Quaternary coastal lithofacies,sequence development and stratigraphy in a passive margin setting,North Carolina and Virginia,USA

Lithofacies analysis is fundamental to unravelling the succession of depositional environments associated with sea‐level fluctuations. These successions and their timing are often poorly understood. This report defines lithofacies encountered within the north‐eastern North Carolina and south‐eastern Virginia Quaternary section, interprets their depositional environments, presents a model for coastal depositional sequence development in a passive margin setting and uses this understanding to develop the stratigraphy and Quaternary evolutionary history of the region. Data were obtained from numerous drill cores and outcrops. Chronology was based on age estimates acquired using optically stimulated luminescence, amino acid racemization, Uranium series and radiocarbon dating techniques. Geomorphic patterns were identified and interpreted using light detection and ranging imagery. Since lithofacies occurrence, distribution and stratigraphic patterns are different on interfluves than in palaeo‐valleys, this study focused on interfluves to obtain a record of highstand sea‐level cycles with minimal alteration by fluvial processes during subsequent lowstands. Nine primary lithofacies and four diagenetic facies were identified in outcrops and cores. The uppermost depositional sequence on interfluves exhibits an upward succession from shelly marine lithofacies to tidal estuarine lithofacies and is bounded below by a marine ravinement surface and above by the modern land surface. Older depositional sequences in the subsurface are typically bounded above and below by marine ravinement surfaces. Portions of seven depositional sequences were recognized and interpreted to represent deposition from late middle Pleistocene to present. Erosional processes associated with each successive depositional sequence removed portions of older depositional sequences. The stratigraphic record of the most recent sea‐level highstands (Marine Isotope Stage 5a and Marine Isotope Stage 3) is best preserved. Glacio‐isostatic adjustment has influenced depositional patterns so that deposits associated with late Quaternary sea‐level highstands (Marine Isotope Stages 5c, 5a and 3), which did not reach as high as present sea‐level according to equatorial eustatic records, are uplifted and emergent within the study area.     

Ancient dna from pleistocene fossils: Preservation, recovery, and utility of ancient genetic information for quaternary research

Until recently, recovery and analysis of genetic information encoded in ancient DNA sequences from Pleistocene fossils were impossible. Recent advances in molecular biology offered technical tools to obtain ancient DNA sequences from well-preserved Quaternary fossils and opened the possibilities to directly study genetic changes in fossil species to address various biological and paleontological questions. Ancient DNA studies involving Pleistocene fossil material and ancient DNA degradation and preservation in Quaternary deposits are reviewed. The molecular technology applied to isolate, amplify, and sequence ancient DNA is also presented. Authentication of ancient DNA sequences and technical problems associated with modern and ancient DNA contamination are discussed. As illustrated in recent studies on ancient DNA from proboscideans, it is apparent that fossil DNA sequence data can shed light on many aspects of Quaternary research such as systematics and phylogeny. conservation biology, evolutionary theory, molecular taphonomy, and forensic sciences. Improvement of molecular techniques and a better understanding of DNA degradation during fossilization are likely to build on current strengths and to overcome existing problems, making fossil DNA data a unique source of information for Quaternary scientists.     

A critical examination of evidence for a Quaternary glaciation in Mt. Laoshan,Eastern China

Accurately determining how far south Quaternary glaciers existed in eastern China has important implications for understanding global Quaternary climate. In this study, we provide evidence for a colder paleoclimate in the late Pleistocene of the Laoshan range on the eastern Shandong Peninsula at 36°05′–36°19′N latitude, through documentation of erosional and depositional landforms that were possibly formed by glaciation. We integrate field observations documenting and mapping the existence of typical glacial cirques, glacial horns, moraines, arêtes, tarn lakes, and other paleoglacial features in Mt. Laoshan, with a detailed digital elevation model (DEM) created in an ArcGIS environment, merged with Landsat ETM + imagery to document the spatial relations of these features. Other features that may or may not be glacial in origin include large boulder fields (that could be moraines or debris avalanches), and potholes (that could have formed beneath glaciers or in river systems). Additionally, some features previously interpreted as glacial features are here re-interpreted as weathering-related phenomena. Although some of these features alone provide only weak to moderate evidence for glaciation, together the suite of indicators provides strong evidence for sea-level glaciation at 36°N in the late Pleistocene of eastern China. We further integrate the evidence of glaciation with the late Pleistocene paleogeography and climate, and suggest that the glaciers formed as a result of orographic effects from moist monsoonal breezes crossing a paleolake developed in North China then rising over Mt. Laoshan and dropping their moisture there, with a wide desert formed on the leeward side of the mountains.     

