Pleistocene sediment sources, debris transport mechanisms, and depositional environments: a Bering Glacier model applied to northeastern Appalachian Plateau deglaciation, central New York

A modified ice-tongue model suggests that subglacial, saturated, fine sediment derived from local bedrock sources reduced basal shear strength and lowered the ice surface gradient sufficiently to produce ice tongues 20 km long in all major north-south oriented valleys on the northeastern Appalachian Plateau, while adjacent uplands were virtually ice-free. Associated environments of deposition produced two different landform assemblages, one representative of active ice retreat in through valleys and another that depicts widespread stagnation in non-through valleys.Pebble count data indicate that sediment transport by glacial flow was important to the moraine-building process, but the occurrence of isolated kame fields suggests an origin linked to inwash from major upland tributaries.All coarse valley fill (sand and gravel) is derived from two basic sources: (1) re-worked upland drift, and (2) resedimented debris from upvalley sources, including the glacier. Processes common to through valleys favor upvalley sources and active ice landforms, whereas inwash and stagnant ice sedimentation are typical of non-through valleys. Although extensive ice-free uplands served as a source of some fine sediment, a comparison of sediment volume to upland area indicates that inwash processes could not have yielded sufficient fines to account for the volume of fine sand and silt found within the valley fill. Meltwater flow via subglacial tunnels discharged saturated, fine sediment directly into proglacial lakes and served as the major source and transport mechanism for most sand and silt.The Laurentide deglacial environment throughout the upper Susquehanna region was characterized by proglacial lakes, detached remnant ice masses, dead-ice sedimentation and collapsed ice tongues. Stagnation and downwasting in ice-contact lakes peripheral to the eastern Bering Piedmont Glacier, Alaska, serve to depict analog conditions for retreat in central New York.     

巴丹吉林典型高大沙山粒度分布规律研究

选巴丹吉林沙漠典型高大沙山(1 605 m)为研究对象,对沙山沉积物进行系统采样分析。结果表明,巴丹吉林沙漠典型高大沙山(1 605 m)粒度组成中细砂含量最高,中砂次之;粗砂、极细砂和粗粉砂含量均较少,胶粒、粘粒、细粉砂未出现。迎风坡沉积物粒度比背风坡细。迎风坡砂粒大小均匀、分选好,迎风坡沉积物颗粒较背风坡总体要均匀。沙山迎风坡和背风坡沉积物由坡脚至顶部粒径总体变细,砂粒大小趋于均匀,分选变好,偏度和峰态由波动趋于稳定。大沙山迎风坡下部侵蚀作用为主,背风坡中上部以风力堆积为主,下部以重力堆积为主。     

内蒙古额济纳盆地沉积物粒度特征及沉积环境

沉积物的粒度特征对于分析区域沉积动力环境有着重要意义。本文以额济纳盆地为研究区,以戈壁、河床和沙丘3个主要地貌单元采集的表层沉积物样本的粒度测量结果为数据源,基于粒度参数分析和端元建模分析,研究了沉积物的粒度特征、端元构成和反映的沉积动力环境。结果表明：（1）额济纳盆地表层沉积物粒度曲线具有单峰和多峰分布,其中戈壁和沙丘沉积物组成上以砂质为主,河床沉积物组成上以砂质和粉砂质为主。（2）表层沉积物可分解出4个主要端元,端元1到端元4的主要物质依次为粗粉砂、细砂、中砂和细砂混合物以及粗砂和中砂混合物。（3）区域环境特点分析表明,表层沉积物端元1主要代表了以流水为主的动力过程,端元2主要代表了风力作用和局部地形环境复合的过程,端元3和端元4主要是风力主导下的多外营力复合以及局部环境共同作用的结果。     

The Origin and Significance of Debris-charged Ridges at the Surface of Storglaciären, Northern Sweden

