太平洋西北平顶海山上环礁型碳酸盐建造与白垩纪赤道洋流

深海钻探揭示构成环礁的浅水碳酸盐建隆覆盖沉积在太平洋西北部平顶海山之上。相对于现今珊瑚藻类生物构成的环礁而言,白垩纪和古新世孤立的环礁的四周边缘生物含量甚少,造礁能力下降。这些环礁浅水碳酸盐沉积在火山基座的顶部,在Albian初期、Albian末期、Maastrichtian晚期和始新世中期发生沉没。早期研究认为这些碳酸盐体系经历了地面暴露阶段以及随后的海侵淹没阶段。然而,一个事实是,环礁沉没仅发生在当太平洋板块背负着平顶海山向北漂移过程中,并且是经过南纬7°以后。几个不同的假说用来解释该时期环礁沉没现象,包括环礁暴露、喀斯特化、地面侵蚀、增强赤道上升洋流、缺氧和/或者富营养的浑浊水的出现等。文中在太平洋平顶海山深海钻孔的沉积、生物地层和古纬度数据综合研究基础上,提出一种新模式用于解释晚白垩世—古新世浅水碳酸盐建造的沉没。与以前的模式不同的是,文中提出,这些晚白垩世—古新世“环礁”之所以发生沉没,原因是受到原始环南赤道洋流(pSEC)的影响,导致一种对分泌碳酸盐的生物不利环境的产生。而且,当这些平顶海山漂移到南纬5°时,即赤道古纬度带,许多浅水碳酸盐建造之上,铁锰结核开始沉积。同时,平顶海山下沉到溶解氧极小层(海平面之下400~1 100 m)和原始环南赤道中层洋流( pEI     

Potential of time‐lapse photography of snow for hydrological purposes at the small catchment scale

Time‐lapse photography provides an attractive source of information about snow cover characteristics, especially at the small catchment scale. The objective of this study was to design and test a monitoring system, which allows multi‐resolution observations of snow cover characteristics. The main aim was to simultaneously investigate the spatio‐temporal patterns of snow cover, snow depth and snowfall interception in the area very close to the camera, and the spatio‐temporal patterns of snow cover in the far range. The multi‐resolution design was tested at three sites in the eastern part of the Austrian Alps (Hochschwab‐Rax region). Digital photographs were taken at hourly time steps between 6:00 and 18:00 in the period November, 2004 to December, 2006. The results showed that the time‐lapse photography allows effective mapping of the snow depths at high temporal resolution in the region close to the digital camera at many snow stake locations. It is possible to process a large number of photos by using an automatic procedure for accurate snow depth readings. The digital photographs can also be used to infer the settling characteristics of the snow pack and snow interception during the day. Although it is not possible to directly estimate the snow interception mass, the photos may indeed give very useful information on the snow processes on and beneath the forest canopy. The main advantage of using time‐lapse photography in the far range of the digital camera is to observe the spatio‐temporal patterns of snow cover over different landscape configurations. The results illustrate that digital photographs can be very useful for parameterising processes such as sloughing on steep slopes, snow deposition in gullies and snow erosion on mountain ridges in a distributed snow model. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds: Distribution, Lithostratigraphy and Paleoenvironments

Cretaceous oceanic red beds (CORBs) represented by red shales and marls, were deposited during the Cretaceous and early Paleocene, predominantly in the Tethyan realm, in lower slope and abyssal basin environments. Detailed studies of CORBs are rare; therefore, we compiled CORBs data from deep sea ocean drilling cores and outcrops of Cretaceous rocks subaerially exposed in southern Europe, northwestern Germany, Asia and New Zealand. In the Tethyan realm, CORBs mainly consist of reddish or pink shales, limestones and marlstones. By contrast, marlstones and chalks are rare in deep-ocean drilling cores. Upper Cretaceous marine sediments in cores from the Atlantic Ocean are predominantly various shades of brown, reddish brown, yellowish brown and pale brown in color. A few red, pink, yellow and orange Cretaceous sediments are also present. The commonest age of CORBs is early Campanian to Maastrichtian, with the onset mostly of oxic deposition often after Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs), during the early Aptian, late Albian-early Turonian and Campanian. This suggests an indicated and previously not recognized relationship between OAEs, black shales deposition and CORBs. CORBs even though globally distributed, are most common in the North Atlantic and Tethyan realms, in low to mid latitudes of the northern hemisphere; in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean in the mid to high latitudes of the southern hemisphere; and are less frequent in the central Pacific Ocean. Their widespread occurrence during the late Cretaceous might have been the result of establishing a connection for deep oceanic current circulation between the Pacific and the evolving connection between South and North Atlantic and changes in oceanic basins ventilation.     

