Detrital zircon age spectra of middle and upper Eocene outcrop belts,U.S. Gulf Coast region

Recently reported detrital zircon (DZ) data help to associate the Paleogene strata of the Gulf of Mexico region to various provenance areas. By far, recent work has emphasised upper Paleocene‐lower Eocene and upper Oligocene strata that were deposited during the two episodes of the highest sediment supply in the Paleogene. The data reveal a dynamic drainage history, including (1) initial routing of western Cordilleran drainages towards the Gulf of Mexico in the Paleocene, (2) an eastward shift of the western continental divide, from the Jura‐Cretaceous cordilleran arc to the eastern edge of the Laramide province after the Paleocene and (3) a southward shift, along the eastern Laramide province, of the headwaters of river systems draining to the Mississippi and Houston embayments at some time between the early Eocene and Oligocene. However, DZ characterisation of most (~20 Myr) of the middle Eocene‐lower Oligocene section remains limited. We present 60 DZ age spectra, most of which are from the middle or upper Eocene outcrop belts, with 50–200‐km spacing. We define six to eight distinct groups of DZ age spectra for middle and upper Eocene strata. Data from this and other studies resolve at least six substantial temporal changes in age spectra at various positions along the continental margin. The evolving age spectra constrain the middle and upper Eocene drainage patterns of large parts of interior North America. The most well‐resolved aspects of these drainage patterns include (1) persistent rivers that flowed from erosional landscapes across the Paleozoic Appalachian orogen either into the low‐lying Mississippi embayment or directly into the eastern Gulf; (2) at least during marine regressions, a trunk channel that likely flowed southward along the axial part of Mississippi Embayment and integrated tributaries from the east and west; and (3) rivers that flowed to the Houston embayment in the middle Eocene that likely originated in the Laramide province in central Colorado and southern Wyoming, as Precambrian basement highs in those source areas were being unroofed.     

论大峡谷生态环境的脆弱性

分析了大峡谷的基本特点, 把它看作是内外作用营力的现阶段表现。提出了内营力的地质基础是破碎的、不良的、不稳定的; 外营力的水汽通道带来强大水热作用的负面影响, 它们结合在一起, 组成了生态环境本质极为脆弱的基础。并把历史上的重大山地灾害当作是一面镜子; 而把现实看到的破坏作为人类参与下正在长鸣的警钟, 提醒人们要建立大峡谷生态环境是极为脆弱的基本概念, 一切要以环保为基础, 以可持续发展为根本目标。     

金口大峡谷地貌成因与旅游资源

金口大峡谷位于大渡河下游，主要支谷有8条，皆以嶂谷地貌为特色。与大峡谷相邻的大瓦山(3236m)为我国最高的桌状山。这一区域以喀斯特地貌为主，受新构造运动影响明显，具有丰富的旅游地貌资源。     

Morphotectonics and incision of the Kaoping submarine canyon, SW Taiwan orogenic wedge

The Kaoping submarine canyon developed on the frontal orogenic wedge off SW Taiwan and is the largest one among others. The canyon begins at the mouth of the Kaoping River, crosses the narrow shelf and broad slope region, and finally merges into the northern Manila Trench for a distance of about 260 km. Using reflection seismic sections and bathymetric mapping this paper reveals the geomorphic characteristics of the Kaoping Canyon strongly related to structural and sedimentary processes. The combined morphometry statistics analysis, seismic interpretations of structures and examinations of detailed bathymetric charts indicate that regional canyon morphology is strongly linked to intrusions of mud diapirs in the upper reach of the canyon and thrust faulting in the middle and lower reaches which produce two prominent morphological breaks of the course of the Kaoping Canyon with two sharp bends. Although excavation of floor and enlargement of the Kaoping Canyon are mainly attributed to downslope erosion of seabed, incision of this canyon is also strongly complicated by mud diapiric intrusions (upper reach), westward thrust faults (middle reach), and regional base level tilting (lower reach). The resultant cross-sectional morphology along the Kaoping Canyon changes considerably, ranging from U-shaped, broad V-shaped, to irregular troughs. The Kaoping Canyon may be served as a variant of canyon model of active margins with a distinct morphology of two sharp bends along the canyon course associated with structure deformation.     

