四川攀枝花昔格达组下伏砾石层成因和时代探讨与古金沙江河谷发育

本文主要描述和讨论了四川省攀枝花市沿金沙江分布、并以炳草岗地龙箐剖面为代表的昔格达组湖相沉积下伏的砾石层的沉积特征及其河流相成因.根据前人对昔格达组湖相沉积的磁性地层学研究结果,为4.2/3.28～2.6/2.12/1.78 MaBP的上新世中、晚期或至早更新世早期,表明其下伏厚达50 m的砾石层的形成时代约为4.2～4.5/5 MaBP的上新世早期.早上新世金沙江河流相砾石层在接近金沙江谷底位置的发现,表明金沙江很早就已经从青藏高原主夷平面下切了2000 m以上、已在接近其现今谷底的位置上存在.这对于探讨古金沙江的河谷发育及其与青藏高原隆升的关系,具有重要的指示意义.     

滇西道街盆地上新世怒江埋藏砾石层、堰塞湖沉积的发现及其磁性地层学

在对怒江道街—惠通桥段的考察研究中,不仅重新厘定了河谷中拔河150m以下的多级低阶地,而且在拔河180～380m的高度上发现了多级由磨圆良好、成分复杂的厚层冲积砾石层所组成的高阶地,厚近100m的堰塞湖成因的砂层及其下伏厚约100m的砾石层。冲积层的同位素年龄测定结果表明,6级低阶地形成于中更新世以来。望江楼剖面的磁性地层研究结果显示,组成相当于第九级阶地上部的湖相砂层,上部以正向极性为主,含2次短期的负极性,下部则为负极性。与标准磁性地层柱对比表明,该湖相地层形成于4.2～2.6MaBP的中—晚上新世,湖相地层之下的埋藏阶地与高阶地则应形成于上新世早期至中新世晚期。据此在进一步的区域地层对比后认为：怒江至少在中新世的中晚期已开始形成并下切,至上新世早期已下切至现今河床附近。上述研究结果为更科学地认识青藏高原东缘的强烈隆升过程提供了非常有价值的新线索。     

滇西道街盆地上新世怒江埋藏砾石层、堰塞湖沉积 的发现及其磁性地层学

在对怒江道街—惠通桥段的考察研究中,不仅重新厘定了河谷中拔河150m以下的多级低阶地,而且在拔河180～380m的高度上发现了多级由磨圆良好、成分复杂的厚层冲积砾石层所组成的高阶地,厚近100m的堰塞湖成因的砂层及其下伏厚约100m的砾石层。冲积层的同位素年龄测定结果表明,6级低阶地形成于中更新世以来。望江楼剖面的磁性地层研究结果显示,组成相当于第九级阶地上部的湖相砂层,上部以正向极性为主,含2次短期的负极性,下部则为负极性。与标准磁性地层柱对比表明,该湖相地层形成于4.2～2.6MaBP的中—晚上新世,湖相地层之下的埋藏阶地与高阶地则应形成于上新世早期至中新世晚期。据此在进一步的区域地层对比后认为：怒江至少在中新世的中晚期已开始形成并下切,至上新世早期已下切至现今河床附近。上述研究结果为更科学地认识青藏高原东缘的强烈隆升过程提供了非常有价值的新线索。     

New data on structure of consolidated gravel beds in Samur-Kusarchay watershed

Tectonically the Samur-Kusarchay watershed lies in the deepest central part of the Kusar-Divich synclinorium with its thick Mesozoic-Cenozoic section. Upper Pliocene and Anthropogene sediments show a great variety of facies. Results are presented of vertical electrosounding (VES) in this watershed of southeastern Azerbaijan. The principal water intake area is that of Kusar gravels in the southwestern foothills; also the Samur and Kusarchay alluvial cones. The regional northeasterly homoclinal dip of upper Pliocene and Anthropogene beds toward the Caspian, coupled with an impermeable seal of marine Apsheronian Akchagylian, and Productive Interval Claystones, assures a vast, supply of fresh underground water, mostly at the base of the gravels. A regional resistivity drop, going from the Greater Caucasus foothills to the Caspian, reflects a gradual replacement of Quaternary and upper Pliocene gravels by argillaceous deposits. Figure 1, compiled from all extant data, shows the distribution of gravels and the nature of the underlying impermeable horizons. Besides present day gravels, it shows a buried cone of thick gravels in a syncline between the Imamkulukend and Yalama uplift. Recurring late Pliocene and Quaternary Shakhdag glaciers left behind huge volumes of clastic material which glacial waters carried on down slope: A sinking of the coastal zone, coupled with post-glacial uplift in the mountains, has contributed to alluviation. Electroexploration is recommended in all foothill areas of alluvial gravel cone development.—W. D. Lowry     

Facies,environments and sedimentary cycles in the Middle Eocene,Bracklesham Formation of the Hampshire Basin: evidence for global sea-level changes?

The Bracklesham Formation is of Middle Eocene age and occurs throughout the Hampshire Basin of southern England. The basin is elongated east-west and filled with Lower Tertiary sediments. Its southern margin is marked by either large, northward-facing monoclines, or faults, both of which underwent differential movement, with uplift of the southern side throughout the Middle Eocene. The Bracklesham Formation, which is up to 240 m thick, shows pronounced lateral facies changes with dominantly marine sediments in the east passing to alluvial sediments in the west. Four principal sedimentary environments: marine, lagoonal, estuarine and alluvial are distinguished. Marine sediments comprise six facies including offshore silty clays and glauconitic silty sands, beach and aeolian dune sands, and flint conglomerates formed on pebble beaches. Offshore sediments predominate in the eastern part of the basin, as far west as Alum Bay, where they are replaced by nearshore sediments. Lagoonal sediments comprise four facies and formed in back-barrier lagoons, coastal marshes and, on occasions, were deposited over much of the basin during periods of low salinity and restricted tidal motion. Five estuarine facies represent tidal channels, channel mouth-bars and abandoned channels. These sediments suggest that much of the Bracklesham Formation was deposited under micro- to meso-tidal conditions. Alluvial sediments dominate the formation to the west of Alum Bay. They comprise coarse to fine sands deposited on the point-bars of meandering rivers, interbedded with thick sequences of laminated interchannel mudstones, deposited in marshes, swamps and lakes. Extensive layers of ball clay were periodically deposited in a lake occupying much of the alluvial basin. In alluvial areas, fault movement exposed Mesozoic rocks along the southern margin of the basin, the erosion of which generated fault-scarp alluvial fan gravels. Locally, pisolitic limestone formed in pools fed by springs emerging at the faulted Chalk-Tertiary contact. In marine areas, flint pebbles were eroded from coastal exposures of chalk and accumulated on pebble beaches and in estuaries. From other evidence it is suggested that older Tertiary sediments were also reworked. The Bracklesham Formation is strongly cyclic and was deposited during five marine transgressions, the effects of which can be recognized throughout the basin in both marine and alluvial areas. Each of the five transgressive cycles is a few tens of metres thick and contains little evidence of intervening major regression. The cycles are thought to represent small-scale eustatic sea-level rises (‘paracycles’) superimposed upon a major transgressive ‘cycle’ that began at the base of the Bracklesham Formation, following a major regression, and was terminated, at the top of the Barton Formation by another major regression. This major cycle can be recognized world-wide and may reflect a period of rapid northward extension of the mid-Atlantic ridge.     

Hydrogeophysical investigations for assessing the groundwater potential in part of the Peshawar basin,Pakistan

A large number of valleys and basin systems are present in the northwestern part of the Himalayas in Pakistan which form significant aquifers in the region. Hydrogeophysical investigations in the western part of Nowshera District, a part of the intermontane Peshawar basin, were undertaken to help to determine the availability of groundwater resources in the region. Thirty vertical electrical resistivity soundings (VES) were acquired using a Schlumberger expanding array configuration with a maximum current electrode spacing (AB/2) of 150 m in delineating the groundwater potential in the study area. The results of the interpreted VES data using a combination of curve matching technique and computer iterative modeling methods suggest that the area is underlain by 3 to 5 geo-electric layers. The interpretation results showed that the geo-electrical succession consists of alluvium comprising of alternating layers of clay, silty clay, fine to coarse sands, sand with gravels and gravels of variable thickness. High subsurface resistivity values are correlated with gravel–sand units and low resistivity values with the presence of clays and silts. The modeled VES results were correlated with the pumping tests results and lithological logs of the existing wells. The pumping test suggests the transmissivity of the aquifer sediments is variable corresponding to different sediments within the area. The gravel–sand intervals having high resistivity value show high transmissivity values, whereas clay–silt sediments show low transmissivities. It is concluded that majority of the high resistive gravel–sand sediments belong to an alluvial fan environment. These gravel–sand zones are promising zones for groundwater abstraction which are concentrated in the central part of the study area.     

Late and Middle Pleistocene deposits at Somersham,Cambridgeshire, U.K.: a model for reconstructing fluvial/estuarine depositional environments

Gravel quarries at Somersham, Cambridgeshire, have yielded evidence for a Pleistocene channel of the R. Great Ouse, containing temperate stage sediments between cold stage sediments. In the earlier cold stage, fluviatile gravels and floodplain loessic sediment accumulated. In the later cold stage a further series of gravel units and floodplain sediments were deposited, together with lake sediments. The lake sediments are associated with Lake Sparks, dammed by Late Devensian ice in the Wash at ca. 18.5 ka BP. The lake sediments overlie gravels with a radiocarbon date from an organic horizon indicating a Middle Devensian age. Clast lithological analyses from the earlier and later gravels suggest that reworking of gravels has occurred within a relatively stable catchment. The petrography of the earlier cold stage loessic sediment and temperate stage fine sediment indicates an Anglian affinity, which conflicts with the biostratigraphic interpretation. Pollen and macroscopic plant remains from sediments of both cold stages and from the temperate stage indicate, respectively, assemblages with a typical full-glacial aspect with a rich flora of shrubs and open ground herbs(including an assemblage at ca. 18 ka), and temperate freshwater and marine-influenced organic sediments. On the basis of pollen analysis these are ascribed to substages Ip II and III of the Ipswichian Stage(O.I.S. 5e), with a Pinus-Quercus-Corylus biozone in the former and a biozone with Carpinus in the latter. Marine-influenced sediments, at −3.7 to −0.3 m OD, indicate transgression in Ip II and regression in Ip III.Molluscan assemblages from the temperate stage and the later cold stage are described; two are from the Late Devensian, at a time near the maximum extension of ice into the Wash. Foraminifer and ostracod faunas are described from post-Ipswichian sediments and may be reworked. Radiocarbon dates confirm the age of the later gravel suite as Devensian and a calibration of the measurements is given. Amino acid ratios from Corbicula fluminalis valves from temperate stage sediments are reported, with measurements from different parts of the valve; the results tend to support an Ipswichian age. TL measurements of the earlier cold stage loessic sediment and associated sand indicate a pre-Ipswichian age for the sediments. The earlier cold stage is correlated with the pre-Ipswichian cold stage, the Wolstonian of Mitchell et al.(1973); problems with this correlation are discussed.Various periglacial phenomena, including thermal contraction networks and cracks, diapirs, involutions and coversand are associated with the Devensian sequence. The complex environmental history, based on stratigraphy and palaeontology, is described, and related to other nearby sites in southern Fenland.     

The effects of fluctuating base level on the structure of alluvial fan and associated fan delta deposits: an example from the Tertiary of the Betic Cordillera, Spain

The Villanueva Complex is a lacustrine alluvial fan - fan delta system which accumulated on the northern margin of the Guadix Basin during the Pliocene. Five transitional zones can be distinguished from proximal to distal areas: proximal alluvial fan, mid-fan, fan fringe (transition zone), proximal fan delta and distal fan delta (lacustrine). This paper focuses on sedimentation in the fan fringe and the proximal fan delta areas, where the effects of fluctuations in the base level (lacustrine level) are more easily observed. The stratigraphical succession is here characterized by an alternation of fine lacustrine sediments (mudstones and siltstones) and gravels. The gravels appear as isolated channels, stacked channels, lenses and sheets. The isolated channels, which have a V-shaped profile and better developed wings towards the top, appear in the fan fringe zone and in the fan delta. The stacked channels originate in the fan fringe zone and evolve laterally and distally to isolated channels. The lenticular gravel bodies (lenses) are well represented throughout the fan delta and present small channels at the base, indicating a radial flow pattern. Finally, the sheets are characteristic of the fan fringe zone. The first episodes of channel incision occurred at lowstand lake level. The channels and lenses developed in rising lake level conditions, and sheet deposit took place at highstand lake level. Although the final form of the lithosome was heavily controlled by the fluctuations in lake level, it depended on the relative proportions of gravel and silt sedimentation. The gravel-siltstone interface therefore represents an equilibrium surface between the proportions of sedimentation of these lithologies. The bodies mentioned above are organized in coarsening and thickening upwards sequences tens of metres thick, in which a distal to proximal evolution can be observed from isolated channels to lenses or from stacked channels to sheets. The building and thickness of these sequences were controlled by fluctuations in the lake level. An initial fall in base level caused lengthening of the channels and entrenchment from distal to proximal areas, and a continuous increase in supply due to erosion in the drainage basin installed on the subaerial fan. When the lake level rose, lobes were formed at the channel endings and overbank processes were made possible, thus generating radial channels, whose levees were formed by amalgamation with the levees of the main lens channels. At the same time, sheets were formed in proximal areas, where the available amount of sediment was greater.     

Alluvial gold in Kalimantan, Indonesia: A colloidal origin?

Extensive placer gold deposits occur in Quaternary palaeochannels in the Ampalit and Cempaga Buang drainage basins near Kasongan, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Broad interfluvial Pleistocene terraces surrounding the drainages also contain significant amounts of placer gold. The “channel” and “terrace” gold deposits together cover an area in excess of 180 km².Exploration for gold at Ampalit followed traditional alluvial methods, and assumed that mechanical and gravitational factors were the principal mechanisms affecting gold accumulation and concentration. Gold was considered to be physically reworked from terraces and redeposited in the present drainage channels or underlying, laterally displaced, palaeochannels. However, a comparison of gold grains from the Ampalit drainage channel and adjacent terraces indicates that gold grains in the drainage channels are possibly of colloidal origin and not mechanically transported to their present domain.The morphology of gold grains from the Ampalit drainage is compared with grains from adjacent terraces, using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The latter procedure allows for nondestructive analysis to give true three dimensional surface topography down to nanometre resolution. Evidence from force microscopy supports a colloidal origin for gold aggregates.The average purity of gold produced from the Ampalit dredging operation is 970 fine (970/1000) and the majority of examined gold grains extracted from beneath the drainage channel have a purity of 998 fine. This unusually high degree of purity suggests a selective dissolution/aggregation mechanism. We propose that gold is transported downward and laterally in groundwater percolating through the terrace sands and gravels to the current drainage as a humic acid-stabilised colloid. As the pregnant groundwater migrates toward the present drainage channels, it encounters a sleep chemical gradient and the colloid aggregates. The aggregation process occurs near clay zones within palaeochannel sands and gravels beneath the present river sediments. Here the colloidal aggregates form small grains (usually <1 mm) of extremely high purity.Today, the inherently unstable gold deposits at Ampalit are in a state of both aggregation and dissolution. Identification of low energy zones, location of point bar lags in palaeo and recent drainage channels, and the extrapolation of areas of low energy are not solely valid as exploration guides for gold accumulation in this environment. Exploration methods that also recognise ground water migration and composition, and the geochemical controls of dissolution and aggregation, will improve the ability to identify ore accumulations, thus contributing to improved economics of mining these deposits.     

大别山南麓阳逻组砾石层砾石形貌学研究

阳逻组砾石层分布于大别山南麓长江北岸地区,是长江中游地区一个重要的第四纪地层单位.其成因主要有两种观点:一种观点认为阳逻组砾石层为古长江冲积物,后期经过构造抬升而在长江北岸形成阶地;另一种观点认为其为大别山南麓河流冲积扇.砾石层中的砾石形貌记录了砾石的演化历史,对砾石进行形貌学研究可以用来进行古环境重建.文章选取武汉地...     

Late Pleistocene deposits at Block Fen,Cambridgeshire, England

Organic sediments in a gravel quarry at Block Fen, Cambridgeshire, form a sheet dividing lower from upper gravels. Analyses of pollen, macroscopic plant remains and molluscs from these organic sediments are presented. They indicate the presence of temperate freshwater and slightly brackish fine floodplain sediments, which, on the basis of the palaeobotany, are correlated with the temperate Ipswichian Stage. The freshwater sediments, ascribed to Ipswichian substage IIb, occur at ca. ?3 m OD. Marine-influenced tidal sediments, ascribed to Ipswichian substage III, occur at ca. ?6 m OD. No evidence was found for the presence of more than one temperate stage in the sequence. The lower gravels are then correlated with the cold Wolstonian Stage and the upper gravels with the cold Devensian Stage. In contrast to the woodland environments indicated by the palaeobotany of the Ipswichian organic sediments, post-Ipswichian pollen diagrams and macroscopic plant remains in the upper suite of sands and gravels indicate open tree-less vegetation typical of the cold Devensian Stage. They also contain a typical cold-stage mollusc fauna. The sediments containing these floras and faunas are associated with thermal contraction cracks, indicating the presence of permafrost. The final sand and gravel aggradation in the Devensian forms the Block Fen Terrace, near 0 m OD. The evidence indicates that it is younger than the lacustrine sediments resulting from the blocking of the Fenland at the Wash by Late Devensian ice at ca. 18.5 ka BP. The sequence at Block Fen is related to nearby Ipswichian and Devensian sediments at Chatteris, March, Wimblington and Mepal, and to deposits at Wretton on the east margin of Fenland. The correlation permits an outline reconstruction of the history of the valley carrying the River Great Ouse between the Isle of Ely and the Chatteris and March ‘islands’ from the time of a gravel aggradation before the Ipswichian to the Flandrian. The reconstruction shows the time and level of the Ipswichian marine incursion into the Middle Level of Fenland and the extent of aggradation and erosion in the Devensian.     

洞庭盆地澧县凹陷第四纪沉积特征与古地理演化

澧县凹陷内第四系厚度达200m左右,由早更新世-中更新世中期沉积和全新统组成。早更新世-中更新世中期沉积除顶部为粘土外,主体为砾石层,在凹陷中央夹粉砂、细砂和少量粘土。全新统分布于凹陷南部,为湖冲积粘土。早更新世澧县凹陷区断陷沉降,于河道和冲积扇环境下接受沉积;中更新世凹陷逐渐扩张,沉积范围扩展至凹陷外缘,凹陷主体部位自边缘向中央依次为冲积扇和扇前浅湖环境。中更新世中后期因盆地扩张,自凹陷中央至边缘地带均为静水湖泊环境。中更新世晚期至晚更新世,凹陷及周缘因构造抬升而遭受剥蚀而缺失沉积。全新世凹陷南部受澧水及区域湖面上升影响而发育湖冲积沉积。     

Late Devensian river and floodplain dynamics and related environmental change in northwest Europe,with particular reference to a site at Woolhampton,Berkshire, England

Marked fluctuations in Late-glacial climate are correlated with significant changes in river behaviour and floodplain environment across much of northwest Europe. Evidence from a new site in the Kennet Valley provides a rare comprehensive picture of varying fluvial regime and local vegetation during this interval. Chronological control for the site is provided by biostratigraphical and morphostratigraphical correlations with other sites in the region, and by radiocarbon dating of carefully selected material. Preservation of the sedimentary sequence was facilitated by its occurrence within a large depression in the underlying bedrock. The origin of this depression is uncertain, perhaps reflecting subsidence or scour. Following the Last Glacial Maximum, a nival regime braided river dominated by floods deposited sandy gravels under stadial conditions. A large channel infilled by fine sediments during the latter part of the Windermere Interstadial indicates a fall in flow competence at a time of increased floodplain vegetation, most notably the appearance of tree birch. Variations in sediments and vegetation suggest fluctuations in the floodplain environment, reflecting complex vegetation dynamics and possibly climate forcing. During the Loch Lomond/Younger Dryas Stadial, a nival, braided regime was re-established, accompanied by the disappearance of tree birch.     

Provenance and sediment characteristics of contemporary gravel deposits at Sellicks Beach,eastern shore of Gulf St Vincent,South Australia

Sellicks Beach, located on the eastern shore of Gulf St Vincent, South Australia, is subject to wave-dominated processes and northward longshore transport. During winter, when wave energy is typically vigorous, gravel deposits are exposed across most of the beach, and three step-like berms are well developed. Sand is restricted to a narrow strip that is exposed only at low tide. In contrast, during summer, when wave energy is generally moderate to low, much of the gravel is covered by a thin veneer of sand and only the high berm, on the landward edge of the beach, remains as an obvious feature. Steeply dipping Neoproterozoic to Cambrian strata that outcrop strongly across Sellicks Hill are the original source rocks for the beach gravel; distinctive sedimentary textures, structures and fossils in the cobble-size clasts can be confidently matched with those of the provenance rocks. Much of the sediment entered the modern beach environment as a consequence of coastal erosion of transitional alluvial fan sediments. The oldest alluvial fan sediments are of late Pliocene to earliest Pleistocene age. Mount Terrible Gully provides a conduit for the input of fluvial sediment at the mouth of Cactus Canyon, where clasts as large as boulders accumulate across the beach. Sellicks Beach gravels are subject to longshore transport northwards. Relatively softer clasts, such as those derived from the Heatherdale Shale, are rare beyond Cactus Canyon. In contrast, quartzite clasts are more abundant towards the north. This lithological differentiation is attributed to preferential survivorship of clasts that are physically harder and chemically less reactive. The change in the shapes of clasts northwards, from predominately shingle-like ‘very platy’ and ‘very bladed’ at Cactus Canyon, to more ‘compact’ towards the boat ramp, is in accord with the more massive fabric of the surviving quartzite clasts. At Sellicks Beach, preservation of uplifted, coarse gravels, with entire and comminuted marine molluscan shells, of last interglacial age, provides evidence of neotectonism. At the landward margin of the beach, imbricated gravels in which pore spaces have been infilled with mud, and which show no evidence of modern coastal erosion, may provide evidence of continuing uplift during the recent Holocene. The geological setting, geomorphic framework and modern sedimentary regime at Sellicks Beach combine to provide an exceptionally useful outdoor laboratory for education in field geology.     

长江三峡深槽沉积的研究

文章研究长江三峡两个基岩深槽沉积岩砾的岩性组成与粒度特征,深槽底部的砾石成分以深槽基岩崩落蚀余物质为主,深槽的中上部则以长江底流搬运沉积物为主。¹⁴C测年数据显示,深槽的发育在3.5万年以前,以侵蚀深切为主,没有留下蚀余堆积;3.5万年以后,仍以侵蚀为主,但已有蚀余为主的岩块堆积;大约2.4万年以来,逐渐有缓慢的冲积砾石堆积;至葛洲坝建成以后,该地发育了比较稳定的冲积砾石层和砂层。看来大约35kaB.P.前后,该地水动力强度发生过重大变化,与施雅风等关于3～4万年前长江上游多雨期研究成果相吻合。     

The alluvial architecture of a suspended sediment dominated meandering river: the Río Bermejo,Argentina

The alluvial architecture of fine‐grained (silt‐bed) meandering rivers remains poorly understood in comparison to the extensive study given to sand‐bed and gravel‐bed channels. This paucity of knowledge stems, in part, from the difficulty of studying such modern rivers and deriving analogue information from which to inform facies models for ancient sediments. This paper employs a new technique, the parametric echosounder, to quantify the subsurface structure of the Río Bermejo, Argentina, which is a predominantly silt‐bed river with a large suspended sediment load. These results show that the parametric echosounder can provide high‐resolution (decimetre) subsurface imaging from fine‐grained rivers that is equivalent to the more commonly used ground‐penetrating radar that has been shown to work well in coarser‐grained rivers. Analysis of the data reveals that the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo is characterized by large‐scale inclined heterolithic stratification generated by point‐bar evolution, and associated large‐scale scour surfaces that result from channel migration. The small‐scale and medium‐scale structure of the sedimentary architecture is generated by vertical accretion deposits, bed sets associated with small bars, dunes and climbing ripples and the cut and fill from small cross‐bar channels. This style of alluvial architecture is very different from other modern fine‐grained rivers reported in the literature that emphasize the presence of oblique accretion. The Río Bermejo differs from these other rivers because it is much more active, with very high rates of bank erosion and channel migration. Modern examples of this type of highly active fine‐grained river have been reported rarely in the literature, although ancient examples are more prevalent and show similarities with the alluvial architecture of the Río Bermejo, which thus represents a useful analogue for their identification and interpretation. Although the full spectrum of the sedimentology of fine‐grained rivers has yet to be revealed, meandering rivers dominated by lateral or oblique accretion probably represent end members of such channels, with the specific style of sedimentation being controlled by grain size and sediment load characteristics.     

Fluvial deposits within the Pleistocene Crag at Thorpe St Andrew,Norwich, England

This paper records the findings at a temporary exposure at Thorpe St Andrew near Norwich, Norfolk, UK in Early and early Middle Pleistocene Crag deposits. The British Geological Survey (BGS) describes the particular formation exposed as Norwich Crag consisting of Early Pleistocene shallow marine sediments. The section shows a succession of sorted sands and gravels overlain by a sandy diamicton. Based on field evidence and clast analysis, the sands and gravels are interpreted as the product of point bar and overbank sedimentation and represent the product of a river cutting into and aggrading within the more widespread shallow marine deposits. Composition of the sediments indicates derivation, primarily from Wroxham Crag Formation, with a contribution from Norwich Crag. The sandy diamicton is interpreted as late Middle Pleistocene Corton Till that is recorded in the area. A distinct pattern of colour changes at the top of the sands and gravels is interpreted as a soil that developed on the fluvial sediments before being overridden by the glacier that deposited the Corton Till. The existence of the fluvial sediments within the regional shallow marine deposits suggests that a fall of sea-level, possibly due to climate cooling, while the elevation of the sediments and the adjacent Crag implies that the site has been uplifted since sedimentation. This is the first observation of terrestrial sediments within the shallow marine Crag. The paper also makes a contribution to understanding the diagenetic processes that give deposits within this region some distinctive colour and sediment patterns.     

Early and Middle Pleistocene river systems in eastern England: evidence from Leet Hill,southern Norfolk,England

Pleistocene sediments at Leet Hill, southern Norfolk are examined in terms of their sedimentary structures, palaeocurrent indicators, clast and heavy mineral lithology and litho- and morphostratigraphic position. Colour of the quartzite and vein-quartz clasts is used to differentiate the Bytham and the Kesgrave sands and gravels, with the Bytham sands and gravels having a significantly higher proportion of coloured material. The Kirby Cane sands and gravels are the lower sedimentary unit and were deposited by the Bytham river, which drained a catchment extending into central England. At Leet Hill, erosion of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels by the Bytham river has given the Kirby Cane sands and gravels a distinctive lithological assemblage. Trace clast lithologies suggest that the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels in the region of Leet Hill were deposited in a coastal location with an input from northern sources as well as southern and Welsh sources diagnostic of the Thames catchment. The glaciofluvial Leet Hill Sands and Gravels were deposited by outwash from the Anglian Scandinavian ice sheet. Initially the flow direction of the outwash was determined by the Bytham river valley, but this changed to a southerly direction once the valley had been infilled. This paper provides the first indication of the location of the boundary (Early Pleistocene coastline) between the fluvial Kesgrave Sands and Gravels and the marine equivalent reworked by coastal processes, and demonstrates the way the pre-glacial relief initially controlled patterns of glaciofluvial sedimentation during the early part of the Anglian glaciation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

四川攀枝花昔格达组及其下伏河流砾石的地球化学特征以及对物源的制约

位于扬子地块西缘的攀枝花地区昔格达组湖相沉积及其下伏河流相砾石比较发育。湖相沉积具有较高的SiO2含量和Al2O3/SiO2比值,显示其载体沉积物具有较高成熟度,表明经历了长距离的搬运。主元素、稀土(REE)和微量元素分析结果揭示昔格达组湖相沉积物源形成于典型的大陆岛弧构造背景,主要来自松潘-甘孜造山带义敦岛弧花岗岩区。Eu/La?Yb/La判别图与Zr/Y比值进一步证实昔格达组湖相沉积分别来自于金沙江上游及雅砻江上游,说明昔格达古湖形成时金沙江上游已被袭夺。昔格达组下伏河流相砾石REE、微量元素分析结果显示其形成于被动大陆边缘构造背景,说明其是由雅砻江经扬子板块边缘花岗岩区携载而来。昔格达组湖相沉积与其下伏河流相砾石的不同物源特征表明伴随着昔格达古湖的形成,金沙江河流经历了演化史上的巨变。     

长江三峡深槽沉积的研究

文章研究长江三峡两个基岩深槽沉积岩砾的岩性组成与粒度特征,深槽底部的砾石成分以深槽基岩崩落蚀余物质为主,深槽的中上部则以长江底流搬运沉积物为主。¹⁴C测年数据显示,深槽的发育在3.5万年以前,以侵蚀深切为主,没有留下蚀余堆积;3.5万年以后,仍以侵蚀为主,但已有蚀余为主的岩块堆积;大约2.4万年以来,逐渐有缓慢的冲积砾石堆积;至葛洲坝建成以后,该地发育了比较稳定的冲积砾石层和砂层。看来大约35kaB.P.前后,该地水动力强度发生过重大变化,与施雅风等关于3～4万年前长江上游多雨期研究成果相吻合。