Ephemeral rollover points and clinothem evolution in the modern Po Delta based on repeated bathymetric surveys

Reconstructions of ancient delta systems rely typically on a two-dimensional (2D) view of prograding clinothems but may miss their three-dimensional (3D) stratigraphic complexity which can, instead, be best documented on modern delta systems by integrating high-resolution geophysical data, historical cartography, core data and geomorphological reconstructions offshore. We quantitatively compare three precisely positioned, high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry maps in the delta front and pro delta sectors (0.3 to 10 m water depth) of Po di Pila, the most active of the modern Po Delta five branches. By investigating the detailed morphology of the prograding modern Po Delta, we shed new light on the mechanisms that control the topset to foreset transition in clinothems and show the temporal and spatial complexity of a delta and its pro delta slope, under the impact of oceanographic processes. This study documents the ephemeral nature of the rollover point at the transition between sandy topset (fluvial, delta plain to mouth-bar) and muddy seaward-dipping foreset deposits advancing, in this case, in >20 m of water depth. Three multibeam surveys, acquired between 2013 and 2016, document the complexity in space and time of the topset and foreset regions and their related morphology, a diagnostic feature that could not be appreciated using solely 2D, even very high-resolution, seismic profiles. In addition, the comparison of bathymetric surveys gathered with one-year lapses shows the migration of subaqueous sand dunes on the clinothem topset, the formation of ephemeral cut-and-fill features at the rollover point (few m below mean sea level), the presence of collapse depressions derived by sagging of sediments and fluid expulsion (possibly induced by storm waves) on the foreset, and splays of sand likely reflecting gravity flows on the lower foreset. Though the modern Po Delta is anthropogenic in many respects, its subaqueous clinothem can be studied as a scale model for ancient clinothems that are less resolved geometrically and far less constrained chronologically.     

Tidal amplification and along‐strike process variability in a mixed‐energy paralic system prograding onto a low accommodation shelf,Edgeøya,Svalbard

The study describes the depositional development and sediment partitioning in a prograding paralic Triassic succession. The deposits are associated with the advance of large prism‐scale clinoforms across a shallower platform area. Approaching the platform, the limited accommodation and associated relative higher rates of deposition generated straighter clinoforms with lower foreset angles. The vertical restriction across the platform is interpreted to have amplified the tidal signature. Sediment was redistributed from the coast into increasingly sandy delta‐front deposits, compared to offshore equivalents. The deposits comprise extensive compound dune fields of amalgamated and increasingly clean sandbodies up‐section. Rapid deposition of significant amounts of sand led to differential subsidence and growth‐faulting in the delta front, with downthrown fault blocks further amplifying the tidal energy through funnelling. A mixed‐energy environment created along‐strike variability along the delta front with sedimentation governing process‐regime. Areas of lower sedimentation were reworked by wave and storm‐action, whereas high sedimentation rates preserved fluvially dominated mouth bars. A major transgression, however, favoured tidally dominated deposits also in these areas, attributed to increasing rugosity of the coastline. Formation of an extensive subaqueous platform between the coast and delta front dampened incoming wave energy, and tidally dominated deposits dominate the near‐shore successions. Meanwhile formation of wave‐built sand‐bars atop the platform attest to continued wave influence. The strong tidal regime led to the development of a heterolithic near‐shore tidally dominated channel system, and sandier fluvial channels up‐river. The highly meandering tidal channels incising the subaqueous platform form kilometre wide successions of inclined heterolithic stratification. The fluvially dominated channels which govern deposition on the delta plain are narrower and slightly less deep, straighter, generally symmetric and filled with cleaner sands. This study provides important insight into tidal amplification and sand redistribution during shallowing on a wide shelf, along with along‐strike process‐regime variability resulting from variations in sediment influx.     

DEPOSITIONAL CHARACTER AND SHORELINE CHANGES OF THE NANDUJIANG DELTA,HAINAN ISLAND,CHINA

.Introducti0nTheNandujianghiver,withalengthOf3llkIn,adrainageareaof684lkm2andanaverageannunldischargOf60xl09m',isthelargstriveronHainanIsland.IttransportsanaveragannualsedimentloadOfO.68xlO6tonsnorthwdintoQangrhouStrait,wherethetidalrangnisca1.Om,andwavesandlongrhorecurrentsarerelativelystrong.TheNandujiangdeltacoves20OkIn2.ThedePOsitionalSystemOfthedeltaconsistsofrivermouthbars,distribotarymouthbars,marshdepositsfOrmedinbaysandlagoons,sandridges,sandsPitsanddunes.ThedistributionPatt…     

