Palynological and oxygen isotope investigations on Late-Glacial sediment cores from Swiss lakes

Results from detailed pollen and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O studies on two sediment profiles from small Swiss lakes are reported. ¹⁸O/¹⁶O records in lacustrine carbonate contain paleoclimatic information because they reflect mainly the isotope ratio in rain and snow which is correlated to temperature. Several transitions between different climatic periods determined palyno-logically are also indicated by marked changes in the isotope ratios in both profiles, namely the transitions Oldest Dryas - Bøiling and Allerød - Younger Dryas - Preboreal. ¹⁸o/¹⁶O was 2 to 3 %0 lower during Younger Dryas than during the adjacent periods, corresponding to a temperature drop of a few degrees Centigrade according to a tentative estimate.     

Dating of palaeomagnetic records from Finnish lake sediment cores using pollen analysis

Palaeomagnetic and palynological studies have been made of the sediments of two Finnish lakes. Geomagnetic field changes in Finland can be traced since lake sediments record the ambient geomagnetic field at, or close to, the time they are deposited. Pollen analyses provided a useful method of dating these changes since ¹⁴C dates proved to be misleading.     

The contemporary distribution of pollen in eastern North America: A comparison with the vegetation

By mapping and summarizing 478 pollen counts from surface samples at 406 locations in eastern North America, this study documents the relationships between the distributions of pollen and vegetation on a continental scale. The most common pollen types in this region are pine, birch, oak, and spruce. Maps showing isopercentage contours or isopolls for 13 important pollen types reflect the general N-S zonation of the vegetation. The maps and tabulations of average pollen spectra for the six major vegetational regions indicate high values for the following pollen types in each region: (1) tundra-nonarboreal birch, sedge, and alder; (2) forest/tundra-spruce, nonarboreal birch and alder; (3) boreal forest-spruce, jack pine (type), and arboreal birch with fir in the southeastern part; (4) conifer/hardwood forest-white pine, arboreal birch, and hemlock with beech, maple, and oak in the southern part; (5) deciduous forest-oak, pine, hickory, and elm, with beech and maple in the northern part, and highest values of oak and hickory west of the Appalachian crest; and (6) southeastern forest-pine, oak, hickory, tupelo, and Myricaceae. In some cases, less abundant pollen types are diagnostic for the region, e.g., bald cypress in the southeast. In the conifer-hardwood region and southward, pollen of weeds associated with deforestation and agriculture is abundant. The maps also show that much of southeastern U.S. and the area just to the east of Hudson Bay are in need of additional sampling. At 51 of the sites, absolute pollen frequencies (APF; grains/ml lake sediment) were obtained. These confirm the major conclusions from the percentage data, but differences are evident, e.g., the percentages of alder pollen peak in the tundra whereas alder APFs peak in the boreal forest, and spruce percentages peak in the forest-tundra whereas spruce APFs peak in the boreal forest. Because the APF data reflect the patterns of absolute abundance of individual taxa in the vegetation as well as the overall forest densities, future counts of modern pollen should include APF determinations. The effects of sedimentation processes on APF quantities indicate that APF samples should be obtained from moderate size lakes of similar morphology and hydrology and that, in each lake, several samples from the profundal zone should be pooled to create a sample representative of that lake.     

Geochemistry of Mesozoic dolerite dikes from eastern North America

Major and trace element analyses of over one hundred Mesozoic dolerite dikes from eastern North America have established three main chemical types: 1) olivine-normative; 2) high-TiO₂ quartz-normative; and 3) low-TiO₂ quartz-normative; and a less common high-Fe₂ O₃ ^* ( Fe as Fe₂O₃) quartz-normative type. Quartz-normative dikes predominate from Nova Scotia to Maryland whereas olivine-normative dikes predominate in North and South Carolina. In Virginia and Georgia these types occur in approximately equal abundance.The high-Fe₂O₃ ^* quartz-normative type may be a result of local differentiation. The other quartz-normative types are chemically distinct from each other and probably evolved from different parental magmas. The olivine-normative type may be representative of these parental magmas, and either the parental magmas overlap in composition or only one magma is represented by analyzed olivine-normative dikes.Simple crystal fractionation models coupled with constraints on liquidus phases imposed by recent experimental studies reveal that 1) all three quartz-normative types can be derived from the olivine-normative type by the removal of slightly different cumulate assemblages, but not by contamination with any common crustal composition, and 2) the two-main quartz-normative types are related to each other by neither crystal fractionation nor contamination processes. According to the models, any of the quartz-normative types can be derived from the olivine-normative type by 60–70% accumulation, with the cumulate consisting primarily of 50% plagioclase, 25–30% olivine, and 15% clinopyroxene.The concept of vertical inhomogeniety with respect to incompatible elements in the upper mantle source areas is invoked as a possible explanation for the chemically distinct parental magmas. The spatial distribution of the chemical types and the gross outcrop pattern of the dike swarm clearly indicate that the tectonic environment of the northern Appalachian region differed from that of the southern part during the early Mesozoic.     

