Morphology and internal structure of sandwaves in the Bay of Fundy

Intertidal sandwaves in the Minas Basin and Cobequid Bay, Bay of Fundy, occur under a wide range of conditions (mean grain size 0.274-1.275 mm; velocity strength index (V¹)0.46-3.34; and velocity symmetry index (V²) 0.011-0.294), and they vary from symmetrical to strongly asymmetrical in cross-section. Heights and wavelengths average 0.81 and 37.9 m respectively. They are straight to weakly sinuous and laterally continuous in plan, occasionally show crestal branching reminiscent of wave ripples, and are commonly skewed relative to the strongest currents because of differential migration rates along their length. The average migration rate is 0.11 m/tidal cycle. Megaripples occur on each sandwave crest, at least during spring tides, but the areal extent, sinuosity and size of the megaripples increases as the dominant current speed increases. The megaripples have heights averaging 24% of the sandwave height, are oriented perpendicular to the fastest dominant currents, and have life spans of several tidal cycles. They are believed to be in quasi-equilibrium with the sandwaves and play a key role in sandwave dynamics and internal structure formation: periods of lee face steepening and rapid forward migration (megaripple crest at sandwave brink) alternate with times of non-deposition or erosion and slowed or reversed migration (trough at brink). Dominant-current cross-bedding predominates in the two intergradational varieties of translation structure observed: Inclined Cross-Bedding—decimetre-scale cross-beds separated by gently inclined (9° average) erosional surfaces; and Large-Scale Foresets—cross-beds with thicknesses greater than half the sandwave height, interrupted by weakly erosional to conformable discontinuity surfaces. These are overlain by a vertical growth or repair structure, Complex Cross-Bedded Cosets, that consists of nearly equal volumes of dominant- and subordinate-current cross-beds stacked without a preferred set-boundary dip. The translation structures correspond well to forms predicted by Allen (1980a, fig. 8) but the inclined set boundaries and discontinuity surfaces (master bedding planes) are produced by megaripple troughs rather than by current reversals. Consequently, Allen's regime diagram is unable to predict structure occurrences. The repair structures suggest that ‘curvature-related mass-transport’ (Allen, 1980a, b) is important in tidal sandwave maintenance, although it is not necessarily responsible for sandwave initiation.     

Stokes surfaces and the effects of near-surface groundwater-table on Aeolian deposition

ABSTRACT Stokes surfaces in aeolian deposits are caused by wind scour of unconsolidated material to a roughly planar horizon controlled by near-surface water-tables (Stokes, 1968). A water-table forms a downward limit of scour through the cohesion of damp or wet sand near water-table, and through early cementation by evaporites precipitated in the sediments as water evaporates near the sand-air interface. Study of modern analogues reveals that Stokes surfaces exist in a variety of depositional settings, including a coastal offshore prograding sand sea (Jafurah, Saudi Arabia); a coastal onshore prograding sand sea (Guerrero Negro, Mexico) and a continental sand sea (White Sands, New Mexico, USA). These modern analogues indicate that our concept of Stokes surfaces must be broadened to include the following: (i) modern analogues for Stokes surfaces described here cover areas on the order of 25 km². These may be as representative of similar surfaces in ancient rocks as hypothesized plains of deflation requiring removal of entire sand seas; (ii) Stokes surfaces occupy a continuum in scale from local to extensive, and erosional surfaces of different magnitude may be stacked closely in the sediments; (iii) Stokes surfaces, although erosional in nature, are commonly associated with deposits both above and below the Stokes bounding surface which plainly reveal the influence of a near-surface groundwater control on wind sedimentation. Moreover, the erosional relief of the bounding surface itself (as well as other features) reveals the influence of a groundwater-table; (iv) Stokes surfaces may be diachronous, representing the lateral shift of a zone of scour within a sand sea rather than simultaneous removal of all dunes from the area encompassed by the erosional surface; (v) Stokes surfaces and associated deposits are often laterally transitional to surfaces and deposits of adjacent depositional environments, including interdunes, tidal flats, lagoons, beaches, lakes and non-aeolian sabkhas. Finally, modern examples from different depositional settings suggest that while most Stokes surfaces have many features in common (such as erosional ridges due to early cementation), there are some features which may, with further study, be revealed to be distinctive of an individual depositional setting.     

A late Precambrian tidal shelf deposit, the Lower Sandfjord Formation, Finnmark, North Norway

The Lower Sandfjord Formation is a 1.5 km thick late Precambrian sandstone. It is a remarkably homogeneous unit consisting largely (98%) of cross-bedded, texturally and mineralogically mature, coarse or medium sandstone, and is interpreted as a shallow marine deposit. This interpretation is based on the maturity, the exclusively tabular bed geometry, occasional sets of herring-bone cross-bedding and most importantly, the abundance of sheet-like pebble layers only 1–5 grain diameters thick and sometimes overlain by thin siltstone drapes. Various different types of compound cross-bedding, all of which show evidence of reversing currents, are interpreted as sub-tidal sandwaves. These sets range in thickness from 0.5 to 14 m, and in conjunction with the overall abundance of cross-bedding probably indicate strong tidal currents. A tide-dominated current regime is also considered essential to explain the derivation of such large quantities of sand from the contemporary coasts. It is suggested that sand transport offshore took place during the erosional transgression of abandoned delta lobes. However, the predominance of a single, easterly, mode in the palaeocurrent patterns suggests that the tidal currents were reinforced by some other current system. The predominantly unimodal palaeocurrent patterns and the coarse, sand-rich nature of the succession, taken together with the thickness do not superficially seem likely characteristics for a shallow marine sequence. Nevertheless this study appears to demonstrate that such deposits were formed on tidal shelves in at least late Precambrian time.     

Sedimentary processes in a submarine canyon excavated into a temperate‐carbonate ramp (Granada Basin,southern Spain)

During the Late Tortonian, shallow‐water temperate carbonates were deposited in a small bay on a gentle ramp linked to a small island (Alhama de Granada area, Granada Basin, southern Spain). A submarine canyon (the ‘Alhama Submarine Canyon’) developed close to the shoreline, cross‐cutting the temperate‐carbonate ramp. The Alhama Submarine Canyon had an irregular profile and steep slopes (10° to 30°). It was excavated in two phases reflected by two major erosion surfaces, the lowermost of which was incised at least 50 m into the ramp. Wedge‐shaped and trough‐shaped, concave‐up beds of calcareous (terrigenous) deposits overlie these erosional surfaces and filled the canyon. A combination of processes connected to sea‐level changes is proposed to explain the evolution of the Alhama Submarine Canyon. During sea‐level fall, part of the carbonate ramp became exposed and a river valley was excavated. As sea‐level rose, river flows continued along the submerged, former river‐channel, eroding and deepening the valley and creating a submarine canyon. At this stage, only some of the transported conglomerates were deposited locally. As sea‐level continued to rise, the river mouth became detached from the canyon head; littoral sediments, transported by longshore and storm currents, were now captured inside the canyon, generating erosive flows that contributed to its excavation. Most of the canyon infilling took place later, during sea‐level highstand. Longshore‐transported well‐sorted calcarenites/fine‐grained calcirudites derived from longshore‐drift sandwaves poured into and fed the canyon from the south. Coarse‐grained, bioclastic calcirudites derived from a poorly sorted, bioclastic ‘factory facies’ cascaded into the canyon from the north during storms.     

Sand waves: A model of origin and internal structure

Sand waves are large flow-transverse bedforms coupled to oscillatory boundary-layer currents of tidal origin. Like the much smaller ripple-marks generated by short-period wind waves, sand waves are observed to grow more asymmetrical with increase in the time—velocity asymmetry of the governing currents, that is, with increase in the steady component of flow (mass-transport strictly related to wave-motion) relative to the periodic component. Wind-wave ripple-marks owe their origin directly to a mass-transport component dependent on bed-curvature, which arises naturally wherever a sufficiently powerful oscillatory flow is imposed on a deformable grain boundary. This curvature-related current, flowing from troughts to crests on the bed, drifts grains mobilized by the periodic component into transverse bands. Sand waves may also owe their origin and growth to an unstable interaction within tide-generated oscillatory boundary layers between the mobile bed and a curvature-related mass-transport.Sand-wave internal structure apparently depends on the strength and degree of asymmetry of the governing currents. Relatively symmetrical forms associated with currents of low asymmetry are expected to contain comparatively small, intricately related herring-bone or climbing cross-bedding sets. Relatively asymmetrical currents shape sand waves with one side so steep that large-scale flow separation is inevitable. The predominant structure is then expected to be long avalanche bedding broken into sets by mud drapes and bioturbated zones representing periods of gentle flow, and/or by erosional discontinuities recording tidal reversals. The expected structures have parallels in the stratigraphic record and amongst modern sand waves.     

The behaviour of intertidal sandwaves during neap-spring tide cycles and the relevance for palaeoflow reconstructions

Variations in migration distances and shape characteristics of sandwaves in relation to flow conditions were studied on the Ossenisse intertidal shoal in the Westerschelde estuary. The purpose was to analyse bedform behaviour, to establish the threshold and the time lags involved, to find differences in two- and three-dimensional sandwaves and to determine the implications for palaeoflow reconstructions. Sandwave migration is well correlated with the peak depth-averaged flow velocity of the dominant tide. Thus the latter parameter may be estimated from the thickness of the tidal bundles. Other flow parameters such as shear velocity, Chezy C or roughness length do not show a correlation with the migration and cannot be used in palaeoflow analysis. Flow depth does not correlate with sandwave height or with length. Consequently, neither sandwave height and length nor set height and length can be used for palaeoflow depth determination. Sandwaves start moving when the peak dominant flow velocity exceeds 0.5–0.6 m s^?1, and appreciable changes in shape occur at 0.75–0.8 m s ^?1. Complete reversal of sandwaves is accomplished if both the dominant and subordinate peak depth-averaged current velocities exceed 0.85 m s^?1. Two- and 3-D sandwaves appeared to have different stability fields in the velocity-depth diagram and in the diagram of the Froude number versus the depth-grain-size ratio. In addition the distinction between 2-D and 3-D sandwaves appeared to be related to a variability in current direction during periods of appreciable sand transport. There are also differences in sedimentary structures between the two types of sandwaves.     

Eustatic and hydrodynamic controls on the architecture of a deep shelf sand bank (Celtic Sea)

The architecture of a tidal sand bank in the south-eastern Celtic Sea was examined using very high-resolution seismic surveys. The bank comprises four depositional units. The lowest unit 1 is characterized by gently dipping (1–8°) strata that strike parallel to the length of the bank. Unit 1 is erosionally overlain by unit 2, which forms the bulk of the bank. This unit consists of stacked sets of downcurrent-dipping (7–12°) master bedding formed by climbing, sinuous-crested tidal dunes that are up to 20 m high. These deposits are locally incised by an anastomosed channel network (unit 3) that may represent a buried swatchway system. The upper part of the bank comprises wave-related deposits that are mainly preserved on the bank flanks (unit 4). The outer bank surface is erosional. The bank is believed to have formed during the last post-glacial sea-level rise. The facies evolution from unit 1 to unit 3 indicates an upward increase in tidal energy, mainly characterized by the thickening of dune cross-bed sets in unit 2. The majority of bank growth is inferred to have occurred in water depths of the order of 60 m. This evolution was controlled by relative sea-level rise, which is likely to have caused an episode of tidal resonance with associated strong tidal currents that were responsible for the incision of the deep, cross-cutting channels of unit 3. The transition to wave-dominated sedimentation in unit 4 is related to the decay of resonance with continued sea-level rise.     

Dynamics and facies model of a macrotidal sand-bar complex, Cobequid Bay—Salmon River Estuary (Bay of Fundy)

