Palaeogeography of the central Rhine-Meuse delta with emphasis on the early holocene

During the Late Glacial and Holocene, faults of the PBF have been active, albeit not at constant rates. Differential subsidence occurred in the area over the last 15,000 years. This implies that effects of tectonics should be taken into account when interpreting the sedimentary record and reconstructing the detailed palaeogeography of this area. The aim of this chapter is to discuss what part of the fluvial record may be interpreted as syn-depositional effects of tectonic controls. To distinguish syn-depositional tectonic effects from those of other controls (e.g. climate change and sea level rise) insight in the latter controls is necessary. Late Glacial fluvial evolution is essentially controlled by climate change. The Middle-Late Holocene, evolution is essentially controlled by sea level rise. At the start of this study, it was unclear when the change in dominance occurred and how and where this was recorded in the fluvial record. The palaeogeographic reconstruction therefore concentrated on the Early Holocene part of the record. Research questions were: - What is the geometry of the Early Holocene channel deposits? Where were they located? - How complete is their preservation? - What were the external and internal controls that shaped these channels? How do Early Holocene rivers relate to the Weichselian Late Glacial topography? How is their occurrence related to upstream and downstream controls? - Is there a response to tectonic controls in these deposits? Did rivers respond to active deformation of the Late Glacial surface? Did post-depositional deformation occur?.