珠江三角洲生物埋葬群与环境变迁

本文将珠江三角洲第四纪环境与现代环境的生物埋葬群进行对照，重建晚更新世中期和全新世中期的古沉积环境，划分出两期的海侵区、海侵波及区、海侵影响区。并对中更新世海侵期表示存疑。     

Reactivation of basement faults: interplay of ice‐sheet advance,glacial lake formation and sediment loading

The Emme Delta is a small glacilacustrine delta, which developed on the southern flank of the Wesergebirge Mountains in NW Germany. Shallow shear‐wave seismic surveys allow a detailed assessment of the structural style of the delta body. Two different fault systems are developed within the delta, both showing syn‐sedimentary activity. The faults have planar to slightly listric geometries and show vertical offsets in a range of 2–15 m. They form small graben and half‐graben systems, which locally show roll‐over structures. The fill of the half‐grabens has a wedge‐shaped geometry, with the greatest sediment thickness close to the fault. The fault system in the upper portion of the Emme Delta is restricted to the delta body and probably gravity induced. In the lower portion of the delta, normal faults occur that originate in the underlying Jurassic basement rocks and penetrate into the delta deposits. The grid of seismic lines shows that the normal faults are trending E–W. This fits to a late Triassic–early Jurassic deformation phase in the Central European Basin System. We hypothese that these faults were reactivated during the Pleistocene by the advancing ice‐sheet, water and sediment loading. Based on the seismic data set, an overall model for the reactivation of the basement fault was developed. The advancing ice‐sheet caused far field extension, which might have reactivated pre‐existing normal faults. Later, the fault activity was enhanced due to sediment and water loading. In addition, high pore pressure due to lake formation might have supported the slip processes along the faults. After glacial unloading and lake drainage, the fault activity stopped.     

Refining the palaeoecology of lacustrine testate amoebae: insights from a plant macrofossil record from a eutrophic Scottish lake

Lakes are common natural systems for which sedimentation is considered to be relatively simple, generally dominated by fluvial processes along the margin and prevailing low-energy settling in the central, deeper parts. However, for many lakes, higher-energy wind-driven processes dominate. As such, a new category of lakes is proposed, herein referred to as wind-driven waterbodies (WWB). WWB display a sedimentation largely dominated by wave related processes and wind-induced lake-scale water circulation evidenced by the construction of beach ridges, spits or cuspate spits along their shorelines, and by sediment drifts, sedimentary shelf progradation and erosional surfaces in their deeper, offshore domains. WWB are observed worldwide, they share a common physiography that favours wind-forced hydrodynamics and related sedimentation patterns. This physiography is expressed by the I_WWB index, a ratio of the maximum representative fetch relative to mean basin depth. It is proposed that an index value greater than three favours the evolution of a lake as a WWB. The WWB concept represents a new end-member in an alternative, sedimentologically-based lake classification that is proposed in this paper.     

Environmental changes in the central Po Plain (northern Italy) due to fluvial modifications and anthropogenic activities

The fluvial environment of the central Po Plain, the largest plain in Italy, is discussed in this paper. Bounded by the mountain chains of the Alps and the Apennines, this plain is a link between the Mediterranean environment and the cultural and continental influences of both western and eastern Europe. In the past decades, economic development has been responsible for many changes in the fluvial environment of the area.This paper discusses the changes in fluvial dynamics that started from Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene due to distinct climatic changes. The discussion is based on geomorphological, pedological, and archaeological evidences and radiocarbon dating.In the northern foothills, Late Pleistocene palaeochannels indicate several cases of underfit streams among the northern tributaries of the River Po. On the other hand, on the southern side of the Po Plain, no geomorphological evidence of similar discharge reduction has been found. Here, stratigraphic sections, together with archaeological remains buried under the fluvial deposits, show a reduction in the size of fluvial sediments after the 10th millennium BC. During the Holocene, fluvial sedimentation became finer, and was characterised by minor fluctuations in the rate of deposition, probably related to short and less intense climatic fluctuations.Given the high rate of population growth and the development of human activities since the Neolithic Age, human influence on fluvial dynamics, especially since the Roman Age, prevailed over other factors (i.e., climate, tectonics, vegetation, etc.). During the Holocene, the most important changes in the Po Plain were not modifications in water discharge but in sediment. From the 1st to 3rd Century AD, land grants to war veterans caused almost complete deforestation, generalised soil erosion, and maximum progradation of the River Po delta. At present, land abandonment in the mountainous region has led to reafforestation. Artificial channel control in the mountain sector of the basins and in-channel gravel extraction (now illegal but very intense in the 1960s and 1970s) are causing erosion along the rivers and along large sectors of the Adriatic coast. These changes are comparable with those occurring in basins of other Mediterranean rivers.     

