Pleistocene evolution of the Nile Valley in northern Upper Egypt

In the El Minia district of northern Upper Egypt, the Pleistocene deposits of the Nile Valley include (?)Early Pleistocene conglomerates of the Armant Formation and (?)Middle Pleistocene sands of the Qena Formation. These sediments are exposed along both sides of the valley in terraces at different heights, unconformably overlying Eocene limestones. Field observations suggest that the conglomerate facies of the Armant Formation was deposited in proximal and mid-alluvial fans. The sands of the Qena Formation are differentiated into two facies: a cross-bedded sandstone, representative of alluvial fan—braided stream environments, and a facies of sand interbedded with mud that may have been deposited by a meandering river. The heavy minerals of the Armant Formation are markedly different from those of the Qena Formation, suggesting derivation from different sources. Surface textures of quartz grains from the Qena sands, observed by SEM, exhibit chemical features, attributed to a fluviatile origin. Sand from the Armant Formation is characterized by mechanical and chemical surface textural features that suggest original aeolian derivation followed by later fluvial sedimentation.     

Braided rivers within an arid alluvial plain (example from the Lower Triassic,western German Basin): recognition criteria and expression of stratigraphic cycles

Based on a detailed sedimentological analysis of Lower Triassic continental deposits in the western Germanic sag Basin (i.e. the eastern part of the present‐day Paris Basin: the ‘Conglomérat basal’, ‘Grès vosgien’ and ‘Conglomérat principal’ Formations), three main depositional environments were identified: (i) braided rivers in an arid alluvial plain with some preserved aeolian dunes and very few floodplain deposits; (ii) marginal erg (i.e. braided rivers, aeolian dunes and aeolian sand‐sheets); and (iii) playa lake (an ephemeral lake environment with fluvial and aeolian sediments). Most of the time, aeolian deposits in arid environments that are dominated by fluvial systems are poorly preserved and particular attention should be paid to any sedimentological marker of aridity, such as wind‐worn pebbles (ventifacts), sand‐drift surfaces and aeolian sand‐sheets. In such arid continental environments, stratigraphic surfaces of allocyclic origin correspond to bounding surfaces of regional extension. Elementary stratigraphic cycles, i.e. the genetic units, have been identified for the three main continental environments: the fluvial type, fluvial–aeolian type and fluvial/playa lake type. At the time scale of tens to hundreds of thousands of years, these high‐frequency cycles of climatic origin are controlled either by the groundwater level in the basin or by the fluvial siliciclastic sediment input supplied from the highland. Lower Triassic deposits from the Germanic Basin are preserved mostly in endoreic basins. The central part of the basin is arid but the rivers are supplied with water by precipitation falling on the remnants of the Hercynian (Variscan)–Appalachian Mountains. Consequently, a detailed study of alluvial plain facies provides indications of local climatic conditions in the place of deposition, whereas fluvial systems only reflect climatic conditions of the upstream erosional catchments.     

鄂尔多斯伊克昭盟晚古生代沉积环境与岩相古地理

依据露头、岩心、测井及地震等资料并运用层序地层学分析及基准面旋回分析等手段,对本区地层进行了小层划分与对比,首次将地层划分到岩性段。在此基础上,将研究区置于构造及其控制的海侵[CD*1/2]海退旋回背景下,运用比较沉积学理论,总结出本区晚古生代发育有潮坪、扇三角洲、浅水三角洲、冲积扇、辫状河和曲流河6种沉积体系及一系列亚微相;提出9种构成储集砂体的重要成因类型,并阐述了其形成条件、发育特征和识别标志。对不同时期岩相古地理研究表明,本区处于伊克昭盟隆起南坡,在北高南低及西陡东缓的古地形控制下,北或北北东向水系继承性发育,西部以形成扇三角洲（太原组）和冲积扇（山西组-上石盒子组）沉积为主,而东部则以形成浅水三角洲（太原组）、辫状河（下石盒子组）、曲流河（山西组、上石盒子组）沉积为主。     

Proterozoic fluvial styles: response to changes in accommodation space (Rivieradal sandstones, eastern North Greenland)

