Late Tertiary–Quaternary tectonics of the Southern Apennines (Italy): New evidences from the Tyrrhenian slope

This paper summarises the results of combined structural and geomorphological investigations we carried out in two key areas, in order to obtain new data on the structure and evolution of the Tyrrhenian slope of the southern Apennines. Analysis by a stress inversion method [Angelier, J., 1994. Fault slip analysis and paleostress reconstruction. In: Continental Deformation. P.L. Hancock Ed., Pergamon Press, Oxford, 53–100] of fault slip data from Mesozoic to Quaternary formations allowed the reconstruction of states of stress at different time intervals. By integrating these data with those deriving from the stratigraphic and morphotectonic records, chronology and timing of the sequence of the deformation events was obtained.The tectonic history of the region can be related to four deformation events. Structures related to the first event, that was dominated by a strike-slip regime with a NW–SE oriented σ1 and was active since Mid–Late Miocene, do not significantly affect the present day landscape, as they were strongly displaced and overprinted by subsequent deformation events and/or deleted by erosion. The second and third events, that may be considered as the main responsible for the morphostructural signature of the region, are comparable with the stretching phases recognised offshore and considered to be responsible for the opening and widening of the Tyrrhenian basin. In particular, the second event (with an E–W oriented σ3), took place in the Late Miocene/earliest Pliocene and was first dominated by a strike-slip regime, that was also responsible for thrusting and folding. Since Late Pliocene, it was dominated by an extensional regime that created large vertical offsets along N–S to NW–SE trending faults. The third event, that was dominated by extension with a NW–SE oriented σ3, started in the Early Pleistocene and was responsible for formation of the horst-and-graben structure with NE–SW trend that characterises the Tyrrhenian margin of the southern Apennines. The fourth deformation event, which is characterised by an extensional regime with a NE–SW trending σ3, started in the late Middle Pleistocene and is currently active.     

Pedosedimentary development of part of a Late Quaternary loess‐palaeosol sequence in northwest Argentina

The field properties, magnetic susceptibility, particle size, calcium carbonate content, soil micromorphology and optical luminescence ages of the upper 6.1 m and lowermost 4.7 m of the 45 m loess–palaeosol sequence at El Lambedero in the Tafí del Valle region of Tucumán Province (Sierras Pampeanas, northwest Argentina) have been used to set up a partial stratigraphy and chronology, as well as a basic pedosedimentary model of loess accumulation, palaeosol development, reworking and erosion for the site. The minimum ages derived from the basal part of the section suggest that loess began to accumulate some time before 165 ka. A thick and well‐developed pedocomplex in the upper profile is correlated with at least the latter part of marine isotope stage (MIS) 5, whereas the overlying palaeosol may be attributable to pedogenic activity during MIS 3. The absence of material younger than 33 ka close to the surface of this rounded spur landform is probably the result of either non‐deposition or erosional stripping in response to climatic change, or episodic uplift in this seismically active region. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

西南天山阿图什背斜晚第四纪的阶段性隆升

摘要：西南天山山前的阿图什背斜带是晚第四纪以来强烈活动的褶皱带,博古孜河横切背斜构造的中段,在背斜区形成6级基座阶地,为晚第四纪以来阿图什背斜阶段性褶皱隆起的地貌标志。 用差分GPS测量阶地纵剖面,发现T1、T2和T4阶地面在背斜的北翼坡向北,与河流的流向相反。T1、T2和T5阶地面在背斜的南翼坡向南,平均坡度分别为0.9°、1.2°和1.8°,远大于现代河床的平均坡度角0.5°。通过细颗粒石英和细颗粒混合矿物的光释光简单多片再生法(SMAR)测年,确定博古孜河T1、T2、T3、T4和T5阶地的形成年龄分别为距今约(25.0±2.6)、(42.7±4.4)、(63.1±6.3)、(96.9±9.9)和(120±10) ka BP。晚第四纪不同时段博古孜河的下切速率具有不均匀性,其中T3和T4阶地的下切速率分别为049和044 mm/a,T1 、T2和T5阶地的下切速率分别为12、169和136 mm/a。博古孜河分别在(120±10)～(96.9±9.9) ka、(42.7±4.4)～(25.0±2.6) ka和(25.0±2.6) ka至今的3个时段发生强烈的下切,应是阿图什背斜带在该时段快速构造隆起导致河流加速下切。     