Storglaciären is a 3.2 km long polythermal valley glacier in northern Sweden. Since 1994 a number of small (1–2 m high) transverse debris‐charged ridges have emerged at the ice surface in the terminal zone of the glacier. This paper presents the results of a combined structural glaciological, isotopic, sedimentological and ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) study of the terminal area of the glacier with the aim of understanding the evolution of these debris‐charged ridges, features which are typical of many polythermal glaciers. The ridges originate from steeply dipping (50–70°) curvilinear fractures on the glacier surface. Here, the fractures contain bands of sediment‐rich ice between 0.2 and 0.4 m thick composed of sandy gravel and diamicton, interpreted as glaciofluvial and basal glacial material, respectively. Structural mapping of the glacier from aerial photography demonstrates that the curvilinear fractures cannot be traced up‐glacier into pre‐existing structures visible at the glacier surface such as crevasses or crevasse traces. These curvilinear fractures are therefore interpreted as new features formed near the glacier snout. Ice adjacent to these fractures shows complex folding, partly defined by variations in ice facies, and partly by disseminated sediment. The isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O) of both coarse‐clear and coarse‐bubbly glacier ice facies is similar to the isotopic composition of the interstitial ice in debris layers that forms the debris‐charged ridges, implying that none of these facies have undergone any significant isotopic fractionation by the incomplete freezing of available water. The GPR survey shows strong internal reflections within the ice beneath the debris‐charged ridges, interpreted as debris layers within the glacier. Overall, the morphology and distribution of the fractures indicate an origin by compressional glaciotectonics near the snout, either at the thermal boundary, where active temperate glacier ice is being thrust over cold stagnant ice near the snout, or as a result of large‐scale recumbent folding in the glacier. Further work is required to elucidate the precise role of each of these mechanisms in elevating the basal glacial and glaciofluvial material to the ice surface.     

Sedimentary Record of the Younger Saalian Ice Margin Stagnation in Eastern Poland: Development of a Regular Pattern of Glaciolacustrine Kames

Glaciolacustrine kames in the Bielsk Podlaski area (eastern Poland) exhibit a unique regular pattern. Three representative morphological kame types were chosen for detailed sedimentological analyses, specifically: isolated, isometric mounds; isolated, elongated hills; and branching ridges. All types comprised fine‐grained sandy and sandy/silty deposits. Lithofacies analysis resulted in the distinction of several lithofacies associations. Associations dominated by medium‐ or large‐scale, massive or horizontally laminated sands are interpreted as proximal subaqueous fans; associations dominated by medium‐ or small‐scale lithofacies of ripple‐drift cross‐laminated sand are interpreted as distal subaqueous fans; and those dominated by sandy/silty, silty or silty/clayey lithofacies with horizontal lamination are interpreted as lake bottomsets. Rates of sediment accumulation appear to have been fast, resulting in syndepositional and metadepositional deformation structures of two types: water‐escape structures, and slumps on subaqueous slopes. After the ice‐walled lake basins filled with sediment, glaciofluvial erosion and deposition alternated, resulting in erosional channels of up to 1 m deep, later filled with gravel or gravely sand. The results indicate that kames developed in a supraglacial environment within a topography of ice‐cored moraines containing ice‐walled lakes that persisted due to the presence of permafrost. Pauses during retreat of the ice walls resulted in ice‐contact deformations at the edges of the kames. Kame formation is therefore consistent with a continental climate and this may explain the increased abundance of this type of kame system in Eastern Europe.     

长江口拦门沙河段潮滩表层沉积物分布特征(英文)

