Transient, longitudinal, sedimentary furrows in the York River subestuary, Chesapeake Bay: Furrow evolution and effects on seabed mixing and sediment transport

Sedimentary furrows in fine-grained sediments have been observed in a variety of settings ranging from the deep ocean and deep lake bottoms to shallow estuaries and are commonly described as persistent, long-term features of the seabed. A series of 12 sidescan sonar surveys over the course of three years reveal that transient, longitudinal sedimentary furrows regularly form and then occasionally dissipate within the middle portion of the York River. Varying furrow morphologies were observed depending on current conditions, ranging from large regularly space (0.7–7 m) linear furrows during low current conditions to large patches of meandering furrows as the mean current increases or no bed forms during the higher current conditions. Based on²¹⁰Pb and¹³⁷Cs profiles of kasten cores, differences in physical mixing depths of ∼25 cm between cores collected <2 m apart indicate a high degree of small-scale spatial heterogeneity within the seabed. By documenting the position of kasten cores using a digital sidescan sonar system, we showed that a core taken within a furrow had a mixing depth 15 cm shallower than an adjacent core taken between furrows. A time-series of mixing depths over the 35 mo of the study reveals that, along with the ∼25 cm scale differences in mixing depths due to the formation and destruction of furrows, there is a longer temporal signal of mixing producing 100-cm-scale changes in mixing depths on the annual to interannual time frame. Although the formation and destruction of the furrows appear to be a significant process contributing to decimeter-scale seabed mixing, there is a longer-term unknown process which is controlling the meter-scale seabed mixing.     

四川南部古宋下二叠统的双切尾虫(三叶虫)

本文研究的双切尾虫Ditomopyge是一个新种,定名为四川双切尾虫Ditomopyge sichuanensis (sp.nov),标本产自四川南部古宋下二叠统铜矿溪组。该组过去很少发现三叶虫化石,故四川双切尾虫的发现,不仅对铜矿溪组的划分、对比提供了可靠的三叶虫化石依据,而且对研究双切尾虫的地质地理分布,提供了新的化石资料。     

Sedimentary conditions and deposits of Akimiski Strait,James Bay,Canada

Akimiski Strait is a wide (17–20 km), shallow, emergent (0.70 cm per century) waterway in James Bay. It is localized in a saddle of a Paleozoic reef track, which has been enhanced and molded by Pleistocene glaciers. Drumlinoid ridges form the till cores of shoals and islets of the strait. The boundary conditions of the strait change throughout the year, as it is covered by ice for six months. During spring break-up the strait remains clogged with ice at its northern approach for several weeks, and acts as a large tidal inlet. It is during this period that most of the fluvial sediments are carried to sea. Other sediments are obtained by erosion of the Pleistocene tills and Holocene subtidal clays and silts exposed in nearshore areas. Resuspension of nearshore material is achieved through the action of wind-driven, short choppy waves and ice scour. Tides are the most important process for the redistribution of sediments along the coast, both flooding onshore and flooding and ebbing into and out from the strait generating locally powerful (2 m s^?1) reversing currents. Ice rafting and ice pushing are important processes in this frigid environment, particularly in upwind sides of shaols, and at/or near river mouths.Different intertidal sedimentary sequences develop as functions of sediment supply and exposure of the environments to ice, currents and waves. The eastern shores and the southern shoals of the strait develop pebble lags over till, covered by thin (5–20 cm) drapes of silty sand trapped and protected from erosion by algae. In these shores and in emerging small islands significant sedimentation (1–1.5 m thick) occurs in the marshes where the suspended load of tidal waters is trapped by vegetation. The western shores of the strait receive considerable amounts of sediment from large rivers and are affected by strong tidal longshore currents. Thick (3–4 m) and narrow tidal flats and marshes develop on the maincoast. The shoals of the northern part of the strait have characteristic sediments. Those near the western shore have thin (up to 80 cm) tidal silty sand deposits, locally heavily burrowed by Macoma balthica. Those strung across the northern approach to the strait have well-developed, thin, coarse sand dune fields, indicating a prevalent ebb flow out of the strait.     

