Deglaciation of the western margin of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet — A swath bathymetric and sub-bottom seismic study from the Kveithola Trough

Kveithola Trough, an E–W trending glacial trough in the NW Barents Sea, was surveyed for the first time during the EGLACOM cruise of R/V OGS-Explora in summer 2008. Swath bathymetry shows that the seafloor is characterized by E–W trending mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGL) that record a fast flowing ice stream draining the Svalbard/Barents Sea Ice Sheet (SBIS) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). MSGL are overprinted by transverse sediment ridges about 15 km apart which give rise to a staircase axial profile of the trough. Such transverse ridges are interpreted to be grounding-zone wedges (GZWs) formed by deposition of subglacial till during episodic ice stream retreat. Sub-bottom (CHIRP) and multi-channel reflection seismic data show that the present-day morphology is largely inherited from the palaeo-seafloor topography at the time of deposition of the transverse ridges, overlain by a draping glaciomarine unit which in places is over 15 m thick. Our data allow the reconstruction of depositional processes which accompanied deglaciation of the Spitsbergen Bank area. The sedimentary drape deposited on top of the GZWs is suggested to have accumulated at a very high rate, (on average in the order of 1–1.5 m ka^?1) and therefore may potentially preserve a high-resolution palaeoclimatic record of deglaciation and post-glacial conditions in this sector of the Barents Sea.     

Tectonic and magmatic ridges in the eltanin fault system,South Pacific

A Seabeam reconnaissance of the 400 km-long fast-slipping (88 mm yr^-1) Heezen transform fault zone and the 55 km-long spreading center that links it to Tharp transform defined and bathymetrically described several types of ridges built by tectonic uplift and volcanic construction. Most prominent is an asymmetric transverse ridge, at which abyssal hills adjacent to the fault zone have been raised 2–3 km above normal rise-flank depths. Topographic and petrologic evidence suggests that this uplift, which has produced a 5400 m scarp from the crest of the ridge to the floor of a 10 km-wide transform valley, is caused by rapid serpentinization of upper mantle which has been exposed to hydrothermal circulation by fault-zone fracturing of an unusually thin crust. Transverse ridges have been thought atypical of fast-slipping transforms. One class of volcanic ridge more common at these sites is the overshot ridge, formed by prolongation of spreading-center rift zones obliquely across the transform. Overshot ridges are well developed at Heezen transform, especially at the eastern end where an eruptive rift zone extending 60 km from the southern tip of the East Pacific Rise has built a transform-parallel ridge that fills the eastern transform valley. Obliteration of fault-zone structure by ridges overshooting from the spreading center intersections means that the topography of the aseismic fracture zones is not just inherited from that of the active transform fault zone. The latter has several en echelon and overlapping fault traces, linked by short oblique spreading axes that generally form pull-apart basins rather than volcanic ridges. Interpretation of the origin and pattern of the fault zone's tectonic and volcanic relief requires refinement of the plate geography and history of this part of the Pacific-Antarctic boundary, using new Seabeam and magnetic traverses to supplement and adjust the existing geophysical data base.     

The Rodriguez Triple Junction (Indian Ocean): Structure and evolution for the past one million years

The Rodriguez Triple Junction (RTJ) corresponds to the junction of the three Indian Ocean spreading ridges. A detailed survey of an area of 90 km by 85 km, centered at 25°30 S and 70° E, allows detailed mapping (at a scale of 1/100 000) of the bathymetry (Seabeam) and the magnetic anomalies. The Southeast Indian Ridge, close to the triple junction, is a typical intermediate spreading rate ridge (2.99 cm a^-1 half rate), trending N140°. The Central Indian Ridge rift valley prolongs the Southeast Indian Ridge rift valley with a slight change of orientation (12°). The half spreading rate and trend of this ridge are 2.73 cm a^-1 and N152° respectively. In contrast, the Southwest Indian Ridge close to the triple junction is expressed by two deep-valleys (4300 and 5000 m deep) which abut the southwestcrn flanks of the two other ridges, and appears to be a stretched area without axial neovolcanic zone. The evolution of the RTJ is analysed for the past one million years. The instantaneous velocity triangle formed by the three ridges cannot be closed indicating that the RTJ is unstable. A model is proposed to explain the evolution of the unstable RRF Rodriguez Triple Junction. The model shows that the axis of the Central Indian Ridge is propressively offset from the axis of the Southeast Indian Ridge at a velocity of 0.14 cm a^-1, the RTJ being restored by small jumps. This unstable RRF model explains the directions and offsets which are observed in the vicinity of the triple junction. The structure and evolution of the RTJ is similar to that of the Galapagos Triple Junction located in the East Pacific Ocean and the Azores Triple Junction located in the Central Atlantic Ocean.     

