The chenier plain coastal system of Guyana

The low chenier coast of northeastern of South America bears Holocene cheniers which are considered as useful features because they protect the coast against marine erosion as sites for human settlement, and the transportation network.

The relationship between chenier formation and the morphology of the coast is striking. Most cheniers in Guyana are old features. It is believed that clusters of cheniers were formed when large quantities of sand were available during periods of dry climatic conditions.

When fine particles were transported by the streams towards the sea during pluvial climates, chenier formation naturally decreased. A similar cycle of shorter duration based on the movements of mud shoals in the nearshore area of the continental shelf affects the coastal process, resulting in the formation or destruction of cheniers. On the Guyana coast chenier formation is not as active as on the Suriname coast. Much research is necessary to survey and protect these important features.     

A chenier sequence at Broad Sound,Queensland, and evidence against a Holocene high sea level

A prograding chenier plain on the west side of Broad Sound is up to 5 km wide and individual beach ridges (cheniers) are up to 5 km long. The cheniers are believed to have formed during periods of low sediment supply, leading to the erosion of mangrove deposits and the attendant development of a beach ridge. Radiocarbon dating of two sequences, revealed that cheniers formed at about 5000, 4500, 3550, 2500, 1600 and 700 years B.P. There is no significant change in the elevation of the cheniers during this 5000 year interval and it would seem from the Broad Sound evidence that sea level stabilized at about the present level approximately 5000 years B.P. Since that time mean sea level has varied by no more than ± 1 m.     

The chenier coast of Suriname: Modern and geological development

The Holocene coastal plain of Suriname is part of the extensive chenier plain between the Amazon River and the Orinoco River. The development began approximately 6000 yrs B.P. and was interrupted twice by periods of erosion or non-deposition. Along the present coastline large shoreface-attached mudbanks migrate continually to the west. Cheniers are formed in the interbank areas.

The geological development and stratigraphy of the Suriname chenier plain and the morphodynamic development of the modern coastline are discussed. Some hypothetical explanations of the geological development from the actual morphodynamics are briefly discussed. A new approach has been developed involving the analysis of aerial photographs using a geographical information system. This was used to analyse the geomorphological changes of the Suriname coastline.     

SEDIMENTARY CHARACTERISTICS OF CHENIERS IN SOUTHERN CHANGJIANG DELTA AND THEIR ORIGIN AND AGE DETERMINATION

According to analyses on the texture and structure of sediment, species component and accumulative way of shells, geometry of sana body and its vertical sequence, this paper points out that the sand ridge located in the west of Shanghai is a kind of ancient chenier, and the entire broad plain of cheniers and the mud flats in between is called chenier plain. The origin of the chenier is related to the shifting of main branch channel in the Changjiang estuary and coastal changes during the historical periods. Based on 14C dating data, the ages of the cheniers from west to east are 6800-6000,5800-5500, 4200-4000 and 3200 years B. P. respectively. These cheniers of different ages illustrate the development processes of the Changjiang Delta during the Middle Holocene.     

5000a B．P．以来地磁场要素时空变化特征及其与环境变化关系的讨论

通过渤海ＱＤ－３１３４孔位连续沉积岩芯所记录的５０００ａＢ．Ｐ．以来地磁场要素（主要是Ｄ和Ｉ及磁场相对强度）的系统测量分析结果表明，其时空变化特征与黄河中－下游区域考古地磁的测量分析结果相吻合。由变化特征显示出：Ｉ及地磁场相对强度的明显变化界线位于２５００ａＢ．Ｐ．左右，此界线与该区域孢粉及有孔虫分析显示出的组合明显变化界线相一致。Ｄ的明显变化界线位于２０００ａＢ．Ｐ．左右，此界线与竺可桢等统计分析的中国北方５０００ａＢ．Ｐ．以来的气候的明显变化界线相一致。这种变化的相关性进一步分析显示出，自龙山文化期以来，Ｉ由高值向低值变化及Ｄ由酉偏转向东偏，与气候温湿特征对应，Ｉ由低值向高值变化及Ｄ由东偏转向西偏，与温干气候特征相对应；Ｉ及Ｄ突变时期与灾害气候环境变化相对应。     

Holocene cheniers in the Yangtze Delta, China

Nineteen cheniers formed in the middle and late Holocene have been distinguished and studied.

