A model for linking grain-size component to lake level status of a modern clastic lake

Grain-size distributions of fluvial, eolian and marine sediments were explicated decades ago. For lake sediments, however, there is still great uncertainty in explaining the genesis of grain-size components due to the inherent complexity of their polymodal distributions. In this study, the grain-size components of the surface sediments of Daihai Lake, Inner Mongolia, were partitioned using a lognormal distribution function and the relationship between the identity of each component and the specific sedimentary environment was investigated. The data indicate that the modern clastic sediments of Daihai Lake contain five distinct unimodal grain-size distributions representing five grain-size components. Each of the components retains its identity including modal size, manner of transportation and environment of deposition although the relative percentage varies with the hydraulic condition throughout the lake. These components are specified from fine to coarse modes as long-term suspension clay, offshore-suspension fine silt and medium-to-coarse silt, and nearshore-suspension fine sand and saltation medium sand. The percentage of the components interpreted as an indication of nearshore environments displays a negative correlation with water depth across the modern lakebed, suggesting a model for linking the nearshore components in sediment cores to the lake level status in the geological past. The model was applied to a sediment core from the lake where high percentages of the nearshore components in the core sediments were correlated with low regional precipitations reconstructed on the pollen profile of the same core. The coincidences between two independent proxies do not only demonstrate the validity of lognormal distribution function in partitioning polymodal sediments but also reveals the potential of the grain-size component–lake level status model for lake’s paleohydrological reconstruction.     

An objective technique for determining end-member compositions and for partitioning sediments according to their sources

A modification of Q-mode factor analysis provides an objective technique for end-member characterization of geologic mixtures. Factor analysis has not often been used to determine the actual composition of end-member sources in geologic mixtures, because transformations of the original data variables during the analysis result in negative factor scores for some variables and negative “concentrations” of some variables in the end-members. We use a non-orthogonal rotation of end-member vectors toward the mean vector to bring the end-members into the positive vector space.This technique is demonstrated on a large data set of elemental analyses of bulk sediment surface samples from the Nazca Plate in the southeast Pacific. These data were chosen because they had been studied in detail previously. Our technique identified five geologically reasonable end-members which represent detritus, siliceous biogenic sediment, hydrothermal sediment, hydrogenous or authigenic sediment, and a refractory residue left after the dissolution of biogenic debris. The number, composition, and distribution of the end-members are similar to those derived from previous extensive partitioning studies of the sediments.     

The link between grain‐size components and depositional processes in a modern clastic lake

It is widely recognized that lake sediment grain‐size distributions tend to be polymodal and consist of two or more grain‐size components. However, for specific cases, the genesis of each component usually is poorly understood. In this study, the grain‐size components of the surface sediments of Hulun Lake, Inner Mongolia, were partitioned using the log‐normal distribution function method and the relationship between the identity of each grain‐size component and the hydraulic condition of the lake was investigated in order to relate the constituent components to specific depositional processes in the lake. The data indicate that the modern clastic sediments of Hulun Lake contain six distinct unimodal grain‐size distributions representing six grain‐size components. Each of the components retains its identity including modal size, manner of transportation and environment of deposition, although the relative percentage varies with the hydraulic conditions throughout the lake. These components are specified from fine to coarse modes as long‐term suspension clay, offshore‐suspension fine silt and medium to coarse silt, and nearshore‐suspension fine sand, saltation medium sand and traction coarse sand. The percentage contribution of several grain‐size components interpreted as being indicative of nearshore environments is shown to be correlated negatively with water depth across the modern lake bed; this suggests that the proportion of these components in core data might be useful as a proxy for water depth. This possibility was tested using a sediment core from Hulun Lake where high percentages of the nearshore grain‐size components were found to be correlated with low regional precipitation reconstructed from the pollen profile of the same core. The coincidence of two independent proxies does not only demonstrate the validity of log‐normal distribution function in partitioning polymodal sediments but reveals the potential of lake sediment grain‐size components for the research of lake‐level fluctuations during the geological past.     