Late Pliocene–Quaternary tectonics in the frontal part of the SE Carpathians: Insights from tectonic geomorphology

The Romanian East Carpathians display large-scale heterogeneities along the mountain belt, unusual foredeep geometries, significant post-collisional and neotectonic activity, and major variations in topography, mostly developed in the aftermath of late Miocene (Sarmatian; 11 Ma) subduction/underthrusting and continental collision between the East European/Scythian/Moesian foreland and the inner Carpathians Tisza-Dacia unit. In particular, the SE corner of the arcuate orogenic belt represents the place of still active large-scale differential vertical movements between the uplifting mountain chain and the subsiding Focşani foredeep basin. In this key area, we have analysed the configuration of the present day landforms and the drainage patterns in order to quantify the amplitude, timing and kinematics of these post-collisional late Pliocene–Quaternary vertical movements. A river network is incising in the upstream a high topography consisting of the external Carpathians nappes and the Pliocene–Lower Pleistocene sediments of the foreland. Further eastwards in the downstream, this network is cross-cutting a low topography consisting of the Middle Pleistocene–Holocene sediments of the foreland. Geological observations and well-preserved geomorphic features demonstrate a complex succession of geological structures. The late Pliocene–Holocene tectonic evolution is generally characterised by coeval uplift in the mountain chain and subsidence in the foreland. At a more detailed scale, these vertical movements took place in pulses of accelerated motion, with laterally variable amplitude both in space and in time. After a first late Pliocene uplifting period, subsidence took place during the Earliest Pleistocene resulting in a basal Quaternary unconformity. This was followed by two, quantifiable periods of increased uplift, which affected the studied area at the transition between the Carpathians orogen and the Focşani foreland basin in the late Early Pleistocene and the late Middle to late Pleistocene. Both large-scale deformation events affected the western Focşani basin flank, tilting the entire structure with 9° during the late Early Pleistocene and uplifted it as a block during the early Late Pleistocene. The late Early Pleistocene tilting resulted in 750 m uplift near the frontal monocline and by extrapolation in a presumed 3000 m uplift near the central parts of the Carpathians. The late Middle to late Pleistocene cumulative uplift reaches 250 m and correlates with a contemporaneous progradation of the uplifted areas towards the Focşani Basin. The uplifting events are separated by a second Quaternary unconformity. On the whole, the late Pliocene–Quaternary evolution of the Carpathians orogen/Focşani basin structure indicate large-scale differential uplift during the latest stages of a continuous post-collisional orogenic evolution.     

Mesocyclicity of Upper Triassic-Jurassic rocks in the Bureya Basin in the Far East of Russia: Their tectonics, eustasy, and sequence stratigraphy

The mesocyclicity of Upper Triassic-Jurassic rocks in the Bureya Basin located at that time at the paleocontinent margin was examined. The rock sections of this basin distinctly reflect the chronology of the eustatic sea-level fluctuations, which enabled us for the first time to construct a sequence stratigraphic model for this basin. Based on all the factors affecting the cyclicity, cycles of six orders (ranks) were recognized in the Bureya Basin for the Jurassic stage of its evolution. The tectonic factor predominates in the identification of the first three orders: the first-order cycle (the Alpian), the second-order cycles (the Indo-Sinian and Yanshanian), and the third-order cycles (the Late Indo-Sinian, Early Yanshanian, and Middle Yanshanian subcycles). The formation of the fourth-to sixth-order cycles was affected by not only the tectonic processes but also the eustatic sea-level fluctuations, the sediment supply??s volume, the sedimentary environment, and the climatic changes. Since the oil source rocks are formed during the maximal transgressions, the aleuropelitic strata of the fifth-order cycles (the Chagany, El??ga, Epikan, and Sinkal??tu formations along with the Khavagda Sequence) accumulated in the deepest parts of the basin are believed to be the most prospective objects.     

Late Miocene–Quaternary volcanism, tectonics and drainage system evolution in the East Carpathians, Romania

Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) convergence created the fold and thrust belt of the Eastern Carpathians of Romania, which subsequently experienced post-collisional crustal deformation combined with calc-alkaline and alkalic-basaltic volcanism in late Miocene–Quaternary time. This deformation led to the rise of the Cǎlimani–Gurghiu–Harghita volcanic mountains and to the subsidence of the N–S-oriented intramontane Borsec/Bilbor–Gheorgheni–Ciuc and Braşov pull-apart basins, and the E-oriented monocline-related Fǎgǎraş basin. The regional drainage network is the composite of:

(1) Older E-, SE- and S-flowing rivers, which cross the Carpathians, radiate towards the foreland and were probably established during the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) collision event.

