Taphonomic and paleoenvironmental issues of the Pleistocene loessic Paleolithic sites in the Qinling Mountains,central China

Hinterland intermountain basins and northern and southern piedmonts of the Qinling Mountains accumulated a large amount of loess during the Pleistocene. The loess strata not only record local paleogeographic and paleoenvironmental changes, but also contain rich hominin fossils and Paleolithic remains. In the northern piedmont of the Qinling Mountains and the lower valley of the South Luohe River, the loess strata have multi loess-paleosol sequences with aeolian loess continuously accumulating during glacial and interglacial cycles. In contrast to the northern piedmont, loess stratigraphy in the hinterland intermountain basins of the Qinling Mountains is relatively thin and contains finer loess particles. In this “mini” type of loess stratum, the density of Paleolithic remain generally is higher than the Loess Plateau in the north of the Qinling Mountains. Based on stratigraphic, chronological, and lithic artifacts analysis in recent years, it appears that the regional lithic assemblage belongs to the Oldowan (Mode I) lithic industry, and it is dominated by choppers, cores, flakes, and simple retouched flake tools from 1.15 to 0.6 Ma. Paleolithic open-air sites such as Gongwangling and Chenjiawo in the Lantian area, Shangbaichuan and Liuwan in the Luonan Basin, Qiaojiayao in the Lushi Basin, Longgangsi and Yaochangwan in the Hanzhong Basin, Guanmiao in the Ankang Basin, and the Yunxian Man Site in the Yunxian Basin are representative sites in the region; from 400 to 250 ka, the Longyadong cave site in the Luonan Basin inherited the characteristics of the local Mode I lithic industry, the stone assemblage is made up of cores, flakes, and small retouched flake tools, such as scrapers, points, and burins; during the period from 250 to 50 ka, bi-facially retouched Acheulean tools (Model II), such as hand-axes, picks, and cleavers, were commonly found in the Qinling Mountains region. The emergence of a large number of Model II artifacts indicates that local lithic industries went through a major transition process. Zhanghuokou, Guoyuan, and Huaishuping sites in the Luonan Basin, Diaozhai, Ganyu, Laochihe, and Xiehu sites in the Lantian area, Hejialiang site in the Hanzhong Basin are representative sites in this period; to the turn of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene, it may also exist a small flake-retouched tools lithic industry in the piedmonts of the northern and southern sides of the Qinling Mountains. The lithic assemblages in different stages of the Qinling Mountains region reflect the hominin behavioral changes and the development of lithic technology during the Pleistocene.     

Paleomagnetic dating of the Cenjiawan Paleolithic site in the Nihewan Basin, northern China

It draws much attention of scientists how early hu- mans occupy and adapt to the rigorous climate and environment at high northern latitudes in East Asia after they stepped out of Africa, passed West Asia and finally arrived in East Asia[1-4]. Reliable age determi- nations of Paleolithic sites from northeastern Asia not only help to find out the earliest occupation of early humans in this region, but also relate to the founda- tion of the overall framework of human origin and migration[1-8]…     

Pleistocene magnetochronology of the fauna and Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin: Significance for environmental and hominin evolution in North China

The fluvio-lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin of North China (known as the Nihewan Formation) are rich sources of Early Pleistocene Paleolithic sites and mammalian fossils (known as the Nihewan Fauna sensu lato), which offer an excellent opportunity to investigate the evolution of early humans and land mammals in East Asia. Also abundant mammalian fossils provide clues about the general environmental and climatic setting of early humans. Among the Nihewan Fauna (sensu lato), the Daodi Fauna is one of the most complete and oldest in the eastern Nihewan Basin: seven mammalian fossil-bearing layers in the Nihewan Formation have been described. Except for a biostratigraphy, however, precise age control on the Daodi Fauna has remained unavailable. Here we report a new magnetostratigraphic record that stringently constrains its age. The seven fossil-rich layers span an age range of ca 2.5–1.8 Ma between the Gauss–Matuyama boundary and the termination of the Olduvai polarity subchron. Combining our new and recently published paleomagnetic data, we further establish a Pleistocene magnetochronology of the fauna and Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin. Age ranges of about 2.5–0.5 Ma for the faunas and 1.7–0.3 Ma for the Paleolithic sites are deduced, which span most of the Pleistocene. The chronological framework and calculated proportions of mammals that were adapted to different environments indicate that mixed settings of dominant grasslands and subordinate forests continued at least from 2.5 to 0.5 Ma for early human occupation in the basin, similar to the mixed open savannah and woodland habitats of early humans in Africa. The Nihewan hominins consistently adopted a simple Oldowan-like technology (i.e., Mode 1 core and flake technologies) from at least ca 1.7 to 0.3 Ma. A more advanced Acheulean technology (Mode 2) has not been found in the Nihewan Basin, although it started to emerge in the Bose Basin of South China at ca 0.8 Ma. This implies that multiple groups of hominins distinguished by differential stone-tool-making capabilities may have coexisted in China after 0.8 Ma.     

Chronology of the Paleolithic site of Xibaimaying in the Nihewan Basin,North China,inferred from optical dating of fine-grained quartz

The Paleolithic site of Xibaimaying (XBMY), once considered the youngest flake tool site within the Nihewan Basin, North China, is an ideal archive to study the chronological relationship between flake tool and microblade industries in the Nihewan Basin during the Upper Palaeolithic, but the previous ages obtained for the site remain controversial. From 2015 to 2019, three areas at two archaeological localities (XBMY-I and XBMY-II) of the site were excavated, and well-preserved fossils and flake tools were unearthed. In this study, a total of 26 samples were collected from the three areas for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating using a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol on fine-grained quartz. A shared ‘Standardized growth curve’ (SGC) for a section was constructed to reduce the time required for D_e estimation. The long-term weighted average water contents of the samples during their burial period were estimated based on the in-situ water contents of continuous samples from a nearby borehole. All the OSL ages were modelled via Bayesian statistics using the OxCal software, modifying the OSL ages with stratigraphic constraints in each section. The results show that the cultural layer bearing flake tool assemblages falls within the period of 122–36 ka, indicating that the flake tool industry of the Xibaimaying site is comparable to that of the Youfangbei (108–86 ka), Banjingzi (∼86 ka) and Xinmiaozhuang (75–63 ka) sites, rather than the youngest one in the Nihewan basin, which explains why the Xibaimaying site is characterized as pure flake tool culture without any ‘advanced’ trait. The OSL dating results also shed new light on the study of sedimentary processes in the Xibaimaying site area. The different deposition rates (0.01–1.61 mm/a) for the sediments at the three newly excavated areas imply complex geomorphologic processes in the site area.     

Radiocarbon and luminescence dating of the Wulanmulun site in Ordos,and its implication for the chronology of Paleolithic sites in China

After the Salawusu and Shuidonggou sites, the Wulanmulun site found in 2011 is another important Paleolithic site in Ordos, China, due to its numerous stone artifacts and animal fossils. Here, we carry out a combined luminescence and radiocarbon dating of the site. The luminescence dating was done on coarse-grained quartz from 24 sediment samples using a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. The radiocarbon dating was performed on ten charcoal samples and one bone sample using acid-base-acid (ABA) and acid–base-wet oxidation-stepped combustion (ABOx-SC) pretreatments. The results showed that: (i) although some samples show relative large (>20%) overdispersion in De distribution (small aliquots), the quartz grains are considered to be sufficiently bleached before burial; (ii) the quartz OSL ages of ∼4–65 ka obtained for the samples are generally stratigraphically consistent and reliable; (iii) the radiocarbon ages obtained using the ABA pretreatment procedure are much younger than the corresponding OSL ages, and the radiocarbon ages obtained using the ABOx-SC method are beyond or close to the laboratory background. The radiocarbon ages obtained using the ABA treatment were considered to be underestimated. This implication is that caution must be taken for dating Chinese Paleolithic (>25 ka) using the ABA pretreatment procedure on carbon samples. Finally, the cultural layers from the Wulanmulun site are deduced to be between 50 and 65 ka.     