Sediment samples with high spatial resolution (432 samples in total) and flow data were collected on the tidal flats in the mouth-bar region of the Yangtze Estuary. The data was collected in July 2005, July 2006 and May 2007. The samples were analyzed with a particle sizer, resulting in the sediment distribution. The grain sizes and related parameters were analyzed. The results were presented in a ternary diagram. The sediment mainly consisted of sand, silty sand, sandy silt, sand-silt-clay, silt and clayey silt. And sand skeletons and clay matrices were found. At Nanhui Shoal, silt skeletons could be identified as well. Furthermore, the results were discussed per shoal. Although some depth dependencies were found per shoal, no general relation was found. The results are as follows: sediment located at these tidal flats of the Yangtze Estuary was mainly composed of sand, silty sand and silt. The median grain size in sediment was relatively complex with a range from 2.5 φ to 8 φ. The distributions of sorting coefficients ranging from 1 to 2 were in agreement with median sizes. It was suggested that sediment of the tidal flats was coarser and better sorted or finer and worse sorted. The skewness in sediment distribution varied from 0.1 to 0.8. In addition, the distributions of sorting coefficient and skewness in sediment at Chongming Eastern Shoal, Hengsha Eastern Shoal and Jiuduan Shoal were of similar characteristics because there were closely positive correlated relationships among these parameters. However, due to the location difference between Nanhui Southern Shoal and Eastern Shoal, the values of sorting coefficient and skewness had relatively large distinctions. The tracks of sediment transport could be described based on the distributions of sediment, which might reveal sediment transport controlled by two dominant hydrodynamic factors of current and wave. It was appreciable that coarser sediment with lower sorted coefficient was affected by dominant ebb current action and intense wave action resulted from rapidly dissipated wave energy. Moreover, due to the effects of obstructed branches, guided current and broken wave actions of the Deep Water Channel Project, grain-size in sediment located at two sides of the groyne was of uneven distribution characteristics.     

SPECIFIC EROSIONAL AND DEPOSITIONAL PROCESSES IN A PLEISTOCENE SUBGLACIAL TUNNEL IN THE WIELKOPOLSKA REGION,POLAND

The Pleistocene Cie?le succession accumulated in a subglacial tunnel and shows three sedimentological units: (1) trough cross‐stratified sand with granules deposited in deep channels up to 5.4 m, (2) trough stratified and massive gravels deposited in a very deep channel up to 6.2 m eroded by a catastrophic hyperconcentrated flow, and (3) a massive diamicton, interpreted as a basal till of melt‐out type. We focus on angular and deformed sandy clasts that occur in the second unit. It appears that thermal erosion, short transport in a sediment‐laden current and sudden sedimentation were responsible for the oversized sandy clasts that occur in the gravel glaciofluvial deposits. The deposits are characterized by large‐scale erosional scours, massive structure, and fluid‐escape deformations. This combination of features can be used as a key tool for the interpretation of hyperconcentrated‐flow conditions beneath Pleistocene ice sheets.     

CHANGES IN ICE-MARGIN PROCESSES AND SEDIMENT ROUTING DURING ICE-SHEET ADVANCE ACROSS A MARGINAL MORAINE

Advance of part of the margin of the Greenland ice sheet across a proglacial moraine ridge between 1968 and 2002 caused progressive changes in moraine morphology, basal ice formation, debris release, ice‐marginal sediment storage, and sediment transfer to the distal proglacial zone. When the ice margin is behind the moraine, most of the sediment released from the glacier is stored close to the ice margin. As the margin advances across the moraine the potential for ice‐proximal sediment storage decreases and distal sediment flux is augmented by reactivation of moraine sediment. For six stages of advance associated with distinctive glacial and sedimentary processes we describe the ice margin, the debris‐rich basal ice, debris release from the glacier, sediment routing into the proglacial zone, and geomorphic processes on the moraine. The overtopping of a moraine ridge is a significant glaciological, geomorphological and sedimentological threshold in glacier advance, likely to cause a distinctive pulse in distal sediment accumulation rates that should be taken into account when glacial sediments are interpreted to reconstruct glacier fluctuations.     

