Early and Middle Pleistocene river systems in eastern England: evidence from Leet Hill,southern Norfolk,England

Pleistocene sediments at Leet Hill, southern Norfolk are examined in terms of their sedimentary structures, palaeocurrent indicators, clast and heavy mineral lithology and litho- and morphostratigraphic position. Colour of the quartzite and vein-quartz clasts is used to differentiate the Bytham and the Kesgrave sands and gravels, with the Bytham sands and gravels having a significantly higher proportion of coloured material. The Kirby Cane sands and gravels are the lower sedimentary unit and were deposited by the Bytham river, which drained a catchment extending into central England. At Leet Hill, erosion of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels by the Bytham river has given the Kirby Cane sands and gravels a distinctive lithological assemblage. Trace clast lithologies suggest that the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels in the region of Leet Hill were deposited in a coastal location with an input from northern sources as well as southern and Welsh sources diagnostic of the Thames catchment. The glaciofluvial Leet Hill Sands and Gravels were deposited by outwash from the Anglian Scandinavian ice sheet. Initially the flow direction of the outwash was determined by the Bytham river valley, but this changed to a southerly direction once the valley had been infilled. This paper provides the first indication of the location of the boundary (Early Pleistocene coastline) between the fluvial Kesgrave Sands and Gravels and the marine equivalent reworked by coastal processes, and demonstrates the way the pre-glacial relief initially controlled patterns of glaciofluvial sedimentation during the early part of the Anglian glaciation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quaternary vertical crustal motion and drainage evolution in East Anglia and adjoining parts of southern England: chronology of the Ingham River terrace deposits

Prior to its disruption during the Anglian glaciation (MIS 12), the Ingham or Bytham River used to flow eastwards across central England and East Anglia into the southern North Sea. It thus had a much larger catchment than any extant river system in Britain; its headwaters may well have been as far away as North Wales and/or NW England. Terrace deposits of this former river system crop out across East Anglia and, as for any other river, can be used to investigate uplift, landscape evolution and the physical properties of the underlying continental crust. However, such an investigation has hitherto been hampered by inconsistencies between different authors' terrace schemes; furthermore, and controversially, one such scheme has formed the basis for the inference that the region was affected by a pre‐Anglian (MIS 16) glaciation. By re‐examining the raw data, the Ingham River deposits are shown to be disposed in three terraces, inferred to date from MIS 16, 14 and 12. The evidence previously attributed to pre‐Anglian glaciation is associated with the youngest of these terraces, and thus marks the MIS 12 (i.e. Anglian) glaciation; the argument for glaciation of the region in MIS 16 is thus an artefact of previous miscorrelation of the terrace deposits. It is inferred that development of the very large Ingham River was synchronous with decapitation of the former ‘Greater Thames’, or ‘High‐level Kesgrave Thames’ river, some time between MIS 18 and MIS 16. Uplift histories at representative localities across East Anglia have been modelled using composite data sets, combining the terrace deposits of the Ingham River and of the post‐Anglian rivers Lark and Waveney. The sites modelled are typefied by much faster uplift in the early Middle Pleistocene than in the late Middle Pleistocene; this effect is shown to be a consequence of the relative thinness (no more than ～7–8 km thick) of the mobile lower‐crustal layer, itself a consequence of the low surface heat flow in the London Platform crustal province. The post‐Early Pleistocene uplift tapers eastward, consistent with the observed downstream convergence of the Ingham and Waveney terraces, and is close to zero near the modern coastline around Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. Stratigraphic relationships between the Ingham terrace deposits and temperate‐stage marine and terrestrial deposits in this coastal area allow sites to be dated; thus, Pakefield and Corton date from MIS 15, whereas Norton Subcourse dates from MIS 17. The oldest known Lower Palaeolithic sites in the region, characterized by flake artefacts, are Pakefield (MIS 15) and Hengrave (?MIS 14); younger pre‐Anglian sites that have yielded handaxes and/or fossil material of the water vole Arvicola cantiana date from MIS 13. The minimal vertical crustal motion in this coastal area, where temperate‐stage deposits from different climate cycles crop out close to present‐day sea level, does not imply high crustal stability; instead, it indicates a ‘hinge zone’ between the uplifting hinterland and the subsiding depocentre in the southern North Sea.     