Mesozoic fill-sequences in Hefei Basin: Implication for Dabie Orogenesis, central China

A research on the Mesozoic fill-sequences of Hefei basin, located at the north foot of Dabie Mountains, shows two-phase evolution. The first phase, early- to mid-/late-Jurassic, is characterized by terrestrial clastic deposits, with four times of reverse-grading units at least, and forms greatly thick molass reconstruction in the mid-/late-phase, which reflects gradually strong thrusting-orogenesis in the north Dabie and flexural depression in the north foreland of Dabie Mountains. The second phase, late-Jurassic to Cretaceous, includes two-episode rifting processes. The first episode (J₃) shows calc-alkalic and alkali volcanic rocks interstratified pyroclastic rocks, which may reflect upwelling igneous magma from mantle-source due to the Yangtze continent slab breakoff induced by deep subduction process. A suite of lacustrine, fluvial and piemount facies, about 3000 –3500 m in thickness, develops in the second episode (J₃-K₁), which reflects regional extensional setting and intense elevator diversity of mountain-basin in the study area. This research renews and deepens cognition for the Mesozoic Dabie orogenesis     

陕南汉中盆地西部梁山南缘断裂隐伏段的活动性鉴定

汉中盆地是青藏高原、 秦岭与大巴山—龙门山差异隆升区中间的新生代断陷盆地, 是重要的地质体连结点. 通过新近开展的汉中市活断层探测工作中的地面地质调查、 浅层地震勘探与钻孔联合地质剖面分析等工作认为, 汉中盆地内部存在一条活动断裂, 即梁山南缘断裂. 浅层地震勘探资料显示, 梁山南缘断裂错断多套第四纪以来的地层, 错距自下而上逐渐减小. 钻孔联合地质剖面显示, 梁山南缘断裂错断晚更新世中晚期以来的砾砂及卵石层, 距今58 ka的砾砂层错距约为6 m. 这些现象首次揭示了汉中盆地内部梁山南缘断裂的最新活动时代和活动性质.     

Miocene Bahean stratigraphy in the Longzhong Basin, northern central China and its implications in environmental change

Fossil mammal-riched Neogene strata are widely distributed in the southeast corner of the huge Longzhong Basin at Tianshui, Gansu Province, northern central China. Hipparion weihoense, a typical member of late Middle Miocene Bahean stage, was recently excavated at Yaodian along a well-exposed outcrop. Owing to the importance of the Bahean stage in the mammalian evolution and its potential for environmental change, we suggested a name of Yaodian Formation for the stratigra- phy, which is correlated to the Bahe Formation at Lantian, Shaanxi. High resolution paleomagnetic dating of the section shows that the Yaodian Formation covers the period between 11.67 Ma and 7.43 Ma, with the site bearing Hipparion weihoense being estimated at about 10.54―10.30 Ma, providing first magnetostratigraphic chronology for the Bahean Stage. The Yaodian Formation consists of fluvial channel deposits (11.67―10.40 Ma) at the bottom, floodplain deposits in the middle (10.40―9.23 Ma) and shallow lake sediments at the top (9.23―7.43 Ma). This upward fining sequence suggests that the relief in nearby mountain ranges such as West Qinling to the south and Huajia Ling to the north was greatly reduced after long-term denudation, fluvial transport capacity was low, and finally the drainage system was disintegrated, replaced with broad-shallow lakes in which only fine sediments like mud and marlite were deposited, indicating an old stage of development of a planation surface. A remarkable shift in ecology and climatic environment was found at 7.4―7.7 Ma when paleoclimate changed from early warm humid to late dry as indicated by sedimentary facies changed from early shallow lake sequence to late eolian red clays and a former coniferous-deciduous mixed forest was replaced by grassland, leading to great growth of Hipparion Fauna of Baodean stage in the region. Therefore, it is estimated that the present high relief of Qinling and drainage pattern did not come into being until Late Pliocene in response to intensive neotectonism and climate change.     