对珠江三角洲第四纪断裂运动的再认识

编制了珠江三角洲番禺台地东缘第四纪堆积阶地、陆域钻孔及海域地震探测等一系列联合剖面,分析了抬升区、下沉区和海陆之间的沉积差异和控制因素,剖析了地动型和水动型海平面变化对三角洲形成演化的影响,厘清了各组断裂的活动及其对三角洲沉积发育的影响,结果发现北东东向和北北西向2组断裂为珠江三角洲地区的主要活动断裂,它们共轭联动,控制着珠江三角洲沉积的格局和水道的变迁,尤其是北东东向断裂,可能是南海北部大陆架滨海断裂系的组成部分。相比而言,陆域断裂活动性较弱,以缓慢蠕动和断块的差异升降和掀斜为主,海域断裂活动性较强,滨海断裂带是危险性很高的活动大断裂。三角洲其他方向的断裂更新世以来无明显活动。     

Alexander the Great's tombolos at Tyre and Alexandria, eastern Mediterranean

Tyre and Alexandria's coastlines are today characterised by wave-dominated tombolos, peculiar sand isthmuses that link former islands to the adjacent continent. Paradoxically, despite a long history of inquiry into spit and barrier formation, understanding of the dynamics and sedimentary history of tombolos over the Holocene timescale is poor. At Tyre and Alexandria we demonstrate that these rare coastal features are the heritage of a long history of natural morphodynamic forcing and human impacts. In 332 BC, following a protracted seven-month siege of the city, Alexander the Great's engineers cleverly exploited a shallow sublittoral sand bank to seize the island fortress; Tyre's causeway served as a prototype for Alexandria's Heptastadium built a few months later. We report stratigraphic and geomorphological data from the two sand spits, proposing a chronostratigraphic model of tombolo evolution.     

华南与中南半岛三角洲发育特征之比较

韩江、珠江、红河、湄公河、湄南河三角洲同处东亚季风热带。河流丰水少沙,径流强劲, 洪枯流量比值大,洪泛平原和湿地发育,有珊瑚礁和红树林堆积,平原推进速率较大,出海口门多,这些都是热带三角洲的特色。各三角洲的构造基础都是断陷盆地,由于断陷的幅度和时代不相同,故而第四系的厚度和年龄差异很大。受全球海平面变化的影响,末次冰期以来,各三角洲经历了相似的沉积过程,发育3期三角洲。所处位置(湾内或湾外)、滨外陆架坡度、海洋动力等条件,使各三角洲的地貌类型、地面高程、平原推进速率、水下三角洲、水动力类型等有较大的差异。     

海南博螯沿岸地貌与人类活动的潜在影响

The Boao coastal system along the eastern coast of Hainan Island is a dynamic delta-tidal inlet-barrier formed during the late Holocene. The delta developed inside a shallow lagoon barred by a sandy barrier with a narrow, shallow tidal inlet opening. Two major distributary channels separated by small islands characterize the delta. The lagoon is silting up receiving and trapping sediments from both the river and, in minor measure during storms, through the tidal inlet opening and barrier washovers. The barrier at the tidal inlet is highly dynamic and changes its form, accreting (migrating spit) against the inlet during fair-weather conditions and being eroded during storms and river floods.The delta has almost completely filled the lagoon and major concerns exist on the effect that ongoing large development plans may have on the environment. These concerns include the effect on floods and rate of siltation once banks of the islands have been stabilized and floodwater and sediment load are impeded from spreading over the lowlands, and the effect of increasing pollutant loads from the new facilities on the ecosystems of the increasingly restricting lagoon water and on the seashores.     