Co-diagenesis of iron and phosphorus in hydrothermal sediments from the southern East Pacific Rise: Implications for the evaluation of paleoseawater phosphate concentrations

We present a detailed study of the co-diagenesis of Fe and P in hydrothermal plume fallout sediments from ∼19°S on the southern East Pacific Rise. Three distal sediment cores from 340-1130 km from the ridge crest, collected during DSDP Leg 92, were analysed for solid phase Fe and P associations using sequential chemical extraction techniques. The sediments at all sites are enriched in hydrothermal Fe (oxyhydr)oxides, but during diagenesis a large proportion of the primary ferrihydrite precipitates are transformed to the more stable mineral form of goethite and to a lesser extent to clay minerals, resulting in the release to solution of scavenged P. However, a significant proportion of this P is retained within the sediment, by incorporation into secondary goethite, by precipitation as authigenic apatite, and by readsorption to Fe (oxyhydr)oxides. Molar P/Fe ratios for these sediments are significantly lower than those measured in plume particles from more northern localities along the southern East Pacific Rise, and show a distinct downcore decrease to a depth of ∼12 m. Molar P/Fe ratios are then relatively constant to a depth of ∼35 m. The Fe and P speciation data indicate that diagenetic modification of the sediments is largely complete by a depth of 2.5 m, and thus depth trends in molar P/Fe ratios can not solely be explained by losses of P from the sediment by diffusion to the overlying water column during early diagenesis. Instead, these sediments are likely recording changes in dissolved P concentrations off the SEPR, possibly as a result of redistribution of nutrients in response to changes in oceanic circulation over the last 10 million years. Furthermore, the relatively low molar P/Fe ratios observed throughout these sediments are not necessarily solely due to losses of scavenged P by diffusion to the overlying water column during diagenesis, but may also reflect post-depositional oxidation of pyrite originating from the volatile-rich vents of the southern East Pacific Rise. This study suggests that the molar P/Fe ratio of oxic Fe-rich sediments may serve as a proxy of relative changes in paleoseawater phosphate concentrations, particularly if Fe sulfide minerals are not an important component during transport and deposition.     

Climate change in Lake Baikal: diatom evidence in an area of continuous sedimentation

The presence of inhomogeneous sedimentation is acknowledged as being an important problem in palaeolimnological studies. Sediment records can be disturbed by erosional and redepositional events, which redeposit microfossils within a basin and may then lead to misinterpretations of fossil diatom assemblages. This study uses a combination of sedimentological tools, magnetic susceptibility measurements and high-resolution diatom analysis to show that a sediment core, BAIK80, taken in 345 m water depth from a shoulder region in the North Basin of Lake Baikal, is free of disturbances. Our results confirm that the sediment record is consistent and continuous for the uppermost sediment. Consequently, the fossil diatom data can be used to establish a continuous record of past climate variability over approximately the past 1300 years. Distinct changes occur in downcore abundances of endemic taxa Aulacoseira baicalensis and Cyclotella minuta, and principal components analysis (PCA) indicates a gradual transformation of taxa over the past 1300 years. These changes are likely to be related to climate, although definite links still have to be established. Received: 15 December 1998 / Accepted: 13 September 1999     

Clay mineral distribution patterns as influenced by depositional processes in the Southeastern Levantine Sea

Analysis of the clay minerals in stratigraphically defined cores (23,000 years BP to the present) in the southeastern Levantine-Nile Cone sector of the eastern Mediterranean indicates that depositional processes are very significant in determining the distribution of clay assemblages. The interplay of long-distance transport by water mass circulation, downslope mass gravity transport and wind dispersal is recorded by the clay assemblages in each of the stratigraphic layers. The temporal variations and spatial distribution of smectite, the dominant clay mineral of the River Nile, can be related closely to downslope gravity-related processes and to deposition from water mass flow. Increased kaolinite, in part of wind-blown origin from North Africa, correlates with areas receiving low terrigenous input but influenced by enhanced suspended sediment transport. Illite and chlorite distributions are most closely associated with a northern Levantine provenance and dispersal by the circulation of eastern Mediterranean water masses. Climatically induced changes may have altered the clay minerals in the region and minor diagenetic changes may have occurred, but these factors do not fully explain observed vertical clay mineral changes in the Late Quaternary. We conclude that palaeoclimatic interpretations based on vertical clay mineralogical changes at single core localities should be approached cautiously in small ocean basins such as the Mediterranean.     

