Granite landform evolution: Factors and implications

Most granite landforms are due to the exploitation of weaknesses, especially fractures, by meteoric waters, and particularly groundwaters. Moisture attack produces grus, which commonly forms the bulk of the regolith in granitic terrains. The transition from weathered to fresh rock is typically abrupt, and takes the form of a narrow transition zone called the weathering front.The regolith is physically weaker than the fresh rock, and is more readily eroded. It has over wide areas been stripped to expose the weathering front in etch surfaces: plains and platforms where the front was sensibly even, inselbergs, boulders, basins and gutters etc., where it was irregular. Etch forms evolve in two stages (initiation by subsurface weathering and then exposure) and they may be polygenetic in that the environments of weathering and exposure may be different. They also have two ages (weathering and exposure).Structure and subsurface preparation together impose a marked azonality on granite landscapes. Because of the contrasted stability of wet and dry sites, reinforcement effects are especially significant in such terrains, and old forms and surfaces are also characteristic and for the same reasons.

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Zusammenfassung Granitformen entstehen als Folge der Nutzung von Schwächenzonen besonders entlang von Klüften durch atmosphärische Wässer, insbesondere von Grundwässern. Grus, der gewöhnlich den grö\ten Teil der Soldecke in Granitlandschaften bildet, wird durch Verwitterung produziert. Der übergang von verwittertem zu frischem Fels ist typisch abrupt und nimmt die Form einer engen übergangszone an, die als Verwitterungs-Basis-Fläche bezeichnet wird.Die Soldecke ist physisch schwächer als der frische Fels und ist der Abtragung mehr ausgesetzt. über breiten Flächen lä\t sich so die Verwitterungs-Basis-Fläche in Rumpfflächen erkennen: Ebenen und Plattformen, wo die Front spürbar eben war; Inselberge, Blöcke, Becken und Karren usw., wo sie nicht regelmä\ig war. Rumpfflächen entstehen in zwei Stadien: Tiefenverwitterung und anschlie\ende Blo\legung. Diese Prozesse können polygenetisch sein, wenn die Umgebung in der Verwitterung und Blo\legung abläuft, äu\eren Veränderungen unterliegt.Struktur und Aufbereitung ergeben zusammen die auffallende Azonalität einer Granitlandschaft. Als Folge der kontrastierenden Stabilität an trockenen und feuchten Stellen sind Verstärkungseffekte von besonderer Bedeutung. Alte Landschaftsformen und Oberflächen sind auch aus diesen Gründen sehr aufschlu\reich.

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Résumé La plupart des formes morphologiques en terrain granitique sont produites par les eaux météoriques, en particulier les eaux souterraines, qui attaquent les endroits de faiblesse, c'est-á-dire essentiellement les fractures. C'est cette attaque qui produit les débris dont est constituée la majeure partie du régolite qui recouvre les terrains granitiques. Le contact entre la roche altérée et la roche fraÎche est typiquement brusque et revÊt la forme d'une zone étroite de transition, dénommée le »front d'altération«.Le régolite, moins résistant que le granite aux agents physiques, est plus rapidement érodé. Il es donc enlevé sur de grandes superficies où le front d'altération est ainsi expose, montrant la forme de la surface de corrosion: plaines et plateaux là où le front est sensiblement uniforme, inselbergs, blocs, bassins et gouttières là où il est irrégulier. Les formes de corrosion présentent une évolution en deux stades: formation par altération sous la surface du sol, puis mise en affleurement; elles peuvent Être polygéniques en ce sens que les conditions ne sont pas toujours les mÊmes lors de l'attaque des roches et lors de la dénudation. Ces surfaces ont aussi deux âges: celui de l'attaque et celui de la dénudation.La structure du granite et l'altération sous le niveau du sol induisent toutes deux une azonalité au paysage granitique. En raison des contrastes de stabilité entre les sites secs et humides, les effets renforÇateurs sont particulièrement marqués dans ce genre de terrains; pour la mÊme raison les formes et surfaces anciennes sont également instructives.

