Geochemical tracers of northern Portuguese estuarine sediments on the shelf

The northern Portuguese coastal zone is drained by large Iberian rivers, along which there is intensive industrial, agricultural and urban activity. Offshore of the two main river basins of the Douro and Minho, two fine-grained sedimentary formations can be characterised. A geochemical study of this sediment cover has been performed focussing in particular on the fine deposits and the adjacent estuaries. The chemical composition of superficial sediments collected from the northern Portuguese shelf and from the river basins of the Minho and Douro rivers was determined for major, minor and trace elements; the rare earth elements (REE) composition was also determined in selected samples. Statistical analyses of these data for the shelf sediments allow us to identify elements with similar behaviours and the different sediment types along the shelf, and to evaluate of their origins. Downcore profiles of the chemical composition of the fine sediments reveal no evidence for changes induced by recent human activities. To assess the influence of the rivers on the fine sedimentary formations, the elemental distribution patterns of selected sediments have been compared with the estuarine sediments. Lithogenic elements composition normalised to Al and the shale normalised REE distributions showed there are similarities between the Douro River sediments and the sediment composition of the Douro and Galicia mud patches. However, the Galicia mud field showed no relationship in its chemical composition to sediments derived from the Minho River. Nor was any evidence for heavy metal contamination originating from the Douro estuary detected in anthropogenic element/Al ratios in the shelf sediments. This may be because of processes associated with resuspension, complexation and bioturbation that occur during sediment transport and deposition. Nevertheless, the Douro River seems to be the main continental source of fine sediments being deposited on the northern Portuguese shelf.     

Processes controlling solubility of biogenic silica and pore water build-up of silicic acid in marine sediments

Dissolution experiments in batch and flow-through reactors were combined with data on sediment composition and pore water silicic acid profiles to identify processes controlling the solubility of biogenic silica and the build-up of silicic acid in marine sediments. The variability of experimentally determined biogenic silica solubilities is due, in part, to variations in specific surface area and Al content of biosiliceous materials. Preferential dissolution of delicate skeletal structures and frustules with high surface areas leads to a progressive decrease of the specific surface area. This may cause a reduction of the solubility of deposited biosiliceous debris by 10–15%, relative to fresh planktonic assemblages. Dissolution of lithogenic (detrital) minerals in sediments releases dissolved aluminum to the pore waters. This aluminum becomes structurally incorporated into deposited biogenic silica, further decreasing its solubility. Compared to Al-free biogenic silica, the solubility of diatom frustules is lowered by as much as 25% when one out of every 70 Si atoms is substituted by an Al(III) ion.The build-up of silicic acid in pore waters of sediments with variable proportions of detrital matter and biogenic silica was simulated in batch experiments using kaolinite and basalt as model detrital constituents. The steady-state silicic acid concentrations measured in the experiments decreased with increasing detrital-to-opal ratios of the mixtures. This trend is similar to the observed inverse relationship between asymptotic pore water silicic acid concentrations and detrital-to-opal ratios in Southern Ocean sediments. Flow-through reactor experiments further showed that in detrital-rich sediments, precipitation of authigenic alumino-silicates may prevent the pore waters from reaching equilibrium with the dissolving biogenic silica. This agrees with data from Southern Ocean sediments where, at sites containing more than 30 wt.% detrital material, the pore waters remain undersaturated with respect to the experimentally determined in situ solubility of biogenic silica.The results of the study show that interactions between deposited biogenic silica and detrital material cause large variations in the asymptotic silicic acid concentration of marine sediments. The production of Al(III) by the dissolution of detrital minerals affects the build-up of silicic acid by reducing the apparent silica solubility and dissolution kinetics of biosiliceous materials, and by inducing precipitation of authigenic alumino-silicate minerals.     

新疆温宿县盐场地区水系沉积物地球化学特征及找矿效果

研究区位于库车前陆坳陷盆地砂岩型铜矿带上,且与滴水铜矿位于同一成矿带上,具有较好的铜找矿前景.1 ∶ 5万水系沉积物测量成果显示,区内Cu元素背景值远低于地壳元素克拉克值,但其在苏维依组(E3s)、康村组(N1-2k)中具有较强的变异系数和较高的离差值,这说明Cu元素在以上地层中得到了富集;从元素多元统计分析来看,Cu...     

江西龙虎山世界地质公园白垩系辫状河相沉积及其丹霞地貌发育特征

通过野外露头及相关室内研究,分析了龙虎山世界地质公园及邻区白垩系辫状河相沉积特征及其与丹霞地貌发育规律关系。研究认为:龙虎山世界地质公园丹霞地貌发育除了与冲积扇相沉积有关外,还与辫状河相沉积有关,表现为辫状河道巨厚砂体为丹霞丘陵地貌发育提供物质基础;发育于辫状河道中呈小型透镜体或扁平状、脉状体的河床滞留沉积和洪泛沉积,易风化剥蚀形成溶蚀风化崩塌型丹霞地貌。此外,多期河道的多旋回沉积交错叠置形成楔状交错层理,其层系上下界面平直,层系厚度在小范围内变化很快,层系内细层的倾向相反,为后期风化剥蚀提供了条件,易形成溶蚀风化崩塌型丹霞地貌。进一步研究发现丹霞丘陵地貌、溶蚀风化崩塌型丹霞地貌分布与辫状河相沉积平面展布具有较好的一致性,吻合度较高。本文首次研究了辫状河沉积体系与丹霞地貌发育特征的关系。     

