Laboratory studies of depositional DRM

Summary. Acquisition of magnetic remanence in slurries of fme grained organic muds settling in long tubes is investigated using a cryogenic magnetometer. The average settling behaviour of remanence carrying grains relative to the whole sediment gives information about the relative magnetic grain size spectrum, whereas the response of settled deposits to vibration gives an indication of the degree of alignment of particles and their average shape.
Two classes of behaviour are apparent in both the time and field dependence of detrital remanent magnetization (DRM) acquisition. Dilute slurries settling in the Earth's field (analogous to detrital sedimentation) acquire a remanence which reaches a maximum after about 2 day, whereas for concentrated slurries (analogous to slumped or bioturbated sediments) this takes only a matter of minutes. The field dependence of DRM in dilute slurries is in plausible quantitative agreement with Stacey's extension of the classical Langevin expression for the susceptibility of a paramagnetic gas, whereas concentrated slurries show a quasi-linear dependence of DRM on the applied field. Inclination errors are generally absent, but do appear in fields less than about 0.5 Oe, and when the magnetic fraction settles out preferentially. A weak negative dependence of DRM on temperature is found, but the results are too crude to provide a further test of Stacey's theory.
Remanence acquisition in slurries settled in zero field indicates that short term post-depositional magnetization processes are relatively unimportant in slurries that have ceased to compact rapidly. A large increase in remanence from naturally occurring sediments to slowly redeposited long cores, to rapidly settled slurries is best explained as a feature of compaction.     

黄河下游主槽断面形态对水沙变化响应过程的模拟

准确把握环境变化下前期水沙条件对当前河床形态调整的影响,建立非平衡态河床形态调整的模拟方法,对深化河床非平衡调整过程的认识至关重要。基于黄河下游花园口—利津河段1965—2015年的水沙和沿程82个大断面数据,首先统计分析了不同河段主槽断面形态参数（面积、河宽、水深和河相系数）的调整过程及其对水沙变化的响应规律;进而以水沙因子作为主槽断面形态调整的主控因素,采用滞后响应模型的多步递推模式,建立了其对前期水沙条件变化的滞后响应模型。结果表明,各河段面积、河宽和水深经历了减小—增加—减小—增加的变化过程,并且其与4 a滑动平均流量和含沙量之间分别呈正相关和负相关;而河相系数孙口以上段整体减小,孙口以下段呈增加—减小—增加—减小的变化过程,除花高段1965—1999年外,其与流量呈负相关,与含沙量呈正相关。滞后响应模型在黄河下游主槽断面形态对前期水沙条件响应过程的应用表明,各参数模型计算值与实测值符合程度均较高,模型能够很好地模拟主槽断面形态对水沙变化的响应调整过程,模型计算结果显示主槽断面形态调整受当年在内的前8 a水沙条件的累积影响,当年和前7 a水沙条件对当前断面形态的影响权重分别约为30%和70%。本文模型有助于深化前期水沙条件对当前河床形态调整影响机理的认识,并为未来不同水沙情形下主槽断面形态的预测提供了有效计算方法。     

天山独库公路冰川泥石流堆积与冰碛石组构特征

通过对独库公路三岔河道班沟等处泥石流扇形地上不同形态的泥石流堆积、冰川堆积和岩屑坡的沉积砾石组构对比研究,发现在不同沉积相中,砾石ab面的组构特点互不相同,都随其不同的沉积动力和地形等沉积条件的差别而有别,所以利用砾石组构这一研究方法,不但可划分不同的沉积相,而且在第四纪地质与沉积学研究中具有重要的意义。     

Surface tension phenomena in the magnetization of sediments

Summary. This paper examines the role of surface tension effects in the post-depositional magnetization of a sediment. After deposition, magnetic grains experience both frictional and magnetic forces but during dessication surface tension forces also become important. It is shown from order of magnitude calculations that surface tension forces will predominate for grains smaller than about 1.3 mm and therefore remanence changes may occur in fine grained sediments upon drying. A simple model predicts that in a moist sediment containing bladed magnetic particles the effect of vertical fluctuations in the level of saturation will be to shallow the remanent inclination.
Remanence changes due to surface tension are demonstrated in a controlled experiment with synthetic sediment. Implications for sediment palaeomagnetism are discussed and alternative drying procedures for sediments are suggested.     