Rip currents as a geological tool

This paper considers the nature and sedimentary significance of rip currents. Rip currents are the main factor responsible for the transport of coarse sediments from the littoral zone to greater depths. Such sediments, deposited outside the zone of wave deformation, may be identified as storm rip current increments within sediments deposited during fair weather. Composite beds deposited during a given wave cycle by storm rip currents are closely similar to ‘turbidites’ and many so called ‘fluxo-turbidites’ described from flysch deposits. Using data gathered in studies conducted on the modern Baltic coast, supplemented by experimental work and theoretical considerations, a sedimentary model is proposed. The model may be used to interpret possible rip current deposits among shallow water ‘turbidites’, and both modern storm sediments and ancient ‘tempestites’.     

The morphodynamics and internal structure of intertidal fine-gravel dunes: Hills Flats,Severn Estuary,UK

In the macrotidal Severn estuary, UK, the dynamics of intertidal fine-gravel dunes were investigated. These dunes are migrating across a bedrock platform. Systematic observations were made of hydraulic climate, geometry, migration rates and internal sedimentary structures of the dunes. During spring tides, the ebb flow is dominant, dunes grow in height and have ebb orientated geometry with bedrock floors in the troughs. During neap tides, a weak flood flow may dominate. Dunes then are flood orientated or symmetrical. Neap dune heights decrease and the eroded sediment is stored in the dune troughs where the bedrock becomes blanketed by muddy gravel. During spring tides, instantaneous bed shear stresses reach 8 N m^− 2, sufficient to disrupt a 9 mm-gravel armour layer. However, a sustained bed shear stress of 4 N m^− 2 is required to initiate dune migration at which time the critical depth-mean velocity is 1 m s^− 1. Ebb and flood inequalities in the bed shear stress explain the changes in dune asymmetry and internal structures. During flood tides, the crests of the dunes reverse such that very mobile sedimentary ‘caps’ overlie a more stable dune ‘core’. Because ebb tides dominate, internal structures of the caps often are characterised by ebb orientated steep open-work foresets developed by strong tidal currents and some lower angle crossbeds deposited as weaker currents degrade foresets. The foresets forming the caps may be grouped into cosets (tidal bundles) and are separated from mud-infused cores of crossbeds that lie below, by reactivation and erosion surfaces blanketed by discontinuous mud drapes. The cores often exhibit distinctive muddy toe sets that define the spacing of tidal cosets.     

Large earthquake‐triggered liquefaction mounds and a carbonate sand volcano in the Mesoproterozoic Wumishan Formation,Beijing, North China

Ten well‐preserved, earthquake‐triggered liquefaction mounds and a carbonate sand volcano have been found in the Mesoproterozoic Wumishan Formation (1550–1400 Ma) in the Beijing area, North China. These features crop out in a roadcut near Zhuanghuwa Village. All ten mounds occur in the same sedimentary layer and have rounded shapes with some concentric and radial fissures arising from the centre. They range from 1.5 to 4 m in diameter and from 10 cm to 30 cm in height. The carbonate sand volcano has a diameter of 110 cm and the ‘crater’ at the top has a depth of about 30 cm. Associated with these mounds and the sand volcano are many ‘normal’ sedimentary structures and numerous soft‐sediment deformation structures. The former include ripple marks, cross‐bedding, stromatolites and desiccation cracks, indicating deposition in a stable shallow‐water peritidal platform environment. The latter include intrastratal faults and folds, seismically formed breccias and carbonate clastic dykes. The morphological features and the genesis of these liquefaction mounds are very similar to mounds formed recently by the great Wenchuan Earthquake of China (2008). Detailed thin‐section study of the mounds found no signs of any kind of biological constructional process; instead it reveals some obvious fluidification and liquefaction characteristics. Comparative studies have shown that these features are probably the products of Mesoproterozoic earthquake activity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rank exposure index on a Silurian carbonate tidal flat

