Cenozoic Sedimentary Sequence in the Kumkal Basin, Xinjiang and New Evidence for the Late Quaternary Uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

1. IntroductionThe Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is an importantregion for the study of the global change andstructural evolution history). The in-depth knowledgeon its uplift process is the ke}' to understand theformation and development of temporary ph}'sicalenvironment of China or even East Asia. Therefore.a large quantity of researchers have given muchmore attention on this field (Burbank et al.. l982;Fang Xiaornin et al.. 1995f Ruddoman. ]997f AnZhisheng et al.. 1998). The macroscopic e\'o…     

Paleobiogeoclimatic scenarios of the Late Quaternary inferred from fluvial deposits of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero (Southeastern Brazil)

The Quadrilátero Ferrífero is an important mineral province in Southeastern Brazil and has one of the largest iron ore reserves in the world. Previous work in this region has indicated that the formation of fluvial successions with duricrusts coincided with drier/cooler climatic phases alternating with moister/warmer periods during which the formation of fluvial successions without duricrusts occurred. For the construction of this proposal, ages of fluvial sediments obtained through Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) were associated with data from the literature on paleobioclimatic scenarios. Therefore, using these observations as a starting point, this paper aims to investigate evidence of bioclimatic oscillations obtained directly from the fluvial successions and discuss its influence on the geomorphogenis of local river valleys. For this purpose, phytolith, carbon isotope and granulometric analyses were carried out, as well as dating of sediments using OSL and of soil organic matter through radiocarbon. The results show that in the oldest depositional succession (DS1 — about 34ka) the predominant phytoliths are those of bulliform polyedric, elongate, acicular and globular granulate types and δ¹³C values are typical of C3 plants. On the other hand, despite having a similar phytolith assemblage (abundance of bulliform polyedric, elongate, bulliform cuneiform, acicular, globular psilate and bilobate flat/concave types), the fluvial successions associated with significant conglomeratic duricrusts (DS2 and DS3) present a dominance of δ¹³C values characteristic of C4 plants. The Bi index indicates water stress in all the successions, and the Ic index suggests decreasing temperatures with depth in DS3. Thus, the three fluvial successions indicate a savanna-like environment, but depositional successions DS2 (∼27ka) and DS3 show drier/cooler climatic conditions when compared to DS1 and to the present-day regime. Both scenarios evolved under conditions of the Last Glacial period, but DS2 and DS3 were formed closer to the Last Glacial Maximum, and therefore under the strong influence of the lower temperatures during this period. These drier/cooler conditions in steep valleys with unprotected hillslopes may have been decisive for the formation of relatively thicker layers of gravel and sand, which later became duricrusts. The results indicate that climate has also played an important role in the regional hydrosedimentological dynamics, given the variations in vegetation influencing the abandonment of fill terraces and formation of nested floodplains.     

Planktonic Foraminiferal Assemblage Variations of Ontong-Java Plateau during Late Quaternary and Their Implications for Paleotemperature in the Western Pacific Warm Pool

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 807A was recovered from the Ontong-Java plateau, western equatorial Pacific. Quantitative analysis of planktonic foraminifera, combined with oxygen and carbon isotope data, reveals the glacial-interglacial variations of sea-surface temperature and the upper water vertical structure in this region during the late Quaternary. Our results indicate that since 530 ka sea-surface temperature (SST) and the depth of thermocline (DOT) have changed significantly in the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP). The average glacial-interglacial annual SST difference was up to 4.2 ℃ , and the DOT fluctuations could exceed more than 100 m, further suggesting the instability of the WPWP. The spectral analyses of SST and DOT reveal two dominating cyclicities--the typical 100 ka cycle and the semi-precessional cycle, which is significant in the tropical spectrum, indicating that late Quaternary paleoceanographic changes in the study area were influenced not only by a high latitude forcing but also by tropic-driving factors.     