(2) A more recent drainage system related to the contemporaneous development of the volcanoes and intramontaneous basins, which generally drains westward into the Transylvanian Basin since late Miocene time and has been capturing the older river system.

The older river drainage system has also been modified by Late Pliocene–Quaternary folding, thrusting and monoclinal tilting along the Pericarpathian orogenic front and by reactivated transverse high angle basement faults, which cross the Eastern Carpathian foreland.     

Late Quaternary sea‐level change and evolution of Belfast Lough,Northern Ireland: new offshore evidence and implications for sea‐level reconstruction

The interplay of eustatic and isostatic factors causes complex relative sea‐level (RSL) histories, particularly in paraglacial settings. In this context the past record of RSL is important in understanding ice‐sheet history, earth rheology and resulting glacio‐isostatic adjustment. Field data to develop sea‐level reconstructions are often limited to shallow depths and uncertainty exists as to the veracity of modelled sea‐level curves. We use seismic stratigraphy, 39 vibrocores and 26 radiocarbon dates to investigate the deglacial history of Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland, and reconstruct past RSL. A typical sequence of till, glacimarine and Holocene sediments is preserved. Two sea‐level lowstands (both max. ?40 m) are recorded at c. 13.5 and 11.5k cal a bp . Each is followed by a rapid transgression and subsequent periods of RSL stability. The first transgression coincides temporally with a late stage of Meltwater Pulse 1a and the RSL stability occurred between c. 13.0 and c. 12.2k cal a bp (Younger Dryas). The second still/slowstand occurred between c. 10.3 and c. 11.5k cal a bp . Our data provide constraints on the direction and timing of RSL change during deglaciation. Application of the Depth of Closure concept adds an error term to sea‐level reconstructions based on seismic stratigraphic reconstructions.     

The 2002 Molise earthquake sequence: What can we learn about the tectonics of southern Italy?

On October 31, 2002 a M_L = 5.4 earthquake occurred in southern Italy, at the margin between the Apenninic thrust belt (to the west) and the Adriatic plate (to the east). In this area, neither historical event nor seismogenic fault is reported in the literature. In spite of its moderate magnitude, the earthquake caused severe damage in cities close to the epicenter and 27 people, out of a total of 29 casualties, were killed by the collapse of a primary school in S. Giuliano di Puglia. By inverting broadband regional waveforms, we computed moment tensor solutions for 15 events, as small as M_L = 3.5 (M_w = 3.7). The obtained focal mechanisms show pure strike-slip geometry, mainly with focal planes oriented to NS (sinistral) and EW (dextral). In several solutions focal planes are rotated counterclockwise, in particular for later events, occurring west of the mainshock. From the relocated aftershock distribution, we found that the mainshock ruptured along an EW plane, and the fault mechanisms of some aftershocks were not consistent with the mainshock fault plane. The observed stress field, resulting from the stress tensor inversion, shows a maximum principal stress axis with an east–west trend (N83°W), whereas the minimum stress direction is almost N–S. Considering both the aftershock distribution and moment tensor solutions, it appears that several pre-existing faults were activated rather than a single planar fault associated with the mainshock. The finite fault analysis shows a very simple slip distribution with a slow rupture velocity of 1.1 km/s, that could explain the occurrence of a second mainshock about 30 h after. Finally, we attempt to interpret how the Molise sequence is related to the normal faulting system to the west (along the Apennines) and the dextral strike-slip Mattinata fault to the east.     

Obliquity‐dominated glacio‐eustatic sea level change in the early Oligocene: evidence from the shallow marine siliciclastic Rupelian stratotype (Boom Formation,Belgium)

Our results prove that glacio‐eustatic sea level oscillations in the early Oligocene were dominantly obliquity controlled with additional influence of the ∼100‐ and 405‐kyr eccentricity cycles. This was derived from spectral analysis of resistivity records from an extended downhole section of the Boom Clay succession in Belgium, that reveals a prevailing obliquity control on the laterally persistent metre‐scale alternations of shallow marine silt‐ and claystones in the Rupelian historical stratotype succession. These direct measurements of sea level variations in a shallow marine setting corroborate that variations with similar frequencies in benthonic oxygen isotope records from the open ocean indeed reflect, at least partly, ice volume change. A very tentative astronomical tuning has been established for the Boom Clay succession which awaits future confirmation with the addition of more accurate age calibration points.     

