Morphometry and depositional style of Late Pleistocene alluvial fans: Wadi Al-Bih, northern UAE and Oman

Abstract

AbstractThree types of alluvial-fan settings are recognized in the Wadi Al-Bih area of the Musandam Mountains, northern UAE and Oman; mountain-front fans, tributary-junction fans and steep hillslope debris cones. Three styles of fan geometry, only partly dependent on fan setting, can be recognized: telescopic fans, stacked fans and truncated fans. Each style, together with degree of confinement, reflects the topographic and geological context of the fan and its source area. The mountain-front fans are mostly unconfined fans with telescopic styles. The tributary-junction fans are confined fans, some with stacked or telescopic styles, others that have been truncated by base-level-induced toe trimming. Most of the debris cones are simple hillfoot debris cones. Standard morphometric analyses of fan areas and fan gradients in relation to drainage basin area yield results that compare with other studies, but the relationships differ between the three groups of fans, in part reflecting fan style, especially between mountain-front and tributary-junction fans. The morphometry of the debris cones is only poorly characterized by the morphometric relationships. Cone morphology most strongly reflects source-area lithology. Analysis of the residuals from the regression analyses suggests that the morphometric differences between the three groups reflect fan sedimentary processes, fan setting and fan style, particularly relating to confinement.