Hydrodynamic variations and correlations with Quaternary sea-level change on a rocky coast in Corsica, Western Mediterranean

The stratigraphy of Quaternary marine sediments in Corsica is summarised: Holocene (Versilian) deposits occur at 2–5m and last interglacial sediments (Tyrrhenian Stage) from 2 to 10–15m altitude. Locally, two older deposits, up to 30–40m above present sea-level, indicate the first transgressive phase of the last interglacial stage, and the penultimate interglacial stage.Sections are described where Quaternary hydrodynamic conditions were different from present ones in the same locality. At some sites which are high energy at present, sand deposits and sandstones provide evidence of low or medium energy conditions during the last interglacial and the penultimate interglacial stages. These variations correlate with sea-level changes, particularly at Cala d'Ancone, where sedimentation occurred during the transgressive phase of the interglacial stage, and where cementation terminated during the subsequent regressive phase.The occurrence of pebbles in localities where low energy conditions prevail at present, probably represent fluvial material reworked by wave action, during the last as well as the penultimate interglacial stages.Local variations in hydrodynamic intensity correlate with sea-level changes along the western Corsican shore, although general energy conditions remained constant throughout the interglacial stages.     

Oscillating Quaternary water levels of the Marmara Sea and vigorous outflow into the Aegean Sea from the Marmara Sea–Black Sea drainage corridor

Detailed interpretation of single-channel air-gun and deep-tow boomer profiles demonstrates that the Marmara Sea, Turkey, experienced small-amplitude (∼70 m) fluctuations in sea level during the later Quaternary, limited in magnitude by the sill depth of the Strait of Dardanelles. Moderate subsidence along the southern shelf and Quaternary glacio-eustatic sea-level variations created several stacked deltaic successions, separated by major shelf-crossing unconformities, which developed during the transitions from global glacial to interglacial periods. Near the Strait of Dardanelles, a series of sand-prone deposits are identified beneath an uppermost (Holocene) transparent mud drape. The sandy deposits thicken into mounds with the morphology and cross-sectional geometries of barrier islands, sand waves, and current-generated marine bars. All cross-stratification indicates unidirectional flow towards the Dardanelles prior to the deposition of the transparent drape which began ∼7000 years BP, in strong support of the notion that the Marmara Sea flowed westwards into the Aegean Sea through the Dardanelles at times of deglaciation in northern Europe. The global sea-level curve shows that, at ∼11,000 and ∼9500 years BP, sea level rose to the sill depths of the Straits of Dardanelles and Bosphorus, respectively. The effect from ∼11,000 to ∼9500 years BP was seawater incursion into the Marmara Sea, drowning and formation of algal-serpulid bioherms atop lowstand barrier islands, and transgression of shelves and lowstand deltas. At ∼9500 years BP, glacial meltwater temporarily stored in the Black Sea lake, developed into a vigorous southward flow toward the Aegean Sea, forming west-directed sandy bedforms in the western Marmara Sea and initiating deposition of sapropel S1 in the Aegean Sea. This strong outflow persisted until ∼7000 years BP, after which a mud drape began to accumulate in the Marmara Sea and euryhaline Mediterranean mollusks successfully migrated into a progressively more saline Black Sea where sapropel deposition began. Most eastern Mediterranean sapropels from S1 to S11 appear to correlate with periods of rising sea level and breaching, or near-breaching, of the Bosphorus sill. These events are believed to coincide with times of vigorous outflow of low-salinity (?fresh) surface waters transiting the Black Sea–Marmara Sea corridor, and ultimately derived from melting of northern European ice sheets.     

渤海地区近20万年以来的海面变化

早在1888年.狄格尔 (Dc Gccr) 曾提出,斯堪的纳维亚半岛是典型的冰川均衡区,冰川负荷的消失引起了当地地壳的均衡抬升,形成了具有椭圆形的窍形隆起区,并用实际测量的资料进一步证叫了杰米逊(Jamieson,1865)所阐述过的“冰川均衡”论。自那时以来,冰川均衡论几乎统治了一个世纪,直到现     

Late quaternary organic carbon cycles and paleoproductivity in the Labrador Sea

Accumulation rates of (marine) organic carbon and estimates of paleoproductivity from organic carbon data indicate distinct late Quaternary glacial/interglacial cycles at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 646. During the last 240,000 years, surface-water productivity was significantly higher in the northern Labrador Sea during interglacial than during glacial times (70 to 170 gC/m²/yr vs. 30 to 70 gC/m²/yr). The reduced glacial productivity is probably caused by a closed sea-ice cover dominating the northern Labrador Sea during glacial intervals.     

