Braarudosphaera -rich sediments in the Turonian of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, Czech Republic

Braarudosphaera -rich sediments occur in the Turonian (nannofossil zones CC13 and UC9a) epicontinental marine sediments of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. This phenomenon is linked to the input of terrigenous material during deceleration of sea-level rise, or stillstand in sea level, which possibly both triggered the Braarudosphaera bigelowii bloom and reduced the diversity of the nannoplankton assemblages. The occurrence of Marthasterites furcatus and Lithastrinus septenarius probably reflects depositional conditions that were suitable for their preservation. Hence, the resultant limitations to their use as local zonal markers in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin are discussed. The influence of the Tethyan Bioprovince is documented by the coincident first occurrences of L. septenarius and M. furcatus. The presence of the high-latitude species Thiersteinia ecclesiastica indicates penetration of Boreal biota into this depositional area within the Turonian.     

Geochemistry of rare earth elements in bottom sediments of the Brazil Basin, Atlantic Ocean

The sedimentation and ore formation were studied in sediments from nine stations located in the 24°W profile in the Brazil Basin of the Atlantic Ocean. The sediments are represented by mio- and hemipelagic muds, which are variably enriched in hydrothermal iron and manganese oxyhydroxides. As compared to the sediments from other basins of the Atlantic Ocean, these rocks are marked by extremely high manganese contents (up to 1.33%) and maximal enrichment in Ce. It was shown that the positive Ce anomaly is related to the REE accumulation on iron oxyhydroxides. Influence of hydrothermal source leads to the decrease of Ce anomaly and LREE/HREE ratio. In the reduced sediments, preservation of positive Ce anomaly and/or its disappearance was observed after iron and manganese reduction. The REE contents were determined for the first time in the Ethmodiscus oozes of the Brazil Basin. Ore deposits of the Brazil Basin are represented by ferromanganese crust and ferromanganese nodules. Judging from the contents of iron, manganese, rare, and trace elements, these formations are ascribed to the sedimentation (hydrogenic) deposits. They are characterized by a notable positive Ce anomaly in the REE pattern. The extremely high Ce content (up to 96% of total REE) was discovered for the first time in the buried nodules (Mn/Fe = 0.88).     

渤海钻孔物源示踪和河流沉积物扩散研究:碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄和磷灰石原位地球化学元素双重约束

锆石和磷灰石是河流沉积物中常见的副矿物,由于各自的U-Pb年龄组成和原位地球化学元素组成在不同区域内存在显著差异,是进行河流物源示踪研究的理想矿物。基于此,利用在环渤海湾盆地主要汇入河流已发表的碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄,结合盆地晚第四纪钻孔的近地表碎屑物质的锆石U-Pb年龄,综合Kolmogorov-Smirnov统计方法的多维判别图（MDS）,系统对比分析了辽东湾、渤海中央盆地和莱州湾的物质来源。结果显示,辽东湾的物质主要来自辽河;渤海中央盆地和莱州湾的碎屑物质主要来自黄河。同时,利用激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子质谱仪（LA-ICP-MS）,对黄河下游（n=70）、胶东半岛的威海湾（n=120）、银滩湾（n=60）的现代河流沉积物和海岸砂开展了碎屑磷灰石微区原位（in situ）主微量元素分析。结果发现黄河与威海湾、银滩湾的碎屑物质不存在物源关系,结合该区域碎屑钾长石原位主微量元素的已有分析结果,进一步说明黄河与胶东半岛的海湾内的碎屑物质不存在物源关系。新的研究结果表明,将碎屑锆石、磷灰石原位地球化学分析相结合有助于更精准地判定河流的物源关系。      

Stratigraphy and facies development of the pre-Cenozoic sediments in southern Egypt: a geodynamic approach