Rates of accumulation of manganese nodules and associated sediment from the equatorial Pacific

The accumulation rates and trace element contents of manganese nodules and coexisting sediment in a core collected from the central equatorial Pacific indicate that the nodules are chemically very similar and accumulated at similar rates, but that each stopped growing when it was buried. Elements largely confined to authigenic phases accumulate at comparable rates in nodules and sediment, whereas elements associated with detrital phases accumulate much more rapidly in the sediment.     

Mastodon herbivory in mid-latitude late-Pleistocene boreal forests of eastern North America

Skeletal remains of the extinct American mastodon have often been found with deposits of short, decorticated twigs intermixed with plant fragments presumed to be gastrointestinal or fecal material. If such deposits are digesta, paleobotanical evidence may be used to analyze mastodon foraging strategy, with implications for assessing habitat selection, ecological roles, and response to environmental change. To identify components of mastodon diet in mid-latitude late-Pleistocene boreall forests of eastern North America, plant macrofossils and pollen from a molar socket (Hyde Park site, New York) were compared with dispersed deposits associated with skeletal remains (Hiscock and Chemung sites, New York). Similar macrofossil condition and twig morphology among samples, but difference from a modern boreal fen analog, confirmed the deposits were digesta. Comparison of twigs with material from other paleontological sites and modern elephants suggested dimensions generally indicative of digesta. Picea formed the bulk of each sample but Pinus may have been locally important. Wintertime browsing of Salix and Populus, and springtime consumption of Alnus, were indicated. Evidence for Cyperaceae, Gramineae, and Compositae was ambiguous. If conifers, broadleaf trees, shrubs, and herbs were necessary to fulfill dietary requirements, mastodons would have been nutritionally stressed by rapid late-Pleistocene decrease in vegetational diversity.     

A ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of eastern North America,and implications for dinosaur biogeography

Tyrannosaurs and hadrosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of eastern North America (Appalachia) are distinct from those found in western North America (Laramidia), suggesting that eastern North America was isolated during the Late Cretaceous. However, the Late Cretaceous fauna of Appalachia remains poorly known. Here, a partial maxilla from the Campanian Tar Heel Formation (Black Creek Group) of North Carolina is shown to represent the first ceratopsian from the Late Cretaceous of eastern North America. The specimen has short alveolar slots, a ventrally projected toothrow, a long dentigerous process overlapped by the ectopterygoid, and a toothrow that curves laterally, a combination of characters unique to the Leptoceratopsidae. The maxilla has a uniquely long, slender and downcurved posterior dentigerous process, suggesting a specialized feeding strategy. The presence of a highly specialized ceratopsian in eastern North America supports the hypothesis that Appalachia underwent an extended period of isolation during the Late Cretaceous, leading the evolution of a distinct dinosaur fauna dominated by basal tyrannosauroids, basal hadrosaurs, ornithimimosaurs, nodosaurs, and leptoceratopsids. Appalachian vertebrate communities are most similar to those of Laramidia. However some taxa-including leptoceratopsids-are also shared with western Europe, raising the possibility of a Late Cretaceous dispersal route connecting Appalachia and Europe.     

The concentrations, fluxes, enrichments and chronologies of potential harmful elements in sediment cores from Bohai Bay, North China

To reflect the historical changes, the vertical profiles of concentrations, enrichment factors and burial fluxes of potential harmful elements (PHEs: Ga, Ge, Mo, In, Sn, Sb, Te, Tl, Bi, W and V) were determined in two sediment cores collected from Bohai Bay. Sediment accumulation rates and chronologies were obtained from ²¹⁰Pb activity-depth profiles. Two sediment accumulation rates in core 2 were observed: a higher rate of 4.78 mm/year before the 1960s and 2.93 mm/year since then. The sediment accumulation rate in core 6 was 2.82 mm/year. The PHE concentrations and burial fluxes exhibited an obvious variation with the depth due to the natural and anthropogenic inputs. Especially, the higher concentrations and burial fluxes of PHEs occurred in the 1960s and 1980s, matching the large runoff and industrial development. Enrichment factors (EFs) of PHEs were computed in order to evaluate their potential sources. Results showed that the EFs of Sb, Te and Bi were higher than 1.5, revealing the anthropogenic inputs; however, the EFs of other PHEs were lower than 1.0, indicating the natural inputs. Moreover, the high EFs of Sb, Te and Bi appeared in the surface or subsurface layers, indicating that the extent of anthropogenic contamination enhanced in recent years. Sequential extraction technique was used to study the ecological risks of PHEs. Results revealed that the ecological risks of Mo, Te and Bi in both cores and Sb and W in core 2 were medium due to their high availability in the exchangeable and carbonate-bound fractions.     