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中国东南部丹霞地貌的区域构造控制

中国东南部是＂中国丹霞＂地貌的典型代表地区,位于中新生代滨太平洋构造域的大陆边缘活动带。中生代内陆断陷盆地沉积了一套巨厚的紫红色类磨拉石建造,奠定了丹霞地貌造形成景的岩石地层基础;新近纪以来的新构造运动,使地壳差异性抬升,形成了南岭和武夷山脉等构造山地。紫红色砂砾岩建造在强烈的流水切割及重力崩塌作用下,发育了一大批极具观赏价值的丹霞地貌,构成了武夷山丹霞地貌密集带等区域性的重要旅游景观资源。从燕山期岩石地层建造到喜山期改造成景,区域构造作用始终是主导性的地球动力学因素。     

The landform and sediment assemblage produced by a tidewater glacier surge in Kongsfjorden,Svalbard

This paper describes the landform and sediment assemblage produced by a surge (in 1948) of the Kongsvegen/Kronebreen tidewater glacier complex in northwest Spitsbergen. The main geomorphological products of this advance are two large thrustmoraine complexes on opposite sides of the fjord, and a system of geometrical ridges revealed on glacier decay. The thrust-moraines are composed largely of diamicton, sandy and muddy gravel, gravelly sand, sand and mud, with minor laminites. All of these appear to be derived from the fjord floor and represent both fine fjord basin sediments and coarse grounding-line fan deposits. Thrusting was the principal mode of emplacement of the sediment onto the adjacent land areas during the 1948 advance. However, the geomorphology of the thrust-moraine complexes on either side of the fjord is quite different, reflecting a transpressive regime on the southwest side (mainly long ridges) and a normal compressive regime on the northeast side (short ridges and pinnacles of a ‘hummocky’ nature). The advance which produced the moraine complex has previously been attributed to a surge of Kongsvegen, but the glaciological and geomorphological evidence suggests that the advance involved both Kongsvegen and Kronebreen. Comparison of the landform assemblage produced by this event with that produced by other tidewater glacier surges demonstrates the diverse range of landform assemblages associated with glacier surges, or other episodes of rapid flow, within glaciomarine environments.     

Gradational thresholds and landform singularity: Significance for Quaternary studies

Geomorphic threshold conditions have been identifed at which stream patterns change and gully initiation occurs. For both, the threshold conditions are defined by the parameter of “relative shear stress” which is a measure of the energy state of the system and is based on known values of stream slope and mean annual discharge (for patterns) or drainage area (for gullies). The probability of passing from a stream pattern to another, or from stable to gullied valley floors, is a smooth function of relative shear stress and so the thresholds separating the different states of the geomorphic systems are gradational. The singularity of landforms prevents the identification of a sharp threshold, and as a result landform sensitivity will differ within the same area and under the same conditions. Therefore, geomorphic predictions and postdictions will be uncertain, and Quaternary correlations will lack precision.     

Overbank sediment: a representative sample medium for regional geochemical mapping

In Scandinavia, most fluvial erosion takes place in the Quaternary glacial overburden at a restricted number of small source areas along individual drainage channels. As a consequence, a sample of active stream sediment is representative of only a very limited portion of the drainage area. This restriction makes stream sediment less reliable for regional exploration than generally expected. Overbank (levee or river-plain) sediment produced during large floods is an alternate more representative sampling medium. The sediment suspended during a flood has a much more widespread origin, and when the load is deposited upon the flood plain, nearly horizontal strata are formed and preserved at levels above the ordinary stream channel. A composite sample through a vertical section of such strata represents a great number of sediment sources that have been active at different times and forms an integrated sample of the entire catchment area. Because young sediments overlay older, the uppermost layers will be contaminated by pollutants in industrialized regions, but those at depth may remain pristine and will to a greater extent reflect the natural pre-industrial environment. In regional geochemical mapping, overbank sediment can be sampled at widely spaced sites, keeping costs per unit area low. Examples from Norway (1 sample station per 500 km²) show that overbank sediment produces broad geochemical patterns with high contrasts reflecting the bedrock geochemistry. Some patterns agree with known geological units and metallogenic provinces, but hitherto unknown major structures have also been indicated. A large Mo-deposit missed by a traditional stream survey is readily detected in the overbank sediment. It is concluded that overbank sediment is a promising alternate sample medium that should be tested in other physiographic regions.     

