Palaeoenvironment of the Karelian Isthmus, the easternmost part of the Gulf of Finland, during the Litorina Sea stage of the Baltic Sea history

The palaeoenvironment of the Karelian Isthmus area during the Litorina Sea stage of the Baltic Sea history, between 8.0 and 4.5 kyr BP (8.8-5.2 cal. kyr BP), was reconstructed by studying four sites located on the Karelian Isthmus in Russia. Methods included diatom and pollen analyses, sediment lithostratigraphical interpretation and ¹⁴C dating. The brackish-water (Litorina) transgression began c. 7.7 kyr BP (8.45 cal. kyr BP) in the Karelian Isthmus area. The transgression maximum occurred between 6.7 and 5.7 kyr BP (7.6-6.5 cal. kyr BP), depending on the glacio-isostatic land uplift rate. Regarding the vegetation, the maximum occurrence of temperate deciduous trees took place at the same time. The transgression was interrupted by a short-lived sea-level standstill during the middle phase of the main transgression, c. 6.3 kyr BP (7.2 cal. kyr BP), on the eastern part of the isthmus. The highest Litorina shoreline is located between 8 and 13 m above present sea-level and the amplitude of the Litorina transgression has varied between 5 and 7 m. The 8.2-kyr cold event is not evident, but the sea-level standstill around 6.3 kyr BP (7.2 cal. kyr BP) could reflect a cool episode at that time in the Karelian Isthmus area.     

Early Holocene drowned lagoonal deposits from the Kattegat, southern Scandinavia

Shallow seismic profiling indicated the presence of a drowned lagoon-barrier system formed during the transgression of the southern Kattegat, and investigations of core material have confirmed this. Studies of plant and animal macrofossils show that the lagoonal sediments contain a mixture of marine, brackish, lacustrine, telmatic and terrestrial taxa, and analyses of foraminifers indicate brackish-water conditions. Low oxygen isotope values obtained on shells of marine molluscs also point to lowered salinity. The lagoonal sediments are situated at depths between 24 and 35 m below present sea level. They are dated to between c. 10.5 cal. ka BP and c. 9.5 cal. ka BP, and reflect a period characterized by a moderate relative sea level rise. The lagoonal sediments are underlain by lateglacial glaciomarine clay and silt, which are separated from the Holocene deposits by an unconformity. The earliest Holocene sediments consist of littoral sand with gravel, stones and shells; these sediments were formed during the transgression of the area before the barrier island-lagoon system was developed. The lagoonal sediments are overlain by mud, which contains animal remains that indicate increasing water depths.     

Weichselian sediments at Foss‐Eikeland,Jæren (southwest Norway): sea‐level changes and glaciation history

The Jæren area in southwestern Norway has experienced great changes in sea‐levels and sedimentary environments during the Weichselian, and some of these changes are recorded at Foss‐Eikeland. Four diamictons interbedded with glaciomarine and glaciofluvial sediments are exposed in a large gravel pit situated above the post‐glacial marine limit. The interpretation of these sediments has implications for the history of both the inland ice and the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream. During a Middle Weichselian interstadial, a large glaciofluvial delta prograded into a shallow marine environment along the coast of Jæren. A minor glacial advance deposited a gravelly diamicton, and a glaciomarine diamicton was deposited during a following marine transgression. This subsequently was reworked by grounded ice, forming a well‐defined boulder pavement. The boulder pavement is followed by glaciomarine clay with a lower, laminated part and an upper part of sandy clay. The laminated clay probably was deposited under sea‐ice, whereas more open glaciomarine conditions prevailed during deposition of the upper part. The clay is intersected by clastic dykes protruding from the overlying, late Weichselian till. Preconsolidation values from the marine clay suggest an ice thickness of at least 500 m during the last glacial phase. The large variations in sea‐level probably are a combined effect of eustasy and glacio‐isostatic changes caused by an inland ice sheet and an ice stream in the Norwegian Channel. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unravelling the conundrum of river response to rising sea‐level from laboratory to field. Part II. The Fly–Strickland River system,Papua New Guinea