A re-evaluation of the timing of the earliest reported human occupation of Britain: the age of the sediments at Happisburgh, eastern England

Lower Palaeolithic artefacts have been reported at Happisburgh, north Norfolk, in sediments that have been assigned to the late Early Pleistocene, in either marine isotope stage (MIS) 25 or 21, using magnetostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and clast lithology. However, the proposal that these sediments were deposited by the ancestral River Thames is inconsistent both with the established late Early Pleistocene palaeogeography of the region and with the dispositions of the contemporaneous Thames terraces. The Happisburgh deposits were evidently emplaced by a local river, which reworked older sediments that from their lithology had been derived largely from the Bytham River rather than the Thames catchment. Nonetheless, the potential significance of this sedimentary succession for early human dispersal and behaviour requires a conservative assessment of its youngest possible age. Although its basal part is clearly Early Pleistocene, there is nothing to preclude an early Middle Pleistocene age for the overlying sediments that have yielded the artefacts and the mammalian biostratigraphic evidence. It is indeed arguable that these sediments date from the cooling transition at the end of MIS 15c, and are thus younger than the artefact-bearing succession at Pakefield. Pending the availability of additional dating evidence, future discussion of the Happisburgh site should be qualified with respect to any claim for an Early Pleistocene age for the human occupation indicated.     

Drainage evolution in south and east England during the Pleistocene

Two major river systems operated in southern and eastern England throughout the Pleistocene: the river Thames and the Solent river. Both rivers are axial streams of comparable size draining major basinal structures comprising similar Tertiary and Mesozoic rocks. Although the modem Thames flows broadly W-E in the London Basin, upstream of Reading it flows from the north to drain the south Midlands. It was diverted to its present course through London by glaciation in the Anglian (Elsterian) before which it flowed across East Anglia into the southem North Sea. The Solent river no longer exists since most of its course was drowned by eustatic sea-level rise during the Flandrian Stage (Holocene). Previously, it flowed eastwards across SE Dorset and S Hampshire as an extension of the modem river Frome in the Hampshire Basin. During periods of low sea-level (cold stages) it was a tributary of the 'Channel River'. Fluvial aggradations provide evidence of the former courses of these substantial rivers and their tributaries. The facies and sedimentary structures indicate that the bulk of the deposits in both systems accumulated in braided river environments under periglacial climates. Fossiliferous sediments provide biostratigraphical frameworks. During temperate periods the rivers adopted singlethread courses. Evolution of both rivers reflect their responses to climatic change, local geological structure and long-term tectonic activity. Both rivers are undoubtedly of considerable antiquity, their records potentially extend from the Early Pleistocene or Late Pliocene, but they may have originated in the early Tertiary.     

The British Lower Palaeolithic of the early Middle Pleistocene

The archaeology of Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 19–12) is represented by a number of key sites across eastern and southern England. These sites include Pakefield, Happisburgh 1, High Lodge, Warren Hill, Waverley Wood, Boxgrove, Kent's Cavern, and Westbury-sub-Mendip, alongside a ‘background scatter’ lithic record associated with the principal river systems (Bytham, pre-diversion Thames, and Solent) and raised beaches (Westbourne–Arundel). Hominin behaviour can be characterised in terms of: preferences for temperate or cool temperate climates and open/woodland mosaic habitats (indicated by mammalian fauna, mollusca, insects, and sediments); a biface-dominated material culture characterised by technological diversity, although with accompanying evidence for distinctive core and flake (Pakefield) and flake tool (High Lodge) assemblages; probable direct hunting-based subsistence strategies (with a focus upon large mammal fauna); and generally locally-focused spatial and landscape behaviours (principally indicated by raw material sources data), although with some evidence of dynamic, mobile and structured technological systems. The British data continues to support a ‘modified short chronology’ to the north of the Alps and the Pyrenees, with highly sporadic evidence for a hominin presence prior to 500–600 ka, although the ages of key assemblages are subject to ongoing debates regarding the chronology of the Bytham river terraces and the early Middle Pleistocene glaciations of East Anglia.     

