Microfossil analysis of sediments representing the 1964 earthquake, exposed at Girdwood Flats, Alaska, USA

Diatom, pollen, foraminifera and thecamoebian assemblages from an outcrop of peat and silt at Girdwood Flats, in the upper Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet, Alaska, record four phases of relative land and sea-level changes. The first phase is the development of freshwater swamp above high marsh sediments during relative land uplift, caused by strain accumulation along the locked portion of the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone. In second phase, the top 2 cm of the peat, all microfossil groups record pre-seismic relative sea-level rise (relative land subsidence). The third phase is rapid land subsidence, 1.7 m, during the earthquake of March 1964 that initiated intertidal silt accumulation above the peat. The final phase is the colonisation of mudflat by salt marsh communities during post-seismic land uplift. The microfossil data compare favourably with sequences from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia that record late Holocene submergence events caused by earthquakes. The comparable changes in microfossil assemblages record the different phases of relative land and sea-level changes and the magnitude of land subsidence caused by each earthquake (expressed relative to the tidal range at the site). These results raise the question whether preseismic sea-level rise represents any kind of warning of large earthquakes.     

Quaternary sea-level changes in Western Scotland

In recent years, major advances have been made in our understanding of Late Quaternary sea-level changes in western Scotland. In particular, new hypotheses have been advanced to explain the ages and origins of high-level rock platform fragments and high-level marine shell beds. Certain raised shorelines in Islay and Jura, SW Argyll and Wester Ross have been related to former margins of the last ice sheet and are associated with drops in the Lateglacial marine limit. In some areas the decline in Lateglacial sea-level took place in association with a stationary ice margin while in others the fall in sea-level occurred in conjunction with considerable ice retreat.During the Lateglacial Interstadial, relative sea-level fell rapidly between ca. 13 and ca. 12 ka BP and thereafter more slowly until ca. 11 ka BP. Renewed marine erosion during the cold climate of the Loch Lomond (Younger Dryas) Stadial (ca. 11-10 ka BP) resulted in the production of the Main Lateglacial Shoreline, which declines in altitude to the W, SW and S away from the centre of glacio-isostatic uplift in the W Highlands. The shoreline has a maximum altitude of 10–11 m O.D. in the Oban area and passes below sea-level in NE Islay, Ardnamurchan, Colonsay, W Mull, Kintyre and Arran.During the early Holocene a pronounced marine transgression took place, probably culminating between 6.6 and 7.0 ka BP. The culmination of the transgression is represented by the Main Postglacial Shoreline that reaches a maximum altitude of ca. 14 m in the Oban area and declines gently in altitude away from the centre of glacio-isostatic uplift. Reconstruction of the uplift isobases for this shoreline appears to indicate a slight eastward migration of the uplift centre since the Younger Dryas. In peripheral areas of western Scotland the Main Postglacial Shoreline is not present owing to the effect of Holocene submergence.     

Coastal response to the Holocene transgression in the Bahamas: episodic sedimentation versus continuous sea-level rise

Sedimentological and petrographic study of Holocene deposits in the Eastern Bahamas shows that sedimentation occurred episodically during this period of continually rising sea-level.

The Holocene stratigraphic record exposed on the islands of San Salvador, Lee Stocking and Cat consists of two distinctive units separated by a paleosol: (1) 5000 year-old oolitic eolianites deposited when sea-level was lower than today, and (2) 3000 to 500 year-old bioclastic paleo-beaches and dunes that are congruent with the present stand of sea-level.

A five-stage model that reconciles intermittent sedimentation pattern with continuous sea-level rise is presented. Pre-Holocene topography and changes in the rate of the transgression seem to regulate local⁴ hydrodynamic conditions, which in turn control onset and offset of sedimentary processes.

This Holocene example of episodic sedimentation during an uninterrupted transgression should be considered when studying ancient discontinuities that are systematically interpreted in terms of relative sea-level fall.     

