian activity identified during the mid-to late-Holocene period are dated at 4,250-4,100 cal BP (phase 1), 3,250-2,400 cal BP (phase 2), 1,050-700 cal BP (phase 3), and 350-110 cal BP (phase 4). Despite some methodological limitations, archaeological remains appear to be relevant chronological indicators and may be used to reconstruct ancient periods of coastal dune mobility.

Domaines

Géomorphologie
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Dates et versions

hal-03824296 , version 1 (21-10-2022)

Identifiants

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Aneta Gorczynska, Pierre Stéphan, Yvan Pailler, Clement Nicolas, Aurélie Pénaud, et al.. Holocene evolution of coastal dunes in western France: regional reconstruction from archaeological and historical data. Aeolian Research, 2023, 60, pp.100851. ⟨10.1016/j.aeolia.2022.100851⟩. ⟨hal-03824296⟩
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