黄土高原东西部末次间冰期以来黄土显微特征与古气候记录

以西安刘家坡和甘肃会宁西雁山末次间冰期以来黄土剖面为例,通过剖面土壤结构特征、骨架颗粒矿物成分、主要碎屑颗粒形态、骨架颗粒接触关系以及孔隙特征的分析对比,研究了黄土高原东西部黄土显微特征,进而探讨了其古气候意义。研究进一步证明,古土壤形成期气候比黄土形成期气候湿热,黄土剖面中黄土与古土壤交替反映了干与湿、热与冷的古气候变换;在古土壤形成期气候较湿热的总趋势下,黄土高原东南部比西北部更为湿热,在黄土形成期气候较干冷的总趋势下,黄土高原西北部比东南部更为干冷,这与现今黄土高原的区域性气候差异一致。     

Tidal deposits. A casebook of recent examples and fossil counterparts: R.N. Ginsburg (editor). Springer,Berlin, 1975, 428 pp., US $ 34.80

Pollen and foraminifera were analyzed from identical samples in two marine cores taken from the upper and lower continental rise between Cape Hatteras and Chesapeake Bay. Down-core variations in percent abundance of pollen taxa permit the identification of three floral events. These floral events are comparable to and isochronous with changes in polleniferous sediments from the adjacent continental United States through the last 20,000 y, the time interval represented in these cores.A transfer function was used to obtain sea surface paleotemperature estimates from planktonic foraminifera. These estimates indicate that surface waters were relatively warm at the site of both cores from 8,000 y BP to present. Between 12,400 and 8,000 y BP the nearshore core continued to record warm temperatures whereas the offshore core, which should be closer to warm Gulf Stream waters, seems to have recorded significantly colder temperatures. These temperature discrepancies appear to result from severe carbonate dissolution in the offshore core. Temperature estimates are lowered by dissolution of the less resistant tropical species leaving resistant transitional and subpolar forms. This dissolution event coincides with the maximum upslope movement of the Western Boundary Undercurrent as indicated by changes in sedimentation rate.As shown by the nearshore core, in which dissolution was not severe, surface temperatures in this area increased abruptly about 12,000 y BP and remained relatively warm until 4,000 y BP when they decreased slightly. These changes in sea surface temperature appear to be related to the position of the Gulf Stream as indicated by percent abundance of Globigerinoides sacculifer. The Gulf Stream moved into this area about 12,000 y BP and attained its maximum northward penetration about 8,000 y BP.Marine and terrestrial paleoclimatic changes in this area are not synchronous. Sea surface temperatures increased about 12,000 y BP whereas the change from a glacial to an interglacial forest occurred several thousand years later, about 10,000 y BP.     

Late Holocene marine productivity changes in Northern Patagonia-Chile inferred from a multi-proxy analysis of Jacaf channel sediments

A multi-proxy approach based on organic (organic carbon, alkenones, and C/N) and inorganic geochemical proxies (biogenic opal, inorganic carbon, Fe, Ti, and Ca) preserved in the sediments of the Jacaf channel (CF7-PC33; 44°21′S, 72°58′W, 510 m water depth), Chilean fjords, yields evidence of major past productivity fluctuations in accordance with climatic changes over the last ∼1800 years. The downcore record clearly shows two productivity/climate modes. The first period, prior to 900 cal yr BP, is characterized by decreased marine productivity and a reduced continental signal, pointing to diminished precipitation and runoff. In contrast, the second period between ∼750 cal yr BP and the late 1800s (top of core) is illustrated by elevated productivity and an increased continental signal, suggesting higher precipitation and runoff. Both time intervals are separated by a relatively abrupt transition of ∼150 years which roughly coincides with the beginning of the Little Ice Age. The increased content of freshwater diatoms and Chrysophyte cysts that characterize the last 200 years of the latter mode coincides with a significant decrease in the carbonate content of the sediment; together they further indicate increased terrigenous contributions and decreased marine carbonate productivity at the end of the Little Ice Age. The correspondence between our record and other paleoclimate studies carried out in South America and Antarctica demonstrates that the Chilean fjord area of Northern Patagonia is not just sensitive to local climatic variability but also to regional and possibly global variability.     