中国西藏南部珠穆朗玛峰地区第四纪气候的变迁

世界第一高峰--珠穆朗玛峰位于喜马拉雅山中段。喜马拉雅山又是世界上最高大的山脉。在那里,群峰争妍、白雪皑皑、山高谷深,地势极为险峻,藏族人民称她为“冰雪的家乡”。它的上升对我国和亚洲北部地区的气候和自然产生着巨大的影响;也是研究第四纪气候变迁的理想阵地。长期以来,关于本区复杂多变的古气候等问题曾引起了中外学者们的广泛注意。     

贡嘎山第四纪冰川遗迹及冰期划分

在对贡嘎山现代冰川和古冰川考察研究的基础上，结合定位观测分析，对该区第四纪冰川遗迹进行了深入讨论，划分出三次冰期，即中更新世早期的倒数第三次冰期，中更新世晚期的倒数第二次冰期和晚更新世的末次冰期，以及全新世的新冰期和小冰期。提出在早更新世时，由于山体未达到当时冰川发育的雪线高度，所以未发育冰川；中更新世早期的冰期冰川为半覆盖式冰川类型，规模不大；中更新世晚期的冰期冰川是本区最大冰川作用时期，形成网状山麓冰川，东坡冰川曾达磨西台地；晚更新世冰期冰川以山谷冰川为主，以后规模逐次缩小。     

Geoheritage significance of three Pleistocene formations recording a succession of climates and sea levels on the Yalgorup Plain in southwestern Australia

The Yalgorup Plain of southwestern Australia is underlain by two limestone formations and a linear quartz-sand formation containing limestone lenses. These limestones record carbonate deposition in seagrass banks during the Pleistocene; they are capped either by a prograding beach-ridge system of small cuspate forelands or a quartz-rich shore-parallel coastal barrier. The cuspate forelands formed behind protective offshore limestone reefs within a given Pleistocene wind-and-wave field, while the quartz-rich coastal dune barrier formed under enhanced swell conditions. These formations record three different Pleistocene interglacial depositional events, separated by unconformities, each linked to a distinct climate and mean sea level. Foraminiferal assemblages within the two limestones and within the limestone lenses of the quartz-sand formation faithfully record changes in minimum seawater temperature, reflecting these changes in climate. They indicate a cycle of warm–cool–warm water accumulation of carbonates. Such a record of both climate and sea level history for southwestern Australia is unique, contributing greatly to the Pleistocene coastal sedimentary history of limestones within southwestern Australia. These formations occur within the globally unique setting of Western Australia and are conserved within a National Park and represent an outstanding record of Quaternary coastal geomorphic development in terms of both carbonate and siliciclastic sedimentation linked to both climate and sea level changes. Given their array of lithofacies, environmental setting, sea level and climate changes, as well as their biostratigraphy reflecting these changes, these formations form a sedimentary ‘package’ that is of global geoheritage significance, with many of its inherent geological features also of global to national geoheritage significance.     

东昆仑阿拉克湖地区第四纪地层时代厘定及环境变迁

根据沉积分析和ESR、OSL、¹⁴C测年数据,对阿拉克湖地区第四纪地层进行了详细的成因划分和时间约束,为第四纪以来高原隆升重大事件及其引起的环境演变提供了重要的时代依据;根据沉积特征和孢粉植物演替对第四纪的环境变迁过程进行了探讨:早更新世湖积地层中出现具亚寒带气候特征的针叶林植物群和中更新世冰碛物覆于早更新世地层之上是研究区第四纪环境演变的重要转折标志;第四纪盆山耦合关系非常明显,山系隆升与沉积盆地具有由北向南迁移的规律。     

Facies and ground-penetrating radar characteristics of coarse-grained beach deposits of the uppermost Pleistocene glacial Lake Algonquin, Ontario, Canada