Jurassic depositional records and sandstone provenances in Hefei Basin, central China: Implication for Dabie orogenesis

Abstract   Detrital composition and major element geochemistry of Jurassic sandstones in the south Hefei Basin, central China, show their provenance to be the Dabie Mountains, whose tectonic attributes are closely related to continent–island arc complexes. It was found that a provenance change, from recycled orogen signatures and mixed orogenic sandstones to arc orogen, occurs from the lower Middle Jurassic to the Upper Jurassic (the Zhougongshan Formation). Dissected magmatic arc sources were gradually exposed in the Dabie Mountains due to intensive exhumation during the Late Jurassic, particularly after the Fenghuangtai depositional phase. Furthermore, it can be infered that the magmatic arc was initially present in both the Early Paleozoic and the Triassic, according to isotopic dating studies in previously published reports. δ¹³C–δ¹⁸O tracing between existing marbles of different strata in the Dabie block and marble gravels of the Fenghuangtai Formation in the Hefei Basin indicate that partial lithostratigraphic units for the Jurassic provenances have entirely disappeared from the Dabie block; therefore, it is impossible to reconstruct integral orogenic processes from studies on the remaining Dabie block alone. These findings, together with basin-fill sequences, also suggest that the Hefei Basin was mainly subjected to compressive mechanical regimes rather than extensional regimes in the Jurassic, which resulted in reverse-grading clastic depositional sequences, and is probably related to the northward intracontinental deep subduction of the Yangtze Plate. Regional exhumation properties and a tectonic model of the Late Mesozoic Dabie orogenesis are discussed in this paper.     

Overpressure development and oil charging in the central Junggar Basin,Northwest China: Implication for petroleum exploration

The Junggar Basin is one of the largest and most petroliferous superimposed petroleum basins in China. The central depression area has become the frontier field for petroleum exploration. The characteristics of potential source rocks and reservoir sandstones, and the pressure regime in the central Junggar Basin were studied. Permian shales are dominated by hydrogen-rich, oil-prone algal organic matter, and Jurassic mudstones are dominated by hydrogen-poor, higher-plant derived organic matter. These source rocks are widespread and have been mature for hydrocarbon generation, suggesting good to excellent exploration potential, both for crude oils and for natural gases. The deeply buried Jurassic sandstones usually have low porosity and permeability. However, sandstones beneath the Jurassic/Cretaceous unconformity display relatively high porosity and permeability, suggesting that meteoric water leaching had improved the quality of the sandstones. Overpressure developed over much of the central Junggar Basin. The overpressured rocks are characterized by slightly increased interval transit time, low sandstone permeability, increased organic matter maturity, and high relative hydrocarbon-gas contents. Mudstones in the overpressured system have quite the same clay mineral compositions as mudstones in the lower part of the normally pressured system. Overpressure generation in the central Junggar Basin is best to be explained as the result of hydrocarbon generation and fluid retention in low-permeability rocks. Petroleum generated from Permian and Jurassic source rocks could migrate laterally through preferential petroleum migration pathways and accumulated in structural traps or lithological traps in the overpressured system, or migrate vertically through faults/hydraulic fractures into the overlying, normally pressured system and accumulate in structural or lithological traps. Therefore, commercial petroleum reservoirs could be potentially found in both the overpressured system, and in the normally pressured system.     

Formation mechanism of carbonate cemented zones adjacent to the top overpressured surface in the central Junggar Basin,NW China

Carbonate cemented zones are normally adjacent to the top overpressured surface in the central Junggar Basin,NW China.Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions and petrological investigations of carbonate cements in the carbonate cemented zones indicate that:(1) carbonate cements are composed dominantly of ferrocalcite,ferroan dolomite,and ankerite;(2) carbonate cements are formed under a high temperature circumstance in the subsurface,and organic fluid migration has an important effect on the formatio...     

