HR: 0830h
AN: H31C-0485    [PDF]
TI: Geomorphic Effects, Chronologies, and Archaeological Significance of El Nino Floods in Southern Peru
AU: * Magilligan, F J
EM: magilligan@dartmouth.edu
AF: Dartmouth College, Department of Geography 6017 Fairchild, Hanover, NH 03755
AU: Manners, R
EM: rebecca.manners@dartmouth.edu
AF: Dartmouth College, Department of Geography 6017 Fairchild, Hanover, NH 03755
AU: Goldstein, P
EM: psgoldstein@ucsd.edu
AF: UC San Diego, Department of Anthropology, La Jolla, CA 92093
AB: The catastrophic effects of large floods have been well documented, on both contemporary and paleo-timecales, especially for the conterminous U.S. Less is known, however, about extreme events in hyper-arid sub-tropical climates where synoptic scale meteorological causes, such as El Nino-Southern Oscillation events, are the driving atmospheric mechanism. This research documents the geomorphic effects of extreme floods in the Moquegua River valley of southern Peru, in the core of the Atacama Desert. Using a combination of geomorphic mapping, hydrolologic modeling, aerial photography, ASTER satellite imagery, and GIS, we document the geomorphic signature of large contemporary floods within the mid-valley section (1500 masl) of the Rio Moquegua. Stratigraphic evidence and paleostage indicators of paleofloods, such as slackwater deposits and preserved high level flood gravels, are used to evidence late Holocene paleoflood magnitude-frequency relationships. On contemporary timescales, channel belt expansion by lateral erosion during large floods, such as the recent '97 and '98 floods, correspond to as much as 30-40 hectares of floodplain loss along the 20 km study reach. Sixty years of repeat aerial photography indicates that channel belt expansion and floodplain erosion commonly occurs along the Rio Moquegua. The frequent resetting of floodplain alluvium conditioned by these large floods is supported by radiocarbon dating of floodplain exposures. These dates indicate that most of the contemporary floodplain alluvium is younger that 560 14C yrs BP. The highest terrace remnants date to 3250 14C yrs BP and record a series of overbank flood gravels. Evidence for the regionally extensive Miraflores ENSO flood, ca. 1300 AD, exists in tributary and along mainstem sections. This flood has been documented along the coasts of Northern Chile to northern Peru, and has been evoked to explain significant social collapse. Our field evidence indicates that it catastrophically affected mid-elevation inland sections as well. A 400 yr sequence of interbedded mainstem slackwater sediments and tributary debris flows suggests that ENSO-spawned debris flows occur, on average, with a once in one hundred year return frequency although these post-colonial debris flow sediments indicate flows considerably less than the Miraflores flood. This research further demonstrates the impact and role of extreme events on pre-historical cultural response.
DE: 1719 Hydrology
DE: 1821 Floods
DE: 1824 Geomorphology (1625)
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting