Subtropical to temperate facies from a transition zone, mixed carbonate–siliciclastic system, Palaeogene, North Carolina, USA

Palaeogene passive margin sediments on the US mid‐Atlantic coastal plain provide valuable insight into facies interaction and distribution on mixed carbonate–siliciclastic shelves. This study utilizes well cuttings, outcrop, core, and seismic data to document temporal and spatial variations in admixed bryozoan‐rich skeletal carbonates and sandy siliciclastic units that were deposited on a humid passive margin located in the vicinity of a major marine transition zone. This zone was situated between north‐flowing, warm waters of the ancestral Gulf Stream (carbonate dominated settings) and south‐flowing, cold waters of the ancestral Labrador Current (siliciclastic dominated settings). Some degree of mixing of carbonates and siliciclastics occurs in all facies; however, siliciclastic‐prone sediments predominate in nearshore settings, while carbonate‐prone sediments are more common in more open marine settings of the inner shelf break and deep shelf. A distinctive dual‐break shelf depositional profile originated following a major Late Cretaceous to Palaeocene transgression that drowned the earlier shallow platform. This profile was characterized by prominent mid‐shelf break dividing the shallow shelf from the deep shelf and a major continental shelf/slope break. Incomplete filling of available accommodation space during successive buildup of the shallow shelf preserved the topographic break on this passive margin. Storm wave base also contributed to the preservation of the dual‐break shelf geometry by beveling shallow shelf sediments and transporting them onto and seaward of the mid‐shelf break. Sediment fines in deep shelf facies were produced in place, transported downdip from the shallow shelf by storm ebb currents and boundary currents, and reworked from adjacent areas of the deep shelf by strike‐parallel boundary currents. Regional climate and boundary currents controlled whether carbonate or siliciclastic material was deposited on the shelf, with warmer waters and more humid climates favouring carbonate deposition and cooler, more arid conditions favouring glaucony and siliciclastic dominated deposition. Continuous wave and current sweeping of the shallow shelf favoured deposition of mud‐lean facies across much of the shallow shelf. Skeletal components in much of the carbonate‐rich strata formed in warm, nutrient‐rich subtropical waters, as indicated by widespread occurrences of larger benthic foraminifera and molluscan assemblages. These indicators of warm water deposition within the bryozoan‐mollusk‐rich carbonate assemblage on this shelf provide an example of a warm water bryomol assemblage; such facies generally are associated with cooler water depositional settings.     

TSP断层模型数值模拟

隧道在施工开挖中会遇到各种地质问题,其中以断层和软弱带居多,目前隧道地质预报主要采用TSP(tunnel seismic prediction)系统进行。虽然TSP技术应用广泛,但目前对它的研究工作主要集中于工程应用实例,采用正演模拟方法进行的研究较少。笔者采用有限元方法模拟隧道地震波场,采用波场快照与时间记录相结合的方法研究断层对隧道地震波场传播的影响,并对含断层模型的时间记录进行了反演处理,得到了数值模型的速度云图和反射层位图。数据处理结果表明:采用TSP Win软件默认值处理得到的速度云图与模型设定的断层位置一致;根据反射层位图,对异常速度带的层状模型来说,P波预报的准确性更高。研究表明,TSP系统具有良好的抗噪性能。通过对工程实例的处理,验证了数值模拟所得结论。     

新疆博格达山晚古生代风暴岩及其古地理意义

博格达山西部下二叠统中下部是一套由浊流及其它重力流沉积组成的深水层段,其下伏和上覆地层中都发现了大量风暴岩。深水层段之上的风暴岩仅分布在博山南侧的浪控沉积体系之中,北侧为一套不含风暴岩的潮坪沉积,该特点表明博山南北两侧的沉积层序可能不形成于统一水体,而是分属于两种不同性质的沉积盆地。从而为博山晚古生代属岛弧性质从沉积学角度提供了依据。当博山南侧西缘晚二叠世初期为陆相沉积时,东部仍出现大量远源风暴岩,表明晚古生代海退方向自西而东。     

Traveling waves in a finite condensation rate model for steam injection

Steam drive recovery of oil is an economical way of producing oil even in times of low oil prices and is used worldwide. This paper focuses on the one-dimensional setting, where steam is injected into a core initially containing oil and connate water while oil and water are produced at the other end. A three-phase (oil, water, steam) hot zone develops, which is abruptly separated from the two-phase (oil + water) cold zone by the steam condensation front. The oil, water and energy balance equations (Rankine–Hugoniot conditions) cannot uniquely solve the system of equations at the steam condensation front. In a previous study, we showed that two additional constraints follow from an analysis of the traveling wave equation representing the shock; however, within the shock, we assumed local thermodynamic equilibrium. Here we extend the previous study and include finite condensation rates; using that appropriate scaling requires that the Peclet number and the Damkohler number are of the same order of magnitude. We give a numerical proof, using a color-coding technique, that, given the capillary diffusion behavior and the rate equation, a unique solution can be obtained. It is proven analytically that the solution for large condensation rates tends to the solution obtained assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium. Computations with realistic values to describe the viscous and capillary effects show that the condensation rate can have a significant effect on the global saturation profile, e.g. the oil saturation just upstream of the steam condensation front.     

南海北部白云凹陷深水区SQ13.8深水扇砂体识别与分布研究：以SF-5为例

珠江口盆地白云凹陷在继“白云运动”之后,在13.8 Ma发生了一次大规模的海退事件,海平面下降至陆架坡折带附近,三角洲向盆地方向推进最远,十分有利于深水扇的发育。通过深水陆坡区B6井及陆架边缘多口井的井震标定,结合钻井、测井分析,系统总结出具有厚度较大（20~40 m）、以泥质粉砂岩为主的斜坡扇储层,对应低频、短轴、强振幅的地震反射特征,在负极性显示的地震剖面上,表现为强波谷地震响应。层序地层格架分析认为工区处于SQ13.8“陆架边缘三角洲—沉积过路区—斜坡扇”的沉积环境,并在层序格架的约束下,通过合成地震记录建立井-震关系,对斜坡扇区第5套砂层组（SF-5）进行储层识别与追踪解释,确定SF-5砂层为主体分布在陆架坡折带外侧陆坡区的丘状体,平面形态似帚状或朵叶状,具有斜坡扇的特征,其优质储层主要分布在工区的中部-西部地区,呈NW-SE方向条带状展布。     

半无限介质内异质体方位探测数值研究

用数值模拟方法研究了地下异质体对波散射,分析了散射波对表面波相速度影响,结果表明：由相速度曲线扰动难以有效确定异质体方位。在表面波场中,散射波能量相对较小,不易辨别,以振源为中心,在测线上对称布置一组测点,通过两侧测点质点响应曲线比较,得到表面散射波场。在表面散射波场中,散射瑞利波是主要的,由散射瑞利波走时随测点位置变化可判断地下异质体的方位。最后,给出地下异质体方位测试方案。     

Estimating palaeobathymetry of wave-graded continental shelves from sediment texture

The concept of the wave-graded continental shelf, with sea floor sediment coarsening from offshore mud to shoreface sand, has been well known from the time of Johnson (1919) . Although most of the modern shelf shows textures unrelated to water depth on account of relict features or sediment starvation, the geological record is more likely to preserve sites where sediment is being fed to a subsiding inner-shelf. These consistently show the landward-coarsening pattern of the wave-graded shelf, recording past water depth history in accumulated sea floor sediment. The landward-coarsening pattern is driven primarily by wave-induced bed shear stress, which increases shoreward exponentially, although it also varies from place to place with wave climate, and can be influenced by sediment concentration and currents. In this study, the relationship between bed shear stress, sediment texture and water depth has been investigated by comparing per cent mud and wave climate data from shore-normal transects of three modern wave-graded coastal settings: Wellington Harbour (low energy) and the Manawatu coast (moderate energy) in New Zealand, and Monterey Bay in California (moderate–high energy). Samples from all three locations show a progressive change from poorly sorted mud offshore to well-sorted fine sand nearshore, with the sand–mud transition ranging from 3 m (low energy) to 50 m (moderate–high energy), reflecting differences in average bed shear. Repeat measurements of per cent mud on seasonal, annual and decadal time scales along a Manawatu coastal transect showed no measurable change, demonstrating equilibrium between sediment supply, wave energy, water depth and sediment texture. A simple model based on the relationship between wave climate, shear stress and per cent mud, and using data and conditions from the modern Manawatu coast, is applied to two mid-Pliocene cyclothems exposed 50 km inland, giving results comparable with estimates from foraminifera and the deep-sea isotope record. Per cent mud offers more detail for palaeobathymetric trends in shallow water shelf strata than other proxy depth recorders, although it is limited to depths above wave base and requires an independent estimate of wave climate if depths are to be quantified.     

Regulation of bacterial sulfate reduction and hydrogen sulfide fluxes in the central namibian coastal upwelling zone

The coastal upwelling system off central Namibia is one of the most productive regions of the oceans and is characterized by frequently occurring shelf anoxia with severe effects for the benthic life and fisheries. We present data on water column dissolved oxygen, sulfide, nitrate and nitrite, pore water profiles for dissolved sulfide and sulfate,³⁵S-sulfate reduction rates, as well as bacterial counts of large sulfur bacteria from 20 stations across the continental shelf and slope. The stations covered two transects and included the inner shelf with its anoxic and extremely oxygen-depleted bottom waters, the oxygen minimum zone on the continental slope, and the lower continental slope below the oxygen minimum zone. High concentrations of dissolved sulfide, up to 22 mM, in the near-surface sediments of the inner shelf result from extremely high rates of bacterial sulfate reduction and the low capacity to oxidize and trap sulfide. The inner shelf break marks the seaward border of sulfidic bottom waters, and separates two different regimes of bacterial sulfate reduction. In the sulfidic bottom waters on the shelf, up to 55% of sulfide oxidation is mediated by the large nitrate-storing sulfur bacteria, Thiomargarita spp. The filamentous relatives Beggiatoa spp. occupy low-O₂ bottom waters on the outer shelf. Sulfide oxidation on the slope is apparently not mediated by the large sulfur bacteria. The data demonstrate the importance of large sulfur bacteria, which live close to the sediment-water interface and reduce the hydrogen sulfide flux to the water column. Modeling of pore water sulfide concentration profiles indicates that sulfide produced by bacterial sulfate reduction in the uppermost 16 cm of sediment is sufficient to account for the total flux of hydrogen sulfide to the water column. However, the total pool of hydrogen sulfide in the water column is too large to be explained by steady state diffusion across the sediment-water interface. Episodic advection of hydrogen sulfide, possibly triggered by methane eruptions, may contribute to hydrogen sulfide in the water column.     

东海陆架盆地伸展率和压缩率及构造跃迁

东海陆架盆地位于欧亚板块的东南缘和西太平洋活动大陆边缘,本文选取了东海陆架盆地主要凹陷的17条地震剖面,采用平衡剖面技术,计算了主要凹陷新生代不同演化阶段的伸展率和压缩率。分析表明,东海陆架盆地构造演化总体由西向东跃迁。晚白垩世至晚古新世东海陆架盆地裂陷中心在西部坳陷带,始新世东迁至东部坳陷带,上新世东迁至东海陆架盆地东侧的冲绳海槽盆地。古新世中后期东海陆架盆地西部坳陷带北侧昆山凹陷反转;中新世东部坳陷带的西湖凹陷反转。东海陆架盆地西部坳陷带与东部坳陷带构造演化不同,证明了东海陆架盆地的东西分带。西部坳陷带北部的长江坳陷和南部的台北坳陷构造演化不同,东部坳陷带北部的西湖凹陷和南部的钓北凹陷构造演化不同,证明了东海陆架盆地的南北分块。     

A condition for the existence of quasi-periodic nonlinear internal waves in the ocean shelf zone

Free internal gravity waves, which are typical of the shelf ocean zone are studied. A necessary condition for the existence of nonlinear wave disturbances quasi-periodic in time in a continuously stratified sea with variable depth H is found in the quasistatic and the “hard cap” approximation with respect to dissipative factors and latitudinal variation in the Coriolis parameter. The obtained assessment is equivalent to the condition obtained within the framework of linear theory for the case of the f-plane and a constant depth H.     