The Middle Pleistocene terraces of the central Waveney valley,Earsham, south Norfolk,UK

Although substantial work has been done on the pre-glacial terraces of East Anglia, very little systematic work has been done to understand the origin of river terraces in East Anglia that have formed since ice last covered the region. This paper records the results of studies of exposures and borehole records in ‘classical’ Quaternary terrace landforms that are considered to have formed since the Anglian (MIS 12) Glaciation, in the middle Waveney Valley. These features have been examined in terms of their morphological and sedimentological properties, in order to provide a detailed record of their form and composition, understand their processes of formation, and identify their stratigraphical status. The results show that the main body of the highest terrace (Homersfield Terrace, Terrace 3) is not composed of river sediments, but of shallow marine sediments, and is a remnant of early Middle Pleistocene Wroxham Crag. River sediments, in the form of Anglian age (MIS 12) glaciofluvial Aldeby Sands and Gravels also exist in the area as a channel fill, cut through the Wroxham Crag, and reflect outwash erosion and sedimentation from a relatively proximal ice margin to the west. The results mean that the interpretations previously presented for the terrace landforms of the middle Waveney valley are not applicable. The issue of why the terrace stratigraphy, hitherto identified in East Anglia cannot be related to that for the River Thames to the south and the rivers of Midland England to the west, still requires further research.     

The British Pleistocene fluvial archive: East Midlands drainage evolution and human occupation in the context of the British and NW European record

This paper reviews the Pleistocene evolution and human occupation of the River Trent, the major fluvial artery draining Midland Britain, and places it within a modern Quaternary context. In contrast to the sedimentary records of the River Thames and the erstwhile Bytham system, which extend back to the early Pleistocene, present knowledge of the terrace sequence of the Trent, its tributary systems and associated ancestral courses extends back only to the Anglian glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12), although the regional pre-Anglian drainage configuration is demonstrably complex. The post-Anglian sequence is well developed, with major terrace sand and gravel aggradations associated with each subsequent cold stage. Temperate-climate sediments correlating with MIS 7 and 5e have been recorded, although deposits relating to earlier interglacials during MIS 11 and 9 have yet to be identified. Evidence for human occupation in the form of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefacts has been recorded from terrace sediments correlated with MIS 8 and MIS 4, but the majority of this material is heavily rolled and abraded, suggesting significant reworking from older deposits. This review demonstrates that there is a rich palaeo-environmental record from the Trent but the lack of a high-resolution chronostratgraphic framework raises issues about correlation with other systems.     

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a glaciotectonized Early and Middle Pleistocene land surface, palaeosol and river sediments: Great Sampford, Suffolk, England

Glaciotectonized sediments and palaeosol at Great Sampford, western Suffolk, England are reconstructed to their original positions in order to determine the form of the original land surface and the associated soil development. The restored stratigraphy consists of Early Pleistocene Kesgrave Sands and Gravels which were deposited by the 'pre-glacial' river Thames, with the Early-Middle Pleistocene Valley Farm Soil developed on a terrace surface. These units are overlain by Sampford Deformation Till and Lowestoft Till, which were formed during the Middle Pleistocene Anglian glaciation. The micromorphological features of the reconstructed soil are interpreted in terms of three climatic cycles, each comprising a period of temperate climate soil formation followed by cold climate soil disruption. The final stage of disruption is associated with the periglacial climate that preceded Anglian glacierization. This pedological reconstruction is the most complex yet recognized from British Early and Middle Pleistocene palaeosols and provides an insight into major climatic oscillations prior to the Anglian Glaciation. The surface upon which the soil developed is one of the oldest terraces of the 'pre-glacial' River Thames that were formed when this river flowed northwards through East Anglia.     

Sea‐level changes,river activity,soil development and glaciation around the western margins of the southern North Sea Basin during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene: evidence from Pakefield,Suffolk, UK