Late Miocene–Quaternary rapid stepwise uplift of the NE Tibetan Plateau and its effects on climatic and environmental changes

The way in which the NE Tibetan Plateau uplifted and its impact on climatic change are crucial to understanding the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau and the development of the present geomorphology and climate of Central and East Asia. This paper is not a comprehensive review of current thinking but instead synthesises our past decades of work together with a number of new findings. The dating of Late Cenozoic basin sediments and the tectonic geomorphology of the NE Tibetan Plateau demonstrates that the rapid persistent rise of this plateau began ~ 8 ± 1 Ma followed by stepwise accelerated rise at ~ 3.6 Ma, 2.6 Ma, 1.8–1.7 Ma, 1.2–0.6 Ma and 0.15 Ma. The Yellow River basin developed at ~ 1.7 Ma and evolved to its present pattern through stepwise backward-expansion toward its source area in response to the stepwise uplift of the plateau. High-resolution multi-climatic proxy records from the basins and terrace sediments indicate a persistent stepwise accelerated enhancement of the East Asian winter monsoon and drying of the Asian interior coupled with the episodic tectonic uplift since ~ 8 Ma and later also with the global cooling since ~ 3.2 Ma, suggesting a major role for tectonic forcing of the cooling.     

Late Quaternary Slip Behavior of the Jinqianghe Fault in the Middle Qilian–Haiyuan Fault Zone, Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

The Qilian–Haiyuan fault zone in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau has been the source of strong earthquakes in the region. In its middle segment, the Jinqianghe fault is an important active fault within the Tianzhu seismic gap; however, little is known about its slip behavior. To present a new horizontal displacement distribution along this fault, we used WorldView-2 stereo pairs and unmanned aerial vehicle-based photogrammetry to construct digital elevation models to obtain a detailed tectono-geomorphic interpretation and geomorphic offsets. The offset marker measurements yielded 135 geomorphic displacements and 8 offset clusters. Radiocarbon dating was used to establish the regional age sequence of the geomorphic units in offset fluvial terraces at four study sites. The displacements and ages linked the offset clusters with the geomorphic unit sequence; the Holocene strike-slip rate of the Jinqianghe fault was estimated to 4.8–5.6 mm/a at ~4–12 ka and 2.9–4.7 mm/a from ~4 ka. Three recent earthquakes (with a recurrence interval of ~1000 years) represent an active seismic period, revealing the potential seismic hazard along this fault because it has not ruptured in the last 1500 years.     

A Late Quaternary Climate Record Based on Multi-Proxies Analysis from the Jiaochang Loess Section in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

We compared the stable carbon isotopic records from a loess transect of the Jiaochang in the eastern Tibetan Plateau, spanning the last ~21,000 years, with multiproxy data for pedogenesis, including magnetic susceptibility, clay fraction, Fed/Fet ratio, carbonate and total organic carbon content, in order to probe the mechanisms of δ13C values of organic matter and Late Quaternary climate variations in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicate that there is no simple relationship between δ13C of organic matter and summer monsoon variations. The change in δ13C values of organic matter (in accordance with the ratios of C3 to C4 plants) results from the interaction among temperature, aridity and atmospheric pCO2 level. Drier climate and lower atmospheric pCO2 level contribute to positive carbon isotopic excursion, while negative carbon isotopic excursion is the result of lower temperature and increased atmospheric pCO2 level. Additionally, our results imply that the Tibetan monsoon may play an important role in climate system in the eastern Tibet Plateau, which specifically reflects frequently changing climate in that area. The results provide new insights into the forcing mechanisms on both the δ13C values of organic matter and the local climate system.     

