Quaternary Studies in Corsica (France)

Fluvial, glacial, and colluvial deposits in Corsica have been studied in terms of their distribution, soils, sedimentology (arrangement, shape analysis, size analysis, petrography, and weathering of pebbles; size distribution, shape analysis, and mineralogy of matrix), and relationships to marine sediments. A relative chronology is based on the topographic and stratigraphic relationships between the sediments, and to a large extent on their degree of weathering. The intensity and the type of pebble weathering suggest a possible correlation of the older alluvial units with the Alpine Quaternary succession. Quaternary paleoclimates in Corsica alternated between glacial and interglacial. During glacial stages, when glaciers developed in the high mountains and formed tongues in the valleys, periglacial climates characterized the low altitude zone. Tectonic movements occurred in Corsica during the Quaternary, probably until the Middle Würm.