Till kinematics in the Stargard drumlin field,NW Poland constrained by microstructural proxies

Deciphering the relationships between streamlined subglacial landforms and deposits therein helps to constrain the dynamics of past ice sheets. Here we present microstructural analyses of till from the largest drumlin field in the North European Lowland generated by a major palaeo-ice stream of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Data derived from thin sections and X-ray microtomography (μCT) reveal multiple microstructures including microshears, circular structures, grain stacks and crushed grains. Long axes of micro-clasts measured in thin sections are directionally clustered and have low, down-ice-oriented dip angles. Some samples reveal subordinate clustering oriented at high angles to the main direction. The μCT data show low clustering strengths of clasts and no systematic fabric pattern in the entire set of samples. There is no correspondence between the clast orientations and the directions of drumlin long axes, suggesting that the till is antecedent in relation to the drumlin-shaping process. The observations indicate spatially and temporally variable, shallow-seated brittle and ductile deformation controlled by porewater pressure fluctuations and generated time-transgressively parallel to till accretion. Consistently with previous studies, the data suggest that the Stargard drumlins are erosional remnants of a pre-existing terrain shaped by material removal from the inter-drumlin areas.     

Till stratigraphy and ice movement directions in the Kittila area, Finnish Lapland

Sedimentological, structural and chemical characteristics of till and weathering crust are studied in the Kittila area of western Finnish Lapland. Four separate till beds and a weathering crust are discovered at three study sites - Pulju, Jerisjarvi and Mantovuoma. An upper grey till bed and a brown till bed are found at each site, the former being interpreted as a melt-out till, the latter as a lodgement till. A yellowish brown till bed occurs only in the Pulju area and is interpreted as a local saprolite till of a lodgement facies, while a lower grey till bed, seen only in the Jerisjärvi area, is a melt-out type till. The weathering crust (saprolite) is a product of chemical weathering of long duration and must be preglacial in age. In the earlier stages of glaciation the ice divide was located near the Scandinavian mountain range, ice movement took place from the northwest, and a lower grey till bed was deposited in the study area. In the later stages of deglaciation the ice divide was located south of the area, so the ice flowed from the south, depositing a brown till bed and locally also a yellowish brown till bed. In the latest stages the ice flowed from the southwest, depositing an upper grey till bed.     

Formation of subglacial till under transient bed conditions: deposition, deformation, and basal decoupling under a Weichselian ice sheet lobe, central Poland

A multi-proxy approach involving a study of sediment architecture, grain size, grain roundness and crushing index, petrographic and clay mineral composition, till fabric and till micromorphology was applied to infer processes of till formation and deformation under a Weichselian ice sheet at Kurzetnik, Poland. The succession consists of three superposed till units overlying outwash sediments deformed at the top. The textural characteristics of tills vary little throughout the till thickness, whereas structural appearance is diversified including massive and bedded regions. Indicators of intergranular bed deformation include overturned, attenuated folds, boudinage structures, a sediment-mixing zone, grain crushing, microstructural lineations, grain stacking and high fabric strength. Lodgement proxies are grooved intra-till surfaces, ploughing marks and consistently striated clast surfaces. Basal decoupling by pressurized meltwater is indicated by undisturbed sand stringers, sand-filled meltwater scours under pebbles and partly armoured till pellets. It is suggested that the till experienced multiple transitions between lodgement, deformation and basal decoupling. Cumulative strain was high, but the depth of (time-transgressive) deformation much lower (centimetre range) than the entire till thickness ( ca 2 m) at any point in time, consistent with the deforming bed mosaic model. Throughout most of ice overriding, porewater pressure was high, in the vicinity of glacier floatation pressure indicating that the substratum, consisting of 11 m thick sand, was unable to drain subglacial meltwater sufficiently.     

