Fluvial Record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Geomorphic Change in Northern Tunisia – Global, Regional or Local Climatic Causes?

Geomorphical-sedimentological approaches with high-resolution stratigraphic records round out Quaternary paleoclimatic and paleo-process research. Our investigations focus on Late Pleistocene and Holocene fl oodplain evolution. The central Medjerda Valley, Northern Tunisia (Fig. 1) is a tectonic depression zone that has its origin in the orogenesis of the Atlas Mountains. An up to 10 kmwide fl oodplain has been incised into it by the meandering Medjerda River. The fl oodplain is fi lled with Quaternary sediments, the latest of which are of Late Pleistocene and Holocene age. The fl oodplain sedimentation allowed the development of predominantly horizontal, well-stratifi ed layer sequences, interrupted by soil-forming processes (Fig. 1).