燕山地区褶皱冲断带和盆地中的晚侏罗世土城子组/后城组形成分析(英文)

土城子组/后城组为广泛分布在中国北方的燕山褶皱冲断带和盆地中晚侏罗世的典型碎屑岩沉积。本文主要是针对目前在燕山地区的通行的有关土城子组/后城组、及其之下的髫髻山组/蓝旗组,和上覆的张家口组/东岭台组火山岩的相关对比方法提出质疑。其他同行近期发表相关的氩-氩法和铀-铅法同位素测年数据指出髫髻山组/蓝旗组年龄为175~147Ma、土城子组/后城组年龄为156~139Ma、张家口组/东岭台组年龄为147~127Ma,显而易见,上述地层组的年龄是相互重叠的。这些测年数据说明以往的地层对比是有问题的,燕山造山带在中、晚侏罗世所发育的火山岩和沉积岩地层是穿时的。因此,传统上用(165±5)Ma和(135±5)Ma之间的区域不整合来作为划分髫髻山组和后城组的层序界限是值得商榷的。尽管一些髫髻山组的火山岩和土城子组/后城组的沉积岩是与向南或向北的冲断作用相伴生的,但在髫髻山组和土城子组/后城组沉积之间的30~35Ma的时间间隔内却是相对的构造平静期。这一结论是基于以往的髫髻山组和土城子组之间为假整合或平行不整合的观点所得出的。新近基于对承德盆地土城子组地层形成研究分析认为承德冲断层的实际位移距离应小于Davis等2001年所提出的位移距离,笔者接受这一观点。但笔者并不同意在承德地区土城子组的沉积主要是受控于承德北部的向南冲断作用。现今承德向形盆地主要是由于向北冲断的承德县冲断层下盘变形的结果,主要是(1)它向北发生倒转;(2)盆地南部的粗碎屑沉积的物源主要是来源于承德县的异地体。土城子组/后城组的沉积没有必要完全受控于构造作用。土城子组/后城组的沉积是紧随着在燕山部分地区发生的,持续了20~25Ma的髫髻山组/蓝旗组火山及岩浆活动。在中、晚侏罗世期间,燕山地区的岩浆活动必定导致地形的起伏,这就为快速剥蚀及粗碎屑的沉积提供了有利条件。最后需要指出的是,从前所提及的有关燕山带的土城子组/后城组和阴山带的大青山组的地层对比的依据并不存在。     

Construction of detrital mineral populations: insights from mixing of U–Pb zircon ages in Himalayan rivers

Fission‐track, U–Pb and Pb–Pb analyses of detrital heavy mineral populations in depositional basins and modern river sediments are widely used to infer the exhumational history of mountain belts. However, relatively few studies address the underlying assumption that detrital mineral populations provide an accurate representation of their entire source region. Implicit in this assumption is the idea that all units have equal potential to contribute heavy minerals in proportion to their exposure area in the source region. In reality, the detrital mineral population may be biased by variable concentrations of minerals in bedrock and differential erosion rates within the source region. This study evaluates the relative importance of these two variables by using mixing of U–Pb zircon ages to trace zircon populations from source units, through the fluvial system, and into the foreland. The first part of the study focuses on the Marsyandi drainage in central Nepal, using tributaries that drain single formations to define the U–Pb age distributions of individual units and using trunk river samples to evaluate the relative contributions from each lithology. Observed mixing proportions are compared with proportions predicted by a simple model incorporating lithologic exposure area and zircon concentration. The relative erosion rates that account for the discrepancy between the observed and predicted mixing proportions are then modelled and compared with independent erosional proxies. The study also compares U–Pb age distributions from four adjacent drainages spanning ～250 km along the Himalayan front using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic and statistical estimates of the proportion of zircon derived from each upstream lithology. Results show that, along this broad swath of rugged mountains, the U–Pb age distributions are remarkably similar, thereby allowing data from more localized sources to be extrapolated along strike.     

From water to tillage erosion dominated landform evolution

While water and wind erosion are still considered to be the dominant soil erosion processes on agricultural land, there is growing recognition that tillage erosion plays an important role in the redistribution of soil on agricultural land. In this study, we examined soil redistribution rates and patterns for an agricultural field in the Belgian loess belt. ¹³⁷Cs derived soil erosion rates have been confronted with historical patterns of soil erosion based on soil profile truncation. This allowed an assessment of historical and contemporary landform evolution on agricultural land and its interpretation in relation to the dominant geomorphic process. The results clearly show that an important shift in the relative contribution of tillage and water erosion to total soil redistribution on agricultural land has occurred during recent decades. Historical soil redistribution is dominated by high losses on steep midslope positions and concavities as a result of water erosion, leading to landscape incision and steepening of the topography. In contrast, contemporary soil redistribution is dominated by high losses on convex upperslopes and infilling of slope and valley concavities as a result of tillage, resulting in topographic flattening. This shift must be attributed to the increased mechanization of agriculture during recent decades. This study shows that the typical topographical dependency of soil redistribution processes and their spatial interactions must be accounted for when assessing landform and soil profile evolution.     

Growth patterns and implications of complex dendrites in calcite travertines from Lýsuhóll, Snæfellsnes, Iceland

Calcite dendrite crystals are important but poorly understood components of calcite travertine that forms around many hot springs. The Lýsuhóll hot-spring deposits, located in western Iceland, are formed primarily of siliceous sinters that were precipitated around numerous springs that are now inactive. Calcite travertine formed around the vent and on the discharge apron of one of the springs at the northern edge of the area. The travertine is formed largely of two types (I and II) of complex calcite dendrite crystals, up to 1 cm high, that grew through the gradual addition of trilete sub-crystals. The morphology of the dendrite crystals was controlled by flow direction and the competition for growth space with neighbouring crystals. Densely crowded dendrites with limited branching characterize the rimstone dams whereas widely spaced dendrites with open branching are found in the pools. Many dendrite bushes in the pools nucleated around plant stems. Growth of the dendrite crystals was seasonal and incremental. Calcite precipitation was driven by rapid CO₂ degassing of CO₂-rich spring waters during the spring and summer. During winter, when snow covered the ground and temperatures were low, opal-A precipitated on the exposed surfaces of the dendrites. Segmentation of dendrite branches by discontinuities coated with opal-A and overgrowth development around sub-crystals resulted from this seasonal growth cycle. The calcite dendrite crystals in the Lýsuhóll travertine differ in morphology from those at other hot springs, such as those at Lake Bogoria, Kenya, and Waikite in New Zealand. Comparison with the calcite dendrite crystals found at those sites shows that dendrite morphology is site-specific and probably controlled by carbonate saturation levels that, in turn, are controlled by the rate of CO₂ degassing and location in the spring outflow system.     

Vegetation and climate changes during the Eemian interglacial in Central and Eastern Europe: comparative analysis of pollen data

Velichko, A. A., Novenko, E. Y., Pisareva, V. V., Zelikson, E. M., Boettger, T. & Junge, F. W. 2005 (May): Vegetation and climate changes during the Eemian interglacial in Central and Eastern Europe: comparative analysis of pollen data. Boreas , Vol. 34, pp. 207–219. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
The article discusses pollen data from Central and Eastern Europe and provides insight into the climate and vegetation dynamics throughout the Eemian interglacial (including preceding and succeeding transitional phases). Three sections with high resolution pollen records are presented. Comparison of the data indicates that the range of climatic and environmental changes increased from west to east, whereas the main phases of vegetation development appear to have been similar throughout the latitudinal belt. At the interglacial optimum, the vegetation in both Central and Eastern Europe was essentially homogeneous. An abrupt change marks the Saalian/Eemian boundary (transition from OIS 6 to OIS 5e), where environmental fluctuations were similar to those detected at the transition from the Weichselian to the Holocene (Allerød and Dryas 3). Transition from the Eemian to the Weichselian was gradual in the western part of the transect, with forest persisting. In the east, fluctuations of climate and vegetation were more dramatic; forest deteriorated and was replaced by cold open landscapes.     

Out of Africa: detrital zircon provenance of central Madagascar and Neoproterozoic terrane transfer across the Mozambique Ocean

The Neoproterozoic East African Orogen reflects closure of the Mozambique Ocean and collision of the Congo and Dharwar cratons. This palaeogeographical change and its environmental consequences are poorly understood, but new detrital zircon ages from Madagascar and published data from elsewhere provide evidence for multiple ocean basins and two-stage collision. We propose that central Madagascar rifted from the Congo Craton and crossed a Palaeomozambique Ocean to collide with the Dharwar Craton at c. 700 Ma, opening a Neomozambique Ocean in its wake. Closure of the Neomozambique Ocean at c. 600 Ma juxtaposed the Congo and Dharwar cratons and resulted in prolonged collisional orogenesis concluding at c. 500 Ma.