Promise and pitfalls for characterizing and correlating the zeolitically altered tephra of the Pleistocene Peninj Group, Tanzania

The Pleistocene Humbu and Moinik formations of the Peninj Group in northern Tanzania preserve an important archaeological and paleontological record, in addition to a record of local volcanism in the form of tephra and lavas. Samples of the major Humbu and Moinik formations' basaltic and trachytic tephra were collected and characterized using phenocryst composition and both primary and authigenic mineral assemblage, since the volcanic glass was completely altered to zeolite. Some tephra are distinguishable solely using phenocrysts, but some are too similar in mineral composition or too poor in phenocrysts to definitively “fingerprint” without glass. Titanomagnetite phenocrysts were mostly altered; characterization was thus limited to feldspar, augite, and hornblende compositions for most tephra. Phenocryst compositions were compared to Olduvai tephra compositions to see if any regional tephra could be identified that could help correlate the sites. Augite or hornblende composition rules out potential correlations of Olduvai Bed I Tuff IF and the Bed II Bird Print Tuff or Tuff IID to otherwise similar Peninj Group tephra. Despite their overlap in age and locations at less than ~ 80 km from the Ngorongoro Volcanic Highlands, Peninj and Olduvai have different tephra records, which limits the possibilities for establishing a regional tephrostratigraphic framework.     

Geochemical gradients and artifact mass densities on the lowermost Bed II eastern lake margin (~ 1.8 Ma), Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Bulk geochemistry of ~ 1.8 Ma lacustrine claystone at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, is controlled principally by the geochemistry of ultrafine (< 0.1 μm), authigenic clay minerals. Authigenic clays have an average structural formula of (Si_3.83Al_0.17)(Al_0.43Fe_0.49Mg_0.84)(Na_0.99K_0.22Ca_0.16)O₁₀(OH)₂; octahedral composition varies, with Mg/(Al + Fe) ranging from 0.7 to 2.3. These clay minerals have a complex history of interaction with saline, alkaline water, followed by secondary diagenetic reactions that leached Mg in freshwater paleoenvironments. Lateral variations in whole-rock and clay geochemistry show westward enrichment in Mg, from Mg_oct = 0.6–1.6. This is consistent with persistence of saline, alkaline Paleolake Olduvai to the west, and the presence of groundwater wetlands and other freshwater paleoenvironments to the east. Stone artifact mass density also varies systematically across the basal Bed II deposits, ranging from 10^0.0 to 10^4.3 g of artifacts per cubic meter of excavated sediment. Significant correlation is found between clay geochemistry and the density of artifacts excavated from associated archeological trenches (r² = 0.59, p < 0.01). This relationship supports models of hominin land use in which artifact use and discard is concentrated near freshwater paleoenvironments such as wetlands associated with surface and groundwater discharge. Independent paleoenvironmental proxies such as clay geochemistry allow quantitative hypothesis testing to improve our understanding of early hominin behavior and paleoecology.     

Preliminary small mammal taphonomy of FLK NW level 20 (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

The Bed-I series of Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) is a reference site in human evolution, having yielded the holotypes of Paranthropus boisei and Homo habilis, together with manufactured artefacts and abundant large and micro-fauna. Excavations in Olduvai Gorge have been recently resumed, with new aims and new results. This paper presents the results of the taphonomic analysis carried out on a fossil small-mammal assemblage recovered from FLK NW level 20, a layer overlying Tuff C, dated from 1.84 Ma. The analysis provides good evidence of a category 1 predator, most likely a barn owl, as the predator of the bone assemblage. Trampling and sediment compression might influence postdepositional breakage of the bones. This study is especially relevant since previous taphonomic analyses carried out at levels above and below this sample led to inconclusive results due to a low number of fossils (Fernández-Jalvo et al., 1998). The new sample provides new information to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental context in which early hominins inhabited.     