Adequate discrimination between ancient intertidal and supratidal limestones and dolomites is often difficult because of vagueness of terms, problems of resolution, and the fact that most ‘diagnostic’sedimentary features are not restricted to narrow environmental zones. Furthermore, the rise and fall of sea-level in restricted, epeiric seas is usually due more to storm surges than to true tides, and hence the occurrence and extent of tidal-flat inundations are quite irregular. ‘Rank exposure index’is a concept introduced (1) to quantify the relative percentage of time that sediments are subaerially exposed and (2) to produce a more refined subdivision of shoreline carbonate rocks. The scheme employed to determine this index is a combination of numerical methods: cluster analysis separates 46 Tonoloway Limestone samples (Silurian of Maryland) into groups based on 16 sedimentary, mineralogic, and organic features, and minimum spanning tree produces a connected series of the five resultant groups. These groups are then ranked in sequence from 1 (greatest subaerial exposure) to 5 (least). Rocks of rank 1 are thought to have been deposited at the highest position within the tidal zone, as on a beach ridge. Rocks of decreasing rank reflect greater frequency of flooding. Those of rank 5 represent sediments deposited closest to low-water level, as in a tidal pond. Rock type, mineralogy, fossil content, algal stromatolites, and sedimentary structures are closely related to exposure rank as interpreted for the Tonoloway carbonates. Rank exposure index, therefore, is a semi-quantitative measure to aid in the detailed reconstruction of ancient shoreline environments.     

Coarse-grained sediment gravity flow facies in a large supraglacial lake

Near Williams Lake, in the central interior of British Columbia, the Fraser River exposes long sections of late Pleistocene glaciolacustrine sediments selectively preserved within a bedrock trough. The dominant facies types are thick, normally graded gravels and sands that occupy steeply dipping multistorey channels up to 300 m wide and several tens of metres deep. Channels appear to have been simultaneously cut and filled by high density turbidity currents in a glacial lake floored by stagnant ice. Fining upward sediment gravity flow sequences up to 50 m thick may be the product of quasi-continuous ‘surging’ turbidity flows triggered by catastrophic meltwater discharges into the trough or retrogressive failure of ice-cored sediments. Large-scale post-depositional deformation structures, such as synclinal folds, normal faults, sedimentary dyke swarms and dewatering structures, record gravitational foundering of sediment and pore-water expulsion caused by the melt of underlying glacier ice. Melting of buried ice masses along the floor of the trough appears to have controlled the flow paths of turbidity currents by producing sub-basins within the overlying sediment pile. An idealized model of ‘supraglacial’ lacustrine sedimentation is developed that may be applicable to other glaciated areas with similar bedrock topography.     

Sedimentary architecture of a canyon-style fairway feeding a deep-water clastic system,the Miocene Cingöz Formation,southern Turkey: significance for reservoir characterisation and modelling

The sedimentary architecture of a submarine canyon-fill supplying sediment to a deep-water fan system in the Adana Basin, southern Turkey is described and quantified. The canyon is at least 9-km long, 3–4-km wide, asymmetric in cross-section and has an exposed fill, 360-m thick consisting of sands and gravels deposited in sheets across the entire width of the canyon. Normal graded and nongraded pebbly sandstones reflecting deposition from both waning and waxing high-density turbidity currents dominate these deposits. Facies are identified and correlated between closely spaced sedimentary logs. A hierarchy of bedding scales is recognised, ranging from individual beds and their sedimentary structures through 3–21-m-thick packages of beds to 100+m thick major units. This hierarchy provides the framework for computer-generated 3D models where sandstone bodies and facies are stochastically modelled to provide a better understanding of the internal sedimentary architecture within similar types of canyons in subsurface or in areas of poor exposure.     

