An origin for laminated glacimarine sediments through sea-ice build-up and suppressed iceberg rafting

Laminated glacimarine sediments are observed in visual core logs and x-radiographs from Scoresby Sund and Nansen Fjord, east Greenland. They are mostly underlain and overlain by massive or stratified glacimarine diamicton (Dmm or Dms), which is a product of iceberg delivery of heterogeneous debris and, in Scoresby Sund, reworking by deep-drafted iceberg keels. The laminated sediments are AMS radiocarbon dated to two cold periods since the last, Late Weichselian deglaciation: the Younger Dryas stadial (Milne Land Stadial in east Greenland) and the Little Ice Age. During cold climatic events, multiyear shorefast sea ice ('sikussak') formed in these fjords and trapped the icebergs. Fine-grained, laminated muds (Fl) were deposited in Scoresby Sund when the flux of icebergs was suppressed, but turbid meltwater continued to provide some sediment flux to the fjord systems, varying through time to produce laminations. In Nansen Fjord, thinner and often massive mud layers (Fm) resulted from shorter intervals of sea-ice cover with no ice rafting. Stratified diamicton layers (Dms), which alternate with mud deposition to produce a laminated unit, probably represent intervening times of more open conditions with iceberg rafting. In Scoresby Sund, foraminifera are either absent from the laminated unit or begin to appear towards the end of its deposition. The absence of both benthic and planktonic foraminifera also suggests that multiyear sea ice was covering the core sites. There is no evidence of macrofaunal activity, and bioturbation is absent from the laminated sediments. Satellite data show that multiyear shorefast sea ice is present in several areas of the high Arctic today, and this traps icebergs calved from interior ice-cap drainage basins. Thus, the process of laminated glacimarine sediment formation is likely to be applicable to a number of areas of the modern and Quaternary Arctic.     

The Late Quaternary sedimentary record in Scoresby Sund, East Greenland

Until recently, little was known about the Quaternary marine sedimentary record in East Greenland. Geophysical and geological investigations in Scoresby Sund were undertaken to characterize the nature and chronology of this record. Seismic records show that almost 70% of the outer fjord system is covered by about 10 m of unlithified sediments, making direct correlation with the Quaternary records on land and the adjacent continental margin difficult. These acoustically unstratified sediments are scoured by icebergs above 550 m water depth. Almost 90% of core material is massive diamicton of Holocene age, deposited mainly from iceberg rafting and turbid meltwater. Sedimentation rates are 0.1 -0.3 m 1000 yr-¹. Thicker accumulations of unlithified Quaternary sediments in Scoresby Sund occur as sediment ridges and in two other major depocentres. A low sediment ridge runs across the mouth of Scoresby Sund, and is interpreted as an end moraine of Late Weichselian Flakkerhuk stadial age. The very restricted sediment thickness suggests that grounded ice filled the fjord during the Flakkerhuk and an ice shelf was not present. High inputs of ice rafted debris to the continental margin at about 18 000 BP indicate this as a probable age for the moraine. During the Allerød Interstadial, ice probably retreated from the outer fjord system, since massive diamictons similar to those of Holocene age are present at the base of most cores. A major depocentre of acoustically stratified sediments at the head of Hall Bredning is interpreted to represent ice proximal deposits from a glacier margin extending across the fjord. It is adjacent to dated moraines on land and is inferred to be of Milne Land stadial age (about 10 000 BP). A similar age is interpreted for acoustically laminated sediments and a moraine at the entrance of Vikingebugt, on the south side of Scoresby Sund. Dated kame terraces in the inner fjord system indicate that ice retreated to its present position 6–7000 years ago.     

Evaluating ice‐rafted debris as a proxy for glacier calving in Upernavik Isfjord,NW Greenland

Records of ice‐rafted debris (IRD) in sediments are commonly used as a proxy for iceberg production and to reconstruct past changes of glacier stability. However, the interpretation of IRD is complex as multiple processes modulate its variability. This study investigates the relationship between IRD variability and glaciological change by measuring IRD records from Upernavik Fjord and comparing these to frontal positions of Upernavik Isstrøm during the past century. Results show that the spatial variability of IRD deposition throughout the fjord is high, indicating that randomness inherent to IRD distorts the calving signal. However, we investigate whether IRD records can be combined to improve the reconstruction, as previously suggested, and show the importance of core site selection and number of cores on this approach. The outer‐fjord core compares relatively well to the observed front positions and this is reflected in the composite record: increased IRD deposition in 1937–1946, 1968–1980, and 1996–1999 occurred during periods of faster retreat. Comparison with climatic records shows that the calving episodes in the late ‘30 s/early ‘40 s and late ‘90 s are related to warm ocean and air temperatures, whereas intensified retreat and calving during the ‘70 s reflects partly an internal glacier response to the fjord geometry.     

Freshwater control of ice-rafted debris in the last glacial period at Mono Lake, California, USA

The type section silts of the late Pleistocene Wilson Creek Formation at Mono Lake contain outsized clasts, dominantly well-rounded pebbles and cobbles of Sierran lithologies. Lithic grains > 425 μm show a similar pattern of variability as the > 10 mm clasts visible in the type section, with decreasing absolute abundance in southern and eastern outcrops. The largest concentrations of ice-rafted debris (IRD) occur at 67–57 ka and 46–32 ka, with strong millennial-scale variability, while little IRD is found during the last glacial maximum and deglaciation.Stratigraphic evidence for high lake level during high IRD intervals, and a lack of geomorphic evidence for coincidence of lake and glaciers, strongly suggests that rafting was by shore ice rather than icebergs. Correspondence of carbonate flux and IRD implies that both were mainly controlled by freshwater input, rather than disparate non-climatic controls. Conversely, the lack of IRD during the last glacial maximum and deglacial highstands may relate to secondary controls such as perennial ice cover or sediment supply. High IRD at Mono Lake corresponds to low glacial flour flux in Owens Lake, both correlative to high warm-season insolation. High-resolution, extra-basinal correlation of the millennial peaks awaits greatly improved age models for both records.     

Interactions of Arctic and Atlantic water-masses and associated environmental changes during the last millennium, Hornsund (SW Svalbard)

The fjords of southwestern Spitsbergen (European Arctic) are a climatically sensitive area neighbouring the mixing zone of warm northward-flowing Atlantic water-masses and cold Arctic Water. Owing to reasonably high accumulation rates, these settings are especially suitable for providing high-resolution sedimentary records of regional hydrological and environmental changes. A sediment core spanning the last millennium was retrieved from the outer Hornsund fjord basin, ¹⁴C dated and analysed for sediment grain size, ice-rafted debris (IRD), the distribution of benthic foraminifera and their oxygen and carbon stable isotope composition. The record of sub-centennial resolution reveals three distinctive periods: the Medieval Warm Period, the Little Ice Age (∼AD 1600–1900) and 20th-century warming. The marine record obtained is well correlated with regional high-resolution ice-core records as well as with atmospheric palaeotemperature reconstructions and sea-ice data. The colder periods stay in phase with the greater influence of less saline, cold Arctic Water indicated by subtle changes in benthic foraminifera assemblages and the δ¹⁸O signal, which is dominated by changes in salinity. The IRD record clearly indicates that tidewater glaciers were present in SW Spitsbergen throughout the last millennium, and most actively from the late 16th century until the end of the 19th century.     

考虑渗流力的海床临界冲刷机理及计算方法

从波浪引起的海床内部渗流与床面泥沙运动耦合的角度出发,研究波浪作用下海床临界冲刷机理及计算方法。研究表明,波浪作用下床面泥沙起动及冲刷是一个不断向下发展的过程,最终达到一个临界冲刷深度。波浪引起的渗流力能够显著降低泥沙的临界起动切应力,促进泥沙起动,是影响海床冲刷的一个重要因素。将渗流力引入到传统泥沙起动公式中,推导并给出了波浪作用下海床临界冲刷深度的计算方法。结合室内和现场两个算例,很好地解释了波浪水槽试验中海床"流化"现象和黄河水下三角洲粉砂流冲沟等灾害地貌特征及成因,初步验证了该方法用于评价和计算海床冲刷的有效性。     