Trace metal distribution in sediments of northern continental shelf of Crete Island,Eastern Mediterranean

The present study investigates the distribution of trace metals (Zn, Hg, Cd, Cu, and Pb), as indicators of pollution, in the surficial offshore shelf sediments along the northern coast of Heraklion Prefecture (Crete, Mediterranean Sea). The concentrations and the spatial distribution of the different trace metals, in relation to the sedimentological characteristics and the water circulation pattern of the entire continental shelf, are associated with human inshore sources of pollutants located along the coastline of the study area. Although the trace metal concentrations measured are higher than the background values, they are not considered to be dangerous to human health, as they are lower than the standard values given by the World Health Organisation, with only a few localised exceptions. Furthermore, results reveal the important role of local hydrodynamism that moves fine-grained material and associated trace metals offshore (seawards to wave breaking zone) and then transports them eastwards by entrapping them in the prevailing offshore shelf-water circulation.     

Flood risk curves and uncertainty bounds

The Scotia Arc is one of two regions in the Atlantic Ocean with greater potential for tsunami generation from seismic and volcanic sources. A numerical modeling study was undertaken to determine tsunami generation from postulated sources along the Arc and tsunami wave amplification or attenuation along the Patagonian continental shelf. Sea level oscillation represented by a simple sinusoidal wave function applied at the boundary of the numerical grid, which simulated the tsunami entering the computational domain, was implemented as forcing. The validation of this model was carried out by comparing the maximum amplitudes recorded and simulated at Santa Teresita and Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires province) after the occurrence of earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Sumatra (December 2004). From numerical simulations it can be seen that the tsunami propagation is highly affected by bathymetric refraction on the Patagonian continental shelf and the wave amplitude is significantly attenuated on the inner continental shelf. Maximum amplifications were obtained around Malvinas (Falkland) Islands and Burdwood bank because the wave propagates almost without refracting and the shoaling effect is highly significant there.     

Peculiarities of spreading of acoustic waves over a shelf with decreasing depth

We analyze experimental data collected in Vityaz Bay of the Sea of Japan during study of the peculiarities of spreading of hydroacoustic waves over a shelf with decreasing depth. We found that the waves propagate over a shelf with depths greater than half of the hydroacoustic wave according to the law of cylindrical divergence with least losses of the wave energy. If the depths are shallower than half of the hydroacoustic wave, they spread along the water-bottom boundary as Rayleigh waves of decaying and undamped types with significant absorption of the wave energy by the bottom.     

黔南罗甸沫阳中二叠世茅口组风暴岩沉积特征及地质意义

黔南罗甸沫阳剖面中二叠世茅口组以海相碳酸盐为主,下部地层中发育风暴岩,露头特征明显,主要以介壳灰岩为识别标志。风暴沉积构造包括底面侵蚀构造、截切构造、波痕层理、递变层理、块状层理等。风暴沉积主要包括一个底面构造A和B、C、D、E等四个沉积单元:A.侵蚀底面,代表风暴流对海底沉积物的作用;B.介壳灰岩层,代表风暴浪、风暴涡流沉积;C.粒序层,代表风暴衰减期重力分异沉积或风暴浊流沉积;D.块状层,代表风暴快速悬浮沉积;E.波痕层理段,代表风暴衰减后期沉积。它们共组成4种风暴沉积序列,分别代表不同深度的风暴沉积,反映了不同的风暴沉积作用和风暴流的类型。沫阳地区风暴沉积的沉积特征表明,该区风暴沉积主要发育于风暴浪基面之上的内陆棚沉积环境,风暴强度大,为近源风暴岩。仅个别风暴沉积发育于风暴浪基面之下的外陆棚沉积环境,为风暴引起的浊流沉积,为远源风暴岩。风暴岩类型的正确识别,对确定该区沉积相与深入认识扬子碳酸盐台地南部边缘沉积演化提供参考依据。     