Response of water column to strong wind forcing,southern Brazilian inner shelf: Implications for sand ridge formation

The result of two sequential oceanographic stations of 36 hours each in the area of sand ridges are presented. One station was located in the trough between two sand ridges and the other was at the crest of a sand ridge. At these stations salinity and temperature of the sea water, currents, winds, waves, and barometric pressure were measured each hour.During the observations, a cold front passed; this generated westerly winds that grew in speed from 24 to 52 km h^?1. The average height of the wind generated waves grew from 1.0 to 1.5 m and their periods increased from 7 to 10 s, and the speed of the northeast directed surface current increased from 40 to 82 cm s^?1. A bottom current (also directed northeast) increased from 26 to 34 cm s^?1.After the cold front had passed, the wind backed to the southeast and decreased in speed from 26 to zero km h^?1. The surface current in a northwest direction decreased from 29 to 8 cm s^?1. A bottom current (also directed northwest) decreased from 22 to 3 cm s^?1. Later, swells from the southeast appeared and their periods increased from 5 to 9 s and their heights grew from 1.0 to 1.5 m. After 3 hours, the speeds of the surface and bottom currents increased from 8 to 72 cm s^?1 and 3 to 62 cm s^?1 respectively.This cold front induced strong winds and storm-wave currents able to erode sediments (assuming a threshold velocity of 20 cm s^?1) and transport them in a north-northeast direction.The origin and the maintenance of these sand ridges is thought to be a function of sediments eroded from troughs and piled up at ridge crests during a storm condition. Some eroded sediments are transported north of Verga lighthouse where they are deposited on a smooth bottom.     

The morphology and evolution of tidal sand bodies in the macrotidal Gulf of Khambhat,western India

Tidal sand bars and tidal sand ridges are extensively developed in the macrotidal Gulf of Khambhat, offshore western India. The inner and outer regions of the gulf are characterised by the development distinct tidal sand bodies with discrete geometries and dimensions. The outer gulf ridges are long, narrow, curvilinear and several metres high (∼20 m). They are asymmetric in cross-section and migratory in nature, forming ‘ribbon’ like sand bodies separated by tidal channels. Active dunes on these ridges indicate the presence of sand and their orientation parallel to palaeo-shorelines supports a tidal origin. In contrast to the outer gulf tidal sand ridges, sand bars associated with macrotidal estuaries flanking the Gulf of Khambhat typically have an elongate to diamond shape and are only hundreds of metres in width and a few kilometres length. These tidal sand bars occur in the estuary mouths and within the tidally influenced fluvial reaches of the rivers flowing into the gulf. The height of these sand bars is in the range ∼1–3 m. Due to high tidal ranges and bi-directional flow the sand bars do not develop significant height and are formed between the mutually evasive ebb and flow channels. Their bi-directional foresets and the presence of abundant mud drapes associated with the dunes within in-channel sand bars indicate a tidal origin.The Gulf of Khambhat acquired the present configuration in the last few thousand years since the Pleistocene sea-level lowstand (last glacial maximum, ∼18 ka) when the entire continental shelf was subaerially exposed and rivers down-cut into the coastal plain. With increasing sea-level rise, the exposed shelf was drowned, flooding parts of the Modern western Indian peninsula, and large tidal sand ridges formed in the outer gulf. After the fall of sea-level at 2 ka the gulf acquired the Modern configuration with multiple estuaries on both coastlines, rivers supplied the embayment with sandy sediment, and tidal sand bars formed in the Modern estuaries.Quantitative data gathered from the Modern Gulf of Khambhat indicates that for the P50 case, a vertical drill hole will encounter tidal sand bodies (ridges and bars combined) of approximate dimensions 1700 m long, 470 m wide and 1.5 m high, with a spacing of 400 m. In subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs, where data is sparse and only limited amount of core is available, this quantitative dataset can be useful to constrain subsurface geocellular models. Also, the overall geometry, distribution and aspect ratio of the tidal sand ridges and tidal sand bars can be used to identify ancient counterparts through seismic geomorphology or in core.     

