Depositional record of an avulsive fluvial system controlled by peat compaction (Neogene, Most Basin, Czech Republic)

This paper illustrates the response of a fluvial depositional system to the interplay between peat compaction and clastic sediment supply, at a range of spatial and temporal scales, as documented by extensive exposures in an open-cast mine in the Most Basin, part of the Oligo-Miocene Ohře Rift (Eger Graben) basin system in the Czech Republic. The Most Basin is characterized by the occurrence of a number of phenomena resulting from syn- and post-depositional interactions between clastic sedimentary systems and the underlying accumulation of organic material that was the precursor of the main lignite seam of up to 45 m thickness. The studied strata are interpreted as deposits of an avulsive, mixed-load fluvial system. The large-scale depositional architecture documents an existence of at least five stratal packages up to 1500 m wide and up to several tens of metres thick, representing a record of long-term evolution of a clastic floodplain bordered by accumulating peat. Within each of the packages, several small-scale channel-belts were documented. Individual packages are separated by carbonaceous mudstones indicating a period of reduced clastic input and interpreted as due to avulsion of the fluvial channels out of the floodplain limit. Two main, mutually linked, processes controlled the evolution of the studied fluvial system: (i) syndepositional compaction of the underlying peat and (ii) avulsions of the channels away from the original floodplain, resulting in formation of a new floodplain. The processes which caused the channels of the Hrabák fluvial system to reach the avulsion threshold were: (i) decrease of rate of creation of accommodation leading to increased sinuosity and thus to a decreased channel slope, and (ii) cross-floodplain tilting of the channel belt caused by differential compaction of underlying organic-rich substratum.     

西南天山明尧勒背斜河流阶地沉积物的光释光测年

晚第四纪细颗粒河流阶地沉积物的准确定年是当前光释光测年研究中的一个难点。利用简单多片再生法(SMAR)、单片再生法(SAR)等对新疆西南天山喀什前陆盆地明尧勒背斜喀浪勾律克河阶地沉积物样品的细颗粒石英光释光(BLSL)信号、混合矿物红外释光信号(IRSL)和红外后蓝光释光信号([Post-IR]OSL)进行测量。通过对比同一样品的细颗粒石英BLSL、混合矿物IRSL和[Post-IR]OSL的等效剂量值,认为细颗粒石英简单多片再生法是河流阶地沉积物释光测年最为适用的方法之一。对于细颗粒混合矿物而言,由于长石矿物的异常衰退,对于等效剂量De>70Gy的样品,其IRSL等效剂量值均偏小;其[Post-IR]OSL等效剂量值仍需慎重使用。通过对同一样品细颗粒石英多个测片的单片再生法等效剂量值分布以及简单多片再生法多个测片校正后天然释光信号强度的一致性判断,认为样品LEDL03-87q,LEDL03-86q和LEDL04-54q在沉积时的光晒退是不均匀的,采用最小等效剂量组分来计算沉积年龄     

Geometric Parameters as Key Factors for the 3D-modeling of Fluvial Deposits

GIS is an established and appropriate tool for the management and evaluation of geodata which is being increasingly used for the three‐dimensional modeling of strata. An advanced technique for the GIS‐based 3D‐modeling is developed here in order to integrate genetic aspects of deposition into the modeling process. The ArcView^® software (ESRI, Inc., Redlands, California) and the extensions 3D‐Analyst and Spatial Analyst have been used for the data management and layer rendering. The tools VirGIL and GSI‐3D (Insight Corp., Germany) have been applied for the purpose of visualization of the layers in 3D. The main topic of the work is the generation of geometrically consistent models of fluvial terrace bodies, which represent monogenetic fills of Pleistocene palaeovalleys. One peculiarity of the investigated Illerglacier foreland, southern Germany, is the occurrence of highly eroded terrace remnants. The preserved deposits are tied to several accumulation levels, but the usual way of morphostratigraphic interpretation is limited and results in lots of different stratigraphies and palaeogeographic ideas presented in literature. The sediment fill of meltwater valleys, which can be identified in the Illerglacier area is reconstructed based upon intense field mapping. The terrace accumulations are defined by the base and surface layers, which are thought to be isochronous. Some 1,400 data points were used to model these layers in 3D. The geometry of the sediment deposits is defined using basic parameters, e.g. the gradient and the thickness of the terrace, which are used as bench levels for the modeling process. The quality of the calculated maps and cross‐sections far surpasses that of those derived in the classic way without a genetic concept and without using the 3D‐modeling technique. The results derived from the terrace models are relevant for the stratigraphy and palaeogeography of the investigated region of the Alpine foreland. The advanced modeling technique can be used for the detail analyses of terrace sequences of other regions.     