Optical dating of a Paleolithic site near the eastern coastal region of Shandong,northern China

Many archaeological sites were excavated in China, but rarely in the adjacent coastal areas. An archaeological site at Huangniliang in the coastal area of Shandong Province, northern China was excavated in 2013. Abundant stone artifacts including hammers, cores, flakes, chunks, and retouched tools are found in the silty aeolian sediments. In this study, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) technique was employed to establish the chronological framework of the site. Medium-grained (45–63 μm) quartz was extracted from six sediment samples for dating. The equivalent doses obtained with the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol are shown to increase with depth. Three samples from the stone-tool containing layer yield OSL ages ranging from 54 ka to 59 ka, providing the earliest geochronological evidence for the presence of humans in the eastern coast of Shandong peninsula during the early period of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3.     

Volcanology of the Aries micaceous kimberlite,central Kimberley Basin,Western Australia

The Neoproterozoic (815.4 ± 4.3 Ma) Aries kimberlite intrudes the King Leopold Sandstone and the Carson Volcanics in the central Kimberley Basin, northern Western Australia. Aries is comprised of a N–NNE-trending series of three diatremes and associated hypabyssal kimberlite dykes and plugs. The diatremes are volumetrically dominated by massive, clast-supported, accidental lithic-rich kimberlite breccias that were intruded by hypabyssal macrocrystic phlogopite kimberlite dykes and plugs with variably uniform- to globular segregationary-textured groundmasses. Lower-diatreme facies, accidental lithic-rich breccias probably formed through fall-back of debris into the vent with a major contribution from the collapse of the vent walls. These massive breccias are overlain by a sequence of bedded volcaniclastic breccias in the upper part of the north lobe diatreme. Abundant, poorly vesicular to nonvesicular, juvenile kimberlite ash and lapilli, with morphologies that are indicative of phreatomagmatic fragmentation processes, occur in a reversely graded volcaniclastic kimberlite breccia unit at the base of this sequence. This unit and overlying bedded accidental lithic-rich breccias are interpreted to be sediment gravity-flow deposits (including possible debris flows) derived from the collapse of the crater walls and/or tephra ring deposits that surrounded the crater. Diatreme-forming eruptions may have been initiated by magma–water interactions along fracture and joint-controlled aquifers within the King Leopold Sandstone. The current level of exposure of the diatremes probably extends from the lower-diatreme facies up into the base of a bedded upper-diatreme sequence.     

Frasnian-Famennian boundary events in Tarim Basin,Xinjiang, Northwest China

The Frasnian-Famennian Boundary Event (Kellwasser Event) is one of the seven strongest Phanerozoic faunal turnovers. The importance of this first order of global bio-event was taken into consideration when the International Subcommission on Devonian Strat…     

Geopotential model testing sites in the central part of Europe

Summary Sixteen geopotential model testing sites in the central part of Europe, coinciding with the first-order leveling network points, have been established. The geopotential values for these sites were determined with an accuracy not limiting the testing procedure. Tests have been carried out for models GEM-Tl, GEM-T3, JGM-l, JGM-2, JGM-3 and OSU91A.     

Trends of precipitation in Beijiang River Basin,Guangdong Province,China

An analysis of spatial and temporal trends of precipitation in Beijiang River basin, Guangdong Province, China during 1959–2003 was performed using 17 time series (including monthly, annual, wet season, dry season, early flood period and late flood period totals) both on station based and sub‐basin based data sets. Two nonparametric methods (Mann–Kendall and Sen's T) were used for data analysis. The results showed that (1) downward trends of temporal distribution were mostly detected during the early flood period, especially in May, while upward trends were observed in July and the dry season; (2) downward trends of spatial distribution were mostly detected in the southern Beijiang River basin, while upward trends were observed north of this area. Our results indicated a delayed rainy season and a northward trend of the precipitation belt compared to recent years. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential evapotranspiration changes in Lancang River Basin and Yarlung Zangbo River Basin,southwest China

ABSTRACT

Understanding potential evapotranspiration (PET) changes under climate change is of great importance for hydrological research. The trends of PET changes and their driving forces were investigated in the Lancang (LRB) and Yarlung Zangbo (YRB) river basins, southwest China, using diagnosis graphs and the Mann-Kendall test. Analysis of variance was applied to examine the contribution of different climatic variables to PET. The results show that: (i) there was a statistically significant increase in PET in the period of 1957–2015 in the LRB, while it showed a markedly decreasing trend in the YRB; (ii) PET in both basins is fairly sensitive to wind speed, relative humidity, solar radiation and maximum air temperature, and the interactions between wind speed and relative humidity are also important; and (iii) the increase in PET in the LRB is due mainly to the increase in maximum air temperature and decrease in relative humidity, while declines in wind speed and solar radiation are the main reasons for the decrease in PET in the YRB.     