石炭纪-早二叠世滇黔桂盆地北缘深水区的地层序列及沉积演化

通过分析石炭纪-早二叠世滇黔桂盆地北缘深水区的地层序列和沉积特征,探讨沉积演化过程及其控制因素。研究区深水地层序列包括下述的9个岩石地层单元:鹿寨组(C₁lz)、巴平组(C₁bp)、下如牙组(C₁xr)、上如牙组(C₁sr)、王佑组(C₁w)、睦化组(C₁m)、打屋坝组(C₁dw)、南丹组(C₁-P₁nd)和船埠头组(C₁c),并且可以识别出4种主要的深水沉积相:台间盆地相、斜坡相、深水陆棚相和台前斜坡相,以砂岩、碳质页岩、硅质泥岩、硅质岩、钙屑碎屑岩、泥晶灰岩和白云质灰岩为主要特征,与桂西南深水盆地的差别显著。依据地层序列和沉积组合的时空分布特征,可以将石炭纪-早二叠世滇黔桂盆地北缘深水区的沉积演化划分为3个阶段: 1)裂谷作用强烈期(早石炭亚纪汤耙沟期早期); 2)裂谷作用减弱期(早石炭亚纪汤耙沟期中期-德坞期); 3)裂谷作用稳定期(晚石炭亚纪-早二叠世)。     

太湖沉积对流域极端降水和洪水响应的研究

认识极端洪水特征和周期,急需建立长期洪水记录和序列。过去150 a来长江下游极端降水引发了多次太湖特大洪水,太湖湖泊沉积提供了长于观测资料的洪水记录。本文利用太湖中心开阔水域的近现代沉积,采用210Pb和137Cs测年法和粒度、磁学特征分析,与区域夏季降水和长江下游洪峰流量进行相关分析,恢复了太湖流域150 a来的历史洪水事件。根据长江下游极端夏季降水（Pjja≥90%百分位）和极端径流(Q≥90%百分位)以及历史文献记载,太湖流域自1840年以来约有24次特大洪水年,而湖泊沉积物砂级粒径与低频磁化率等特征能捕获与之对应的中洪水事件15次。这表明湖泊沉积记录能较好地反演过去洪水变化,为利用沉积记录认识百年极端洪水长周期变化和特征提供了沉积学、磁学等方面的科学依据。     

水城-紫云-南丹裂陷盆地晚古生代硅质沉积物地球化学特征及其地质意义

水城-紫云-南丹裂陷盆地位于右江盆地北缘,晚古生代该盆地内广泛分布包括硅质岩在内的碳酸盐岩台盆相沉积,其沉积组合及地球化学特征不同于大陆架型以及增生杂岩中硅质岩。对盆地内硅质沉积物的地球化学特征研究表明,南丹上泥盆统榴江组底部和河池中下二叠统四大寨组硅质沉积物多为基性火山喷发相关的火山热液成因,其具有较低的Al/(Al+Fe+Mn)值和Al2O3/TiO2值,紫云中下二叠统四大寨组硅质沉积物的Al/(Al+Fe+Mn)值和Al2O3/TiO2值分别为0.62±0.16和11.70±4.30,为含有火山碎屑的非热液成因,其他硅质沉积物多为正常海相沉积。晚泥盆世—早石炭世盆地内硅质沉积物多与泥岩和灰岩共生,硅质沉积物常具有中等Ce负异常(多在0.60～0.85之间)以及较高的Y/Ho值(多在30～45之间),除去SiO2稀释作用的影响后,其具有较低的稀土元素含量(∑REE+Y含量相当于PAAS组成的3倍以下)。而伴随着盆地的裂陷和扩张,到早中二叠世,盆地内硅质沉积物多与深灰色厚层灰岩共生,硅质沉积物常具有明显的Ce负异常(0.06～0.61)以及与开阔洋盆海水相似的Y/Ho值(40～92),除去SiO2稀释作用的影响后,其具有较高的稀土元素含量(∑REE+Y含量相当于PAAS组成的2倍以上)。     

Cross‐shelf colour zonation in northern Great Barrier Reef lagoon surficial sediments

A cross‐shelf colour zonation is observed in Great Barrier Reef lagoon surficial sediments from 12 to 18°S, with colours tending to lighten from inner to outer shelf. The phenomenon is particularly well defined south of Cairns where four zones occur. The colour zonation appears to reflect the abrupt facies changes that occur in the lagoon. Visual estimates of relative optical lightness for the zones are strongly related to carbonate content, and lightness class boundaries broadly follow carbonate contours, indicating that the mechanisms leading to the colour zones are related to those governing carbonate distribution.     

Discussion and Reply: Shaping the Australian crust over the last 300 million years: Insights from fission track thermotectonic imaging and denudation studies of key terranes

Ellis Fjord is a small, fjord‐like marine embayment in the Vestfold Hills, eastern Antarctica. Modern sediment input is dominated by a biogenic diatom rain, although aeolian, fluvial, ice‐rafted, slumped and tidal sediments also make a minor contribution. In areas where bioturbation is significant relict glaciogenic sediments are reworked into the fine‐grained diatomaceous sediments to produce poorly sorted fine sands and silts. Where the bottom waters are anoxic, sediments remain unbioturbated and have a high biogenic silica component. Three depositional and non‐depositional facies can be recognised in the fjord: an area of non‐deposition around the shoreline; a relict morainal facies in areas of low sedimentation and high bioturbation; and a basinal facies in the deeper areas of the fjord.