Lacustrine sedimentation in active volcanic settings: the Late Quaternary depositional evolution of Lake Chungará (northern Chile)

Lake Chungará (18°15′S, 69°09′W, 4520 m above sea‐level) is the largest (22·5 km²) and deepest (40 m) lacustrine ecosystem in the Chilean Altiplano and its location in an active volcanic setting, provides an opportunity to evaluate environmental (volcanic vs. climatic) controls on lacustrine sedimentation. The Late Quaternary depositional history of the lake is reconstructed by means of a multiproxy study of 15 Kullenberg cores and seismic data. The chronological framework is supported by 10 ¹⁴C AMS dates and one ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dates. Lake Chungará was formed prior to 12·8 cal kyr bp as a result of the partial collapse of the Parinacota volcano that impounded the Lauca river. The sedimentary architecture of the lacustrine succession has been controlled by (i) the strong inherited palaeo‐relief and (ii) changes in the accommodation space, caused by lake‐level fluctuations and tectonic subsidence. The first factor determined the location of the depocentre in the NW of the central plain. The second factor caused the area of deposition to extend towards the eastern and southern basin margins with accumulation of high‐stand sediments on the elevated marginal platforms. Synsedimentary normal faulting also increased accommodation and increased the rate of sedimentation in the northern part of the basin. Six sedimentary units were identified and correlated in the basin mainly using tephra keybeds. Unit 1 (Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene) is made up of laminated diatomite with some carbonate‐rich (calcite and aragonite) laminae. Unit 2 (Mid‐Holocene–Recent) is composed of massive to bedded diatomite with abundant tephra (lapilli and ash) layers. Some carbonate‐rich layers (calcite and aragonite) occur. Unit 3 consists of macrophyte‐rich diatomite deposited in nearshore environments. Unit 4 is composed of littoral sediments dominated by alternating charophyte‐rich and other aquatic macrophyte‐rich facies. Littoral carbonate productivity peaked when suitable shallow platforms were available for charophyte colonization. Clastic deposits in the lake are restricted to lake margins (Units 5 and 6). Diatom productivity peaked during a lowstand period (Unit 1 and subunit 2a), and was probably favoured by photic conditions affecting larger areas of the lake bottom. Offshore carbonate precipitation reached its maximum during the Early to Mid‐Holocene (ca 7·8 and 6·4 cal kyr bp ). This may have been favoured by increases in lake solute concentrations resulting from evaporation and calcium input because of the compositional changes in pyroclastic supply. Diatom and pollen data from offshore cores suggest a number of lake‐level fluctuations: a Late Pleistocene deepening episode (ca 12·6 cal kyr BP), four shallowing episodes during the Early to Mid‐Holocene (ca 10·5, 9·8, 7·8 and 6·7 cal kyr BP) and higher lake levels since the Mid‐Holocene (ca 5·7 cal kyr BP) until the present. Explosive activity at Parinacota volcano was very limited between c. >12·8 and 7·8 cal kyr bp . Mafic‐rich explosive eruptions from the Ajata satellite cones increased after ca 5·7 cal kyr bp until the present.     

The impact of groundwater on the excavation of tunnels in two different hydrogeological settings in central Italy

To double the capacity of the Orte?CFalconara railway line (central Italy), the Santa Croce tunnel was constructed (1985?C1995), which runs between the Nera Montoro and Narni stations. In the same period, to double the capacity of the Ancona?CBari railway line, the Moro, Cintioni, S. Giovanni and Diavolo tunnels were constructed between the Ortona and Casalbordino stations. The high likelihood of intercepting a significant volume of groundwater in calcareous rocks of the Santa Croce tunnel led to a shift in the layout of the tunnel, which allowed construction of the tunnel by more rapid and less expensive means. Groundwater along the Moro tunnel layout, in a sandy aquifer, has been drained by the excavation of a preliminary tunnel, which allowed a discharge of up to 0.080?m³/s. In the S. Giovanni and Diavolo tunnels, a particular hydrogeological setting was found to exist in the form of lens-shaped bodies of fine grey sand-and-silt aquitards intercalated between the bottom muddy-sandy deposits (very low permeability) and the sandy aquifer; this caused sudden groundwater inflow and tunnel collapse. The S. Giovanni tunnnel, excavation was completed using the HydroShield system, whereas in the Diavolo tunnel, a well-point system was adopted, which avoided any environmental hazards.     