Seismic geomorphology,architecture and genesis of Miocene shelf sand ridges in the Pearl River Mouth Basin,northern South China Sea

Multiple stages of large-scale shelf sand ridges, including the shoreface-attached and the offshore types, have developed in the Miocene successions on the mid-shelf region of the Pear River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea. Utilizing a high-quality 3D seismic data set, accompanying 2D seismic profiles and well logs, the morphology, architecture and genesis of these shelf sand ridges have been systematically investigated in this study. The ridges are of very large scale, with the largest one having a maximum height of 64 m, a width of more than 20 km and a length of 37 km within the 3D survey area. Being mound-shaped, they also display obvious asymmetry character, with the ridge crest preferentially located on the SE side. Three main internal components, including the ridge front, central ridge and the ridge tail, have been recognized through careful anatomy analysis of the two most well-imaged ridges, each displaying distinct expressions on seismic amplitudes and geometries. In the plan view, most of the shelf sand ridges are generally NE–SW oriented and widening to the SW direction. Scouring features can also be clearly observed along the SW direction, including scour depressions and linear sandy remnants. On well logs, the shelf sand ridges are represented by an overall coarsening-upward pattern. Intervals with blocky sandstones are preferentially present on higher locations due to a differential winnowing process controlled by shelf topography.Plenty of evidence indicates that these ridges were primarily formed by the reworking of forced regressive or lowstand deltaic deposits under a persistent southwesterly flowing current during the subsequent transgression. This very current is a composite one, which is speculated to consist of winter oceanic current, SCSBK (South China Sea Branch of Kuroshio) intrusion onto the shelf and internal waves propagating from the Luzon Strait. Tidal currents might have contributed to the SE growth of the ridge. In response to the reglaciation of Antarctic ice-sheet and the closure of Pacific-Indian ocean seaway in the middle Miocene, the intensification of the North Pacific western boundary current was considered to have potential links to the initiation of the shelf sand ridges at ∼12 Ma. The development of shelf ridges was terminated and replaced by rapid deltaic progradation at ∼5.5 Ma.     

南黄海太阳沙西侧海域晚第四系地震层序和沉积环境演变

在南黄海太阳沙西侧潮流脊槽海域进行了密集网格的高分辨率浅地震勘探,测线间距主要为120 m和200 m。沉积物穿透厚度最大约80~90 m,划分为2个地震层序(SQ1和SQ2),细分为5个亚层(U1~U5)。位于下部的层序1(U1)为晚更新世陆相沉积,上部的层序2(U2~U5)以全新世海相沉积为主。根据地震相特征研究了各亚层的沉积环境,从晚更新世晚期以来,研究区经历了三角洲辫状河流—河流刻蚀—古河道充填—河口滨海—三角洲滨浅海—现代潮流脊槽的沉积环境演变过程。在早全新世中期,研究区发育了一条窄河口型潮流沙脊,并随海平面的快速上升而被掩埋。现代潮流沙脊形成于末次高海面后,与古潮流沙脊没有继承关系,与晚更新世古地形也没有关系,受控于潮流系统。     

Comparison of buried sand ridges and regressive sand ridges on the outer shelf of the East China Sea