The 40-km-long, Cobequid Bay—Salmon River estuary has a maximum tidal range of 16·3 m and experiences limited wave action. Sediment, which is derived primarily from areas seaward of the estuary, is accumulating faster than the high-tide elevation is rising, and the system is progradational. The deposits consist of an axial belt of sands, which is flanked by mudflats and salt marshes in the inner half of the estuary where a funnel-shaped geometry is developed, and by erosional or non-depositional foreshores in the outer half where the system is confined by the valley walls. The axial sands are divisible into three facies zones: zone 1—elongate, tidal sand bars at the seaward end; zone 2—sand flats with a braided channel pattern; zone 3—the inner, single-channel, tidal—fluvial transition. Tidal current speeds reach a maximum in zone 2, but grain sizes decrease headward (from medium and coarse sand in zone 1, to fine and very fine sand in zones 2 and 3) because the headward termination of the major flood channels prevents the coarse, traction population from entering the inner part of the estuary. Longitudinal progradation will produce a 20-m-thick, upward-fining succession, the lower 1/2–2/3 of which will consist of cross-bedded, medium to coarse sand deposited on the zone 1 sand bars. The ebb-dominated portion of this unit will be finer grained than the flood-dominated part, and will contain trough crossbedding produced by 3-D megaripples; the flood-dominated areas, by contrast, will consist mainly of compound cross-bedding created by sandwaves with superimposed megaripples. Headward migration of swatchways (oblique channels that link the ebb- and flood-dominated areas) will create packages of ebb cross-bedding that is orientated at a high angle to the long axis of the estuary and that contains headwardinclined, lateral-accretion surfaces. The overlying fine and very fine sands of zones 2 and 3 will be composed mainly of upper-flow-regime parallel lamination. The succession will be capped by a 4-m-thick unit of mixed flat, mudflat and salt marsh sediments. A review of other macrotidal estuaries with tidal ranges greater than 10 m suggests that the major elements of the model have general applicability.     

Possible seismic origin of molar tooth structures in Neoproterozoic carbonate ramp deposits, north China

The Xinmincun Formation forms the uppermost unit of a thick Neoproterozoic section which accumulated near the east margin of the North China Block and is overlain by two thin nearshore to continental formations below fossiliferous Lower Cambrian sediments. Although tectonically deformed, sedimentary structures are preserved undeformed on cleavage-parallel surfaces, and an 80 m section has been reconstructed by correlation across minor folds and faults in the Golden Stone beach area, 50 km NE of the city of Dalian, southern Liaoning province. The measured section shows 65 m of storm-dominated deposits, consisting of alternations of micrites and sharp-based graded intraclastic grainstone beds (tempestites), some with rudaceous, commonly erosional or guttered, bases. The top 15 m of section shows three alternations of similar subtidal lithofacies with partly to completely dolomitized peritidal deposits (laminated, sometimes fenestral and desiccated, micrite beds, and intraclastic rudite and grainstone beds). Tempestite beds become thinner and less abundant upwards towards a muddy upper shoreface zone. This environment was characterized in part by the occurrence of micrite with thin or streaky lamination (probable storm-resuspended sediment), interbedded tempestites, numerous erosion surfaces, and evidence of liquidization and sediment slumping into hollows. Molar tooth structures are widespread in micrite beds of the Xinmincun Formation and are present in lesser abundance in tempestites and liquefied channel-fills. Originally the structures were sub-vertical cracks, 1–20 cm long, tapering upwards and downwards. Subsequently they became filled with microspar cement and buckled rigidly during compaction of surrounding sediment during burial. Evidence of repeated episodes of cracking, presence of brecciated cracks and localization of cracking within beds, together with variable degree of development and variation of preferential alignment in plan indicates a mechanical origin. Crack generation may have been by seismic surface waves generated by movement along faults defining either the basin's margins or its internal structure, or possibly by wave action during storms. A seismic origin for molar tooth structure is consistent with other Neoproterozoic occurrences. Their preferential occurrence in Precambrian deposits arises from the relative rigidity of micritic sediment at this time related to lack of bioturbation, incipient cementation and possibly microbial binding.     