A 90,000-year tephrostratigraphic framework of Aso Volcano, Japan

A detailed 90,000-year tephrostratigraphic framework of Aso Volcano, southwestern Japan, has been constructed to understand the post-caldera eruptive history of the volcano. Post-caldera central cones were initiated soon after the last caldera-forming pyroclastic-flow eruption (90 ka), and have produced voluminous tephra and lava flows. The tephrostratigraphic sequence preserved above the caldera-forming stage deposits reaches a total thickness of 100 m near the eastern caldera rim. The sequence is composed mainly of mafic scoria-fall and ash-fall deposits but 36 silicic pumice-fall deposits are very useful key beds for correlation of the stratigraphic sequence. Explosive, silicic pumice-fall deposits that fell far beyond the caldera have occurred at intervals of about 2500 years in the post-caldera activity. Three pumice-fall deposits could be correlated with lava flows or an edifice in the western part of the central cones, although the other silicic tephra beds were erupted at unknown vents, which are probably buried by the younger products from the present central cones. Most of silicic eruptions produced deposits smaller than 0.1 km³, but bulk volumes of two silicic eruptions producing the Nojiri pumice (84 ka) and Kusasenrigahama pumice (Kpfa; 30 ka) were on the order of 1 km³ (VEI 5). The largest pyroclastic eruption occurred at the Kusasenrigahama crater about 30 ka. This catastrophic eruption began with a dacitic lava flow and thereafter produced Kpfa (2.2 km³). Total tephra volume in the past 90,000 years is estimated at about 18.1 km³ (dense rock equivalent: DRE), whereas total volume for edifices of the post-caldera central cones is calculated at about 112 km³, which is six times greater than the former. Therefore, the average magma discharge rate during the post-caldera stage of Aso Volcano is estimated at about 1.5 km³/ky, which is similar to the rates of other Quaternary volcanoes in Japan.     

Lithofacies and environments of Bed I,Olduvai Gorge,Tanzania

Bed I in Olduvai Gorge spans the interval from about 1.7 to 2.0 m.y.a., and all evidences of hominid activity at Olduvai are within the latter half of this period. Bed I was deposited in a closed basin approximately 25 km in average diameter, and it can be subdivided into five lithologically different but partly time-equivalent rock assemblages, or lithologic facies, each of which was deposited in the same geographic environment or closely related series of environments. These lithofacies comprise lake deposits, lake-margin deposits, alluvial-fan deposits, alluvial-plain deposits, and lava flows.Alluvial-plain deposits form the lowermost part of Bed I, and they presumably interfinger northeastward with lake deposits in an area not now exposed. Discharge of the lavas diplaced the lake westward to a position it occupied through the latter half of the deposition of Bed I. The lake fluctuated greatly in salinity, level, and extent, and at times of low level it was highly saline and generally ranged between 7 and 10 km in average diameter. At times of high level it was as much as 15 km in diameter and was relatively fresh, at least along its southeastern margin. The lake-margin deposits accumulated on the zone of relatively flat terrain that was flooded at times of high level. Lake-margin deposits interfinger eastward with deposits of an alluvial fan of pyroclastic materials produced in an explosive phase of the volcano Olmoti. The climate at the time of Bed I was relatively dry although somewhat wetter than the present climate in the same region today.     

Calcretes of Olduvai Gorge and the Ndolanya Beds of northern Tanzania

Pedogenic calcretes are closely associated with Pliocene to Holocene wind-worked deposits of volcanic ash in the Olduvai and Ndolanya Beds of northern Tanzania. The typical profile with calcrete consists of an unconsolidated sediment layer, an underlying laminar calcrete, and a lowermost massive calcrete. The laminar calcrete is a relatively pure limestone, whereas massive calcrete is aeolian tuff cemented and replaced by calcite. An Olduvai calcrete profile can develop to a mature stage in only a few thousand years. Carbonatite ash was the dominant source for most of the calcite in the calcretes. Replacement was a major process in formation of the massive calcretes, and oolitic textures have resulted from micrite replacing pelletoid clay coatings around sand grains. Phillipsite and possible other zeolites were extensively replaced in the massive calcretes. Replacement of clay by micrite in the Olduvai calcretes is accompanied by dissolution or leaching of phengitic illite and the formation of clay approaching the composition of halloysite or kaolinite. In the upper calcrete of the Ndolanya Beds, montmorillonite was altered to a kaolinite-type mineral and to dioctahedral chlorite. Authigenic dolomite, zeolite, and dawsonite in the Olduvai calcretes probably received at least some of their components from replaced materials.     

Phytoliths infer locally dense and heterogeneous paleovegetation at FLK North and surrounding localities during upper Bed I time, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

The phytolith content of 10 samples collected immediately under Tuff IF (~ 1.785 Ma) at FLK N and other surrounding localities (~ 2 km²) provides a direct botanical evidence for woody vegetation in the eastern margin of Olduvai Gorge during uppermost Bed I time. Observation and counting of 143 phytolith types (5 to >150 μ) reveal dense but heterogeneous woody cover (~ 40–90%) of unidentified trees and/or shrubs and palms associated to the freshwater springs surrounding FLK N, and more open formation (presumably ~ 25–70% woody cover) in the southeast at localities VEK, HWK W and HWK E. The paleovegetation is best described as groundwater palm forest/woodland or bushland, which current analogue may be found near Lake Manyara in similar hydrogeological context (freshwater springs near saline/alkaline lake). Re-evaluating the published pollen data based on this analogy shows that 70% of the pollen signal at FLK N may be attributed to thicket-woodland, Acacia groundwater woodland, gallery and groundwater forests; while < 30% is attributed to swamp herbage and grasslands. Micro-botanical, isotopic, and taphonomical studies of faunal remains converge on the same conclusion that the area surrounding FLK N, which attracted both carnivores and hominins in the early Pleistocene, was densely wooded during uppermost Bed I time.     

Disentangling hominin and carnivore activities near a spring at FLK North (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania)

FLK North is one of the densest concentrations of fossils found in Olduvai Gorge. A recent taphonomic re-evaluation of the collection excavated by Leakey at the site suggests that it was a palimpsest in which most of the animals were accumulated and modified by carnivores. The lithic tools therefore seem to have an independent depositional history from most of the fauna. The present study, based on new excavations, expands the evidence supporting this interpretation and demonstrates a thicker deposit than was reported by Leakey, including new archaeological levels. It also shows that in the few instances where hominins butchered carcasses, meat, not marrow, was their main target. This argues against passive scavenging hypotheses, which emphasize the dietary role of marrow, and instead underscores the importance of meat in the diet of early Pleistocene hominins.     

Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstruction of a freshwater oasis in savannah grassland at FLK North, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

The records of early hominins are commonly localized both temporally and spatially even in archaeologically rich basins like Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. The FLK North site was discovered in 1960, but the reason for the exact location of this dense concentration of fossils and stone tools on a lake-margin flat has not been explained. We present new geological and geochemical information from six excavations in upper Bed I, which revealed up to 1.4-m-thick carbonate deposits, attesting to the presence of freshwater springs in the area surrounding FLK North. The δ¹⁸O signatures of the tufa are typical for meteoric water that has evolved during evaporation. Tuff IF that caps the sequence was deposited on uneven topography with the highest area a low-relief ridge between two faults at the archaeological site and lowest areas being sites of groundwater discharge. The model proposed here is that rainfall on adjacent highlands was transported to the basin where faults acted as conduits for water. Similar hydrogeological settings at modern lakes Manyara and Eyasi, currently support lush groundwater forest and woodland despite arid climate. FLK North may have been an “oasis” offering freshwater and shelter for consuming meat by both carnivores and hominins.     

Provenance of Miocene sandstones in northern Iraq: constraints from framework petrography,bulk-rock geochemistry and mineral chemistry

Modal analysis, bulk-rock geochemistry and phase chemistry of sandstones of the Miocene Fat'ha and Injana formations, northern Iraq, show that the clastics were derived from heterogeneous sources that include basic igneous and metamorphic rocks as well as older sedimentary rocks. The sandstones are generally carbonate-rich lithic arenites. Their geochemistry supports the petrographic results and indicates that they are all Fe-rich, lithic or quartz arkosic sandstones. According to geochemical data, garnets are derived from metamorphic sources, hornblende is of igneous origin, and clinopyroxenes, are produced by basic igneous rocks. Epidote is most probably to be a product of disintegration of metamorphic rocks, essentially, metamorphosed igneous rocks. Rutile geochemistry implies low-grade metamorphic and basic to ultrabasic igneous sources. Chemical composition of chromian spinels indicates that they are derived from Alpine-type peridotite. The ophiolitic-radiolarite belts of Taurus-Zagros as well as the uplifted Cretaceous and Paleocene strata of north and northeastern Iraq are likely to be the major source of clastics to the Fat'ha–Injana basin, a foreland basin formed as a result of the continental Arabian and Turkish/Iranian plates collision.     

Cenozoic basin evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes: Evidence from geochronology,stratigraphy, and geochemistry

The Central Patagonian Andes is a particular segment of the Andean Cordillera that has been subjected to the subduction of two spreading ridges during Eocene and Neogene times. In order to understand the Cenozoic geologic evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes, we carried out geochronologic(U-Pb and⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar), provenance, stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and geochemical studies on the sedimentary and volcanic Cenozoic deposits that crop out in the Meseta Guadal and Chile Chico areas(～47°S). Our data indicate the presence of a nearly complete Cenozoic record, which refutes previous interpretations of a hiatus during the middle Eocene-late Oligocene in the Central Patagonian Andes. Our study suggests that the fluvial strata of the Ligorio Marquez Formation and the flood basalts of the Basaltos Inferiores de la Meseta Chile Chico Formation were deposited in an extensional setting related to the subduction of the Aluk-Farallon spreading ridge during the late Paleocene-Eocene. Geochemical data on volcanic rocks interbedded with fluvial strata of the San Jose Formation suggest that this unit was deposited in an extensional setting during the middle Eocene to late Oligocene. Progressive crustal thinning allowed the transgression of marine waters of Atlantic origin and deposition of the upper Oligocene-lower Miocene Guadal Formation. The fluvial synorogenic strata of the Santa Cruz Formation were deposited as a consequence of an important phase of compressive deformation and Andean uplift during the early-middle Miocene. Finally, alkali flood basalts of the late middle to late Miocene Basaltos Superiores de la Meseta Chile Chico Formation were extruded in the area in response to the suduction of the Chile Ridge under an extensional regime. Our studies indicate that the tectonic evolution of the Central Patagonian Andes is similar to that of the North Patagonian Andes and appears to differ from that of the Southern Patagonian Andes, which is thought to have been the subject of continuous compressive deformation since the late Early Cretaceous.     

湖北宜昌西陵峡地区大气降雨氢氧同位素特征分析

通过测定湖北宜昌西陵峡地区2009年5月至10月降雨样品的氢氧同位素组成,分析了该区降雨的氢氧同位素特征及其与降雨量的关系,并与区内2007年同期的降雨同位素资料进行了对比.结果表明,该区大气降雨线公式为:δ(D) =8.45δ(18 O)+11.55,与全球降雨线和全国降雨线公式相比,斜率和截距均偏大,这与凝结物在未...     

三峡库区区域构造及巴东组构造变形特征

通过分析大量资料并结合野外地质工作,对三峡库区的区域构造背景及巴东组的主要构造样式进行了总结,分析了这些地质要素对三峡库区变形斜坡形成和发展的影响.三峡库区位于大巴山弧形构造带与八面山弧形构造带的接合部,构造变形强烈,构造样式多样.三峡库区特定的历史构造条件为巴东组深厚层松散斜坡的发育准备了变形条件.造成三峡库区发育深厚层松散斜坡的构造主要包括褶皱、多层次的顺层滑脱构造、强烈发育的劈理等.     

西秦岭同仁隆务峡蛇绿岩矿物成分特征及构造环境

同仁隆务峡蛇绿岩大地构造位置位于西秦岭造山带与中祁连带结合部,其组成为:地幔橄榄岩(纯橄岩、蛇纹石化纯橄岩)、超镁铁质堆晶单元(单辉橄榄岩、橄榄辉石岩)、镁铁质堆晶单元(含橄榄石辉长岩、辉长岩等)及少量辉绿岩,各单元均以断层接触,弱蚀变.镜下研究发现其岩浆结晶序列为橄榄石-单斜辉石-(斜方辉石)-斜长石,与典型的SSZ型(Supra-Subduction Zone type)蛇绿岩结晶序列吻合.对各单元矿物电子探针研究发现:橄榄石成分多为贵橄榄石,单斜辉石则多为普通辉石和透辉石,在利用其成分进行构造环境判别中,本区蛇绿岩形成于与挤压背景密切相关的环境.该蛇绿岩表现出轻稀土元素略富集、重稀土元素平坦的稀土元素配分形式,与MORB有较大差异.微量元素特征为相对富集大离子亲石元素Ba、Rb、K,而强烈亏损Nb、P,这恰与俯冲带组分特点吻合;同时高场强元素构造判别图解佐证了前述构造环境的判定.研究区的蛇绿岩应形成于成熟度较高的岛弧环境中.     

对峡东莲沱组与湖南板溪群对比问题的一点浅见

通过对峡东至湖南境内板溪群、震旦纪地层的剖面结构及横相变化的研究,结合同位素测年和古地磁资料,肯定了湖南板溪群是扬子地台南缘裂陷海盆内具类复理石建造特征的陆源碎屑沉积,其沉积时限从930±20Ma 至790±10Ma,属青白口纪;峡区莲沱组是扬子地台上一套具磨拉石建造特征的陆源碎屑岩系,其沉积从760～780Ma 起始,属震旦纪。它与板溪群不是同期异相沉积而是新老关系,分别代表地史发展过程中某一特定时期的岩石组合。峡东莲沱组仅相当湘西北地区的渫水河组,湘中湘西地区的观音田组。     

川北旺苍苍王峡龙潭子河壶穴形态及成因初探

河成壶穴是山区河床基岩上常见的微地貌类型,记录了区域地貌演化过程、水流与河床边界相互作用的关键信息。基于此,笔者等以川北旺苍苍王峡龙潭子河110处河成壶穴为研究对象,详细测量其形态特征并进行统计分析。结果表明：非串珠状壶穴大小、深度及形态在河床纵剖面上的分布没有明显的规律性,而串珠状壶穴具有一定的规律性;壶穴集中分布在下寒武统阎王碥组硅质砾岩中,其中发育的石英砂岩夹层对壶穴的形成和演化起到了关键性作用,双层天生桥壶穴则是典型的代表;区内发育NE、E—W向平面共轭X型构造节理和S—N向构造节理,三角形、菱形、不规则形壶穴多受两组或3组节理控制,其中S—N向构造节理还控制了壶穴的长轴走向和河谷走向;构造节理对壶穴口形态的演化影响显著,而对壶穴垂直剖面形态的影响不显著。本研究将丰富和完善河成壶穴地貌的数据资料,为米仓山地区河流地貌和构造演化提供科学依据。     