Based on multi-beam echo soundings and high-resolution single-channel seismic profiles, linear sand ridges in U14 and U2 on the East China Sea (ECS) shelf are identified and compared in detail. Linear sand ridges in U14 are buried sand ridges, which are 90 m below the seafloor. It is presumed that these buried sand ridges belong to the transgressive systems tract (TST) formed 320–200 ka ago and that their top interface is the maximal flooding surface (MFS). Linear sand ridges in U2 are regressive sand ridges. It is presumed that these buried sand ridges belong to the TST of the last glacial maximum (LGM) and that their top interface is the MFS of the LGM. Four sub-stage sand ridges of U2 are discerned from the high-resolution single-channel seismic profile and four strikes of regressive sand ridges are distinguished from the submarine topographic map based on the multi-beam echo soundings. These multi-stage and multi-strike linear sand ridges are the response of, and evidence for, the evolution of submarine topography with respect to sea-level fluctuations since the LGM. Although the difference in the age of formation between U14 and U2 is 200 ka and their sequences are 90 m apart, the general strikes of the sand ridges are similar. This indicates that the basic configuration of tidal waves on the ECS shelf has been stable for the last 200 ka. A basic evolutionary model of the strata of the ECS shelf is proposed, in which sea-level change is the controlling factor. During the sea-level change of about 100 ka, five to six strata are developed and the sand ridges develop in the TST. A similar story of the evolution of paleo-topography on the ECS shelf has been repeated during the last 300 ka.     

东海Zk23孔的古沙脊沉积环境

根据东海陆架Zk23孔岩心分析资料,进行了沉积地层学、生物地层学和年代地层学分析,确定了该钻孔中段细砂层为埋藏古长江河口沙脊沉积,阐明了该孔附近海区冰消期前后和冰后期的沉积历史。约15kaBP以前,海平面上升较快,沉积了下层的河口—水下三角洲相地层;15～12kaBP的冰消期期间,海平面波动并稳定于60～80m等深线附近,发育了沙脊地貌;12kaBP以来海平面再度快速上升,至7kaBP水位稳定,直至今日,沉积了沙脊上覆的浅海相粉砂质黏土和黏土质粉砂地层。     

Evaluation of conditions along the grounding line of temperate marine glaciers: an example from Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay, Alaska

In the marine environment, stability of the glacier terminus and the location of subglacial streams are the dominant controls on the distribution of grounding-line deposits within morainal banks. A morainal bank complex in Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay, SE Alaska, is used to develop a model of terminus stability and location of subglacial streams along the grounding line of temperate marine glaciers. This model can be used to interpret former grounding-line conditions in other glacimarine settings from the facies architecture within morainal bank deposits.The Muir Inlet morainal bank complex was deposited between 1860 A.D. and 1899 A.D., and historical observations provide a record of terminus positions, glacial retreat rates and sedimentary sources. These data are used to reconstruct the depositional environment and to develop a correlation between sedimentary facies and conditions along the grounding line.Four seismic facies identified on the high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles are used to interpret sedimentary facies within the morainal bank complex. Terminus stability is interpreted from the distribution of sedimentary facies within three distinct submarine geomorphic features, a grounding-line fan, stratified ridges, and a field of push ridges. The grounding-line fan was deposited along a stable terminus and is represented on seismic-reflection profiles by two distinct seismic facies, a proximal and a distal fan facies. The proximal fan facies was deposited at the efflux of subglacial streams and indicates the location of former glacifluvial discharges into the sea. Stratified ridges formed as a result of the influence of a quasi-stable terminus on the distribution of sedimentary facies along the grounding line. A field of push ridges formed along the grounding line of an unstable terminus that completely reworked the grounding-line deposits through glacitectonic deformation.Between 1860 A.D. and 1899 A.D. (39 years),

Full-size image

m³ of sediment were deposited within the Muir Inlet morainal bank complex at an average annual sediment accumulation rate of

Full-size image

m³/a. This rate represents the annual sediment production capacity of the glacier when the Muir Inlet drainage basin is filled with glacial ice.     

南黄海陆架沙脊的形成与演变

本文在对水深较大的滨外沙脊区钻孔、柱状样岩心详细观察的基础上,综合分析已有资料,并对该区浅地震地层剖面和水下沙脊的卫片进行了解译,提出南黄海陆架沙脊最早的形成年代为距今4000年,而现代的潮流沙脊形成于距今2000年以来的最近时期,潮流沙脊是在海面稳定、强潮流发育和大量物质供给的条件下形成和发展的,潮流沙脊的沉积物主要来自黄河和淮河;现代滨外沙脊具有向西北方向迁移、纵向延伸长度不断萎缩的动态演化特征。     

Field observations on hydrodynamic and coastal geomorphic processes off Harilaid Peninsula (Baltic Sea) in winter and spring 2006–2007