Drowned shelf-edge deltas, barrier islands and related features along the outer continental shelf north of the head of De Soto Canyon, NE Gulf of Mexico

Four drowned shelf-edge delta complexes, two drowned shelf deltas, three drowned barrier islands, large areas of “hardground”, and fields of bedforms on the mid and outer continental shelf and uppermost slope north of the head of De Soto Canyon, NE Gulf of Mexico were mapped with high-resolution multibeam echosounder. Deltas formed not during the last eustatic low stand, but during one or more interstadials when eustatic sea levels were only 60 to 80 m below present sea level. The barrier islands and deltas must have been cemented prior to rapid falls of eustatic sea level that occurred during global glaciations. Cementation is necessary to have preserved the barrier islands from erosion and subsequent destruction by the rapid sea-level rise during the last deglaciation. The preservation of the relict bathymetry is so good that features that superficially resemble trough blowouts are found in association with one of the relict barrier islands. Asymmetric bedforms on the midshelf in water depths of 50 to 60 m indicate transport directions to the SW but asymmetric bedforms in water depths of the upper slope between 100 and 120 m on the S and SE flanks of the drowned shelf-edge deltas indicate a different current direction, a separate flow that is a continuation of a SW-flowing current that was previously found on the upper slope off NW Florida.     

EDITING NATURE IN GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK POSTCARDS*

This research takes a critical look at the interplay of vision and the production of knowledge in the context of cultural constructions of nature and environmental perceptions. The basis for this work is an exploration of the manufacturing process and subject matter in 259 Curt Teich Company postcards of Grand Canyon National Park manufactured from 1936 to 1955. Through a content analysis and interpretation of the postcards, four themes emerge—scenery, vegetation, water, and animals—that reveal the structure of Curt Teich Publishing Company's representation of the Grand Canyon environment. The company employed a printing technique known as “color embellishment” that allowed the manufacturer to alter the postcards with each reprinting and, in the process, create an edited view of nature at the Grand Canyon. This visual shorthand equated a series of selective and repetitive subjects and locations with ideas of scenic, wild, and grand landscapes.     

Conflict,Space, and Resource Management at Grand Canyon*

Geographical spaces and boundaries are neither simple nor naively given. An examination of selected disputes over territory in the greater Grand Canyon area reveals the importance of considering the implications of absolute, relative, and representational spaces for how contests are framed and negotiated. Efforts to move toward a more ecologically based regime of natural resource management at Grand Canyon require a better understanding of how the existing spaces came to have their present location, size, configuration, definition, and jurisdictional structure.     

青藏高原考察新发现--帕隆藏布大峡谷

通过多年的考察和室内科学论证,发现认定在雅鲁藏布大峡谷顶端汇流的一级支流———帕隆藏布峡谷也是一条堪称世界级的大峡谷（照片１）。就深度而言,帕隆藏布至少可以排位于尼泊尔王国境内的喀利根德格大峡谷（最深为４４０３ｍ）之后名列世界第三而深于秘鲁的科尔卡大...     

雅鲁藏布大峡谷地区水环境评价及保护研究

雅鲁藏布大峡谷是世界第一大峡谷,位于我国西藏南部喜马拉雅山脉东端,穿过大峡谷的河流是世界上海拔最高的大河雅鲁藏布江。大峡谷地区由于地形复杂,山高谷深,交通不便而且人口相对稀少,因此受人类活动影响较少,水环境的原始自然状态保持完好。本文根据笔者参加1998年徒步穿越雅鲁藏布大峡谷科学探险考察中取得的第一手资料,对大峡谷地区原始自然状态下的水文和水环境特征做了初步研究,并对今后大峡谷水环境的保护和监测提出了具体的建议。     

近2000年来内蒙后套平原黄河河道演变

通过遥感影像、地貌沉积、历史文献与地图等相关资料分析集成研究,将后套平原分为西部冲积扇平原,东部是泛滥冲积平原,并详细探讨了近2000年来本区黄河河道的演变。公元前2世纪时,后套西部平原南 (上) 冲积扇停止发育, 北(下) 冲积扇河道发育,黄河主河道的位置与现代不同,它偏于泛滥平原北部的阴山山前东流;公元6世纪后套平原西部北 冲积扇上黄河河道向东移,在东部泛滥平原上黄河明显地分为南北两汊,而黄河主流仍位于河套平原北部山前;18世纪早期至末期,黄河主河道从河套平原的北部山前南移至平原南部;19世纪中叶‘北河’淤塞,现代黄河形成。     

Spatial variation of altitudinal belts as dividing index between warm temperate and subtropical zones in the Qinling-Daba Mountains

To determine the dividing index between warm temperate and subtropical zones based on the spectra of altitudinal belts,this paper collected 33 spectra of altitudinal belts in the Qinling-Daba Mountains from published literatures and then analyzed the structures and the spatial patterns from south to north,from west to east and based on exposure directions.The results show that:1)From south to north,the basal belt gradually changes from subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest to warm temperate deciduous broadleaf forest;the spectra of altitudinal belts change from complex to simple;the dominant belt changes from montane broadleaf-conifer mixed forest and evergreen-deciduous broadleaf mixed forest to deciduous broadleaf forest.2)From west to east,the structures of the altitudinal belt spectra show complexity in the east and west but simplicity in the middle section;the upper limits of both the evergreen-deciduous broadleaf mixed forest belt and montane deciduous broadleaf forest belt present a quadratic curve distribution pattern in the longitudinal direction.However,the upper limit of the montane broadleaf-conifer mixed forest belt exhibits a nearly linear decrease in the west-east direction.3)Both the north and south slopes in the Qinling Mountains have the similar basal belt,whereas it varies greatly between the north and south slopes in the Daba Mountains.Comparably,dominant belts are very similar in the Qinling Mountains and the north slope of the Daba Mountains,but the south slope of the Daba Mountains has its own unique dominant belt:evergreen-deciduous broadleaf mixed forest.This implies that the Daba Mountains are more appropriate than the Qinling Mountains to act as the boundary between subtropical and warm-temperate zones in central China.     

Reconstruction of glacial Lake Hind in southwestern Manitoba, Canada

Glacial Lake Hind was a 4000 km² ice-marginal lake which formed in southwestern Manitoba during the last deglaciation. It received meltwater from western Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and North Dakota via at least 10 channels, and discharged into glacial Lake Agassiz through the Pembina Spillway. During the early stage of deglaciation in southwestern Manitoba, part of the glacial Lake Hind basin was occupied by glacial Lake Souris which extended into the area from North Dakota. Sediments in the Lake Hind basin consist of deltaic gravels, lacustrine sand, and clayey silt. Much of the uppermost lacustrine sand in the central part of the basin has been reworked into aeolian dunes. No beaches have been recognized in the basin. Around the margins, clayey silt occurs up to a modern elevation of 457 m, and fluvio-deltaic gravels occur at 434–462 m. There are a total of 12 deltas, which can be divided into 3 groups based on elevation of their surfaces: (1) above 450 m along the eastern edge of the basin and in the narrow southern end; (2) between 450 and 442 m at the western edge of the basin; and (3) below 442 m. The earliest stage of glacial Lake Hind began shortly after 12 ka, as a small lake formed between the Souris and Red River lobes in southwestern Manitoba. Two deltas at an elevation of 450 were formed in this lake. At the same time, the Souris Lobe retreated far enough to allow glacial Lake Souris to expand farther north along the western side of the basin from North Dakota into what was to become glacial Lake Hind. Three deltas were built at an elevation above 460 m in the Canadian part of this proglacial lake. Continued ice retreat allowed the merger of glacial Lake Souris with the interlobate glacial Lake Hind to the east. Subsequent erosion of the outlet to the Pembina Spillway allowed waters in the glacial Lake Hind basin to become isolated from glacial Lake Souris, and a new level of glacial Lake Hind was established at 442 m, with 5 deltas built at this level by meltwater runoff from the west. Next, a catastrophic flood from the Moose Mountain uplands in southeastern Saskatchewan flowed through the Souris River valley to glacial Lake Souris, spilling into Lake Hind and depositing another delta. This resulted in further incision of the outlet (Pembina Spillway). A second flood through the Souris Spillway from glacial Lake Regina further eroded the outlet; most of glacial Lake Hind was drained at this time except for the deeper northern part. Coarse gravel was deposited by this flood, which differs from previous flood gravel because it is massive and contains less shale.     

The effect of syndepositional deformation within the Upper Permian Capitan Platform on the speleogenesis and geomorphology of the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, USA

The Guadalupe Mountains in New Mexico and Texas are home to more than 300 caves. Caves have been formed within the Upper Permian Capitan carbonate platform and are oriented along two structural trends, one of which is parallel to the platform margin and the other of which is roughly perpendicular to it. Our recent studies of the Capitan Platform have identified syndepositional faults associated with growth monoclines and synclines in Slaughter Canyon, New Mexico, and these are also parallel to the platform margin. In this study, we demonstrate that syndepositional faults and folds are also present in Rattlesnake and Walnut Canyons, as much as 19 km along strike, and that they have exerted control on karstification of the Guadalupe Mountains from the Upper Permian until present.Three distinctive episodes of karst formation have been recognised in outcrops on the basis of karst-filling deposits and crosscutting relationships. The syndepositional “Phase 1 karst” was formed along syndepositional faults and fractures and is filled by platform-derived sediments. The burial “Phase 2 karst” is filled by post-Permian siliciclastics and is limited to the youngest syndepositional faults and fractures that penetrate the platform in the proximity of its terminal margin. Connectivity of these youngest faults and fractures to the platform top and the overlying stratigraphy is inferred to have controlled the distribution of the Phase 2 karst. The “Phase 3 karst” includes the present cave systems, which were mainly formed by sulphuric acid produced by mixing of fossil and fresh underground waters in conjunction with the uplift of the Guadalupe Mountains in the Late Tertiary, and have since been modified by vadose karst processes. The Phase 3 karst caves are not solely developed along syndepositional faults and fractures as the earlier karst palaeocaverns are, but also follow another, uplift-related, structural trend.Syndepositional folds, faults, and fractures in the Capitan Platform have influenced the shaping of the modern surface geomorphology of the Guadalupe Mountains by controlling drainage and, hence, erosion. Trellis drainage parallel to the platform margin is developed where syndepositional folds, faults, and fractures occur. The morphology of the trellis drainage varies systematically across the range in response to the character of the deformation structures and karst features along which the drainage channels have developed.     

Modern sedimentation in the Lower Negro River, Amazonas State, Brazil

The Negro River, which flows through the north central Amazon Basin, is one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon. The name “Negro” comes from the colour of its water, which reflects the large quantity of dissolved humic acids and iron oxides that also gives the water its characteristic acid pH. The river is estimated to have the fifth largest water discharge in the world, about 30,000 m³/s. The Negro River is characterized by a high dissolved load but a low energy system. Neotectonics and water quality are the principal factors that control the modern sedimentation in the Lower Negro River. The Lower Negro River is controlled largely by a NW–SE tectonic lineament, that is a segment of a major tectonic transcurrent dextral megasystem of the Amazon Basin. Neotectonism in this area is responsible for the depth of the river and for the occurrence of steep “falésias” (cliffs), along some parts of its borders. It also seems that neotectonics have influenced the origin of the Anavilhanas Islands, which are a series of anastomosed, elongated silty clayey channel bars, with internal round or long narrow lakes. The “igapó”, which is the forested area flooded during part of the year, appears to have a neotectonic origin as well. Igapós are located on intermediate blocks between the high blocks of the “terra firme” and the low blocks of the channel. The absence of clastic sediments carried in suspension is related to the rare appearance of floodplains, which are limited to very thin layers of fine sediments, located on the abrasion shelfs carved in clastic deposits of the Alter do Chão Formation. Sand bars occur in places along the base of the cliffs and along the edges of the channel system. These sand bars are composed of quartz sand, derived from the reworking of the sand of the Alter do Chão Formation.     

亚洲降水中δ18O沿不同水汽输送路径的变化

利用IAEA/WMO全球监测网和青藏高原的监测站,建立了由赤道地区经我国西南水汽通道至长江中下游的南方水汽输送路径、沿西风带自我国西部经华北至日本的北方水汽输送路径以及自南亚穿喜马拉雅山到我国青藏高原的水汽输送路径的取样剖面,比较了三条水汽路径在不同季节降水中啄18O的变化及其与温度、降水量的关系。沿南方水汽路径,低纬度地区取样站降水中平均啄18O的季节差异较小。沿北方水汽路径,郑州以西取样站平均啄18O的季节差均大于郑州以东的取样站。随着经度的增加,降水中平均啄18O的季节差减小。沿高原水汽路径,印度次大陆南部降水中的啄18O相对较高,随着纬度的增加,降水中啄18O逐渐减小。在翻越喜马拉雅山后,由于强烈的洗涤作用,降水中啄18O急剧下降。     

Outflow of Pacific water from the Chukchi Sea to the Arctic Ocean

Pacific water exits the Chukchi Sea shelf through Barrow Canyon in the east and Herald Canyon in the west,forming an eastward-directed shelfbreak boundary current that flows into the Beaufort Sea.Here we summarize the transformation that the Pacific water undergoes in the two canyons,and describe the characteristics and variability of the resulting sbelfbreak jet,using recently collected summertime hydrographic data and a year-long mooring data set.In both canyons the northward-flowing Pacific winter water switches from the western to the eastern flank of the canyon,interacting with the northward-flowing summer water.In Barrow canyon the vorticity structure of the current is altered,while in Herald canyon a new water mass mode is created.In both instances hydraulic effects are believed to be partly responsible for the observed changes.The shelfbreak jet that forms from the canyon outflows has distinct seasonal configurations,from a bottom-intensified flow carrying cold,dense Pacific water in spring,to a surface-intensified current advecting warm,buoyant water in summer.The current also varies significantly on short timescales,from less than a day to a week.In fall and winter much of this mesoscale variability is driven by storm events,whose easterly winds reverse the current and cause upwelling.Different types of eddies are spawned from the current,which are characterized here using hydrographic and satellite data.     

Assessing potential environmental influences on killer whale (Orcinus orca) distribution patterns in the Bremer Canyon,south-west Australia

ABSTRACT

Submarine canyons play an important role in the regional distribution, abundance and dispersal of marine biota and are increasingly being recognised as geomorphic features of high conservation significance along Australia’s continental margin. Certain canyons have been described as foraging ‘hotspots’ attributable to the high abundance of apex cetacean species aggregating in these areas. Anecdotal evidence of large seasonal aggregations of killer whales in the Bremer Canyon, south-west Australia, has attracted significant research attention in the last decade. To identify important environmental drivers influencing aggregation patterns, a predictive spatial habitat model using the Maxent model was developed based on presence-only whale sighting data. In addition, remotely sensed sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a concentrations were assessed to investigate the spatio-temporal variation in sea surface conditions. Habitat preference was predicted in areas between canyon heads, with the most influential predictor variables being depth and distance from the continental shelf break. Analysis of remote-sensing data highlighted low localised variability in surface waters and illustrated the seasonal trends of the Leeuwin Current. This study demonstrates the influence of bathymetry and submarine geomorphology on enhanced cetacean abundance and highlights the need for recognition of this potential foraging area in marine reserve planning.     

20世纪末的一次重大地理发现──雅鲁藏布江大峡谷为世界之最的论证

雅鲁藏布江下游围绕喜马拉雅山东端最高峰南迦巴瓦峰（７７８２ｍ）作奇特的马蹄形大拐弯，连续的深切割在青藏高原东南斜面上，长达４９６．３ｋｍ，最深达５３８２ｍ，是世界上最大的峡谷。它的论证和被发现，是２０世纪末一次重大的地理发现。大峡谷是适应板块缝合构造带发育的构造谷，它还是南来水汽进入青藏高原的最大通道，它所造就的独特自然环境和地理景观，以及以生物和水力为主的丰富自然资源，是人类共同的财富。进行世界最大峡谷的地学、生物学理论与应用的系统研究，对大峡谷的开发、规划、永续利用提供科学依据，建立大峡谷自然保护区是当务之急。     

丹棱-思濛砾石层成因与时代

根据组成丹棱-思氵蒙砾石层的不同岩性的砾石的统计分析,论证了该砾石层的物源区。应用粒组分析资料经数据处理取得的趋势分布所显示的砾石分选性和递变规律,并应用沃克划分砾岩成因类型的组构标志,判别砾石层成因。最后根据砾石的风化程度和川西前陆盆地第四纪演化特征,以及青衣江阶地位相所显示的第四纪沉积物序次,论述了丹棱-思氵蒙砾石层的形成时代。结论认为,丹棱-思氵蒙砾石层为冲积成因,物源区为青衣江流域,为古青衣江出山后在前陆盆地中充填的冲积扇,当时青衣江古河道由洪雅黄坪流经丹棱最后在思氵蒙汇入岷江。现代的丹棱-思氵蒙河是青衣江改道出平羌峡汇入大渡河后残留下来的断头河。砾石层的形成时代为早中更新世(Q12)。     

20世纪末的一次重大地理发现──雅鲁藏布江大峡谷为世界之最的论证

雅鲁藏布江下游围绕喜马拉雅山东端最高峰南迦巴瓦峰(7782m)作奇特的马蹄形大拐弯,连续的深切割在青藏高原东南斜面上,长达496.3km,最深达5382m,是世界上最大的峡谷。它的论证和被发现,是20世纪末一次重大的地理发现。大峡谷是适应板块缝合构造带发育的构造谷,它还是南来水汽进入青藏高原的最大通道,它所造就的独特自然环境和地理景观,以及以生物和水力为主的丰富自然资源,是人类共同的财富。进行世界最大峡谷的地学、生物学理论与应用的系统研究,对大峡谷的开发、规划、永续利用提供科学依据,建立大峡谷自然保护区是当务之急。