苏北海岸带潮成辐射砂脊群的形成及其古地理意义

南黄海潮成辐射砂脊群的面积约为20000km2，以160° 的角度从弓京港向海展开。它与以弓京港为顶点的辐聚辐散潮流场相伴而生。60余个钻孔揭示，毗邻海区辐射砂脊体系的江苏沿岸平原上存在一个面积约3000 km2潮成砂区，其顶点位于东台，同样呈扇形以130°的角度向东展开。在潮成砂区内潮成砂质沉积单元位于冰后期海侵型砂坝-湖沉积层之上，二者之间具明显的冲刷面。砂坝-湖沉积层位于晚更新世基底硬粘土层之上，二者之间有较长的沉积间断。潮成砂沉积层上覆潮坪沉积层，二者呈渐变关系。以潮成砂层底部的侵蚀面为界，其下为海侵序列，其上为海退序列。古潮流的研究揭示，潮成砂区内同样存在辐聚辐散的古潮流场，其顶点位于东台附近。由此推断，沿海平原的潮成砂区内也是辐射状潮成砂脊体系，它形成于全新世海退时期。由于长江和黄河三角洲的前展，以东台为顶点的潮成砂脊体系逐渐暴露成陆。陆上和海域潮成辐射砂脊群形成于相同的潮汐动力环境，但处在不同的发育阶段，前者形成于全新世中期，后者发育于全新世晚期。矿物分析揭示，陆上和海区的潮成辐射砂脊体系主要由长江和黄河沉积物组成，其中长江沉积物由南向北运移，且时间较早；黄河沉积物由北向南运移，时间较迟，这种泥沙的运移趋势一直延续至今。随着海平面上升趋于减缓，长江三角洲增长，江苏海岸线向外推进，苏北潮成砂区逐渐出露成陆。1128年黄河由苏北入海，大量的黄河沉积物的加入，加快了本区海岸线的推进速度。潮成辐射砂脊体系与辐聚辐散的潮流场相伴而生，全新世最大海侵以来，辐聚辐散的潮流场的位置曾经历三次变化，第一次以长江古河口湾为顶点，第二次位于现今陆上潮成砂区，第三次位于以弓京港为顶点的现代海域，代表了潮成辐射砂脊体系发育的三个阶段。只是长江古河口湾的潮成辐射砂脊体系由于河流的巨大改造作用，可能未很好保存，至今未发现典型的辐射砂脊体系。     

Neap–spring tide sequences of intertidal shoal deposits in a mesotidal estuary

In the mesotidal (tidal range 3·5–4·9 m) Westerschelde estuary (The Netherlands) the intertidal part of a sandbank was the subject of systematic observations of: (1) hydrographic properties, (2) the distribution and response pattern of various types of bedforms, and (3) the sedimentary structures produced. Ebb and flood usually differ considerably in strength, giving rise to a clear dominance of one over the other, which may change over the neap-spring tide period. Parallel, long-crested sand-waves and irregular, short-crested dunes have a different response to the neap-spring variation in current velocity. Because one tide (usually the flood in our area) predominated over the other, the internal structure largely consists of unidirectional cross-bedding, separated into a succession of tidal bundles, each formed during one tide. The tidal bundles are arranged in a lateral sequence reflecting neap-spring tide periods and differing in character with location. Within the tidal bundle, reactivation, full vortex and slackening structures reflect acceleration, full stage and deceleration of flow respectively in the dominant tide. The full vortex structures tend to be well developed around spring tide but disappear towards neap tide. The subordinate tide carves ‘pause planes’ which enclose the tidal bundles. These pause planes are either erosional or depositional (mud).     

Stacked fluvial and tide-dominated estuarine deposits in high-frequency (fourth-order) sequences of the Eocene Central Basin, Spitsbergen

Eighteen coastal-plain depositional sequences that can be correlated to shallow- to deep-water clinoforms in the Eocene Central Basin of Spitsbergen were studied in 1 × 15 km scale mountainside exposures. The overall mud-prone (>300 m thick) coastal-plain succession is divided by prominent fluvial erosion surfaces into vertically stacked depositional sequences, 7–44 m thick. The erosion surfaces are overlain by fluvial conglomerates and coarse-grained sandstones. The fluvial deposits show tidal influence at their seaward ends. The fluvial deposits pass upwards into macrotidal tide-dominated estuarine deposits, with coarse-grained river-dominated facies followed further seawards by high- and low-sinuosity tidal channels, upper-flow-regime tidal flats, and tidal sand bar facies associations. Laterally, marginal sandy to muddy tidal flat and marsh deposits occur. The fluvial/estuarine sequences are interpreted as having accumulated as a series of incised valley fills because: (i) the basal fluvial erosion surfaces, with at least 16 m of local erosional relief, are regional incisions; (ii) the basal fluvial deposits exhibit a significant basinward facies shift; (iii) the regional erosion surfaces can be correlated with rooted horizons in the interfluve areas; and (iv) the estuarine deposits onlap the valley walls in a landward direction. The coastal-plain deposits represent the topset to clinoforms that formed during progradational infilling of the Eocene Central Basin. Despite large-scale progradation, the sequences are volumetrically dominated by lowstand fluvial deposits and especially by transgressive estuarine deposits. The transgressive deposits are overlain by highstand units in only about 30% of the sequences. The depositional system remained an estuary even during highstand conditions, as evidenced by the continued bedload convergence in the inner-estuarine tidal channels.     