The lithofacies of the uppermost Pleistocene ( ca 11 800 to 10 400 ¹⁴C yr  bp ), cold-temperate, coarse-grained beach deposits of Lake Algonquin, the precursor of the present Lake Huron of North America, have been studied and interpreted based on analogous features of modern beaches from the same region. Ice foot and ice-cementation develop during winter but, unlike Arctic beaches, ice-related sedimentary features are seldom, if ever, preserved in the Pleistocene and recent deposits of the Great Lakes. Instead, the deposits retain the typical characteristics of wave-dominated, pure gravel and mixed sand and gravel beaches, there including the classical subdivision of infill zone, swash zone/sand run, imbricated zone, coarse flat-clast zone and coastal dunes. These zones form a regular succession on the surface of many modern beaches; however, they seldom occur as quasi-complete vertical successions in older deposits. In the studied uppermost Pleistocene deposits, the various components are separated vertically by erosional contacts (bounding surfaces) readily recognizable on working faces of large sand and gravel pits and mappable in the subsurface by ground-penetrating radar. The lithofacies are sufficiently diagnostic to allow recognition of depositional settings, and the lithofacies architecture allows the deciphering of important geological events, such as: (i) local input of fluvial material onto the shoreface, where it was partially reworked by waves and moved onto the beachface; (ii) occurrence of major storm events; and (iii) repeated rapid transgressions and regressions typical of the glacial-lake precursors of the modern Great Lakes.     

Quaternary deposits in the Maltese Islands: a microcosm of environmental change in Mediterranean lands

The Quaternary deposits of the Mediterranean countries provide clear evidence of past environments, and of environmental change. Modern work enables the reinterpretation of these deposits and shows arid glacial stages and humid interglacial stages, with the Holocene characterised by considerable human impact, mostly resulting from agricultural activity. In this paper, examples of typical Mediterranean Quaternary lithofacies, including tufa and slope, fluvial, coastal, aeolian and cave deposits are described from the Maltese Islands. The deposits are correlated and their climatic signal is interpreted to provide a first modern assessment of Quaternary environmental change in the Maltese Islands.     

Multiple Quaternary erosion and infill cycles in overdeepened basins of the northern Alpine foreland

The cumulative effect of repeated extensive glaciations represents a poorly constrained component in the understanding of landscape evolution in mid-latitude mountain ranges such as the Alps. Timing, extent, and paleo-climatic conditions of these glaciations are generally poorly understood due to the often-fragmentary character of terrestrial Quaternary records. In this context, the sedimentary infills of subglacial basins may serve as important archives to complement the Quaternary stratigraphy over several glacial–interglacial cycles. In this study, sedimentary facies, valley-fill architecture, and luminescence dating are used to describe nine erosional and depositional cycles (Formations A–I) in the Lower Glatt valley, northern Switzerland. These cycles can be related to the ‘Birrfeld’ Glaciation (~ MIS2), the ‘Beringen’ Glaciation (~ MIS6), and up to three earlier Middle Pleistocene glaciations that can be tentatively correlated to the regional glaciation history. Evidence suggests that deep bedrock trough incision and/or partial re-excavation last occurred mainly during the ‘Beringen’ and ‘Habsburg’ Glaciations. Second-order, ‘inlaid’ glacial basins document separate glacier re-advances during the Beringen Glaciation. The arrangement of subglacial basins in the Glatt valley with different sub-parallel or bifurcating bedrock troughs, re-excavated segments, and inlaid basins document changes in the magnitude and the spatial focus of subglacial erosion over time. The Glatt valley may thus serve as a key example for the glacial landscape evolution in many other repeatedly glaciated forelands.     

Late Quaternary glaciation of the northern Urals: a review and new observations

This is a synthesis of the glacial history of the northern Urals undertaken using published works and the results of geological surveys as well as recent geochronometric and remote sensing data. The conclusions differ from the classical model that considers the Urals as an important source of glacial ice and partly from the modern reconstructions. The principal supporting evidence for the conventional model – Uralian erratics found on the adjacent plains – is ambiguous because Uralian clasts were also delivered by a thick external ice sheet overriding the mountains during the Middle Pleistocene. Alternative evidence presented in this paper indicates that in the late Quaternary the Ural mountains produced only valley glaciers that partly coalesced in the western piedmont to form large piedmont lobes. The last maximum glaciation occurred in the Early Valdaian time at c. 70–90 ka when glacial ice from the Kara shelf invaded the lowlands and some montane valleys but an icecap over the mountains was not formed. The moraines of the alpine glaciation are preserved only beyond the limits of the Kara ice sheet and therefore cannot be younger than MIS 4. More limited glaciation during MIS 2 generated small alpine moraines around the cirques of the western Urals (Mangerud et al. 2008: Quaternary Science Reviews 27, 1047). The largest moraines of Transuralia were probably produced by the outlet glaciers of a Middle Pleistocene ice sheet that formed on the western plains and discharged across the Polar Urals. The resultant scheme of limited mountain glaciation is possibly also applicable as a model for older glacial cycles.     