The study of the geology of southern Egypt, in-between the Red Sea and the Libyan borders, south of latitude 24°30′N reveals a succession of the Precambrian Arabo–Nubian Shield along the Red Sea coast overlain by Paleozoic–Mesozoic sediments. The Paleozoic section in the study area is well developed in three sub-basins, namely, Uweinat–Gilf, South Nile, and Etbai. Paleozoic sediments are well developed in the three sub-basins mostly sandstones of Cambrian overlain by glaciogene sediment conglomerates at base namely Gabgaba Formation and by the Naqus Sandstone at top. The tectonic events during the Early Paleozoic Caledonian Orogeny are marked by several unconformities and tectonic uplift and down faulting expressed in the many faults in the Uweinat–Gilf and South Nile sub-basins. The Carboniferous is well-developed sandstones in the three studied sub-basins. The glaciation at the Permian is reflected in sea-level fall, hence continental sediments are well developed in many parts of Egypt—a phase of the Hercynian Orogeny. Volcanics are very well common in the study areas ranging in age from 48 to 34 Ma at Uweinat and Gebel El-Asr. Vulcanicity continued during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic at the Triassic of Nasab El-Balgum and in the south Western Desert, the south Eastern Desert, and Etbai area. The highly seismic conditions in southern Egypt continued up to very recent times where tremors were noticed in the 80s and 90s of the last century pointing to very unstable area.     

Molecular and isotopic analysis of anaerobic methane-oxidizing communities in marine sediments

Convergent lines of molecular, carbon-isotopic, and phylogenetic evidence have previously indicated (Hinrichs, K.-U., Hayes, J.M., Sylva, S.P., Brewer, P.G., DeLong, E.F., 1999. Methane-consuming archaebacteria in marine sediments. Nature 398, 802–805.) that archaea are involved in the anaerobic oxidation of methane in sediments from the Eel River Basin, offshore northern California. Now, further studies of those same sediments and of sediments from a methane seep in the Santa Barbara Basin have confirmed and extended those results. Mass spectrometric and chromatographic analyses of an authentic standard of sn-2-hydroxyarchaeol (hydroxylated at C-3 in the sn-2 phytanyl moiety) have confirmed our previous, tentative identification of this compound but shown that the previously examined product was the mono-TMS, rather than di-TMS, derivative. Further analyses of ¹³C-depleted lipids, appreciably more abundant in samples from the Santa Barbara Basin, have shown that the archaeal lipids are accompanied by two sets of products that are only slightly less depleted in ¹³C. These are additional glycerol ethers and fatty acids. The alkyl substituents in the ethers (mostly monoethers, with some diethers) are non-isoprenoidal. The carbon-number distributions and isotopic compositions of the alkyl substituents and of the fatty acids are similar, suggesting strongly that they are produced by the same organisms. Their structures, n-alkyl and methyl-branched n-alkyl, require a bacterial rather than archaeal source. The non-isoprenoidal glycerol ethers are novel constituents in marine sediments but have been previously reported in thermophilic, sulfate- and nitrate-reducing organisms which lie near the base of the rRNA-based phylogenetic tree. Based on previous observations that the anaerobic oxidation of methane involves a net transfer of electrons from methane to sulfate, it appears likely that the non-archaeal, ¹³C-depleted lipids are products of one or more previously unknown sulfate-reducing bacteria which grow syntrophically with the methane-utilizing archaea. Their products account for 50% of the fatty acids in the sample from the Santa Barbara Basin. At all methane-seep sites examined, the preservation of aquatic products is apparently enhanced because the methane-oxidizing consortium utilizes much of the sulfate that would otherwise be available for remineralization of materials from the water column.     