The structure and transformation of the nanomineral schwertmannite: a synthetic analog representative of field samples

The phase transformation of schwertmannite, an iron oxyhydroxide sulfate nanomineral synthesized at room temperature and at 75 °C using H₂O₂ to drive the precipitation of schwertmannite from ferrous sulfate (Regenspurg et al. in Geochim Cosmochim Acta 68:1185–1197, 2004), was studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results of this study suggest that schwertmannite synthesized using this method should not be described as a single phase with a repeating unit cell, but as a polyphasic nanomineral with crystalline areas spanning less than a few nanometers in diameter, within a characteristic ‘pin-cushion’-like amorphous matrix. The difference in synthesis temperature affected the density of the needles on the schwertmannite surface. The needles on the higher-temperature schwertmannite displayed a dendritic morphology, whereas the needles on the room-temperature schwertmannite were more closely packed. Visible lattice fringes in the schwertmannite samples are consistent with the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern taken on the bulk schwertmannite and also matched d-spacings for goethite, indicating a close structural relationship between schwertmannite and goethite. The incomplete transformation from schwertmannite to goethite over 24 h at 75 °C was tracked using XRD and TEM. TEM images suggest that the sample collected after 24 h consists of aggregates of goethite nanocrystals. Comparing the synthetic schwertmannite in this study to a study on schwertmannite produced at 85 °C, which used ferric sulfate, reveals that synthesis conditions can result in significant differences in needle crystal structure. The bulk powder XRD patterns for the schwertmannite produced using these two samples were indistinguishable from one another. Future studies using synthetic schwertmannite should account for these differences when determining schwertmannite’s structure, reactivity, and capacity to take up elements like arsenic. The schwertmannite synthesized by the Regenspurg et al. method produces a mineral that is consistent with the structure and morphology of natural schwertmannite observed in our previous study using XRD and TEM, making this an ideal synthetic method for laboratory-based mineralogical and geochemical studies that intend to be environmentally relevant.     

The thermal structure of the Mediterranean upper mantle: a forward modelling approach

We develop and present an approach for gaining insight into the thermal structure of the upper mantle in a tectonically active region. As a starting point for the analysis we use regional geological reconstructions, based on data from surface geology, shallow seismics and paleomagnetism. For these reconstructions we determine the necessarily associated upper mantle processes, such as subduction. We then forwardly model the thermal structure of upper mantle corresponding with the geological reconstruction used. In this way we obtain an estimate of a very important characteristic – the temperature distribution of the upper mantle–that is independent from those estimates from the usual deep seismic methods. If sufficient detailed information on the seismological structure of the region is available, a quantitative test of our modelling results is possible, via the temperature dependence of seismic velocities. We apply our approach to the Mediterranean area, for which we will test the reconstruction published by Dercourt et al. (1986).     

福建冠豸山丹霞地貌及特征

连城白垩纪红层盆地位于福建省西部连城县,盆地东隅吕屋-冠豸山-带上白垩统崇安组紫红色厚层-巨厚层砾岩、砂砾岩经内、外动力地质作用,形成了堡峰、锥峰、墙峰、柱峰、石馒、石墙、石柱等正地貌以及线谷、巷谷、峡谷等负地貌,构成以紧闭型展布的峰丛-峡谷组合为特征的丹霞地貌景观,是福建中年早期单斜丹霞地貌的典型代表和宝贵的地质遗迹...     