Sedimentation Patterns of Photosynthetic Bacteria Based on Pigment Markers in Meromictic Lake La Cruz (Spain): Paleolimnological Implications

Sedimentation fluxes of photosynthetic pigments and their derivatives, focused on the anoxygenic bacteria populations, were determined in meromictic Lake La Cruz over a three-year period using sediment traps. Bacterial settling occurs in pulses in response to lake dynamics. Two main annual events affect particle settling in Lake La Cruz: (1) Following an event of massive calcium precipitation in summer that caused water whiting, a maximum flux of chlorophyll a and derivatives towards the sediment was registered. Although whiting is accompanied by massive phytoplankton biomass sinking, it was not followed by concomitant photosynthetic bacterial sinking. (2) In contrast, the disruption of the chemocline and the contact of bacterial populations with oxygenated waters during autumn overturn provoked a destruction of the sulfur bacterial plate, causing mass mortality, registered in the settling material as photosynthetic pigments and their derivatives from phototrophic bacteria. Among the bacteriochlorophyll a oxidation products, bacterioviridin (bvir) was detected in high relative abundance in the settled material collected by sediment traps. The much increased flux of bvir after thermal overturn, associated with mass mortality of the purple sulfur bacterium, Amoebobacter purpureus, confirms the suitability of this molecule as a useful paleoindicator of the degree of oxygen exposure experienced by the purple sulfur bacteria population.     

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Edelvang, Karen; Larsen, Michael; Pejrup, Morten: Tidal Variation in Field Settling Velocities of Suspended Sediment in a Tidal Channel. Geografisk Tidsskrift 92:116–121. Copenhagen 1992.

Particles of silt and clay may form large, low density floes when suspended in salt water. The sediment floes have settling velocities much higher than the single small particles constituting them and therefore, the flocculation process may strongly influence the transport of cohesive sediment in estuarine environments. will be described in this paper, the field settling velocities of suspended sediment were investigated in a large tidal channel with tidal current velocities up to 1.3 m/s and depths of about 10 m. The analyses of suspended sediment were made on both bottom and surface samples. For the bottom samples, equivalent median fall diameters in the range 26–98 μm were measured. For surface samples, the range was 15–40 μm. During most of the tidal period, the occurrence of much larger settling diameters near the bottom was due to the suspension of individual sand and silt particles. For the investigated periods, high-tide was the only possible time to observe flocculation influencing the vertical distribution of finegrained sediment in the water column.     

Neogene magnetic polarity stratigraphy of some fluviatile Siwalik sections, Nepal

The magnetostratigraphy of five new sections through the Neogene Siwalik Group of Nepal is presented. Rock magnetic experiments and detailed thermal demagnetization experiments prove that haematite is the carrier of a primary DRM or a PDRM. After stepwise thermal demagnetization of specimens from all sections, directions of characteristic remanent magnetization were obtained. The results show a positive reversal test and exhibit inclination errors of about 20. Due to gaps in exposures and extremely variable demagnetization behaviour of the haematite-bearing sediments, the resulting polarity sequences are poorly defined for some parts of the sections. However, double-sampled parts of some sections yield similar results. A correlation with the Surai Khola section (Appel, Rösler & Corvinus 1991) is proposed, based on rock magnetic parameters. AMS results from three of the sections prove the existence of primary sedimentary magnetic fabrics in these sections with systematic orientations of minimum and maximum susceptibility axes. Correlation with a standard polarity timescale indicates that the ages of all new sections lie within the age limits of the Surai Khola section.     

Geomagnetic secular variations in Greece through the last 6000 years obtained from lake sediment studies

Summary. Geomagnetic declination and inclination secular variation curves have been constructed back to 6000 yr bp from palaeomagnetic measurements of sediments cored in Lakes Volvi, Trikhonis and Begoritis, Greece. They have been dated by palynological studies and by comparison with observatory and archaeomagnetic records. Radiocarbon ages are all affected by the'old carbon'factor. Cores from all three lakes contain a thin ash layer which we associate with the Pompeii eruption of Vesuvius in ad 79. Averaged curves of secular variations of declination and inclination have been computed for the whole study. The broader scale pattern of secular variations is basically similar to lake sediment records from the UK, Poland and Switzerland, though finer detail in the structure of some of the principal features is resolved.     