渤海菜州湾第四纪晚期以来微体化石组合特征和沉积环境演化

对渤海莱州湾南岸央子镇YZ1钻孔取微体古生物样品18个，通过分析鉴定和地层对比，以及对微体古生物化石进行属种、丰度和分异度分析，共划分出4个化石组合层段。根据化石组合特征分析认为：第Ⅰ、第Ⅱ微体化石组合为全新世海侵的产物。第Ⅰ组合代表了海进序列，沉积环境为潮上带—潮间带；第Ⅱ组合为海退序列，沉积环境为潮间带—潮下带。第Ⅲ、第Ⅳ组合分别是晚更新世2次海侵的产物。第Ⅲ组合为晚更新世末期海侵的产物，海侵规模较大，沉积环境为滨海潮坪—潮间带；第Ⅳ组合海侵规模较小，陆相因素增大，沉积环境为河口—滨岸带或者为海陆交互相。     

辽东半岛东南岸全新世海进的认识

辽东半岛呈北东向低山丘陵地形,西临渤海,东濒黄海,半岛的东西两侧为窄长的第四纪沿海平原。为了搞清半岛东部沿海平原的第四纪海侵问题,近年来我们在东沟、庄河等地打了七个钻孔,分层取样,进行微体古生物的研究,首次发现了有孔虫及海生硅藻化石。     

Evolution of a coastal alluvial deposit in response to the last Quaternary marine transgression, Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina

The purpose of this research is to analyze the seismostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental features of an ancient fluvial deposit characterized by the presence of paleochannels and sedimentary structures in Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina. To this end, high-resolution seismic methods were used. Paleochannels exhibiting v-shaped cuts were found at different topographic positions at the base of this deposit. It was observed that channel silting is indicative of the relative change of river base level and the consequent migration of fluvial tributaries. This alluvial deposit is composed of low compacted fine sand and its middle–upper facies is characterized by the presence of horizontal and discontinuous wavy reflectors. The upper boundary of this deposit is an erosive discontinuity resulting from Holocene sea-level rise during which the mouth of old fluvial courses underwent changes. The deposit was subsequently buried by sandy and clayey silt sediments. The paleodrainage at subbottom indicates that this deposit is associated with an ancient river mouth. Based on the seismostratigraphic and lithological characteristics and the paleochannel structures found in the study area, it can be concluded that the deposit analyzed is an alluvial sequence formed in the period from the Middle-Late Pleistocene to Holocene marine transgression.     

Foraminiferal record of the postglacial (Holocene) marine transgression and subsequent regression,northern Spencer Gulf,South Australia

Core SG120 recovered 3.65 m of Quaternary sediment from a northern, shallow-water environment of Spencer Gulf, a marine embayment into the southern continental margin of Australia. Previous investigations had revealed that the upper interval 0 – 148 cm is Holocene marine bioclastic sediment, and that the lower Late Pleistocene interval 250 – 365 cm, with its carbonate palaeosol, had a similar marine origin. However, the age and origin of the interval 148 – 250 cm remained subject to ambiguous interpretation. Re-examination of core SG120, employing detailed foraminiferal analysis, has revealed that this middle unit records the earliest sedimentation associated with the postglacial marine transgression into the northern gulf. These basal Holocene sediments, which incorporated broken, corroded and carbonate-encrusted tests from the underlying palaeosol, together with tests of more pristine appearance, were deposited in a shallow-water, seagrass sandflat environment similar to those in coastal settings of the modern gulf. The lithological change at 148 cm has therefore been reinterpreted as a facies change related to increasing water depth. Radiocarbon analyses of fossil molluscs support this interpretation and reveal that marine transgression, at the site of SG120, was initiated prior to 8600 y cal BP. Selected species of foraminifers (Nubecularia lucifuga, Massilina milletti, Peneroplis planatus, Discorbis dimidiatus, Elphidium crispum and E. macelliforme) together reveal a consistent record of the final stages of the transgression with maximum water depth indicated at a core depth of 90 cm. Subsequent regression, which has been attributed to the combined effects of hydroisostatic uplift and sediment aggradation, is equally recorded by the foraminiferal assemblages.     

珠江三角洲西缘晚第四纪沉积演化和最大海侵古岸线的重建

第四纪以来,受全球气候和海平面变化影响,海岸带地区发生了一系列强烈的海陆相互作用和海侵—海退等地质事件,包含了丰富的沉积环境演化和海平面变化等信息.选用珠江三角洲西缘台山地区的30个地质钻孔,通过14C、光释光、地球化学特征、底栖有孔虫、磁化率数据,建立了晚更新世以来的地层框架,重建了最大海侵古岸线的位置.研究结果表明...     