黄河晋陕峡谷1.1 Ma阶地的形成及其构造背景*

对黄河晋陕峡谷河曲、黑峪口、延水关和壶口等4个地区进行了详细的野外考察。河曲地区共发现3级河流阶地,更高的则为唐县期宽谷;唐县期宽谷的海拔高度约1000m(拔河高度150m),而3级河流阶地的拔河高度分别约为110m、80m和12m。黑峪口地区也存在唐县期宽谷,宽谷之下发育5级河流阶地,唐县期宽谷西高东低,海拔高度位于970m和940m之间,5级河流阶地的拔河高度分别约为130m,80m、50m、12m和4m。延水关地区共发现6级河流阶地,全部为第四纪期间形成,6级河流阶地的拔河高度分别为180m、130m、95m、50m、20m和4m。壶口地区共存在8级阶地,也全部为第四纪期间的阶地,阶地的拔河高度分别约为260m、210m、180m、120m、80m、60m、35m和15m。对壶口最高阶地进行了地层学研究,发现这一阶地上覆厚度约110m的黄土地层,黄土层的最底部为L13,古地磁研究结果和古土壤断代都指示了这一阶地的形成时间在距今1.1Ma左右。综合晋陕峡谷地区现有的研究结果认为,3.3Ma之前,鄂尔多斯地块内部构造极为稳定,发育了唐县期夷平面,古黄河在此夷平面上主要以侧蚀拓宽为主,下蚀极其微弱;3.3-1.1Ma,鄂尔多斯地块的构造稳定可能被打破,黄河小幅度下切;而1.1Ma以来,受鄂尔多斯地块快速抬升的影响,黄河发生剧烈下切,1.1 Ma阶地和晋陕峡谷的主体在这一时期形成。     

Late quaternary alluvial stratigraphy of a low-order tributary in central Texas, USA and its response to climate and sediment supply

A paleomegafauna site from central Amazonia with exceptional preservation of mastodons and ground sloths allows for the first time a precise age control based on ¹⁴C analysis, which, together with sedimentological and δ¹³C isotope data, provided the basis to discuss habitat evolution within the context of climate change during the past 15,000 yr. The fossil-bearing deposits, trapped within a depression in the Paleozoic basement, record three episodes of sedimentation formed on floodplains, with an intermediate unit recording a catastrophic deposition through debris flows, probably favored during fast floodings. The integrated approach presented herein supports a change in humidity in central Amazonia through the past 15,000 yr, with a shift from drier to arboreal savanna at 11,340 (±50) ¹⁴C yr B.P. and then to a dense forest like we see today at 4620 (±60) ¹⁴C yr B.P.     

坦桑尼亚乌本迪造山带Kipili英安岩-流纹岩的年代学、地球化学特征及岩石成因

Kate-Kipili火山-侵入岩组合位于乌本迪带西缘与班韦乌卢地块的结合部位,通常被认为代表了造山后阶段的岩浆活动记录.本文对Kipili火山岩进行LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb测年的结果显示,3件样品的207Pb/206Pb年龄加权平均值分别为1887.0±8.6Ma、1885.4±8.0Ma和1869.0±8.0...     

Diagenesis and very low-grade metamorphism of volcaniclastic sandstones from contrasting geodynamic environments, North Island, New Zealand: the Murihiku and Waipapa terranes

Abstract The Mesozoic Murihiku and Waipapa terranes are two accretionary wedges of linked forearc and trench sediments, respectively, that were juxtaposed in the early Cretaceous.
Late Triassic to late Jurassic Murihiku terrane volcaniclastic sediments are folded into a regional syncline and have been diagenetically altered. There is a general relationship between zeolite occurrence, clay mineralogy, vitrinite reflectance and stratigraphic position. Youngest Jurassic sediments contain heulandite, analcime and stilbite, whereas late Triassic to mid-Jurassic sediments have laumontite and heulandite (in detail the zeolite distribution is complicated). Tuffaceous horizons on the eastern limb of the syncline are calcitized rather than zeolitized. Post-diagenetic fractures associated with uplift are laumontite-filled. The inferred geothermal gradient is c. 15° C km⁻¹.
The Waipapa terrane is an accretionary complex dominated by imbricated terrigenous sediments of Triassic and Jurassic age with enclosed Permian to Jurassic pelagic sediments and basalts. Late Jurassic sediments are massive volaniclastic sandstones. The sediments are non-foliated, and metamorphic minerals in the massive sandstones have crystallized in specific domains. The observed metamorphic succession of prehnite-pumpellyite and pumpellyite-actinolite facies assemblages was overprinted in the imbricated rocks during a thermal event that was late in the deformation sequence and broadly coincident with hydraulic fracturing and veining.
The metamorphic successions in the two terranes and their relationships to structural features are in excellent accord with accretionary complex models.