Author:
Williams Martin A.J.,Snow Michael R.,Self Peter G.,Raven Mark D.,Cowan E. Jun
Abstract
Before regulation, the White Nile contributed 83% of the low water flow to the main Nile and was responsible for maintaining the Nile as a perennial river during times of drought in Ethiopia. Two key unresolved questions relating to the White Nile are:
(a) When did the White Nile first join the main Nile?
(b) What type of sediment did the White Nile contribute to the main Nile?
The answer to the first question has important implications for our understanding of hydro–climatic and tectonic events in the Ugandan Lake Plateau. The answer to the second question is essential for correctly interpreting the sedimentary record preserved in the Nile deep sea fan in the eastern Mediterranean. Our work has shown for the first time that the White Nile has been transporting smectite–rich sediments from the time of its probable inception over 240 ka ago and possibly since about 400 ka. Our analysis of the heavy mineral assemblages in White Nile alluvial sediments provides strong support for a source in the Lake Plateau region of Uganda. The White Nile was flowing from Uganda by at least 240 ka and very likely from about 400 ka.
Publisher
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences
Reference74 articles.
1. Palaeogeography of the Gezira and of the lower Blue and White Nile valleys
2. Adamson D. & Williams F 1980. Structural geology, tectonics and the control of drainage in the Nile basin. In: Williams MAJ & Faure, H (Editors) - The Sahara and The Nile: Quaternary Environments and Prehistoric Occupation in Northern Africa. Rotterdam, A.A. Balkema, pp. 225-252.
3. Adamson D, McEvedy R & Williams MAJ 1993. Tectonic inheritance in the Nile basin and adjacent areas. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 41: 75-85.
4. Oligocene regional denudation of the northern Afar dome: Pre- and syn-breakup stages of the Afro-Arabian plate
5. A White Nile megalake during the last interglacial period
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献