Fluvial styles recorded by the uppermost part of the Neoproterozoic ‘Rivieradal sandstones' succession of eastern North Greenland reflect variations in rate of generated accommodation space and possibly climatic changes. Three facies associations, arranged in two genetic sequences, are recognised within the succession. The lower sequence initially records little available accommodation space. A high degree of reworking results in sheet-like, high-energy, bed-load-dominated, braided river deposits lacking recurrent facies patterns. As accommodation space increases upwards through the sequence, reduction in reworking is recorded by the development of fining- and thickening-upward muddy fluvial cycles. Evidence of desiccation or prolonged periods of drought are absent within the deposits and climate was probably relatively humid. Channel deposits in the lower sequence reflect mixed-load, braided fluvial systems with stable channel banks and floodplains, and the gradient appears to have been low to moderate. These features are generally considered favourable for the establishment of meandering river systems, but channels, nevertheless, retained an overall braided character and their deposits show no evidence of meandering. Despite indications of a climatic setting without significant periods of drought sediments indicate that large fluctuations in discharge occurred within the mixed-load streams and this is suggested to be the main cause for the absence of meandering. The swift and rather dramatic response of the fluvial systems to changes in precipitation, probably resulted from rapid runoff rates caused by the absence of vegetation. The upper sequence shows an initial return to shallow, sandy braided river deposition recording little available accommodation space. A subsequent increase in the rate of generated accommodation space is indicated by the presence of alternating sheet sandstones and sand-streaked mudstones with abundant desiccation cracks. The sheet sandstones show evidence of high-energy, unconfined ephemeral fluvial flash-flood deposition, while the mudstones are interpreted to represent muddy floodplain deposits. The change in fluvial style, combined with the widespread evidence of desiccation, suggest an evolution towards a more semi-arid climate in the upper sequence. This climatic change could account for the reduced clastic input seen in the overlying marine succession which culminated in carbonate platform deposition. The present study suggests that even under conditions considered favourable for the formation of meandering streams, these will rarely occur in Proterozoic deposits due to the lacking influence of vegetation. Although meandering deposits cannot be ruled out as having formed in pre-vegetational times, the conditions for their formation appear to have been even more restricted than previously realised.     

黑龙江北部孙吴-嘉荫盆地沉积相类型及其演化

通过对孙吴-嘉荫盆地淘淇河组、永安村组、太平林场组、鱼亮子组、乌云组和孙吴组露头剖面详细的沉积学研究,查明该盆地从淘淇河组到孙吴组发育的沉积相类型有冲积扇、辫状河、曲流河、扇三角洲、辫状河三角洲、曲流河三角洲、湖底扇和湖泊。冲积扇及扇三角洲主要发育于淘淇河组和孙吴组;辫状河及辫状河三角洲主要发育于鱼亮子组和乌云组;曲流河及曲流河三角洲主要发育于永安村组和太平林场组,各组均有湖泊相沉积发育。孙吴-嘉荫盆地从淘淇河组到乌云组,具有冲积扇-扇三角洲-湖泊→曲流河-曲流河三角洲-湖泊→辫状河-辫状河三角洲-湖泊→冲积扇-扇三角洲-湖泊的沉积演化规律,反映晚白垩-古新世构造活动性减弱,中-上新世孙吴组沉积时重又趋于活动。     

The Pleistocene climate-controlled fluvial sedimentary record in the Bełchatów mine (central Poland)

Sedimentological analyses of fluvial formations in the Bełchatów mine have yielded results that have more than regional significance. They concern the reaction of rivers to climatic changes in the Pleistocene. Changes in river geometry and their depositional records are examined from two fluvial formations. These formations represent different times, but show similar palaeoenvironmental changes. Cool temperate climate conditions resulted in meandering (or anastomosing) river sedimentation, which was controlled by equalized precipitation and by a well-developed vegetation cover. Cold periglacial climate conditions resulted in braided river sedimentation immediately before the Glacial Maximum, with high discharges and a high sediment load. The palaeoclimatic and palaeohydrologic analyses of the Weichselian fluvial deposits in Bełchatów provide additional information to that from similar studies in Germany and the Netherlands, thus jointly resulting in a consistent palaeogeographic model of western-middle Europe.     

