CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Dickinson, P; and Broster, B.
Date : 2005.
Title : The application of geomorphology to the environmental impact assessment process for the lower Saint John River Valley, New Brunswick, Canada.
Publication : Developing International Geoarchaeology Conference 2005 / Conférence Avances en Géoarchéologie Internationale 2005 (DIG 2005 / AGI 2005), St. John, New Brunswick, October 21-23, 2005.
Issue : Programme and Abstracts. Edited by P. Dickinson; L. Wilson and J. Jeandron.
Page(s) : 27.
Abstract
Gaining an understanding of episodic alluvial processes is knowledge fundamental to deciphering the physical evolution of any river valley. As rivers change course with time and abandon floodplains, it is imperative to obtain a chronology of these past events for impact assessments concerning major construction activities and their potential effect on ancient and undiscovered cultural remains. Research on the evolution of the lower Saint John River valley serves as an example of how older sites might be missed by the method now commonly used for cultural environmental impact studies within the province. For example, the valley hosts a rich cultural heritage and is marked by a landscape configuration that denotes significant physiographic changes since the end of the last glacial interval, the Wisconsinan. For some areas, floodplains that formed prior to 7000 YBP are now found as terraces up to 50 m above present river level. At other locations, floodplains at an elevation less than 6 m higher than present river level, are flooded about once every decade. An examination of the changing physiography during deglaciation and the Holocene, is fundamental to the development of accurate chronologies for past geological events. This information, along with stratigraphic data and radiocarbon dates, can be used to reconstruct the palaeogeography of the lower Saint John River valley since deglaciation and used to correlate human habitation with the evolution of the landscape. Such information is critical to develop a rudamentary understanding of patterns in past human settlement and land use, as well as for the effective prediction and management of areas with the potential of containing preserved cultural remains.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology