A log‐normal spectral analysis of inorganic grain‐size distributions from a Canadian boreal lake core: Towards refining depositional process proxy data from high latitude lakes

Better methods for interpreting grain‐size spectra will enhance current understanding of past transport–depositional processes. A high‐resolution inorganic grain‐size dataset has been measured from a freeze core extracted from ‘Alberta Lake E’ a boreal fresh water lake 40 km east of the Athabasca Oil Sands in north‐eastern Alberta, Canada. The grain‐size spectra are remarkably consistent throughout the core, exhibiting a structure comprising six persistent grain‐size distributions below ca 250 μm, plus a rare medium‐sand distribution. Automated deconvolution of the grain‐size spectra produced poor results. Constraining the modes of two of the distributions produced deconvolution solutions that were statistically excellent and consistent with the structure of each spectrum. Statistical analysis of the ‘constrained’ solutions indicates that deconvolution successfully extracted independent grain‐size populations. Conversely, the multimodal spectra generate traditional measures (for example, mean grain size) that are inconsistent combinations of different individual populations and thus are poor proxies of transport–depositional processes. Alberta Lake E is situated in a boreal wetland landscape where sediment delivery is dominated by overland flow transport during spring melt. This context means that the Alberta Lake E grain‐size spectra can be interpreted to reflect: (i) a bedload component transported during short‐duration high discharge events that reflect the intensity of the melt; and (ii) a finer suspended load component representing material whose magnitude is controlled by the volume of the spring melt. Stratigraphically, bedload and suspended load populations demonstrate different short‐wavelength and long‐wavelength cyclicity, suggesting that spring melt is likely to be driven by cyclic external forcing factors. The links between the grain‐size spectra and spring melt have potential for generating proxy records that better capture the external controls over spring melt in boreal systems and the risks associated with these energetic hydrodynamics. This is exemplified by the coarsest Alberta Lake E distributions, which indicate that more intense spring‐melt dynamics occurred in pre‐historical times.     

Inter‐instrument comparison of particle‐size analysers

This paper presents a methodological framework for inter‐instrument comparison of different particle‐size analysers. The framework consists of: (i) quantifying the difference between complete particle‐size distributions; (ii) identifying the best regression model for homogenizing data sets of particle‐size distributions measured by different instruments; (iii) quantifying the precision of a range of particle‐size analysers; and (iv) identifying the most appropriate instrument for analysing a given set of samples. The log‐ratio transform is applied to particle‐size distributions throughout this study to avoid the pitfalls of analysing percentage‐frequency data in ‘closed‐space’. A Normalized Distance statistic is used to quantify the difference between particle‐size distributions and assess the performance of log‐ratio regression models. Forty‐six different regression models are applied to sediment samples measured by both sieve‐pipette and laser analysis. Interactive quadratic regression models offer the best means of homogenizing data sets of particle‐size distributions measured by different instruments into a comparable format. However, quadratic interactive log‐ratio regression models require a large number of training samples (n > 80) to achieve optimal performance compared to linear regression models (n = 50). The precision of ten particle‐size analysis instruments was assessed using a data set of ten replicate measurements made of four previously published silty sediment samples. Instrument precision is quantified as the median Normalized Difference measured between the ten replicate measurements made for each sediment sample. The Differentiation Power statistic is introduced to assess the ability of each instrument to detect differences between the four sediment samples. Differentiation Power scores show that instruments based on laser diffraction principles are able to differentiate most effectively between the samples of silty sediment at a 95% confidence level. Instruments applying the principles of sedimentation offer the next most precise approach.     

海南昌化江入海口底表沉积物粒度特征及输运趋势

对海南岛昌化江入海口110个底表沉积物样品进行了粒度分析,并利用二维沉积物粒径趋势分析模型对沉积物粒度参数开展趋势分析.研究结果表明,按照Folk沉积物分类三角图解法,昌化江入海口外底表沉积物可划分为含砾砂、砂、砾质泥质砂、砂质砾、粉砂、泥、砂质泥、砾质砂、砂质粉砂和粉砂质砂共10种沉积物类型,其中砂和砾组分的分布范围...     

Changes in fine sediment size distributions due to interactions with streambed sediments

In the classical view of fine sediment transport and deposition in streams, particles are expected to be removed from flowing water simply by direct sedimentation onto the streambed. However, recent research has demonstrated that fine sediments can propagate into pore spaces in the streambed due to hyporheic exchange and be removed by a combination of physical and chemical processes. This behaviour can significantly alter fine sediment size distributions during in-stream sediment transport because the physical transport of fine particles and their attachment to bed sediment grains are both a function of the particle size. Herein, we present model simulations for deposition of suspended sediments with a bimodal size distribution. We also applied this approach to analyse the results of laboratory flume observations of suspended sediment deposition. Results from model simulations and flume experiments clearly show that the rate of particle deposition increases with increasing particle size. Thus, the larger particles are preferentially removed from mixtures and there is a fining of the mixed suspensions over time. Both particle deposition mechanisms, i.e. particle sedimentation and filtration, contribute to the fining of the mixed fine particle suspensions over time, and their effects are clearly demonstrated using the fundamental process-based model. These results clearly demonstrate the effects of stream-subsurface exchange on the temporal evolution of the suspended fine sediment size distribution in downstream transport.     

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.     

Sediment provenance of the Wilderness barrier dunes,southern Cape coast,South Africa

Trace‐element geochemistry has been used to discern the provenance of sediments derived from geologically distinct sources found in a range of depositional settings. This study investigates whether this approach can also identify provenance signatures in sediments derived from clastic sedimentary rocks of similar origins, within a complex coastal transport environment. The potential local sediment sources of a coastal barrier dune in South Africa were analysed to assess their relationships with the barrier and whether these have varied with time. Results indicate that the oldest part of the barrier, partly formed during MIS 6 when sea levels were lower than at present, has a closer affinity to fluvial sediment provided by local rivers than either younger samples from the barrier′s seaward flank or the Holocene dunes atop its crest, both formed during sea‐level highstands. Constraints on the timing of barrier formation provided by OSL dating proved helpful in discriminating between provenance and weathering signals. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Inferring the mass fraction of floc-deposited mud: application to fine-grained turbidites

Fine sediment deposition in the ocean is complicated by the cohesive nature of muds and their tendency to flocculate. The result is disaggregated inorganic grain size (DIGS) distributions of bottom sediment that are influenced by single‐grain and floc deposition. This study outlines a parametric model that characterizes bottom sediment DIGS distributions. Modelled parameters are then used to infer depositional conditions that account for the regional variation in the grain sizes deposited by turbidity currents on the Laurentian Fan–Sohm Abyssal Plain, offshore south‐eastern Canada. Results indicate that, on the channellized Laurentian Fan, the mass fraction of floc‐deposited mud increases only slightly downslope. The small evolution in this fraction arises because sediment concentration and turbulent energy are associated in turbidity currents. On the Sohm Abyssal Plain, however, the mass fraction of floc‐deposited mud decreases, probably as a result of lower sediment concentration at this source‐distal site. Estimates of the mass fraction of mud deposited as flocs suggest that floc deposition is the dominant mode by which sediment is lost from suspension, although single‐grain deposition contributes more to the depositional flux in proximal areas where high energy breaks flocs and in distal areas where low sediment concentration limits floc formation. It is concluded that, throughout the dispersal system, changes in the fraction of flocculated mud deposited from turbidity currents reflect changes in sediment concentration and energy downslope.     

