Mid-Holocene evolution and paleoenvironments of the shoreface–offshore transition, north-eastern Argentina: New evidence based on benthic microfauna

A sedimentary record spanning 5792–5511 cal yr BP and 3188–2854 cal yr BP was recovered at 36° 45′ 43″ S–56 ° 37′ 13″ W, south-west South Atlantic. The sedimentological features and micropaleontological (benthic foraminifera and ostracoda) content were analyzed in order to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. Considerable environmental fluctuations are indicated by all these proxies. Five different stages were distinguished: Stage 1 (ca. 5800–5000 cal yr BP) consists of muddy sand with abundant microfossils. In this interval, species typical for inner marine shelf environments maintained a high abundance. Stage 2 consists of plastic light greenish grey clays barren of microfossils, and probably represents fluvial input from the de la Plata River to the shelf contemporaneous of a lowering of sea level. Stage 3 is composed of brownish yellow sandy silts, and represents increasing marine conditions in the area as reflected by higher faunal diversity and typical foraminifera of inner shelf environments. Stage 4 is made of homogeneous mud, barren of microfossil, which represents a new pulse of fluvial input to the shelf in consequence of a new fall in sea level. The final part of the core (Stage 5) is a coarsening upward sequence, grading from greeny brown clayey sandy silts to coarse shelly sands and represents the modern sedimentation in the area. This interpretation strengthens the stepped model of late-Holocene sea-level fall between 5511–5792 cal yr BP and 2854–3188 cal yr BP in Buenos Aires coast, and agrees with the relative sea-level history previously proposed by some authors from western South Atlantic coasts.     

Sedimentary facies and paleoenvironmental interpretation of a Holocene marsh in the Gironde Estuary in France

1Introduction Since the last glacial maximum, the Holocenehas been marked by a rapid rise in sea level. After6 000 a BP, the present-day level was reached andthe rate of sea-level rise (SLR) decreased rapidly(Morzadec -Kerfourn, 1974; Kidson, 1986 ).These…     

南海北部陆坡神狐海域晚中新世以来沉积物中生物组分变化及意义

对南海北部陆坡神狐海域4口钻孔(BY1、BY2、BY3、BY4)岩心沉积物中微体古生物的研究表明晚中新世以来该区沉积物中硅质和钙质生物组分丰度具有较大时间和空间变化。从时间上看,硅质生物在晚中新世—上新世几乎缺失,中更新世以来约40万年(0～24m)才较多出现,18万年以后繁盛,大于0.15mm粗粒级有孔虫在晚中新世期间丰度很低,而在更新世—上新世丰度很高;空间上的差异表现在不同的钻井岩心中生物丰度变化范围较大。根据硅质生物丰度变化可推测晚中新世—上新世—早更新世时海水表层古生产力极低,而中更新世以来古生产力相对较高。南海北部钙质生物丰度的变化主要受控于陆源物质的输入量,在钻探区可识别2个可能具有不同物质来源的小区块,如BY1、BY2孔晚中新世—上新世陆源物质的输入量高于更新世,BY3和BY4孔更新世陆源物质的输入量高于上新世。2007年本区钻探结果揭示的一个令人惊奇和十分独特的现象,水合物以高达20%～49%饱和度状态分散在细粒沉积物(黏土粉砂)孔隙中,本研究发现这些矿层富含钙质生物组分(钙质超微化石和有孔虫),而硅质组分贫乏。由此初步推测,大量钙质生物组分的存在可能增加了黏土粉砂沉积物的孔隙空间,从而为大...     