Illite authigenesis in sandstones of the Guaritas Allogroup (Early Paleozoic): Implications for the depositional age,stratigraphy and evolution of the Camaquã Basin (Southern Brazil)

Several analytical studies performed on alluvial-eolian sandstones of the Early Paleozoic Guaritas Allogroup (Camaquã Basin, southern Brazil) indicate illite to be abundant, showing different morphologies as authigenic grain rims and pore-bridging filaments. Authigenic illite separates of variable grain sizes from distinct stratigraphic intervals of the Guaritas Allogroup yielded ⁴⁰K–⁴⁰Ar ages from 521.7 ± 10.3 to 473.7 ± 9.4 Ma. These ages, interpreted to record the timing of illite authigenesis, are coincident with the age of emplacement of the Rodeio Velho andesites (470 ± 19 Ma). Moreover, field structures suggest interaction between hot, andesite lava flows and wet, poorly consolidated sediments of the Pedra Pintada Alloformation (lower strata of the Guaritas Allogroup). This set of data indicates that the Rodeio Velho volcanism could have been responsible for a widespread remobilization of interstitial fluids and consequent authigenic illite precipitation in the sandstones of the Guaritas Allogroup.     

Paleosols in low-order streams and valley heads in the Araucaria Plateau – Record of continental environmental conditions in southern Brazil at the end of MIS 3

The Araucaria Plateau is a geomorphological unit that occupies approximately three-quarters of the terrain in the southern region of Brazil. The plateau displays different altitudinal levels (600 to <1400 m a.s.l.) that are locally recognized as remnants of planed surfaces (S8–S1). These surfaces are maintained by basic (S3–S8) and acidic (S1 and S2) volcanic flows from the Neocretaceous period of the Paraná Basin. The largest extent of this plateau is located in a humid subtropical climate zone. Colluvial, colluvial–alluvial, alluvial sediments and paleosols (Ab diagnostic horizons) occur predominantly in S2. The paleosols are located in low-hierarchical-order fossil valleys (first- to fourth-order in Strahler's stream classification) and valley heads, which are referred to as paleovalleys in this paper. We employed these paleosols as stratigraphic level markers of the pedogenesis of the regional Upper Quaternary and propose their importance as records of the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Araucaria Plateau in areas above 1200 m a.s.l. These paleosols were dated by ¹⁴C and show ages between 23.8 ± 0.05 kyr BP (28.06–29.08 kyr cal. BP) and 41.16 ± 0.48 kyr BP (44.13–45.58 kyr cal. BP). The calibrated ages are related to Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), in which the last period of global warming occurred (approximately 60–25 kyr cal. BP). We integrated the morphological, pedogeochemical, clay fraction mineralogy, micromorphological and δC-13 analyses of five paleosols from S2 to verify the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Araucaria Plateau and its correspondence with the paleoclimatic phenomena that were identified on a global scale during MIS 3 in the Southern Hemisphere. We obtained the following conclusions: a) the properties of paleosols reflect pedological processes that are adjusted to the paleoenvironmental conditions at the end of MIS 3 and the transition to MIS 2 (Last Glacial Maximum); b) aplasmogenic partial acidolysis was the predominant pedogeochemical process during MIS 3; c) during this period, the water regime was sufficiently humid to develop hydromorphic horizons in the valley bottoms of the entire drainage network to the valley heads; d) regional change toward a drier hydric regime occurred in MIS 2, when erosion of the paleosols predominated; and e) in MIS 1 (current Holocene interglacial), burial of the paleosols and relief inversion occurred, which resulted in fossilization of the valleys.     

The First Reconstructions of Vegetation and Climate Changes in the Central Part of the Oka Plateau (East Sayan Mountains) in the Middle–Late Holocene

Doklady Earth Sciences - The Central part of the Oka Plateau lying in the East Sayan Mountains is still a poorly studied area of southern Siberia as regards its paleogeography. This gap can be...     