Biostratigraphy of a Paleocene-Eocene Foreland Basin boundary in southern Tibet

<正>This study of the Paleocene—Eocene boundary within a foreland basin of southern Tibet, which was dominated by a carbonate ramp depositional environment,documents more complex environmental conditions than can be derived from studies of the deep oceanic environment.Extinction rates for larger foraminiferal species in the Zongpu-1 Section apply to up to 46%of the larger foraminiferal taxa. The extinction rate in southern Tibet is similar to rates elsewhere in the world,but it shows that the Paleocene fauna disappeared stepwise through the Late Paleocene,with Eocene taxa appearing abruptly above the boundary.A foraminifera turnover was identified between Members 3 and 4 of the Zongpu Formation—from the Miscellanea—Daviesina assemblage to an Orbitolites—Alveolina assemblage.The Paleocene and Eocene boundary is between the SBZ 4 and SBZ 5,where it is marked by the extinction of Miscellanea miscella and the first appearance of Alveolina ellipsodalis and a large number of Orbitolites. Chemostratigraphically,theδ~(13)C values from both the Zongpu-1 and Zongpu-2 Sections show three negative excursions in the transitional strata,one in Late Paleocene,one at the boundary,and one in the early Eocene.The second negative excursion ofδ~(13),which is located at the P—E boundary,coincides with larger foraminifera overturn.These faunal changes and the observedδ~(13)C negative excursions provide new evidence on environmental changes across the Paleocene—Eocene boundary in Tibet.     

Late Cretaceous paleoenvironment and lake level fluctuation in the Songliao Basin,northeastern China

Study of Late Cretaceous lacustrine sedimentary strata in the eastern Songliao Basin, China revealed that the paleoclimate was relatively arid and hot during sedimentation of the upper Santonian of the Yaojia Formation, but became relatively humid and warm during deposition of the lower Campanian Nenjiang Formation. The upper Yaojia Formation was deposited in a freshwater lake environment, while the lower Nenjiang Formation was deposited in a slightly brackish to brackish environment. The average total organic carbon content in the upper Yaojia Formation is 0.15%, while the hydrogen index is 36 mg_HC/g_TOC, implying poor source rock for oil generation and the organic matter comprised of a mixture of woody and herbaceous organic matter. In contrast, the hydrogen index of oil shale and black shale of the lower Nenjiang Formation is 619 mg_HC/g_TOC, and total organic carbon content on average is 3.37%, indicating a mixed algae and herbaceous source of kerogen and an increase in aquatic bioproductivity. The black shale and oil shale have low Pristane/Phytane and C₂₉ 5α,14α,17α(H) ? stigmastane 20R/(20R + 20S) ratios, with maximum concentration of n‐alkanes at n‐C₂₃, implying an anoxic depositional environment with algae, bacteria and higher plants providing most of the organic matter. Relatively abundant gammacerane and a higher Sr/Ba ratio in the oil shales suggest the presence of brackish water and development of salinity stratification in the lake. During sedimentation of the upper Yaojia through the lower Nenjiang Formations, the level of Songliao lake increased and a deep‐lake environment was formed with bottom waters being oxygen depleted. Concomitantly, as the lake deepened bottom conditions were changing from oxic to anoxic, and the input of organic matter changed from predominantly higher plants to a mixture of bacteria, algae and higher plants providing favorable conditions for oil source rock accumulation.     

Geophysical studies of the Montagnais impact crater,Canada

Abstract— The 45-km diameter Montagnais impact structure, Nova Scotia, Canada, is characterized by a positive, circular 8 mGal gravity anomaly associated with its central uplift. The negative gravity anomaly, which is expected for a complex crater of this size, is not observed within the structure, and magnetic data lack any well-defined, crater-related signature. The absence of a negative gravity anomaly implies that no low-density zone generally related to fracturing and brecciation exists. Since Montagnais appears well preserved, this zone has not been removed by erosion. Its formation may have been impeded due to the lack of competency in the target rocks. The crater was formed in a shallow marine environment where the lack of strength in the unconsolidated sediments may have prevented the preservation of voids and fractures that cause a negative gravity anomaly as observed over other impact craters. Additionally, the efficient absorption of impact energy by unconsolidated target material may have inhibited fracture/void development. Although the gravity signature of impact craters formed on land is well known, structures occurring in unconsolidated target material, such as continental shelf environments, constitute another signature that should also be recognized.     

Latest marine horizon north of Qomolangma (Mt Everest): implications for closure of Tethys seaway and collision tectonics

The newly discovered marine horizon at Zhepure Syncline, north of Qomolangma, revises timing of the closure of the eastern Neo-Tethys seaway in the central Himalayas. The marine Pengqu Formation conformably overlies a Lutetian shallow-water carbonate platform and comprises shales interbedded with sandstones deposited in a neritic shelf environment. The strata are dated by nannofossils and foraminifera as late early Lutetian to late Priabonian age (NP15–NP20, deposited ≈ 47–34 Ma), indicating that the final closure of the Tethys seaway in this region occurred at ∼ 34 Ma. The newly discovered strata provide evidence about emplacement of a major thrust sheet south of southern Tibet prior to ∼ 37 Ma, which affected the regional climate.