北美东部被动大陆边缘盆地的分段性与油气勘探

北美东部被动大陆边缘是世界上最古老的完整被动大陆边缘之一,是研究被动大陆边缘发育演化的天然实验室。本文在大量国外研究成果的基础上,应用盆地构造解析方法,深入研究了北美东部被动大陆边缘盆地群的地质结构和构造演化特征,并揭示了盆地群的油气地质规律。研究认为,北美东部盆地群沉积充填和不整合面发育具有明显的分段性和差异性。以区域不整合面为界,不同段盆地可划分为不同的构造层：南段盆地可划分为两套构造层;中段南部盆地可划分为3套构造层;中段北部盆地可划分为4套构造层;而北段盆地可划分为5套构造层。盆地群整体经历了陆内裂谷—陆间裂谷—被动大陆边缘的演化过程,但不同段盆地的构造演化具有明显的分段性和迁移性：晚三叠世沉降中心位于南段盆地;早侏罗世初期迁移至中段盆地,南段大陆开始裂解;中侏罗世逐渐迁移至北段盆地,中段大陆开始裂解;早白垩世晚期,北段大陆开始裂解。受持续的抬升剥蚀及大西洋岩浆活动省的联合作用,南段盆地和中段大多数盆地缺乏油气保存条件;斯科舍盆地和大浅滩盆地是主要的含油气盆地,以上侏罗统烃源岩为主,主要发育断层—背斜圈闭和盐体刺穿圈闭,整体表现为“自生自储”和“下生上储”的特征。     

Mantle source heterogeneity of the Early Jurassic basalt of eastern North America

International Journal of Earth Sciences - One of the defining characteristics of the basaltic rocks from the Early Jurassic Eastern North America (ENA) sub-province of the Central Atlantic Magmatic...     

Quantitative forest-composition sensing characteristics of pollen samples from Swedish lakes

Prentice, I. Colin, Berglund, Björn E. & Olsson, Tommy 1987 03 01: Quantitative forest-composition sensing characteristics of pollen samples from Swedish lakes. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 43–54. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Surface pollen percentages of major tree genera in 53 moderate-sized lakes in south and central Sweden were compared with percentages of mean forest volume derived from survey plots within 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 km of each lake. A maximum likelihood extended R-value method was used to estimate relative slopes and intercepts of the pollen-tree relationship at each forest sampling radius. Slopes generally went up and intercepts down as sampling radius was increased. Visual goodness-of-fit was optimal at 5–10 km for Picea and at 50–100 km for Pinus , consistent with theoretical pollen source areas. Fagus gave good visual fits at all radii, but Quercus gave indifferent fits and Betula and Alnus poor fits. The taxa differed in relative pollen representation, with relative R-values on the order of 0.11 for Picea , 0.90 for Fagus , 1.0 for Pinus , 1.5 for Quercus , 2.3 for Alnus and 2.5 for Betula . Regional forest patterns can be reconstructed from lake pollen spectra by applying R-values, but the 'region' represented depends on each taxon's pollen dispersal characteristics and spatial pattern. The R-values given here could be used to calibrate European Holocene pollen spectra from moderate-sized lakes for long-term forest dynamic mapping.     