呼伦湖沉积物粒度特征及其环境指示意义

通过对呼伦湖湖心沉积岩芯粒度机械组成和频率分布曲线的分析,辅以²¹⁰Pb年代测定,重建了1865~2016年粒度演变特征并揭示其环境指示意义。研究表明：湖心沉积物主要为粉砂和黏土,中值粒径同粗粉砂和砂组分显著正相关,在垂直剖面上表现为减小、波动变化和增大的变化趋势。应用对数正态分布函数对粒度频率曲线进行拟合,提取出大气粉尘源、湖心相标志组分和风沙尘暴组分3个环境敏感组分。粒度机械组成与环境敏感组分的垂向特征变化同历史时期的湖泊水位变化、降水量强度变化,及沙尘暴事件较为一致,能够较好的重建150 a来湖区气候干湿变化和风沙活动特征,可用于恢复区域环境变化历史。     

中国北方农牧交错带鄂尔多斯高原段土壤表层粒度特征

土壤粒度是描述土壤性质的重要参数,研究农牧交错带土壤表层粒度对土壤质量和沙化程度评价具有科学意义。对不同沉积物类型及土地利用方式土壤表层(0~5 cm深度)粒度进行分析。结果表明:(1)沙黄土、覆沙黄土残积物、风化残积物中粉粒最多,其次为极细砂和细砂,这3个粒级含量之和表现为沙黄土(96.51%)>覆沙黄土残积物(88.29%)>风化残积物(77.58%);风成沙土壤表层以细砂(53.85%)和中砂(26.13%)为主。(2)平均粒径由小到大依次为沙黄土(4.78Φ)、覆沙黄土残积物(4.62Φ)、风化残积物(3.80Φ)、风成沙(2.46Φ);分选性由差到好依次为风化残积物、覆沙黄土残积物、沙黄土、风成沙;偏度呈现为正偏或极正偏;峰值表明风成沙(2.30)粒径分布最为集中。(3)同一地表沉积物中,砾石和极粗砂等粗颗粒在农田较多,粉粒在草地较多,极细砂在林地较多;风成沙中,粉粒在固定沙丘略多,细砂在半固定沙丘较多,砾石、极粗砂等粗颗粒仅在流动沙丘地中分布。(4)土壤颗粒分形维数表现为沙黄土(2.5242)>覆沙黄土残积物(2.4373)>风化残积物(2.3554)>风成沙(2.2815);地表沉积物类型不同,表层土壤分形维数与粒级含量相关性有着明显差异。     

黄河口不同粒度泥沙沉积与扩散分析

本文采集和收集大量黄河三角洲沉积物剖面和钻孔泥沙粒度资料以及黄河口来沙粒度组成数据,定量研究了黄河口泥沙的沉积与扩散特征.结果 显示黄河口来沙以粉砂为主,黏土次之,砂最少,年均中值粒径无长期变化趋势.黄河三角洲平原相泥沙与来沙的黏土、粉砂和砂含量无显著差异;前缘相泥沙比来沙的黏土含量较低,砂含量较高;前三角洲相泥沙比来...     

九江市蓼花剖面末次冰期中晚期沉积的粒度端元特征与气候变化

鄱阳湖湖滨地区广泛分布着晚第四纪风沙沉积序列。在星子县沙岭沙山进行野外调查后选择蓼花剖面开展工作,测试了地质时代和粒度,对粒度结果使用端元分析模型进行研究,探讨该区域末次冰期中晚期的气候变化规律。结果显示：该剖面由湖相-古土壤-沙丘砂等沉积相叠覆堆积组成,形成于末次冰期中晚期（48.8—17.1 ka）。端元分析模型将粒度数据分解出3个不同的粒度端元,不同端元组分在垂向上呈峰谷交替的旋回变化,EM1代表粉砂端元组分,峰值对应湖相和古土壤发育时期;EM2和EM3代表中砂—粗砂端元组分,峰值对应沙丘砂发育期,这些峰谷交替变化的规律指示了末次冰期的季风演变以及气候波动变化,万年尺度上表现为LH10 (48.8—39.9 ka)和LH3～LH5 (28.1—17.1 ka)的冬季风强盛期,分别对应深海氧同位素的MIS3b和MIS2阶段。LH6～LH9 (39.9—28.1 ka)为温暖的夏季风时期,对应深海氧同位素的MIS3a阶段。这些变化与YZ洞石笋氧同位素以及格陵兰冰心有良好的对应,与全球气候变化基本一致。     