Quaternary geology and sapphire deposits from the BO PHLOI gem field,Kanchanaburi Province,Western Thailand

One of the most famous blue sapphire deposits in Thailand and SE Asia is from the Bo Phloi District, Kanchanaburi Province, Western Thailand. This paper presents the results of our gemstone investigation as well as establishing the Bo Phloi depositional sequence as one of the Quaternary Type Sections in the region. Relationships among the sedimentology, depositional sequences and geomorphology were investigated in order to understand the gemstone depositional features. Sedimentary structures and textures of the sequences show that the deposition of gemstones is related genetically to fluvial processes. Gemstones are recognized in floodplain and low terrace deposits where gemstone paystreaks concentrate mostly inside layers of gravel beds and foreset-bedded gravels lithofacies. C-14 dating of wood and peat within gemstone-bearing layers indicated that the deposit formed during the middle to late Pleistocene. The gemstone-bearing gravel bed defines a north–south trend along the incised palaeo-channel of an ancient braided river system in the middle part of the basin.     

福建九龙江河口第四纪沉积物特征及沉积环境演变

根据福建九龙江河口ZK1孔及ZK7孔沉积物AMS(Accelerator Mass Spectrometry,加速器质谱测年技术) ¹⁴C测年、古地磁和剖面特征分析,进行该地区的第四纪地层划分,依据粒度特征,结合磁化率、微体古生物和Sr/Ba等环境代用指标进行沉积相分析,重建了该区晚第四纪的古环境演变历史。结果表明:(1)九龙江河口第四纪沉积时代为晚更新世中期至全新世晚期。(2)上更新统沉积可划分为下部龙海组洪冲积相和上部东山组河漫滩相沉积,中间有10 ka的沉积间断,末次冰期又再遭受风化剥蚀作用,推测有5～6 ka的风化剥蚀期。(3)全新统最早沉积年代约为14 ka BP,依次出现河口湾相、河口砂坝—分汊河道相、潮滩相沉积。(4)根据年代学数据和沉积相变化,重塑了该区晚第四纪沉积环境变化过程,为该区的第四纪研究和工程地质工作提供了参考依据。     

Integrated mineral magnetic and lithologic studies to delineate dynamic modes of depositional conditions in the Leh valley basin, Ladakh Himalaya, India

We present here lithofacies and mineral magnetic results from a ～50 m thick composite record of fluvial, lacustrine and aeolian facies within the Leh valley basin of Indus River in Ladakh Himalaya. Mineral magnetic studies decipher interplay of two contrasting sediment sources viz., the unimodal ferrimagnetic source derived from Ladakh batholithic glacial domain and mixed ferri-to antiferromagnetic source derived from Indus sedimentary sequence. The lithofacies variability expresses dynamic changes in the depositional regimes controlled by base level fluctuations that are governed by the interaction of basin fill conditions and the response to Late Quaternary climatic perturbations. A three stage evolution of the Leh valley basin is proposed after comparison to other characteristic lithofacies changes within the valley as: (I) the basin under-fill conditions marked by fluvial and fluvio-lacustrine phase till ～24m (～64 Ka OSL age) above modern base level followed by (II) predominantly varved, glacio-lacustrine, basin overfill phase till 38m (～28 Ka) gradually passing into an aeolian phase; and (III) basin incision that began at the earliest Holocene warming. Advancement and retreat of glaciers from the transverse valleys, attributed to climatic oscillations, appears to have greatly controlled the basin-fill conditions in the Leh valley. The present approach demonstrates its larger scope in recording the Late Quaternary response of individual valley basins to delineate local and regional attributes of climate change in the Himalayan and Karakoram region.     

