Palaeochannel

In the Earth sciences, a palaeochannel, also spelled paleochannel, is a significant length of a river or stream channel which no longer conveys fluvial discharge as part of an active fluvial system. The term palaeochannel is derived from the combination of two words, palaeo or old, and channel; i.e., a palaeochannel is an old channel. Palaeochannels may be preserved either as abandoned surface channels on the surface of river floodplains and terraces or infilled and partially or fully buried by younger sediments. The fill of a palaeochannel and its enclosing sedimentary deposits may consist of unconsolidated, semi-consolidated, or well-cemented sedimentary strata depending on the action of tectonics and diagenesis during their geologic history after deposition. The abandonment of an active fluvial channel and the resulting formation of a palaeochannel can be the result of tectonic processes, geomorphologic processes, anthropogenic activities, climatic changes, or a variable and interrelated combination of these factors.^[2]^[3]

^ Hayden, A.T., Lamb, M.P., Fischer, W.W., Ewing, R.C., McElroy, B.J. and Williams, R.M., 2019. Formation of sinuous ridges by inversion of river-channel belts in Utah, USA, with implications for Mars. Icarus, 332, pp.92-110.
^ Kumar, V., 2011. Palaeo-channel. In: Bishop, M.P., Björnsson, H., Haeberli, W., Oerlemans, J., Shroder, J.F. and Tranter, M., eds., p. 803, Encyclopedia of snow, ice and glaciers. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Springer Science & Business Media. 1253 pp. ISBN 978-90-481-2641-5
^ Nash, D.J., 2000. Palaeochannel. In Thomas, D.S.G., and Goudie, A., eds., p. 354. The Dictionary of Physical Geology, 3rd ed. Oxford, United Kingdom, Blackwell Publishing. 610 pp. ISBN 978-0-631-20472-5

[HaydenOthers2019a-1] Hayden, A.T., Lamb, M.P., Fischer, W.W., Ewing, R.C., McElroy, B.J. and Williams, R.M., 2019. Formation of sinuous ridges by inversion of river-channel belts in Utah, USA, with implications for Mars. Icarus, 332, pp.92-110.

[Kumar2011a-2] Kumar, V., 2011. Palaeo-channel. In: Bishop, M.P., Björnsson, H., Haeberli, W., Oerlemans, J., Shroder, J.F. and Tranter, M., eds., p. 803, Encyclopedia of snow, ice and glaciers. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Springer Science & Business Media. 1253 pp. ISBN 978-90-481-2641-5

[Nash2000a-3] Nash, D.J., 2000. Palaeochannel. In Thomas, D.S.G., and Goudie, A., eds., p. 354. The Dictionary of Physical Geology, 3rd ed. Oxford, United Kingdom, Blackwell Publishing. 610 pp. ISBN 978-0-631-20472-5

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