The Marine Cretaceous in the Western Part of the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang and Its Depositional Environments

The western part of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang is one of the main areas in China where the marineCretaceous is well developed. The Upper Cretaceous Yingjisha Group represented mainly by sediments of lit-toral, near-shore neritic and estuarine facies is divided in ascending order into the Kukebai Formation, theOytak Formation, the Ygezya Formation and the Tuylouk Formation. For about thirty years, the basal beds of the Kukebai Formation had been considered to be the lowermostmarine horizon of the Cretaceous in the western part of the Tarim Basin, which represents the earliest trans-gression of the Cretaceous Sea into this region. Recently. marine trace fossils, Ophiomorpha nodosa, O.tuberosa and Thalassinoides? spp. were found in abundance and fine preservation from the upper subcycle andupper part of the lower subcycle of the Kezlesu Group underlying the Kukebai Formation. The fact indicatesthat the marine transgression there took place earlier than the Kukebaian. Process of transgression and regression and change of environment in the West Tarim Basin during the pe-riod from the late Early Cretaceous to the end of the Cretaceous is also discussed in this paper.     

Marine evidence for the last glacial advance across eastern Hudson Strait,eastern Canadian Arctic

Data from accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon dated sediment cores and Huntec high-resolution seismic profiles were used to investigate the age and origin of the sediments in the Eastern Basin of Hudson Strait. The data indicate that the ice-contact and glacial-marine sediments on the basin flanks and much of the upper sequence in the deep floor of the basin were produced during the Noble Inlet advance (8.9 to 8.4 ka), the last northward expansion of the Labrador Dome on to southeastern Baffin Island. On the northern flank of Eastern Basin one sequence of ice-contact sediments and glacial-marine deposits overlies bedrock; the glacial-marine sediments are transitional upslope to ice-contact sediments, and form at least two successive ice-sheet grounding zones. The earliest abundance peaks of benthic Foramininfera in glacial-marine sediments date ca. 8.6 and 8.4 ka, and correlate to sediments near the base of the 58-m-thick glacial-marine section in the deepest part of Eastern Basin. This correlation suggests that Noble Inlet ice was grounded throughout Eastern Basin during the early part of its advance. In later stages the thinning ice produced grounding zones on the basin flanks while glacial-marine sediments were deposited in the deep basin. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Foraminifera from the Irish Sea glacigenic deposits at Aberdaron,western Lleyn,North Wales: Palaeoenvironmental implications

In a sequence of glacigenic sediments at Aberdaron, Foraminifera were obtained from samples located specifically in order to differentiate between opposing models of depositional environment. All the diamict samples yielded remarkably uniform assemblages, with similar numbers of benthic specimens and benthic species per unit weight of sediment, similar planktic : benthic ratios, and similar ratios of clearly allochthonous to possibly autochthonous elements. This is precisely as predicted by the terrestrial model of sedimentation, where all of the sediments are interpreted as being derived from the melting of glacier ice rich in marine debris entrained during passage along the Irish Sea Basin. The results lend no support to a glacial marine model, since no faunal responses to increasingly distal sedimentary environments are observed. However, the fauna is dominated by the Foraminifera Elphidium excavatum (Terquem) forma clavata Cushman, which is commonly assumed to indicate glacial marine conditions. The modern distribution of similar assemblages suggests that it is just as likely to represent the cold, reduced salinity conditions that would have prevailed in the northern Irish Sea Basin for much of the Quaternary.     

The paleogeographic significance of Aquilapollenites occurrence in Pakistan

The occurrence of the genus Aquilapollenites in Upper Cretaceous and Neogene sediments of northwestern Pakistan is reported here. Aquilapollenites amplus, Aquilapollenites reductus, and Aquilapollenites sp. occur in the Maastrichtian palynomorph assemblage from an outcrop sample of the Mir Ali section, northern Waziristan. Aquilapollenites medeis in the Neogene Murgha Faqir Zai Formation of the Pishin Basin, Balochistan, is considered a reworked Cretaceous specimen. The Upper Cretaceous sediments of the Asian plate on the Tethys margin are considered to be the source of Aquilapollenites spp. in these samples.     