The development and evolution of landform based on neotectonic movement: The Sancha river catchment in the southwestern China

Neotectonics has changed the coupled process of endogenic and exogenic geological dynamics, which mold the modern landform. Geomorphologic analysis is essential for identifying and understanding the tectonic activity and indicates the responsive mechanism of the landform to tectonic activity. At first, this research reconstructed the twisted Shanpen period planation surface, computed the valley floor width-to-height ratio of Sancha river and extracted the cross sections marking the river terraces to analyze the characteristics of the neotectonics. And then, the relation between neotectonic movement and landform development was analyzed by dividing the landform types. At last, the spatial variation of landform evolution was analyzed by extracting the Hypsometric Integral of sub-catchments. The Sancha river catchment’s neotectonic movement presents the tilt-lift of earth’s crust from NW to SE, which is characterized by the posthumous activity of Yanshan tectonic deformation. The spatial distribution of river terraces indicates that Sancha river catchment has experienced at least four intermittent uplifts and the fault blocks at both the sides of Liuzhi–Zhijin basement fault have differentially uplifted since the late Pleistocene. As the resurgence of Liuzhi–Zhijin basement fault, the Sancha river catchment was broken into two relative independent landform units. The spatial variations of the landform types near the Sancha river and the sub-catchments’ landform evolution are characterized by periodic replacement. The styles of geological structure have controlled the development of landform far away from the Sancha River and influenced the landform evolution. The posthumous activities of the secondary structure have resulted in the spatial variation of sub-catchments’ landform evolution, which presents periodic replacement with local exceptions. The present study suggests that spatial variations of the development and evolution of modern landform of Sancha River catchment owe their genesis to the interplay between the hydrodynamic force and tectonic activity in the neotectonic period. Likewise, the application of geomorphic indicators also provides a new way to assess the regional crustal stability.     

Origin of the Eastern Mediterranean basin: a reevaluation

The origin of the Eastern Mediterranean basin (EMB) by rifting along its passive margins is reevaluated. Evidence from these margins shows that this basin formed before the Middle Jurassic; where the older history is known, formation by Triassic or even Permian rifting is indicated. Off Sicily, a deep Permian basin is recorded. In Mesozoic times, Adria was located next to the EMB and moved laterally along their common boundary, but there is no clear record of rifting or significant convergence. Farther east, the Tauride block, a fragment of Africa–Arabia, separated from this continent in the Triassic. After that the Tauride block and Adria were separate units that drifted independently. The EMB originated before Pangaea disintegrated. Two scenarios are thus possible. If the configuration of Pangaea remained the same throughout its life span until the opening of the central Atlantic Ocean (configuration A), then much of the EMB is best explained as a result of separation of Adria from Africa in the Permian, but this basin was modified by later rifting. The Levant margin formed when the Tauride block was detached, but space limitations require this block to have also extended farther east. Alternatively, the original configuration (A2) of Pangaea may have changed by 500 km of left-lateral slip along the Africa–North America boundary. This implies that Adria was not located next to Africa, and most of the EMB formed by separation of the Tauride block from Africa. Adria was placed next to the EMB during the transition from the Pangaea A2 to the Pangaea A configuration in the Triassic. Both scenarios raise some problems, but these are more severe for the first one. Better constraints on the history of Pangaea are thus required to decipher the formation of the Eastern Mediterranean basin.     