南海北部时间系列沉降颗粒的有机地球化学特征及意义

通过对南海北部用大孔径沉积物捕获器采集的时间系列沉降颗粒样品中总有机碳，总氮，氨基酸与单糖组分以及叶绿素等有机组分的分析，揭示了南海颗粒物质中有机组分的主要特征，表明沉降颗粒物质中有机质主要来自近期生长的海洋浮游生物，并进一步推断季风对南海北部沉降颗粒物质通量及有机组分具有重要的控制作用。     

Single particle characterization of size-fractionated road sediments

The relationship between particle distributions and chemical compositions of road sediments were investigated in Kobe, Japan. Road sediments are significant pollutants in urban areas, and their toxicity differs according to particle size. In the present study, the authors analyzed the distributions of particle size, chemical composition and particle type among size-fractionated road sediments. Road sediment samples were collected from road medians and street gutters. Chemical compositions of about 13,000 individual road sediment particles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. They were classified into 7 types by cluster analysis, and their possible sources were estimated. The particle type distributions showed some relationships with the chemical composition distributions. This study showed that the chemical composition distributions among the road sediments were typical for each element in relation to the particle type distributions.     

The chemistry and mineralogy of the clay fraction of sediments from the southern Barents Sea

The separated clay fraction (material <μ) of surface and sub-surface sediment samples from the southwestern Barents Sea is described. The partitioning of the major and minor elements within the different grain-size fractions of the sediment and between detrital and non-detrital phases demonstrates that the clay chemistry of these oxic shelf sediments is terrigenous in origin.The clays are a variable mixture of micaceous debris and illite with chloritic material, minor expandable clay and occasional kaolinite. Carbonate debris and amphibole occur locally. The semi-quantitative analysis suggests the existence of a considerable variation in the relative content of the principal mineralogical components and this is confirmed by the investigation of the major and minor elements. The terrigenous chemistry provides a more sensitive index of clay variability and allows the recognition of three distinct petrographic provinces.     

南黄海北部晚更新世以来常量元素记录的化学风化作用

以南黄海北部高沉积速率柱状样DLC70-3孔作为研究对象,对沉积物的黏土矿物和常量元素地球化学组成进行了综合分析。结果显示,DLC70-3孔沉积物中黏土矿物组合以伊利石为主,其次为蒙皂石,绿泥石和高岭石含量较低;绝大部分样品中伊利石与蒙皂石含量的比值<6,表明沉积物主要来源于黄河物质的输送。研究认为DLC70-3孔沉积物的化学风化指标CIA值受到海平面变化和源区气候变化共同控制,其中源区的气候变化为主要控制因素,而海平面变化造成的机械沉积分异作用主要影响27.80~38.00 m（MIS 4）层位沉积物的CIA值。CIA值显示在MIS 5和MIS 3期大陆化学风化作用较强,与内陆黄土高原地区夏季风和化学风化指标的变化趋势一致,尤其是在MIS 3早期（40~60 ka）记录的化学风化作用非常强,反映了黄河流域地区出现强夏季风降雨过程。     

太平洋中部富REY深海粘土的地球化学特征及REY富集机制

深海沉积物中的稀土资源是一种新发现的、潜在的海底稀土资源.对太平洋中部重力活塞取样获得的90个深海粘土样品的矿物组分、常量和稀土化学分析结果进行了系统分析,并与中北太平洋以及西北太平洋南鸟岛附近海域深海沉积物稀土元素地球化学特征进行了对比.研究结果表明:太平洋中部深海粘土以富含沸石、富P及富REY为特征,其碎屑矿物中含有较多的鱼牙骨,其P₂O₅与CaO之间、P₂O₅、CaO与∑REY之间呈良好的正相关关系;其稀土分布模式表现为明显的Ce负异常、一定程度的重稀土元素富集和Y正异常.太平洋中部深海粘土REY富集的主要原因是深海粘土中含有过量的磷酸盐组分,推测过量的磷酸盐组分是由于深海粘土中鱼牙骨碎屑的加入引起的.在北太平洋海域,未受到热液活动影响的条件下,富REY的深海沉积物的稀土元素富集机制具有统一性和普遍性,可以归纳为深海沉积物中高REY磷酸盐的混入作用.      