Quaternary Stratigraphy and Paleogeography of the Galilee Coastal Plain, Israel

The Quaternary deposits in the Galilee coastal plain comprise alternating calcareous sandstone, red loam, dark clay, and uncemented sand. The calcareous sandstone in the lower part of the sequence represents a Pliocene to early Pleistocene marine transgression, and is covered unconformably by the late Quaternary sequence. The base of this sequence has an estimated age of 500,000 yr. It is covered unconformably by marine calcareous sandstone in the west, which represents the global high sea-level stand of isotope stage 7.1, and is known as one of the “Tyrrhenian” events in the Mediterranean area. The overlying members represent the low sea-level stand of stage 6, the first a red paleosol indicating a relatively wet phase and the second an eolianite unit representing a drier phase. The eolianite forms longitudinal, subparallel ridges that formed contemporaneously. The overlying marine sandstone, which contains one of the diagnostic fossils of the “Tyrrhenian” events, the gastropodStrombus buboniusLMK, accumulated during the global high stand of stage 5.5. The last glacial period left no sedimentary record. The Holocene is represented by a marine clay unit that is covered by sand. The present study establishes a complete and detailed chronostratigraphic sequence for an eastern Mediterranean beach, which contains the gastropodS. buboniusLMK.S. buboniuson the Galilee coast is attributed to stage 5.5 and, therefore, establishes an east–west Mediterranean correlation, which can be used for linking Mediterranean events to paleo-sea levels and global climate changes.     

长江中下游水阳江流域BZK0402孔多重地层划分及其冰后期海平面变化的沉积响应

[研究目的]开展水阳江流域标准孔BZK0402孔多重地层划分,探讨长江支流水阳江流域冰后期海平面变化的沉积响应以及古丹阳湖的成因和形成时代.[研究方法]以岩石地层为基础,在磁性地层和年代地层的双重约束下,对BZK0402孔进行多重地层划分.对比分析BZK0402孔和长江河谷、长江三角洲等邻区钻孔.[研究结果]BZK04...     

Submerged upper Holocene beachrock on San Salvador Island,Bahamas: implications for recent sea-level history

Sedimentological, petrographic and radiometric data from a submerged beachrock on San Salvador Island, Bahamas, provide new information about the Late Holocene sea-level history in this area.At French Bay, on the southern shore of the island, samples of beachrock collected at a depth of 1 m below low tide level yielded an average ¹⁴C age of 965 ± 60 years before present. These samples further display a well developed fenestral porosity and present an early generation of low Mg calcite meniscus cement. These features characterize intertidal and supratidal settings; they are not consistent with the present beachrock position and the reported Late Holocene sea-level history in the Bahamas. A 1.5–2m low stand of the sea about 1000 years ago would best explain the observed particularities of the French Bay beachrock.This example from San Salvador shows that the smooth trend of Late Holocene sea-level rise proposed by previous workers might be overprinted by high frequency, low amplitude fluctuations. Recognition of these fluctuations is fundamental when calculating rates of sea-level rise and evaluating the coastal response to a marine transgression. Correspondence to: P. Kindler     

长江三角洲北翼J9孔岩芯沉积特征及地层初步划分

长江三角洲北翼地区缺少较长尺度的第四纪海陆变迁及环境演变的深入探讨,深达423m的海安县基岩标J9孔为此提供了较好的研究对象。通过观察该孔松散层岩芯,总结其沉积特征,认为岩芯明显可划分为6个特征岩性段。同时,地层古地磁测试结果显示：   0～200m为布容正极性世,200～334m为松山负极性世,334m以下为高斯正极性世。综合分析岩芯沉积特征并参考古地磁测试结果对地层进行了初步划分,认为 0～39m为全新世地层,39～153m为晚更新世地层,153～200m为中更新世地层,200～334m为早更新世地层,之下为新近纪地层。从沉积地层特征推测,在第四纪地层中可能存在有5个海侵层,自上而下为第Ⅰ海侵层（镇江海侵）、第Ⅱ海侵层（滆湖海侵）、第Ⅲ海侵层（昆山海侵）、第Ⅳ海侵层（嘉定海侵）和第Ⅴ海侵层（如皋海侵）,分别出现在孔深 5～39m段、59.2～85.1m段、121～153m段、171～200m段和 246.3～277.2m段。孔深39～41m存在的晚更新世晚期特征硬粘土标志层,指示本地不是冰后期古河谷的发育地。     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112000345