Holocene evolution of Apalachicola Bay,Florida

A program of geophysical mapping and vibracoring was conducted to better understand the geologic evolution of Apalachicola Bay. Analyses of the geophysical data and sediment cores along with age control provided by 34 AMS ¹⁴C dates on marine shells and wood reveal the following history. As sea level rose in the early Holocene, fluvial deposits filled the Apalachicola River paleochannel, which extended southward under the central part of the bay and seaward across the continental shelf. Sediments to either side of the paleochannel contain abundant wood fragments, with dates documenting that those areas were forested at 8,000 ¹⁴C years b.p. As sea level continued to rise, spits formed of headland prodelta deposits. Between ∼6,400 and ∼2,500 ¹⁴C years b.p., an Apalachicola prodelta prograded and receded several times across the inner shelf that underlies the western part of the bay. An eastern deltaic lobe was active for a shorter time, between ∼5,800 and 5,100 ¹⁴C years b.p. Estuarine benthic foraminiferal assemblages occurred in the western bay as early as 6,400 ¹⁴C years b.p., and indicate that there was some physical barrier to open-ocean circulation and shelf species established by that time. It is considered that shoals formed in the region of the present barrier islands as the rising sea flooded an interstream divide. Estuarine conditions were established very early in the post-glacial flooding of the bay.     

Paleoearthquake evidence in Tenerife (Canary Islands) and possible seismotectonic sources

A series of clastic dikes and tubular vents were identified in southern Tenerife (Canary Islands). These features are the result of seismic liquefaction of a Holocene sand deposit, as the consequence of a high intensity paleoearthquake. The peak ground acceleration (pga) and magnitude of the paleoearthquake generating these liquefaction features were estimated by back calculation analysis. A representative value of 0.30 ± 0.05 g was obtained for the pga. From this, an earthquake intensity of IX was estimated for the liquefaction site. Magnitude bound methods and energy based approaches were used to determine the magnitude of the paleoearthquake, providing a moment magnitude M = 6.8. The zone in which the liquefaction structures are found has undergone tectonic uplift and is affected by two faults. One of these faults was responsible for displacing Holocene materials. Dating of the uplifted sand formation indicates an age of 10,081 ± 933 years, the liquefaction features ranging from this age to 3490 ± 473 years BP. This paleoearthquake was of much greater magnitude than those known historically. Faults with neotectonic activity are significant features that should be borne in mind when assessing the seismic hazards of the Canary Islands, presently considered as low and mainly of volcanic origin.     

Modeling the effect of late Quaternary interglacial sea levels on wave-cut shore platforms

A mathematical wave erosional model was used to study the effect of high sea levels during the penultimate (oxygen isotopic stage 7) and last interglacials (substage 5e), and in the late Holocene (stage 1), on the present morphology of wave-cut shore platforms. Sea level was considered to have been either the same as today or 2.25 m lower during the penultimate interglacial, and 2.25, 4.5 or 6.75 m higher than today during the last interglacial stage. The model suggested that inherited, gently sloping shore platforms in resistant rocks may be essentially protected today from erosion by high storm waves. The lowest platform gradients were in runs with mesotidal (3 m) range, and usually with low wave periods, low surf attenuation rates and weak rocks. Modern platform gradients increased with the difference in elevation between sea levels during successive interglacial stages. Shore platforms were widest in runs in which sea level was the same as today in the penultimate interglacial and 4.5 m higher than today during the last interglacial. Constant sea level, and high, last interglacial sea levels with considerable overlapping between the zones of high duration values between the mean neap high and low tidal levels in stages 7, 5e and 1, were conducive to the development of wide shore platforms, whereas sea levels lower than today's in stage 7 tended to produce narrower platforms. In general, higher sea levels during the last interglacial tended to produce higher cliff–platform junctions than constant sea level, unless the sea was lower than today during the penultimate interglacial stage. There was a lack of supratidal ledges in macrotidal (9 m) model runs with high initial gradients; this suggests that gently sloping, inherited shore platforms are essential for the subsequent development of supratidal, nonstructural ledges in high tidal environments during periods of higher sea level. Intertidal ledges developed in the upper portion of the modern intertidal zone, under a variety of tidal and sea level conditions. These ledges can develop independently of lithological or structural influences, and without any change in sea level. A single high sea level may also simultaneously produce two ledges at different supratidal elevations in mesotidal environments.     