Amino acid abundances and stereochemistry in hydrothermally altered sediments from the Juan de Fuca Ridge, northeastern Pacific Ocean.

The Juan de Fuca Ridge is a hydrothermally active, sediment covered, spreading ridge situated a few hundred kilometres off the west coast of North America in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Sediments from seven sites drilled during the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 139 and 168 were analyzed for total hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA), individual amino acid distributions, total organic C (TOC) and total N (TN) contents. The aim was to evaluate the effects of hydrothermal stress on the decomposition and transformation of sedimentary amino acids. Hydrolyzable amino acids account for up to 3.3% of the total organic C content and up to 12% of the total N content of the upper sediments. The total amounts of amino acids decrease significantly with depth in all drilled holes. This trend is particularly pronounced in holes with a thermal gradient of around 0.6 degrees C/m or higher. The most abundant amino acids in shallow sediments are glycine, alanine, lysine, glutamic acid, valine and histidine. The changes in amino acid distributions in low temperature holes are characterized by increased relative abundances of non-protein beta-alanine and gamma-aminobutyric acid. In high temperature holes the amino acid compositions are characterized by high abundances of glycine, alanine, serine, ornithine and histidine at depth. D/L ratios of samples with amino acid distributions similar to those found in acid hydrolysates of kerogen, indicate that racemization rates of amino acids bound by condensation reactions may be diminished.     

沉积岩系互稀释混合元素丰度关系

二元混合成国岩石元素丰度（ｘ，ｙ）遵守分式线性函数定律:式中ａ，ｂ，ｃ，ｄ为丰度关系常数，它们只和岩系中两个已知岩石（１和２）中元素丰度（ｘ_１，ｙ_１；ｘ_２，ｙ_２）有关，并等于其镜像∑变换（混合变换）（ａ，ｂ，ｃ，ｄ）＝∑∑|ｘ_１，ｙ_１；ｘ_２，ｙ_２|（２）元素丰度关系常数中，如果ｂ与Ｃ之比值小于零时，元素丰度ｙ＝Ｘ呈互稀释混合关系。     

中北太平洋铁锰结壳钕同位素演化研究

现代海洋中的水成 Fe－Mn 结壳的 Nd 来自当时周围海水，因此利用 Fe－Mn 结壳可以恢复新生海洋 Nd 同位素演化历史，进面了解古海洋环境和古气候变迁信息。海洋中 Nd 的来源包括河流或陆源 Nd、大陆边缘沉积物和风成粉尘中的可溶 Nd，以及洋中脊热液蚀变来源的 Nd。对海水、水成成因铁锰结壳和结核、洋脊热液喷发和河流输入的 Nd 同位素研究发明，陆源物质控制着大洋中溶解的 Nd。对于风尘输入对大洋中的REE的影响还存在争议。有研究表明来自大陆和火山的风尘是某些局部大洋中的 REE 的重要来源，风尘与海水间的 REE 交换引起了某些洋区中 Nd 同位素组成的变化。相反，另有学者认为风尘对北太平洋中的溶解 Nd 总量没有影响。笔者分板子一块来自中北太平洋的铁锰结壳样品（MDD53）的 Nd，Pb 同位素，得到了该区新生代以来的 Nd，Pb 同位素演化历史。通过对比该结壳和岩心 LL44－GPC3 中粉尘的同位素演变曲线，发现二者的 Pb 同位素变化规律十分相似，证明结壳中的 Pb 主要来自粉尘。与 Pb 同位素相反，二者的 Nd 同位素演化完全不同。中国黄土的ENd值远低于中太平洋深水中的ENd值。因此，笔者认为风成粉尘对太平洋深水中溶解的 Nd 总量的影响可以忽略不计。结壳的 ENd值介于大陆和岛弧火山的值之间，说明新生代太平洋海水中的 Nd 主要来自河流、大洋边缘大陆风化及大洋环流携带大源自其他大洋的 Nd，新生代 Nd 同位素比值的增长主要是国为太平洋边缘岛弧的风化剥蚀作用和火山活动的增强。     