Aeolian origin and palaeoclimatic implications of the ‘red clay’ (north China) as evidenced by grain‐size distribution

The ‘Red Clay’ is an important deposit underlying the Quaternary loess–palaeosol sequence in the Chinese Loess Plateau, being regarded as an excellent record of palaeoclimate changes in the late Tertiary. Several properties of the ‘Red Clay’ have been measured previously in order to derive climatic information. However, the sedimentary processes involved and the origin of the materials remain controversial. Here we present results of grain‐size analyses of the ‘Red Clay’ from four representative sites in the Chinese Loess Plateau. In particular their grain‐size distribution is compared with that of typical Quaternary aeolian loess–palaeosol, as well as lacustrine and fluvial sediments. It appears from the sedimentological evidence that the major part of the ‘Red Clay’ is of aeolian origin. It is rather similar in some of its properties to the Quaternary loessic palaeosols. The dust forming the ‘Red Clay’ was transported by a wind system that was weaker than that involved in the accretion of the Quaternary loess. Furthermore, the ‘Red Clay’ sediment has been modified by post‐depositional weathering. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

东非鲁伍马盆地窄陆架背景下的深水沉积体系

通过岩心、钻井、地震等资料以及物源分析,详细研究了东非鲁伍马盆地构造及沉积演化特征,初步提出了研究区窄陆架背景之下的沉积体系模式。研究认为,鲁伍马盆地陆坡较陡峭且峡谷水道非常发育,而深海平原地形趋于平缓,这有利于形成大型海底扇沉积体系。鲁伍马盆地沉积主要受控于鲁伍马河水系,尤其从渐新世开始受区域隆升影响,导致盆地西缘遭受抬升剥蚀,沉积物源供应充足,加之鲁伍马河水系较为发育,并伴随全球性海退,形成了庞大的向海推进的鲁伍马三角洲沉积体系,这也为海底扇的发育提供了丰富的物源,使得研究区发育了鲁伍马三角洲—水道—海底扇复合沉积体系。     

Provenance and sediment characteristics of contemporary gravel deposits at Sellicks Beach,eastern shore of Gulf St Vincent,South Australia

Sellicks Beach, located on the eastern shore of Gulf St Vincent, South Australia, is subject to wave-dominated processes and northward longshore transport. During winter, when wave energy is typically vigorous, gravel deposits are exposed across most of the beach, and three step-like berms are well developed. Sand is restricted to a narrow strip that is exposed only at low tide. In contrast, during summer, when wave energy is generally moderate to low, much of the gravel is covered by a thin veneer of sand and only the high berm, on the landward edge of the beach, remains as an obvious feature. Steeply dipping Neoproterozoic to Cambrian strata that outcrop strongly across Sellicks Hill are the original source rocks for the beach gravel; distinctive sedimentary textures, structures and fossils in the cobble-size clasts can be confidently matched with those of the provenance rocks. Much of the sediment entered the modern beach environment as a consequence of coastal erosion of transitional alluvial fan sediments. The oldest alluvial fan sediments are of late Pliocene to earliest Pleistocene age. Mount Terrible Gully provides a conduit for the input of fluvial sediment at the mouth of Cactus Canyon, where clasts as large as boulders accumulate across the beach. Sellicks Beach gravels are subject to longshore transport northwards. Relatively softer clasts, such as those derived from the Heatherdale Shale, are rare beyond Cactus Canyon. In contrast, quartzite clasts are more abundant towards the north. This lithological differentiation is attributed to preferential survivorship of clasts that are physically harder and chemically less reactive. The change in the shapes of clasts northwards, from predominately shingle-like ‘very platy’ and ‘very bladed’ at Cactus Canyon, to more ‘compact’ towards the boat ramp, is in accord with the more massive fabric of the surviving quartzite clasts. At Sellicks Beach, preservation of uplifted, coarse gravels, with entire and comminuted marine molluscan shells, of last interglacial age, provides evidence of neotectonism. At the landward margin of the beach, imbricated gravels in which pore spaces have been infilled with mud, and which show no evidence of modern coastal erosion, may provide evidence of continuing uplift during the recent Holocene. The geological setting, geomorphic framework and modern sedimentary regime at Sellicks Beach combine to provide an exceptionally useful outdoor laboratory for education in field geology.     