The morphodynamics and internal structure of intertidal fine-gravel dunes: Hills Flats,Severn Estuary,UK

In the macrotidal Severn estuary, UK, the dynamics of intertidal fine-gravel dunes were investigated. These dunes are migrating across a bedrock platform. Systematic observations were made of hydraulic climate, geometry, migration rates and internal sedimentary structures of the dunes. During spring tides, the ebb flow is dominant, dunes grow in height and have ebb orientated geometry with bedrock floors in the troughs. During neap tides, a weak flood flow may dominate. Dunes then are flood orientated or symmetrical. Neap dune heights decrease and the eroded sediment is stored in the dune troughs where the bedrock becomes blanketed by muddy gravel. During spring tides, instantaneous bed shear stresses reach 8 N m^− 2, sufficient to disrupt a 9 mm-gravel armour layer. However, a sustained bed shear stress of 4 N m^− 2 is required to initiate dune migration at which time the critical depth-mean velocity is 1 m s^− 1. Ebb and flood inequalities in the bed shear stress explain the changes in dune asymmetry and internal structures. During flood tides, the crests of the dunes reverse such that very mobile sedimentary ‘caps’ overlie a more stable dune ‘core’. Because ebb tides dominate, internal structures of the caps often are characterised by ebb orientated steep open-work foresets developed by strong tidal currents and some lower angle crossbeds deposited as weaker currents degrade foresets. The foresets forming the caps may be grouped into cosets (tidal bundles) and are separated from mud-infused cores of crossbeds that lie below, by reactivation and erosion surfaces blanketed by discontinuous mud drapes. The cores often exhibit distinctive muddy toe sets that define the spacing of tidal cosets.     

Anatomy and sedimentary model of a hooked spit (Sylt,southern North Sea)

A sedimentary model for hooked spit depositional systems based on ground‐penetrating radar and sedimentological data is presented. The recurved main spit of Sylt Island (southern North Sea) is dominated by migrating sand dunes; the investigated hooked spit exhibits a system of foredune ridges, oriented perpendicular to the dunes of the recurved spit. The development of the hooked spit is related closely to the presence of an adjacent tidal inlet, where strong tidal currents and a steep bathymetry prevent a further northward progradation of the main spit and trigger a deflection from northerly‐directed to easterly‐directed net sediment transport. Ground‐penetrating radar data and shallow sediment cores reveal the sedimentary architecture of the hooked spit in high resolution and allow the proposition of a genetic stratigraphic model. It is shown that the growth of the hooked spit is controlled by the interplay of alongshore migrating foreshore beach drifts under fair‐weather conditions and strong erosional events, interpreted as the result of rare severe storms. These storms may excavate scarps in the backshore, which play an important role in the development of foredune ridges. Accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C ages indicate an absolute age of at least 1300 years for the hooked spit, which possibly correlates with strengthened erosion of the main spit. In contrast to the main spit, where the sediment budget is negative nowadays, growth of the hooked spit beach accelerated significantly during the last decades. This effect can probably be attributed to enhanced beach‐nourishments updrift along the main spit and makes the investigated hooked spit a natural laboratory to study the influence of increasing sediment supply into a system developing under the conditions of sea‐level rise. The study shows that the same external forces lead to distinct progradational processes along one barrier‐spit system.     