Abrupt onset of carbonate deposition in Lake Kivu during the 1960s: response to recent environmental changes

This study interprets the recent history of Lake Kivu, a tropical lake in the East African Rift Valley. The current gross sedimentation was characterized from a moored sediment trap array deployed over 2 years. The past net sedimentation was investigated with three short cores from two different basins. Diatom assemblages from cores were interpreted as reflecting changes in mixing depth, surface salinity and nutrient availability. The contemporary sediment trap data indicate seasonal variability, governed by diatom blooms during the annual mixing in the dry season, similar to Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika. The ratio of settling fluxes to net sediment accumulation rates implies mineralization rates of 80–90% at the sediment-water interface. The sediment cores revealed an abrupt change ~40 years ago, when carbonate precipitation started. Since the 1960s, deep-water methane concentrations, nutrient fluxes and soil mineral inputs have increased considerably and diatom assemblages have altered. These modifications probably resulted from a combination of three factors, commonly altering lake systems: the introduction of a non-native fish species, eutrophication, and hydrological changes inducing greater upwelling. Both the fish introduction and increased rainfall occurred at the time when the onset of carbonate precipitation was observed, whereas catchment population growth accompanied by intensified land use increased the flux of soil minerals already since the early twentieth century due to more intense erosion.     

Lake sediment record of the geomagnetic secular variation in Britain during Holocene times

Summary. A palaeomagnetic record of the geomagnetic secular variation during the last 10000 years has been obtained from 10 cores of sediment from Loch Lomond, Scotland, Lake Windermere, North England, and Llyn Geirionydd, North Wales. A time-scale is provided by 30 radiocarbon age determinations and pollen analyses on several of the cores. The main swings and much fine detail of both declination and inclination records repeat well between cores and between lakes, and the overall record is much more detailed than previous European records.
The new record shows that neither declination nor inclination swings have been periodic over the past 10000 years, but that the main swings have become progressively shorter in duration during that time. Each swing is characterized by fine detail which enables use of the record as a secondary method of dating other European sediments.
The motion of the geomagnetic vector has been predominantly clockwise throughout the time period spanned, but confirms a period of anticlockwise motion from 1100 to 600 bp first discovered by British archaeomagnetic investigations. The record agrees with British and Czechoslovakian archaeomagnetic records, but not with Japanese archaeomagnetic or North American lake sediment records. This suggests that the secular changes are controlled by local growing and decaying, drifting sources, rather than by wobbling of the main geomagnetic dipole.     

Fidelity and time resolution of the magnetostratigraphic record in Siwalik sediments: high-resolution study of a complete polarity transition and evidence for cryptochrons in a Miocene fluviatile section

The Surai Khola section in southwest Nepal, a 5000 m continuously exposed record of fluvial sedimentation since Middle Miocene, was revisited for high-resolution magnetostratigraphy in sequences with expected cryptochrons and reversals of the geomagnetic field. Polarity intervals with durations of a few tens of thousands of years are recorded as zones of stable palaeomagnetic directions. Polarity transitions are recorded as zones with complex demagnetization behaviour of specimens in the sedimentary column. Almost antiparallel palaeoremanence directions, residing in different haematite phases in the same specimens, could generally not be separated properly by thermal demagnetization. Differing demagnetization paths for neighbouring specimens during a reversal suggest that measured transitional directions are not true geomagnetic field directions, but rather are generated by the superposition of variable amounts of at least two almost antiparallel components of magnetization. Accompanying studies of recent river sand deposits demonstrate that these sediments acquire a true depositional remanent magnetization (DRM) with considerable inclination errors and scattered directions for individual specimens.     

A Late Holocene geomagnetic secular variation record from Erhai Lake, southwest China

A secular variation record of the geomagnetic field direction for the last 6.5  kyr has been obtained from the magnetization of sediment cores from Erhai Lake, southwest China. In order to make a comparison with this record, secular variation in east-central China was investigated by combining available magnetic field data from historical records and archaeomagnetic measurements since about 350 bc . The secular variation in Erhai Lake shows features consistent with the combined record, except for the oldest three observed declination swings in Sian from 720 to 900 ad . Many features of declination and inclination in China also occur in Japan. From 500 to 1000 ad , declination was westerly ranging from about −20° to −5° in Erhai Lake, east-central China, and Japan.     