沟灌土壤水分运动数值模拟与入渗模型

为进一步探明沟灌二维土壤水分运动规律,以非饱和土壤水分运动理论为基础,建立了沟灌土壤水分运动数学模型,用多组试验资料对模型模拟结果进行验证,两者基本吻合,表明模型可用于模拟沟灌二维土壤水分入渗过程.用所建模型对不同因素组合下沟灌土壤湿润体特性进行模拟分析,结果表明:土壤初始含水率、沟间距对沟灌累积入渗量影响较小,土壤质地、容重、沟底宽和沟中水深对其影响较为显著;沟底宽、土壤初始含水率对土壤湿润体水分分布影响较小,土壤质地、容重对其影响较大,沟间距、沟中水深对其影响主要在零通量面附近,当入渗发生交汇后,零通量面处垂向湿润锋运移加快.以此为基础,建立了包含湿周在内的沟灌累积入渗量计算模型.     

Controls on Holocene deep‐water sedimentation in the northern Gioia Basin,Tyrrhenian Sea

The northern Gioia Basin of the south‐east Tyrrhenian Sea is a slope basin, ～ 20 km wide and ～ 50 km long, with a bathymetry of ≤ 1300 m, bounded by the Calabro‐Sicilian landmass and the Aeolian Island Arc. Coarse sediment is supplied from the Calabrian margin, where the shelf is very narrow to non‐existent, whereas the wider shelf on the Sicilian margin prevents supply by storing river‐fed sediments. The basin is dominated by the Gioia–Mesima canyon/channel system paralleled by a tongue‐shaped depositional lobe. Multibeam bathymetric surveys, sea floor reflectivity data and airgun seismic profiles reveal the recent evolution of the submarine system. Slope canyons and basin‐floor levéed channels formed where major rivers built deltas at the shelfless Calabrian margin and strong hyperpycnal flows predominated. The channels are a few hundred metres wide and a few tens of metres deep, with a downslope change from a straight to meandering pattern where the slope gradient decreases from 3·2% to 1·7%. The Mesima Channel has its lower segment abandoned because of avulsion and crevasse‐splay formation at an upslope bend. The adjacent Gioia Channel has had its upper segment straightened and lower segment entrenched because of erosional deepening of the Stromboli Valley into which it debouches and which acts as the local base level. Overbank features include levées, coalescent splays and ‘yazoo’ channels; their nature and surface characteristics depend upon the magnitude and sediment grain‐size of spill‐over flows. On an adjoining narrow shelf sliver of the Calabrian margin, in contrast, the coalescing plumes of sediment suspension supplied by an array of smaller coastal streams were apparently spilling over the shelf edge, scouring a funnel‐shaped bypass depression with chutes and forming an elongate, non‐channellized depositional lobe at the slope base. The study demonstrates the impact of sediment source type, shelf width, basin‐floor gradient and base‐level change on the style of deep‐water sedimentation.     