Long-term fluvial archives in Hungary: response of the Danube and Tisza rivers to tectonic movements and climatic changes during the Quaternary: a review and new synthesis

The paper discusses the Quaternary evolution of the Danube and Tisza rivers and their main tributaries in the context of evolution of the entire Pannonian Basin, which is Europe's largest intramontane basin, within the Alp–Carpathian orogen. The palaeo-drainage reconstruction of the Pannonian Basin for the pre-Quaternary period is outlined in connection with the gradual regression of Lake Pannon since the Late Miocene. Deltas of rivers that entered the basin from the northwest and northeast were gradually transformed into extended alluvial plains; thus, the earliest possible ancestor of the Danube coming southeastwards from the Alps could be as old as Late Miocene. By the Pliocene the whole Lake Pannon was infilled. The former extensional basin formation was replaced by a compresional stress field, which resulted in an uplift of the marginal flanks and late-stage subsidence anomalies. The increasing relief led to the formation of the Quaternary drainage pattern. The actively subsiding young basins were filled by fluvial sediments, transported by the Danube and Tisza river systems from the uplifting mountains. Between the subsiding regions of the Little and Great Plains, the Danube has formed an antecedent valley with terrace staircases between the uplifting sections of the Transdanubian Range and the North Midmountains. The formation of the terraces is attributed to periodic climate changes during the Pleistocene combined with differences in the uplift rate. The paper gives a complex overview of the classical chronology of the six terraces based on various data sources: mostly dating of loess/paleosol sequences, travertines, aeolian sand, and tephra strata overlying the fluvial sediments, complemented by scattered vertebrate faunal data and archaeological evidence directly from the terrace sediments.The Quaternary drainage pattern evolution of the Great Plain, with a strong tectonic control, is discussed in detail. Rivers originating from the uplifting marginal areas were drawn towards the subsiding depressions which served as local base level. Changes in subsidence rates in space and time throughout the Quaternary resulted in the evolution of a complex drainage pattern. A special emphasis is placed on the Late Pleistocene–Holocene development of the Middle–Tisza region and the Körös basin, where the Berettyó–Körös Rivers form an eastern tributary system of the Tisza River. A comparative evaluation of these two areas is especially relevant, as they provide insights into large-scale Late Pleistocene avulsion of the Tisza River. OSL dating, complemented with inferred transport directions determined from heavy mineral analysis of fluvial sediments in the Körös basin, has revealed an ancient large meandering river system that can be identified with the palaeo-Tisza, which was flowing along a tectonically controlled depression during the Late Pleniglacial. Successions in the Middle Tisza region have allowed differentiation between the older channels of the palaeo-Bodrog River and the Sajó–Hernád alluvial fan and the younger meander belts of the new course of the Tisza. In the Tisza system, changes in river style (braided to various scales of meandering) show correspondence to millennial-scale climate changes of the last 25 ka, while in the Körös basin the effects of tectonics are overprinted onto the regional climatic signals.     

东胜煤田北部延安组沉积体系及聚煤特征

鄂尔多斯盆地延安组在全盆地发育,是盆地内最重要的含煤、油、气地层之一,依据大量的钻井、测井资料,运用沉积学的方法,对东胜煤田艾来五库沟-台吉召延安组沉积体系及聚煤特征进行了分析。研究认为延安组为辫状河、曲流河及辫状河三角洲沉积,沉积微相主要发育有辫状河体系的河床滞留沉积及心滩、河漫滩和河漫沼泽沉积;曲流河体系的河床滞留沉积、边滩、天然堤、河漫滩、河漫沼泽和河漫湖泊沉积;辫状河三角洲体系的分支河道、天然堤和河漫沼泽沉积等。辫状河及曲流河垂向上表现为下粗上细的间断性正韵律或正旋回,为典型的河流二元结构特征。聚煤特征分析认为,辫状河和曲流河体系河漫沼泽环境是有利成煤场所,由于河道的冲刷、下切作用,辫状河道和曲流河道形成的煤层厚度较小、侧向连续性差;三角洲体系的三角洲平原是有利的成煤带,其煤层具有厚度较大、结构较为简单、分布范围较广、连续性较好的特征。     