Gyroremanent magnetization and the magnetic properties of greigite-bearing clays in southern Sweden

The acquisition of a gyroremanent magnetization (GRM) by single-domain (SD) greigite particles during alternating-field (AF) demagnetization is demonstrated. Previous palaeomagnetic studies failed to identify the presence of authigenic greigite in the glacio-marine clays studied. These clays formed the subject of an earlier debate about the validity of a Late Weichselian geomagnetic excursion (the Gothenburg Flip) in southern Sweden. The greigite carries a stable chemical remanent magnetization (CRM), which coexists with a detrital remanent magnetization (DRM) carried by magnetite. AF demagnetization could not isolate the primary remanence in the sediments where magnetite and greigite coexist, due to the overlapping coercivity spectra of the two minerals and the inability to determine the time lag between sediment deposition and CRM formation. Thermal demagnetization removed the CRM at temperatures below 400 C, but this method was hindered by the unconsolidated nature of the sediments and the formation of secondary magnetic minerals at higher temperatures. The results suggest that the low-coercivity DRM carried by magnetite was mistaken for a 'viscous' component in the earlier studies. Hence the former debate about the record of the Gothenburg Flip may have been based on erroneous palaeomagnetic interpretations or non-reproducible results. AF demagnetization procedures applied to samples suspected of bearing SD magnetic particles (such as greigite) should be carefully selected to recognize and account for GRM acquisition.     

The acquisition of post-depositional detrital remanent magnetization in a variety of natural sediments

Summary. Post-depositional detrital remanent magnetization (pDRM) is the primary means whereby many sediments acquire their palaeomagnetic signal. We have studied the acquisition of this magnetization in a variety of natural sediments. Our technique involves determining the magnetic direction recorded by a sediment as a function of the water content present in the sediment when the sediment experiences a change in the direction of the applied magnetic field. Most of the sediments used in this study were collected wet from natural environments and were preserved in their original state until they were used in the experiments. Grain sizes were measured by the settling tube method which led to the determination of the clay, silt and sand fractions in each sediment. Isothermal remanent magnetization acquisition studies indicated that the predominant magnetic carriers were magnetite. In the pDRM acquisition studies two distinct modes of behaviour were found. For sediments with a sand content less than 60 per cent, the original direction of magnetization was preserved regardless of the water content. Such behaviour is not consistent with a theoretical model which assumes that at high water contents the magnetic carriers remain mobile within fluid-filled voids and hence are able to realign along a new magnetic field direction. For sediments with a sand content in excess of 60%, remagnetization along a new magnetic field direction occurred as expected, provided the sediments were sufficiently wet. Studies of natural sediments and corresponding samples of dried and reconstituted sediments have demonstrated that the magnetic characterization of a sediment can be reliably determined even for older, desiccated sediments.     

Current-scattered (?) detrital remanence directions in the Zn-rich Pennsylvanian Stark black shale, USA

Palaeomagnetic results are reported from the metalliferous Stark black shale in the Upper Pennsylvanian (Missourian/Kasimovian) Kansas City Group. Palaeomagnetic analysis of 400 specimens from 28 sites gives a characteristic remanent magnetization in 17 sites of the shale that yields a Late Mississippian to Middle Pennsylvanian palaeopole at 32.2°N 128.5°E (dp = 4.7° and dm = 8.8°). The observed palaeomagnetic age is slightly older than the host rock, indicating that the mineralization of the Stark Shale has, excluding recent alteration, a primary sedimentary or syngenetic origin. The reason for the slightly older age is likely due to trace modern hematite that slightly steepens the remanence inclination. The large oval of 95 per cent confidence is interpreted to be caused by clay–magnetite aggregates that formed during sediment transport and the biasing effect of the gentle palaeocurrent at each site acting on the large aggregates. Therefore, the scattered distribution of the site mean remanence declinations found for the Stark Shale is evidence of a detrital remanent magnetization that is formed by primary sedimentary processes with an enriched metallic content and not remagnetization with mineralization by secondary hydrothermal processes.     

Refining the palaeoecology of lacustrine testate amoebae: insights from a plant macrofossil record from a eutrophic Scottish lake

Lakes are common natural systems for which sedimentation is considered to be relatively simple, generally dominated by fluvial processes along the margin and prevailing low-energy settling in the central, deeper parts. However, for many lakes, higher-energy wind-driven processes dominate. As such, a new category of lakes is proposed, herein referred to as wind-driven waterbodies (WWB). WWB display a sedimentation largely dominated by wave related processes and wind-induced lake-scale water circulation evidenced by the construction of beach ridges, spits or cuspate spits along their shorelines, and by sediment drifts, sedimentary shelf progradation and erosional surfaces in their deeper, offshore domains. WWB are observed worldwide, they share a common physiography that favours wind-forced hydrodynamics and related sedimentation patterns. This physiography is expressed by the I_WWB index, a ratio of the maximum representative fetch relative to mean basin depth. It is proposed that an index value greater than three favours the evolution of a lake as a WWB. The WWB concept represents a new end-member in an alternative, sedimentologically-based lake classification that is proposed in this paper.     