Late Quaternary changes in sediment composition on the NE Greenland margin (~73° N) with a focus on the fjords and shelf

In order to document changes in Holocene glacier extent and activity in NE Greenland (~73° N) we study marine sediment records that extend from the fjords (PS2631 and PS2640), across the shelf (PS2623 and PS2641), to the Greenland Sea (JM07‐174GC). The primary bedrock geology of the source areas is the Caledonian sediment outcrop, including Devonian red beds, plus early Neoproterozoic gneisses and early Tertiary volcanics. We examine the variations in colour (CIE*), grain size, and bulk mineralogy (from X‐ray diffraction of the <2 mm sediment fraction). Fjord core PS2640 in Sofia Sund, with a marked red hue, is distinct in grain size, colour and mineralogy from the other fjord and shelf cores. Five distinct grain‐size modes are distinguished of which only one is associated with a coarse ice‐rafting signal – this mode is rare in the mid‐ and late Holocene. A sediment unmixing program (SedUnMixMC) is used to characterize down‐core changes in sediment composition based on the upper late Holocene sediments from cores PS2640 (Sofia Sund), PS2631 (Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord) and PS2623 (south of Shannon Is), and surface samples from the Kara Sea (as an indicator of transport from the Russian Arctic shelves). Major changes in mineral composition are noted in all cores with possible coeval shifts centred c. 2.5, 4.5 and 7.5 cal. ka BP (±0.5 ka) but are rarely linked with changes in the grain‐size spectra. Coarse IRD (>2 mm) and IRD‐grain‐size spectra are rare in the last 9–10 cal. ka BP and, in contrast with areas farther south (~68° N), there is no distinct IRD signal at the onset of neoglaciation. Our paper demonstrates the importance of the quantitative analysis of sediment properties in clarifying source to sink changes in glacial marine environments.     

Atlantic surface water inflow to the Nordic seas during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition (mid–late Younger Dryas and Pre‐Boreal periods, 12 450–10 000 a BP)

The inflow of Atlantic Water to the Nordic seas from mid–late Younger Dryas to earliest Holocene (12 450–10 000 a BP) is reconstructed on the basis of a high‐resolution core (LINK14) from 346 m water depth on the east Faroe shelf. We have analysed the distribution of planktic and benthic foraminifera, stable isotopes and ice‐rafted debris (IRD), and calculated absolute temperatures and salinities by transfer functions. During the investigated time period there was almost continuous inflow of Atlantic Water to the Nordic seas. Deposition of IRD during the mid–late Younger Dryas and Pre‐Boreal coolings indicates the presence of melting icebergs and that summer sea surface temperatures were low. The east–west temperature gradient across the Faroe–Shetland Channel was much steeper than today. The cold conditions around the Faroe Islands are attributed to stronger East Greenland and East Icelandic currents than at present. The near‐continuous inflow of Atlantic Water is consistent with published evidence suggesting that deep convection took place in the Nordic seas, although the convection sites probably had shifted to a more easterly position than at present. Around the time of deposition of the Saksunarvatn Tephra c. 10 350 a BP, sea surface temperatures increased to the present level. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment accumulation rates and geochronologies measured in the Saguenay Fjord using the Pb-210 dating method

Sediment accumulation rates were estimated from-the vertical distribution of excess Pb-210 measured in sediment cores collected at seven stations in the Saguenay Fjord, Quebec. These rates decrease with increasing water depth and distance from the mouth of the Saguenay River, ranging from 4.0 g cm^?2 yr^?1 (～- 7 cm yr^?1) near the head of the fjord to 0.07 g cm^?2 yr^?1 (～- 0.1 cm yr^?1) in the deep inner basin of the fjord. In one core from the head of the fjord, layered sediment structures, having different physical characteristics and composition, appear related to recent, pulsed inputs of older raised marine deposits displaced by a landslide in 1971. Synchronous depositional anomalies in several cores provide evidence of other large scale sediment redistribution processes in the fjord. Pb-210 geochronologies are generally in good agreement with time-stratigraphic horizons inferred both from Cs-137 activity profiles and from the analysis of pollen assemblages in one core.     