In fair weather the wave action along the Yangtze Delta is weak, with a wave height of 0.5–1.0 m and average wave energy of 0.127 erg/s. However, in late summer and early autumn the coastal area is usually swept by typhoons, which sometimes are extremely violent. The development of cheniers is mainly controlled by these strong typhoons. As a result, a number of the sedimentary characteristics of the cheniers are related to the typhoon-generated high-energy environment.

Moreover, the study shows that the top elevation of a fully developed chenier indicates the spring high water level during a violent typhoon (11–12 on the Beaufort scale).     

浙江宁波地区第四纪自然环境变迁

第四纪自然环境的变迁,作为地球环境演変过程的最新一幕,对人类的生存和发展有着重要的意义。近年来,我们对中国东部沿海地区第四纪地质和海岸演化进行了研究,通过沉积物中孢粉和微体古生物等资料,对古气候及植被变化、海陆变迁等自然环境演变问题作了初步分析。宁波地区的研究是其中的一部分。 宁波滨海平原,地处东海之滨、杭州湾南岸,三面环山,一面临海,面积仅850平方公里。本区的第四纪地质调查主要是由浙江省地质局等有关单位进行的。我们利用浙江省地质局第六地质大队提供的钻探岩芯祥品,作了孢粉、微体古生物、软体动物化石分析,并委托中国科学院地球化学研究所C14实验室,作了部分样品的测年。本文总结已获得的资料,提出宁波地区第四纪自然环境演变的初步认识。     

Chenier plain development in northern Sierra Leone, West Africa

The coast of northern Sierra Leone, between the Scarcies and Mellacoree estuaries, forms a prograding muddy Holocene plain comprising two separate, as yet undated, clusters of sand cheniers. The general coastal morpho-stratigraphy and available data on regional climatic and sealevel history suggest that alternations between muddy progradation and chenier cluster formation have been controlled by a probable conjunction of several factors, including the local geomorphic framework, a climatically induced change in mud supply, and relative sealevel oscillations since the middle Holocene. The inner chenier cluster was apparently elaborated under conditions of efficient wave action over a deep, largely unfilled Mellacoree estuary and at a time of reduced mud availability. It peters out seaward, probably in response to several factors, including an increase in mud supply from the upland, a negative sealevel pulse resulting in higher rates of mud export from accreted inner tidal flats, increased muddy sedimentation over a shallower nearshore zone, and attenuated wave action as a result of energy capture by accreted estuarine shoals. The outer cluster, which partly fringes the coast, was formed in a mayor embayment representing the terminus of longshore sand drift. It is suggested that its formation may have been favoured by a higher sealevel resulting in efficient winnowing of sands from subtidal muds, a greater propensity for accretion of tidal flats landwards and, consequently, a lower mud supply to the foreshore.

Although the timing of muddy progradation and chenier formation has not been determined, the foregoing interpretation suggests a complex sequence of events, reflecting as much the influence of local morphodynamic factors as external factors.     

末次冰期最盛时期以来中国东部边缘海潮波系统演变过程的模拟研究

在系统地研究了中国东部边缘海区引潮力、入射潮波、科氏力、水下地形、海岸形态及磨擦作用等因素对区域潮波系统形成影响的基础上,确定了中国东部边缘海岸轮廓是区域潮波系统形成的主导因素,认为模拟末次冰期最盛时期以来中国东部边缘海区潮波系统的形成过程需要3个重要的控制性条件,即入射潮波、海岸线变迁过程和海面变化曲线。利用中国东部边缘海潮波系统与海岸演变模拟支持系统,对末次冰期最盛时期以来30个时期中国东部边缘海区潮波系统的形成与演变过程进行了模拟再现研究,系统地恢复了在不同的海面高程、不同的岸线形态条件下全日潮、半日潮潮汐分布特征。模拟结果显示,末次冰期最盛时期以来,12400aB.P.和7500aB.P.两个时间界限分别代表了旋转潮波系统－无潮点开始出现、中国东部边缘海潮波系统现代格局基本奠定这两个特征事件的发生时间,将中国东部边缘海潮波系统的演变过程划分为3个发展时期。     

