Unconsolidated sediment distribution patterns in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight,South Africa: the role of wave ravinement in separating relict versus active sediment populations

This paper examines the distribution of unconsolidated sediment in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight located along the east coast of South Africa. Results show that there is a general shelf-wide sediment distribution of coarser grain sizes between depths of 60 and 100?m, punctuated by a broad swathe of mud offshore of the Thukela River. Seasonal changes in sediment distribution patterns are small, being restricted to seaward fining on the inner shelf off the fluvial sources. Sediment distribution reflects a partitioning between sediment populations that are current- influenced and relict (palimpsest) populations associated with submerged shorelines. Wave ravinement during the deglacial transgression, the reworking of submerged shorelines during sea-level stillstands and, to a lesser extent, the Agulhas Current system, are the dominant controls on sediment distribution.     

Distribution and feeding modes of macrobenthos within three oceanographic feature areas of the KwaZulu-Natal Bight,South Africa

The composition and distribution of macrobenthic communities was investigated in three areas in the KwaZulu- Natal Bight, a section of shelf off the east coast of South Africa. Areas were pre-selected on the basis of three known oceanographic features, posited to deliver land- or Agulhas Current-derived nutrients onto the shelf and to drive ecosystem functioning in this region. Replicate sediment samples were collected with a 0.2 m² van Veen grab, during two surveys (A, B) corresponding with normal periods of high and low rainfall, respectively. A subset of the full station array was selected across the shelf in an arrangement of increasing depths (inner-, mid- and outer shelf) through each feature area to investigate the spatial distribution and feeding modes of macrobenthic taxa. The two periods showed some differences in abundance and numbers of macrobenthic taxa, but were not statistically different. Total macrobenthic abundance from Survey A was 20 215 individuals from 642 taxa, decreasing to 18 000 individuals from 503 taxa during Survey B. Polychaeta and Crustacea were the dominant taxa sampled; abundance of the latter was attributed largely to a proliferation of Paguristes sp.1 at inner-shelf samples in the midbight (Thukela) region during Survey B. Similarity classification distinguished seven sample groups reflecting differences in feature areas and shelf positions under investigation. The Thukela River midshelf community supported the highest macrobenthic abundance, while the midshelf off the southern bight (Durban region) was most species rich. Findings were attributed to the habitat complexity of the midshelf which includes a palaeo-dune cordon at the 60 m isobath. Functionally, the community was dominated by interface- and deposit-feeding fauna, emphasising the importance of trophic plasticity in an environmentally variable and heterogeneous shelf environment.     

Provenance Study of Fe–Ti Oxide Minerals in the Quaternary Sediments in Yichang Area and Its Implication of Formation Time of the Yangtze Three Gorges, China

The Three Gorges are considered to be critical to understand the formation of Yangtze River. Recent research results suggest that the Yangtze Three Gorges was created during the Quaternary but the exact time is debatable. Fe–Ti oxide minerals are seldom used to study sediment provenance, expecially using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS). In this study, the provenance of Quaternary sediments in Yichang area, which is located to the east of the Yangtze Three Gorges, was investigated by using SEM and EDS to research Fe–Ti oxides. The Panzhihua vanadium titanomagnetite and Emeishan basalt outcrop are located to the west of the Three Gorges. Further, the materials from them are observed in the Quaternary sediments of Yichang area. Fe–Ti oxide minerals from the Huangling granite are observed in the Yunchi and Shanxiyao Formations, which were formed before 0.75 Ma B.P., whereas Fe–Ti oxide minerals from the Huangling granite, Panzhihua vanadium titanomagnetite, and Emeishan basalt are observed in the riverbed and fifth-terrace sediments of the Yangtze River, which were formed after 0.73 Ma B.P.. Thus, we can infer that the Three Gorges formed after the deposition of the Shanxi Formation and before the fifth-terrace; i.e., 0.75–0.73 Ma B.P..     