Sedimentary facies and landform genesis at a temperate outlet glacier: Soler Glacier, North Patagonian Icefield

This paper focuses on the structural glaciology, dynamics, debris transport paths and sedimentology of the forefield of Soler Glacier, a temperate outlet glacier of the North Patagonian Icefield in southern Chile. The glacier is fed by an icefall from the icefield and by snow and ice avalanches from surrounding mountain slopes. The dominant structures in the glacier are ogives, crevasses and crevasse traces. Thrusts and recumbent folds are developed where the glacier encounters a reverse slope, elevating basal and englacial material to the ice surface. Other debris sources for the glacier include avalanche and rockfall material, some of which is ingested in marginal crevasses. Debris incorporated in the ice and on its surface controls both the distribution of sedimentary facies on the forefield and moraine ridge morphology. Lithofacies in moraine ridges on the glacier forefield include large isolated boulders, diamictons, gravel, sand and fine-grained facies. In relative abundance terms, the dominant lithofacies and their interpretation are sandy boulder gravel (ice-marginal), sandy gravel (glaciofluvial), angular gravel (supraglacial) and diamicton (basal glacial). Proglacial water bodies are currently developing between the receding glacier and its frontal and lateral moraines. The presence of folded sand and laminites in moraine ridges in front of the glacier suggests that, during a previous advance, Soler Glacier over-rode a former proglacial lake, reworking lacustrine deposits. Post-depositional modification of the landform/sediment assemblage includes melting of the ice-core beneath the sediment cover, redistribution of finer material across the proglacial area by aeolian processes and fluvial reworking. Overall, the preservation potential of this landform/sediment assemblage is high on the centennial to millennial timescale.     

青海东部丹霞地貌的地质地貌特征分析

青海东部诸多中新生代断陷盆地中广泛分布着陆生红色碎屑岩地层。受构造活动影响,在以流水侵蚀为主的外力作用下,形成了具有高原特色、形态各异的丹霞地貌景观,从形态上初步可分为"陡崖式"、"象形式"、"宫殿式"和"蜂窝式"等几种类型。青海东部丹霞地貌景观资源丰富,但研究程度较低,本文试图通过对掌握的丹霞地貌景观的地质地貌特征的阐述,说明青海东部丹霞地貌景观的地学研究价值、景观资源保护价值和旅游科普价值,以期从加强地质地貌学研究的角度促进旅游开发。     

The Western Mediterranean lamproitic magmatism: origin and geodynamic significance

Ultrapotassic lamproitic rocks in the Western Alps, Tuscany‐Corsica and SE Spain (c. 30 to 1 Ma) show high MgO, Ni and Cr denoting a mantle origin, but also have incompatible element and radiogenic isotope abundances that resemble upper crustal rocks, such as local metapelites and global subducting sediments. The coexistence of mantle and crustal signatures in lamproites indicates a genesis in a lithospheric mantle, which had been contaminated by crustal rocks. The occurrence of lamproitic magmatism along the Alpine collision front suggests that mantle contamination occurred during east‐verging Cretaceous‐Oligocene subduction of the European plate beneath the African margin. We suggest that crustal material originated from the overriding continental margin, which was eroded by the low‐angle subducting European slab. Mantle melting and generation of lamproites took place later, during diachronous opening of Western Mediterranean basins, contemporaneously with a new cycle of magmatism, which was genetically related to the west‐north‐dipping Apennine‐Maghrebian subduction.     

福建核电厂址前薛山前厂址陆域1∶1000数字化地形测量解决方案

论述1∶1000数字化地形测量产品作业方法与主要技术。     

The Mediterranean Messinian salinity crisis: an Apennine foredeep perspective

Owing to its expanded stratigraphic sections, the Apennine thrust belt offers the opportunity to better understand the evaporitic and post-evaporitic Messinian events. A physical stratigraphic framework of Messinian deposits, based on facies analysis and basin-wide correlation of key surfaces and sedimentary cycles, is presented. It is shown that the Messinian Apennine foredeep had marginal basins with shallow-water primary evaporites and deeper basins where resedimented evaporites accumulated under relatively deep-water conditions. Like many other Mediterranean examples, primary shallow-water evaporites of Apenninic marginal basins show evidence for subaerial exposure and erosion. However, the development of such an erosional surface does not correspond to the deposition of primary evaporites in the deepest part of the basin(s); here, the unconformity can be traced towards the base of resedimented evaporites or to a level within them, implying that the deeper basins of the Apennine foredeep never underwent desiccation during the Messinian salinity crisis, but rather received the eroded marginal evaporites. This fact, usually overlooked, raises important questions about the deep desiccation model of the Mediterranean.     

