Sediment transport patterns determined from grain size parameters: Overview and state of the art

Grain size trends have been applied in many diverse sedimentary environments to determine sediment transport paths, generally coinciding with information from tracer studies, current measurements and the orientation of sedimentary structures. The different methods proposed to date are critically analysed and compared with reference to recent field studies. It is concluded that the two-dimensional methods produce comparable results and may in fact complement each other.In spite of the advances, several problems still exist, which include the sampling method and density, the choice of trend types, the relative weight of grain size parameters and the interpretation of results. These are discussed together with possible solutions.     

渤海湾西部表层沉积物粒度特征与沉积混合

根据渤海湾西部135个表层沉积物样品的粒度分析结果,分析了表层沉积物的粒度特征与规律。整体上由研究区东北部沿海岸向南沉积物粒度变细,由砂和粉砂质砂变为砂质粉砂,再变为粘土质粉砂。沉积物粒度频率曲线显示,由研究区东北部至北部,沉积物粗组分含量减少,由单峰逐渐过渡为主峰或弱峰,到中部粗组分减少为粗尾形态,到南部粗组分几乎缺失;而沉积物细组分的变化趋势则与之相反。沉积物粗组分在粒度频率曲线上的表现由单峰逐渐过渡至主峰或次峰,粗峰含量减少,到中部粗组分减少为粗尾形态,到南部粗组分几乎消失;而沉积物细组分的变化趋势则与之相反。沉积物粒度参数的平面分布规律和粒度参数之间的相关性变化形态显示出粗细2种母质组分以不同比例的沉积混合的特征,即来自东北部的粗组分与来自南部的细组分发生混合,这可能主要与区内双向的沿岸环流输运有关。     

Variability in terrigenous sedimentation processes off northwest Africa and its relation to climate changes: Inferences from grain-size distributions of a Holocene marine sediment record

Variations in deposition of terrigenous fine sediments and their grain-size distributions from a high-resolution marine sediment record offshore northwest Africa (30°51.0′N; 10°16.1′W) document climate changes on the African continent during the Holocene. End-member grain-size distributions of the terrigenous silt fraction, which are related to fluvial and aeolian dust transport, indicate millennial-scale variability in the dominant transport processes at the investigation site off northwest Africa as well as recurring periods of dry conditions in northwest Africa during the Holocene. The terrigenous record from the subtropical North Atlantic reflects generally humid conditions before the Younger Dryas, during the early to mid-Holocene, as well as after 1.3 kyr BP. By contrast, continental runoff was reduced and arid conditions were prevalent at the beginning of the Younger Dryas and during the mid- and late Holocene. A comparison with high- and low-latitude Holocene climate records reveals a strong link between northwest African climate and Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation throughout the Holocene. Due to its proximal position, close to an ephemeral river system draining the Atlas Mountains as well as the adjacent Saharan desert, this detailed marine sediment record, which has a temporal resolution between 15 and 120 years, is ideally suited to enhance our understanding of ocean-continent-atmosphere interactions in African climates and the hydrological cycle of northern Africa after the last deglaciation.     

Grain size in sediments from Lake Sugan: a possible linkage to dust storm events at the northern margin of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Samples of surface deposits in the Lake Sugan catchment, as well as surface lake sediments, eolian materials occulted in the lake ice cover, and airborne dust were collected for grain-size analysis. The results show that the coarse fraction of the lake sediments could be transported by ambient winds and to a lesser extent by river flow in the study area. Sediment cores were retrieved from Lake Sugan in December 2000, and ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs dating and grain-size analyses were performed on these samples. ²¹⁰Pb ages and the volume percentage of the fraction of lake sediments >63 μm were used to reconstruct the dust storm history from 1957 to 2000. Observational data for dust storm events collected at a local meteorological station largely agrees with the reconstructed trend for the past 44 years, suggesting that lake sediments can be employed to trace the dust storm history of the northern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau.     