The most recent deglaciation resulted in a global sea‐level rise of some 120 m over ca 12 000 years. A moving boundary numerical model is developed to predict the response of rivers to this rise. The model was motivated by experiments at small scale, which have identified two modes describing the transgression of a river mouth: (i) autoretreat without abandonment of the river delta (no sediment starvation at the topset–foreset break); and (ii) sediment‐starved autoretreat with abandonment of the delta. In the latter case, transgression is far more rapid, and its effects are felt much further upstream of the river mouth. A moving boundary numerical model that captures these features in experimental deltas is adapted to describe the response of the Fly–Strickland River system, Papua New Guinea. In the absence of better information, the model is applied to the case of sea‐level rise without local climate change in New Guinea. The model suggests that: (i) sea‐level rise has forced the river mouth to transgress over 700 km since the last glacial maximum; (ii) sediment‐starved autoretreat has forced enough bed aggradation to block a tributary with a low sediment load and create the present‐day Lake Murray; (iii) the resulting aggradation was sufficient to move the gravel–sand transition on the Strickland River upstream; (iv) the present‐day Fly Estuary may be, in part, a relict river valley drowned by sea‐level rise and partially filled by tidal effects; and (v) the Fly River is presently reforming its bankfull geometry and prograding into the Fly Estuary. A parametric study with the model indicates that sediment concentration during floods plays a key role in determining whether or not, and to what extent, transgression is expressed in terms of sediment‐starved autoretreat. A sufficiently high sediment concentration can prevent sediment‐starved autoretreat during the entire sea‐level cycle. This observation may explain why some present‐day river mouths are expressed in terms of deltas protruding into the sea, and others are wholly contained within embayments or estuaries in which water has invaded landward.     

MIS 3阶段以来河北黄骅北部地区海侵与气候期对比

依据渤海湾顶南侧、河北省黄骅北部地区4个钻孔岩芯样品微体古生物学、孢粉地层学研究以及沉积构造与地球化学背景分析,讨论了该地区MIS3阶段以来海侵期与气候期对比、海侵层中潮坪与浅海沉积单元的判别、沉积作用对孢粉和海侵记录的影响。依据海相世系微体生物出现确定的海侵层,可分为滨岸浅海～河口湾、潮坪、泻湖、分支河道、边滩、滨海低地、河间地～洪泛盆地等不同环境;含有孔虫或广盐海相介形类的地层,除了局部河流进积～退积作用,尚不能排除风、水、鸟的搬运,包括风暴潮的影响,并非是与海水体积变化有关的海平面变化;海侵层中的潮坪～浅海沉积单元才与海水深度有关,其他海水之上形成的地层所见海相微体生物,是地壳沉降背景下风暴潮和其他动力搬运的埋葬群,与海面变化无关,甚至仅是在东部沿海大平原构造沉降背景下河口位置向陆地移动的结果;海侵的发生与海域的扩大以及夏季风强度增大,物源区植被状况好转,造成海侵层出现乔木花粉,但是为异地埋藏。一般说来,还原背景下的沉积地层孢粉记录丰富;弱氧化～弱还原背景下的沉积地层孢粉相对较少,但也可能出现孢粉丰富的特例,氧化背景下沉积地层孢粉更稀少,全新世大暖期结束于约5kaB.P.。沉积学研究,包括对同期异相和突发事件沉积作用的理解,对晚第四纪研究是十分重要的。     

ESR/OSL ages of long-debated subtill fossil-bearing marine deposits from the southern Kola Peninsula: stratigraphic implications

The occurrence of sandy clay deposited in a warm marine environment just below the till of the last glaciation has created controversy about its age and stratigraphic position in the sedimentary basin of the Kola Peninsula. Data on marine microfauna, diatoms, malacofauna and pollen composition indicate that during the period when the sandy clay was deposited the climate was similar or even warmer than at present. According to ¹⁴ C dates, sedimentation of the sandy clay occurred around 40 ka BP. Based on these data, some researchers have attributed these marine deposits to the third Late Pleistocene Belomorian (sensu Lavrova 1960) interglacial transgression. At the same time there are geological indications suggesting re-deposition of these subtill sediments. To solve this problem we have reinvestigated the subtill interglacial marine deposits from the Varzuga section (∼66.4° N and 36.6° E). Four different marine shell species and enclosing sandy clay sediments taken from the subtill marine unit of the section were dated by the electron spin resonance (ESR) and optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods at about 103 and 104 ka, respectively. The results indicate that the subtill marine deposits belong to the first Late Pleistocene Boreal transgression that, according to our previous studies of the marginal areas of the Eurasian North, has occurred in the time interval from approximately 145 to 70 ka BP.     