Simulation of the Hurricane Dennis storm surge and considerations for vertical resolution

A high-resolution storm surge model of Apalachee Bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico is developed using an unstructured grid finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM). The model is applied to the case of Hurricane Dennis (July 2005). This storm caused underpredicted severe flooding of the Apalachee Bay coastal area and upriver inland communities. Accurate resolution of complicated geometry of the coastal region and waterways in the model reveals processes responsible for the unanticipated high storm tide in the area. Model results are validated with available observations of the storm tide. Model experiments suggest that during Dennis, excessive flooding in the coastal zone and the town of St. Marks, located up the St. Marks River, was caused by additive effects of coincident high tides (~10–15% of the total sea-level rise) and a propagating shelf wave (~30%) that added to the locally wind-generated surge. Wave setup, the biggest uncertainty, is estimated on the basis of empirical and analytical relations. The Dennis case is then used to test the sensitivity of the model solution to vertical discretization. A suite of model experiments is performed with varying numbers of vertical sigma (σ) levels, with different distribution of σ-levels within the water column and a varying bottom drag coefficient. The major finding is that the storm surge solution is more sensitive to resolution within the velocity shear zone at mid-depths compared to resolution of the upper and bottom layer or values of the bottom drag coefficient.     

Transition from storm wave‐dominated outer shelf to gullied upper slope: The mid‐Pliocene Orinoco shelf margin,South Trinidad

Shelf‐edge deltas are a key depositional environment for accreting sediment onto shelf‐margin clinoforms. The Moruga Formation, part of the palaeo‐Orinoco shelf‐margin sedimentary prism of south‐east Trinidad, provides new insight into the incremental growth of a Pliocene, storm wave‐dominated shelf margin. Relatively little is known about the mechanisms of sand bypass from the shelf‐break area of margins, and in particular from storm wave‐dominated margins which are generally characterized by drifting of sand along strike until meeting a canyon or channel. The studied St. Hilaire Siltstone and Trinity Hill Sandstone succession is 260 m thick and demonstrates a continuous transition from gullied (with turbidites) uppermost slope upward to storm wave‐dominated delta front on the outermost shelf. The basal upper‐slope deposits are dominantly mass‐transport deposited blocks, as well as associated turbidites and debrites with common soft‐sediment‐deformed strata. The overlying uppermost slope succession exhibits a spectacular set of gullies, which are separated by abundant slump‐scar unconformities (tops of rotational slides), then filled with debris‐flow conglomerates and sandy turbidite beds with interbedded mudstones. The top of the study succession, on the outer‐shelf area, contains repeated upward‐coarsening, sandstone‐rich parasequences (2 to 15 m thick) with abundant hummocky and swaley cross‐stratification, clear evidence of storm‐swell and storm wave‐dominated conditions. The observations suggest reconstruction of the unstable shelf margin as follows: (i) the aggradational storm wave‐dominated, shelf‐edge delta front became unstable and collapsed down the slope; (ii) the excavated scars of the shelf margin became gullied, but gradually healed (aggraded) by repeated infilling by debris flows and turbidites, and then new gullying and further infilling; and (iii) a renewed storm wave‐dominated delta‐front prograded out across the healed outer shelf, re‐establishing the newly stabilized shelf margin. The Moruga Formation study, along with only a few others in the literature, confirms the sediment bypass ability of storm wave‐dominated reaches of shelf edges, despite river‐dominated deltas being, by far, the most efficient shelf‐edge regime for sediment bypass at the shelf break.     