Pliocene flora and paleoenvironment of Zanda Basin,Tibet, China

This paper describes a plant megafossil assemblage from the Pliocene strata of Xiangzi, Zanda Basin in the western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Twenty-one species belonging to 12 genera and 10 families were identified. Studies show that the Pliocene vegetation in Zanda Basin was mostly deciduous shrub composed of Cotoneaster, Spiraea, Caragana, Hippophae,Rhododendron, Potentilla fruticosa, etc. Leaf sizes of these taxa were generally small. Paleoclimate reconstruction using Coexistence Analysis and CLAMP showed that this area had higher temperature and precipitation in the Pliocene than today, and distinct seasonal precipitation variability was established. The reconstructed paleoelevation of Zanda Basin in the Pliocene was similar to modern times. In the context of central Asian aridification, the gradual drought in the area beginning in the late Cenozoic caused vegetation to transition from shrub to desert, and the flora composition also changed.     

Trends in extreme temperature indices in the Poyang Lake Basin,China

Based on daily maximum and minimum temperature records at 78 meteorological stations in the Basin of China’s largest fresh water lake (Poyang Lake Basin), the temporal and spatial variability of 11 extreme temperature indices are investigated for the period 1959–2010. The analysis indicates that the annual mean of daily minimum temperature (T_min) has increased significantly, while no significant trends were observed in the annual mean of daily maximum temperature (T_max), resulting in a significant decrease in the diurnal temperature range. Trends and percentages of stations with significant trends in T_min-related indices are generally stronger and higher than those in T_max-related indices; however, no significant trends can be found in T_max-related indices (TXMean, TX90p, TXx and TX10p) at both seasonal and annual time scale. Low correlations with Global-SST ENSO index are also detected in T_max-related indices. Significant positive relationships can be found in T_min-related indices (TNMean, TNx, TNn and TN90p), however, the most significant negative coefficient was also found in cold nights (TN10p) with the Global-SST ENSO index. Singular value decomposition (SVD) correlating extreme temperatures over the Poyang Lake Basin and the North Pacific SST indicates the East China Sea, Western Pacific and Bering Sea to be stronger linked with T_min than T_max with the first mode (SVD-1) explaining 90 and 94 % of annual T_max and T_min respectively.     

Thallium Distribution in Sediments from the Pearl River Basin,China

Thallium (Tl) is a rare element of high toxicity. Sediments sampled in three representative locations near industries utilizing Tl‐containing raw materials from the Pearl River Basin, China were analyzed for their total Tl contents and the Tl contents in four sequentially extracted fractions (i.e., weak acid exchangeable, reducible, oxidizable, and residual fraction). The results reveal that the total Tl contents (1.25–19.1 µg/g) in the studied sediments were slightly high to quite high compared with those in the Chinese background sediments. This indicates the apparent Tl contamination of the investigated sediments. However, with respect to the chemical fractions, Tl is mainly associated with the residual fraction (>60%) of the sediments, especially of those from the mining area of Tl‐bearing pyrite minerals, indicating the relatively low mobility, and low bioavailability of Tl in these sediments. This obviously contrasts with the previous findings that Tl is mainly entrapped in the first three labile fractions of the contaminated samples. Possible reasons were given for the dominating association of Tl with the residual fraction (>95%) of the mining area sediments. The significant role of certain K‐containing silicates or minerals of these sediments on retaining Tl in the residual fraction, discovered by this study, provides a special field of research opportunity for the Tl‐containing wastewater treatment.