珠江三角洲PRD05孔的高分辨率介形类记录与晚第四纪古环境重建*

对珠江三角洲西江河口附近PRD05孔（113°11′ 02″E,22°31′24″N）的岩性和介形类的高分辨率分析表明,受海平面变化和河流作用的影响,研究区晚第四纪经历了多次环境变化。26600\{a BP\}以前为河流环境,底部为河道沙砾沉积,随后水动力条件减弱,发育河漫滩沉积。26600—13400\{a BP\} 前期发育泛滥平原相沉积,后期受末次冰期的影响,本区暴露地表遭受风化剥蚀,泛滥平原相沉积的上部风化成杂色黏土。珠江口地区冰后期海侵应开始于约13400\{a BP\}。13400—9000\{a BP\}为海侵初期,本区形成沼泽相沉积。9000—4850\{a BP\}为全新世大海侵时期,本区为持续的河口海湾环境,发育以海相—半咸水型为主的介形类动物群,发生了3次小规模的海平面波动,导致水体条件发生变化,从而影响了介形类动物群的组成和丰度。最大海侵发生于7500—7140\{a BP\}之间,PRD05孔主要介形类属种的丰度在这一阶段达到全新世最大值。4850\{a BP\}以来为持续海退期,河流作用增强,本区逐渐转变为上三角洲平原环境。     

Plio‐Pleistocene landscape and vegetation reconstruction of the coastal area of the Tjörnes Peninsula,Northern Iceland

Marine and continental deposits from the Tjörnes area in northern Iceland were studied to obtain their pollen/spore content. Six Pollen Zones (PZ) were defined in the Early Pliocene Tjörnes beds and the Early Pleistocene Breidavík Group. The pollen is most diverse during the deposition of the lowest Tapes Zone (PZ 1) and the lower part of the overlying Mactra Zone (PZ 2). Local pollen from marshland, levee and foothill forests was deposited on a large coastal plain. The pollen spectrum reflects transgression and deepening during the second part of the Mactra Zone (PZ 3) and the lower part of the Serripes Zone (PZ 4). Gymnosperm pollen derived from the higher inland plateau increases in PZ 3. This background pollen was of minor importance during periods with an extensive coastal plain (PZ 1, 2, 4, 6). PZ 5 did not yield sufficient pollen for analysis. The pollen analysis allowed refinement of the sea‐level variations based on sedimentology and molluscs. Pollen of warmth‐demanding plants is recorded throughout the Tjörnes beds and the Early Pleistocene interglacial deposits. Warmth‐loving species indicate summers 8°C warmer than today during deposition of the Tapes Zone, and at least 5°C warmer during the rest of the Tjörnes beds. The Pliocene vegetation of Iceland matches well that of the present‐day western European maritime temperate climate. The drastic cooling at the onset of the Quaternary led to a marked vegetation impoverishment, already noticeable in the Early Pleistocene Breidavík Group.     

天津市北部尔王庄地区末次盛冰期下切河谷特征

渤海湾西岸尔王庄地区钻孔岩芯、微体古生物、孢粉及¹⁴C测年等资料及联合地质剖面研究结果表明，末次盛冰期全球海平面下降使该地区形成下切河谷，冰后期海平面迅速上升引发的海侵造成古河谷的充填，依次形成河床相、河漫滩―河口湾相和三角洲相，与相邻的滦河扇三角洲下切河谷有差异，该下切河谷受海河水系控制，流向大致与古潮白河一致。其演化过程受海平面变化、构造运动和古气候等因素影响，经历了末次盛冰期深切、15~7 ka BP海侵期间河床相及河漫滩―河口湾相的充填和之后海退形成的三角洲相埋藏等三个阶段。     