Investigations of multi-layer current regime, variations in sea level and wave parameters using a bottom-mounted RDCP (Recording Doppler Current Profiler) during 20 December 2006–23 May 2007 were integrated with surveys on changes of shorelines and contours of beach ridges at nearby Harilaid Peninsula (Saaremaa Island). A W-storm with a maximum average wind speed of 23 m s⁻¹ occurred on 14–15 January with an accompanying sea level rise of at least 100 cm and a significant wave height of 3.2 m at the 14 m deep RDCP mooring site. It appeared that in practically tideless Estonian coastal waters, Doppler-based “vertical velocity” measurements reflect mainly site-dependent equilibrium between resuspension and sedimentation. The mooring site, 1.5 km off the Kelba Spit of Harilaid, was located in the accumulation zone, where downward fluxes dominated and fine sand settled. As a result of storms in January and April, the distal part of the accumulative gravel spit advanced by 50 m, whereas a 30–50 m retreat of the shoreline in the western and northern parts occurred at Cape Kiipsaare. The location of the beach ridges shows that the development of the spit occurs through relatively short-period but infrequent storm events, roughly 2–3 times each decade.     

Tracking the last sea-level cycle: seafloor morphology and shallow stratigraphy of the latest Quaternary New Jersey middle continental shelf

Seafloor geomorphology and surficial stratigraphy of the New Jersey middle continental shelf provide a detailed record of sea-level change during the last advance and retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet (120 kyr B.P. to Present). A NW–SE-oriented corridor on the middle shelf between water depths of 40 m (the mid-shelf “paleo-shore”) and 100 m (the Franklin “paleo-shore”) encompasses 500 line-km of 2D Huntec boomer profiles (500–3500 Hz), an embedded 4.6 km² 3D volume, and a 490 km² swath bathymetry map. We use these data to develop a relative stratigraphy. Core samples from published studies also provide some chronological and sedimentological constraints on the upper <5 m of the stratigraphic succession.The following stratigraphic units and surfaces occur (from bottom to top): (1) “R”, a high-amplitude reflection that separates sediment >46.5 kyr old (by AMS ¹⁴C dating) from overlying sediment wedges; (2) the outer shelf wedge, a marine unit up to 50 m thick that onlaps “R”; (3) “Channels”, a reflection sub-parallel to the seafloor that incises “R”, and appears as a dendritic system of channels in map view; (4) “Channels” fill, the upper portion of which is sampled and known to represent deepening-upward marine sediments 12.3 kyr in age; (5) the “T” horizon, a seismically discontinuous surface that caps “Channels” fill; (6) oblique ridge deposits, coarse-grained shelly units comprised of km-scale, shallow shelf bedforms; and (7) ribbon-floored swales, bathymetric depressions parallel to modern shelf currents that truncate the oblique ridges and cut into surficial deposits.We interpret this succession of features in light of a global eustatic sea-level curve and the consequent migration of the coastline across the middle shelf during the last 120 kyr. The morphology of the New Jersey middle shelf shows a discrete sequence of stratigraphic elements, and reflects the pulsed episodicity of the last sea-level cycle. “R” is a complicated marine/non-marine erosional surface formed during the last regression, while the outer shelf wedge represents a shelf wedge emplaced during a minor glacial retreat before maximum Wisconsin lowstand (i.e., marine oxygen isotope stage 3.1). “Channels” is a widespread fluvial subarial erosion surface formed at the late Wisconsin glacial maximum 22 kyr B.P. The shoreline migrated back across the mid-shelf corridor non-uniformly during the period represented by “Channels” fill. Oblique ridges are relict features on the New Jersey middle shelf, while the ribbon-floored swales represent modern shelf erosion. There is no systematic relationship between modern seafloor morphology and the very shallowly buried stratigraphic succession.     