Tasmanian Cambrian biostratigraphy—a preliminary report

In Tasmania shelly fossils are known from Middle and Upper Cambrian sediments of the Dundas Trough, Fossey Mountain Trough, Dial Range Trough, Beaconsfield Trough, Smithton Basin, Adamsfield Trough and from within sediments associated with the Mount Read Volcanics of Western Tasmania. In the Dundas Trough fossils range in age from early Middle Cambrian (Ptychagnostus gibbus Zone) to the middle Late Cambrian (pre‐Payntonian A or B). Late Middle Cambrian fossils occur in sediments associated with the Mount Read Volcanics in two places in Western Tasmania. Late Middle Cambrian fossils only are known from the Smithton Basin and the Beaconsfield Trough. Late Middle to early Late Cambrian faunas are known from the Dial Range Trough; the Adamsfield Trough contains middle Middle to middle Late Cambrian fossils. Tasmanian Cambrian faunas show affinities with those of Queensland, China, the northwest Siberian Platform and northern Victoria Land, Antarctica.     

The ammonite fauna and genesis of a mid-Cretaceous siliceous oolite from the Alagoas Basin, Brazil

Acanthoceratid ammonites from near Maceió, in the State of Alagoas, provide evidence of a mid-Cretaceous marine incursion into the present onshore part of the Alagoas Basin. The ammonites Pseudocalycoceras sp. cf. P. harpax (Stoliczka, 1864) and Kamerunoceras sp. are assigned a late Cenomanian age. The rock is a siliceous oolite that occurs as derived nodules and fragments in late Cenozoic continental sediments. It is interpreted as an originally calcareous oolite formed in a near-shore, high-energy environment. Absence of primary cement suggests that silicification took place early in diagenesis. The silicified, and therefore more resistant material from the original Cenomanian sequence was reworked and redeposited with the Cenozoic sediments. The age, indicated by the ammonites, suggests that the original deposition was related to the global late Cenomanian—early Turonian sea-level rise.     

Paleoceanography of the Santa Barbara Basin during the last 8000 years

The varved sediments of the Santa Barbara Basin off southern California, offer a unique opportunity to study the changes in oceanographic conditions of this nearshore area during the last 8000 yr. Quantitative analysis of Radiolaria found in recent surface sediment samples from the eastern North Pacific allows the identification of four “assemblages” which can be related to the physical oceanography of the California Current. Two assemblages are associated with the southerly flowing California Current, one with the main stream of the current (California Current Assemblage) and the other with the offshore flow along northern California (Central Assemblage). The two other assemblages are associated with the subtropical region of the eastern North Pacific (Subtropical Assemblage) and one found mostly off the coast of Baja California (Baja Assemblage). Analysis of the Radiolaria found in the varved sediments of a core from the Santa Barbara Basin give an 8000-yr continuous record of these four assemblages. The California and Baja Assemblages show only minor fluctuations in their importance in the sediments of the Santa Barbara Basin. The California Assemblage, however, shows a steady increase during this time period. Prior to 5400 yr B.P. the Radiolaria were predominately subtropical in character, whereas after 5400 yr B.P. the Central Assemblage becomes more important. Since 5400 yr B.P. most of the changes in the radiolarian fauna consist of fluctuations in the importance of these two assemblages. Past sea-surface temperatures for the month of February were calculated using the transfer function technique of J. Imbrie and N. G. Kipp (1971, In “The Late Cenozore Glacial Ages” L. K. Turekian, Ed.), (Chap. 5, Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, Conn.). The time series of paleotemperature estimates show major changes in the average February temperature of Santa Barbara Basin waters. The range of estimated temperatures (12°C) exceeds that of the historical observations of February temperatures in the Santa Barbara Basin but does not exceed the observed range for the California Current region. The intervals from 800 to 1800 yr B.P. 3600 to 3800 yr B.P. and 5400 to the end of the record appear to have been generally warmer than today. Comparison of the Holocene record of alpine glacial advances with the radiolarian assemblage and paleotemperature time series shows that the initiations of advances was coincident with a decrease in sea-surface temperatures and an increase in the importance of the Central Assemblage in the Santa Barbara Basin. The terminations of these advances were not marked by any consistent characteristic in the Santa Barbara Basin time series.     