Geomorphology of the Boao coastal system and potential effects of human activities -Hainan Island, South China

1 IntroductionThe objectives of this paper are to analyze the principal characteristics of the W anquan Riverdelta that has developed in a narrow , shallow lagoon, and to determ ine the effect that theever-increasing hum an activities of the area m ay hav…     

Geomorphology of the Boao coastal system and potential effects of human activities - Hainan Island, South China

The Boao coastal system along the eastern coast of Hainan Island is a dynamic delta-tidal inlet-barrier formed during the late Holocene. The delta developed inside a shallow lagoon barred by a sandy barrier with a narrow, shallow tidal inlet opening. Two major distributary channels separated by small islands characterize the delta. The lagoon is silting up receiving and trapping sediments from both the river and, in minor measure during storms, through the tidal inlet opening and barrier washovers. The barrier at the tidal inlet is highly dynamic and changes its form, accreting (migrating spit) against the inlet during fair-weather conditions and being eroded during storms and river floods. The delta has almost completely filled the lagoon and major concerns exist on the effect that ongoing large development plans may have on the environment. These concerns include the effect on floods and rate of siltation once banks of the islands have been stabilized and floodwater and sediment load are impeded from spreading over the lowlands, and the effect of increasing pollutant loads from the new facilities on the ecosystems of the increasingly restricting lagoon water and on the seashores.     

Proxy Evidence for Easterly Winds in Glacial Lake Algonquin,from the Black River Delta in Northern Lower Michigan

We examined a large, Late Pleistocene delta in northern Lower Michigan, formed by the Black River in Glacial Lake Algonquin. Today, this sandy, arcuate, wave-influenced delta stands several meters above the lake floor. The Black River transported mainly well-sorted, medium, and fine sands to the delta—at remarkably rapid rates. Our subsurface data, taken at 153 sites across the delta, show subtle and consistent trends in sediment texture across the delta surface. Although found in low amounts, gravel and very coarse sands are concentrated near the shoreline, presumably eroded by waves from the till and bedrock that crop out there. Sediments of very fine sand size (and finer) exist in higher concentrations near the eastern shore, sourced from eroded tills and also carried there on longshore currents. A clear sediment plume of medium and finer sands also traverses the delta SE to NW, which we interpret as evidence of sand transport by longshore currents flowing east to west, driven by easterly winds. High, perched spits on the head of the delta also suggest westerly longshore drift. These paleoclimate proxy data support previous interpretations of strong easterly winds here during the Late Pleistocene, probably in association with a glacial anticyclone.     

雷州半岛灯楼角沙岬的形成

沙岬(沙嘴)是一种海岸动力地貌类型。通过区域地貌背景、海底地貌-浅地层、海洋动力条件、相关的海岸沙坝和现代海滩的分析,认为灯楼角沙岬是来自琼州海峡的东向波浪和来自北部湾的西向波浪两种相向波浪动力平衡、灯楼角东沿岸存在逆时针环流和灯楼角西沿岸存在顺时针环流两者于此辐合,并把带来的砂子沉积下来的结果。     

Askeladden Delta Sequence (Palaeocene) on Spitsbergen—sedimentation and controls on delta formation

Because of its coal potential the basal Tertiary Firkanten Formation on Spitsbergen has received much attention. The formation is an offset stacked (overall transgressive) sequence comprising at least eight coastaVdeltaic units each of which has a regressive character and is 10 to 30 m thick. The lowermost coal-bearing unit (Todalen Member) represents deltas which were largely fluvial-and tide-dominated while the upper unit deltas (Endalen Member) were wave-dominated. One of the transitional deltaic units, the Askeladden Sequence, has been examined in some detail along depositional dip (–15 km) and strike (–55 km). This unit represents wave-(tide)dominated delta conditions, and two main facies associations are recognized:

• Delta front/shoreline deposits (Facies Association I).

• Delta plain/coastal plain deposits (Facies Association II).

Askeladden sequence accumulated in a shallow, low-gradient embayment (Nordenskiold Land sub-basin) open to the south and southwest. Periodic, strong longshore currents caused a net northwards transport of sediment. Tidal range is considered close to the micro/meso-tidal boundary, and estimates of ancient wave regime indicate overall moderate wave conditions, suggesting that the extensive wave-reworking of the delta front/shoreline sands is related to relatively slow rates of fluvial input. Climate and tectonics are considered important contributory controls on sedimentation.     

