Coastal morphology and late quaternary history,Cayman Islands,West Indies

Instrumental surveys of coastal profiles in the Cayman Islands, western Caribbean, reveal the presence of a horizontal erosional bench at +1.9 m on Grand Cayman and a deep horizontal notch at +6.4 m on Cayman Brac, but no raised erosional features on Little Cayman. Each island is surrounded by a horizontal constructional raised reef, usually below +2 m, here dated by U-series methods as 124,000 ± 8000 yr old, and hence broadly contemporary with other western Atlantic raised reefs of similar elevations. The different raised erosional features indicate independent vertical tectonic movement of the three islands, predating the formation of the raised reef. The accordance and horizontality of the raised reef indicates stability of the islands since the last interglacial times. An erosional notch at present sea level has formed since the sea reached its present level less than 2100 B.P., and algal benches on exposed coasts are also in equilibrium with present conditions.     

Recycled insular phosphates and coated grains: Case study from Little Cayman,British West Indies

Phosphatic limestones on the west end of Little Cayman, at an elevation of 3 to 4 m above sea level and ca 320 to 550 m inland of the coast, lie on top of a phytokarst surface that defines the upper boundary of the Pedro Castle Formation (Pliocene). These phosphatic limestones are formed of phosphatic lithoclasts, detrital phosphate grains, coated grains (glaebules), composite coated grains, biofragments and phosphate rafts that are held in a matrix that is formed of micrite, calcite cement, and non-crystalline masses formed of P, Al, Si and Fe. The phosphate in these limestones is primarily hydroxylapatite, whereas the overlying soils, found in some areas, are formed of hydroxylapatite, crandallite and minor amounts of boehemite, kaolinite and quartz. Textures in the lithoclasts and detrital phosphate grains indicate that they were derived from older insular phosphates that that were largely removed by mining in 1890 to 1895. The coated grains (glaebules) typically have nuclei formed of a detrital phosphate grains that are encased by non-crystalline cortical laminae that are composed primarily of Al with their variable red colour reflecting the variable Fe content. The phosphatic limestones developed in a low-lying coastal area where the guano produced by a large seabird colony that was close to or mixed with terra rossa and marine carbonates that were washed onshore during storms/hurricanes. The Al, Fe, Si and rare earth elements found in the phosphatic limestones came from the terra rossa. Critically, this study documents the complex depositional regimes and diagenetic processes that can exist at the interface of marine carbonates, coastal phosphates and terrestrial soils as sea-level fluctuations control phases of sediment accumulation that were periodically interrupted by periods of non-deposition.     

Phosphatic precipitates associated with actinomycetes in speleothems from Grand Cayman, British West Indies

Calcitic speleothems from a cave located on the north central coast of Grand Cayman commonly include corrosion surfaces that developed when calcite precipitation ceased and corrosion mediated by condensates became the operative process. Dissolution features associated with these surfaces, including etched crystal surfaces, microcavities, and solution-widened boundaries between crystals, are commonly occupied by microbes and microbial mats that have been replaced by calcium phosphate and/or coated with calcium phosphate. No mineralized microbes were found in the calcite crystals that form the speleothems. The morphology of the mineralized hyphae (eight morphotypes) and spores (nine morphotypes) are indicative of actinomycetes, a group of microbes that are ideally adapted to life in oligotrophic cave environs. Superb preservation of the delicate hyphae, aerial hyphae, and delicate ornamentation on the hyphae and spores indicate that the microbes underwent rapid mineralized while close to their original life positions. Although these actinomycetes were extremely susceptible to replacement by calcium phosphate, there is no evidence that they directly or indirectly controlled precipitation. Nevertheless, the association between the P-rich precipitates and microbes shows that the use of phosphorus as a proxy for seasonal climate changes in paleoclimate analyses must be treated with caution.     

Pleistocene trace fossils in the Ironshore Formation, Little Cayman, British West Indies

Oosparite grainstones of the Pleistocene Ironshore Formation, Little Cayman, British West Indies, contain the trace fossils Conichnus conicus, Ophiomorpha nodosa, and Planolites beverleyensis. The dominance of vertically-oriented trace fossils, complexity of cross-stratifications, coarseness of the sediment channel fill, and presence of several rudstone layers suggest deposition close to the seaward portion of lagoonal channels where higher energy conditions prevailed.     

Highstands during Marine Isotope Stage 5: evidence from the Ironshore Formation of Grand Cayman,British West Indies

The Ironshore Formation on Grand Cayman is formed of six unconformity-bounded packages (units A–F). Units A, B, C, and D, known from the subsurface in the northeastern part of Grand Cayman, formed during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 11(?), 9, 7, and 5e, respectively. Unconformities at the tops of units A, B, and C are highlighted by terra rossa and/or calcrete layers. Strata in core obtained from wells drilled in George Town Harbour and exposed on the west part of Grand Cayman belong to unit D, and the newly defined units E and F. Corals from unit E yielded Th/U ages of ∼104 ka whereas conch shells from unit F gave ages of ∼84 ka. Unit E equates to MIS 5c whereas unit F developed during MIS 5a.Th/U dating of corals and conchs from the Ironshore Formation on the western part of Grand Cayman shows that unit D formed during the MIS 5e highstand whereas units E and F developed in association with highstands at 95–110 ka (MIS 5c) and 73–87 ka (MIS 5a). Unit E, ∼5 m thick in the offshore cores, is poorly represented in onshore exposures. Unit F, which unconformably overlies unit D at most localities, is formed largely of fossil-poor, cross-bedded ooid grainstones. The unconformity at the top of unit D, a marine erosional surface with up to 2.5 m relief, is not characterized by terra rossa or calcrete in the offshore cores or onshore exposures. Unit D formed with a highstand of +6 m asl, whereas units E and F developed when sea level was +2 to +5 asl and +3 to +6 m asl, respectively. Thus, the highstands associated with MIS 5e, 5c, and 5a were at similar elevations.     

Carbonate sediment transport pathways based on foraminifera: case study from Frank Sound, Grand Cayman, British West Indies

Foraminifera can be used to determine the source(s) of carbonate sediment and the directions of sediment transport in shallow, coastal lagoons such as Frank Sound on the south-central coast of Grand Cayman. These determinations, based on the distribution of foraminiferal assemblages and ‘tracer species’ (numerically abundant species that live in known physiographic units and/or ecological conditions), show that the lagoonal sediments are a mixture of grains that originated in the lagoon and forereef. The variable proportions of these foraminifera throughout the lagoon reflects the dynamic processes that control lagoonal sedimentation. Amphistegina gibbosa, Discorbis rosea, and Asterigerina carinata lived in the forereef environment. The fact that these ‘tracer species’ are found throughout Frank Sound and in the beach sands, shows that they were transported across the reef crest and the lagoon. Abrasion-resistant Archaias angulatus, a‘tracer species’ indicative of a lagoonal setting, forms up to 50% of foraminiferal assemblages found in the lagoonal sediments. Preferential winnowing of small tests from these populations indicates sorting under high energy conditions. The vertical distribution of the forereef and lagoonal foraminifera in the sediment blanket that covers the floor of Frank Sound indicates that these processes are temporally persistent. Transportation of forereef foraminifera into and around the lagoon and sorting of the lagoonal foraminifera cannot take place under ‘normal’ conditions when the tranquil lagoon is characterized by weak currents. Storms and/or hurricanes, however, generate short-lived high-energy events that can move and sort the sediment and foraminifera. At the height of a storm, water and sediment are moved over the reef and then piled and held onshore by the onshore winds and the constant flow of water over the reef and across the lagoon. These currents can mix some of the lagoonal and forereef sediments. As a storm wanes, however, the ‘piled water’ flows offshore via strong rip currents that pass into the ocean through the channels which transect the reef. These currents winnow and/or strip sediment from the lagoon and may transport lagoonal sediments into the forereef area. As a result, residual lagoonal sediment is commonly characterized by larger and abrasion-resistant foraminifera.     

Late Neogene loess deposition in southern Tarim Basin: tectonic and palaeoenvironmental implications

Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau during the late Cainozoic resulted in a thick apron of molassic sediments along the northern piedmonts of the Kunlun and Altyn Mountains in the southern Tarim Basin. Early Neogene sediments are characterised by sandstone, siltstone and red mudstone, representing floodplain to distal alluvial fan environments. The Early Pliocene Artux Formation consists of medium-grained sandstone and sandy mudstone with thin layers of fine pebbly gritstone. The Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Xiyu Formation is dominated by pebble to boulder conglomerate typical of alluvial fan debris flow deposits. Sedimentological investigation, together with grain size and chemical analyses of siltstone bands intercalated with sandstone and conglomerate in the Xiyu and Artux Formations, point to an aeolian origin, suggesting desertic conditions in the Tarim Basin by the Early Pliocene. The onset of aeolian sedimentation in the southern Tarim Basin coincided with uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau inferred from the lithofacies change from fine-grained mudstone and sandstone to coarse clasts. Tibetan Plateau uplift resulted in the shift of sedimentary environments northwards into the southern Tarim Basin, and could well have triggered the onset of full aridity in the Taklimakan region as a whole.     

新近纪南海深层水的增氧与分层

综合南海ODP1148站、1146站和1143站沉积物物性、底栖有孔虫、同位素等资料, 探讨早中新世以来南海深层水的演化特征.结果表明, 在21~17Ma、15~10Ma和1~5Ma3个时间段分别对应3个富含红褐色粘土的岩性单元, 其红色参数(a*) 增高指示南海深层水中溶解氧含量的增加.对比发现, 前两阶段的深层水增氧与南极底层水和北大西洋组合水增强有关, 说明10Ma前南海与外地的底层水基本是相互连通的.10Ma以后, 南海深层水溶解氧降低, 同时分别处于下深层水的1148站和上深层水的1146站之间的CaCO₃含量变化加大, 喜氧底栖有孔虫减少, 底栖δ13C在10Ma大幅度减轻, 说明南海当时的深层水受大洋深层水的控制减弱.推测主要是南海海盆自16~15Ma停止扩张以后, 南海逐渐关闭引起本地深层水开始形成的缘故.从6Ma左右开始出现大量的太平洋底层水和深层水的底栖有孔虫标志种, 1148站和1146站在5~3Ma期间的CaCO₃含量之差达到40%, 标志南海深层水最大分异期.除了全球气候变冷、北半球结冰引起太平洋深层水扩张的影响之外, 南海海盆由于更强烈向东俯冲而进一步下沉也可能是原因之一.3Ma以来南海深层水演化进入现代模式, 两站之间的CaCO₃含量之差稳定在10%左右, 厌氧底栖种丰度增加.太平洋底层水和深层水的标志种相继在1.2Ma和0.9Ma大量减少, 底栖δ13C也同时大幅度变轻到新近纪的最低值, 表明太平洋底层水的影响基本消失, 太平洋深层水的影响也大大减弱.因此, 标准现代模式的南海深层水, 推测主要由于“中更新世气候转型”时期巴士海峡下面的海槛抬升到接近目前~2600m的深度时, 才开始形成.      

藏南彭措林埃达克质岩脉的岩石成因及对区域成矿作用的启示

彭措林岩脉群位于藏南冈底斯斑岩铜矿带中段的西侧,宽约3~5m,呈近南北向穿截冈底斯岩基。两组样品的锆石U-Pb定年结果为9.7±0.2Ma和9.9±0.3Ma。岩石地球化学研究显示,岩石以高SiO_2(67.05%~69.96%)、K_2O(6.05%~6.88%)和低MgO(0.47%~1.27%)为特征,高度富集轻稀土元素(LREE)和大离子亲石元素(LILE),亏损高场强元素(HFSE),具有高Sr/Y和La/Yb比值,表现出埃达克岩地球化学亲合性。相对冈底斯中新世埃达克质斑岩而言,该岩脉更加富集放射性成因Sr、Pb同位素(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr_((i))=0.7120~0.7123,~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb=18.812~18.844,~(207)Pb/~(204)Pb=15.705~15.728,~(208)Pb/~(204)Pb=39.424~39.523)、具更低的Nd同位素值(εNd(t)=-10.9~-9.8)和更为古老的Nd模式年龄(tDM=1.36~1.43Ga)。以上地球化学分析表明,彭措林岩脉很可能起源于加厚的古老下地壳,相较于冈底斯斑岩铜矿带内其他的中新世斑岩而言,其岩浆源区含有更少的幔源组分和更多的古老地壳组分。锆石微量元素结果显示,岩脉的氧逸度较低(ΔFMQ=-6.7~+2.1,平均值为-1.4)。故而,彭措林埃达克质岩脉不具备区域成矿潜力的原因可以归结如下:(1)下地壳岩浆源区中新生幔源组分含量较少,指示了古老下地壳中岛弧幔源岩浆注入量较少,因而岛弧期堆晶至下地壳的金属硫化物极为有限;(2)较低的氧逸度导致岩浆萃取金属的能力相对较弱。结合前人研究可知,下地壳中新生幔源组分的贡献率是影响冈底斯斑岩铜矿带后碰撞埃达克岩能否成矿的关键因素。     

云南省巍山盆地和景东盆地新近纪犀类化石新材料

云南省新近纪地层出露广泛,化石丰富。本研究首次记述了产自巍山盆地的邓氏山西犀(新种)Shansirhinus dengi sp. nov. 及景东盆地的元谋无鼻角犀Acerorhinus yuanmouensis和无角犀亚科未定种Aceratheriinae gen. et sp. indet.。S.dengi sp. nov. 的鼻骨前端上翘,有小的粗糙角座面;鼻切迹深,位于P4后缘水平;头骨顶面在眼眶前方迅速缩窄;两侧顶嵴间距离宽,骨面隆突;上颊齿前附尖和前尖肋发达,前臼齿舌侧齿带连续。S.dengi sp. nov. 代表了山西犀属Shansirhinus内一个更为特化的类型,区别于其他种的特征主要是鼻骨更短,前端位于P3中部水平;眼眶位置在M1后半部,与鼻切迹之间的距离更近;上前臼齿的釉质复杂化表现为前刺更长,基部分叉突向外脊;上臼齿M1~M3的原尖舌侧壁发育釉质沟纹。产于禄丰盆地曾经描述归入Shansirhinus cf. S.ringstroemi的材料与新材料形态相同,归入该新种。巍山盆地产化石的红棕色砂砾岩和泥岩的沉积时代应该与禄丰盆地产煤地层时代相近或更晚,推测为晚中新世7~6 Ma左右。景东盆地上部红棕色砂砾岩和泥岩产状水平,其中发现的上颊齿材料的诸多特征与元谋盆地Acerorhinus yuanmouensis的上颊齿的特征相同,将其归入该种：前附尖和前尖肋发达,前刺非常长,小刺短小,前臼齿舌侧齿带发达,发育齿桥。A.yuanmouensis的发现表明,景东盆地该套红棕色地层的沉积时间可能与元谋盆地发现古猿动物群的地层相当,在晚中新世9~7 Ma左右。另一方面,景东盆地下部含煤地层倾向东北,与上部水平产状的红棕色砂砾岩和泥岩的接触关系为角度不整合,其中所产犀类上颊齿材料本文将其归入无角犀亚科,属种未定Aceratheriinae gen. et sp. indet.,地层时代也有待进一步确定。

     

The Neogene and Lower Pleistocene crags of Upper Normandy: Biostratigraphic revision and paleogeographic implications

The biostratigraphic revision of the benthic foraminifera present in the coastal Cenozoic quartzose and shelly sands (crags) at Fécamp and Valmont (Seine-Maritime) reveals Early Pliocene (Fécamp) and Early Pleistocene (Valmont) ages. The Tortonian-Messinian thanatocœnosis contained in the Fécamp Crag shows the presence of a former bryozoan-rich platform on the floor of the Channel that was reworked during the Lower Pliocene transgression. Tortonian-Messinian and Lower Pliocene deposits have been found in Belgium, England, Brittany, and at Fécamp, but are absent in Cotentin (North-West Normandy), which was uplifted at this period. The Lower Pleistocene tidal sands and crags described in Cotentin, Upper Normandy and the southern North Sea Basin indicate a marine passage between the Channel and the North Sea.     

Neoichnology and implications for stratigraphy of reworked Upper Oligocene oysters,Antigua, West Indies

The Late Oligocene oyster Hyotissa antiguensis (Brown) is locally common in the Antigua Formation of Hughes Point, eastern Antigua, Lesser Antilles; it was not commonly bored at that time. Its valves and shells are robust, and reworked into the shallow water near-shore environment in Antigua; it could potentially be incorporated into younger rocks. Its neoichnology includes clues that would facilitate identification of these oysters as reworked fossils. The suite of modern borings found in these specimens includes common Caulostrepsis taeniola Clarke, Gastrochaenolites isp. cf. G. turbinatus Kelly and Bromley and Entobia isp., and rare Oichnus simplex Bromley and Rogerella? isp. The latter three taxa are limited to oyster shell substrates. Of the common ichnotaxa, Caulostrepsis and Gastrochaenolites are particularly prominent in limestone clasts and limestone cemented to oyster shells, which would be an indicator of reworking if found in a post-Oligocene lithified deposit. Caulostrepsis and Gastrochaenolites are relatively less common in oyster shells and valves, and in many specimens are seen to terminate against the shell. Entobia is the only common boring limited to the shell substrate. The fidelity of preservation of modern borings is also superior in limestone clasts. This suite of borings is comparable with those found in the Neogene of the Antillean region.     

云南临沧晚中新世槭属叶片和翅果研究

云南省是研究我国植物多样性,植物区系演化及被子植物迁徙路线的有利场所。文中鉴定并描述了采自云南临沧上中新统邦卖组的槭属(Acer)8块叶片和17块翅果化石,共鉴定为4个种,其中包括1个新种和1个相似种,分别为Acer lincangense sp.nov.和Acer cf.jingdongense。槭属化石在云南邦卖组的出现,证明了该植物群具有北温带和古热带的混生特征,反映了当时植物区系类型的多样化构成了云南现代植物多样性的基础。另外,通过对Acer全球大化石记录以及现生种的统计,总结得出槭属的地史演化具有3个发展高峰期:依次为始新世、中新世和全新世,从古至今呈现一种螺旋式递增趋势。     

Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating of the Neogene coral reefs,Xisha Islands,South China Sea: implications for tectonic evolution

The Xisha Block is a minor one in the South China Sea and an important tectonic unit in the northwestern part of the region. Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb ages for three volcanic intrusive core samples from Xike-1, an exploratory well penetrating the bioherms of the Xisha Islands. The core samples are from the Miocene reef carbonate bedrock and are recognized as dark-gray biotite-hornblende gabbro, gray fine-grained biotite diorite, and gray fine-grained granite, respectively. Zircon cathodoluminescence (CL) images and trace Th, U and Pb compositions of the zircons show that these rocks are of volcanic intrusive origin. Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating yielded six groups of ages, ranging from 2451-1857 Ma to early Cretaceous, which indicate that the formation and evolution of the Xisha Block was affected by the evolution and closure of Neotethys Ocean, probably within its eastern extension into South China Sea. Both old, deep-sourced material, including fragments from Rodina supercontinent, and recent mantle-derived magma products contributed to the emergence and formation of the Xisha block. The SHRIMP U-Pb results also proved that this process differed from that of the Kontum massif, the Hainan Block, and the South China Block, but is similar to that of the Nansha and Zhongsha blocks. The process was associated with the effects of Yanshanian magmatism induced by subduction mechanisms of the Paleo-Pacific Plate or the reworking of the multiple magmatisms since the Early to mid-Yanshanian, possibly jointly experienced by the Xisha-Zhongsha-Nansha Block.     

Oligo-Miocene foraminiferal record (Miogypsinidae, Lepidocyclinidae and Nummulitidae) from the Western Taurides (SW Turkey): Biometry and implications for the regional geology

The marine Oligo-Miocene units of western Taurides, deposited under different tectonic regimes (in Bey Da?lar? platform in foreland and coeval sequences in hinterland), were studied to establish a high-resolution biostratigraphic framework. Biometric study of the full spectrum of larger foraminifera in a regional scale allowed us correlating them with the shallow benthic zonation (SBZ) system introduced by [Cahuzac, B., Poignant, A., 1997. Essai de biozonation de l’Oligo-Miocène dans les bassins européens à l’aide des grands foraminifères néritiques. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France 168, 155–169], and to determine the ages of these sites on zonal precision for the first time. In correlating these assemblages to standard shallow benthic zones, planktonic data were also used whenever possible. Taxa, classified under the genera Nummulites, Miogypsina, Miolepidocyclina, Nephrolepidina, Eulepidina, Heterostegina, Operculina and Cycloclypeus (?) and their assemblages, closely resemble to the fauna described from European basins. These groups characterize the SBZ 22B to 25 zones referring to a time interval from early Chattian to Burdigalian. However, a main gap in late Chattian (SBZ 23) and in early part of the Aquitanian (SBZ 24) is also recorded in the platform succession. In the meantime, rare Eulepidina in the Burdigalian levels suggest a clear Indo-Pacific influence. Based on the discovery of early Chattian (SBZ 22B) deposits (previously mapped under Eocene/Miocene units), the Oligo-Miocene stratigraphy of the Bey Da?lar? platform is also revised. A more precise chronology for regional Miocene transgression is presented based on the miogypsinid evolutionary scale.     

Pliocene and Quaternary regional uplift in western Turkey: the Gediz River terrace staircase and the volcanism at Kula

Along the upper reaches of the Gediz River in western Turkey, in the eastern part of the Aegean extensional province, the land surface has uplifted by 400 m since the Middle Pliocene. This uplift is revealed by progressive gorge incision, and its rate can be established because river terraces are capped by basalt flows that have been K–Ar and Ar–Ar dated. At present, the local uplift rate is 0.2 mm a⁻¹. Uplift at this rate began around the start of the Middle Pleistocene, following a span of time when the uplift was much slower. This was itself preceded by an earlier uplift phase, apparently in the late Late Pliocene and early Early Pleistocene, when the uplift rate was comparable to the present. The resulting regional uplift history resembles what is observed in other regions and is analogously interpreted as the isostatic response to changing rates of surface processes linked to global environmental change. We suggest that this present phase of surface uplift, amounting so far to 150 m, is being caused by the nonsteady-state thermal and isostatic response of the crust to erosion, following an increase in erosion rates in the late Early Pleistocene, most likely as a result of the first large northern-hemisphere glaciation during oxygen isotope stage 22 at 870 ka. We suggest that the earlier uplift phase, responsible for the initial 250 m of uplift, resulted from a similar increase in erosion rates caused by the deterioration in local climate at 3.1 Ma. This uplift thus has no direct relationship to the crustal extension occurring in western Turkey, the rate and sense of which are thought not to have changed significantly on this time scale. Our results thus suggest that the present, often deeply incised, landscape of western Turkey has largely developed from the Middle Pleistocene onwards, for reasons not directly related to the active normal faulting that is also occurring. The local isostatic consequences of this active faulting are instead superimposed onto this “background” of regional surface uplift. Modelling of this surface uplift indicates that the effective viscosity of the lower continental crust beneath this part of Turkey is of the order of 10¹⁹ Pa s, similar to a recent estimate for beneath central Greece. The lower uplift rates observed in western Turkey, compared with central Greece, result from the longer typical distances of fluvial sediment transport, which cause weaker coupling by lower-crustal flow between offshore depocentres and eroding onshore regions that provide the sediment source.     

浙东新近纪一种栎属植物化石微细特征及其古环境指示

归于壳斗科栎属的一种植物化石黄毛青冈(亲缘种)Quercusaff.delavayi Franch采于浙江天台中新统下南山组。该化石不仅具有与现生黄毛青冈Quercus delavayi Franch相似的叶形态结构,而且两者表皮微细构造亦颇为一致,宏观和微观特征表明,当前材料与现生黄毛青冈具有一定的亲缘关系。通过研究不同时间、不同地点现生黄毛青冈的表皮微细特征,发现黄毛青冈毛基的个体发育重演了青冈亚属毛基的系统演化。进一步比较化石与现生材料的毛基参数及其他表皮特征,推论浙江天台中新世的古气候较现在温暖湿润,根据现生与化石黄毛青冈气孔比率计算出浙江天台中新世古大气CO2体积分数为(395.22±5.61)×10-6。     

Interpreting flash flood palaeoflow parameters from antidunes and gravel lenses: An example from Montserrat,West Indies

The wavelength of stationary water‐surface waves and their associated antidune bedforms are related to the mean velocity and depth of formative flow. In past published sand‐bed flume experiments, it was found that lens structures were preserved during antidune growth and change, and the dimension of the lenses was empirically related to antidune wavelength, and thus could be used to estimate flow velocity and depth. This study is the first to compare observations of formative flow conditions and resulting sedimentary structures in a natural setting, testing the previously published relationship at a field‐scale. Trains of stationary and upstream migrating water‐surface waves were prevalent during the flash flood in October 2012 in the Belham Valley, Montserrat, West Indies. Wave positions and wavelengths were assessed at 900 sec intervals through the daylight hours of the event within a monitored reach. The wave data indicate flow depths up to 1·3 m and velocity up to 3·6 m sec^?1. Sedimentary structures formed by antidune growth and change were preserved in the event deposit. These structures include lenses of clast‐supported gravel and massive sand, with varying internal architecture. The lenses and associated low‐angle strata are comparable to sand‐bed structures formed from stationary and upstream migrating waves in flume experiments, confirming the diagnostic value of these structures. Using mean lens length in the event deposit underestimated peak flow conditions during the flood and implied that the lenses were preserved during waning flow.