南海深海平原柱状样QD189磁化率、非磁滞剩磁、粒度、碎屑矿物丰度之间的主要关系

磁学可能是南海深海平原古环境研究取得突破的关键方面之一。众多磁学参数中,磁化率是最基本、最综合反映沉积物磁性矿物总体状况的参数,非磁滞剩磁对单畴颗粒含量敏感,而且单畴颗粒是剩磁的主要携带者,结合粒度、碎屑矿物丰度等数据探索南海深海平原柱状样QD189磁化率和非磁滞剩磁地质含义。在磁化率大于45×10-5层位和481 cm以浅的磁化率小于45×10-5的层段,磁化率、2~5粒级含量、ARM和ARM@20m T变化一致性较好,2~5粒级软磁性多畴颗粒含量变化可能是这些层位磁化率变化的主要原因。在808~488 cm层段内,小于45×10-5的磁化率与2~5粒级含量、ARM和ARM@20m T变化总体上一致性较差,磁化率变化机制有待进一步研究。2~5粒级是QD189重要的较粗粒级组分,大体上以深度350 cm为界具有下层段含量较高且粒度变化大、上层段含量较低且粒度变化小的特点。ARM@20m T比ARM更加真实地表示QD189单畴颗粒含量,除了单畴颗粒外,9~12粒级假单畴、多畴颗粒矿物对665~48 cm层段的ARM可能有一定贡献,其中,层段548~310 cm的ARM中可能还有6~9粒级多畴颗粒的贡献。通过碎屑矿物丰度、火山玻璃丰度和(或)磁化率异常峰值的对应关系识别出6次火山活动,火山玻璃丰度的分布特点还揭示出QD189中普遍发生生物扰动作用。     

赞皇地区～2.5Ga A型花岗岩的成因及构造背景:以黄岔岩体为例

位于华北克拉通中部的赞皇杂岩中保留有丰富的新太古代-古元古代岩石记录,是探究华北克拉通早期演化的重要地区之一。其中新太古代晚期TTG片麻岩和花岗岩的成因研究是探讨赞皇杂岩构造演化过程的关键。本文选择出露于河北省邢台市西部山区的黄岔花岗岩体进行研究。该岩体呈不规则的岩株产出,与周围地层主要呈构造接触关系,局部侵入于官都群石英岩中。岩体主要由片麻状、似斑状二长花岗岩组成,边缘相偶见细粒片麻岩包体,斑晶为长石和少量石英。LA-ICP-MS岩浆锆石的~(207)Pb/~(206)Pb加权平均年龄为2488±6Ma,代表岩体的形成时代。由于黄岔岩体侵入于官都群,根据该花岗岩的时代可以限定官都群地层时代为太古代,而非古元古代。但官都群与赞皇群的关系还需要进一步研究。黄岔岩体具有高硅(Si O2=72.64%~74.16%)、富钾(K_2O=3.53%~6.15%)、富碱(ALK=7.59%~9.07%)及铁(Fe_2O_3T=1.84%~3.03%),贫钙(CaO=0.67%~1.67%)、低钛(TiO_2=0.18%~0.28%)、低镁(MgO=0.31%~0.46%)的特征。岩石的稀土总量较高(ΣREE=364.2×10~(-6)~661.1×10~(-6)),轻重稀土元素分异较强烈((La/Yb)_N=18.7~29.8),并具有明显的负Eu异常(Eu/Eu*=0.23~0.33)。微量元素中,富Zr、Zn、Nb、Ga、Y,而贫Sr、V、Cr、Co、Ni等元素,Rb/Sr比值较高,介于0.73~2.72之间,平均1.96。岩石Ga/Al值(2.75×10-4~3.11×10-4)高,全岩Zr饱和温度为826~877℃,具有A型花岗岩特征。黄岔岩体锆石εHf(t)为0.96~6.2,单阶段和两阶段Hf模式年龄分别为2552~2746Ma和2576~2826Ma。黄岔岩体具有造山后A型花岗岩的特征,为2.7~2.5Ga的新太古代TTG片麻岩在造山后地壳拉张减薄初期的构造背景下部分熔融所形成。~2.5Ga的碱性花岗岩在华北不同地区分布,并形成于伸展的构造背景。该期碱性花岗岩的出现,标志华北克拉通在太古宙末期已经初步形成稳定的克拉通。     

The contrasting geochemical message from the New Caledonia gabbronorites: insights on depletion and contamination processes of the sub-arc mantle in a nascent arc setting