河北省唐山地区古滦河冲积扇第四纪以来演化与变迁

古滦河冲积扇研究的关注点更多在全新世,对其更新世的演化与变迁一直没有进行过系统研究。根据古滦河冲积扇上PZK10、PZK20钻孔的磁性地层学、年代地层学、沉积学、测井沉积学、岩芯色度分析等,对古滦河冲积平原的第四纪三维地质结构、冲积扇体的规模以及迁移规律进行综合研究,结果表明：PZK10孔揭露了上新世时沉积的巨厚洪积成因“泥包砾”地层,早更新世时发育两个冲积扇-湖相旋回,中更新世时发育辫状河沉积,晚更新世发育湖相、冲积扇相、辫状河相沉积。PZK20孔上新世沉积了一套巨厚“泥包砾”层,早更新世为扇前平原-辫状河相沉积,中更新世为辫状河-冲积扇相沉积,晚更新世为辫状河沉积。古滦河发育两期冲积扇,第一期为早更新世早期,在沙流河镇一带出山口形成的规模较大的冲积扇;第二期为早更新世中期,古滦河在现今丘庄水库一带发生分流,在丰润区一带出山口形成的冲积扇。中更新世,第一期冲积扇开始萎缩,第二期冲积扇继续发育,形成巨厚砾石层;晚更新世,古滦河在迁西县城以北发生袭夺,东流迁移出研究区,在西峡口进入迁安盆地,形成以西峡口为顶点的冲积扇。     

陆相煤系聚煤环境及聚煤特征——以青海祁连山和柴北缘含煤区侏罗系为例

通过对青海祁连山和柴北缘含煤区侏罗系沉积体系的研究,系统总结了陆相地层的主要聚煤环境,即冲积扇、辫状河、曲流河、扇三角洲、曲流河三角洲和滨湖聚煤环境,其中曲流河、曲流河三角洲及滨湖为陆相地层中最有利的聚煤环境。研究显示:曲流河的岸后沼泽为重要的聚煤环境,平面上煤层呈带状产出,垂向上往往形成较厚的煤层,且横向延伸较远;曲流河三角洲平原分流河道间洼地中发育泥炭沼泽,形成的煤层成带性好,具有沿湖岸线广泛分布的特点;滨湖聚煤环境中湖岸线延深较远,煤层在平面上呈带状展布,同时由于湖平面变化的多旋回性,在垂向上可形成多套碳质泥岩与煤层的互层。这些研究成果,为研究煤系赋存规律和准确预测煤层提供了依据。      

长江口区晚新生代沉积物粒度特征和沉积地貌环境演变

对长江河口区的三个晚新生代钻孔作了地层对比和粒度分析,据此探讨晚新生代长江河口的沉积地貌环境演变过程。结果表明,SG6和J18A孔上新世厚层含砾砂质沉积物粒度特征,反映了洪积扇和冲积扇相沉积环境,沉积物搬运距离短;而SG13孔缺失上新世沉积,反映古地势较高,以剥蚀为主。因此上新世长江三角洲地区古地势高差较大,侵蚀区和沉积区共存。早更新世,本区继承了上新世的冲、洪积扇沉积环境,但SG6孔泥质沉积明显变厚,J18A孔此时则以厚层含砾砂沉积为主,SG13孔也开始接受泥质沉积,反映在构造沉降作用下,冲、洪积扇体向西、南部迁移,沉积盆地范围扩大。中更新世,沉积物普遍变细且以悬浮沉积为主,显示了曲流河或曲流河冲积平原的沉积环境。晚更新世初,本区又发育含砾砂层,特别是SG13孔出现厚层含砾砂,但是粒径显著小于上新世和早更新世沉积物,反映本区再次发生显著构造沉积,河流地貌广泛发育。晚更新世中晚期和全新世沉积物以粘土和粉砂质粘土为主,悬浮沉积占优,说明本区已演变为滨、浅海沉积环境。因此在构造沉降、剥蚀和沉积的共同作用下,本区的地貌演变经历了自上新世至中更新世和自晚更新世至全新世的两次准平原化过程。     