Late Quaternary and current deformation in the western Tunka system of basins: evidence from structural geomorphology and seismology

Integrated seismological and structural geomorphological studies of the western Tunka system of basins in the southwestern Baikal rift show that the historic seismicity reflects the general Late Quaternary evolution trend of structures. Crustal deformation occurs mainly as transpression. Compression follows block boundaries and the northern mountainous borders of basins, whereas extension acts upon basin inner parts which remain in “tectonic shadow” during left-lateral strike-slip motions on W-E faults. Principal stresses inferred from earthquake mechanisms are most often a combination of horizontal NW extension and oblique or vertical compression in the basins and vertical extension with horizontal NE compression in the bordering ridges and along block boundaries. The general deformation style in the region is dominated by strike-slip faulting, and compression (shortening) dominates over extension.     

Late Quaternary palaeoenvironment of northern Guatemala: evidence from deep drill cores and seismic stratigraphy of Lake Petén Itzá

Long sediment cores were collected in spring 2006 from Lake Petén Itzá, northern Guatemala, in water depths ranging from 30 to 150 m, as part of an International Continental Scientific Drilling Program project. The sediment records from deep water consist mainly of alternating clay, gypsum and carbonate units and, in at least two drill sites, extend back >200 kyr. Most of the lithostratigraphic units are traceable throughout the basin along seismic reflections that serve as seismic stratigraphic boundaries and suggest that the lithostratigraphy can be used to infer regional palaeoenvironmental changes. A revised seismic stratigraphy was established on the basis of integrated lithological and seismic reflection data from the basin. From ca 200 to ca 85 ka, sediments are dominated by carbonate‐clay silt, often interbedded with sandy turbidites, indicating a sediment regime dominated by detrital sedimentation in a relatively humid climate. At ca 85 ka, an exposure horizon consisting of gravels, coarse sand and terrestrial gastropods marks a lake lowstand or partial basin desiccation, indicating dry climate conditions. From ca 85 to ca 48 ka, transgressive carbonate‐clay sediments, overlain by deep‐water clays, suggest a lake level rise and subsequent stabilization at high stage. From ca 48 ka to present, the lithology is characterized by alternating clay and gypsum units. Gypsum deposition correlates with Heinrich Events (i.e. dry climate), whereas clay units coincide with more humid interstadials.     

Sequence stratigraphy in the context of rapid regional uplift and high‐amplitude glacio‐eustatic changes: the Pleistocene Cutro Terrace (Calabria,southern Italy)

The Cutro Terrace is a mixed marine to continental terrace, where deposits up to 15 m thick discontinuously crop out in an area extending for ca 360 km² near Crotone (southern Italy). The terrace represents the oldest and highest terrace of the Crotone area, and it has been ascribed to marine isotope stage 7 (ca 200 kyr bp ). Detailed facies and sequence‐stratigraphic analyses of the terrace deposits allow the recognition of a suite of depositional environments ranging from middle shelf to fluvial, and of two stacked transgressive–regressive cycles (Cutro 1 and Cutro 2) bounded by ravinement surfaces and by surfaces of sub‐aerial exposure. In particular, carbonate sedimentation, consisting of algal build‐ups and biocalcarenites, characterizes the Cutro 1 cycle in the southern sector of the terrace, and passes into shoreface and foreshore sandstones and calcarenites towards the north‐west. The Cutro 2 cycle is mostly siliciclastic and consists of shoreface, lagoon‐estuarine, fluvial channel fill, floodplain and lacustrine deposits. The Cutro 1 cycle is characterized by very thin transgressive marine strata, represented by lags and shell beds upon a ravinement surface, and thicker regressive deposits. Moreover, the cycle appears foreshortened basinwards, which suggests that the accumulation of its distal and upper part occurred during forced regressive conditions. The Cutro 2 cycle displays a marked aggradational component of transgressive to highstand paralic and continental deposits, in places strongly influenced by local physiography, whereas forced regressive sediments are absent and probably accumulated further basinwards. The maximum flooding shoreline of the second cycle is translated ca 15 km basinward with respect to that of the first cycle, and this reflects a long‐term regressive trend mostly driven by regional uplift. The stratigraphic architecture of the Cutro Terrace deposits is the result of the interplay between regional uplift and high amplitude, Late Quaternary glacio‐eustatic changes. In particular, rapid transgressions, linked to glacio‐eustatic rises that outpaced regional uplift, favoured the accumulation of thin transgressive marine strata at the base of the two cycles. In contrast, the combined effect of glacio‐eustatic falls and regional uplift led to high‐magnitude forced regressions. The superposition of the two cycles was favoured by a relatively flat topography, which allowed relatively complete preservation of stratal geometries that record large shoreline displacements during transgression and regression. The absence of a palaeo‐coastal cliff at the inner margin of the terrace supports this interpretation. The Cutro Terrace provides a case study of sequence architecture developed in uplifting settings and controlled by high‐amplitude glacio‐eustatic changes. This case study also demonstrates how the interplay of relative sea‐level change, sediment supply and physiography may determine either the superposition of cycles forming a single terrace or the formation of a staircase of terraces each recording an individual eustatic pulse.     