A multiproxy study of a basal till: a time‐transgressive accretion and deformation hypothesis

A two‐part basal till at Knud Strand, Denmark reveals a uniform fabric pattern and strength, petrographical composition and clay mineralogy. The nature of the contact with the underlying sediments, ductile deformation structures, partly intact soft sediment clasts, small meltwater channels and thin horizontal outwash stringers dispersed in the till indicate both bed deformation and basal decoupling by pressurised subglacial water. A time‐transgressive model is suggested to explain the lack of vertical gradation in till properties in which debris released from the active ice sole is sheared in a thin zone moving upward as till accretion proceeds. It is suggested that, although strain indicators occur throughout the entire till thickness, the deformation at any point of time encompassed the uppermost part of the till only, allowing preservation of fragile clasts below. The substantial thickness of the till (up to 6 m) coupled with a much smaller (by more than one order of magnitude) inferred thickness of the deforming bed suggests that the bulk of till material was transported englacially prior to deposition. The lack of petrographical gradation in the till is attributed to effective mixing and homogenisation of material along the ice flow path. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The final phase of dead-ice moraine development: processes and sediment architecture, Kötlujökull, Iceland

Consecutive phases of de-icing of ice-cored moraines and the formation of dead-ice moraine were monitored over a 4-year period at the terminus of the Kötlujökull glacier, Iceland. Particularly, the transition from partially ice-cored moraine with isolated dead-ice blocks to the ice-free landscape receives attention in this paper in order to link the final melting processes to the architecture of the sedimentary end product. In the current humid sub-polar climate of south Iceland de-icing of partially ice-cored moraines results chiefly from melting along the bottom surface of ice-cores with an annual average rate of 25 cm. The final de-icing is associated with an interrelated group of re-sedimentation processes and surface features. Series of sinkholes evolve at the toe of dead-ice blocks, which initiate retrogressive rotational sliding or backslumping of the ice-cored slopes and the formation of distinct edges and fractures in the adjacent basins. Although backslumping is the dominant process in this phase of re-sedimentation, structures resulting from this process are rarely recognized in the ice-free landscape. As ice-cores gradually diminish the effect of the latest re-sedimentation events will overprint or destroy most existing sedimentary characteristics. Thus, in the ice-free landscape, structures mainly related to the formation of sinkholes and fractures remain imprinted on the sediment succession. Generally, no inversion of the topography occurs during the final phase of de-icing. The overall topography recognized in the late phase of the fully ice-cored terrain is merely lowered and the amplitude of the relief reduced as de-icing progresses. The sediment architecture of the ice-free landscape is characterized by heterogeneous and often slumped diamict sediments with variable thickness and lateral distribution; clast orientation is related to the direction of slopes, and boulders are found in isolated groups or in linear arrangements.     

Glacier variations in Breheimen,southern Norway: dating Little Ice Age moraine sequences at seven low‐altitude glaciers

Moraine sequences in front of seven relatively low‐altitude glaciers in the Breheimen region of central southern Norway are described and dated using a ‘multi‐proxy’ approach to moraine stratigraphy. Lichenometric dating, based on the Rhizocarpon subgenus, is used to construct a composite moraine chronology, which indicates eight phases of synchronous moraine formation: AD 1793–1799, 1807–1813, 1845–1852, 1859–1862, 1879–1885, 1897–1898, 1906–1908 and 1931–1933. Although the existence of a few cases of older moraines, possibly dating from earlier in the eighteenth or late in the seventeenth centuries cannot be ruled out by lichenometry, Schmidt hammer R‐values from boulders on outermost moraine ridges suggest an absence of Holocene moraines older than the Little Ice Age. Twenty‐three radiocarbon dates from buried soils and peat associated with outermost moraines at three glaciers—Tverreggibreen, Storegrovbreen and Greinbreen—also indicate that the ‘Little Ice Age’ glacier maximum was the Neoglacial maximum at most if not all glaciers. Several maximum age estimates for the Little Ice Age glacier maximum range between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, with the youngest from a buried soil being AD 1693. A pre‐Little Ice Age maximum cannot be ruled out at Greinbreen, however, where the age of buried peat suggests the outermost moraine dates from AD 981–1399 (at variance with the lichenometric evidence). Glaciofluvial stratigraphy at Tverreggibreen provides evidence for minor glacier advances about AD 655–963 and AD 1277–1396, respectively. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