黄骅坳陷北部马头营凸起馆陶组砂体成因及展布特征

综合运用钻井岩心、测井、三维高分辨率地震等资料,对渤海湾盆地黄骅坳陷北部马头营凸起馆陶组砂体成因及展布特征进行了系统的研究。结果表明:馆陶组沉积前期发育2条规模大、延伸较远,呈近NS、NNW—SSE展布的沟槽,指示物源主要来源于北部燕山褶皱带。馆陶组为冲积扇-辫状河-曲流河沉积序列;馆三下段为冲积扇扇中辫状河道和河道间漫流相,发育扇中辫状河道成因砂体;馆三上段为辫状河道和泛滥平原相,发育河床滞留沉积和心滩成因砂体;馆二段和馆一段为曲流河沉积,河床滞留沉积、边滩、决口扇和天然堤是主要的砂体成因类型。馆陶组可划分为3个长期旋回,7个中期旋回,16~19个短期旋回;以短期旋回为单元,建立了馆二段等时地层对比的高分辨层序地层格架;层序格架控制着砂体的分布模式,馆二段短期旋回的下部砂岩发育,是主要的储集层。层控测井约束反演提高了馆二段薄互层河道砂体预测的精度,馆二段各砂层组反演预测平面砂地比反映河道砂体呈NE—SW向的展布特征。     

准噶尔盆地车排子凸起多物源复杂沉积体系中的地震沉积学

准噶尔盆地车排子凸起新近系沙湾组为湖盆缓坡多物源、复杂沉积体系沉积,其沉积体系认识争议很大,时空演化难以刻画.准确刻画其沉积体系类型、演化规律和砂体分布特征,是精细刻画单砂体及内部构型等储层的基石,对后期油气开发具有重要指导意义.在岩心、测井、测试分析及地震资料,充分利用相位转换、地层切片等地震沉积学技术方法,对其沉积体系特征进行深入研究.建立研究区精细层序地层格架,将沙湾组划分为2个三级层序、4个四级层序;识别出冲积扇、辫状河、曲流河、曲流河三角洲、扇三角洲及滨浅湖6种沉积体系类型,并确定沉积体系边界及演化规律;建立了多物源冲积扇-辫状河、扇三角洲-曲流河三角洲沉积模式及砂体分布模式.辫状河道、心滩、点坝复合体及冲积扇砂体均钻遇较好油气显示,为重要储集体.此次研究丰富了地震沉积学在湖盆缓坡多物源、多沉积体系类型中的应用.      

天山北缘辫状河型洪积扇沉积特征及其对准噶尔盆地 西北缘古代洪积扇油气勘探的指导意义

通过天山北缘白杨河及玛纳斯河现代辫状河沉积作用为主的洪积扇的研究,认为此类洪积扇以活动的辫流带和洪水 期才发生沉积的漫洪带为特征。扇面上不能全区同时发生沉积,而是选择扇面低势能区发生沉积。辫状河道呈条带状分 布,与常规砾质辫状河沉积特征类似,并向扇缘散开,沉积的砾石条带物性好。洪积扇的发育受构造、气候、水系的共同 控制,这些条件决定了洪积扇的沉积特征及发育规模。准噶尔盆地西北缘三叠系古代洪积扇以辫状河道沉积作用为主,是 发育在盆地边缘低坡度洪积扇,更倾向于辫状河沉积特征。     

准噶尔盆地南缘西段中、上侏罗统沉积演化及控制因素分析

针对准噶尔盆地南缘中、上侏罗统沉积体系演化控制因素不清、沉积模式不明等问题,通过对多条露头剖面精细解剖、详尽写实沉积特征描述等手段,分析了其垂向序列、砂体叠置方式、水动力条件、沉积体系演化及控制因素.研究表明准南中、上侏罗统自下而上分别发育辫状河沉积、曲流河沉积和扇三角洲沉积,古气候与构造造成的水动力条件的变化是控制这...     