南海ODP1144站深海沉积牵引体的岩石物理模型研究

ODP1144站是南海唯一钻揭深海沉积牵引体的站位,其完整的岩芯和测井资料为开展该沉积牵引体的岩石物理模型研究提供了良好的基础。此项研究对于理解南海深海沉积物中岩性参数与弹性参数间的关系具有重要意义,并可为根据反射地震资料开展定量岩性参数预测提供依据。对现有的深海沉积物岩石物理模型包括Wood悬浮模型、等球体颗粒接触模型、Sun速度一孔隙度关系模型进行了综述。根据岩芯分析资料将1144站深海沉积物的矿物组分简化为粘土矿物、碳酸盐、陆源碎屑和硅质生物4类;其中后3种组分的弹性模量及密度值分别由其代表矿物——方解石、石英及蛋白石的理论值代替,粘土矿物组分的等效弹性模量和等效密度则分别由Voigt-Reuss-Hill平均和体积平均计算得出。将3种岩石物理模型应用于1144站,计算得出深海沉积物的纵波速度并将其与声波测井纵波速度进行比较。结果表明,Sun模型计算结果与实测结果的吻合最好,误差最小;Wood模型所得结果在浅层与实测结果较吻合,在深层与实测结果出现偏差,误差较小;而等球体颗粒接触模型计算结果整体偏高,误差较大。     

Controls on deglacial changes in biogenic fluxes in the North Pacific Ocean

The subarctic North Pacific Ocean holds a large CO₂ reservoir that is currently isolated from the atmosphere by a low-salinity layer. It has recently been hypothesized that the reorganization of these high-CO₂ waters may have played a crucial role in the degassing of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere during the last deglaciation. This reorganization would leave some imprint on paleo-productivity records. Here we present ²³⁰Th-normalized biogenic fluxes from an intermediate depth sediment core in the Northwest Pacific (RC10-196, 54.7°N, 177.1°E, 1007 m) and place them within the context of a synthesis of previously-published biogenic flux data from 49 deep-sea cores north of 20°N, ranging from 420 to 3968 m water depth. The ²³⁰Th-normalized opal, carbonate, and organic carbon fluxes from RC10-196 peak approximately 13,000 calendar years BP during the Bølling/Allerød (B/A) period. Our data synthesis suggests that biogenic fluxes were in general lowest during the last glacial period, increased somewhat in the Northwest Pacific during Heinrich Event 1, and reached a maximum across the entire North Pacific during the B/A period. We evaluate several mechanisms as possible drivers of deglacial change in biogenic fluxes in the North Pacific, including changes in preservation, sediment focusing, sea ice extent, iron inputs, stratification, and circulation shifts initiated in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Our analysis suggests that while micronutrient sources likely contributed to some of the observed changes, the heterogeneity in timing of glaciogenic retreat and sea level make these mechanisms unlikely causes of region-wide contemporaneous peaks in export production. We argue that paleo-observations are most consistent with ventilation increases in both the North Pacific (during H1) and North Atlantic (during B/A) being the primary drivers of increases in biogenic flux during the deglaciation, as respectively they were likely to bring nutrients to the surface via increased vertical mixing and shoaling of the global thermocline.     

Geochemistry and mineralogy of REY-rich mud in the eastern Indian Ocean

Deep-sea sediments in parts of the Pacific Ocean were recently found to contain remarkably high concentrations of rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY) of possible economic significance. Here we report similar REY-rich mud in a core section from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 213 in the eastern Indian Ocean. The sediments consist mainly of siliceous ooze, with subordinate zeolitic clay that contains relatively high REY concentrations. The maximum and average total REY (ΣREY) contents of this material are 1113 and 629 ppm, respectively, which are comparable to those reported from the Pacific Ocean. The REY-rich mud at Site 213 shows enrichment in heavy rare-earth elements, negative Ce anomalies, and relatively low Fe₂O₃/ΣREY ratios, similar to those in the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the major-element composition of the Indian Ocean REY-rich mud indicates slight enrichment in lithogenic components, which probably reflects a contribution from southern African eolian dust. A volcaniclastic component from neighboring mid-ocean ridges or intraplate volcanoes is also apparent. Elemental compositions and X-ray diffraction patterns for bulk sediment, and microscopic observation and elemental mapping of a polished thin section, demonstrate the presence of phillipsite and biogenic apatite, such as fish debris, in the REY-rich mud. The strong correlation between total REY content and apatite abundance implies that apatite plays an important role as a host phase of REY in the present deep-sea sediment column. However, positive correlations between ΣREY and elements not present in apatite (e.g., Fe₂O₃, MnO, and TiO₂) imply that the REY-rich mud is not formed by a simple mixture of REY-enriched apatite and other components.     