Volcanism and Tectonics of the Central Deep Basin,Sea of Japan

The paper presents the results of a study on the geomorphic structure, tectonic setting, and volcanism of the volcanoes and volcanic ridges in the deep Central Basin of the Sea of Japan. The ridges rise 500–600 m above the acoustic basement of the basin. These ridges were formed on fragments of thinned continental crust along deep faults submeridionally crossing the Central Basin and the adjacent continental part of the Primorye. The morphostructures of the basin began to submerge below sea level in the Middle Miocene and reached their contemporary positions in the Pliocene. Volcanism in the Central Basin occurred mostly in the Middle Miocene–Pliocene and formed marginal-sea basaltoids with OIB (ocean island basalt) geochemical signatures indicating the lower-mantle plume origin of these rocks. The OIB signatures of basaltoids tend to be expressed better in the eastern part of the Central Basin, where juvenile oceanic crust has developed. The genesis of this crust is probably related to rising and melting of the Pacific superplume apophyse.     

The Vema Transverse Ridge (Central Atlantic)

Transverse ridges are elongate reliefs running parallel and adjacent to transform/fracture zones offsetting mid-ocean ridges. A major transverse ridge runs adjacent to the Vema transform (Central Atlantic), that offsets the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by 320 km. Multibeam morphobathymetric coverage of the entire Vema Transverse ridge shows it is an elongated (300 km), narrow (<30 km at the base) relief that constitutes a topographic anomaly rising up to 4 km above the predicted thermal contraction level. Morphology and lithology suggest that the Vema Transverse ridge is an uplifted sliver of oceanic lithosphere. Topographic and lithological asymmetry indicate that the transverse ridge was formed by flexure of a lithospheric sliver, uncoupled on its northern side by the transform fault. The transverse ridge can be subdivided in segments bound by topographic discontinuities that are probably fault-controlled, suggesting some differential uplift and/or tilting of the different segments. Two of the segments are capped by shallow water carbonate platforms, that formed about 3–4 m.y. ago, at which time the crust of the transverse ridge was close to sea level. Sampling by submersible and dredging indicates that a relatively undisturbed section of oceanic lithosphere is exposed on the northern slope of the transverse ridge. Preliminary studies of mantle-derived ultramafic rocks from this section suggest temporal variations in mantle composition. An inactive fracture zone scarp (Lema fracture zone) was mapped south of the Vema Transverse ridge. Based on morphology, a fossil RTI was identified about 80 km west of the presently active RTI, suggesting that a ridge jump might have occurred about 2.2 m.a. Most probable causes for the formation of the Vema Transverse ridge are vertical motions of lithospheric slivers due to small changes in the direction of spreading of the plates bordering the Vema Fracture Zone.     

A submersible study of the western intersection of the Mid-Atlantic ridge and Kane fracture zone (WMARK)

In 1994, a joint Japanese-American dive program utilizing the worlds deepest diving active research submersible (SHINKAI 6500) was carried out at the western ridge-transform intersection (RTI) of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Kane transform in the central North Atlantic Ocean. A total of 15 dives were completed along with surface-ship geophysical mapping of bathymetry, magnetic and gravity fields. Dives at the RTI traced the neovolcanic zone up to, and for a short distance (2.5 km) along, the Kane transform. At the RTI, the active trace of the transform is marked by a narrow valley (<50 m wide) that separates the recent lavas of the neovolcanic zone from the south wall of the transform. The south wall of the transform at the western RTI consists of a diabase section near its base between 5000 and 4600 m depth overlain by basaltic lavas, with no evidence of gabbro or deeper crustal rocks. The south wall is undergoing normal faulting with considerable strike-slip component. The lavas of the neovolcanic zone at the RTI are highly magnetized (17 A m^–1) compared to the lavas of the south wall (4 A m^–1), consistent with their age difference. The trace of the active transform changes eastwards into a prominent median ridge, which is composed of heavily sedimented and highly serpentinized peridotites. Submersible observations made from SHINKAI find that the western RTI of the Kane transform has a very different seafloor morphology and lithology compared to the eastern RTI. Large rounded massifs exposing lower crustal rocks are found on the inside corner of the eastern RTI whereas volcanic ridge and valley terrain with hooked ridges are found on the outside corner of the eastern RTI. The western RTI is much less asymmetric with both inside and outside corner crust showing a preponderance of volcanic terrain. The dominance of low-angle detachment faulting at the eastern RTI has resulted in a seafloor morphology and architecture that is diagnostic of the process whereas crust formed at the WMARK RTI must clearly be operating under a different set of conditions that suppresses the initiation of such faulting.     