长江河口河槽近期沉积特征及影响因子分析

随着流域和河口水利工程建设,长江河槽沉积环境发生了巨大改变,对河势演变和河槽冲淤均产生重要影响。依据长江河口河槽大面积表层沉积物采样和各河槽定点水文观测资料,分析各河槽沉积特征,探讨其影响因子及作用机制。结果表明:河槽沉积物类型以砂质粉砂和粉砂质砂分布最广,粒径分布纵向上呈自西向东减小、横向上自北向南减小趋势,河槽总体主槽粗、边滩细。涨落潮泥沙输运和沉降过程影响河槽纵向沉积分布特征,风浪作用强化了口门段河槽南北沉积环境的差异,北支、北港口门段河槽受到偏北方向风浪作用强烈,沉积物粗化明显。不同泥沙来源是造成河槽整体沉积环境差异的主导因素,南支、南港上段表现为流域来沙的沉积特征,北港、南槽、北槽则表现为流域与海域来沙的混合沉积特征,口外沉积物对口内河槽的影响主要是为口内河槽提供细颗粒物质来源。     

南极普里兹湾沉积物中生物硅对粒度测量结果的影响

为了探讨生物硅对沉积物粒度测量结果的影响, 本文采用两种不同前处理方法对普里兹湾重力柱状样品进行了粒度测试。结果表明, 生物硅对沉积物的平均粒径以及黏土、粉砂、砂组分的影响较小, 而对沉积物的分选、偏态、峰态以及粒度频率分布的影响较显著。结合两组粒度组分相关性分析以及各粒级含量累积减小值, 认为生物硅对沉积物中砂、粉砂、黏土级组分含量的影响逐渐减小, 这也造成未去除生物硅的沉积物粒度测量结果偏粗。另外, 通过对比发现普里兹湾沉积物中生物硅粒径主要分布在<3Φ、5.25Φ—7.25Φ、8.75Φ—9.75Φ的粒径范围。极地研究中, 沉积物粒度结果为重建古环境变化提供重要参考, 本文研究认为在普里兹湾海域沉积物粒度研究中去除生物硅对研究结果有积极作用。     

Sediment Distribution Around Glacially Abraded Bedrock Landforms (Whalebacks) at Lago Tranquilo, Chile

Whalebacks are convex landforms created by the smoothing of bedrock by glacial processes. Their formation is attributed to glacial abrasion either by bodies of subglacial sediment sliding over bedrock or by individual clasts contained within ice. This paper reports field measurements of sediment depth around two whaleback landforms in order to investigate the relationship between glacigenic deposits and whaleback formation. The study site, at Lago Tranquilo in Chilean Patagonia, is situated within the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice limits. The two whalebacks are separated by intervening depressions in which sediment depths are generally 0.2 to 0.3 m. Two facies occur on and around the whalebacks. These facies are: (1) angular gravel found only on the surface of the whalebacks, interpreted as bedrock fracturing in response to unloading of the rock following pressure release after ice recession, and (2) sandy boulder‐gravel in the sediment‐filled depressions between the two whalebacks, interpreted as an ice‐marginal deposit, with a mixture of sediment types including basal glacial and glaciofluvial sediment. Since the whalebacks have heavily abraded and striated surfaces but are surrounded by only a patchy and discontinuous layer of sediment, the implication is that surface abrasion of the whalebacks was achieved primarily by clasts entrained in basal ice, not by subglacial till sliding.     

黄河宁蒙段河道粗细双组分泥沙分选沉积特征

黄河宁蒙段河道淤积严重,阐明近源粗泥沙和远源细泥沙分选沉积规律对于河道淤积治理有重要意义。本研究基于120根河道钻孔泥沙样品,通过粒径分布和元素矿物组成,分析了河道>0.05 mm、>0.08 mm和>0.1 mm粗泥沙沿河分选沉积变化特征,并定量评估了近源粗泥沙和远源细泥沙沉积对于河道泥沙淤积的贡献。结果表明：黄河宁蒙段河道淤积的主要是来源于近源沙漠及其下伏砒砂岩区>0.08 mm的粗泥沙,而来源于上游黄土区<0.05 mm的细泥沙主要沉积在河道滩地,对河道淤积的贡献小于30%。因此,风水复合侵蚀引起的沿黄沙漠和下伏砒砂岩粗泥沙入黄是黄河宁蒙沙漠河段河道淤积的根源,也是该河段“悬河”的治理重点。     