三万年前后太湖平原环境变化中的若干问题

根据近400个浅钻（30m）的岩性、岩相及其空间分布规律和¹⁴C年龄、矿物、粒度、微体、孢粉、软体动物化石分析,揭示了组成太湖基底及太湖平原的浅层第四系主要是23000—18000 aB.P.的褐黄色粘土、28000—23000 aB.P.前后的灰色粉砂和亚粘土以及大于33000 aB.P.的暗绿色粘土。上层和下层均属陆相,系海退过程中的泛滥沉积,示干冷环境;中层为海相,反映温湿的季风海洋性气候。区内全新统仅沉积于上层黄土侵蚀沟谷和洼地中,全新世海侵是局部的。     

Glacigenic rafting at Castle Hill,Gardenstown, and its significance for the glacial history of northern Banffshire,Scotland

Reinvestigation of the lower part of the key Quaternary section at Castle Hill, Gardenstown, has shown that the sediments are not in stratigraphical order, but consist chiefly of glaciotectonites, including rafts of soft sediments, which were deposited by ice moving southeastwards from the Moray Firth. Sedimentary structures are preserved in some of the rafts, which are separated by subhorizontal shears. The rafts accreted subglacially under conditions of moderate to high strain, the final glacial event being the deposition of a thin, discontinuous sheet of till, probably derived from a more westerly direction. It is proposed that interbedded dark grey shelly clay, till and sand elsewhere in northern Banffshire were emplaced, at least in part, by a similar mechanism during either the Middle Devensian, or more likely, the Late Devensian. Sand and clay with paired bivalve shells, which were formerly exposed within the Quaternary successions at Castle Hill and inland at King Edward, some 12 km to the south, are interpreted to be within glacigenic rafts, and are not in situ deposits formed during a widespread marine transgression. It is suggested that the alternation of phases of constructional and excavational deformation within a single glacial event rather than discrete glaciations provides a useful model for glacial deposition in northern Banffshire, and more generally in northeast Scotland. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浦东新区“硬土层”的沉积物特征和成因

在浦东新区高层建筑主要桩基持力层之一的暗绿色和褐黄色硬土层系统勘察的基础上,运用沉积学的研究方法和地层对比研究,对硬土层的沉积特征作一剖析。认为该硬土层为末次冰期干冷气候条件下风成黄土沉积物经过次生变化作用演变而成。     

江苏省里下河(兴化-泰州)地区浅表沉积物特征及古地理环境演变

里下河地区浅部沉积物多为全新世中、晚期堆积,多数地区缺失全新世早期沉积。沉积物以淤泥质亚粘土、亚粘土、亚砂土,粉砂质淤泥、淤泥质粉砂、淤泥及泥炭为特征。沉积前的古地貌为四周高、中间低的碟形盆地。古气候经历了温湿—暖湿—温湿—温干的变化过程。区内曾有两次海侵,第一次海侵发生在全新世早中期,范围几乎遍及全区;第二次海侵发生在全新世晚期,规模小、范围窄、时间短,为海水沿江河倒灌、回溯形起。该区古环境自全新世以来经历了浅水海湾—古泻湖—湖沼地及平原的演变过程,最终形成现今河湖稠密的低凹平原。     

Unravelling the conundrum of river response to rising sea‐level from laboratory to field. Part I: Laboratory experiments

The most recent deglaciation resulted in a global sea‐level rise of some 120 m over approximately 12 000 years. In this Part I of two parts, a moving boundary numerical model is developed to predict the response of rivers to this rise. The model was motivated by experiments at small scale, which have identified two modes describing the transgression of a river mouth: autoretreat without abandonment of the river delta (no sediment starvation at the topset–foreset break) and sediment‐starved autoretreat with abandonment of the delta. In the latter case, transgression is far more rapid and its effects are felt much further upstream of the river mouth. The moving boundary numerical model is checked against experiments. The generally favourable results of the check motivate adaptation of the model to describe the response of the much larger Fly‐Strickland River system, Papua New Guinea to Holocene sea‐level rise; this is done in the companion paper, Part II.     

