QUATERNARY ALLUVIAL HISTORY OF THE GOLO RIVER, CORSICA, FRANCE: USING OSL TO CHANGE A PARADIGM

The Golo River in Corsica, France, is a short, steep river (110 km long, 2706 m relief) in the Western Mediterranean with formerly glaciated headwaters. The size and location of the Golo River make this system ideal for observing the influence of climate and sea-level change on its fluvial geometry and stratigraphy over the last several glacial cycles. Large aggradational packages of allluvial sediment were deposited at the mouth of the Golo River, where it emerges from the mountainous regions onto the Marana coastal plain. Previous work on the Golo River identified six alluvial terraces that were differentiated based on elevation above the modern river, soil color, and clast weathering. Ages for these terraces were assigned based on the application of a four -tier glacial response model, where alluvial terraces are correlated to OIS 2-4, 6, 8, and 10 (Conchon 1977, 1978, 1999). In this study, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, geomorphic mapping and longitudinal profile analysis are employed to better understand the evolution of the Golo River. Preliminary results suggest that the Golo River terraces on the coastal plain are younger than previously thought and that they all may have been deposited during the last 100kyr glacial cycle.