Soil freezing process and different expressions for the soil-freezing characteristic curve

The soil-freezing characteristic curve (SFCC), which represents the relationship between unfrozen water content and sub-freezing temperature (or suction at ice-water interface) in a freezing soil, can be used for understanding the transportation of heat, water, and solute in frozen soils. In this paper, the soil freezing process and the similarity between the SFCC of saturated frozen soil and soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) of unfrozen unsaturated soil are reviewed. Based on similar characteristics between SWCC and SFCC, a conceptual SFCC is drawn for illustrating the main features of soil freezing and thawing processes. Various SFCC expressions from the literature are summarized. Four widely used expressions (i.e., power relationship, exponential relationship, van Genuchten 1980 equation and Fredlund and Xing 1994 equation) are evaluated using published experimental data on four different soils (i.e., sandy loam, silt, clay, and saline silt). Results show that the exponential relationship and van Genuchten (1980) equation are more suitable for sandy soils. The simple power relationship can be used to reasonably best-fit the SFCC for soils with different particle sizes; however, it exhibits limitations when fitting the saline silt data. The Fredlund and Xing (1994) equation is suitable for fitting the SFCCs for all soils studied in this paper.     

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.     

Post-Marquette discharge from Glacial Lake Agassiz into the Superior basin

Glacial Lake Agassiz, the largest of the North American glacial lakes, discharged through several different outlets during its history, although the timing and location of discharge remain controversial. However, one discharge event is well established based on extensive onshore observations: drainage through the Nipigon Lake area into the Superior basin about 10,700 years ago, following retreat of ice of the Marquette advance from the basin. High-resolution, single-channel seismic-reflection data collected with a small airgun were acquired to test the hypothesis that the Post-Marquette drainage event left diagnostic stratigraphic and geomorphic signatures beneath Lake Superior. The unique bathymetry of northwestern Lake Superior, where water depth plunges off Nipigon and Black Bays, makes this location ideal for the characterization of the post-Marquette depositional and erosional features. According to our hypothesis, the initial, sudden discharge of high-velocity water would have eroded channels through the bays. The steep and sudden drop-off into the Superior basin would have caused the flow to slow and drop much of the sediment it was carrying. Our results confirm the existence of both erosional features and depositional sediment packages related to Lake Agassiz discharge at this time. The erosional features include deeply incised bedrock channels in the bays. The depositional features comprise subaqueous fans that are thickest in the deep water areas adjacent to the outlets and thin lakeward and laterally away from the channels. The seismic character of the basal units of the fans, proximal to the channels, is chaotic and only very weakly stratified, suggesting that these deposits represent coarse sediment laid down during the initial, high-energy stages of the flood. These sediments are overlain by a stratified package which is interpreted as the fine grained sediment associated with the later, low-energy stages of the flood. The combination of channels and subaqueous fans is inferred to be diagnostic of high-energy Lake Agassiz discharge into the Superior basin, and they serve as analogs for hypothesized discharge at other times.     

磨刀门河口沉积物粒度特征与沉积环境

磨刀门河口的发育深受地质构造和动力条件的制约，在河流和海洋的相互作用下，形成了复杂的沉积特征。根据磨刀门河口表层沉积物的粒度分析结果，运用数学地质方法对粒度参数进行多元统计对应分析，并在此基础上结合地貌和动力条件，分析河口的沉积物粒度特征及其动力沉积环境。结果表明，河口表层沉积物主要有粉砂质粘土、粘土质粉砂、极细砂、细砂等类型；沉积环境可划分为河口主槽沉积环境、涨潮流沉积环境、浅滩沉积环境、拦门沙坝沉积环境及河口前缘沉积环境。