This paper outlines evidence from Pakefield (northern Suffolk), eastern England, for sea‐level changes, river activity, soil development and glaciation during the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 20–12) within the western margins of the southern North Sea Basin. During this time period, the area consisted of a low‐lying coastal plain and a shallow offshore shelf. The area was drained by major river systems including the Thames and Bytham. Changes in sea‐level caused several major transgressive–regressive cycles across this low‐relief region, and these changes are identified by the stratigraphic relationship between shallow marine (Wroxham Crag Formation), fluvial (Cromer Forest‐bed and Bytham formations) and glacial (Happisburgh and Lowestoft formations) sediments. Two separate glaciations are recognised—the Happisburgh (MIS 16) and Anglian (MIS 12) glaciations, and these are separated by a high sea level represented by a new member of the Wroxham Crag Formation, and several phases of river aggradation and incision. The principal driving mechanism behind sea‐level changes and river terrace development within the region during this time period is solar insolation operating over 100‐kyr eccentricity cycles. This effect is achieved by the impact of cold climate processes upon coastal, river and glacial systems and these climatically forced processes obscure the neotectonic drivers that operated over this period of time. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2005. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early and Middle Pleistocene landscapes of eastern England

This paper reviews the pattern of climate and environmental change in eastern England over the period of the Early and Middle Pleistocene, focussing especially upon northern East Anglia. Particular attention is given to the climate and tectonics that have brought about these changes and the distinctive geology, topography and biology that has developed. Throughout, an attempt is made to describe the new models that have been proposed for the Early and Middle Pleistocene of eastern England, and explain the reasons for these changes. The Early Pleistocene experienced relatively high insulation and relatively low magnitude climatic change and is represented primarily by non-climatically forced processes in the form of tidal current- and wave-activity which formed shallow marine deposits. It is possible to recognise a tectonic control in the distribution of deposits of this age because the surface processes do not have the power to remove this signature. The early Middle Pleistocene was dominated by higher magnitude climatic change involving, occasionally, climatic extremes that ranged from permafrost to mediterranean. The landscape at this time was dominated by the behaviour of major rivers (Thames, Bytham, Ancaster) and extensive coastal activity. In the latter part of the early Middle Pleistocene and the Late Middle Pleistocene the climate experienced major changes which resulted in periods of lowland glaciation and short intervals when the climate was warmer than the present. Details of tectonic activity are difficult to identify because they are removed by powerful surface processes, but it is possible to infer uplift focussed on the major interfluves of central England and subsidence in the North Seas basin. In the areas of glaciation the landscape changed radically from an organised terrain dominated by large rivers and extensive shallow coastal zones to complex, with small valleys, disrupted drainage and often discontinuous river, slope and coastal deposits. Likewise the switching off of the North Sea Delta and the opening of the Strait of Dover, separating Britain from continental Europe can be attributed to the onset of lowland glaciation. The case is made that eastern England was glaciated four times during the Middle Pleistocene: during MIS 16, 12, 10 and 6, and attention is given to recent evidence contradicting this model. Over the period of the Middle Pleistocene there is evidence for high biomass production occurring over short intervals coinciding with the climatic optima of MIS 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, and 7c, 7a and during most of these warmer periods, extending back to c. 750 ka (MIS 19/17), there is evidence in the region for the brief appearance of humans.     

Palaeolithic archaeology of the Bytham River: human occupation of Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene and its European context

The Early and early Middle Pleistocene archaeological record in Britain from c. 900 to 500 ka marks a critical shift in human occupation of northwest Europe, from occasional pioneer populations with simple core and flake technology to more widespread occupation associated with the appearance of Acheulean technology. Key to understanding this record are the fluvial deposits of the extinct Bytham River in central East Anglia, where a series of Lower Palaeolithic sites lie on a 15 km stretch of the former river. In this paper we present the results of new fieldwork and a reanalysis of historical artefact collections of handaxes and scrapers to: 1) establish the chronostratigraphic context of the Bytham archaeological record; 2) examine variability in lithic artefact typology and technology through time; and 3) explore the implications for understanding variation in lithic technology in the European record. Six phases of occupation of Britain are identified from at least marine isotope stage (MIS) 21 to MIS 13, with the last three phases characterised by distinctive lithic technology. We argue that this relates to the discontinuous occupation of Britain, where each phase represents the arrival of new groups derived from different European populations with distinctive material culture.     