Microfossils, carbonate lysocline and compensation depth in surface sediments of the northeastern South China Sea

INTRODUCTIONTwoimportantinterfacespunctuatingtheabyssalverticaltrans sectionarecarbonatelyso clineandcarbonatecompensationdepth (CCD) .Thecarbonatelysoclineislabeledbyabruptincrementofcarbonatedissolutiononcalcitemicrofossilssuchasplanktonicforaminifertests(Berger,1 96 8) ,ordecreasingapparentlyinpercentageofthecarbonateproportion (Panetal ,1 988) .ThoughtherearemanyachievementsonthecarbonatecycleandCCDresearches(Wangetal ,1 995;Rottman ,1 979;Thunelletal ,1 992 ;Zhengetal ,1 993;Mia…     

Global sea-level control on local parasequence architecture from the Holocene record of the Po Plain,Italy

Holocene deposits exhibit distinct, predictable and chronologically constrained facies patterns that are quite useful as appropriate modern analogs for interpreting the ancient record. In this study, we examined the sedimentary response of the Po Plain coastal system to short-term (millennial-scale) relative fluctuations of sea level through high-resolution sequence-stratigraphic analysis of the Holocene succession.Meters-thick parasequences form the building blocks of stratigraphic architecture. Above the Younger Dryas paleosol, a prominent stratigraphic marker that demarcates the transgressive surface, Early Holocene parasequences (#s 1–3) record alternating periods of rapid flooding and gradual shoaling, and are stacked in a retrogradational pattern that mostly reflects stepped, post-glacial eustatic rise. Conversely, Middle to Late Holocene parasequences (#s 4–8) record a complex, pattern of coastal progradation and delta upbuilding that took place following sea-level stabilization at highstand, starting at about 7 cal ky BP. The prominent transgressive surface at the base of parasequence 1 correlates with the period of rapid, global sea-level rise at the onset of the Holocene (MWP-1B), whereas flooding surfaces associated with parasequences 2 and 3 apparently reflect minor Early Holocene eustatic jumps reported in the literature. Changes in shoreline trajectory, parasequence architecture and lithofacies distribution during the following eustatic highstand had, instead, an overwhelming autogenic component, mostly driven by river avulsions, delta lobe switching, local subsidence and sediment compaction. We document a ∼1000-year delayed response of the coastal depositional system to marine incursion, farther inland from the maximum landward position of the shoreline. A dramatic reduction in sediment flux due to fluvial avulsion resulted in marine inundation in back-barrier position, whereas coastal progradation was simultaneously taking place basinwards.We demonstrate that the landward equivalents of marine flooding surfaces (parasequence boundaries) may be defined by brackish and freshwater fossil assemblages, and traced for tens of kilometers into the non-marine realm. This makes millennial-scale parasequences, whether auto- or allogenic in origin, much more powerful than systems tracts for mapping detailed extents and volumes of sediment bodies.The Holocene parasequences of the Po coastal plain, with strong age control and a detailed understanding of sea-level variation, may provide insight into the driving mechanisms and predictability of successions characterized by similar depositional styles, but with poor age constraint, resulting in more robust interpretations of the ancient record.     

莱州湾东部滨海水域第四纪沉积及古地理特征

本文通过对６个钻孔和４６１ｋｍ浅层地震剖机测量获得的测年、微古、孢粉、藻类、古地磁以及岩持征和地震反射界面等资料的综合分析，将本区第四系划分为中更新统、上更新统和全新统，对各时期的沉积进行了较详细的阐述，并对不同时期的沉积相特征和古地理环境的变化进行了初步地揭示。     

Yangtze offshore,China: highly laminated sediments from the transition zone between subaqueous delta and the continental shelf

This study examines the deposition of highly laminated muddy sediment in vibrocores recovered from a depth of 40–55 m of water and located 120 km east of the Yangtze River mouth. X-radiographs show numerous sharp-based sedimentary rhythmics with nearly parallel and undulated laminations, interbedded with silty lenses and interbeds. The laminated sediment varies from clayey silt to silty clay. AMS radiocarbon dates on well-preserved bivalves are primarily younger than 5500 y BP, indicating the formation of the laminated sediment under the present sea-level conditions. Macro- and microfossils in the sediments are consistent with the modern offshore sedimentary setting. The laminated sediment originated from the Yangtze estuary, but the sedimentation processes were not deltaic. The highly laminated sediment that lies below the normal wave base of 10 m was deposited on the seaward margin of the Yangtze subaqueous delta, closely associated with submarine tidal and storm-generated currents.     

Foraminifera and tidal notches: Dating neotectonic events at Korphos,Greece

Fossil assemblages of foraminifera and thecamoebians from three salt-marsh cores recovered at Korphos, Greece, provided evidence for five transgression events since the mid Holocene. Marsh accretion rates based on radiocarbon-dated peat and geomorphic evidence from a series of discrete, v-shaped, submerged tidal notches indicated that these transgression events were rapid and episodic. Correlation of the tidal notches with the transgression horizons in the salt-marsh stratigraphy revealed a stepwise pattern of relative sea-level change at Korphos, which is best explained by coseismic subsidence related to fault displacement (earthquakes) associated with the Hellenic subduction zone. A comparison between the Korphos data and a model of Holocene sea-level change for the Peloponnesus reinforces this interpretation as sea-level rose in a series of jumps by amounts greater than accounted for by eustatic and glacio-hydro-isostatic factors (up to ~ 2.0 m). This study illustrates that by combining microfossil, sedimentary and geomorphic records of past sea-level change, problems frequently encountered with each record individually (e.g. dating submerged notches and autocompaction of marsh sediments) may be overcome.     

Dispersal of the Zhujiang River (Pearl River) derived sediment in the Holocene

High-resolution Chirp profiling and coring reveals an elongated(ca. 400 km) Holocene Zhujiang River(Pearl River)-derived mud area(maximum thickness 20 m) extending from the Zhujiang River Delta, southwestward off the Guangdong coast, to the Leizhou Peninsula. Two depo-centers, one proximal and one distal, are identified. On the continental shelf off the west Guangdong Province, the mud is deposited in water depth shallower than 50 m; while to the southeast of the Zhujiang River Estuary, the mud area can extend to the-120 m isobath. A combined analysis with the stratigraphic sequences of other muddy deposits in the Western Pacific marginal seas(mainly Changjiang(Yangtze) and Huanghe(Yellow) Rivers derived) indicates that the initiation of the Zhujiang River muddy deposit can be further divided into two stages: Stage 1 is before the mid-Holocene sea-level highstand(ca. 7.0 cal. ka BP), the proximal mud was mostly deposited after 9.0 cal. ka BP, when the sea-level rose slowly after the Meltwater Pulse-1C; Stage 2, after the mid-Holocene sealevel highstand, clinoform developed on the continental shelf off the west Guangdong Province, extending ca. 400 km from the Zhujiang River Estuary. The proximal clinoform thins offshore, from ca. 10 m thickness around 5–10 m water depth to less than 1–2 m around 20–30 m water depth. In addition, we also find a developed distal clinoform in the east of the Leizhou Peninsula.     

全新世东海内陆架泥质区有孔虫特征及其古环境意义

东海内陆架泥质区是东海全新世高海平面以来的沉积中心,保存了冰后期海平面上升以来完整的全新世沉积记录,是研究东海古海洋环境变化的良好载体,也是研究全新世古气候、古环境变迁的绝佳材料。选取了位于东海内陆架泥质区中部的MZ02孔长岩心作为研究对象,通过对沉积物中有孔虫进行属种鉴定分析,并结合岩心沉积物的岩性特征和AMS14 C测年数据,主要依据底栖有孔虫组合,恢复了研究区全新世以来的沉积环境演化。研究表明,全新世以来东海内陆架泥质区的沉积环境呈现阶段性演化特征,经历了以下4个阶段的演化:阶段I(10.8～10.5cal.kaBP)为滨岸沉积环境;阶段II(10.5～8.3cal.kaBP)随海面快速上升沉积环境由内陆架滨岸向中—内陆架过渡;阶段III(8.3～5.2cal.kaBP)为台湾暖流十分靠近的中—内陆架沉积环境;阶段IV(5.2～0cal.kaBP)为沿岸流较强的内陆架沉积环境。暖水种丰度在8.4cal.kaBP出现高值,推测为台湾暖流形成之时。约4.0cal.kaBP以来表生种丰度呈现高值和底栖有孔虫18 O变轻,推测与沿岸流增强密切相关。     