Thermal maturity and hydrocarbon potential of the sedimentary succession from the Hecla field in Sverdrup Basin, Arctic Canada

The thermal maturity and source-rock potential of the Upper Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sediments in the Hecla field, Melville Island, Arctic Canada, have been studied using reflected-light microscopy and Rock-Eval pyrolysis. Approximately 250 polished whole-rock samples were examined and their reflectance (% R₀, random) measured. In addition, approximately 100 samples were subjected to Rock-Eval/TOC analyses.Hydrogen-rich organic matter in the Schei Point Group sediments is dominated by alginite (Tasmanales), dinoflagellate cysts with minor amounts of sporinite, cutinite, resinite and liptodetrinite in an amorphous fluorescing matrix. Vitrinite reflectance in Cretaceous sediments ranges from 0.41 to 0.54%; in Jurassic sediments it ranges from 0.43 to 0.64% and in Triassic sediments from 0.50 to 0.65%. The Triassic Schei Point Group calcareous shales and marlstones contain organic matter mainly of marine origin, whereas the predominantly terrestially-derived organic matter present in the Jameson Bay (Lower Jurassic) and in the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Deer Bay formations have ower TOC. Only the Ringnes Formation has a TOC content of equivalent to or greater than Schei Point source rocks. Within the Schei Point Group, the Cape Richards and Eden Bay members of the Hoyle Bay Formation are slightly richer in TOC than the Murray Harbour Formation (Cape Caledonia Member). Higher average TOC contents (>3.0%) have been reported in the Cape Richards and Eden Bay members in almost all Hecla drillholes.Variations in the level of thermal maturity of Mesozoic sediments in the Hecla field are a function of burial depth. The stratigraphic succession thickens towards the main Sverdrup Basin depocentre located in a N-NE direction. The pattern of the isoreflectance contours at the top of the Triassic (Barrow Formation) is similar to that of formation boundary lines of the same formations, an indication that present-day maturation levels are largely controlled by basin subsidence.     

A reinterpretation of seismic data in the Laura Basin,Queensland

The results of the seismic surveys recorded during 1963 and 1968 for Marathon Petroleum and Crusader Oil in the Laura Basin, north Queensland, have been reinterpreted. Seismic reflections which dip almost continuously from 0.6 to 4.0 seconds reflection time may come from the base of and within an 8000 m sequence of Permo‐Carboniferous sediments, which may underlie the flat‐lying Mesozoic Laura Basin sediments and overlie the heavily folded Carboniferous‐Devonian sediments in the Hodgkinson Basin. Further seismic investigation of this area is recommended since a thick Permo‐Carboniferous sedimentary section here could be prospective for hydrocarbons.     

Quaternary sediments in the axial zone of the Brazil Basin

Lithological and micropaleontological studies of sediments were carried out along the meridional profile across the Brazil Basin. Based on nannoplankton and diatom assemblages, the sediments represented by oxidized miopelagic clays, differently reduced hemipelagic clays, and clayey-siliceous (Ethmodiscus) and calcareous (coccolith-foraminiferal) oozes are attributed to the Pleistocene-Holocene. Specific features of sedimentary material indicate its redeposition by Antarctic bottom waters, mudflows, slumps, and rockslides. It is shown that sedimentation in the Brazil Basin corresponds to the incomplete pelagic (miopelagic) type of oceanic lithogenesis transitional to the near-continental one.     

