The suitability of dated travertines as a record of fluvial incision: Allier (France) floodplain dynamics during the late Quaternary

Travertines overlying and impregnating Allier terraces have been dated and confirm previous research that they register past spring activity for the last 250 kyr. New U-series ages demonstrate that surface travertines were not only mainly deposited under Interglacial but also under Interstadial conditions. Detailed reconstruction of the Holocene fluvial incision suggests that the position of surface travertine precipitation at terrace scarps bear a relationship with floodplain incision (terrace formation). Unfortunately the temporal resolution of current U-series dates is too coarse to allow a detailed reconstruction for older cycles. Travertine dating with ¹⁴C has proved to be unreliable as a result of the contamination with fossil carbonates.