Holocene environmental change and environmental archaeology are important components of an international project studying the human-earth interaction system.This paper reviews the progress of Holocene environmental change and environmental archaeology research in the Yangtze River Valley over the last three decades,that includes the evolution of large freshwater lakes.Holocene transgression and sea-level changes,Holocene climate change and East Asian monsoon variation,relationship between the rise and fall of primitive civilizations and environmental changes,cultural interruptions and palaeoflood events,as well as relationship between the origin of agriculture and climate change.These research components are underpinned by the dating of lacustrine sediments,stalagmites and peat to establish a chronology of regional environmental and cultural evolution.Interdisciplinary and other environment proxy indicators need to be used in comparative studies of archaeological site formation and natural sedimentary environment in the upper,middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley.Modern technology such as remote sensing,molecular bioarchaeology,and virtual reality,should be integrated with currently used dating,geochemical,sedimentological.and palaeobotanical methods of analysis in environmental archaeology macro- and micro-studies,so as to provide a greater comprehensive insight into Holocene environmental and cultural interaction and change in the Yangtze River Valley area.     

太原西山七里沟晚古生代腕足动物群落及其古环境意义

太原西山七里沟晚古生代剖面含有丰富的腕足动物化石，共可识别出13个底栖生物群落。个体生态、行为习性、群落结构和岩性、岩相组合特征的研究表明，这些群落的生态位介于BA1-BA3之间。控制腕足动物群落分布和相互取代的最主要因素是相对海平面变化。由于海平面升、降变化的速度、幅度和持续时间的不同，群落之间的这种相互更替既有突变的，也有渐变的，既可以发生在不同的旋回之间，也可以发生在同一个海水进、退旋回内。根据这些底栖生物群落生态位所显示的水深变化和剖面相序结构，该剖面本溪期至山西期共经历了11次海水进、退旋回，其中以庙沟期海侵规模最大，最大估水深10-20m，毛儿沟下灰岩与庙沟灰岩均为这一旋回的产物。     

Late Weichselian and holocene sea-level history for a cross-section of western Norway

The postglacial sea-level history along a cross-section of western Norway has been studied in detail. Ten local sea-level curves were used to construct an equidistant shoreline diagram, covering the last 13000 years. This includes 76 radiocarbon dates, of which the majority represent lacustrine sediments at the marine/lacustrine boundary in cores from emerged lakes. The distance between the westernmost and easternmost sites is 170 km and the difference in total emergence along this profile is more than 200 m. The shorelines all dip westward with a decreasing gradient through time. The Late Weichselian lines are all slightly curved whereas the Holocene lines are apparently straight. After the formation of the uppermost shoreline by around 12 800 BP there was a rapid emergence that decelerated with time to a near standstill during the Younger Dryas. From about 10 300 there was again a rapid emergence followed by the Tapes transgression along the coast and a standstill in the most easterly areas. At the western end of this profile, the Tapes transgression started around 9000 and culminated approximately 6000 BP, when a gradual regression occurred. To the east the early Holocene regression minimum occurs at a younger date and the transgression maximum is up to 1500 years older.     

华北地台晚古生代海侵模式雏议

本对华北地台的山西太原西山上石炭统太原组的7、8和11号煤层及其顶板灰岩的地球化学特征、煤核和生物化石进行了系统分析，发现煤层形成过程中有海水的影响，煤层上覆石灰岩形成过程中亦有淡水参与，说明煤层及其顶板灰岩在相序上是连续的，其海侵模式并不是突发型海便。而为渐进型海侵。本还应用层序地层学原理论述了海平面变化与聚煤作用的关系。     

Rates of Holocene isostatic uplift and relative sea-level lowering of the Baltic in SW Finland based on studies of isolation contacts