莱州湾东岸动力地貌对陆海相互作用的响应研究

基于SRTM3_DEM、RS数据分析,结合野外调查和前人研究结果,作者对莱州湾东岸临海冲积-海积小平原的地貌特征及地貌发育进行了研究。研究表明:研究区的海岸地貌结构存在横向上的沙坝-潟湖体系以及纵向上的连岛沙坝-潟湖系统;入海河流下游具有系统性的弯曲特征,其与横向上的沙坝-潟湖体系相对应,是自全新世中期以来海岸带陆海相互作用最显著的河流地貌标志;基于DEM的水文分析显示:研究区西部存在自南而北和自东向西的地势倾斜,王河流域与自东向西的王河下游古河道相对应,现今河道及古河道从DEM中以不同阈值提取的河网得到表达。     

海河口地区全新世海侵层的相变与海面波动的对应关系

B_2孔揭示海河口地区全新世海侵层厚达19.2m,自下往上依次出现潮间滩、近岸浅海、前三角洲、三角洲湾、河口砂坝及河口边滩六个亚相,下部两个亚相呈海进层序,上部四个亚相呈海退层序。除河口边滩亚相底界外,其他所有亚相间的界面均为不连续面,显示海侵层为不连续沉积。研究表明该不连续沉积与海面波动有关.在全新世海侵高峰后,海面一直处于幅度不大(约1m 左右)的振荡运动状态,一次振荡波就在海岸线上留下一道贝壳堤,近5000余年来发生了5次振荡波,在海退平原中就有5道贝克堤与之对应。B_2孔海退层序中曲不连续面与贝壳堤基底侵蚀面相对应,也与振荡波的上升坡段相对应。海退层序所表现出来的海岸向海推进现象不是海面大幅度下降的反映,而主要是河口区沉积物迅速加积的结果。     

福建沿海晚更新世以来的海平面变化

本文选择了六类７９个具有＾１４Ｃ年龄和准确高程的古海面标志物，按北，中，南三个岸段分别建立了三条相对海平面变化曲线，讨论了福建沿海晚更新世以来的海平面变化特征和规律，通过比较也分析了不同岸段新构造差异升降情况。     

Biogenic stalactites in submarine caves at the Cape of Otranto (SE Italy): dating and hypothesis on their formation

Submarine caves at the Cape of Otranto (SE, Italy) host pseudostalactites. Only recently have they been recognised as originating mainly from the marine tube worm Protula tubularia (Serpulidae, Polychaeta). Their formation depends on the adaptability, life history and behaviour of that species in the cave habitat. The dating of calcareous tubes in the pseudostalactite core represents the first attempt to describe the formation of such bio-construction, and the gregarious behaviour of the species. Calcareous tubes along the core axis of three pseudostalactites removed from the cave lu Lampiùne (Otranto, South East Italy) have been dated using the ¹⁴C method. Measures established ages from 2600 to 5000 years for the three structures. This extremely long period (when compared with the life span of each worm) suggests that each tube aggregation is the result of punctuated growth periods alternated with long standstill phases. At the end of a growth period, each tube aggregation was covered with a brownish concretion, completing the pseudostalactite.     

A review on the South China Sea western boundary current

The advances in understanding the South China Sea (SCS) western boundary current (SCSwbc) have been reviewed since the works of Dale (1956) and Wyrtki (1961) in the middle of the 20th century. The features of the pattern of SCSwbc and the oceanic phenomena associated with it are focused on. The current is driven mainly by monsoon over the SCS and partially by winds over the tropical Pacific governed by the island rule. The SCSwbc exhibits strong seasonal variation in its direction and patterns. In winter, the current is strong and flows southwestward along the South China shelf and slope from the east of Dongsha Islands to the northern central Vietnamese coast, then turns to the south along the central and southern Vietnamese coast, and finally partially exits the SCS through the Karimata Strait. In summer and early fall, the SCSwbc can be divided into three segments based on their characteristics. The southern segment is stable, flowing northward from the Karimata Strait up to about 11 N, where it separates from the coast forming an eastward offshore current. The separation of the current from Vietnamese coast induces some striking features, such as upwelling and cold sea-surface temperature. The middle segment off the central Vietnamese coast may have a bimodal behavior: northward coastal current and meandering current in early summer (June-July), and cyclonic gyre in later summer and early fall (August-September). The northern segment is featured by the summer SCS Warm Current on the South China shelf and a southwestward subsurface current along the continental slope.     