The Widdington Sands: High-level Kesgrave Sands and Gravels near the Cam-Stort interfluve,Northwest Essex,UK

A small but stratigraphically significant exposure of Quaternary sandy sediments (Widdington Sands) was observed and recorded in the early 1970s in northwest Essex. These data are here re-examined and re-evaluated, yielding new insights into early proto-Thames aggradation following the marine recession of the Norwich Crag Formation (MIS 74–71, about 2 Ma). As the proto-Thames trajectory shifted south eastwards, a period of landscape stability ensued in the early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 19–13) during which the Valley Farm Soil was formed. This and the succeeding Barham Soil can be recognised in the stratigraphy, the second palaeosol heralding the arrival of glaciation in the Anglian Stage (MIS 12, 480–420 ka). These pedogenic signatures are enclosed within palaeokarstic features in the form of infilled sinkhole pipes. A large doline has functioned as a sediment trap preserving pre-truncation structures including reverse ring faults. These confirm basal support removal leading to upward migration of a dissolution cavity and roof collapse within the sinkhole pipe. The process and timing of subsidence can thus be defined more clearly than for similar features found in comparable Kesgrave aggradations of the Middle Thames. The likely glacitectonic origin of the planar sub-till surface is examined and discussed. Dating of Early Pleistocene fluvial activity is constrained by estimating the height of a former terrace surface whose elevation points to a correlation with the higher Stoke Row Member (MIS 64, 1.8 Ma), suggesting the oldest known proto-Thames activity within southern East Anglia.     

The Pleistocene terrace staircase of the River Thame, central-southern England, and its significance for regional stratigraphic correlation, drainage development, and vertical crustal motions

The Thame is one of the principal left-bank affluents of the Thames, the largest river in southern England; it joins the Upper Thames at Dorchester, ∼20 km downstream of Oxford. Its terraces include a younger group of four, which date from the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene, are disposed subparallel to the modern river, and represent drainage within the modern catchment. At higher levels there are three older terraces, the Three Pigeons, Tiddington and Chilworth terraces, which are assigned to MIS 16, 14 and 12. With much gentler downstream gradients, these are fragmentary remnants of much more substantial fluvial deposits, indicating a much larger river that was disrupted by the Anglian (MIS 12) glaciation. This interpretation supersedes an earlier view that the glacigenic deposits in the Thame headwaters correlate with the Blackditch terrace, the highest of the younger group, which has hitherto provided an argument that the glaciation in this region occurred in MIS 10. It is suggested that the headwaters of the pre-Anglian ‘Greater Thame’ river were located near Northampton and that the Milton Sands of that area represent an upstream counterpart of the Chilworth terrace deposits. It is envisaged that this early Middle Pleistocene drainage geometry, located between the Jurassic limestone and Chalk escarpments, developed as a result of the increase in uplift rates that followed the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR). It is suggested that before this time, including during the Early Pleistocene, the modern Thame catchment and adjacent regions drained southeastward through the Chalk escarpment, but these small rivers lacked the erosional power to cut through the Chalk in pace with the faster uplift occurring in the early Middle Pleistocene, and so became diverted to the southwest, subparallel to the Chalk escarpment, to form the pre-Anglian ‘Greater Thame’ tributary of the Upper Thames. The post-MPR uplift is estimated to decrease northwestward from 90 m in the Middle Thames to 75 m near the Thame-Thames confluence and to 65 m upstream of Oxford. The post-Anglian (post-450 ka) component of uplift decreases northward from 33 m near the Thame-Thames confluence to an estimated ∼20 m in the Northampton area; the relative stability of the latter area makes feasible the proposed correlation between the Milton Sands and the pre-Anglian River Thame. Limited post-Anglian uplift in the Northampton area is also inferred from the upstream convergence of the terraces of the modern rivers Nene and Great Ouse. These observed lateral variations in vertical crustal motions reflect lateral variations in crustal properties (including heat flow, crustal thickness, and thickness of underplating at the base of the crust) that are known independently. This study thus provides, for the first time, an integrated explanation of the Pleistocene drainage development across a large region of central-southern England.     