黄河源区第四纪地质研究的新进展

通过对黄河源区的钻孔、自然露头的研究, 建立了黄河源区的第四纪地层层序。第四纪地层可划分为下更新统、中更新统、上更新统和全新统。下更新统为河湖相沉积; 中更新统主要有湖积物、冰碛物和冰水沉积物; 上更新统主要有湖积物、冰碛物、冰水沉积物、洪积物和河流沉积物; 全新统主要由河流沉积物、洪积物和湖积物构成。黄河源区的冰期可划分为3期, 即末次冰期、倒数第二次冰期、倒数第三次冰期, 末次冰期又可分为2个冰阶。黄河源区的湖泊演化可划分为早更新世、中更新世和晚更新世—全新世3个阶段: 早更新世的湖泊范围小; 中更新世的湖泊范围明显扩大, 在位置上也较早更新世的湖泊南移; 晚更新世的湖泊经历了两次的扩张—收缩变化, 到了全新世, 除现今还发育的几个湖泊外, 大多数地区的湖水已退出, 基本上转变为河流环境。在晚更新世末期到全新世初期, 封闭黄河源区的多石峡被切开, 湖水外泄, 现今的黄河形成了, 同时发生了袭夺长江水系的水流。     

Pleistocene glacial deposits along the eastern periphery of the Scandinavian ice sheets - an overview

The Quaternary glacial sequences in the Baltic region in Estonia. Latvia and Lithuania are relatively complete and reasonably well studied. The maximum thickness of deposits (200 300 m) is found in the uplands and ancient valleys. Tills of several genetic types have been described and in this paper the present view on the structure of the Pleistocene cover is given. The ice movement and glacial sedimentation were controlled by climate. underlying topography and tectonic processes.     

福建省第四系沉积概况

福建第四系分布零星,露头不好,由于以往缺乏有计划地进行第四纪研究,故对该区第四系地层未能进行系统划分。近年大力开展沿海工作,集累了不少第四纪资料,在层次划分上较以前有进展,但因对化石、测试技术应用不够,故其划分仍待深人。     

淮南及淮北煤田第四纪“底砾层”成因模式探讨

安徽省淮南与淮北煤田第四纪“底砾层”的研究,对于煤矿提高上限开采具有重要意义。关于底砾层的成因问题,有多种观点。本文分析研究了两淮地区第四纪底砾层沉积面貌、描述了砾石外观形态（如瓜子形、拖鞋状、葫芦状、马鞍状等）及表构特征,包括泥包砾、镶嵌及缝隙结构等,提出两淮地区底砾层为冰碛物（冰种沉积）。地球化学测试及分析结果表明,两淮地区砾石的几种主要化学成分含量非常接近,从而说明两淮底砾层属同一物源。综合这两方面的论证,提出了底砾层的“停积－融坠型冰碛物沉积模式”,并进行了冰碛物的物源方向问题的探讨。     

他念他翁山中段第四纪冰川作用ESR定年初步研究

他念他翁山中段地处青藏高原东南部和云贵高原过渡地带,海拔4 200 m以上保存着确切的第四纪冰川遗迹.对其进行深入研究,不仅可以重建横断山脉冰川作用的演化历史,还能够为青藏高原的隆升机制提供重要依据.采用野外地貌调查与电子自旋共振测年（ESR）相结合的方法,查明他念他翁山第四纪冰川发育的地貌特点,并初步对研究区的冰期系列进行划分.结果显示,他念他翁山中段古冰川类型主要为山麓冰川、山谷冰川和冰斗冰川.晚第四纪以来至少经历了4次冰川作用,分别为倒数第二次冰期（MIS 6）,年代为（192±51）~（207±45）ka;末次冰期中期（MIS 3）,年代为（55±8）~（54±9）ka;末次冰盛期（MIS 2）,年代为（25±1）~（38±6）ka,以及全新世新冰期/小冰期（MIS 1）.     

Ground‐penetrating radar imaging of Pleistocene sediments,Boco Plain,western Tasmania

Ground‐penetrating radar surveys across the southern end of the Boco Plain, western Tasmania, revealed a complex sequence of Quaternary glacial and non‐glacial sediments. The subsurface imaging supported previous suggestions of a complex Boco Plain palaeotopography that incorporates a range of depositional environments and multiple constructional events. The ground‐penetrating radar technique enabled imaging of the sediments to 20 m depth, and permitted identification of different sedimentary facies and constructional events due to the significant contrast in dielectric constant within and between the sediments and bedrock. The bedrock and sediment stratigraphy are in broad agreement with drillcore records from the southern end of the Boco Plain and indicate the utility of the method in the initial stages in the investigation of Pleistocene sedimentary sequences of this type.