东海Zk23孔的古沙脊沉积环境

根据东海陆架Zk23孔岩心分析资料，进行了沉积地层学、生物地层学和年代地层学分析，确定了该钻孔中段细砂层为埋藏古长江河口沙脊沉积，阐明了该孔附近海区冰消期前后和冰后期的沉积历史。约在15kaB．P以前，海平面上升较快，沉积了下层的河口-水下三角洲相地层；约在15～12kaB．P．的冰消期期间，海平面波动并稳定于60～80m等深线附近，发育了沙脊地貌：约在12kaB．P．以来海平面再度快速上升，至7kaB．P水位稳定，直至今日，沉积了沙脊上覆的浅海相粉砂质黏土和黏土质粉砂地层。     

Origin of transverse folds in an extensional growth-fault setting: Evidence from an extensive seismic volume in the western Gulf of Mexico

Growth faults in gravity-driven extensional provinces are dominated by coast-parallel trends, but coast-perpendicular (transverse) trends are far less documented. The Clemente–Tomas fault in the inner Texas shelf has corrugations that are transverse to the fault and that plunge downdip. A large (8500 km²), high-quality, 3D seismic survey allows a uniquely encompassing perspective into hanging-wall deformation above this corrugated fault surface. Synextensional strata in the hanging wall are folded into alternating transverse ridges and synclines, typically spaced 10 km apart. Forward modelling in dip profiles of an extensional fault having three ramps produces ramp basin-rollover pairs that compare with the seismically revealed ridges and synclines. As they translated down the undulose fault plane, ramp basins and rollovers were juxtaposed along strike, forming the hanging-wall ridges and synclines observed offshore Texas. Fault-surface corrugations correlate broadly with footwall structure. We infer that corrugations on the Clemente–Tomas fault formed by evacuation of an allochthonous salt canopy emplaced in the late Eocene to early Oligocene. Early salt evacuation (Oligocene) created an undulose topography that influenced incipient Clemente-Tomas fault segments as they merged to form an inherently undulose fault. Late salt evacuation (early Miocene) further deformed this fault surface.     

Tectonics of ridge-transform intersections at the Kane fracture zone

The Kane Transform offsets spreading-center segments of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by about 150 km at 24° N latitude. In terms of its first-order morphological, geological, and geophysical characteristics it appears to be typical of long-offset (>100 km), slow-slipping (2 cm yr^-1) ridge-ridge transform faults. High-resolution geological observations were made from deep-towed ANGUS photographs and the manned submersible ALVIN at the ridge-transform intersections and indicate similar relationships in these two regions. These data indicate that over a distance of about 20 km as the spreading axes approach the fracture zone, the two flanks of each ridge axis behave in very different ways. Along the flanks that intersect the active transform zone the rift valley floor deepens and the surface expression of volcanism becomes increasingly narrow and eventually absent at the intersection where only a sediment-covered ‘nodal basin’ exists. The adjacent median valley walls have structural trends that are oblique to both the ridge and the transform and have as much as 4 km of relief. These are tectonically active regions that have only a thin (<200 m), highly fractured, and discontinuous carapace of volcanic rocks overlying a variably deformed and metamorphosed assemblage of gabbroic rocks. Overprinting relationships reveal a complex history of crustal extension and rapid vertical uplift. In contrast, the opposing flanks of the ridge axes, that intersect the non-transform zones appear to be similar in many respects to those examined elsewhere along slow-spreading ridges. In general, a near-axial horst and graben terrain floored by relatively young volcanics passes laterally into median valley walls with a simple block-faulted character where only volcanic rocks have been found. Along strike toward the fracture zone, the youngest volcanics form linear constructional volcanic ridges that transect the entire width of the fracture zone valley. These volcanics are continuous with the older-looking, slightly faulted volcanic terrain that floors the non-transform fracture zone valleys. These observations document the asymmetric nature of seafloor spreading near ridge-transform intersections. An important implication is that the crust and lithosphere across different portions of the fracture zone will have different geological characteristics. Across the active transform zone two lithosphere plate edges formed at ridge-transform corners are faulted against one another. In the non-transform zones a relatively younger section of lithosphere that formed at a ridge-non-transform corner is welded to an older, deformed section that initially formed at a ridge-transform corner.     

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.