Flow properties of turbidity currents in Bute Inlet, British Columbia

Bute Inlet, a fiord along the southwestern coast of British Columbia, Canada, includes a sea-floor sedimentation system 70 km in length which resembles those developed on some large submarine fans. Turbidity currents originate at the head of the flord on the submerged delta fronts of the Homathko and Southgate rivers. They move downslope for about 30 km within a single large incised channel, spill onto a depositional area termed the channel lobe complex, and finally spread out over a low-relief distal splay area that passes 55 km downslope into a flat basin floor. During the present study, turbidity currents in Bute Inlet were studied using sea-floor morphology, bottom sediment distribution, and in-situ instrument packages. The mean velocities of the most recent flows, estimated from surface sediment grain size, has varied between 100–120 cm s^–1 in the incised channel, 20–50 cms^–1 in the channel lobe complex, and < 5 cm s^–1 on the basin floor. Velocities based on channel morphology are poorly constrained but are in the range of 160-425 cm s^–1 in the upper part of the incised channel and 66 cm s^–1 in the lower channel. Calculated flow densities range from 1.049 to 1.028g cm^–3. Turbidity flows monitored in 1986 using submerged instrument packages exceeded 32 m in thickness in the upper part of the incised channel, where the maximum measured velocity was 330 cm s^–1. At the head of the channel lobe complex the maximum velocity had declined to 75 cm s^–1. The density of the monitored flows is estimated at 1.025-1.03g cm^–3. The cored sediments and channel morphology yield estimates of mean flow velocities that are generally greater than those measured by the in-situ instrument packages and estimated from modern surface sediments. The former suggest past flow velocities up to 500 cm s^–1 in the incised channel, about 20 cm s^–1 in spillover deposits along the lower part of the incised channel, and 100-140 cm s^–1 in the distal splay. The contrast between the velocities of modern and past flows suggests that past flows may have been considerably larger and more energetic than those presently occurring in Bute Inlet. The size properties of sediments in the monitored turbidity flows suggest a strong vertical size gradient in the suspended load during transport. The surface and cored sediments fine downslope from the channel lobe complex to distal splay area. Distinctive sedimentary sequences are recognized in cores from the spillover lobes, channel lobe complex, distal splay, and basin floor depositional areas. Many individual turbidites grade downslope from massive T_a divisions in the channel lobe complex and probably in the incised channel to T_a divisions overlain by slurried divisions on the distal splay and largely slurried beds on the basin floor. These facies suggest that individual currents commonly evolve from largely cohesionless suspensions in the incised channel and channel lobe complex to dilute cohesive slurries downslope on the distal splay and basin floor. Many flows in Bute Inlet fail to develop a traction state of sedimentation and the resulting turbidites lack well-developed T_b. T_c, and T_d divisions.     

Fine‐grained agglutinated elongate columnar stromatolites: Tieling Formation,ca 1420 Ma,North China

The Mesoproterozoic Tieling Formation, near Jixian, northern China, contains thick beds of vertically branched, laterally elongate, columnar stromatolites. Carbonate mud is the primary component of both the stromatolites and their intervening matrix. Mud abundance is attributed to water column ‘whiting’ precipitation stimulated by cyanobacterial photosynthesis. Neomorphic microspar gives the stromatolites a ‘streaky’ microfabric and small mud flakes are common in the matrix. The columns consist of low‐relief, mainly non‐enveloping, laminae that show erosive truncation and well‐defined repetitive lamination. In plan view, the columns form disjunct elongate ridges <10 cm wide separated by narrow matrix‐filled runnels. The stromatolite surfaces were initially cohesive, rather than rigid, and prone to scour, and are interpreted as current aligned microbial mats that trapped carbonate mud. The pervasive ridge–runnel system suggests scale‐dependent biophysical feedback between: (i) carbonate mud supply; (ii) current duration, strength and direction; and (iii) growth and trapping by prolific mat growth. Together, these factors determined the size, morphology and arrangement of the stromatolite columns and their laminae, as well as their branching patterns, alignment and ridge–runnel spacing. Ridge–runnel surfaces resemble ripple mark patterns, but whether currents were parallel and/or normal to stromatolite alignment remains unclear. The formation and preservation of Tieling columns required plentiful supply of carbonate mud, mat‐building microbes well‐adapted to cope with this abundant sediment, and absence of both significant early lithification and bioturbation. These factors were time limited, and Tieling stromatolites closely resemble coeval examples in the Belt‐Purcell Supergroup of Laurentia. The dynamic interactions between mat growth, currents and sediment supply that determined the shape of Tieling columns contributed to the morphotypical diversity that characterizes mid–late Proterozoic branched stromatolites.     