Depositional setting,provenance, and tectonic-volcanic setting of Eocene–Recent deep-sea sediments of the oceanic Izu–Bonin forearc,northwest Pacific (IODP Expedition 352)

New biostratigraphical, geochemical, and magnetic evidence is synthesized with IODP Expedition 352 shipboard results to understand the sedimentary and tectono-magmatic development of the Izu–Bonin outer forearc region. The oceanic basement of the Izu–Bonin forearc was created by supra-subduction zone seafloor spreading during early Eocene (c. 50–51 Ma). Seafloor spreading created an irregular seafloor topography on which talus locally accumulated. Oxide-rich sediments accumulated above the igneous basement by mixing of hydrothermal and pelagic sediment. Basaltic volcanism was followed by a hiatus of up to 15 million years as a result of topographic isolation or sediment bypassing. Variably tuffaceous deep-sea sediments were deposited during Oligocene to early Miocene and from mid-Miocene to Pleistocene. The sediments ponded into extensional fault-controlled basins, whereas condensed sediments accumulated on a local basement high. Oligocene nannofossil ooze accumulated together with felsic tuff that was mainly derived from the nearby Izu–Bonin arc. Accumulation of radiolarian-bearing mud, silty clay, and hydrogenous metal oxides beneath the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) characterized the early Miocene, followed by middle Miocene–Pleistocene increased carbonate preservation, deepened CCD and tephra input from both the oceanic Izu–Bonin arc and the continental margin Honshu arc. The Izu–Bonin forearc basement formed in a near-equatorial setting, with late Mesozoic arc remnants to the west. Subduction-initiation magmatism is likely to have taken place near a pre-existing continent–oceanic crust boundary. The Izu–Bonin arc migrated northward and clockwise to collide with Honshu by early Miocene, strongly influencing regional sedimentation.     

Spatial and temporal geochemical variability in lacustrine sedimentation in the East African Rift System: Evidence from the Kenya Rift and regional analyses

Many previous studies on lacustrine basins in the East African Rift System have directed their attention to climatic controls on contemporary sedimentation or climate change as part of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. In contrast, this research focuses on the impact of tectonism and volcanism on rift deposition and develops models that help to explain their roles and relative importance. The study focuses on the spatial and temporal variability in bulk sediment geochemistry from a diverse range of modern and ancient rift sediments through an analysis of 519 samples and 50 major and trace elements. The basins examined variously include, or have contained, wetlands and/or shallow to deep, fresh to hypersaline lakes. Substantial spatial variability is documented for Holocene to modern deposits in lakes Turkana, Baringo, Bogoria, Magadi and Malawi. Mio‐Pleistocene sediments in the Central Kenya Rift and Quaternary deposits of the southern Kenya Rift illustrate temporal variability. Tectonic and volcanic controls on geochemical variability are explained in terms of: (i) primary controlling factors (faulting, subsidence, uplift, volcanism, magma evolution and antecedent lithologies and landscapes); (ii) secondary controls (bedrock types, rift shoulder and axis elevations, accommodation space, meteoric and hydrothermal fluids and mantle CO ₂); and (iii) response factors (catchment area size, orographic rains, rain shadows, vegetation densities, erosion and weathering rates, and spring/runoff ratios). The models developed have, in turn, important implications for palaeoenvironmental interpretation in other depositional basins.     

广西桂林凉风洞秋冬季滴水和沉积物氧同位素对极端降水的记录研究

近年来,全球环境变化导致的极端气候事件的发生频率剧增,引起了国内外学者的广泛关注。由于器测记录时间较短,因此需要通过精确连续记录古气候变化的石笋来解译极端气候事件的规律。本文针对桂林凉风洞2015年9月至2016年1月的大气降水、洞穴滴水和现代沉积物的氧同位素组成进行了高分辨率的监测。监测结果揭示了由于秋冬水汽源的改变,导致桂林地区大气降水δD、δ~(18)O同位素值显示逐渐偏正的季节性变化,并且建立了该区域大气降水线为:δD=8.8δ~(18)O+16.38。由于大气降水作为凉风洞水源补给唯一来源,使得洞穴滴水的δ~(18)O继承大气降水的δ~(18)O所蕴含的环境信息,进而记录在洞穴现代沉积物中。但是受到洞穴顶部岩溶表层带的平滑或者均一化的作用,使得洞穴滴水的δ~(18)O同位素值要偏正于大气降水的δ~(18)O同位素值。在极端降水信号输入岩溶表层带后由于存在不同的水文地球化学过程,从而导致洞穴沉积物对其极端降水事件的响应时间存在不同,并且在δ~(18)O同位素值也存在明显差异。因此,系统监测洞穴滴水、沉积物δ~(18)O同位素对外界环境信息的响应过程,能为量化或精确解译石笋δ~(18)O同位素记录所指代的古气候环境信息提供基础。     

New results concerning the pedo- and chronostratigraphy of the loess–palaeosol sequence Attenfeld (Bavaria,Germany) derived from a multi-methodological approach

Loess–palaeosol sequences (LPS) represent important records of palaeoenvironmental dynamics throughout the Quaternary. During the Pleistocene's dry and cold phases, the Danube's riverbed was one of the major sources for loess sediments that built up LPS in southern Germany and southeastern Europe. Surprisingly, studies addressing Bavarian LPS along the Danube River often lack actuality. The Attenfeld site was one of them and is often cited as a typical LPS. Nevertheless, the site's previous interpretations are based on a few empirical data and field observations. Considering the site's closeness to the sediment's source area, the Alps, and the region's importance in Middle and Upper Palaeolithic migrational movements, those former renditions needed an evaluation. Therefore, we applied a multi-proxy approach (including analyses of grain-size distribution, element composition, and sediment colour attributes) combined with optically stimulated luminescence. Based on our findings, we conclude that the Attenfeld site's former interpretations might be too generalised. We identified units that were not mentioned by previous studies (e.g. Early Glacial dark greyish horizon). Field observations, sediment characteristics, and age estimates indicate sediment deposition of the dated units partly before MIS 4, which contrasts with previous interpretations. The results further demonstrate how sensitive LPS are to environmental settings and dynamics.     

Plio-Pleistocene sedimentation in coastal grabens,north-east Rhodes,Greece

The stratigraphy of marine Plio-Pleistocene sediments from northeast Rhodes (Dodecanese islands, Greece) is revised in the light of facies mapping and the recognition of three major transgression–regression cycles. Before late Pliocene submergence, metamorphosed Mesozoic limestones formed a high-relief karstic landscape. During subsequent transgressions, subsiding basins with spectacular cliffed and bioeroded margins were infilled by a mosaic of carbonate-dominated sediments, sourced by high rates of carbonate productivity on narrow shelves rimming the basins and their drowning islands. Periods of relative sea-level fall superimposed a complex series of ‘fossil’ coastal geomorphological features such as cliffs, abrasion platforms, surf caves, notches, boulder beaches and palaeokarsts. These created the rugged present day topography of the island's northeast coast. Three main lithostratigraphic units, the Kritika, Rhodes and Lindos Acropolis Formations, are defined. The Rhodes and Lindos Acropolis Formations are subdivided into mappable facies groups rather than members, as the lithofacies are strongly diachronous. The Kritika and Rhodes Formations were each subaerially exposed and partly eroded before re-transgression. Although there is a general pattern of lithological succession, details vary across the study area and some facies groups are restricted in development, indicating differences in tectonic behaviour and palaeo-geomorphology between neighbouring basins. A preliminary process-response model is presented for the sedimentation history of the Rhodes and Lindos Acropolis Formations, using sedimentological, palaeontological, palaeoecological and ichnological data.     

黄河三角洲潮滩剖面特征

利用验潮、潮滩水准测量、沉积物分析和遥感资料,分析了黄河三角洲不同岸段潮滩的特征。水准测量表明,侵蚀潮滩剖面形态为下凹,而淤积潮滩则上凸,由高潮线至低潮线,潮滩沉积物均变粗,这种变粗趋势在北部侵蚀岸段和河口侧缘明显,在河口南侧稳定海岸则不明显。潮滩沉积物含水量为12.2%~32.2%,平均为21%,海滩表层沉积物不排水剪切强度在0.1~0.35 kg/cm2之间。受局限岸滩的平面形态和剖面形态受到周围大坝地形影响,具有和砂质海滩类似的形态,显示波浪对该潮滩的作用强烈,根据剖面测量结果与遥感图像,发现河口北侧有一个小的冲积扇。     

渤海湾表层沉积硅藻组合

分析了渤海湾潮间带4条长度为2~3 km的测线的14个站位的表层沉积硅藻,结合前人在浅海区(低潮线以下至水深约30 m处)15个站位的表层沉积硅藻资料,发现并统计了分属于21属的46种硅藻。应用对应分析方法,将渤海湾潮间带及浅海区表层沉积硅藻初步划分为3个组合。其中,组合Ⅰ为条纹—柱状小环藻-圆筛藻组合,分布在以泥质为主的潮间带区;组合Ⅱ为双眉藻-曲壳藻组合,分布在砂质为主的潮间带区;组合Ⅲ为条纹—柱状小环藻-菱形藻-圆筛藻-具槽直链藻组合,分布在浅海区。从潮间带向浅海区,随水深的增加,呈现出条纹—柱状小环藻数量减少、具槽直链藻数量增加的趋势。