Late Quaternary multiple incised valley systems: An unusually well‐preserved stratigraphic record of two interglacial valley‐fill successions from the Arno Plain (northern Tuscany,Italy)

Un‐fragmented stratigraphic records of late Quaternary multiple incised valley systems are rarely preserved in the subsurface of alluvial‐delta plains due to older valley reoccupation. The identification of a well‐preserved incised valley fill succession beneath the southern interfluve of the Last Glacial Maximum Arno palaeovalley (northern Italy) represents an exceptional opportunity to examine in detail evolutionary trends of a Mediterranean system over multiple glacial–interglacial cycles. Through sedimentological and quantitative meiofauna (benthic foraminifera and ostracods) analyses of two reference cores (80 m and 100 m long) and stratigraphic correlations, a mid‐Pleistocene palaeovalley, 5 km wide and 50 m deep, was reconstructed. Whereas valley filling is chronologically constrained to the penultimate interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 7) by four electron spin resonance ages on bivalve shells (Cerastoderma glaucum), its incision is tentatively correlated with the Marine Isotope Stage 8 sea‐level fall. Above basal fluvial‐channel gravels, the incised valley fill is formed by a mud‐prone succession, up to 44 m thick, formed by a lower floodplain unit and an upper unit with brackish meiofauna that reflects the development of a wave‐dominated estuary. Subtle meiofauna changes towards less confined conditions record two marine flooding episodes, chronologically linked to the internal Marine Isotope Stage 7 climate‐eustatic variability. After the maximum transgressive phase, recorded by coastal sands, the interfluves were flooded around 200 ka (latest Marine Isotope Stage 7). The subsequent shift in river incision patterns, possibly driven by neotectonic activity, prevented valley reoccupation guiding the northward formation of the Last Glacial Maximum palaeovalley. The applied multivariate approach allowed the sedimentological characterization of the Marine Isotope Stage 7 and Marine Isotope Stage 1 palaeovalley fills, including shape, size and facies architecture, which revealed a consistent river‐coastal system response over two non‐consecutive glacial–interglacial cycles (Marine Isotope Stages 8 to 7 and Marine Isotope Stages 2 to 1). The recurring stacking pattern of facies documents a predominant control exerted on stratigraphy by Milankovitch and sub‐Milankovitch glacio‐eustatic oscillations across the late Quaternary period.     

Forced regressive deposits of a deglaciation sequence: Example from the Late Quaternary succession in the Lake Saint‐Jean basin (Québec,Canada)