Post-Collisional Alkaline Magmatism on the Taquarembó Plateau: A Well-Preserved Neoproterozoic–Cambrian Plutono-volcanic Association in Southern Brazil

The Taquarembó Plateau plutono-volcanic association (TPPVA), a magmatic association related to a silica-saturated alkaline series, represents a portion of the last episode of post-Brasiliano/Pan-African collisional magmatism in southern Brazil. It was preceded by a postcollisional high-K calc-alkaline and shoshonitic magmatism, which is more pronounced near the collisional belt. The TPPVA is a sequence of volcanic, volcaniclastic, and volcanogenic sedimentary deposits with hypabyssal associated rocks, lying on Paleoproterozoic granulites. Isotope data suggest that this alkaline postcollisional magmatism occurred over the period from 580 to 537 Ma. Two sequences of magmatic liquids, which evolved by mineral fractionation from low-Ti-P and high-Ti-P basaltic magmas, were identified. The former includes mildly alkaline silica-saturated basalts, metaluminous monzodioritic intrusions, and rhyolitic lavas, whereas the second includes hawaiites, mugearites, syenitic intrusions, and peralkaline to intermediate lava flows of comenditic affinity. Trace-element and isotope data suggest that both parental magmas were produced from the same EMI-type mantle sources, representing different melt fractions, which preserve the trace-element signature inherited from metasomatism caused by a previous (～780 to 700 Ma) crustal subduction.     

Late triassic flora of the Partizanskaya River basin (Southern Primor’e)

Flora from the lower Norian deposits of the Upper Triassic, which are exposed in the Partizanskaya River basin, has been studied in detail. A new Imalinovo floral assemblage is distinguished. As is established, its taxonomic composition is represented by abundant cycadophytes and conifers occurring in association with insignificant ferns and czekanowskialeans, rare horsetails, pteridosperms, and ginkgoaleans. The studied floral assemblage is compared with several floras of East Asia: the Mongugai flora of Primor’e, the Tianqiaoling flora of northeastern China, the Yamanoi and Nariwa floras of Japan.     

Discovery and Significance of Quaternary Glacial Vestiges in the Hexigten Area of the Southern Da Hinggan Mountains, Inner Mongolia

1 Introduction Hexigten is situated at the eastern part of the Inner Mongolian Plateau, south of the Da Hinggan Mountains and northwest of Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, China. It is also at the junction of the Da Hinggan Mountians, Inner Mongolian Plateau and Yanshan Mountains. It is about 650 km north of Beijing. The geographic coordinates are 116?30'?118?20'E and 42?20'?44?10'N (Fig. 1). The elevation range is from 1100 m to 1700 m, and the highest peak (2029 m) of the Da Hinggan…     

Timing of glacier fluctuations and trigger mechanisms in eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau during the late Quaternary

It is highly debated whether glacial advances on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) occurred as a response to temperature cooling, or whether they were forced by an increase in moisture brought by the intensive Indian summer monsoon. We here report a case study investigating this issue. Multiple moraine series in the Yingpu Valley, Queer Shan ranges of the Hengduan Mountains, and eastern QTP, provide an excellent archive for examining the timing and trigger mechanism of glacier fluctuations. Twenty-seven optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples of glacial sediments were collected from this valley. The quartz OSL ages show that the moraine series of Y-1, I, M and O were formed during the Late Holocene, Late Glacial, the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (likely mid-MIS-3). The youngest Y-2 moraines probably formed during the Little Ice Age (LIA). The oldest H moraines formed before MIS-3. We found that glacial advances during the late Quaternary at the Yingpu Valley responded to cold stages or cold events rather than episodes of enhanced summer monsoon and moisture. As a result, glaciers in the monsoonal Hengduan Mountains were mainly triggered by changes in temperature. Millennial time scale temperature oscillations might have caused the multiple glacial advances.     

The last 25,000 years in the Eastern Plateau of Southern Brazil according to Alpes de São Francisco record