中国河口三角洲地区晚第四纪下切河谷层序特征和形成*

应用800多口钻孔及文献资料,讨论了中国沿海滦河扇三角洲、长江三角洲和珠江三角洲及钱塘江河口湾4个地区的下切河谷体系,这些皆为丰沙河流形成的河口三角洲。这些河口三角洲地区的下切河谷为长形或扇形,长数十至数百千米,宽数十千米,深40～90 m。河口三角洲地区的下切河谷相序可分为4种类型,即FS-Ⅰ,FS-Ⅱ,FS-Ⅲ和FS-Ⅵ。可以将这4类相序自海向陆排成一个理想序列：FS-Ⅰ位于海岸线附近,FS-Ⅳ位于河口三角洲的顶部,显示海的影响逐渐减弱,陆相作用逐渐增强。下切河谷层序可分为海侵和海退序列。海侵序列的厚度占下切河谷层序的50％以上,体积占60％～70％。海侵序列是在海平面上升过程中,溯源堆积依次叠置而成的,其下部的河床相是在溯源堆积能到达、而涨潮流未能到达的下游河段产生的,往往不含海相微体化石和潮汐沉积构造。在海侵序列中未见区域上可对比的侵蚀面,表明冰后期海平面上升速率的变化、甚至小幅下降也未留下统一的侵蚀记录。下切河谷中的海退序列由河口湾充填及三角洲进积而成,其进程是各不相同的：长江古河口湾先被强潮河口湾相、后由三角洲相所充填,河口湾也经历了由强潮型向中潮型的转变;滦河扇三角洲和珠江三角洲,其古河口湾则被河流相和三角洲相所充填;钱塘江河口湾正被强潮河口湾相所充填。     

A quantitative approach to sedimentary surface structures contoured by the interplay of microbial colonization and physical dynamics

In the tidal flats of Mellum Island (southern North Sea), biofilms and microbial mats, generated largely by cyanobacteria, colonize the sedimentary surfaces. Biostabilization effects and biomass enrichment influence erosional and depositional dynamics resulting from tidal flushing and storm surges. The overlapping of both biological and physical forces causes the development of characteristic sedimentary structures. To obtain a quantitative expression of the degree of effectiveness of microbial colonization in the formation of structures in an extended tidal area, a modification index (MOD-I) was developed based on the following values: (i) the proportion of mat-covered area related to a defined investigation area (I_A); (ii) the degree of steepness of slope angles of raised erosional remnants (I_S); and (iii) the degree of microbial levelling of a rippled sedimentary surface (I_N). The MOD-I was calculated for several defined regions within the study area, and both winter and summer situations were considered. The MOD-I values show, first, that the lower intertidal zone is characterized by index values approaching zero. This implies that microbially induced effects in this zone are negligible, even in summer. Second, the upper intertidal zone is characterized by lower index values in winter and relatively high values in summer. This implies a predominantly seasonal control on the biofilm development in this zone. Third, in the lower supratidal zone, the index values are almost identical during both winter and summer. This implies non-seasonal biological effects in this zone. Concomitant empirical studies on the composition of microbial mats and films suggest that the dominant microbial type influences the MOD-I value.     

Geologic implications and potential hazards of scour depressions on bering shelf,Alaska

Flat-bottomed depression 50–150 m in diameter and 60–80 cm deep occur in the floor of Norton Sound, Bering Sea. These large erosional bedforms and associated current ripples are found in areas where sediment grain size is 0.063–0.044 mm (4–4.5 φ), speeds of bottom currents are greatest (20–30 cm/s mean speeds under nonstorm conditions, 70 cm/s during typical storms), circulation of water is constricted by major topographic shoals (kilometers in scale), and small-scale topographic disruptions, such as ice gouges, occur locally on slopes of shoals. These local obstructions on shoals appear to disrupt currents, causing separation of flow and generating eddies that produce large-scale scour. Offshore artificial structures also may disrupt bottom currents in these same areas and have the potential to generate turbulence and induce extensive scour in the area of disrupted flow. The size and character of natural scour depressions in areas of ice gouging suggest that large-scale regions of scour may develop from enlargement of local scour sites around pilings, platforms, or pipelines. Consequently, loss of substrate support for pipelines and gravity structures is possible during frequent autumn storms.     