Differentiating between forced regressive deposits from deglacial periods in high latitude domains and forced regressive deposits from the onset of glacial periods in low latitude domains is fundamental for the accurate interpretation of glacial cycles within the geological record and then for the reconstruction of palaeogeography and palaeo‐climate. A forced regressive deglacial sequence is documented from the Lake Saint‐Jean basin (Québec, Canada). In this area, the Late Pleistocene to Holocene sediments have recorded the Laurentide ice sheet retreat accompanied by the invasion of marine waters (Laflamme Gulf) from ca 12·9 cal kyr bp . Subsequently, fluvio‐deltaic and coastal prograding wedges were deposited; they followed the base‐level fall due to glacio‐isostatic rebound. This succession, representing a transition from glacial to post‐glacial periods within a previously glaciated area, was investigated through recent mapping, preserved landforms, facies analysis, and new optical stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dates. Three basin‐scale geological sections share a common lower part made of isolated ice‐contact fan deposits overlying bedrock. Throughout the entire basin, ice‐contact fans are capped by glacimarine muds. Above, fluvial and coastal prograding systems were deposited and evolved through four steps: (i) deltaic systems progressively increased in width; (ii) coastal influence on sedimentation increased; (iii) hydrographic drainage systems became more organised; and (iv) deltas graded from steep (Gilbert delta) to low‐angle foresets (mouth‐bar delta). Deposited during the base‐level fall from glacio‐isostatic rebound, the complete succession has been designated as a single falling stage system tract referred to as a deglacial falling stage system tract. It is representative of a deglaciation sequence in areas previously covered by ice during glacial periods (i.e. medium to high latitude domains). Diagnostic criteria are provided to identify such a deglacial falling stage system tract in the geological record, which may aid identification of previously unknown glacial cycles.     

兰州第四纪黄土/古土壤序列物源演变: 来自于碳酸盐矿物的证据*

黄土/古土壤的物源研究对于揭示第四纪气候变化和青藏高原隆升历史具有重要意义。本研究以位于黄土高原西部1.4 Ma以来的兰州黄土/古土壤沉积序列为研究对象,基于X射线衍射技术分析了黄土/古土壤中的主要矿物组成,侧重于碳酸盐矿物含量,追溯了兰州黄土/古土壤的直接物源。结果显示: (1)1.4 Ma以来兰州地区黄土/古土壤沉积物的主要直接源区为柴达木盆地沙漠区和阿拉善干旱区。(2)基于二元混合模型计算的潜在原始源区对兰州黄土白云石和总碳酸盐矿物的相对贡献率以及长石与石英比值结果一致支持1.4 Ma以来兰州黄土原始物源发生了多次变化。1.4~1.1 Ma和0.9~0.3 Ma青藏高原东北缘造山带(昆仑山、祁连山)和中亚造山带对兰州黄土的贡献相当,而1.1~0.9 Ma和0.3 Ma以来,中亚造山带对兰州黄土的物源贡献增加,这可能分别是对中更新世气候转型和0.3 Ma以来青藏高原及邻近地区干冷气候增强的响应。1.15 Ma和0.8 Ma兰州黄土/古土壤中高的白云石含量、碳酸盐矿物总含量以及0.8 Ma长石与石英比值的快速升高可能是对“昆黄运动”的响应,进而造成了昆仑山、祁连山对黄土高原物源贡献的增加。     

兰州第四纪黄土/古土壤序列物源演变: 来自于碳酸盐矿物的证据*

黄土/古土壤的物源研究对于揭示第四纪气候变化和青藏高原隆升历史具有重要意义。本研究以位于黄土高原西部1.4 Ma以来的兰州黄土/古土壤沉积序列为研究对象,基于X射线衍射技术分析了黄土/古土壤中的主要矿物组成,侧重于碳酸盐矿物含量,追溯了兰州黄土/古土壤的直接物源。结果显示: (1)1.4 Ma以来兰州地区黄土/古土壤沉积物的主要直接源区为柴达木盆地沙漠区和阿拉善干旱区。(2)基于二元混合模型计算的潜在原始源区对兰州黄土白云石和总碳酸盐矿物的相对贡献率以及长石与石英比值结果一致支持1.4 Ma以来兰州黄土原始物源发生了多次变化。1.4~1.1 Ma和0.9~0.3 Ma青藏高原东北缘造山带(昆仑山、祁连山)和中亚造山带对兰州黄土的贡献相当,而1.1~0.9 Ma和0.3 Ma以来,中亚造山带对兰州黄土的物源贡献增加,这可能分别是对中更新世气候转型和0.3 Ma以来青藏高原及邻近地区干冷气候增强的响应。1.15 Ma和0.8 Ma兰州黄土/古土壤中高的白云石含量、碳酸盐矿物总含量以及0.8 Ma长石与石英比值的快速升高可能是对“昆黄运动”的响应,进而造成了昆仑山、祁连山对黄土高原物源贡献的增加。