The upper Miocene diatomaceous sediments of the northernmost Mediterranean region: A lamina-scale investigation of an overlooked palaeoceanographic archive

During the late Miocene the Mediterranean experienced a dramatic intensification of opaline accumulation, recorded by the deposition of diatomaceous sediments. The fine lamination of these deposits potentially records annual to sub-annual palaeoceanographic processes that occurred during a critical phase of the geodynamic evolution of the Mediterranean basin, which eventually led to the Messinian salinity crisis. The diatomaceous facies has been interpreted by previous researchers as the product of intensified upwelling currents and of bottom anoxia formation in the Mediterranean basin. However, until now, no efforts have been made to unravel the sedimentological and micropalaeontological content of these deposits at the lamina-scale. This paper presents the first case study of a systematic scanning electron microscope-based morphological investigation of the diatomaceous sediments deposited during the late Miocene at the northernmost offshoot of the Mediterranean basin (Piedmont Basin, north-west Italy). Using a non-invasive analytical approach, six faciological components (laminae, laminated packets, non-laminated intervals, burrows, opal-rich aggregates and mixed pelletal structures) and their relationships are described and interpreted herein. Following the lamina-scale study of these sediments, an annual sedimentary cycle could be identified and an accumulation rate (ca 50 cm kyr⁻¹) inferred that is atypical for a setting actively influenced by upwelling. The role played by the entanglement of diatom valves in creating a physical barrier to the bioturbation is here emphasized as the main process responsible for the preservation of the laminated fabric of diatomaceous sediments, challenging the supposed role of deep anoxia. These results suggest that the late Miocene diatomaceous deposition in the Piedmont Basin cannot be univocally considered as a by-product of upwelling intensification and seafloor oxygen depletion.     

Sediment-water exchange of dissolved nutrients at an intertidal site in the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy

Concentrations of dissolved nitrate, silicate, and phosphate in water flooding intertidal sediments at Pecks Cove and along the axis of Cumberland Basin, Bay of Fundy were measured throughout the year. Exchanges of dissolved nutrients between intertidal sediments and overlying water were measured by enclosing water in chambers over undisturbed sediment. Nitrate concentrations in the water usually decreased during incubations while silicate was released by sediments during summer and consumed during fall. Particles which settled in sediment traps exposed during periods of high tide were stirred in filtered seawater to measure nutrient exchange. The flux of nutrients between the intertidal sediments and settled particles and seawater was estimated from incubation experiments and the observed nitrogen content in surface sediments and suspended particulate material. There was a net import of dissolved nitrate and silicate into Cumberland Basin from Chignecto Bay during early summer, at all other times there was a net export. Despite the low primary productivity and rigorous physical environment, biological activity has a measurable impact on dissolved nutrient concentrations in the waters of Cumberland Basin.     

Arsenic Levels in Groundwater from Quaternary Alluvium in the Ganga Plain and the Bengal Basin, Indian Subcontinent: Insights into Influence of Stratigraphy

Late Quaternary stratigraphy and sedimentation in the Ganga Alluvial Plain and the Bengal Basin have influenced arsenic contamination of groundwater. Arsenic contaminated aquifers are pervasive within lowland organic rich, clayey deltaic sediments in the Bengal Basin and locally within similar facies in narrow, entrenched river valleys within the Ganga Alluvial Plain. These were mainly deposited during early-mid Holocene sea level rise. Arsenic was transported from disseminated sources as adsorbed on dispersed phases of hydrated-iron-oxide. These were preferentially entrapped as sediment coatings on organic-rich, fine-grained deltaic and floodplain sediments. Arsenic was released later to groundwater mainly by reductive dissolution of hydrated-iron-oxide and corresponding oxidation of sediment organic matter. Strong reducing nature of groundwater in the Bengal Basin and parts of affected middle Ganga floodplains is indicated by high concentration of dissolved iron (maximum 9-35 mg/l). Groundwater being virtually stagnant under these settings, released arsenic accumulates and contaminates groundwater. The upland terraces in the Bengal Basin and in the Central Ganga Alluvial Plain, made up of the Pleistocene sediments are free of arsenic contamination in groundwater. These sediments are weakly oxidised in nature and associated groundwater is mildly reducing in general with low concentration of iron (<1 mg/l), and thus incapable to release arsenic. These sediments are also flushed free of arsenic, released if any, by groundwater flow due to high hydraulic head, because of their initial low-stand setting and later upland terraced position.     