青藏高原东南部贡嘎山海螺沟冰川冰下沉积物形成与变形

冰岩界面的冰川动力学是冰川系统的重要组成部分, 海螺沟冰川地处温暖湿润的海洋环境, 冰川运动速度较快, 冰川底部接近压融点, 是研究冰下过程的较理想地点. 在海螺沟冰川大型磨光面上浅显侵蚀坑内发现了碎屑物质. 对碎屑物质理化特征研究表明: 粒度特征、地球化学与石英砂SEM 分析表明沉积在冰岩界面上的物质来自于冰川底部的底碛层, 而不是冰上环境的产物. 偏光显微镜下观察到的冰下沉积物呈现出一系列塑性变形(微旋转、褶皱)和脆性变形(线性结构、支撑结构、断层)微观结构和构造. 两种变形结构的存在是碎屑物质在形成过程中其含水量波动情况的反映. 冰下碎屑物质是冰下融出、滞碛作用的共同产物. 在整个冰下碎屑物质形成与变形过程中, 由于冰下水系季节性变化带来的冰岩界面上冰川融水含量的波动起了决定性作用.     

Geochemical－Sequence Stratigraphy and Its Application Prospects in Lake Basins

As a useful approach for hydrocarbon exploration,the sequence stratigraphy has been commonly accepted.The concepts of sequence and parasequence provide a state-of -the-artframe-work for studying the distribution and characters of depositional system,and analyzing the occurrence,distribution,characteristics of source,reservoir and seal-play elements.The newly-developed geochemical -sequence stratigraphy focuses mainly on the occurrence,distribution and characters of source rocks and reservoir hydrocarbons within a chronostratigraphic framework,Integrated with sequence wtratigraphy,geochemistry can be used to study the surce rock potential within a sequence wtratigraphic framework and to describe the characteristics of hydrocarbons accumulated in reservoirs,which were predicted by way of sequence stratigraphy.The concept of geochemical-sequence wtratigraphy was proposed by Peters et al.(2000).Constructing a reliable sequence stratigraphic framework is the basis of geochemical-sequence wtratigraphic study although it is not the main goal.High-resolution biomarker analysis is critrical to the construction of a geochemical-sequence stratigraphic model.The geochemical-stratigraphic study involves mainly:(1) the distribution and geochemical characteristics of source rocks with relative sea (lake)-level change;(3) to prodict if these reservoirs bear hydrocarbons and their geochemical features;(4) to be used to construct the time-stratigraphic framework.This paper also summarizes the lake basin types,and introduces their facies associatons,source potential and organic geochemical features.At the end,the authors offer some suggestions about how to carry out geochemical-sequence stratigraphic study in ladcustrine strata.     

泌阳凹陷湖相白云岩层序地层学分析

泌阳凹陷湖盆中心安棚地区核二段和核三段上部发育一套巨厚白云岩层系地层,岩性以泥质白云岩、白云质泥岩、泥岩、纯白云岩和碱层为主,属淡化期和咸化期相互交替的常年碱性盐湖沉积体系。笔者从湖相白云岩层系沉积特征入手,首先从剖面上对长期旋回、中期旋回和短期旋回进行层序分析,然后从沉积成岩角度对该短期旋回和韵律旋回进行高分辨率层系地层分析。     

兰坪盆地古近系宝相寺组层序地层分析

文章运用层序地层学原理,对兰坪盆地中部古近系宝相寺组进行深入研究,划分出1个Ⅰ型层序及3个Ⅱ型层序界面。阐述了兰坪盆地中部古近系宝相寺组层序格架及砂体结构特征,建立层序地层格架演化模式图,反映了湖平面变化对砂体沉积结构的重要影响。低位体系域早期河流侵蚀强烈,多以中粒为主,晚期发育复合状砂体;湖侵体系域砂体多为细粒砂泥岩,呈孤立状形态;高位体系域砂体以席状砂体为主,主要由滨浅湖、半深湖和湖泊三角洲沉积体系构成。     

Late Quaternary paleosols, stratigraphy and landscape evolution in the Northern Pampa, Argentina

The field properties, micromorphology, grain-size, geochemistry, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of two late Quaternary sections have been used to reconstruct the sequence of pedosedimentary processes and to provide insights into landscape evolution in part of the Northern Pampa of Argentina. Paleosols developed in paludal sediments adjacent to the Paraná river at Baradero and in loess at Lozada can both be correlated and linked to other sites, thus enabling for the first time the tentative recognition and tracing of a diachronous soil stratigraphic unit that probably spans the equivalent of at least part of marine oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 5. The paleosol at Lozada was truncated and buried beneath fluvial sediments during the time span of OIS 4 and 3. Eolian gradually replaced paludal inputs at Baradero over this period, and there were also two clearly defined breaks in sedimentation and development of paleosols. The period corresponding to OIS 2 was marked by significant loess accumulation at both sites with accretion continuing into the mid-Holocene only at Lozada. The more developed nature of the surface soil at Baradero probably reflects a combination of a moister climate and a longer soil-forming interval.     

