BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Shifting Sediment Sources in the World's Longest RIver: An 8\,000-
 year Record From Northern Sudan - Prof Jamie Woodward (The University of M
 anchester)
DTSTART:20151102T170000Z
DTEND:20151102T180000Z
UID:TALK60710@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Matouš Ptáček
DESCRIPTION:The Holocene archaeological and fluvial records in the Nile Va
 lley of northern Sudan are exceptionally well-preserved. Long-standing col
 laborations between geomorphologists and archaeologists have led to import
 ant new insights into the behaviour of the world’s longest river – as 
 well as the development of an extended record of human-river environment i
 nteraction. This talk will focus on aspects of the geology and archaeology
  in two alluvial reaches between the Fourth and Second Cataracts where a r
 obust dating framework has been compiled for the fluvial records of northe
 rn Sudan using Optically Stimulated Luminescence. The sedimentary fills in
  abandoned channels of the Desert Nile present a very distinctive sediment
 ology and wonderful palaeoflood records. The sediment load of the Desert N
 ile has been dominated by material from the Ethiopian Highlands (via the B
 lue Nile/Atbara Rivers) for much of the Holocene\, but we show how and whe
 n tributary wadis and aeolian activity were major contributors to valley f
 loor sedimentation. Sr and Nd isotopes have been used to quantify these ch
 anging contributions over the last 8000 years. Shifts in sediment sources 
 are linked to large-scale changes in Nile basin hydrology and global clima
 te. Finally\, we can now provide important reach-specific geological conte
 xt for bioarchaeologists who carry out Sr isotope-based investigations of 
 ancient human populations in the Nile Valley.
LOCATION:Harker Room 1\, Department of Earth Sciences
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR