Miocene bioherms and associated structures in the Upper Coralline limestone of the Maltese Islands: their lithification and palaeoenvironment

An extensive sequence of small patch-reefs occurs within the middle member of the Upper Coralline Limestone Formation (Upper Miocene) in western Malta. In the lower horizons of the Tal Pitkal Member these structures are lensoidal in cross section and are surrounded by coarse flanking biosparites. Towards the top of the member they become more irregular in form. Extensive biostrome developments occur in association with the later structures but unlike the patch-reefs they were killed off periodically by episodes of exposure. The resistance of these structures to wave action is verified by the presence of extensive mollusc borings both in patch-reefs and biostromes. The initial binders within both structures are considered to be stromatolitic algae. Early diagenetic rims were also precipitated around allochems and added further strength to the frame work. Within this framework pelleted micrites accumulated which contrast strongly with the sparite cements of the flanking sediments. The organic framebuilders were finally killed off by a particularly strong episode of submarine erosion, with the subsequent establishment of an oolite shoal over the entire region.     

The hazard exposure of the Maltese Islands

International comparisons of disaster risk frequently classify Malta as being one of the least hazard exposed countries. Such rankings may be criticised because: (1) they fail to take into account historic increases in population and its seasonal variation; (2) they are based on inadequately researched and incomplete historical catalogues of damaging events; and (3), for small island states like Malta, they do not take into account the implications of restricted land area, which can be disproportionately impacted by even small hazardous events. In this paper, we draw upon a variety of data to discuss disaster risk in the Maltese Islands. In particular, the notion that Malta is one of the ‘safest places on earth’ is not only misleading, but also potentially dangerous because it engenders a false sense of security amongst the population. We argue that Malta is exposed to a variety of extreme events, which include: the distal effects of major earthquakes originating in southern Italy and Greece, plus their associated tsunamis; major ash producing eruptions of Mount Etna (Sicily) and their putative impacts on air transport; storm waves; coastal/inland landslides; karstic collapse; flooding and drought. In criticising international rankings of the islands’ exposure, we highlight the issues involved in formulating hazard assessments, in particular incomplete catalogues of extreme natural events. With Malta witnessing swelling resident, seasonal (i.e. tourist) plus foreign-born populations and increases in the urban area, further research into hazards is required in order to develop evidence-based policies of disaster risk reduction (DRR).     

The Maltese Islands: climate, vegetation and landscape

The Maltese Islands, situated in the central Mediterranean, occupy an area of only some 316 km². The climate is typically Mediterranean: the average annual rainfall is c. 530 mm of which some 85% falls during the period October to March; the mean monthly temperature range is 12--26 °C, and the islands are very windy and sunny. Although small, the Maltese Islands have a considerable diversity of landscapes and ecosystems which are representative of the range and variety of those of the Mediterranean region. The islands are composed mainly of limestones, the soils are young and are very similar to the parent rocks, and there are no mountains, streams or lakes, but only minor springs; the main geomorphological features are karstic limestone plateaux, hillsides covered with clay taluses, gently rolling limestone plains, valleys which drain runoff during the wet season, steep sea-cliffs on the south-western coasts, and gently sloping rocky shores to the Northeast. The main vegetational assemblages are maquis, garigue and steppe; minor ones include patches of woodland, coastal wetlands, sand dunes, freshwater, and rupestral communities; the latter are the most scientifically important in view of the large number of endemic species they support. Human impact is significant. Some 38% of the land area is cultivated, c. 15% is built up, and the rest is countryside. The present landscape is a result of the interaction of geology and climate, coupled with the intense human exploitation of the environment over many thousands of years, which has altered the original condition of the vegetation cover, principally through the diversion of vast tracts of land to cultivation, the construction of terraces, water catchment devices, irrigation channels and drainage ditches, the grazing of animals on uncultivated land, and the development of land for buildings and industry. The scantiness of the soil, combined with the erratic rainfall and the periodic disturbance of the vegetation cover, has resulted in extensive erosion. As a consequence it is now difficult for the original vegetation to reassert itself, affecting the landscape drastically and permanently. Much of the original native flora has been lost or marginalised and the present day non-urban landscape is now dominated by vegetation consisting mainly of ruderal and introduced species. As the population increases, and human pressure on the environment mounts, such trends are likely to continue and it is only very recently that some important initiatives have been taken to manage the environment and halt the deterioration of the landscape.     

Settlement Patterns in the Maltese Islands: from Early Colonization to pre-Independence

This paper gives an account of the main historical episodes which influenced settlement patterns in the Maltese Islands. It covers the period from early colonization, when mankind first set foot on the islands, through the Middle Ages, the arrival of the Knights and the effect this had on the local economy, to the period under the British Crown and the years prior Independence. Special reference is made to the main island, and the factors which had a significant influence on population movements.     

Quaternary deposits in the Maltese Islands: a microcosm of environmental change in Mediterranean lands

The Quaternary deposits of the Mediterranean countries provide clear evidence of past environments, and of environmental change. Modern work enables the reinterpretation of these deposits and shows arid glacial stages and humid interglacial stages, with the Holocene characterised by considerable human impact, mostly resulting from agricultural activity. In this paper, examples of typical Mediterranean Quaternary lithofacies, including tufa and slope, fluvial, coastal, aeolian and cave deposits are described from the Maltese Islands. The deposits are correlated and their climatic signal is interpreted to provide a first modern assessment of Quaternary environmental change in the Maltese Islands.     

Controls of facies and sediment composition on the diagenetic pathway of shallow-water Heterozoan carbonates: the Oligocene of the Maltese Islands

Relatively few studies have so far addressed diagenetic processes in Heterozoan carbonates and the role that sediment composition and depositional facies exert over diagenetic pathways. This paper presents a study of Oligocene shallow-water, Heterozoan carbonates from the Maltese Islands. We investigate stratigraphic distribution, abundance and timing of diagenetic features and their relationship to sediment composition and depositional facies. The studied carbonate rocks comprise rud- to packstones of the Heterozoan association predominantly containing coralline red algae, bryozoans, echinoids and benthic foraminifers. XRD analyses show that all high-Mg calcite has been transformed to low-Mg calcite and that no aragonite is preserved. Diagenetic processes include dissolution of aragonitic biota, neomorphism of high-Mg calcitic biota to low-Mg calcite and cementation by fibrous, bladed, epitaxial and blocky cements. Stable isotopes on bulk rock integrated with petrographic data suggest that the study interval was not exposed to significant meteoric diagenesis. We interpret early cementation to have taken place in the marine and marine burial environment. The distribution and abundance of early diagenetic features, determining the diagenetic pathway, can be related to the primary sediment composition and depositional texture. Sorting and micrite content are important controls over the abundance of diagenetic features.     

Evolution of the Miocene Tejeda magmatic system,Gran Canaria,Canary Islands

This paper is a companion to Clark (1988; hereafter Part I) which described the evolution of the Tejeda Magmatic System (TMS), a Miocene caldera complex, Gran Canaria, Spain, based on geochronologic, paleomagnetic and field data. In this study, petrochemical data are used to corroborate the history out-lined in Part I. Geochemical discriminant analysis shows that whereas the Extra-Caldera (EC) Mogan/Fataga volcanics are separated by a composition gap, no composition gap exists within the Intra-Caldera (IC) sequence. IC ignimbrites change rapidly but progressively from pantellerites and comendites to comenditic trachytes and finally to trachytes in a 0.47 Ma time interval. Significantly, the lower pantelleritic part of the IC series is similar to the EC pantellerites (units B, C and D) as expected based on results from Part I. The appearance of a compositional gap in the EC sequence is the result of flows having been trapped within the caldera during the 0.47 Ma Mogan-Fataga transition interval. The transitional IC sequence may be geochemically modelled by mixing of Mogan comendites and Fataga trachytes. The mixing was most probably induced by the high discharge of magma from the compositionally-zoned Tejeda magma body. The rate of change in erupted composition is best explained by imagining a continuous influx of Fataga or parental Fataga magma into a chamber whose previous silicic component (Mogan composition) was no longer being replenished and that the two magmas did not convectively mix prior to eruption. Repose times between successive eruptions in the lower to middle Mogan (from P1/T1 to A) were of order 30 000 a; the upper Mogan pantellerites and comendites/comenditic trachytes (B to F?) erupted once every 125 000 years or so. The longer repose time for the upper units is consistent with their more differentiated character.     

南海西南部曾母盆地早中新世以来沉降史分析

采用回剥法和局部均衡模式研究曾母盆地早中新世以来的沉降史，并探讨了该盆地构造演化特征。曾母盆地自早中新世以来经历了17．5-11．6Ma、11．6-5．5Ma、5．5-3．0Ma和3．0-0Ma的4次快速沉降作用，其构造演化受控于曾母地块与南沙地块及婆罗洲地块的碰撞和盆地两侧的万安-卢帕尔断裂与廷贾走滑断裂的综合作用，可划分为南北双向挤压（晚始新世-早中新世）、走滑改造（中中新世-晚中新世）和区域沉降（上新世-第四纪）3个演化阶段。     

Rifting,recurrent landsliding and Miocene structural reorganization on NW-Tenerife (Canary Islands)

We studied mechanisms of structural destabilization of ocean island flanks by considering the linkage between volcano construction and volcano destruction, exemplified by the composite Teno shield volcano on Tenerife (Canary Islands). During growth, Tenerife episodically experienced giant landslides, genetically associated with rifting and preferentially located between two arms of a three-armed rift system. The deeply eroded late Miocene Teno massif allows insights into the rifting processes, the failure mechanisms and related structures. The semicircular geometry of palaeo-scarps and fracture systems, breccia deposits and the local dike swarm reconfigurations delineate two clear landslide scarp regions. Following an earlier collapse of the older Los Gigantes Formation to the north, the rocks around the scarp became fractured and intruded by dikes. Substantial lava infill and enduring dike emplacement increased the load on the weak scarp and forced the flank to creep again, finally resulting in the collapse of the younger Carrizales Formation. Once more, the changing stress field caused deformation of the nearby rocks, a fracture belt formed around the scarp and dikes intruded into new (concentric) directions. The outline, size and direction of the second failed flank of Teno very much resembles the first collapse. We suggest structural clues concerning mechanisms of recurrent volcano flank failure, verifying the concept that volcano flanks that have failed are prone to collapse again with similar dimensions.     

西沙群岛西科1井中新统-上新统白云岩微观特征及成因

西科1井白云岩主要分布于上中新统黄流组, 在上新统莺歌海组二段和中中新统梅山组有零星分布; 主要的白云岩层段一般发育在褐色铁质矿物浸染的古暴露面之下.根据岩石铸体薄片观察、阴极发光及扫描电镜测试分析, 西科1井白云岩中白云石总体上呈微晶及细粉晶双峰态结构, 微晶白云石为灰岩基质经选择性白云石化的结果, 呈平直晶面半自形晶, 主要为泥微晶基质白云石化的结果; 粉晶-细晶白云石呈平直晶面自形晶, 为胶结物白云石或过度白云化结果, 过度白云化雾心亮边白云石的"亮边"与胶结物白云石成分一致, 阴极发光下二者显示同样的光性特征.微量元素测试及碳氧同位素测试表明: 白云岩一般具有低铁、低锰含量, δ18O_PDB均为正值, 变化于2.293‰~5.072‰之间, δ13C_PDB变化于1.214‰~3.051‰之间; 西科1井白云岩与西琛1井白云岩具有相似的层位分布特征和碳、氧同位素特征, 可能反映着相同或相似的成因.回流渗透模式可能适用于西沙地区白云岩, 频繁的海平面升降、环礁内蒸发环境及与中新世末期构造运动有关的热流体上涌促进了西沙地区白云岩的形成, 高渗透性礁相碳酸盐岩沉积为高Mg/Ca比值的蒸发水回流渗透提供了运移通道.      

The Maltese food system and the Mediterranean

The paper seeks to understand the Maltese food system in the context of its history and its geographical position within a broad Mediterranean setting of food production, processing, marketing and consumption. Although it has characteristics in common with Spain, Italy and Greece, Malta has some unusual features derived from its colonial heritage and its long-standing dependence upon imported foodstuffs. The future is uncertain because full membership of the European Union might threaten agricultural prosperity and indigenous food manufacturing. A systems of provision approach to the study of the Maltese food system would be an appropriate framework for further research.     

Basal Waitemata Group lithofacies: rapid subsidence in an early Miocene interarc basin, New Zealand

The abrupt transition from coastal and shallow shelf sediments to bathyal sediments provides a record of rapid subsidence and deepening of the early Miocene Waitemata basin. Basal shallow marine strata (Kawau Subgroup) accumulated upon a highly dissected surface that overlies deformed Mesozoic metagreywacke. The early Miocene coast was characterized by an embayed and cliffed shoreline with numerous sea stacks and islands. Kawau Subgroup lithofacies, which include pocket beach, shallow shelf and base-of-cliff talus deposits, reflect rapidly changing coastline configuration and water depths as the rugged bedrock surface was buried. The response to continued rapid subsidence and transgression in Waitemata basin was a decrease in the supply of coarse clastic sediment. Beach gravels were locally displaced to greater water depths by avalanching down steep bedrock slopes. The first bathyal turbidite facies, which abruptly overlie the shallow-water Kawau Subgroup, include locally derived sediment gravity flows commonly ponded by remnant bedrock submarine highs. When this local supply of sediment had been exhausted, coarse sediment starvation ensued and bathyal muds accumulated. With the resumption of sediment supply and gradual burial of submarine bedrock relief, submarine fans coalesced and increased in lateral extent. Subsidence of the Waitemata basin to bathyal depths is thought to have occurred in less than a million years. From the above hypothesis, a general model of sedimentation is proposed.     

珠江口盆地深水区晚中新世以来构造沉降与似海底反射（BSR）分布的关系*

2007年中国在南海北部神狐海域通过钻探首次获得天然气水合物样品,证实了珠江口盆地深水区是水合物富集区。通过对珠江口盆地深水区构造沉降史的定量模拟研究,发现晚中新世以来区内构造沉降总体上具有由北向南、自西向东逐渐变快的演化趋势;从晚中新世到更新世,盆地深水区经历了构造沉降作用由弱到强的变化过程：晚中新世(11.6～5.3 Ma),平均构造沉降速率为67 m/Ma;上新世(5.3～1.8 Ma),平均构造沉降速率为68 m/Ma;至更新世(1.8～0 Ma),平均构造沉降速率为73 m/Ma。而造成这些变化的主因是发生在中中新世末-晚中新世末的东沙运动和发生在上新世-更新世早期的台湾运动。东沙运动（10～5 Ma）使盆地在升降过程中发生块断升降,隆起剥蚀,自东向西运动强度和构造变形逐渐减弱,使得盆地深水区持续稳定沉降;台湾运动（3 Ma）彻底改变了盆地深水区的构造格局,因重力均衡调整盆地深水区继续沉降,越往南沉降越大。将似海底反射（BSR）发育区与沉降速率平面图进行叠合分析,发现80％以上的BSR分布趋于构造沉降速率值主要在75～125 m/Ma之间、沉降速率变化迅速的隆坳接合带区域。     

海底可视技术在天然气水合物勘查中的应用

海底可视技术是一种可以直观地对海底地形地貌、表层沉积物类型、生物群落等进行实时观察的调查手段。本文介绍了海底摄像、电视抓斗、深拖系统和ROV四种海底可视技术，并对海底可视技术在南海北部陆坡天然气水合物勘查中的应用进行阐述。利用海底可视技术，在南海北部陆坡发现了天然气水合物气体“冷泉”喷溢形成的自生碳酸盐岩和活动于天然气水合物冷喷溢口或渗流口周围的菌席、双壳类、管状蠕虫等化能自养生物群，圈定出该陆坡由天然气水合物气体“冷泉”喷溢形成的巨型碳酸盐岩面积达430km^2。     

Theory for the rapid solution of ground subsidence near reservoirs on layered and porous media

The use of two-dimensional fourier transforms of reservoir topography allows substantial increases in the speed of computation of loading effects on layered elastic models of the earth and on porous fluid-filled models of the earth. It is possible to solve the compaction equations for arbitrary reservoirs filled at an arbitrary rate in time. The delay involved in the associated diffusion of pressure can be computed and the theory allows for the computation of the effective stress needed to assess seismic risk associated with the filling of large artificial lakes. A numeric example is given for the vertical deflection and the pore pressure as functions of time and depth below a two-dimensional cross-section of a typical lake profile.     

近地表温压条件下白云岩溶解过程的实验研究

与溶解作用有关的次生孔隙是碳酸盐岩最主要的油气储集空间,从实验模拟角度研究碳酸盐溶解机制具有重要的理论与应用价值。本文在近地表的温度和压力条件下,进行了具相同成分和结构的白云岩在CO2和乙酸介质中的对照溶解实验,两种类型的具相同成分和不同结构的白云岩在CO2介质中添加和不添加硬石膏的对照溶解实验,以及方解石含量50%的岩石在CO2介质中添加和不添加硬石膏的对照溶解实验。实验结果表明:(1)近地表温压条件的酸性环境中,乙酸对碳酸盐矿物的溶解能力显著大于CO2流体,乙酸对白云石的溶解是接近化学计量的,而CO2流体则是非化学计量的,白云石中Ca优先溶出而Mg滞留;(2)溶解CaSO4的加入会显著改善近地表温压条件下CO2流体对白云石的溶解效果,使得白云石溶解接近化学计量组成,该过程是通过抑制Ca的溶出和加速Mg的溶出来实现的;(3)对于白云石含量大于90%的较纯的白云岩来说,溶解CaSO4的加入会使得白云岩溶出离子的Ca、Mg合量增加,因而总体上有利于白云岩溶解,与之相反,溶液中CaSO4的沉淀可能导致白云石的沉淀。实验结果可以帮助我们更深刻理解近地表环境白云岩的溶解过程,尤其是与膏盐伴生的白云岩的溶解及相应岩溶过程和次生孔隙的形成机制。      

Badenian (Middle Miocene) basin development in SW Hungary: subsidence history based on quantitative paleobathymetry of foraminifera

A quantitative paleobathymetric study of Badenian foraminifera was carried out from Tekeres-1 and Tengelic-2 boreholes, north of the Mecsek Mts., SW Hungary. Paleobathymetric data, based on plankton/benthos ratio provided input for the analysis of the subsidence history. The biostratigraphic framework is mainly provided by calcareous nannoplankton (zones NN5-NN7). Changes in sedimentation rates are also considered, partly calculated from number of benthos per unit sediment, and partly estimated from the changes of lithofacies. Relative sea-level changes are calculated from changes of paleowater depth and coeval sedimentary thickness. The result is examined as the sum of accommodation space created by subsidence and eustasy. In that period of time eustatic changes were about an order of magnitude smaller than changes created by movements of the basin floor. According to our model in early Badenian (up to the half of NN5 nannozone) a very rapid transtension-related subsidence of about 500 m occurred. This was interrupted by a short period of uplift of minor magnitude at about the first third of NN5 zone; thereafter, subsidence continued and the basin floor reached its deepest position. Still within the NN5 nannozone (Early Badenian) a significant uplift occurred, terminating the life of the deep basin. The Late Badenian (NN6) is characterized by a relatively small rate of subsidence and presumably quiet tectonism. During this period bathymetric changes are thought to be controlled primarily by eustatic changes. The first uplift - only interrupting subsidence - is regarded as the result of the change of the local stress field because of convergence along the curvature of strike slip faults. The second uplift, which stopped the subsidence of the basin floor is thought to be of a regional character and is attributed to the compression generated between Tisza and Alcapa tectonic units.     

Thermal aspects of sea-floor spreading and the nature of the oceanic crust

By means of a plate-tectonics model we have computed radial temperature profiles for various spreading velocities for the region bounded by the bottom of oceanic layer two, the top of the lowvelocity zone, the centre of the ridge, and a vertical plane at 1000 km away from the ridge centre. The model we have used differs from previous models in that certain petrological aspects of basalt formation, partial melting, and latent heat effects have been taken into account. Oceanic heat flow was calculated from the ridge crest to 1000 km away. The thermal relationships in this region seem to rule out a gabbroic or amphibolitic third layer in the oceanic crust.