Coupled ‘storm‐flood’ depositional model: Application to the Miocene–Modern Baram Delta Province,north‐west Borneo

The Miocene to Modern Baram Delta Province is a highly efficient source to sink system that has accumulated 9 to 12 km of coastal–deltaic to shelf sediments over the past 15 Myr. Facies analysis based on ca 1 km of total vertical outcrop stratigraphy, combined with subsurface geology and sedimentary processes in the present‐day Baram Delta Province, suggests a ‘storm‐flood’ depositional model comprising two distinct periods: (i) fair‐weather periods are dominated by alongshore sediment reworking and coastal sand accumulation; and (ii) monsoon‐driven storm periods are characterized by increased wave‐energy and offshore‐directed downwelling storm flow that occur simultaneously with peak fluvial discharge caused by storm precipitation (‘storm‐floods’). The modern equivalent environment has the following characteristics: (i) humid‐tropical monsoonal climate; (ii) narrow (ca <100 km) and steep (ca 1°), densely vegetated, coastal plain; (iii) deep tropical weathering of a mudstone‐dominated hinterland; (iv) multiple independent, small to moderate‐sized (10² to 10⁵ km²) drainage basins; (v) predominance of river‐mouth bypassing; and (vi) supply‐dominated shelf. The ancient, proximal part of this system (the onshore Belait Formation) is dominated by strongly cyclical sandier‐upward successions (metre to decametre‐scale) comprising (from bottom to top): (i) finely laminated mudstone with millimetre‐scale silty laminae; (ii) heterolithic sandstone–mudstone alternations (centimetre to metre‐scale); and (iii) sharp‐based, swaley cross‐stratified sandstone beds and bedsets (metre to decimetre‐scale). Gutter casts (decimetre to metre‐scale) are widespread, they are filled with swaley cross‐stratified sandstone and their long axes are oriented perpendicular to the palaeo‐shoreline. The gutter casts and other associated waning‐flow event beds suggest that erosion and deposition was controlled by high‐energy, offshore‐directed, oscillatory‐dominated, sediment‐laden combined flows within a shoreface to delta front setting. The presence of multiple river mouths and exceptionally high rates of accommodation creation (characteristic of the Neogene to Recent Baram Delta Province; up to 3000 m Ma⁻¹), in a ‘storm‐flood’‐dominated environment, resulted in a highly efficient and effective offshore‐directed sediment transport system.     

An undulatory discontinuity surface on a gently inclined muddy ramp: possible evidence of secondary helical flow from the geological record

An unusual, somewhat cryptic, undulatory discontinuity has been recognized near the basal contact of the Wanakah Shale Member of the Middle Devonian Ludlowville Formation in western New York. It is in part marked by undulating diagenetic limestone beds and concretionary horizons, but can be traced continuously by subtle surfaces of fossil and pyritic lags. This surface marks the top of parallel, elongate mud ridges trending approximately N-S, perpendicular to the inferred E-W depositional strike of the Appalachian Basin in western New York. These ridges are observed in the field as irregularly spaced mud swells which have up to 1.5 m of relief, and vary from 30 to 50 m or more in width. The intervening, broad, flat‘channel floors’ are characterized by dense concentrations of diminutive brachiopods with gastropods and styliolinids, which are gradually replaced by thin styliolinid horizons with abundant pyrite nodules and pyritized burrows over the tops of the swells. Traceable shelly horizons are observed to pinch out over the swells, suggesting a period of relatively undisturbed sediment-filling following the formation of the channellized surface. The interval of nearly barren shale below this irregular surface, however, contains concretionary horizons and rare styliolinid pavements which are themselves irregular, possibly indicating a changing topography for this surface through time. Previous taphonomic and palaeoecological studies of the lower Wanakah Shale Member have disclosed a well-defined regressive-transgressive cycle with more subtle superimposed subcycles. The undulatory surface described here occurs within the early regressive part of this cycle, and appears to record an accentuated regressive kick of a lower-order subcycle. The formation of this surface is therefore interpreted to be a consequence of regressive submarine erosion and sediment bypass, together with redeposition from suspension. The development of the‘channels’ and parallel longitudinal mud ridges was probably controlled by helical flow cells within offshore-directed bottom currents. They may be the first recorded instance of sedimentary furrows described from the geological record. Taphonomic and biofacies data indicate relative depths below average storm wave-base, suggesting that sediment winnowing and redeposition occurred at depths only rarely affected by the direct impact of storm wave agitation.     

Sedimentary geochemistry of hydrothermal vents in Guaymas Basin,Gulf of California,Mexico

Surface sediments from 4 contrasting environmental settings in the Southern Trough of Guaymas Basin were analysed to determine their texture, total organic matter (TOM), P (TP), and N (TN) content as well as the spatial variation in their C:N:P atomic ratios in hydrothermally altered sediments. Particle size analysis revealed a marked spatial heterogeneity among sites. Cores taken at Beggiatoa bacterial mats and at clam fields contained significant silt and clay content, while those obtained near venting sites had sand and gravel as the main components because no fine sedimentary materials are deposited at these sites. Fine grain sediments were common farther away from vents. High levels of organic C (3.4 to 12.4%) were recorded in the upper 8 cm but no clear trends of decreasing TOC with depth were noted. The presence of hydrothermally generated petroleum in some cores increased the organic C content between 8 and 12 cm. TN was generally high (456.3–4356 μg/g) and sustained a significant correlation with TOM (r=0.834, P<0.005). TP is essentially of lithogenic origin and reached concentrations greater than those normally reported in productive coastal areas (1165 μg/g) in the Gulf of California. A marked increase with depth was noted for this parameter. High C:N:P atomic ratios were estimated. These had vertical and horizontal gradients decreasing in the upper 4 cm, and then slightly increasing in intermediate strata. Organic matter enrichment at venting sites results in high C:N:P ratios (2130:25:1–2692:57:1) which are 5-fold greater than the values estimated at sedimentary environments where Beggiatoa or vesicomyd clams are predominant.     

A tectonic escape model for the formation of sedimentary basins in the Yangzhou block of the Lower Yangtze Region,Eastern China

This paper presents a tectonic escape model for the formation of sedimentary basins in the Yangzhou Block of the Lower Yangtze Region, Eastern China. Nine sedimentary basins are identified in which the Pukou Formation of the Upper Cretaceous has been deposited. From south to north, the nine sedimentary basins are named: Wangjing, Qianshan, Wuwei, Nanxuan, Changzhou, Jurong, Nanjing, Quanjiao and Subei basins. They form a wedge-shape fragment (the Yangzhou Block) occupying an area of 100,000 km² in the Lower Yangtze Region. The two side boundaries of the Yangzhou Block are the strike-slip Tanlu Fault and the strike-slip Quangjiao–Xiangshui Fault on the northwest and the strike-slip Qingyang–Nantong Fault on the southeast. The wide end of the wedge faces the Southern Yellow Sea in the northeast and the narrow end contacts the Dabie Block in the southwest.During the Early Mesozoic, collision between the Yangtze Block and the North China Block resulted in the formation of the Qinling–Dabie Orogenic Belt and caused the Lower Yangtze Region to become a foreland basin with many strike-slip faults. During the Late Mesozoic, wide spread extension in Eastern China and shortening in Qinling/Dabie Shan and in the Huaying Shan region resulted following establishment of an Andean-type arc margin to the east of the Southern Yellow Sea area, when ‘Greater Japan’ collided with Asia. Consequently, the wedge-shaped Yangzhou Block escaped tectonically toward the northeast and formed distinctive geological features in nine sedimentary basins during Pukou time in the Late Cretaceous. These geological features are reflected in basin spatial distributions, basin geometries, sedimentary facies, sediment thicknesses, sedimentary environments, and the petrology of fanglomerates and sandstones. These basins are part of a large population of arc-crestal rifts formed on top of that Andean arc.The proposed tectonic escape model could be useful in petroleum exploration and mining in the region.