台湾岛西南海域福尔摩沙海脊冷泉区地形地貌特征分析

利用水深数据和ROV近海底影像资料,对福尔摩沙海脊冷泉区的海底地形地貌和冷泉系统的海底表征进行了描述和分析,并讨论了二者之间的响应关系。结果表明,相对于船载多波束数据而言,近海底多波束测深系统所获得的数据能更高精度地反映冷泉区海底地形地貌特征,是研究冷泉系统不可或缺的基础资料。基于ROV近海底观测影像资料,福尔摩沙海脊冷泉系统整体表现为局部被化能自养生物群落覆盖并有流体喷口零星分布的巨大自生碳酸盐岩岩丘,海底表征主要包括形态各异的自生碳酸盐岩结壳或岩体、化能自养生物群落、流体喷口、还原性沉积物等几种形式。研究表明,福尔摩沙海脊冷泉区的地形地貌特征与冷泉系统海底表征具有良好的响应关系,并且该区的地形地貌特征主要受控于出露于海底的自生碳酸盐岩的形态特征及规模。首次揭示了福尔摩沙海脊冷泉区地形地貌特征与其海底表征之间的响应关系,以期为后续的冷泉研究提供必要的背景资料支持。     

Defining the foreshore: coastal geomorphology and British laws

Definitions of the ‘foreshore’ are described as presented in various coastal geomorphological and related textbooks. To many geomorphologists, the term foreshore is considered synonymous with the intertidal zone. These definitions are compared with the legal definitions of the foreshore as exist in Britain under the three different property law regimes: English, Scottish and Udal law. The legal definitions and many of the geomorphological definitions are based on tidal data. The differences between the observed tides at a tide gauge and on a beach at a distance from the gauge are considered. It is concluded that the term foreshore has a very specific legal meaning in each property law regime, therefore the authors propose that the term ‘foreshore’ should be used to relate to the legally defined area of the coast and, unless specifically referring to the foreshore, scientists should use the term intertidal.     

黄海南部陆区冰后期沉积环境的演变

研究区内全新统与上更新统间普遍发现沉积间断。晚更新世古地形呈东个完南向西北逐渐抬高的掀斜状。本文以李堡孔为例,讨论了全新统垂向层序,自下而上由滨海,河口海湾,近岸浅海和潮坪相组成,为一个完整的海浸海退层序。全新世海侵层受古地形及三角洲进积、主河道南偏影响,表现明显的水平相变。通过对区内十几个钻孔剖面的对比分析,揭示了垂向演替及水平相变的规律及其两者间的关系,恢复了全世以来沉积环境的演化过程。     

基于形态性状的松江鲈鱼(Trachidermus fasciatus)种群鉴别

采用差异系数（C．D）和均数差异显著性这两种数理统计分析方法，对松江鲈鱼的鸭绿江、青龙河和富春江三个群体的表型性状，即85个样本的19项形态性状，其中包括10项可数性状和9项可量性状的差异进行了分析研究。结果表明，这三个群体彼此间的C．D值均小于亚种分化的判定标准1．28的水平，即各群体间的差异尚未达到亚种分化的水平，仍属同一种群。形态性状均数差异显著性的检验结果显示，松江鲈鱼青龙河与富春江两群体之间的差异较小，而鸭绿江群体与这两者的差异相对较大。     

Seasonal and spatial distributions of phytoplankton biomass associated with monsoon and oceanic environments in the South China Sea

Seasonal variations of phytoplankton/chlorophyll-a （Chl-a） distribution, sea surface wind, sea height anomaly, sea surface temperature and other oceanic environments for long periods are analyzed in the South China Sea （SCS）, especially in the two typical regions off the east coast of Vietnam and off the northwest coast of Luzon, using remote sensing data and other oceanographic data. The results show that seasonal and spatial distributions of phytoplankton biomass in the SCS are primarily influenced by the monsoon winds and oceanic environments. Off the east coast of Vietnam, Chl-a concentration is a peak in August, a jet shape extending into the interior SCS, which is associated with strong southwesterly monsoon winds, the coastal upwetling induced by offshore Ekman transport and the strong offshore current in the western SCS. In December, high Chl-a concentration appears in the upwelling region off the northwest coast of Luzon and spreads southwestward. Strong mixing by the strong northeasterly monsoon winds, the cyclonic circulation, southwestward coastal currents and river discharge have impacts on distribution of phytoplankton, so that the high phytoplankton biomass extends from the coastal areas over the northern SCS to the entire SCS in winter. These research activities could be important for revealing spatial and temporal patterns of phytoplankton and their interactions with physical environments in the SCS.