Glacier-fed river systems represent potentially significant sediment sources for aeolian processes owing to sediment production, flow seasonality, and winds within mountain settings. We investigate the timing and rates of Holocene loess and aeolian sand deposition in three major river valleys (Bow, North Saskatchewan and Athabasca) of the southeastern Canadian Cordillera through aeolian stratigraphy and dating of sedimentary materials. Source sediments are glacially-derived, seasonally-exposed alluvial deposits. Variation in river morphology promotes source-sediment deposition influenced by bedrock configuration, tributary stream deposition and alluvial fans. Two main settings for aeolian deposition are source-proximal valley-bottom sites and more distal lower-valley sites in sub-alpine and montane forest ecozones. Dating is well-constrained by radiocarbon ages and tephrochronology. Quartz optical dating is complicated, likely owing to minimal recycling of grains and quartz provenance. Mass accumulation rates (MARs) indicate that aeolian deposition was initiated soon after deglaciation and has occurred nearly continuously for at least 10000 years. Loess MARs ranged between 100 and 2500 g·m⁻²·a⁻¹ during the Holocene. Rates in the last 3000 years are generally two to three times higher than those observed for earlier periods, and are highest in most recent times. We attribute Holocene accumulation at these sites in general to fluvial source sediment availability and the efficacy of forested valleys as sediment traps. The late Holocene increase in MARs is primarily attributed to increased glacial silt and alluvial sediment supply during neoglacial fluctuations including the Little Ice Age.

由于沉积物的产生，水流的季节性变化以及山区环境中的风，冰川输送的河流系统代表了风沙过程中潜在的重要沉积物来源。我们通过风化地层学和沉积物年代测定研究了加拿大东南部山脉的三个主要河谷（弓，北萨斯喀彻温省和阿萨巴斯卡）的全新世黄土和风沙沉积的时间和速率。源头沉积物是来自冰川的，季节性暴露的冲积物。河流形态的变化促进了源岩沉积物的沉积，这些沉积物受基岩构造，支流沉积和冲积扇的影响。风成因沉积的两个主要条件是近源谷底位置和亚高山和山地森林生态区中更远的下谷位置。约会受到放射性碳年龄和年代学的严格限制。石英光学测年很复杂，可能是由于谷物和石英出处的回收率极低。质量累积率（MARs）表明，冰消后不久就开始了风沙沉积，并且至少在10000年内几乎连续发生。黄土MARs介于100和2500 g·m之间全新世期间的⁻² ·a ^-1。最近3000年的发病率通常比早期观察到的发病率高2到3倍，并且在最近时期是最高的。我们将全新世在这些地点的积累归因于河流源沉积物的可利用性以及森林山谷作为沉积物陷阱的功效。MARs的全新世晚期增加主要归因于在包括小冰河期在内的新冰川波动期间冰川泥沙和冲积沉积物供应的增加。