大凌河河口地区晚更新世晚期以来的沉积环境演化

对大凌河河口地区ZK3钻孔(孔深36.7 m)岩心开展粒度分析、AMS14C年代测定、有孔虫鉴定分析等综合研究,同时结合该地区5口工程钻孔的岩心以及部分测年资料,初步建立了大凌河河口地区晚更新世晚期以来典型的地层序列格架和时空对比框架,揭示该地区晚更新世晚期以来河道-湖沼-滨海/河口湾-浅海-三角洲的沉积演化过程。研究结果表明:大凌河河口地区在8 500 cal a BP前后开始接受海相沉积,并约在4 000 cal a BP之后进入三角洲沉积阶段;晚更新世晚期以来的海平面变化是大凌河河口沉积演化和沉积环境演变的主要控制因素;大凌河对现代辽河三角洲的形成和演化过程可能有较重要的影响。     

Postglacial paleoceanographic environments in the Barents and Baltic seas

This paper presents reconstructions of ice sheet boundaries, lacustrine and marine paleobasins, as well as the connections of the Barents and Baltic seas with the North Atlantic from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene. The reconstructions are based on original and published data obtained from the northern and western parts of the Barents Sea and Baltic depressions with account for the available regional schematic maps of deglaciation. The early deglaciation of the Scandinavian–Barents ice sheet culminated with the Bølling-Allerød interstadial (14.5–12.9 cal ka BP), which was characterized by a more vigorous Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and a corresponding increase in surface Atlantic water inflow into the Barents Sea through deep troughs. The Baltic Ice Lake (BIL) remained a dammed-up isolated basin during deglaciation from 16.0 to 11.7 cal ka BP. In the Younger Dryas (YD), the lake drained into the North Sea and was replaced by a brackish Yoldia Sea (YS) at the beginning of the Holocene (Preboreal, 11.7–10.7 cal ka BP), due to a limited connection between two basins through the Närke Strait. In the Barents Sea, the next increase in the Atlantic water influx into the deep basins corresponded to terminal YD and Preboreal events with a culmination in the Early Holocene. The Yoldia Sea became a lake again during the next stage, the Ancylus (~10.7–8.8 cal ka BP). Atlantic water inflow both into the Barents and Baltic seas varied during the Holocene, with a maximum contribution in the Early Holocene, when the Littorina Sea (LS, 8–4 cal ka BP) connection with the North Sea via the Danish Straits was formed to replace the Ancylus Lake. The recent, post-Littorina stage (PS, the last 4 cal ka) of the Baltic Sea evolution began in the Late Holocene.     

Holocene sedimentation of a wave-dominated barrierisland shoreline: Cape Lookout, North Carolina

The sedimentary record of 130 km of microtidal (0.9 m tidal range) high wave energy (1.5 m average wave height) barrier island shoreline of the Cape Lookout cuspate foreland has been evaluated through examination of 3136 m of subsurface samples from closely spaced drill holes. Holocene sedimentation and coastal evolution has been a function of five major depositional processes: (1) eustatic sea-level rise and barrier-shoreline transgression; (2) lateral tidal inlet migration and reworking of barrier island deposits; (3) shoreface sedimentation and local barrier progradation; (4) storm washover deposition with infilling of shallow lagoons; and (5) flood-tidal delta sedimentation in back-barrier environments.