西安地区约8 500 aBP来气候变化与风尘堆积

根据野外调查、土层厚度测定、室内粒度分析、CaCO3含量分析和微结构鉴定资料,研究了西安地区约8500aBP来气候变化与风尘堆积的变化。结果表明,西安地区全新世以来的气候与末次间冰期第1阶段气候相比具有频繁变化和变异特点;3100aBP以来风尘堆积与沙尘暴活动比75～10kaBP之间的末次冰期还要强,风尘堆积与沙尘暴活动强的原因主要是气候的变干。全新世黄土发育条件分析表明,黄土高原的黄土可以发育在冰期,也可以发育在与现代气候相近的间冰期,可以发育在冬季风占优势的气候条件下,也可以发育在冬、夏季风活动强度相近的条件下。全新世气候的不稳定性为预测未来长期气候变化带来了不确定性,深入研究全新世气候变异特点对预测未来长期气候变化具有非常重要的意义。     

山东荣成成山头“柳夼红层”的层序、划分与成因及其气候意义(Ⅱ)

四、“柳夼红层”的物质组成 本文(Ⅰ)所列“柳夼红层”剖面地层层序进行了物相、粒度、X衍射和ESR年代测定,其结果与宏观观察结果相吻合。 “柳夼红层”,剖面序列,层位和时代有所不同,成因有别,而在物质组成上却大同小异,表现出从晚更新世早期至全新世地层,其物源供应基本相同,都来源于燕山期斑状花岗岩的风化破碎产物,属就地近源搬运。     

Formation of ‘Beach Rock’ at Siesta Key, Florida and its influence on barrier island development

Seaward-dipping strata of carbonate-cemented shell debris located along the coast of Siesta Key on the Gulf Coast of the Florida peninsula have long been interpreted to be beachrock equivalent in age to the Pleistocene Anastasia Formation (Stage 5e) of the east coast of Florida. Detailed examination of thin sections along with radiometric dating and isotopic analyses demonstrates clearly that this is a Holocene deposit that is not beachrock but was lithified in a meteoric environment. Whole rock dates, dates from shells only, and from cement only demonstrate that these beach deposits were in place by at least 1800 yr BP and might have been there as long ago as 4300 yr BP. This means that some type of barrier island was in place at that time. Previous investigations have depicted Siesta Key as having a maximum age of 3000 yr with these deposits being located about 2 km landward of the beach deposits. This suggests that the beach deposits might have been the site of the original position of Siesta Key. These data also indicate that sea level must have been near its present position at the time that these foreshore beach deposits were deposited; sometime between 1800 and 4300 yr ago. This scenario indicates that sea level along this coastal reach probably reached its present level at least about 2000 yr ago.     

Epizoan Communities on Marine Turtles

Abstract. Marine turtles harbour a variety of epizoa, some of which are specific to these hosts, but shelled gastropod and bivalve mollusks were previously unrecorded on marine turtles. Thousands of turtles of five species from all major oceans were examined. Loggerheads, Caretta caretta , from Greece and the states of Georgia and Florida, USA, were the most remarkable hosts to mollusks. At least 15 species of bivalves and 5 species of gastropods were found on turtles. Many turtles hosting mollusks carried only one species and few individuals. Edible oysters, the most common molluscan epizoan on Grecian Loggerheads, may grow to more than 10cm in diameter, so in some cases the mollusks may survive for several years on the turtle. Large epizoan bivalves may in turn serve themselves as substrates for epizoa, molluscan or otherwise. There are no known obligate relationships between turtles and mollusks, although there may be a parasitic relationship between the Loggerhead turtle, a spirorchid blood fluke, and a gastropod intermediate host. It is unknown if turtles carrying mollusks are at a disadvantage.     