Preservation of pre-vegetational mixed fluvio–aeolian deposits in a humid climatic setting: an example from the Middle Proterozoic Eriksfjord Formation, Southwest Greenland

Sedimentological studies of a 30 m thick coastal cliff section within the Middle Proterozoic Eriksfjord Formation in western South Greenland reveals three distinct types of fluvial sand sheet deposits that reflect perennial streams (Type I), semi-perennial streams (Type II), and ephemeral flash floods (Type III). Perennial river sand sheets are characterised by co-sets of medium-scale trough cross-beds, interbedded with isolated medium- and large-scale, high-angle, tabular cross-beds. Indications of desiccation or subaerial exposure are absent. Semi-perennial fluvial sand sheets consist predominantly of low-angle cross-beds, interbedded with isolated sets of high-angle tabular cross-beds with common reactivation surfaces. Horizontal lamination and climbing ripple lamination form subordinate structures. Associated with the sand sheets are adhesion structures and 0.05–0.4 m thick sets of wind ripple-lamination indicating periods of subaerial exposure and aeolian reworking. High-energy ephemeral flash flood sand sheets consist almost exclusively of planar-parallel lamination and climbing ripple lamination with some isolated sets of low-angle cross-bedding. Scouring and internal truncation surfaces are common. The three types of sand sheets are considered to reflect deposition under changing climatic conditions, varying from humid to arid or semi-arid. Aeolian deposits are preserved within the sand sheets showing characteristics of dominantly perennial flow punctuated by shorter periods of desiccation (Type II), while sand sheets showing features typical of arid and or semi-arid flow conditions (Type III) contain no preserved aeolian deposits. This selective preservation is interpreted to be a result of the combined effect of groundwater table level and fluvial style which in turn are inferred to have been controlled by the climatic regime. The deposits show that during pre-vegetational times the preservation of aeolian deposits, under certain conditions, may be more optimal in fluvial systems formed in a humid climate than in fluvial systems formed under semi-arid or arid circumstances. The occurrence of aeolian deposits within a Precambrian succession of fluvial deposits therefore, need not be an indication of the most arid environmental conditions.     

The stratigraphy of the Permo-Triassic rocks of the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site,U.K.

An almost complete late Permian and Triassic succession c. 1300 m thick is exposed in the cliffs between Exmouth and Lyme Regis in the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site, U.K. All except the youngest part of the succession was deposited in terrestrial environments that include alluvial fans, aeolian sand dunes, braided rivers and playa-lakes. The succession of environments with time not only reflects the denudation of the Variscan mountains that lay to the west and south in the Cornubian and Armorican massifs, but also responses to periods of tectonic uplift and subsidence, and to long- and short-term climatic and associated biotic changes. Notwithstanding the almost continuous, readily accessible exposures in the cliffs and intertidal areas, few of the formations have yielded any age-diagnostic fossils with the result that much of the succession cannot be dated with certainty. The Permo-Triassic boundary has been placed in the lower part of the succession on the basis of magnetostratigraphy and the same method has been used to quantify some of the stage boundaries and the principal tectonic breaks in the succession.     

萨拉乌苏河流域地层沉积时代及其反映的气候变化

萨拉乌苏河流域位于我国北方沙漠/黄土过渡带和生态脆弱带,它对全球变化反映非常敏感,是研究全球变化的理想区域。本文根据地质测年、气候地层对比,以及地层中气候代用指标的分析,将萨拉乌苏河流域地层和气候变化划分为全新统的风成相与湖相沉积(0~11.5kaBP),早、中期气候较暖湿,晚期气候较干旱;上更新统城川组的风成相沉积(11.5~80kaBP),气候干旱寒冷;上更新统萨拉乌苏组的湖相沉积(80~140kaBP),气候温暖较湿润;中更新统上部的河流相与风成相互层(140~190kaBP),气候冷干与温凉半干旱波动;中更新统上部的冲洪积沉积(190~220kaBP),气候较暖湿等阶段。指出自中更新世晚期以来气候发生频繁波动,无论是暖湿还是冷干阶段,气候都波动频繁,气候变化不稳定性明显。     

松辽盆地北部依安凹陷四方台组砂体特征及铀成矿潜力分析

根据钻探施工及取样分析结果,总结了松辽盆地北部依安凹陷内上白垩统四方台组沉积相、砂体发育及后生蚀变特征.依安凹陷内四方台组可分为上下两段,其中四方台组上段主要发育辫状河相沉积,下段主要为曲流河相沉积.辫状河相一般发育1~2层砂体,砂体规模较大,局部后生氧化作用发育.通过对依安凹陷四方台组铀源、构造、砂体发育及后生改造特征分析,认为其具有较好的砂岩型铀成矿所需的铀源条件、构造条件、砂体条件及后生氧化改造条件,铀矿找矿潜力较大.