Vertical disturbance of sediments by horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) during their spawning season

Biological and physical reworking of sediments can profoundly affect the structure and functioning of benthic communities. The depth of the disturbance is an important factor that controls the types of organisms that can exist within the sediments. Large numbers of horseshoe crabs,Limulus polyphemus, spawn each spring on the sandy shores of Delaware Bay beaches. We have used this abundance peak to provide an estimate of the depth of sediment disruption caused by this species on an intertidal flat adjoining a major spawning beach. Vertical columns of marked sediment were placed in three locations of an intertidal flat. Some columns were protected with cages while others remained unprotected. Analysis of variance of the depth of disruption of the marked sediment indicated that different areas of the intertidal zone were disrupted to different depths. Caged marked sediment was disturbed to an average depth of 3.2 cm while unprotected sediment was disturbed to a mean depth of 11.1 cm. Deepest mixing occurred in a trough between sandwave crests and averaged 17.7 cm deep. These mixing depths are greater than the 1.2 cm deep disturbance produced by nonstorm wave action in the study area.     

Ice sheet grounding and iceberg plow marks on the northern and central Yermak Plateau revealed by geophysical data

We present new evidence for a grounded ice sheet and subsequent erosion by large fields of coherent icebergs for the central and northern Yermak Plateau (80.6°N to 82.2°N). Sediment echosounder and swath bathymetry data were combined with seismic reflection profiles and reveal at least three different glacial events marked by erosional unconformities: (i) An erosional unconformity was observed at ～70–90 m below seafloor down to depths of more than 850 m present water depth, extending to ～82°N. The erosional unconformity is overlain by an acoustically chaotic layer of ～50 m thickness interpreted as a diamicton originating from a grounded ice sheet. The erosional unconformity and the overlying diamicton can be correlated to the overconsolidated sediments found at ODP Site 910 at a sediment depth between ～19 and 70–95 m. The oldest sediments just above the overconsolidated sediments are of late Early Pleistocene age (MIS19/20) and provide a minimum age for the grounding event. (ii) Parallel to sub-parallel mega-scale lineations are observed on large parts of the plateau west and northeast of the Sverdrup Bank at water depths between 725 and 850 m. These lineations are mainly oriented NNE-SSW and were quite likely formed by the keels of deep-draft, mega-scale tabular icebergs entrapped in a coherent mass of icebergs and sea ice. The lineations are of late Middle Pleistocene age. (iii) Smaller-scale curvilinear plow marks were found in the southernmost part of our study area at water depths between 640 and 775 m. These were possibly caused by single icebergs and are of Late Pleistocene age. Iceberg scours are also found on three basement heights on the Yermak Plateau. These, however, cannot be assigned to specific events; they might as well originate from additional glacial phases.The western (at >850 m water depth) and eastern (at >1000–1200 m water depth) flanks of the Yermak Plateau are relatively featureless, and indicate the maximum depth of a grounded ice sheet and of iceberg armadas probably entrapped in sea ice.     

黄河下游洪水冲淤相对平衡的分组含沙量阈值探讨

河床冲淤相对平衡下的洪水分组含沙量阈值是多泥沙河流水沙调控的重要参数.基于河床演变学的原理,根据黄河下游200余场次洪水实测资料,探讨了洪水分组含沙量阈值和分组来沙系数阈值.研究表明,黄河下游洪水过程中,在一定的分组含沙量及来沙系数条件下,可以使得河床冲淤达到相对平衡.对于悬沙以细泥沙为主的洪水,其河槽冲淤临界含沙量与主槽单宽流量、最大日均流量、花园口以下河段最小平滩流量、床沙中值粒径大于0.05 mm的沙重百分数有关;对于悬沙以中粗泥沙为主的临界含沙量则与粒径大于0.05 mm的沙重百分数无关;对于悬沙以粗泥沙为主的临界含沙量除与细泥沙临界含沙量的因素有关外,还与悬沙中值粒径小于0.025 mm、大于0.05 mm的沙重百分数有关.对于含沙量级相近的洪水,若流量级不同,同样可以产生不同的冲淤结果,即存在着分组来沙系数临界值.     