Paleogeography of the Laptev Sea eastern shelf in the first half of Holocene based on faunal and palynological evidence

The Holocene paleogeography of the Laptev Sea eastern shelf is reconstructed based on mollusks, foraminifers, ostracodes, spores and pollen found for the first time. Environmental changes in the course of the postglacial (Holocene) transgression are detectable from quantitative analysis of three ostracod assemblages. Three phases of the transgression are established based on ostracode assemblages from the AMS ¹⁴C-dated core from the ancient valley of Yana River, central part of the Laptev Sea eastern shelf. After the first phase of coastal brackish-water environment (11.3–11.1 ka), shallow-water marine taxa appeared in the transitional phase (11.1–10.3 ka), and the third phase of modern sea conditions commenced 10.3 ka ago. Spore and pollen assemblages from the core indicate that the early Holocene land vegetation was dominated by tundra plant communities adapted to climatic conditions not warmer than at present. In the interval of 9.3–8.0 ka, climate was increasingly humid and warm, and forest-tundra vegetation occupied more favorable zones of the region.     

长江三角洲北翼J9孔岩芯沉积特征及地层初步划分

长江三角洲北翼地区缺少较长尺度的第四纪海陆变迁及环境演变的深入探讨,深达423m的海安县基岩标J9孔为此提供了较好的研究对象。通过观察该孔松散层岩芯,总结其沉积特征,认为岩芯明显可划分为6个特征岩性段。同时,地层古地磁测试结果显示：   0～200m为布容正极性世,200～334m为松山负极性世,334m以下为高斯正极性世。综合分析岩芯沉积特征并参考古地磁测试结果对地层进行了初步划分,认为 0～39m为全新世地层,39～153m为晚更新世地层,153～200m为中更新世地层,200～334m为早更新世地层,之下为新近纪地层。从沉积地层特征推测,在第四纪地层中可能存在有5个海侵层,自上而下为第Ⅰ海侵层（镇江海侵）、第Ⅱ海侵层（滆湖海侵）、第Ⅲ海侵层（昆山海侵）、第Ⅳ海侵层（嘉定海侵）和第Ⅴ海侵层（如皋海侵）,分别出现在孔深 5～39m段、59.2～85.1m段、121～153m段、171～200m段和 246.3～277.2m段。孔深39～41m存在的晚更新世晚期特征硬粘土标志层,指示本地不是冰后期古河谷的发育地。     

沉积环境对孢粉组合影响的探讨--以石羊河流域为例

西部干旱区小型内陆流域 (石羊河流域 )内三个地点孢粉分析显示不同地点全新世孢粉组合差异极大。三角域剖面孢粉组合完全以针叶树为主;洪水河剖面孢粉组合下部以旱生草本为主,上部以针叶树为主;终闾区表土孢粉组合中 90 %为旱生草本、灌木。其差异已远远超出气候环境变化所导致的差异。结合沉积相、沉积环境、孢粉在不同沉积环境中的传播、扩散特性的综合分析,笔者认为这种差异是沉积环境、搬运介质差异造成的。三角城剖面处于半封闭环境,接纳储存来自上游的所有沉积物的信息,孢粉组合反映的是流域上游祁连山上的植被状况。洪水河剖面下部冲积地层发育时,剖面处于开放环境,孢粉组合反映当地植被;上部湖相层发育时,剖面处于半封闭环境,孢粉组合的环境指示意义与三角城剖面一致。终闾区表土孢粉组合反映现代风媒环境终闾区植被状况。古环境重建不能仅从孢粉组合出发,必须结合沉积环境综合分析,否则,古环境重建的结果是不可靠的.     