Facies architecture of the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner continental shelf of west-central Florida: implications for Holocene barrier development

Sediment vibracores and surface samples were collected from the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner shelf of west–central Florida in an effort to determine the three-dimensional facies architecture and Holocene geologic development of the coastal barrier-island and adjacent shallow marine environments. The unconsolidated sediment veneer is thin (generally <3 m), with a patchy distribution. Nine facies are identified representing Miocene platform deposits (limestone gravel and blue–green clay facies), Pleistocene restricted marine deposits (lime mud facies), and Holocene back-barrier (organic muddy sand, olive-gray mud, and muddy sand facies) and open marine (well-sorted quartz sand, shelly sand, and black sand facies) deposits. Holocene back-barrier facies are separated from overlying open marine facies by a ravinement surface formed during the late Holocene rise in sea level. Facies associations are naturally divided into four discrete types. The pattern of distribution and ages of facies suggest that barrier islands developed approximately 8200 yr BP and in excess of 20 km seaward of the present coastline in the north, and more recently and nearer to their present position in the south. No barrier-island development prior to approximately 8200 yr BP is indicated. Initiation of barrier-island development is most likely due to a slowing in the Holocene sea-level rise ca. 8000 yr BP, coupled with the intersection of the coast with quartz sand deposits formed during Pleistocene sea-level highstands. This study is an example of a mixed carbonate/siliciclastic shallow marine depositional system that is tightly constrained in both time and sea-level position. It provides a useful analog for the study of other, similar depositional systems in both the modern and ancient rock record.     

Evidence of slumping/sliding in Krishna–Godavari offshore basin due to gas/fluid movements

The Krishna–Godavari (KG) offshore basin is one of the promising petroliferous basins of the eastern continental margin of India. Drilling in this basin proved the presence of gas hydrate deposits in the shallow marine sediments beyond 750 m water depths, and provided lithologic and stratigraphic information. We obtained multibeam swath bathymetry covering an area of about 4500 km² in water depths of 280–1800 m and about 1260 line km of high resolution seismic (HRS) records. The general lithology of midslope deposits is comprised of nannofossil-rich clay, nannofossil-bearing clay and foraminifera-bearing clay. The HRS records and bathymetry reveal evidence of slumping and sliding of the upper and midslope sediments, which result in mass transport deposits (MTD) in the northwestern part of the study area. These deposits exhibit 3–9.5 km widths and extend 10–13 km offshore. The boundaries of the MTDs are often demarcated by sharp truncation of finely layered sediments (FLS) and the MTDs are characterized by acoustically transparent zones in the HRS data. Average thickness of recent MTDs varies with depth, i.e., in the upper slope, the thickness is about 45 m, while in the lower slope it is about 60 m, and in deeper offshore locations they attain a maximum thickness of about 90 m. A direct indication for slumping and mass transportation of deposits is provided by the age reversal in ¹⁴C AMS dates observed in a sediment core located in the midslope region. Seismic profiling signatures provide indications of fluid/gas movement. We propose that the presence of steep topographic gradients, high sedimentation rates, a regional fault system, diapirism, fluid/gas movement, and neotectonic activity may have facilitated the slumping/sliding of the upper slope sediments in the KG offshore basin.     

Evidence of slumping/sliding in Krishna–Godavari offshore basin due to gas/fluid movements

The Krishna–Godavari (KG) offshore basin is one of the promising petroliferous basins of the eastern continental margin of India. Drilling in this basin proved the presence of gas hydrate deposits in the shallow marine sediments beyond 750 m water depths, and provided lithologic and stratigraphic information. We obtained multibeam swath bathymetry covering an area of about 4500 km² in water depths of 280–1800 m and about 1260 line km of high resolution seismic (HRS) records. The general lithology of midslope deposits is comprised of nannofossil-rich clay, nannofossil-bearing clay and foraminifera-bearing clay. The HRS records and bathymetry reveal evidence of slumping and sliding of the upper and midslope sediments, which result in mass transport deposits (MTD) in the northwestern part of the study area. These deposits exhibit 3–9.5 km widths and extend 10–13 km offshore. The boundaries of the MTDs are often demarcated by sharp truncation of finely layered sediments (FLS) and the MTDs are characterized by acoustically transparent zones in the HRS data. Average thickness of recent MTDs varies with depth, i.e., in the upper slope, the thickness is about 45 m, while in the lower slope it is about 60 m, and in deeper offshore locations they attain a maximum thickness of about 90 m. A direct indication for slumping and mass transportation of deposits is provided by the age reversal in ¹⁴C AMS dates observed in a sediment core located in the midslope region. Seismic profiling signatures provide indications of fluid/gas movement. We propose that the presence of steep topographic gradients, high sedimentation rates, a regional fault system, diapirism, fluid/gas movement, and neotectonic activity may have facilitated the slumping/sliding of the upper slope sediments in the KG offshore basin.     