河床冲刷粗化的随机模拟

对冲刷与粗化的相互作用机制进行了分析,并在非均匀沙床面暴露度的随机分布特性、流速分布及起动规律研究的基础上,提出了河床冲刷粗化的随机模型。该模型能同时对河床冲刷深度及粗化稳定级配进行计算。由实验及野外实测资料的验证表明,计算结果与实测值基本相符。     

Neogene fjordal sedimentation on the western margin of the Lambert Graben, East Antarctica

The Lambert Graben is occupied by the world’s largest fjord system, through which flows the Lambert Glacier, the Amery Ice Shelf and their tributaries. Along the western margin of the graben, in the northern Prince Charles Mountains, remnants of uplifted Miocene and Pliocene strata of the glacigenic fjordal Pagodroma Group total more than 800 m in thickness. These sediments provide evidence for a dynamic East Antarctic ice sheet during the Neogene Period. Each of the four Pagodroma Group formations defined from this region rests unconformably on either Proterozoic or Permo‐Triassic rocks. The unconformity surfaces represent parts of the walls and floors of Neogene fjords. For these surfaces to have been eroded, the ice must have been grounded out as far as the continental shelf in Prydz Bay. The Pagodroma Group was deposited by wet‐based glaciers discharging into a fjordal setting and includes lithofacies that are quite different from those produced by modern Antarctic ice masses. The principal lithofacies are massive diamicts and soulder gravels, deposited both close to a calving, grounded glacier terminus and from icebergs. The few stratified diamicts are the product of more distal iceberg sedimentation. An ice‐transported gravel lithofacies includes rockfall debris derived from palaeofjord walls and mixed with subglacially derived diamicts. Some lithofacies contain evidence of subaquatic slumping and gravity flowage. Volumetrically minor lithofacies include laminites, with some exposures exhibiting large ice‐rafted clasts. The laminites represent less proximal, mainly ice‐free fjordal sediments, resulting either from tidal‐current sorting of suspended sediment originating from subaquatic glaciofluvial discharge, or from turbidity currents derived from unstable subaquatically deposited glacigenic sediment. The Pagodroma Group provides a record of multiple glaciation by dynamic, sliding glaciers carrying large amounts of both basal and supraglacial debris. The closest modern analogues, in terms of the thermal and dynamic characteristics of the Neogene Lambert Glacier, appear to be the fast‐flowing tidewater glaciers of East Greenland. These glaciers originate from the interior ice sheet and discharge large volumes of icebergs; the resulting lithofacies are predominantly diamicts.     

Preservation of meandering river channels in uniformly aggrading channel belts

Channel belt deposits from meandering river systems commonly display an internal architecture of stacked depositional features with scoured basal contacts due to channel and bedform migration across a range of scales. Recognition and correct interpretation of these bounding surfaces is essential to reconstruction of palaeochannel dimensions and to flow modelling for hydrocarbon exploration. It is therefore crucial to understand the suite of processes that form and transfer these surfaces into the fluvial sedimentary record. Here, the numerical model ‘NAYS2D’ is used to simulate a highly sinuous meandering river with synthetic stratigraphic architectures that can be compared directly to the sedimentary record. Model results highlight the importance of spatial and temporal variations in channel depth and migration rate to the generation of channel and bar deposits. Addition of net uniform bed aggradation (due to excess sediment input) allows quantification of the preservation of meander morphology for a wide range of depositional conditions. The authors find that the effect of vertical variation in scouring due to channel migration is generally orders of magnitude larger than the effect of bed aggradation, which explains the limited impact bed aggradation has on preservation of meander morphology. Moreover, lateral differences in stratigraphy within the meander belt are much larger than the stratigraphic imprint of bed aggradation. Repeatedly produced alternations of point bar growth followed by cut‐off result in a vertical trend in channel and scour feature stacking. Importantly, this vertical stacking trend differs laterally within the meander belt. In the centre of the meander belt, the high reworking intensity results in many bounding surfaces and disturbed deposits. Closer to the margins, reworking is infrequent and thick deposits with a limited number of bounding surfaces are preserved. These marginal areas therefore have the highest preservation potential for complete channel deposits and are thus best suited for palaeochannel reconstruction.     