南美Oriente盆地北部海绿石砂岩油藏特征及成藏规律

南美厄瓜多尔Oriente盆地斜坡带发育的白垩系Napo组高伽马特征的UT海绿石砂岩段是成熟探区新发现的隐蔽含油层段。本文分析了海绿石砂岩储层的矿物组成、孔隙结构、成岩作用、物性特点,并结合烃源岩评价与石油空间分布探讨海绿石砂岩油藏的成藏特征。海绿石粘土矿物以颗粒形式存在,与石英共同构成海绿石砂岩的颗粒组分,海绿石砂岩的孔隙结构具有双峰特征,束缚水含量高,属于中-低孔、中-低渗储层类型,孔隙类型主要是剩余粒间孔。海绿石砂岩储层中石英次生加大属Ⅱ级,长石碎屑颗粒发生溶蚀作用,含铁碳酸盐类胶结物发育,结合泥岩低的I/S混层比和高的最高峰温值T_max,指示海绿石砂岩层段属于中成岩阶段A期的产物。与海绿石砂岩油藏紧邻的大面积分布的Ⅱ₁腐泥型成熟烃源岩就是缓翼斜坡带的生烃中心,大面积连续发育的海绿石砂岩与之构成优越的源储组合,有利于上生下储式成藏。海绿石砂岩油藏表现为近源性、成藏晚期性等特点,规模发育的海绿石砂岩储层得以成藏的主要运聚机制是体积流和扩散流运聚机制。这对盆地其它油区同类油藏的发现具有重要的借鉴意义。     

Paleobotany of Wisconsinan interstadials, eastern Great Lakes region, North America

This study concerns the pollen and plant macrofossils from Mid-Wisconsinan Interstadial sites within the Wisconsinan ice margin in eastern North America. The time period covered is from about 55,000 years BP to 22,500 years BP, an interval much longer than the postglacial. Sediments examined are principally those of large lakes deposited in the Erie and Ontario basins during intervals of ice retreat.The Port Talbot I Interval (from about 55,000 to 50,000 years BP) in the Erie basin is characterized by pollen assemblages alternating from Pinus-dominated zones to ones with abundant Pinus, Quercus, and nonarboreal pollen. These assemblages are interpreted as indicating relatively warm and dry conditions. Mean July temperatures fluctuated between 15 and 21°C.During the succeeding Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point Interstadial, in both the Erie and Ontario basins, pollen assemblages are characterized by dominant Pinus and Picea. Characteristic macrofossils include needles of the boreal Picea and Larix and leaves of species with a more northerly distribution, such as Dryas integrifolia, Betula glandulosa var. glandulosa, Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum, and Salix herbacea. These fossil assemblages are interpreted as indicating cooler and moister conditions in a forest-tundra environment. Mean July temperatures fluctuated between 10 and 15°C during the Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point Interstadial.     

Numerical computation of co-oscillating palaeotides in the Catskill epeiric Sea of eastern North America

A numerical model describing two-dimensional, shallow water, long wave propagation has provided estimates of the co-oscillating palaeotides in the upper Devonian Catskill Sea. This sea was open to the ocean along the present Gulf Coast and, moving clockwise, was circumscribed by the Transcontinental Arch, the Old Red Sandstone Continent, and the rising Appalachian Orogen. Using the present best estimates of basin bathymetry and open-ocean tidal range, the model indicates high mesotidal to low macrotidal ranges for the Catskill Shelf along the ancestral Appalachians. The Mid-Continent Shelf, centred on Iowa, is considered to have been microtidal. These conclusions are not sensitive to reasonable variations in shelf geometry and support the hypothesis that at least some epicontinental seas could have been tide-dominated.     

Changing patterns in the Holocene pollen record of northeastern North America: A mapped summary

By mapping the data from 62 radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams, this paper illustrates the Holocene history of four major vegetational regions in northeastern North America. Isopoll maps, difference maps, and isochrone maps are used in order to examine the changing patterns within the data set and to study broad-scale and long-term vegetational dynamics. Isopoll maps show the distributions of spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus), oak (Quercus), herb (nonarboreal pollen groups excluding Cyperaceae), and birch + maple + beech + hemlock (Betula, Acer, Fagus, Tsuga) pollen at specified times from 11,000 BP to present. Difference maps were constructed by subtracting successive isopoll maps and illustrate the changing patterns of pollen abundances from one time to the next. The isochrone maps portray the movement of ecotones and range limits by showing their positions at a sequence of times during the Holocene. After 11,000 BP, the broad region over which spruce pollen had dominated progressively shrank as the boreal forest zone was compressed between the retreating ice margin and the rapidly westward and northward expanding region where pine was the predominant pollen type. Simultaneously, the oak-pollen-dominated deciduous forest moved up from the south and the prairie expanded eastward. By 7000 BP, the prairie had attained its maximum eastward extent with the period of its most rapid expansion evident between 10,000 and 9000 BP. Many of the trends of the early Holocene were reversed after 7000 BP with the prairie retreating westward and the boreal and other zones edging southward. In the last 500 years, man's impact on the vegetation is clearly visible, especially in the greatly expanded region dominated by herb pollen. The large scale changes before 7000 BP probably reflect shifts in the macroclimatic patterns that were themselves being modified by the retreat and disintegration of the Laurentide ice sheet. Subsequent changes in the pollen and vegetation were less dramatic than those of the early Holocene.     