Twenty-five radiocarbon dates of subsurface peat and shell material from the Cape Lookout area are the basis for a late Holocene sea-level curve. From 9000 to 4000 B.P. eustatic sea level rose rapidly, resulting in landward migration of both barrier limbs of the cuspate foreland. A decline in the rate of sea-level rise since 4000 B.P. resulted in relative shoreline stabilization and deposition of contrasting coastal sedimentary sequences. The higher energy, storm-dominated northeast barrier limb (Core and Portsmouth Banks) has migrated landward producing a transgressive sequence of coarse-grained, horizontally bedded washover sands overlying burrowed to laminated back-barrier and lagoonal silty sands. Locally, ephemeral tidal inlets have reworked the transgressive barrier sequence depositing fining-upward spit platform and channel-fill sequences of cross-bedded, pebble gravel to fine sand and shell. Shoreface sedimentation along a portion of the lower energy, northwest barrier limb (Bogue Banks) has resulted in shoreline progradation and deposition of a coarsening-up sequence of burrowed to cross-bedded and laminated, fine-grained shoreface and foreshore sands. In contrast, the adjacent barrier island (Shackleford Banks) consists almost totally of inlet-fill sediments deposited by lateral tidal inlet migration. Holocene sediments in the shallow lagoons behind the barriers are 5–8 m thick fining-up sequences of interbedded burrowed, rooted and laminated flood-tidal delta, salt marsh, and washover sands, silts and clays.

While barrier island sequences are generally 10 m in thickness, inlet-fill sequences may be as much as 25 m thick and comprise an average of 35% of the Holocene sedimentary deposits. Tidal inlet-fill, back-barrier (including flood-tidal delta) and shoreface deposits are the most highly preservable facies in the wave-dominated barrier-shoreline setting. In the Cape Lookout cuspate foreland, these three facies account for over 80% of the sedimentary deposits preserved beneath the barriers. Foreshore, spit platform and overwash facies account for the remaining 20%.     

Sedimentological response to neotectonics and sea-level change in a delta-fed,complex graben: Gulf of Amvrakikos,western Greece

The Gulf of Amvrakikos is one of several E–W grabens developed in the Middle Quaternary almost orthogonal to the tectonic grain of the external Hellenides in western Greece and is critically located at the termination of the Kefallinia transform fault linking the Hellenic subduction zone to the Adriatic-Dinaride collision lineament. The tectonic evolution of the Gulf and the response of sedimentation have been investigated based on 3.5 kHz and sparker profiles. The Holocene stratigraphy results from rising eustatic sea-level breaching the tectonic sill north of Preveza and inundating the braid plain of the Arachthos river, which then prograded across the northern Gulf following the formation of the maximum flooding surface. Older major transgressive surfaces are recognised in sparker profiles. Interpretation of these transgressions in terms of eustatic sea-level changes allows a chronology to be established and estimates to be made of neotectonic rates of subsidence. Two sets of neotectonic faults are present: reactivated NNE-trending mid-Tertiary thrusts of the Ionian zone and more active E–W trending faults. The sedimentary succession in the Gulf of Amvrakikos is the result of a complex interplay between eustatic sea level changes, the neotectonic creation of accommodation, and autocyclic delta distributary switching. The details of this process are resolved for the Holocene and the general sedimentation pattern established back to marine isotope stage (MIS) 8 (245–300 ka). In general, MIS 8 shows greater evidence of terrestrial deposition, compared with MIS 6 (130–190 ka) and especially MIS 2–4 (10–80 ka), when there was lacustrine deposition and some marine incursions at intermediate eustatic sea levels. This implies that regional subsidence has been taking place at least since MIS 8. In addition, changing sediment supply plays a role in overall sediment architecture, but is only well resolved for the Holocene, with higher rates of fluvial supply recognised in the mid Holocene.     