The role of the Mediterranean region in the development of sedimentary geology: a historical overview

The Mediterranean region, source of so much knowledge in the world, is the site of major advances in sedimentary geology. In addition to its economic and cultural richness, the geological and geographic diversity of the region, plus its active geological processes, have long stimulated indigenous scholars, along with attracting talented outsiders such as Steno, Lyell, Walther, Kuenen and Bagnold. Since classical Hellenic times, debates about the origin of fossils and the changing positions of sea-level served as catalysts for studies of sediments, sedimentary rocks and ancient life. The presence of geologically young and easily interpreted marine shell beds in many Mediterranean coastal areas adjacent to their modern analogues was a particular stimulus for progress in sedimentary geology, for example, the very advanced stratigraphic ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, expressed solely in his unpublished notebooks. Impeding progress was the geological complexity of facies, faunas and structure in the circum-Mediterranean Alpine belts. Once the secrets of these were unlocked, however, the Mediterranean region became the source of major discoveries about syn-sedimentary tectonics, carbonate platforms, pelagic and anoxic sediments, turbidites, evaporites, aeolian processes, cyclostratigraphy, magnetic stratigraphy and impact events. In many of these Mediterranean discoveries, the critical element is the occurrence of extensive Mesozoic-Cenozoic pelagic successions whose precise age dating was made possible by pioneering biostratgraphic studies using microfossils.     

川东南地区茅口组岩溶古地貌恢复及特征

东吴运动造成茅口组灰岩暴露地表并经历了表生风化作用。钻井揭示,气藏储层段与古岩溶所处的位置及强度密切相关,古地貌是控制古岩溶发育与分布的主要因素。针对钻井较少且分布不均、勘探程度不高的川东南地区,将钻井与地震紧密结合,分别运用残余厚度法与印模法对茅口组岩溶古地貌进行恢复,结果对比发现,这2种方法恢复出来的古地貌趋势基本一致。结合研究区的地质特征和实际资料,认为印模法可信度更高。在古水系特征分析的基础上,结合古地质图和钻井资料,把研究区划分为岩溶高地、岩溶斜坡和岩溶盆地,其中岩溶斜坡又可分为岩溶陡坡与岩溶缓坡。研究区西南岩溶高地与蜀南岩溶高地为同一岩溶高地,呈北西—南东向展布,且相对蜀南地区隆起幅度更高。在岩溶斜坡区,地下水以径流为主,溶蚀孔洞发育,是岩溶勘探开发的有利地区。     

川东南地区茅口组岩溶古地貌恢复及特征

东吴运动造成茅口组灰岩暴露地表并经历了表生风化作用。钻井揭示,气藏储层段与古岩溶所处的位置及强度密切相关,古地貌是控制古岩溶发育与分布的主要因素。针对钻井较少且分布不均、勘探程度不高的川东南地区,将钻井与地震紧密结合,分别运用残余厚度法与印模法对茅口组岩溶古地貌进行恢复,结果对比发现,这2种方法恢复出来的古地貌趋势基本一致。结合研究区的地质特征和实际资料,认为印模法可信度更高。在古水系特征分析的基础上,结合古地质图和钻井资料,把研究区划分为岩溶高地、岩溶斜坡和岩溶盆地,其中岩溶斜坡又可分为岩溶陡坡与岩溶缓坡。研究区西南岩溶高地与蜀南岩溶高地为同一岩溶高地,呈北西—南东向展布,且相对蜀南地区隆起幅度更高。在岩溶斜坡区,地下水以径流为主,溶蚀孔洞发育,是岩溶勘探开发的有利地区。