The New Caledonia ophiolite hosts one of the rare examples of crust-mantle sections built in a nascent arc environment, providing the unique opportunity to investigate the first stages of arc magmatism in a subduction setting. The sequence consists of refractory harzburgites, overlain by ultramafic (dunites and wehrlites) and mafic lithologies (gabbronorites). The gabbronorites occur in the upper part of the sequence as decimetre to metre-size sills. They are mainly formed (??55 to 70 vol%) of Ca-rich plagioclase (An up to 96 mol%) and high Mg# (88–92), Al₂O₃-poor (1.5–2.4 wt%) clinopyroxene (8–20 vol%), often rimmed by interstitial or poikilitic orthopyroxene (6–27 vol%). Mg-rich olivine (3–15 vol%, Fo?=?87–89 mol%) occurs as anhedral, resorbed crystals. Whole rock (WR) compositions exhibit high Mg# (86–92) and strikingly low trace element contents. They own LREE-depleted patterns, with nearly flat (0.82?≤?Dy_N/Yb_N?≤?1.00) and low HREE (Yb_N?=?0.2–0.9) and positive Eu anomalies. Clinopyroxene trace element chemistry mirrors the extreme depletion of the WR. By contrast, FME enrichments are observed for WR and clinopyroxene. Geochemical models show that the gabbronorites crystallized from primitive, ultra-depleted melts bearing evidence of fluid contamination processes, but with significantly different geochemical signatures compared to boninitic rocks worldwide, i.e. lower LREE-MREE, and absence of Nb depletion and Zr–Hf enrichments. Nd isotopes (+?8.2?≤?εNd_i?≤?+?13.1), together with radiogenic Pb isotopic ratios, support an origin from a DMM source variably modified by slab fluids. We propose that the geochemical signature of the New Caledonia gabbronorites reflect emplacement of primitive, non-aggregated, magma batches in the lower fore-arc crust, during the first phases of arc formation.     

The effect of grain size on the Cu, Pb, Ni, Cd speciation and distribution in sediments: a case study of Dongping Lake, China

This paper examines the surface sediments collected from Dongping Lake in China for speciation and distribution of toxic heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Ni, Cd) in different grain size fractions, and for the factors that need to be considered in potential hazard of metals to the environment. Four grain size fractions (<63, 63–78, 78–163 and 163–280 μm), divided in wet condition, and bulk samples less than 280 μm in diameter were analyzed for their distribution, density and appearance. A three-stage extraction procedure following the BCR protocol was used to chemically fractionate metals into “acid soluble”, “reducible”, “oxidizable” and “residual” fractions. Correlation analysis was used to analyze the datasets. The results showed that <63 μm grain size part constitutes the major proportion of the sediments, but its density is the smallest among the four grain size fractions. In general, the metal content curve against grain size presents “S” distribution, and the highest concentrations do not exist in <63 μm grain size. Appearance observation indicates that the adsorbed substance increases gradually along with the decreasing grain size. The dominant speciation of elements and the extent of pollution are responsible for the metal distribution in different grain size sediments. While studying bioavailability and mobilization of metals, it is advisable to take metal speciation, grain size distribution and density into consideration.     

The stability and origin of sodicgedrite in ultrahigh-temperature Mg-Al granulites: a case study from the Gondwana suture in southern India

Mg-Al-rich rocks from the Palghat-Cauvery Shear Zone System (PCSZ) within the Gondwana suture zone in southern India contain sodicgedrite as one of the prograde to peak phases, stable during T = 900–990°C ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism. Gedrite in these samples is Mg-rich (Mg/[Fe + Mg] = X _Mg = 0.69–0.80) and shows wide variation in Na₂O content (1.4–2.3 wt.%, Na^A = 0.33–0.61 pfu). Gedrite adjacent to kyanite pseudomorph is in part mantled by garnet and cordierite. The gedrite proximal to garnet shows an increase in Na^A and Al^IV from the core (Na^A = 0.40–0.51 pfu, Al^IV = 1.6–1.9 pfu) to the rim (Na^A = 0.49–0.61 pfu, Al^IV = 2.0–2.2 pfu), suggesting the progress of the following dehydration reaction: Ged + Ky → Na-Ged + Grt + Crd + H₂O. This reaction suggests that, as the reactants broke down during the prograde stage, the remaining gedrite became enriched in Na to form sodicgedrite, which is regarded as a unique feature of high-grade rocks with Mg-Al-rich and K–Si-poor bulk chemistry. We carried out high-P-T experimental studies on natural sodicgedrite and the results indicate that gedrite and melt are stable phases at 12 kbar and 1,000°C. However, the product gedrite is Na-poor with only <0.13 wt.% Na₂O (Na^A = 0.015–0.034 pfu). In contrast, the matrix glass contains up to 8.5 wt.% Na₂O, suggesting that, with the progressive melting of the starting material, Na was partitioned into the melt rather than gedrite. The results therefore imply that the occurrence of sodicgedrite in the UHT rocks of the PCSZ is probably due to the low H₂O activity during peak P-T conditions that restricted extensive partial melting in these rocks, leaving Na partitioned into the solid phase (gedrite). The occurrence of abundant primary CO₂-rich fluid inclusions in this rock, which possibly infiltrated along the collisional suture during the final amalgamation of the Gondwana supercontinent, strengthens the inference of low water activity.     