Maturity studies and source-rock potential in the southern Sverdrup Basin, Arctic Canada

The purpose of the study is to better understand the relationship between organic matter optical properties and the presence of potentially large oil and gas accumulations in Arctic Canada. The type and thermal maturity of the dispersed organic matter of the Mesozoic formations in the southern Sverdrup Basin, Melville Island, have been studied using organic petrology and Rock-Eval pyrolysis.All types of organic matter are present in the strata of Mesozoic age. Hydrogen-rich liptinite is dominated by alginite (Botryococcus and Tasmanites), dinoflagellate cysts and amorphous fluorescing matrix. Sporinite, cutinite, resinite and liptodetrinite made up the lesser hydrogen-rich exinite. Vitrinite reflectance in Cretaceous sediments ranges from 0.36 to 0.65% R_o; in Jurassic sediments it ranges from 0.40 to 1.0% R_o and in the Triassic from 0.45 to 1.30% R_o, showing an overall increase with depth of burial.Cretaceous sediments of the Deer Bay Formation are thermally immature and contain organic matter of terrestrial origin. The Upper Jurassic shales of the Ringnes Formation contain predominantly organic matter of liptinitic and exinitic origin with a considerable vitrinitic input. At optimum maturation levels, potential source beds of this formation would have a good hydrocarbon-generating potential. The hydrocarbon potential, however, would be limited to the generation of gases due to the leanness of the source rocks. Parts of the Lower Jurassic Jameson Bay Formation are organic-rich and contain a mixed exinitic/vitrinitic organic matter, Botryococcus colonial algae but visible organic matter is dominated by high plant remains (mainly spores). The Schei Point Group shales and siltstones contain organic matter of almost purely marine origin, whereas the predominantly higher plant-derived organic matter found in the Deer Bay, Jameson Bay and partly in the Ringnes formations have higher TOC. Among the Schei Point Group samples, the Cape Richards and Eden Bay members of the Hoyle Bay Formation are richer in TOC (>2.0%) than the Murray Harbour Formation (Cape Caledonia Member). This may reflect differences in the level of maturity or in the depositional environment (more anoxic conditions for the former).Regional variations in the level of thermal maturity of Mesozoic sediments in Sverdrup Basin appear to be a function of burial depth. The Mesozoic formations thicken towards the basin centre (NNE direction), reflecting the general pattern of increasing thermal maturity north of Sabine Peninsula. However, the regional thermal-maturation pattern of the Mesozoic is not solely a reflection of the present-day geothermal gradient, which indicates that anomalous zones of high geothermal gradient may have existed in the past, at least since when the Mesozoic sediments attained maximum burial depth. The contour pattern of the regional variation of maturity at the base of numerous Triassic formations is similar to that of the structural contours of the Sverdrup Basin, indicating that present-day maturation levels are largely controlled by basin subsidence.     

江汉盆地ZL钻孔微量元素含量的粒度效应与环境意义

江汉盆地是长江出三峡后第一个大型卸载区,近2.77 Ma以来堆积了近300m的碎屑沉积物,主要由河流相和湖沼相组成,形成了多个沉积旋回。选择江汉盆地中心位置的ZL钻孔,利用ICP-MS方法展开微量元素组成分析,细粒组分中微量元素含量与各粒组含量相关性并不明显,主要是5~7粒级组分表现出微弱的相关性.可见,粒度并非ZL钻孔微量元素丰度的主控因素。钻孔岩心中大部分亲石元素、亲硫元素相对上部陆壳均出现明显富集,亲铁元素总体低于上部陆壳,可能与江汉盆地总体上更多地接受了来自上游而非扬子古陆本地深源物质风化碎屑沉积有关。Sr、V/Ni和Sr/Ba值的变化则表明江汉盆地在2.6~2.43 Ma B.P.时可能有咸化湖的发育,而在2.1 Ma B.P.左右存在过一段大湖发育期。