黄河揭底冲刷现象的计算分析

黄河中游的高含沙洪水常常引起黄河的"揭河底"冲刷。通过对黄河"揭河底"现象的分析,建立了"揭河底"冲刷的物理模式,进而导出了"揭河底"冲刷的力学方程和临界水沙条件,其计算结果与实测"揭河底"冲刷的水沙条件相一致。通过该方程与水沙条件的分析,进一步验证了散粒体泥沙起动的流速公式。这两个公式的导出对研究高含沙洪水引起的河床演变以及泥沙起动规律具有重要的理论价值。     

Sedimentology and depositional environments of the Lund Diamicton, southern Sweden

The Lund Diamicton (earlier named Lund Till) in SW Skåne, S. Sweden, is a glacioaquatic sediment consisting of clay and massive and laminated diamictons. It is characterized by clasts derived from the Baltic depression and its depositional history can be summarized as follows: After deglaciation, large fields of stagnant ice remained in the area and a periglacial land surface with ice-wedge polygons and wind-abraded clasts was developed in ice-free areas. A transgression followed and a clay/diamicton sediment was deposited, partly on top of stagnant ice and against a coastal barrier of stagnant ice along large parts of the basin boundary. This sediment is the Lund Diamicton. The main depositional processes were: fall-out of clay from suspension, sediment gravity flow from stagnant ice and icebergs and rain-out of debris from floating icebergs. The unit was extensively deformed by escaping pore water, loading, flow and due to melting of buried ice. The Lund Diamicton is the equivalent in this area of the classical 'Low Baltic till', which has been interpreted as a basal till deposited by the 'Low Baltic ice stream'. The present study concludes that this unit is instead a glacioaquatic sediment deposited during a transgression in the Öresund area. Its boundary represents the highest coastline and not the margin of a glacier.     

船闸泄水作用下引航道中动水冲沙规律

结合工程实际,研究利用船闸泄水进行下游引航道清淤,对减少清淤成本、提高通航效率有着重要的工程价值。建立枢纽及船闸下游引航道的二维水沙数学模型,采用已有模型试验对水流场和泥沙场进行验证。研究引航道及口门区的泥沙淤积规律,在此基础上,分析船闸输水系统的水力特性,研究了不同冲刷流量、冲刷时间和初始淤积厚度下引航道及口门区的冲刷效果,得出船闸泄水量与引航道及口门区最大淤积厚度的关系。结果表明,在同一初始淤积地形和冲刷流量下,引航道及口门区的最大淤积厚度与冲刷时间呈线性变化,冲刷流量越大,泥沙厚度下降的斜率越大。淤积厚度低于一定值后,随冲刷时间的增加,冲刷效果开始减弱。     

Submarine sedimentation on a developing Holocene fan delta

The submarine morphology, sediments, and three-dimensional geometry of a developing fan delta are described using data from acoustic surveys, bottom sampling, and observations from a manned submersible. The fan system is being built in a British Columbian fjord (water depth 410 m) supplied with coarse-grained sediments from a fjord-side river. Construction of the subaqueous fan began about 10–12,000 yr BP and is ongoing. The system is analogous to part of one fault-uplift sedimentation cycle in ancient fan deltas. Initially, when offshore relief was at a maximum, acoustically chaotic sediment wedges were emplaced over fjord-bottom glaciomarine deposits. Subsequent aggradation/progradation resulted in moderately dipping sequences interrupted by local chaotic units. The present fan surface (average slope 13°) is divided into six zones arranged concentrically from the fan apex, on the basis of form, sediment and process interpretations. Continued subaqueous fan growth results from settling of river-derived sediments from suspension and downslope sediment dispersal by episodic gravity flows, apparently fed by underflows from the river.