基于神经网络模拟的祁连山冰碛垄及其时空变化

采用DGPS测量技术对祁连山东段冷龙岭南坡老龙湾沟和北坡的宁缠河谷、中段的摆浪河谷、西段大雪山老虎沟的小冰期、新冰期和末次冰期的冰碛垄形态分别进行了实地测量和研究.以MATLAB软件为平台,应用人工神经网络方法模拟恢复了各个冰期的冰碛垄形态.结果表明:利用MATLAB人工神经网络方法,在保证模拟高程和实测高程之差不超过...     

豫西南晚白垩世地层时代研究的进展

近年来，豫西南一带红层时代的研究，获得了包括恐龙蛋、恐龙与轮藻、介形类、孢粉及同位素年龄等方面的重要材料，为区内划分的晚白垩世高沟组、马家村组、寺沟组地层时代，提供了新的和可靠的证据，排除了认为属于早白垩世、白垩纪或其他意见的可能。     

雀儿山隧道冰碛地层冻胀力原位测试及计算分析

以国道317线雀儿山隧道为工程依托,进行了隧道洞口冰碛地层的冻胀力原位测试,同时结合数值模拟、理论模型计算等方法,得到了冻融圈厚度、冻胀压力以及冻结前后衬砌结构内外测的应力。在此基础上,计算得到了衬砌结构的轴力、弯矩分布和变化规律,并与已有研究结果进行了比较分析。研究结果表明：寒区隧道洞口段冰碛地层作为高原常见季冻土受低温影响显著,低温持续22 h时冻融圈厚度达2 m左右;采用隧道冻胀力计算模型计算得到的冻胀压力在19.8～158.3 kPa之间,原位测试的冻胀压力在40～240 kPa之间,其中拱脚处最小,仰拱处最大;冰碛地层冻结前后的衬砌结构内侧、外侧应力各自具有复杂的变化和分布规律,冻结状态下衬砌结构轴力呈“扇”形分布,弯矩呈“蝶”形分布。与相关研究成果比较分析表明,现场采用的原位测试方法合理,结果更准确。     

The Millstone Grit (namurian) of the southern pennines viewed in the light of eustatically controlled sequence stratigraphy

The overall lithological succession in the Millstone Grit of the southern Pennines was most probably controlled by glacial-eustatic sea-level oscillations and may be interpreted in terms of the systems tracts of sequence stratigraphy. Bands containing thick-shelled goniatites represent ‘condensed sections’ formed at times of maximum flooding. Turbidite-fronted deltas, marking major basin-filling episodes, resemble ‘lowstand systems tracts’. However all sand influxes did not necessarily occur during lowstands. Millstone Grit sheet deltas and elongate deltas resemble lobate and birdfoot deltas in Recent ‘highstand systems tracts’. The prograding fluviodeltaic complexes at the tops of some major turbidite-fronted deltas were braid deltas. So was the sheet-like channel complex of the Rough Rock at the top of the Millstone Grit, but this was probably part of a ‘highstand systems tract’.     

Carbon and strontium isotope stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian) shallow-water carbonates of southern Italy: Chronostratigraphic calibration of larger foraminifera biostratigraphy