Architecture of a tide-influenced river delta in the Frontier Formation of central Wyoming, USA

The Frewens sandstone is composed of two elongate tide-influenced sandstone bodies that are positioned directly above and slightly landward of a more wave-influenced lobate sandstone. The 20-km-long, 3-km-wide Frewens sandstone bodies coarsen upwards and fine away from their axes, have gradational bases and margins and have eroded tops abruptly overlain by marine shales. These sandstones are superbly exposed in large cliffs on the banks of the South Fork of the Powder River in central Wyoming, USA. The deposits change upwards from thinly interbedded sandstones and mudstones to metre-thick heterolithic cross-strata and, finally, to metres-thick sandstone-dominated cross-strata. There is abundant evidence for tidal modulation of depositional flows; however, palaeocurrents were strongly ebb-dominated and nearly parallel the trend of sandstone-body elongation. Detailed mapping of stratal geometry and facies across these exposures shows a complex internal architecture. Large-scale bedding units within sandstone bodies are defined by alternations in facies, bed thickness and the abundance of shales. Such bedsets are inclined (5°–15°) in walls oriented parallel to palaeoflow and gradually decrease in dip over hundreds of metres as they extend from the sandstone-dominated deposits higher in a sandstone body to muddier deposits lower in the body. Where viewed perpendicular to palaeoflow, bedsets are 100-metre-wide lenses that shingle off the sandstone-body axis towards its margins. The sandstone bodies are interpreted as sand ridge deposits formed on the shoreface of a tide-influenced river delta. Metres-thick cross-strata in the upper parts of sandstone bodies resemble deposits of bars (sandwaves) formed where tidal currents moved across shallows and the tops of tidal ridges. Heterolithic deposits lower in sandstone bodies record fluctuating currents caused by ebb and flood tides and varying river discharge. Erosion surfaces capping sandstone bodies record tidal ravinement. The tidal ridges were abandoned following transgression and covered with marine mud as waters deepened.     

Variations in sublittoral sediments and their associated macro-infauna in response to inner shelf processes; Swansea Bay,U.K.*

ABSTRACT The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationships between sublittoral sediments and their associated macro-infaunas in a coastal embayment. Samples of a fine-grained surficial deposit were collected at monthly intervals from Swansea Bay, located in the northern Bristol Channel. The area is one of high tidal and wave energy. Mean spring and mean neap tidal ranges are 8.6 and 4.1 m respectively, and the area is subjected to wave action from locally-generated winds and swell from the Atlantic Ocean. Maximum near-bed tidally- or wave-induced currents are of the order of 1 ms^-1. The surveys have provided the factual basis for a model to explain the presence in a sublittoral deposit of allochthonous bivalves of an inshore, muddy-sand Abra community and an offshore Spisula subcommunity of the Venus communtiy. Further, a mechanism is advanced to explain the rapid burial of the allochthonous bivalves by coarse-grained sediment influx during storms and the subsequent localized deposition of mud.     

Nature’s pulsing paradigm

While the steady state is often seen as the final result of development in nature, a more realistic concept may be that nature pulses regularly to make a pulsing steady stata—a new paradigm gaining acceptance in ecology and many other fields. In this paper we compare tidal salt marshes, tidal freshwater marshes, and seasonally flooded fresh-water wetlands as examples of pulsed ecosystems. Despite marked differences in species composition, biodiversity, and community structure, these wetland types are functionally similar because of the common denominator of water flow pulses. Often a period of high production alternates with a period of rapid consumption in these fluctuating water-level systems, a biotic pulsing to which many life histories, such as that of the wood stork, are adapted. Pulsing of medium frequency and amplitude often provides an energy subsidy for the community thus enhancing its productivity. The energy of large-scale pulses such as storms are usually dissipated in natural ecosystems with little harm to the biotic network; however, when seawalls, dikes, or stabilized sand dunes are constructed to confront these strong pulses, the whole ecosystem (and associated human structures) may be severly damaged when the barriers fail because too much of the storm energy is concentrated on them. The relationship between biologically mediated internal pulsing, such as plant-herbivore or predator-prey cycles, and physical external pulsing is discussed not only in wetlands but in other ecosystem types as well. An intriguing hypothesis is that ecosystem performance and species survival are enhanced when external and internal pulses are coupled. We suggest that if pulsing is general, then what is sustainable in ecosystems, is a repeating oscillation that is often poised on the edge of chaos.