An inflection in the rate of early mid-Holocene eustatic sea-level rise: A new sea-level curve from Singapore

This study presents a sea-level curve from 9500 to 6500 cal BP for the farfield location of Singapore, on the Sunda Shelf in southeast Asia. The curve is based on more than 50 radiocarbon dates from elevations of +1.43 m to −15.09 m representing sea-level index points in intertidal mangrove and shallow marine sediments deposited by sea-level rise accompanying deglaciation. The results indicate that mean sea level rose rapidly from around −17 m at 9500 cal BP to around −3 m by 8000 cal BP. After this time, the data suggest (but do not unequivocally prove) that the rate of sea-rise slowed for a period of 300–500 years centred on 7700 cal BP, shortly after the cessation of meltwater input to the oceans from the northern hemisphere. Renewed sea-level rise amounting to 3–5 m began around 7400 cal BP and was complete by 7000 cal BP. The existence of an inflection in the rate of sea-level rise, with a slow-down centred on 7700 cal BP, is broadly consistent with other available sea-level curves over this interval and is supported by evidence of stable shorelines and delta initiation elsewhere at this time, as well as evidence of comparatively rapid retreat of the West Antarctic ice sheet beginning around 7500 cal BP. ‘Stepped’ sea-level rise occurring shortly after 7500 cal BP and also earlier during deglaciation may have served to focus significant post-glacial episodes of human maritime/coastal dispersal, into comparatively narrow time intervals.     

Climate‐induced Late‐Holocene ecological changes in Pichavaram estuary,India

Variation in sedimentology as well as freshwater and marine palynomorphs has been studied in ecological perspective in two 2.5‐ and 5‐m deep sediment cores deposited since 3440 and 3630 cal BP, respectively in the central part of Pichavaram mangrove wetland, Cauvery River delta. The palynological and sedimentological results of the sediments reveal a monsoonal circulation and a climatic shift from warm and humid with strengthened monsoon (3630–3190 cal BP) to dry and arid (~2750–760 cal BP). Since the last millennium (~760 cal BP), Pichavaram estuary has been influenced by a similar cyclicity but with a less wet and humid climate due to weakened monsoon conditions. These ecological changes in turn affect the relative sea level rise and fall which is reflected by the variability/extinction of freshwater and marine palynomorphs. The estuary remained an active water channel between ~3630 and 2750 cal BP, responding to the strengthened monsoon, during which the freshwater algal remains with thecamoebians and marine dinoflagellate cysts and foraminiferal linings both dominated with a ratio of 1.5 for marine/freshwater forms. After this period, since ~2750 cal BP there has been a dominance of marine forms with a ratio of 4.5 for marine/freshwater forms, indicating fluvio‐marine sediment deposition and suggesting the recent landward intrusion of seawater during weakened monsoon conditions. Freshwater thecamoebians are vulnerable to the salinity >3 in the aqueous soil solution of estuarine sediment, and therefore serve as an excellent proxy for monitoring salinity gradient along with short‐term high resolution palaeoecological fluctuations induced by climate and relative sea‐level changes in an estuarine ecosystem.     

东海陆架HY126EA1孔有孔虫壳体的氧、碳同位素记录

东海陆架HY126EA1孔有孔虫壳体氧同位素组成具有明显的阶段性变化.通过与深海氧同位素组成曲线对比,可将氧同位素组成变化分为5期,分别对应着冰消期、末次冰期极盛期、末次冰期间冰段、末次冰期初期和末次间冰期.碳同位素组成的变化与氧同位素组成的变化基本一致.δ18O和δ13C的相关性在不同气候期存在明显差异,主要受陆源水和海水交换复杂程度的控制.