Holocene shore displacement and shorelines in Hordaland, western Norway

A new shore displacement curve from Fonnes, ca. 50 km NW of Bergen, and a revised curve from Bømlo, ca. 80 km S of Bergen, are presented, based on pollen and phytoplankton analysis of organic sediments in present and ancient lake basins. The transitions between marine and lacustrine sediments have been radiocarbon-dated. The Fonnes and Bømlo curves are closely related and show a rapid regression between 10,000 and 8,700 years B.P., from 30 m above sea level to ca. 4 m above sea level. A transgression took place between 8,500 and 7,200 years B.P. when the shore level rose to ca. 11 m above sea level. Between 7,200 and 6,000 years B.P. the shore level was almost constant, before a slow regression took place. The earlier interpretation of the Tapes transgression including two shore level oscillations at Bømlo is rejected. A method is presented for constructing an equidistant shoreline diagram on the basis of three radiocarbon-dated shore displacement curves from three areas arranged in a triangle (Fonnes, Sotra, Ostereidet). When followed along the projection plane, a working model of the shore displacement curve from Fonnes and an approximation of the change in shoreline gradient during the Holocene indicate that the transgression maximum is metachronous.     

A sedimentary record from a deep Quaternary valley in the southern Lillebælt area, Denmark: Eemian and Early Weichselian lithology and chronology at Mommark

A unique sequence of Late Saalian, Eemian and Early Weichselian strata is exposed in a coastal outcrop at Mommark in the western Baltic. The sedimentary facies and faunas reflect palaeoenvironmental changes from an initial freshwater lake followed by marine transgression and interglacial deposition in a palaeo-Baltic sea. The upper part of the Eemian marine record indicates regression followed by lacustrine sedimentation and deposition of Early Weichselian aeolian sediments, which are truncated by an erosional unconformity overlain by a till bed. The lower and middle parts of the sequence have previously been correlated with the European glacial-interglacial stratigraphy on the basis of pollen analysis, while the upper part has been dated for the present study using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of samples from the aeolian and glacial deposits. A similar complete glacial-interglacial-glacial succession has not previously been recorded from this area. The Mommark sequence of conformable strata has been subjected to lateral compression, evidenced by folding and low-angle reverse faults. Seismic records from the adjacent waters in the western Baltic reveal a system of buried Quaternary valleys in the area. It is suggested that the interglacial deposition took place in a basin within one of these valleys and that a slab constituting the Mommark sequence, originating from the margin of a valley, has been glaciotectonically displaced northwestwards to the present location.     

A multi‐proxy palaeoenvironmental and geochronological reconstruction of the Saalian‐Eemian‐Weichselian succession at Klein Klütz Höved,NE Germany

Here we present a multi‐proxy investigation of the Klein Klütz Höved (KKH) coastal cliff section in northeastern Germany, involving lithofacies analysis, micromorphology, micropalaeontology, palynology and luminescence dating of quartz and feldspar. We subdivide the local stratigraphy into three depositional phases. (i) Following a Saalian advance (MIS 6) of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet, the penultimate deglaciation (Termination II) at the site occurred between c. 139 and 134 ka, leading to the establishment of a braided river system and lacustrine basins under arctic‐subarctic climate conditions. (ii) In the initial phase of the Eemian interglacial lacustrine deposits were formed, containing warm‐water ostracods and a pollen spectrum indicating gradual expansion of woodlands eventually containing thermophile deciduous forest elements. A correlation of the local pollen assemblages with Eemian reference records from central Europe suggests that fewer than 750 years of the last interglacial period are preserved at KKH. The occurrence of brackish ostracods dates the onset of the Eemian marine transgression at the section at c. 300–750 years after the beginning of the last interglacial period. (iii) Directly above the Eemian record a ~10‐m‐thick sedimentary succession of MIS 2 age was deposited, implying a significant hiatus of c. 90 ka encompassing the time from middle and upper MIS 5e to late MIS 3. During the Late Weichselian, KKH featured a depositional shift from (glacio‐)lacustrine to subglacial to recessional terminoglacial facies, with the first documented Weichselian ice advance post‐dating 20±2 ka. Overall, the KKH section represents an exceptional sedimentary archive for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, covering the period from the Saalian glaciation and subsequent Termination II to the early Eemian and Late Weichselian. The results refine the existing palaeogeographical and geochronological models of the late Quaternary history in the southwestern Baltic Sea area and allow correlations with other reference records in a wider area.