辽河拗陷东部凹陷南部地区古近系沉积体系与储层评价

Detailed studies on a number of core sections,well logs and seismic date of the paleogene systems of the southern part of eastem sag in Liaohe Depression revealed theat six sedimentary systems,i,e.delta,lake,fan delta,braided river,delta,river and alluvial fan,were distinguished,The sedimentation in the studied area remarkably controlled reservoir and the variability of sedimentary facied caused the diversity of reservior sand bldies and the inhomogeneity of reservoir properties plane distribution;The best reservoir properties are the sand bodies of deltaic front and braided-river deltaic front;the better are the sand bodies of braided-river deltaic plain,deltaic front,braided river and meandering river;the medium reservoir properties are the sand bodies of delta plain,the fan-delta front,the alluvial-middle fan,beach-bar and turbidite fan;the wores are the sand bodies of upper fan and lower fan of alluvial fan,alluvial plain.The favorable sedimentary facies belt controlled the distribution of favorable reservoir and it was an important evidence for prediction favorable stratigraphiv reservoir.     

南海北部表层沉积物中浮游有孔虫分布特征与环境意义

对南海北部12°以北海域表层沉积物中的浮游有孔虫丰度、属种数量与组合、碳酸盐含量以及硅质生物相对丰度等进行了分析和鉴定,结果表明:随水深的增加,浮游有孔虫的丰度降低、属种数量减少,碳酸盐含量降低,硅质生物相对丰度升高,浮游有孔虫优势种由易溶种转变为抗溶种。浮游有孔虫以及碳酸盐含量等的这些变化与深海碳酸盐的溶解作用密切相关,同时,浊流沉积作用和水团等环境因素也是影响浮游有孔虫丰度与组合以及碳酸盐含量变化的重要因子。     

莱州湾东岸沿海平原区全新世主要地质事件

对莱州湾东岸Y86孔岩芯,进行岩性、粒度、微体化石、孢粉组合的分析和14C年代的测定,将该孔自下而上划分为五层。在此基础上,详细讨论本区全新世海侵以来三个主要地质事件:8～7ka B．P．全新世海侵层与陆相层之间的不整合沉积间断地质事件;在7～6ka B．P．海侵范围达到最大,气候温暖湿润,称中全新世温暖气候事件;随后,在和4．5ka B．P．左右的明显降温事件。     

Holocene tephra deposits in the northern Okinawa Trough

1 Introduction Volcanic activities have played an important role in the process of global climatic changes. Being good stratigraphic markers, widespread tephra layers in ma- rine sediments can provide reliable evidences for the regional paleoceanographic …     

SEA LEVEL FLUCTUATION ALONG THE NORTHERN COAST OF BOHAI GULF ABOUT 2000 YEARS BP

Sea ingressions have happened twice in the Bohai Gulf since the Holocene. In the Mid-Holo-cene (about 6000 yrs BP) the sea reached the farthest inland and flooded the area about 4 meters ASL. Later, the seawater retrograded gradually and formed a coastal plain. It was once again submerged about 2000 BP, resulting in the submergence of large-scale cultural remains at about 2.5-3 m ASL from the Warring States to the Western Han Dynasty by marine accumulations, or the overlap of peat and clay layers of continental facies by the coastal dunes about 3000 BP.     

Subantarctic macrotidal flats, cheniers and beaches in San Sebastian Bay, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

San Sebastian Bay is a large, semicircular coastal embayment situated on the Atlantic coast of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. It is a high-energy, subantarctic environment with a tidal range of 10.4 m, influenced by large waves of Atlantic and local origin and swept by constant, strong westerly winds. A 17 km long gravel spit protects the Northern part of the Bay giving rise to a gradient in sedimentary processes. From south to north, are seven distinct sedimentary environments. Coastal sedimentation started at least 5200 years before present (BP) and a rapid progradation related to a relative sea-level drop has infilled about 6 kilometres of the Bay with a sedimentary sequence 10–11 m thick. 14-C dating of unabraded shells in the Chenier ridges of the relict part of the complex allows for a precise reconstruction of the stages of the progradation, that has slowed from 2.35 m/year at 5000 years BP to 0.6 m/year at present. The possible causes of the sea-level drop are discussed.