The palaeoenvironmental history has been studied based on palynology of a sedimentary profile from the Alpes de São Francisco bog (29°29′35′′S, 50°37′18′′W), São Francisco de Paula municipality, Rio Grande do Sul eastern Plateau, extreme Southern Brazil. The results indicate a regional cold and dry climate between 25,000 and 12,500 yr BP, interpreted from the grassland vegetation, forest taxa were present in refuges and the shallow local lake began to fill in. Climatic conditions became more aride after 16,000 yr BP, when grassland became rare. From 12,500 yr BP onwards, the climate began to change and at 11,000–9700 yr BP a warm and moist climate permitted the slight migration of pioneer arboreal taxa from refuges and locally a marsh formation. Between 9700 and 6500 yr BP a warm and dry climate resulted in reduction of grassland, confined the forest in refuges, dried out the marsh. The gradual increase of humidity between 6500 and 4000 yr BP allowed migration of forests from refuges and a bog developed. Between 4000 and 2000 yr BP Araucaria forest spread, indicating moister climate. The local bog expanded. From 2000 yr BP onwards, humid but warmer climate seems to result in a lower reproductive capacity of Araucaria forest taxa limiting its expansion. The bog reached the present-day in a decline condition. The results are compared to previous records from Southern Brazil highlands and some places from Argentina in order to better elucidate the climatic and vegetational history of these important South America areas during the late Quaternary.     

Sedimentary and foraminiferal records of Late Quaternary environmental change west of Ireland and implications for the last British–Irish Ice Sheet

Palaeoenvironmental change following deglaciation of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet on the continental shelf west of Ireland was investigated using multiproxy analyses of sediment and foraminifera data from nine sediment cores. Lithofacies associations record various depositional regimes across the shelf, which evolve from subglacial to postglacial conditions. Census data provide the first characterisation of benthic foraminifera populations across the continental shelf and multivariate analyses reveal three distinct biotopes. Biomineralization within these biotopes is restricted to ≤21 200 cal a bp by four radiocarbon ages. The transition from glacial to postglacial benthic foraminifera populations near the shelf break marks the establishment of productive, nutrient-rich, ice-distal conditions at ~20 900 cal a bp ; these conditions may also mark the start of favourable conditions for postglacial cold-water coral growth. Postglacial conditions on the inner shelf were not established until <14 500 cal a bp , suggesting glacial conditions west of Ireland may have persisted into the Bølling–Allerød Interstadial.     

Evidence for Early Mesoproterozoic (and Older?) Crust in the Southern and Central Appalachians of North America

Limited evidence from Sm-Nd T_DM model ages, U-Pb ages of xenocrystic zircon, and Pb isotopic data indicates the presence of Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic crust (2.0-1.3 Ga) in the southern and central Appalachian orogen. This apparently unexposed older crust must underlie much of the Blue Ridge, and it was recycled to produce most of the rocks of the Blue Ridge with ages ≤1.3 Ga. In the eastern Blue Ridge and in blocks to the southeast, there also is a significant juvenile Neoproterozoic source component. Going toward the southeast, the central and eastern Piedmont (Carolina terrane) appears to be underlain by progressively less source component older than 1.0 Ga. Late Proterozoic rocks of the Carolina terrane are derived largely from a juvenile source with a Nd isotopic composition that approaches that of depleted mantle.     

Ostracods (Crustacea) and their palaeoenvironmental implication for the Solimões Formation (Late Miocene; Western Amazonia/Brazil)

Western Amazonia's landscape and biota were shaped by an enormous wetland during the Miocene epoch. Among the most discussed topics of this ecosystem range the question on the transitory influx of marine waters. Inter alia the occurrence of typically brackish water associated ostracods is repeatedly consulted to infer elevated salinities or even marine ingressions. The taxonomical investigation of ostracod faunas derived from the upper part of the Solimões Formation (Eirunepé; W-Brazil) documents a moderately diverse assemblage (19 species). A wealth of freshwater ostracods (mainly Cytheridella, Penthesilenula) was found co-occurring with taxa (chiefly Cyprideis) usually related to marginal marine settings today. The observed faunal compositions as well as constantly very light δ¹⁸O- and δ¹³C-values obtained by measuring both, the freshwater and brackish water ostracod group, refer to entirely freshwater conditions. These results corroborate with previous sedimentological and palaeontological observations, which proposed a fluvial depositional system for this part of western Amazonia during the Late Miocene. We demonstrate that some endemic, “brackish” water ostracods (i.e., Cyprideis) have been effectively adapted to freshwater conditions. Thus, their occurrence is no univocal evidence for the influence of brackish or marine waters in western Amazonia during the Miocene.     