Geochemistry of two sediment cores from the west coast of India

Copper, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Mn, AI, Ca, magnetic susceptibility and loss on ignition of sediments from two cores near Mangalore along the western continental shelf of India have been studied. The sediments have high Al and organic matter contents due to the high sedimentation rate and their proximity to river mouths. Down-core variations of elements indicate a decrease of lithogenous component during probably the past few centuries. While abundance of calcareous shells in some zones has lead to the dilution of most of the metals, it appears that Pb and Mn are associated with this phase. Copper, Zn and Fe are associated with organic matter and detrital particles, whereas Ni and Co are predominantly associated with the insoluble fraction. Oxides/hydroxides of Fe and Mn are absent because of the reducing conditions and the high terrigenous influx. Geochemically, Mn and Fe are present in different phases of sediments (in the insoluble fraction and organic matter respectively). The Fe content of one of the cores is positively correlated with magnetic susceptibility.     

Comparisons of 210Pb and pollen methods for determining rates of estuarine sediment accumulation

Comparisons of sedimentation rates obtained by ²¹⁰Pb and pollen analyses of 1-m cores collected throughout the Potomac Estuary show good agreement in the majority of cores that can be analyzed by both methods. Most of the discrepancy between the methods can be explained by the analytical precision of the ²¹⁰Pb method and by the exactness with which time horizons can be identified and dated for the pollen method. X-radiographs of the cores and the distinctness of the pollen horizons preclude significant displacement by reworking and/or mixing of sediments. Differences between the methods are greatest where uncertainties exist in assigning a rate by one or both methods (i.e., ²¹⁰Pb trends and/or “possible” horizon assignments). Both methods show the same relative rates, with greater sediment accumulation more common in the upper and middle estuary and less toward the mouth. The results indicate that geochronologic studies of estuarine sediments should be preceded by careful observation of sedimentary structures, preferably by X-radiography, to evaluate the extent of mixing of the sediments. Time horizons, whether paleontologic or isotopic, are generally blurred where mixing has occurred, precluding precise identification. Whenever possible, two methods should be used for dating sediments because a rate, albeit erroneous, can be obtained isotopically in sediments that are mixed; accurate sedimentation rates are also difficult to determine where the time boundary is a zone rather than a horizon, where the historical record does not provide a precise date for the pollen horizon, or where scouring has removed some of the sediment above a dated pollen horizon.     

Phosphorus in foraminiferal sediments from North Atlantic Ridge cores and in pure limestones

Samples of foraminiferal ooze from two North Atlantic cores were cleaned and progressively dissolved. Most of the P, Fe, and Mn was released during the first of two reductive cleaning steps. Most of the remainder of these elements and most of the Ca were released during the final acid dissolution step. The P in these samples is present largely in Fe- and Mn-rich coatings, not as a constituent of the foraminiferal shells themselves. Our results are consistent with those of earlier studies.The concentration of P in carbonate oozes in which it is clearly associated with coatings is similar to that of modern calcareous sediments in general, and with that of reasonably pure limestones of all ages. Phosphorus is apparently associated with (Fe, Mn)-oxide coatings in many carbonate sediments. The rate of removal of P from the oceans as a constituent of such sediments depends on the rate of formation of (Fe, Mn) coatings, not on the rate of incorporation of P into calcium carbonate.     

Hydrocarbons in age-dated sediment cores from two basins in the Southern California Bight

The distributions of hydrocarbons in sediment cores dated by ²¹⁰Pb (1845–1977) from San Pedro and San Nicolas Basins in the Southern California Bight have been determined by gas Chromatographic and combined gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis. The chromatograms of the hydrocarbons contain peaks of resolved alkanes and cycloalkanes, as well as an unresolved complex mixture which decrease in content with increasing depth in both of the cores. The concentrations of o,p' andp,p'-DDE are highest in the top 50 mm of the San Pedro core section. The 45–50 mm segment of this core was deposited in the 1945–1950 period when DDT (the precursor of DDE compounds) came into common use. The relatively high content of hydrocarbons and DDE in this core is attributable to the proximity of the site to the San Pedro Harbor which receives petroleum residues from shipping, sewage outfalls and industrial effluents. The presence of only traces of DDE throughout the San Nicolas core, and the low hydrocarbon content are explainable by the greater distance of this basin from anthropogenic inputs and probably a greater rate of degradation of deposited organic matter during bioturbation. δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and electron-spin resonance analyses of kerogens and humic substances in these cores, indicate that most of this organic matter in these sediments is of a marine origin.