云南三江一河典型地区河谷第四系发育特征

三江一河（金沙江、怒江、澜沧江、红河是流经云南境内的４条主体水系，将上述４条河流河谷第四系的野外观察加以总结得出；金沙江河谷局部发育早一中更新世的湖相层和河湖相层，常形成晚期阶地的基座，晚更新世至全新世冲积层构成四级阶地；怒江河谷第四系发育较差，在六库的上游河谷中冲积层极不发育，只有局部地方有少量的河漫滩砂砾层（全新世），在六库至过街河段中，尤其是过街盆地，发育有中更新世至全新世的冲积层和洪积层，前者构成五级阶地，后者形成巨大的洪积扇分布在河流右岸的谷底或苍坡上；澜沧江除景洪、勐罕（橄榄坝）盆地外，其它河段主要为峡谷，第四系很少，在景洪盆地中发育有第二、第一级阶地和河漫滩冲积层；红河的第四系有中更新世至全新世的冲积层，并构成五级阶地。基于上述第四系特点，简要地讨论了这４条河流的形成时代。     

青藏高原古大湖与夷平面的关系及高原面形成演化过程

青藏高原经过古近纪挤压缩短和增厚地壳均衡隆升,晚新生代形成了以走滑和伸展为主的相对稳定构造环境。中新世早期与晚更新世分别发育巨型古大湖,上新世-早更新世发育很多规模较大的古湖泊,古大湖对夷平面形成演化具有重要的控制作用。中新世早期(（24.1±0.6） ~（14.5±0.5）Ma)以古大湖的湖面为侵蚀基准面,经过隆起区剥蚀夷平和长期湖相沉积,在高海拔环境下形成早期夷平面。中新世晚期-第四纪以湖面与五道梁群湖相沉积顶面为基准,在高海拔环境下继续发生剥蚀夷平和准平原化,逐步形成主夷平面或高原面。第四纪河流溯源侵蚀导致内外流水系分界线自东向西迁移,在青藏高原东部形成高山峡谷地貌。     

Deposition and provenance of the Early Pleistocene Siliceous Member in Westbury Cave,Somerset, England

The Early Pleistocene is an important interval in the Quaternary period as a time not only of climatic and environmental change, but also of key events in human evolution. However, knowledge of this period in northwest Europe is hampered by the limited extent of deposits of this age. Westbury Cave in the Mendip Hills of Somerset preserves an understudied example of fossil-bearing Early Pleistocene sediments, with rare potential to inform our understanding of British Early Pleistocene stratigraphy and landscape evolution outside the East Anglian Crag Basin. This study identifies the processes responsible for deposition of the Early Pleistocene Siliceous Member in Westbury Cave, thereby aiding taphonomic and palaeoenvironmental interpretations of associated fossil assemblages. New excavations revealed over ten metres of Siliceous Member stratigraphy, dominated by fine-grained silts/clays with interbedded sands and gravels, interpreted as being deposited within a subterranean lake or flooded conduit with fluvial input. All sediments sampled were reversely magnetised and are assigned to the Matuyama Reversed Chron. Lithological analysis of gravel clasts revealed variable components of durable non-local and non-durable local clasts. Gravels containing the latter are interpreted as distal talus slope deposits, and those lacking non-durable lithologies as stream or flood deposits. However, it remains unclear from available data whether apparently non-local clasts were sourced from long distance or stem from a more local, now denuded catchment. Siliceous Member bio- and magnetostratigraphy suggest that deposition occurred late in the Early Pleistocene, a period apparently otherwise unrepresented in the UK.     

第四纪洞庭盆地安乡凹陷及西缘构造-沉积特征与环境演化

通过地表观察和钻孔资料,对洞庭盆地安乡凹陷及其西缘第四纪构造沉积特征和环境演化进行了研究,为江汉—洞庭盆地第四纪地质研究补充了新的资料。凹陷总体呈南北向,周边为正断裂。凹陷内第四系厚一般为100-220 m,最厚达300 m,自下而上依次为早更新世华田组、汨罗组,中更新世洞庭湖组,晚更新世坡头组和全新世湖冲积。第四系以砾石层、砂层为主,次为（含）粉砂质黏土、黏土,岩性、岩相横向变化大。安乡凹陷西缘（即太阳山隆起东缘）,呈自西向东缓倾的丘岗地貌。区内主要发育中更新世白沙井组,其中南部下部以砂、砾石层为主,上部为黏土;北部以粉砂质黏土沉积为主,下部可发育砂层。根据地貌、沉积及控凹断裂特征,重塑安乡凹陷及其西缘第四纪构造活动与环境演化过程：早更新世—中更新世早期,凹陷西边的北北东向周家店断裂伸展活动,安乡凹陷不均匀沉降,总体具河流和过流性湖泊环境并接受沅水沉积;同期凹陷西缘构造抬升,处于剥蚀的山地环境。中更新世中期断陷活动向西扩展,凹陷区为过流性湖泊环境;凹陷西缘地区转为河流（南部）和湖泊（北部）环境并接受沉积。中更新世晚期安乡凹陷及其西缘整体抬升并遭受剥蚀,凹陷西缘同时具有自西向东的掀斜。晚更新世安乡凹陷拗陷沉降,具河流和湖泊环境;同期凹陷西缘遭受剥蚀。晚更新世末受区域海平面下降影响,安乡凹陷遭受剥蚀。全新世安乡凹陷拗陷沉降,具泛滥平原之河流、湖泊环境。     