Shallow-water carbonates are invaluable archives of past global change. They hold the record of how neritic biologic communities reacted to palaeoenvironmental changes. However, attempts to decipher these geological archives are often severely hampered by the low stratigraphic resolution attained by biostratigraphy. This is particularly the case for the Upper Cretaceous carbonate platforms of the central Tethyan realm: their biostratigraphy suffers from very low resolution and poor correlation with the standard biochronologic scales based on ammonites, planktic foraminifers and calcareous nannoplankton.In this paper we show how this problem can be tackled by integrating biostratigraphy with isotope stratigraphy. We present a detailed record of the benthic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and carbon and strontium isotope stratigraphy of three upper Cenomanian-middle Campanian sections belonging to the Apennine Carbonate Platform of southern Italy. For the upper Cenomanian-Turonian interval, the carbon isotope curves of the studied sections are easily correlated to the reference curve of the English Chalk. The correlation is facilitated by the matching of the prominent positive excursion corresponding to the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. For the Coniacian-middle Campanian interval, the correlation is mainly based on strontium isotope stratigraphy. We use the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the low-Mg calcite of well preserved rudist shells to obtain accurate chronostratigraphic ages for many levels of the three studied sections. The ages obtained by Sr isotope stratigraphy are then used to better constrain the matching of the carbon isotope curves.From the high-resolution chronostratigraphic age-model stablished by isotope stratigraphy, we derive the chronostratigraphic calibration of benthic foraminiferal biostratigraphic events. For the first time the benthic foraminiferal biozones of the Apennine Carbonate Platform can be accurately correlated to the standard ammonite biozonation. This result is of great relevance because the biostratigraphic schemes of other carbonate platforms in the central and southern Tethyan realm are largely based on the same biostratigraphic events.     

Lateroglacial valleys and landforms in the Karakoram Mountains (Pakistan)

Lateroglacial landforms play a major role in the geomorphological landscape assemblage of the Karakoram Mountains. Nevertheless, in the past they have received only little attention in the glacial-geomorphological literature. In this article, the lateroglacial landscape will be presented as a geomorphological landscape unit. The Karakoram glaciers with lengths of up to 60 km are accompanied by lateroglacial sediment complexes over tens of kilometers. Besides their large horizontal distribution, they are spread over a considerable vertical range and occur between 2500 m–5000 m.The traditional view is that primary processes of rock disintegration such as ice avalanches and freeze-thaw processes as well as glaciofluvial sediments are the main debris suppliers for the formation of lateroglacial sediment complexes. However, the investigation of the lateroglacial sediment landscape of the Karakoram glaciers showed, that firstly the secondary debris supply in form of reworking of older glacigenic deposits (Late glacial slope moraines) represents a major debris source. Secondly, the lateroglacial sediments are composed to a major part of debris supplies from the tributary valleys. In this regard, the sediment input by mudflow events accords a prominent role. Therefore a considerable proportion of the lateroglacial sediments is of non-glacial origin. This fact has to be taken into consideration regarding glacier reconstruction in recent unglaciated mountain valleys. Further on, resedimented mudflow deposits could be identified as important parent material for recent lateral moraine formation. The distribution of lateroglacial valleys (`lateral moraine valleys') was traditionally closely linked to differences in insolation, which are in the subtropical latitude very high (`ablation valleys'). Therefore the S-faced valley flank was seen as the favourable location for lateroglacial valleys. However, field observations on more than 20 glaciers in the Karakoram Mountains proved that lateroglacial valleys occur in all exposures, and can be even absent in S-exposure. Topographical factors seem to be more important than insolation differences for the distribution pattern. Only the distribution of `true ablation valleys' can be regarded as a result of insolation differences. In fact, they can act as initial form for the formation of lateral moraine valleys.     

Carbon isotope stratigraphy of Lochkovian to Eifelian limestones from the Devonian of central and southern Europe

Lower to Middle Devonian carbonates of the Prague Syncline, the Carnic Alps, the Montagne Noire, and the Cantabrian Mountains were investigated for δ¹³C_carb and δ¹³C_org. These values were measured on bulk rocks, selected components and cements. Many carbonates exhibit primary marine values, but some are altered by diagenesis. A δ¹³C curve can be presented for the latest Pridolian to Emsian time interval. Several sharp or broad positive excursions are obvious in the woschmidti-postwoschmidti, sulcatus, kitabicus, Late serotinus, and kockelianus conodont zones. The excursion at the Silurian–Devonian boundary is known worldwide and therefore considered global in nature. Some of the others are described for the first time from central and southern Europe, and their global nature has to be verified by further investigations in other regions. Most excursions relate to and/or started during major regressions whereas sea-level highstands correspond to minimal δ¹³C values. Similar relationships between sea-level changes and δ¹³C have been observed from other early Palaeozoic intervals. The transgressive Chote? (?) and Ka?ák events are marked by positive isotope excursions, this type of combination is usually observed in late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic black shale events.