Climate variability at the southern boundaries of the Namib (southwestern Africa) and Atacama (northern Chile) coastal deserts during the last 120,000 yr

In this study, we present grain-size distributions of the terrigenous fraction of two deep-sea sediment cores from the SE Atlantic (offshore Namibia) and from the SE Pacific (offshore northern Chile), which we ‘unmix’ into subpopulations and which are interpreted as coarse eolian dust, fine eolian dust, and fluvial mud. The downcore ratios of the proportions of eolian dust and fluvial mud subsequently represent paleocontinental aridity records of southwestern Africa and northern Chile for the last 120,000 yr. The two records show a relatively wet Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) compared to a relatively dry Holocene, but different orbital variability on longer time scales. Generally, the northern Chilean aridity record shows higher-frequency changes, which are closely related to precessional variation in solar insolation, compared to the southwestern African aridity record, which shows a remarkable resemblance to the global ice-volume record. We relate the changes in continental aridity in southwestern Africa and northern Chile to changes in the latitudinal position of the moisture-bearing Southern Westerlies, potentially driven by the sea-ice extent around Antarctica and overprinted by tropical forcing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.     

Characteristics of Clay Minerals in the Northern South China Sea and Its Implications for Evolution of East Asian Monsoon since Miocene

Clay mineral assemblages, crystallinity, chemistry, and micromorphology of clay particles in sediments from ODP Site 1146 in the northern South China Sea (SCS) were analyzed, and used to trace sediment sources and obtain proxy records of the past changes in the East Asian monsoon climate since the Miocene, based on a multi-approach, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Clay minerals consist mainly of illite and smectite, with associated chlorite and kaolinite. The illite at ODP Site 1146 has very well-to-well crystallinity, and smectite has moderate-to-poor crystallinity. In SEM the smectite particles at ODP Site 1146 often appear cauliflower-like, a typical micromorphology of volcanic smecites. The smectite at ODP Site 1146 is relatively rich in Si element, but poor in Fe, very similar to the smectite from the West Philippine Sea. In contrast, the chemical composition of illite at ODP Site 1146 has no obvious differences from those of the Loess plateau, Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Pearl River. A further study on sediment source indicates that smectite originates mainly from Luzon, kaolinite from the Pearl River, and illite and chlorite from the Pearl River, Taiwan and/or the Yangtze River. The clay mineral assemblages at ODP Site 1146 were not only controlled by continental eathering regimes surrounding the SCS, but also by the changing strength of the transport processes. The ratios of (illite+chlorite)/smectite at ODP Site 1146 were adopted as proxies for the East Asian monsoon evolution. Relatively higher ratios reflect strongly intensified winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, in contrast, lower ratios indicate a strengthened summer monsoon relative to winter monsoon. The consistent variation of this clay proxy from those of Loess plateau, eolian deposition in the North Pacific, planktonic, benthic foraminifera, and black carbon in the SCS since 20 Ma shows that three profound shifts of the East Asian winter monsoon intensity, and aridity in the Asian inland and the intensity of winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, occurred at about 15 Ma, 8 Ma, and the younger at about 3 Ma. The phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau may have played a significant role in strengthening the Asian monsoon at 15 Ma, 8 Ma, and 3 Ma.     

横水西周墓地部分青铜器残留泥芯的矿物组成及成分分析

利用X射线衍射、X射线荧光光谱、显微镜观察等理化分析测试手段对山西绛县横水西周墓地部分青铜器残留的泥芯进行了成分、物相等检测分析,并与山西侯马、陕西扶风李家铸铜遗址进行了比较分析。结果表明,横水西周墓地泥芯与当地土壤在成分、物相等方面具有高度的一致性,说明多数青铜器可能在当地铸造而成。