潮滩表层沉积物磁性特征的季节性变化及其对沉积动力作用的响应:以杭州湾北岸为例

根据2004年9月—2005年8月杭州湾北岸中潮滩固定观测点重复采集的表层沉积物的磁学参数和粒度分析,探讨了研究区域潮滩沉积物磁学性质的季节性变化及其对沉积动力的响应。 结果表明, 该观测点潮滩沉积物磁学参数存在显著的月际变化,2004年12月底—2005年5月上旬的半年中,SIRM、χARM、χfd%、χARM/χ、χARM/SIRM等参数出现高值,指示了沉积物中含有较多的细晶粒亚铁磁性矿物,对应于潮滩淤积时段和较细的沉积物粒级组成,其余各月上述磁参数值较低,对应于潮滩沉积物较粗的侵蚀期。上述结果表明,沉积物的磁性特征可以很好地反映潮滩冲淤过程中沉积动力的变化。     

The infill of a supradetachment(?) basin: the continental to shallow-marine Upper Permian succession in the Dolomites and Carnia (Italy)

In the Dolomites and Carnia (eastern Southern Alps), the Upper Permian succession is represented by red beds of Val Gardena Sandstone, grading upwards and eastwards into the evaporitic and carbonate deposits of the Bellerophon Formation.

An overall transgressive pattern is shown by the general trend of the depositional setting, which evolved from flashy alluvial fans, through multiple-channel bedload rivers, mixed-load sinuous rivers, terminal fans, coastal sabkha and evaporitic lagoon, to a shallow, low-gradient marine ramp. The inferred fluvial regime was subject to rapid and erratic fluctuations in discharge. Palaeosols are represented by calcic soils, and suggest a warm to hot, semi-arid or dry subhumid climate with strongly seasonal rainfall. Vertic features are associated with more inland alluvial complexes: they are missing in the terminal-fan deposits, suggesting greater aridity in lowland (coastal) areas.

The Bellerophon Fm. consists of two units: a lower evaportte-bearing unit, deposited in a barred basin, and an upper shallow-marine carbonate unit, laid down on a very low-energy, low-gradient ramp.

Five third-order sequences and the lower part of a sixth sequence, collectively showing a backstepping pattern, have been identified in the succession. Due to the presence of a very low-gradient ramp margin, and the consequent ineffectiveness of relative sea-level falls in producing large-scale erosion in coastal areas, it is suggested that, rather than eustatic changes, degradational episodes marking sequence boundaries in the red-bed succession reflect changes in the climate-modulated intrinsic variables of discharge and sediment supply, and/or tectonic uplift.

Base level rises in, red-bed sequences are recorded by upward change from thick channel-belt sandstone bodies with an often high connectedness ratio, to progressively thinner channel deposits, ranging from isolated ribbons to channel-belt sandstone bodies potentially reaching high width/thickness ratios, encased in a comparably greater volume of overbank fines. This trend is thought to reflect the change from a confined geomorphic setting, with a limited area of potential avulsion, to an unrestricted setting with rivers free to move extensively; in addition, it documents the transition from an inland fluvial system with laterally migrating perennial or semi-perennial channels, to an ephemeral network of randomly migrating and frequently avulsing small terminal-fan distributaries, through a drastic downstream decrease in channel depth and discharge.

Identification of key sequence-stratigraphic relationships within the red-bed succession was mostly aided by the presence of easily recognizable and regionally correlated marine and marginal marine bed packages, traceable landwards into alluvial deposits showing faint traces of tidal activity, interpreted as the equivalent of marine maximum-flooding sediments. They may grade upwards into progradational fluvial packages showing basinward increase in thickness.