Bedload transport of aggregated muddy alluvium from Cooper Creek, central Australia: a flume study

The ability of mud aggregates to form depositional bedforms is of considerable sedimentological importance for explaining the geomorphology of the Channel Country of central Australia as well as for understanding the depositional environment of certain argillaceous fluvial sequences in the rock record. The sediment transport and bedform development of mud aggregates from the floodplain of Cooper Creek, central Australia, was examined in a laboratory flume over a range of flow conditions. The aggregates were found to be clay-rich (>60% clay), nonsaline (<0·02%), fine sand-sized (mean d₅₀=0·13 mm), low density (2300 kg m^?3) and water-stable. Three wetting rates were applied to the sediment in the laboratory prior to wet sieving to replicate various field conditions and results in three mean aggregate sizes. Immersion wetting (no tension) represents inundation of the sediment by overland flow and results in aggregates of 0·13 mm. Tension wetting at 20 and 50 mm corresponds to high- and low-intensity rainfall and results in mean d₅₀ sizes of 0·75 and 0·70 mm, respectively. Immersion wetting is the most applicable wetting mode for hydraulic transport of aggregated sediment on the Cooper Creek floodplain. Considerable variability in sediment transport rates in the field could result from differences in pre-wetting of the aggregated sediment. The dominance of smectite in the clay mineralogy of the sediment is an important factor in the development of the aggregates; disaggregated sediment reaggregated in a laboratory after 2–3 wetting/drying cycles. In flume experiments, bedforms of aggregated mud ranging from lower-regime plane beds to upper-regime antidunes were observed. The aggregates moved predominantly as bedload with measured peak bedload concentrations being high compared with other flume studies. The highly mobile nature of this sediment in the field is due to the ready entrainment of low-density aggregates in the form of self-mulching vertisols across extensive floodplains. The occurrence of low-sinuosity braid-like channels on this extensive low-gradient semi-arid floodplain can be attributed to: (a) the passage of floodwaters across a floodplain with steeper gradients than adjacent more sinuous anastomosing channels; (b) the highly mobile nature of the low-density sediment aggregates; (c) the ability of the aggregates to be transported as bedload; and (d) their durable nature during transport.     

Modern sedimentation processes in Lake Towuti,Indonesia, revealed by the composition of surface sediments

Lake Towuti on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, is located within the heart of the Indo‐Pacific Warm Pool. This tropical lake is surrounded by ultramafic (ophiolitic) rocks and lateritic soils that create a unique ferruginous depositional setting. In order to understand modern sediment deposition in Lake Towuti, a set of 84 lake surface sediment samples was collected from across the entirety of the lake and samples were analyzed for their physical, chemical, mineralogical and biological constituents. End‐member analyses were carried out to elucidate modern sediment origin, transport and depositional processes. This study found that allochthonous sediment, characterized by the concentrations of the elements Mg, Fe, Si and Al, as well as the clay and serpentine minerals, is dominated by fluvial supply from five distinct source areas. Granulometric data and the occurrence of organic matter of a terrestrial origin suggest that, in the southern and north‐eastern parts of the lake the near‐shore sediments may additionally be influenced by mass wasting. This is due at least partly to the particularly steep slopes in these areas. Furthermore, sediment composition suggests that sediment transport into deeper parts of the lake, particularly in the northern basin, is partly controlled by gravitational and density‐driven processes such as turbidity currents. Directional sediment transport by persistent lake currents, in contrast, appears to be less important. Organic matter deposition in the ultra‐oligotrophic lake, albeit limited, is dominated by autochthonous production, but with some contribution of fluvial and gravitational supply. Biogenic silica deposition, primarily from diatom frustules and sponge spicules, is very limited and is concentrated in only a few areas close to the shoreline that are characterized by shallow waters, but away from the areas of high suspension loads at the mouths of the major inlets. The results of this study build upon current and published work on short piston cores from Lake Towuti. Conversely, the results will support the interpretation of the depositional history and past climatic and environmental conditions derived from the composition of much longer records, which were obtained by the Towuti Drilling Project in May 2015 and are currently under investigation.     

Origin of Carboniferous sandstones fringing the northern margin of the Wales‐Brabant Massif: insights from detrital zircon ages

A study of detrital zircon age populations in Namurian–Westphalian (Carboniferous) sandstones in the southern Central Pennine Basin of the UK has revealed considerable complexity in their provenance history. The Pendleian–Marsdenian Morridge Formation, which is known to have been derived from the Wales‐Brabant Massif to the south on the basis of palaeocurrent and petrographic information, is dominated by zircons ultimately derived from the Caledonian belt to the north. These zircons were recycled from sandstones of northern origin that had been previously deposited over the massif during Middle to Late Devonian times. The Morridge Formation also includes Late Neoproterozoic zircons of local Wales‐Brabant Massif origin. The south lobe of the Yeadonian Rough Rock has been previously interpreted as having a complex provenance including sediment of northern origin interbedded with sediment ascribed to a Wales‐Brabant Massif source. However, the zircon spectrum lacks a Late Neoproterozoic component that would have been diagnostic of input from the Wales‐Brabant Massif, and the provenance history of the Rough Rock south lobe therefore remains enigmatic. The Langsettian Ludgbridge Conglomerate is dominated by Late Neoproterozoic zircons of Wales‐Brabant Massif origin, but even in this evidently proximal deposit, the provenance is complex since the main zircon group (ca. 640 Ma) cannot be matched with known local Neoproterozoic basement sources. The data either indicate the presence of hitherto‐unknown magmatic rocks of this age adjacent to the South Staffordshire coalfield or indicate that the zircons were recycled from sediment with a more distal origin. Finally, the Duckmantian Top Hard Rock contains zircons that can be reconciled with a source in the Irish Caledonides, consistent with the palaeocurrent evidence, supplemented by zircons derived from the Wales‐Brabant Massif, possibly including the Monian Composite Terrane of Anglesey. The study reinforces the important message that failure to recognize the presence of recycled zircon could lead to erroneous reconstructions of sediment provenance and transport history. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Linking pattern to process in reef sediment dynamics at Lady Musgrave Island,southern Great Barrier Reef

Linking surficial sediment patterns in reef environments to the processes that underlie their depositional dynamics enables predictions to be made of how environmental changes will influence reef‐associated sedimentary landforms, such as islands and beaches. Geomorphic linkages between sediment deposition patterns and the biophysical processes that drive them are often poorly resolved, particularly at broad landscape scales where tangible statements can be made about structural changes to landforms. The present study applies geospatial techniques to link patterns in reef sediment dynamics at Lady Musgrave Island to the underlying processes driving them. In situ calcification is characterized by developing a high resolution map of the surficial calcium carbonate producing communities inhabiting the reef platform, and associated sediments across the reef flat are analysed for grain size, kurtosis, sorting and threshold bed shear stress to explore transport pathways across the reef flat and lagoon. Wave energy is modelled across the entire reef platform as a potential driver of sediment dynamics, and morphometric linkages are empirically defined between wave energy and grain size. Findings indicate that carbonate sediments are primarily sourced from calcifying communities colonizing the outer periphery of the reef platform and that sediment grain size can be reliably linked to wave energy by virtue of a linear model.     

The characteristics of aeolian sediment flux profiles in the south‐eastern Tengger Desert

Deserts are one of the most important dust sources in the world. Because dust content changes as a function of height at low levels in the atmosphere, this affects long‐term dust transport. In this paper, field data measured above shifting sands in the south‐eastern Tengger Desert were used to analyse the vertical distribution of sediment fluxes in the near‐surface layer (0 to 48 m). It was possible to express horizontal sediment flux as a power function, but aeolian deposition as a function of height could be expressed as an exponential function. There are two curve types for the particle size distributions in the horizontal sediment flux and aeolian deposition: bimodal and unimodal curves. For the horizontal sediment flux and aeolian deposition, heights of 24 m and 32 m, respectively, were the key heights in the size distribution curve; below these heights, the curve was bimodal, whereas above these heights, it was unimodal. At heights of 4 to 16 m, and especially between 8 m and 12 m, the data were particularly interesting because the sediment size, transport mode, degree of sorting, and the skewness and kurtosis change. For the horizontal sediment flux, wind turbulence moved saltating particles higher than expected.     

The influence of grain-size analysis methods and sediment mixing on curve shapes and textural parameters: Implications for sediment trend analysis

To this day, deterministic physical models capable of explaining the evolution of grain-size distributions in the course of transport are still lacking. For this reason, various attributes of particle frequency distributions, in particular curve shapes and textural parameters, have for many decades been investigated for potential information about transport behaviour and size-sorting processes of sediments in numerous environments. Such approaches are essentially conceptual and hence rely heavily on the validity of the assumptions on which they are based. A factor which has to date been largely ignored in this context, is the fact that different methods of grain-size analysis (e. g. sieving, laser absorption and diffraction, settling velocity measurements), when applied to the same sample material, produce variable curve shapes, and hence incongruous textural data. This is illustrated by selected examples showing the differences between sieving and settling results, conversion of settling velocities into equivalent settling diameters (psi-phi-transformations), and the influences of particle shape, particle density, and water temperature. It is demonstrated that particle-size distributions are not only method-dependent but also dependent on the adopted post-processing procedure. As a result, only frequency curves generated by the same method and subsequently processed by identical computational procedures can be meaningfully compared. Furthermore, the computation of textural parameters from bi- or multimodal size distributions produces spurious results which are unrelated to the processes leading to the mixing of different size populations frequently observed in nature. In such cases, only the decomposition of such distributions into individual populations and the spatial comparison of such populations makes any sense. Because a physical explanation for the generation of size distributions is lacking, a particular curve shape of a grain-size population has no meaning on its own. Only a systematic comparison of progressively changing curve shapes (and associated textural parameters) of sediments collected on a closely spaced grid can yield data suitable for sediment trend analysis.     

福建安海湾表层沉积物粒度特征及其现代沉积过程分析

通过对福建安海湾表层沉积物的粒度分析和对比,应用系统聚类分析、粒径趋势模型和切应力计算公式,探讨了研究区粒度的分布特征、沉积环境分区、表层沉积物输运趋势及其影响因素.研究结果表明,研究区包括6种表层沉积物类型,以黏土质粉砂和粉砂为主,沉积物大体呈现自海湾两侧潮滩向潮汐通道变粗的分布趋势.表层沉积物粒度的分布特征与水动力条件和物质来源密切相关,湾口附近及湾内深槽内,细颗粒的沉积物被再悬浮带走,粗颗粒的含量增大;在湾内潮滩上,悬浮物质因水动力作用逐渐减弱发生分选沉降,形成向岸变细的横向分异.海湾外泥沙随潮流不断地向海湾东侧岸滩运移,海湾周边陆源来沙由湾顶部往湾口方向下泄,两者是导致表层沉积物出现明显的顺时针方向汇聚趋势的原因之一;表层沉积物的输运趋势、悬浮泥沙的输运、潮滩植被与湾口沙嘴的遮蔽效应共同影响了研究区内浅滩地形的形成和变化.研究区可分为四类沉积环境区,以潮滩和潮汐通道环境为主,不同沉积区内的粒度参数、粒级频率和敏感粒级均有差异,动力条件差异和不同物源的影响程度是现代沉积环境格局的主要影响因素.     

Deposits of depletive high-density turbidity currents: a flume analogue of bed geometry, structure and texture

Flume experiments were performed to study the flow properties and depositional characteristics of high‐density turbidity currents that were depletive and quasi‐steady to waning for periods of several tens of seconds. Such currents may serve as an analogue for rapidly expanding flows at the mouth of submarine channels. The turbidity currents carried up to 35 vol.% of fine‐grained natural sand, very fine sand‐sized glass beads or coarse silt‐sized glass beads. Data analysis focused on: (1) depositional processes related to flow expansion; (2) geometry of sediment bodies generated by the depletive flows; (3) vertical and horizontal sequences of sedimentary structures within the sediment bodies; and (4) spatial trends in grain‐size distribution within the deposits. The experimental turbidity currents formed distinct fan‐shaped sediment bodies within a wide basin. Most fans consisted of a proximal channel‐levee system connected in the downstream direction to a lobe. This basic geometry was independent of flow density, flow velocity, flow volume and sediment type, in spite of the fact that the turbidity currents of relatively high density were different from those of relatively low density in that they exhibited two‐layer flow, with a low‐density turbulent layer moving on top of a dense layer with visibly suppressed large‐scale turbulence. Yet, the geometry of individual morphological elements appeared to relate closely to initial flow conditions and grain size of suspended sediment. Notably, the fans changed from circular to elongate, and lobe and levee thickness increased with increasing grain size and flow velocity. Erosion was confined to the proximal part of the leveed channel. Erosive capacity increased with increasing flow velocity, but appeared to be constant for turbidity currents of different grain size and similar density. Structureless sediment filled the channel during the waning stages of the turbidity currents laden with fine sand. The adjacent levee sands were laminated. The massive character of the channel fills is attributed to rapid settling of suspension load and associated suppression of tractional transport. Sediment bypassing prevailed in fan channels composed of very fine sand and coarse silt, because channel floors remained fully exposed until the end of the experiments. Lobe deposits, formed by the fine sand‐laden, high‐density turbidity currents, contained massive sand in the central part grading to plane parallel‐laminated sand towards the fringes. The depletive flows produced a radial decrease in mean grain size in the lobe deposits of all fans. Vertical trends in grain size comprised inverse‐to‐normal grading in the levees and in the thickest part of the lobes, and normal grading in the channel and fringes of the fine sandy fans. The inverse grading is attributed to a process involving headward‐directed transport of relatively fine‐grained and low‐concentrated fluid at the level of the velocity maximum of the turbidity current. The normal grading is inferred to denote the waning stage of turbidity‐current transport.     

Linking submarine channel–levee facies and architecture to flow structure of turbidity currents: insights from flume tank experiments

Submarine leveed channels are sculpted by turbidity currents that are commonly highly stratified. Both the concentration and the grain size decrease upward in the flow, and this is a fundamental factor that affects the location and grain size of deposits around a channel. This study presents laboratory experiments that link the morphological evolution of a progressively developing leveed channel to the suspended sediment structure of the turbidity currents. Previously, it was difficult to link turbidity current structure to channel–levee development because observations from natural systems were limited to the depositional products while experiments did not show realistic morphodynamics due to scaling issues related to the sediment transport. This study uses a novel experimental approach to overcome scaling issues, which results in channel inception and evolution on an initially featureless slope. Depth of the channel increased continuously as a result of levee aggradation combined with varying rates of channel floor aggradation and degradation. The resulting levees are fining upward and the grain‐size trend in the levee matches the upward decrease in grain size in the flow. It is shown that such deposit trends can result from internal channel dynamics and do not have to reflect upstream forcing. The suspended sediment structure can also be linked to the lateral transition from sediment bypass in the channel thalweg to sediment deposition on the levees. The transition occurs because the sediment concentration is below the flow capacity in the channel thalweg, while higher up on the channel walls the concentration exceeds capacity resulting in deposition of the inner levee. Thus, a framework is provided to predict the growth pattern and facies of a levee from the suspended sediment structure in a turbidity current.     

Characterisation of rock aggregate breakage properties using realistic texture‐based modelling

Realistic texture‐based modelling methods, that is microstructural modelling and micromechanical modelling, are developed to simulate the rock aggregate breakage properties on the basis of the rock actual microstructure obtained using microscopic observations and image analysis. The breakage properties of three types of rocks, that is Avja, LEP and Vandle taken from three quarries in Sweden, in single aggregate breakage tests and in inter‐aggregate breakage tests are then modelled using the proposed methods. The microstructural modelling directly integrates the microscopic observation, image analysis and numerical simulation together and provides a valuable tool to investigate the mechanical properties of rock aggregates on the basis of their microstructure properties. The micromechanical modelling takes the most important microstructure properties of rock aggregates into consideration and can model the major mechanical properties. Throughout this study, it is concluded that in general, the microstructure properties of rock aggregate work together to affect their mechanical properties, and it is difficult to correlate a single microstructure property with the mechanical properties of rock aggregates. In particular, for the three types of rock Avja, LEP and Vandle in this study, crack size distribution, grain size and grain perimeter (i.e. grain shape and spatial arrangement) show good correlations with the mechanical properties. The crack length and the grain size negatively affect the mechanical properties of Avja, LEP and Vandle, but the perimeter positively influences the mechanical properties. Besides, the modelled rock aggregate breakage properties in both single aggregate and inter‐aggregate tests reveal that the aggregate microstructure, aggregate shape and loading conditions influence the breakage process of rock aggregate in service. For the rock aggregate with the same microstructure, the quadratic shape and good packing dramatically improve its mechanical properties. During services, the aggregate is easiest to be fragmented under point‐to‐point loading condition, and then in the sequence of multiple‐point, point‐to‐plane and plane‐to‐plane loading conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

江汉平原沉积环境演化及对三峡贯通的指示

选取江汉平原孔深400.59m的新沟钻孔,通过对其40Ma以来的沉积物进行岩性描述及粒度特征的研究,探讨了此岩芯剖面沉积环境的演变过程。结果表明,该岩芯垂直剖面沉积物颗粒基本构成是以砂、粉砂、粘土为主,沉积环境变化频繁。根据粒度参数特征所反映的沉积环境意义,划分出4个沉积阶段: 3.93～3.66MaB.P.(深度400.59～375.03m)为深湖相沉积环境,   3.66～2.17MaB.P.(深度 375.03～.195.90m)为河湖相沉积环境,   2.17～1.77MaB.P.(深度195.90～147.08m)为浅湖相沉积环境,   1.77MaB.P.～0.11kaB.P.(深度147.08～0m)为河湖相交替频繁的沉积环境;  从而揭示了江汉平原新沟钻孔4.0Ma以来的沉积环境的演变过程。对比江汉平原新沟孔和周老孔的磁学参数及磁性矿物特征的研究结果,发现在新沟孔深度109.15～98.82m间江汉平原水系曾发生过重要调整,江汉平原的沉积环境和物质成分均发生了重大改变。该层位可能就是长江三峡贯通的层位,其贯通时间新沟孔古地磁年龄约为1.0MaB.P.左右。     

Provenance signatures and changes of the southwestern sector of the Barents Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation

Southwestern Barents Sea sediments contain important information on Lateglacial and Holocene environmental development of the area, i.e. sediment provenance characteristics related to ice‐flow patterns and ice drifting from different regional sectors. In this study, we present investigations of clay, heavy minerals, and ice‐rafted debris from three sediment cores obtained from the SW Barents Sea. The sediments studied are subglacial/glaciomarine to marine in origin. The core sequences were divided into three lithostratigraphical units. The lowest, Unit 3, consists of laminated glaciomarine sediments related to regional deglaciation. The overlying Unit 2 is a diamicton, dominated by mud and oversized clasts. Unit 2 reflects a more ice‐proximal glaciomarine sedimentary environment or even a subglacial depositional environment; its deposition may indicate a glacial re‐advance or stillstand during an overall retreat. The uppermost Unit 1 consists of Holocene marine sediments and current‐reworked sedimentary material with a relatively high carbonate content. A significant proportion of the sedimentary material could be derived from Svalbard and transported by sea ice or icebergs to the Barents Sea during the late deglacial phase. The Fennoscandian sources and local Mesozoic strata from the bottom of the Barents Sea are the likely provenances of sediments deposited during the deglacial and ice re‐advance phases. Bottom currents and sea‐ice transport were the main mechanisms influencing sedimentation during the Holocene. Our results indicate that the provenance areas can be reliably related to certain ice‐flow sectors and transport mechanisms in the deglaciated Barents Sea.