Palaeomagnetism of Holocene lake sediments from north Poland

Summary. Detailed palaeomagnetic investigations of 17 cores of Holocene lake sediments from four lakes in Poland show a pattern of declination variations similar to those found in Lake Windermere, England and in addition a well defined pattern of inclination variations. A total of nine inclination swings are observed compared to five declination swings and their phase relationships are such that both sets of swings cannot be periodic. Exact dating of the palaeomagnetic record is not possible as radiocarbon ages are over 1000 yr older than those deduced from palynological studies. Thermomagnetic and X-ray studies on magnetic concentrates confirm the results of studies of remanence cooling, IRM acquisition and coercivity experiments which are consistent with fine grained magnetite as the main magnetic mineral in the sediments.     

Cardinal directions: a comparison of direction relation matrix and objects interaction matrix

How to express and reason with cardinal directions between extended objects such as lines and regions is an important problem in qualitative spatial reasoning (QSR), a common subfield of geographical information science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The direction relation matrix (DRM) model, proposed by Goyal and Egenhofer in 1997, is one very expressive relation model for this purpose. Unlike many other relation models in QSR, the set-theoretic converse of a DRM relation is not necessarily representable in DRM. Schneider et al. regard this as a serious shortcoming and propose, in their work published in ACM TODS (2012), the objects interaction matrix (OIM) model for modelling cardinal directions between complex regions. OIM is also a tiling-based model that consists of two phases: the tiling phase and the interpretation phase. Although it was claimed that OIM is a novel concept, we show that it is not so different from DRM if we represent the cardinal direction of two regions a and b by both the DRM of a to b and that of b to a. Under this natural assumption, we give methods for computing DRMs from OIMs and vice versa, and show that OIM is almost the same as DRM in the tiling phase, and becomes less precise after interpretation. Furthermore, exploiting the similarity between the two models, we prove that the consistency of a complete basic OIM network can be decided in cubic time. This answers an open problem raised by Schneider et al. regarding efficient algorithms for reasoning with OIM.     

河口海岸中长时间尺度动力地貌系统模拟研究与进展

我国河口海岸动力沉积和动力地貌研究以沉积学和地貌学的方法侧重静态描述,动力地貌相互作用的定量研究不多,与缺少动力地貌模型技术有关。本文介绍了中长时间尺度的河口海岸动力地貌模型技术及其发展和应用,讨论了决定动力地貌演变的泥沙余输运及引起泥沙余输运的主要动力因子,介绍了动力地貌模型的应用进展,进而分析了河口海岸地貌过程的机制和地貌平衡系统。本文指出对淤泥质及复杂动力条件下的河口海岸动力地貌过程还有待进一步研究。     

Laghi di Monticchio (Southern Italy,Region Basilicata): genesis of sediments—a geochemical study

The sedimentation record of Lago Grande di Monticchio (LGM) is one of the most prominent paleoclimatic archives in the non-glaciated areas of Europe. However, the modern lake system has never been the subject of intense limnological studies. On the basis of hydrochemical water profiles, detailed investigations of sediment short cores and in situ pore water profiles from the littoral to the profundal zone, we elucidate spatial variations of sediment genesis within the lake basin and the importance of various depth sections for the lake’s internal nutrient cycling. Sediments from the smaller meromictic Lago Piccolo di Montichio are discussed as a reference. Our study demonstrates: (i) distinctly higher sediment accumulation for the centre of the lake basin by focussing of the settling particle flux; (ii) decline of carbonate from the littoral to the profundal zones; (iii) non-synchronous change of calcite net-accumulation for various water depths; (iv) exceptionally high cation release from sediments covering the steeply inclining sector of the lake basin; (v) relatively constant dissolved silica concentrations in the pore waters (SiO₂ ∼42 mg/l) independent of water depth and sediment composition; (vi) influx of oxygen-bearing groundwater into the anoxic hypolimnion after heavy rainfall and the associated precipitation of Fe-oxihydroxides; (vii) higher release of NH₄ by anaerobic degradation of organic matter at a water depth of 23 m than for sediments at a maximum water depth of 32 m, whereby the latter reflects the importance of seasonal sediment re-oxidation for anaerobic degradation of organic debris; (viii) although seasonal re-oxidation of sediments from various water depths is quite different, Oxygen Index values of LGM sediments fall in a small range, which reflects rapid microbial consumption of seasonally re-generated easily bio-degradable organic molecules.