Southwestern Finland was covered by the Weichselian ice sheet and experienced rapid glacio-isostatic rebound after early Holocene deglaciation. The present mean overall apparent uplift rate is of the order of 4-5 mm/yr, but immediately after deglaciation the rate of crustal rebound was several times higher. Concurrently with land uplift, relative sea level in the Baltic basin during the past more than 8000 years was also strongly affected by the eustatic changes in sea level. There is ample evidence from earlier studies that during the early Litorina Sea stage on the southeastern coast of Finland around 7000 yr BP (7800 cal. yr BP), the rise in sea level exceeded the rate of land uplift, resulting in a short-lived transgression. Because of a higher rate of uplift, the transgression was even more short-lived or of negligible magnitude in the southwestern part of coastal Finland, but even in this latter case a slowing down in the rate of regression can still be detected. We used evidence from isolation basins to obtain a set of 71 ¹⁴C dates, and over 30 new sea-level index points. The age-elevation data, obtained from lakes in two different areas and located between c. 64 m and 1.5 m above present sea level, display a high degree of internal consistency. This suggests that the dates are reliable, even though most of them were based on bulk sediment samples. The two relative sea-level curves confirm the established model of relatively gradually decreasing rates of relative sea-level lowering since c. 6100 yr BP (7000 cal. yr BP) and clearly indicate that the more northerly of the two study areas experienced the higher rate of glacio-isostatic recovery. In the southerly study area, changes in diatom assemblages and lithostratigraphy suggest that during the early Litorina Sea stage (8300-7600 cal. yr BP) eustatic sea-level rise exceeded land uplift for hundreds of years. Evidence for this transgression was discovered in a lake with a basin threshold at an elevation of 41 m above sea level, which is markedly higher than any previously known site with evidence for the Litorina transgression in Finland. We also discuss evidence for subsequent short-term fluctuations superimposed on the main trends of relative sea-level changes.     

Composition and origin of clay minerals in Holocene sediments from the south-eastern North Sea

The distribution of clay minerals varies systematically in sediments from Holocene core material taken along a profile from the East Frisian coast to the Doggerbank. The proportion of illite increases with distance from the coast at the expense of kaolinite, whereas slight variations are seen in smectite and chlorite abundances. The chemical composition changes, and the K/Rb ratio and K-Ar isotopic age of illite increase seawards. This trend results from progressive mixing processes of riverine detritus with Pleistocene fluvioglacial material reworked during the Holocene transgression. However, the clay fluvial flux only became dominant during the decreasing rate of sea-level rise in the Late Holocene, especially near the shore. For example, modern sediments in tidal flats contain 75% of river-borne Holocene-supplied clay detritus, whereas this amount is only 10% in modern marine sediments at the Doggerbank.     

Isolation basin stratigraphy and Holocene relative sea-level change at the Norwegian—Russian border north of Nikel, northwest Russia

The marine-lacustrine transition (isolation contact) in sediment cores from eight lake basins situated 13.5-72 m a.s.l., in the Norwegian-Russian border area north of Nikel, northwest Russia, was identified based on lithological and diatom analysis, radiocarbon dated, and used to construct a relative sea-level (RSL) curve for the Holocene. All the lakes except one (interpreted as having an unconformable slumped transition) show a regressive I-II-III (marine-transitional-lacustrine) facies succession, indicating a postglacial history of continuous emergence. The RSL curve shows rapid emergence between 10 000 and 8000 BP, very slow emergence between 7000 and 5000 BP, increased rate of emergence between 4500 and 4000 BP, and a moderate rate of emergence after 3500 BP. The low rate of emergence around 6000 BP correlates with the Tapes transgression of more coastal regions, but corresponding sea level, at 25-26 ma. present s.l., lies 5-10 m lower than the elevation predicted based on existing isobase maps for the region. The discrepancy suggests a need for further work in order to more rigorously define and map the Tapes transgression and associated shoreline complex in the northern Fennoscandian-Kola region.     

Biostratigraphy and Paleoenvironment in Cheju Sedimentary Basin, Determined by Materials from Exploration Wells Geobuk-1 and Okdom-1

A micropaleontological analysis was made using materi-als from exploration wells Geobuk-1 (Td:2 72 2 .5m) andOkdom-1 (Td:2 90 3 .7m) for the purpose of biostratigraphicand paleoenvironmental interpretation of the Cheju sedimenta-ry basin.Two wells yield relatively abundant microfossilssuch as dinoflagellates,calcareous nannofossils,pollen andspores.The biostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental settingsanalyzed by microfossil assemblages seem to be closely relatedto the framework of the local t…