河南新乡第四纪地层划分与沉积环境分析

新乡位于豫西北山地与豫东平原过渡位置,黄河冲积扇的不断发展以及第四纪早期的新构造运动对该区第四纪沉积过程产生影响。通过对新乡多个钻孔岩心进行系统性描述、年龄测试、沉积相分析以及钻孔地层间对比分析,结果显示：黄河冲积扇的发展及黄河主河道的南北向迁移,是研究区第四纪沉积过程的重要影响因素,研究区第四纪沉积相以河流相为主,横向上对比良好;多个场地的钻孔揭示研究区全新统厚度约10 m,平均年龄95 ka左右;更新统上部厚度约69 m,平均年龄129 ka左右;更新统中部厚度约55 m,平均年龄小于829 ka;更新统下部未见底。在第四纪早期,黄河冲积扇主河道在研究区西侧,尚未发育到新乡地区,对该区的影响较小,以细粒的泛滥平原沉积物为主;第四纪中期,黄河冲积扇快速向东部发展,河道迁移至研究区北东侧,沉积了明显的河流相,砂体厚度明显增加;第四纪中晚期,基本继承前期的河流相沉积,随着河道南迁,砂体含量有所下降。受到新构造运动的影响,新乡地区第四纪地层北东部出现沉积间断,并且局部地区出现差异沉降,北东侧地势高于南西侧。     

A reply to “On the age of the Hoxnian Interglacial” by N. R. Page

The recent paper by Dr. N. R. Page (1972) proposes a time scale for Pleistocene events in East Anglia and southwest Britain which most workers on this subject find incredible and which results in a suggested correlation with other regions, particularly the English Midlands, which completely negates the many years of patient work of stratigraphers and palaeontologists. This paper is intended to show that the claims to the absolute ages of the East Anglian deposits cannot be sustained and that the resulting correlations with the Pleistocene of other parts of Britain and abroad are quite unacceptable.     

洞庭盆地两护村孔重矿物特征及其对第四纪构造活动与环境演变的响应

第四纪洞庭盆地主体自西向东分为安乡凹陷、赤山隆起和沅江凹陷等3个次级构造单元。在安乡凹陷东南部两护村新施工揭穿第四系的ZKC1孔,其地层组成自下而上依次为早更新世华田组、汨罗组,中更新世早期—中期洞庭湖组,晚更新世坡头组以及全新统等。对钻孔岩芯进行了系统的重矿物分析,进而根据特征重矿物来源和含量变化,结合钻孔岩性和岩相变化以及区域地质和地理背景,探讨洞庭盆地南部早—中更新世沉积环境暨河湖变迁以及构造沉降过程。研究表明,洞庭盆地存在幕式断陷活动,早更新世早期、早更新世末期和中更新世中—后期等3个时期强烈断陷沉降,相对湖平面上升,来源于盆地南缘中段的资江河水部分向西注入安乡凹陷,导致ZKC1孔华田组下段下部、汨罗组顶部、洞庭湖组上段等相应层位中的锆石、金红石、锐钛矿和菱铁矿等(主要来源于资江流域)含量显著增高。其它时期断陷作用较弱,河湖水位低,沅水和资江分别沿其主水道于赤山隆起西侧和东侧向北汇入长江,导致ZKC1孔相应沉积层位中锆石、金红石、锐钛矿和菱铁矿的含量明显偏低。对重矿物特征指数变化与孢粉和化学蚀变指数所反映的气候变化的相关性研究,暗示上述3次相对湖平面上升的主要原因不是降水增加,而是构造沉降增强。