Middle Miocene–Pliocene siliciclastic influx across a carbonate shelf and influence of deltaic sedimentation on shelf construction,Northern Carnarvon Basin,Northwest Shelf of Australia

Middle Miocene to Pliocene siliciclastics of the Bare Formation represent a long‐lived (ca. 11 Myr) break in the otherwise carbonate‐dominated shelf of the Northern Carnarvon Basin, Northwest Shelf of Australia. The quartz‐sandstone interval is correlated with the appearance of spectacular clinoform sets mapped on 3D and dense 2D seismic data. Twenty‐seven clinoform sets are interpreted as delta lobes primarily based on their plan‐view morphology (strike‐elongate to lobate features) and their 40–100‐m‐high clinoform amplitudes. The delta lobes were deposited on outer‐shelf to shelf‐edge positions, and the older deltas show evidence of a higher degree wave reworking than the younger deltas. Measurements of the along‐strike (migration) and down‐dip (progradation) movement of these deltas are compared with relative sea‐level behaviour inferred from shelf‐edge trajectory analysis. Delta lobes exhibit greater lateral shifting during relative sea‐level rise, whereas delta lobes are more restricted to dip‐oriented fairways during sea‐level fall, although no major incised valleys have been identified. Long‐term (cumulative) progradation of this delta system and subsequent backstepping correlates with long‐term sea‐level fall and rise during the late middle and late Miocene. In addition, a long‐term northeastward migration trend for these delta lobes was likely a result of localized uplift of an inversion anticline in the Rosemary–Legendre Trend; the growth of this anticline probably steered the fluvial source for the delta system towards the northeast. The Bare Formation siliciclastic influx correlates with other middle Miocene increases in siliciclastic sediment supply worldwide. Global cooling and a shift to more arid conditions, negatively influencing vegetation cover, may have combined with more seasonally variable rainfall to generate the high sediment supply that built the deltas. Retreat of the siliciclastics could correlate with ice‐sheet growth in the Northern Hemisphere and/or increase in the Indonesian Throughflow and Leeuwin Current (ca. 1.6 Ma), which might have modified climate regionally.     

Growth‐faults from delta collapse – structural and sedimentological investigation of the Last Chance delta,Ferron Sandstone,Utah

Investigations of syn‐sedimentary growth faults in the Last Chance delta (Ferron Sandstone, Utah, USA) show that fault‐bounded half‐grabens arrested high amounts of sand in the mouth bar and/or distributary channel areas. Fault‐controlled morphology causes changes in routing of the delta top to delta front drainage towards the long axis of half‐grabens. Faulting was spatially and temporally non‐systematic, and polyphase, with 3D cusp/listric fault geometries instigated by linkage of variously oriented segments. Hanging wall rollover folds consisting of wedge‐shaped syn‐kinematic sand attest to rapid <1‐m slip increments on faults followed by mild erosion along crests of fault blocks and sedimentary infill of adjacent accommodation. Triangle‐zones in prodelta to delta front muds are located underneath steeper faults and interconnected rotated fault‐flats. Their geometry is that of antiformal stack duplexes, in an arrangement of low‐angle‐to‐bedding normal faults at the base, replaced by folded thrusts upwards. These faults show a brittle, frictional flow deformation mechanism ascribed to early compaction of mud. For syn‐kinematic sand, there is a change from general granular/hydroplastic flow in shear zones to later brittle failure and cataclasis, a transition instigated by precipitation of calcite cement. Extensional faulting in the Last Chance delta was likely controlled by gravity driven collapse towards the delta slope and prodelta, as is commonly observed in collapsing deltas. The trigger and driving mechanism is envisioned as localized loads from sand deposited within distributary channels/mouth bars and fault‐controlled basins along the delta top. A regional tilt and especially displacement of compacted mud below sand bodies towards less compacted muds also contributed to the faulting.     

废黄河三角洲的演变*

本文主要根据历史文献,论述1194～1855年的古黄河口泥沙堆积形式、速率及其沉积特点,并探讨了废黄河三角洲形成机理和类型,以及尾闾变迁对下游河道的影响。认为在黄河南流夺准入黄海过程中,河口和三角洲发育具有明显的阶段性;前、后两期形成不同类型的三角洲,前期为径流一潮汐型,后期转化为径流一波浪型;后期河口迅速延伸,河口基准面相对抬升所引起的溯源淤积可达河南境内。     

渤海莱州湾南岸潍河-弥河三角洲:沉积序列和沉积格架

潍河-弥河三角洲是一个由多条河流共同塑造的三角洲。前三角洲黏土质粉砂是各河流共同贡献的结果;每条河口之外形成各自的三角洲前缘,主要由极细砂组成;河口间湾沉积物是两条相邻河流共同塑造的,主要为黏土质粉砂。由于河口位置的侧向摆动,三角洲前缘极细砂和河口间湾黏土质粉砂会交替出现。7000a B. P. 以来向海进积20~55km,在海岸附近三角州沉积物厚度超过20m。