Postglacial stratigraphic evolution of a current-influenced sandy shelf: offshore Kujukuri strandplain,central Japan

Sandy shelf sediments are important elements of clastic sedimentary systems because of their wide distribution in the geological record and their significance as hydrocarbon reservoirs. Although many studies have investigated shelf sediments influenced by waves or tidal currents, little is known about shelf sediments influenced by oceanic currents, particularly their lithofacies characteristics and stratigraphic evolution. This study investigated the stratigraphic evolution of shelf sediments off the Kujukuri strandplain facing the Pacific Ocean, which is influenced by the strong Kuroshio Current. Sediment cores were obtained from six locations on the Kujukuri shelf (34 to 124 m water depth) using a vibrocorer. The dominant lithofacies is mud-free sand with low-angle cross-lamination associated with alternating beds of finer and coarser sand with cross-lamination. These display depositional processes influenced by storm waves and the Kuroshio Current, respectively. This finding is consistent with the previously presented modern and historical observations of the Kuroshio Current and estimates of the storm-wave base. Radiocarbon dates show that the sediment succession formed during the last transgressive and highstand stages after 13·1 ka. The depositional processes during the stages represent a transition from storm waves with abundant sediment supply to both storm waves and the Kuroshio Current with sediment starvation mainly due to its trapping in the strandplain. Comparison to other Holocene–Modern shelf systems suggests that the sandy shelf successions are strongly influenced by oceanic currents under conditions of limited riverine input and open coastal geometry. The resultant sand-dominated succession is characterized by reversal of the proximal to distal grain-size trend compared to the fining for most other recognized wave/storm-dominated shelf successions. This is because of seaward increase in the influence of the Kuroshio Current. Thus, shelf deposits are naturally complex, and these may be further complicated by the additional influence of oceanic currents above the usual wave-dominated and tide-dominated end members.     

"源热共控论":来自南海海域油气田"外油内气"环带有序分布的新认识

南海海域新生代经历印支—南海地台裂谷期、陆间裂谷期和区域沉降阶段,形成大陆架、大陆坡和洋壳区三大区域构造单元。围绕洋壳区,大陆坡和大陆架呈准环带状分布格局。沉积盆地主要分布在大陆架和大陆坡上,亦环绕中央洋壳区呈环带状分布。南海油气勘探活动于20世纪60年代末期开始,截至目前已发现数百个油气田,这些油气田主要分布在南部、北部和西部等大陆边缘。油气田分布主要呈大陆架或其近陆部分以油田为主、大陆坡（也包括邻近大陆架部分区域）以气田为主的“外油内气”特征。油环区凹陷烃源岩以中深湖相泥岩或深海相泥岩为主,沉积有机质以Ⅰ、Ⅱ1型干酪根为主,地壳相对较厚、热流值相对较低、烃源岩主要处在生油窗以内,烃类产物主要是原油。气环区生烃凹陷烃源岩以海陆过渡相泥岩和海相烃源岩为主,沉积有机质主要是Ⅱ2—Ⅲ型干酪根,地壳厚度相对较薄,热流值高,具“超热盆”特征,烃源岩以生气为主。油环区主力储层是砂岩,形成于湖相到浅海环境,存在多套储盖组合。气环区内带存在浅水沉积和深水沉积两套储盖组合,以深水扇和生物礁储层为主,盖层主要为海相泥岩。以300 m水深为界,油环带主要位于浅水区,勘探程度较高;内带气环主要位于陆架下部及陆坡区,勘探程度较低。南海海域勘探领域正在由浅水区向深水区发展。南海油气资源丰富,有望成为我国新的大油气区。     

On late Maastrichtian-early Danian water masses and lithologic and foraminifer assemblages in different tectonic zones of the Mountainous Crimea

This paper presents data on the structure of reference sections of the Maastrichtian-Danian boundary beds and the assemblages of benthic and planktonic foraminifers enclosed in these rocks. These are based on examination of the reference sections in two different structure-facies zones of the Mountainous Crimea: the Kacha Uplift and Indol-Kuban Trough. The strongly different lithologic and foraminifer assemblages in these sections indicate the presence of completely different water masses in the shelf part of the marine basin with water depths varying from those of the middle-lower sublittoral zone (in the Belbek, Beshkosh, and Chakhmakhly sections in the southwestern part of the Mountainous Crimea) to those of the pelagic environment on the continental slope and at the continental rise (section in Mount Klement’ev in the Indol-Kuban Trough). These assemblages indicate the sedimentation environment in the transition zone between the Kacha shelf and the deep-water Black Sea Basin.