The Upper Permian deposits of the Southern Alps are considered part of an Upper Permian-Lower Triassic, second-order, structurally controlled sequence. The location of the basin on a thickened, previously active crust, affected by thermal perturbance after the last stages of the Variscan orogeny, the relatively reduced thickness of the basin fill, and predominantly long, transverse drainage networks, mostly derived from the denuded Insubric footwall, all suggest that sedimentation took place in a supradetachment basin, with a major detachment fault located in the palaeo-Insubric belt.     

中-新元古界标准剖面蓟县系首获高精度年龄制约——蓟县剖面雾迷山组和铁岭组斑脱岩锆石SHRIMPU-Pb同位素定年研究

近期在蓟县中-新元古界标准剖面铁岭组和雾迷山组首次发现斑脱岩、并测得其锆石SHRIMP U-Pb同位素年龄为~1440Ma(1439±14Ma)和~1485Ma(1483±13Ma和1487±16Ma),这标志着这条传统的标准剖面上以碳酸盐岩为主体的蓟县系上部的两个重要组,从此也获得了直接的、高精度的锆石U-Pb同位素年龄约束。这是华北中-新元古界标准剖面蓟县系相关地层单位首次获得直接而精确的锆石U-Pb同位素年龄约束,也是在整个华北北缘燕山地区雾迷山组内部首次获得精确的直接定年。这一进展为闻名中外的天津蓟县剖面中-新元古界年代地层格架的正确厘定、以及今后继续作为华北该阶段的标准剖面,并与国内外其他地区相关地层的正确对比等,提供了新的、精确的年代学"锚点",因而具有重要的科学和实际意义。     

Geochronology and geochemistry of early Paleozoic granitic and coeval mafic rocks from the Tannuola terrane (Tuva,Russia): Implications for transition from a subduction to post-collisional setting in the northern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

Early Paleozoic magmatism of the Tannuola terrane located in the northern Central Asian Orogenic Belt is important to understanding the transition from subduction to post-collision settings. In this study, we report in situ zircon U-Pb ages, whole rock geochemistry, and Sr-Nd isotopic data from the mafic and granitic rocks of the eastern Tannuola terrane to better characterize their petrogenesis and to investigate changing of the tectonic setting and geodynamic evolution. Zircon U-Pb ages reveal three magmatic episodes for about 60 Ma from ∼510 to ∼450 Ma, that can be divided into the late Cambrian (∼510–490 Ma), the Early Ordovician (∼480–470 Ma) and the Middle-Late Ordovician (∼460–450 Ma) stages. The late Cambrian episode emplaced the mafic, intermediate and granitic rocks with volcanic arc affinity. The late Cambrian mafic rocks of the Tannuola terrane may originate from melting of mantle source that contain asthenosphere and subarc enriched mantle metasomatized by melts derived from sinking oceanic slab. Geochemical and isotopic compositions indicate the late Cambrian intermediate-granitic rocks are most consistent with an origin from a mixed source including fractionation of mantle-derived magmas and crustal-derived components. The Early Ordovician episode reveal bimodal intrusions containing mafic rocks and adakite-like granitic rocks implying the transition from a thinner to a thicker lower crust. The Early Ordovician mafic rocks are formed as a result of high degree melting of mantle source including dominantly depleted mantle and subordinate mantle metasomatized by fluid components while coeval granitic rocks were derived from partial melting of the high Sr/Y mafic rocks. The latest Middle-Late Ordovician magmatic episode emplaced high-K calc-alkaline ferroan granitic rocks that were formed through the partial melting the juvenile Neoproterozoic sources.These three episodes of magmatism identified in the eastern Tannuola terrane are interpreted as reflecting the transition from subduction to post-collision settings during the early Paleozoic. The emplacement of voluminous magmatic rocks was induced by several stages of asthenospheric upwelling in various geodynamic settings. The late Cambrian episode of magmatism was triggered by the slab break-off while subsequent Early Ordovician episode followed the switch to a collisional setting with thickening of the lower crust and the intrusion of mantle-induced bimodal magmatism. During the post-collisional stage, the large-scale lithospheric delamination provides the magma generation for the Middle-Late Ordovician granitic rocks.