A Primary Observation on Palynofacies of the Chuangde Section(Late Jurassic-Cretaceous),Gyangz■,Southern Tibet

A primary study on palynofacies,which concerns the paleoenvironments from the sight of association of sedimentary organic matter preserved in sedimentary rocks,is conducted for a Late Jurassic-Cretaceous succession at Gyangz(?),southern Tibet.Two palynofacies are recognized,which are formed in different sedimentary environments.The one in the pelagic is infertile in organic productivity and monotonous in component and is dominated by AOMA,while the other,being closely bound up with the slope,is characterized by abundant black phytoclasts that are possibly of algal origin and contains much AOM.The influence of terrestrial input is clear in the latter,for particles generated from terrestrial plants are common.A number of fossil spores and pollen together with some dinocysts are discovered,but they are normally in a bad condition of preservation.Nevertheless,this convinces us that the late Jurassic-Cretaceous succession in the Gyangz(?)area has a potential for palynological stratigraphy.We have also proved that the volume of PM can achieve similar results in presenting the productivity of organic matter as the weight of TOC does.This technique is much easier in the laboratory than that we do with TOC.     

Quaternary Activity of the Monastir and Grombalia Fault Systems in the North‒Eastern Tunisia (Seismotectonic Implication)

The Monastir and Grombalia fault systems consist of three strands that the northern segment corresponds to Hammamet and Grombalia faults. The southern strand represents Monastir Fault also referred to as the Skanes-Khnis Fault. These NW-trends are observed continuously in the major outcropping features of north-eastern Tunisia including both the Cap Bon peninsula and the Sahel domain. Along the Hammamet Fault, the north-eastern strand of Grombalia fault system, left lateral drainage offset of amount 220 m is found in Fawara valley. To the South, the left lateral movement is occurred along the Monastir Fault based on 180 m of Tyrrhenian terrace displacement. Field observations supported by satellite images suggest that the Monastir and Grombalia fault systems appear to slip mostly laterally with components of normal dip slip. Assuming the development of the stream networks during the Riss-Würm interglacial (115000–125000 years) and the age of the Tyrrhenian terrace (121 ± 10 ka), the strike slip rates of the Hammamet and Monastir faults are calculated in the range of 1.5–1.8 mm/yr. There vertical slip rates are estimated to be 0.06 and 0.26 mm/yr, respectively. These data are consistent with the displacement rate in the Pelagian shelf (1–2 mm/yr) but they are below the convergence rate of African-Eurasian plates (8 mm/yr). Our seismotectonics study reveals that a maximum earthquake of Mw = 6.5 could occur every 470 years in the Hammamet fault zone and Mw = 6–every 263 years in the Monastir fault zone.     

A Primary Observation on Palynofacies of the Chuangde Section (Late Jurassic-Cretaceous), Gyangzê, Southern Tibet

A primary study on palynofacies, which concerns the paleoenvironments from the sight of association of sedimentary organic matter preserved in sedimentary rocks, is conducted for a Late Jurassic-Cretaceous succession at Gyangzê, southern Tibet. Two palynofacies are recognized, which are formed in different sedimentary environments. The one in the pelagic is infertile in organic productivity and monotonous in component and is dominated by AOMA, while the other, being closely bound up with the slope, is characterized by abundant black phytoclasts that are possibly of algal origin and contains much AOM. The influence of terrestrial input is clear in the latter, for particles generated from terrestrial plants are common. A number of fossil spores and pollen together with some dinocysts are discovered, but they are normally in a bad condition of preservation. Nevertheless, this convinces us that the late Jurassic-Cretaceous succession in the Gyangzê area has a potential for palynological stratigraphy. We have also proved that the volume of PM can achieve similar results in presenting the productivity of organic matter as the weight of TOC does. This technique is much easier in the laboratory than that we do with TOC.