Fluvial sequences and basin development in the northern Galilee Basin

In the northern Galilee Basin, 10 third-order depositional sequences have been recognised in multi-suite geophysical logs of 16 wells and boreholes. Sequences can be subdivided into genetic systems tracts characterised by geometry, facies associations, types of bounding surface, parasequence set distribution and position within the sequence. Stacking trends of parasequence sets may be observed as a shift in the sand or shale base line. These sequences reflect basinal and hinterland tectonics with a subordinate climate and sea-level cycle signature. The initial development of the northern Galilee Basin in the upper Carboniferous reflects thermal subsidence that characterised the underlying Drummond Basin. This subsidence is overprinted by the commencement of foreland-basin tectonics associated with extension in the Bowen Basin. The foreland tectonics waned before a major regional uplift occurred in the northern Galilee Basin in the middle Permian. This uplift is associated with an early phase of the Hunter–Bowen Orogeny. A quiescent period where accommodation is controlled by sea-level changes is reflected in extensive development of mires. Renewed episodic contraction overprinted on thermal sag subsidence in the Lower Triassic reflects far-field tectonics associated with the Hunter–Bowen Orogeny. In the Upper Triassic, an end-phase event of the Hunter–Bowen Orogeny inverted the Galilee Basin.     

Alternate bar dynamics in response to increases and decreases of sediment supply

Gravel‐bed rivers can accommodate changes in sediment supply by adjusting their bed topography and grain size in both the downstream and cross‐stream directions. Under high supply aggradational conditions, this can result in spatially non‐uniform stratigraphic patterns, and the morphodynamic influence of heterogeneous stratigraphy during subsequent degradational periods is poorly understood and has not been studied through physical modelling. A flume experiment was conducted to analyse channel response where alternate bars were developed in a gravel–sand mixture under constant discharge and sediment supply before two supply increases led to the development of heterogeneous stratigraphy beneath alternate bars. The supply was then reduced back to the initial supply rate, causing degradation through that self‐formed stratigraphy. Stratigraphic samples were collected, and the bed topography and flow depth were measured frequently, which were used with a two‐dimensional hydrodynamic model to characterize flow conditions. Migrating alternate bars stabilized during the first equilibrium phase, creating bed surface sorting patterns of coarse bar tops and fine pools. During the first supply increase, the bars remained stable as the pools aggraded. During the second supply increase, the pools aggraded further, causing the boundary shear stress over the bar tops to increase until the bars gained the capacity to migrate and eventually stabilize in new locations. As aggradation occurred, the original sediment sorting patterns were preserved in the subsurface. During the degradational phase, the pools experienced incision and the bars eroded laterally, but this lateral erosion ceased when coarse sediment previously deposited during the bar‐building phase became exposed. The results suggest that if a sediment supply increase is capable of filling the pools, it can cause stable bars to migrate and the bed to be reworked. These findings also show that heterogeneous stratigraphy can play an important role in determining whether bars persist or disappear after a sediment supply reduction.     

Late Pleistocene–Holocene river dynamics at the Trent‐Soar confluence,England, UK

Although river confluences have received geomorphic attention in recent years it is difficult to upscale these studies, so confluence‐dominated reaches are commonly presumed to be either: (1) braided; or (2) meandering and characterized by laterally migrating channels. If the geomorphology of a confluence zone is to be considered over longer timescales, changes in river style need to be taken into account. This paper uses a combination of remote sensing techniques (LiDAR, GPR, ER), borehole survey and chronometric dating to test this differentiation in the confluence‐zone of a medium‐sized, mixed‐load, temperate river system (Trent, UK), which on the basis of planform evidence appears to conform to the meandering model. However, the analysis of ‘confluence sediment body stratigraphy’ demonstrates that the confluence does not correspond with a simple meander migration model and chronostratigraphic data suggests it has undergone two major transformations. Firstly, from a high‐energy braid‐plain confluence in the Lateglacial (25–13 K yrs cal BP), to a lower‐energy braided confluence in the early to middle Holocene (early Holocene‐2.4 kyr BP), which created a compound terrace. Second, incision into this terrace, creating a single‐channel confluence (2.4–0.5 kyr cal BP) with a high sinuosity south bank tributary (the River Soar). The confluence sediment‐body stratigraphy is characterized by a basal suite of Late Pleistocene gravels bisected by younger channel fills, which grade into the intervening levee and overbank sediments. The best explanation for the confluence sediment body stratigraphy encountered is that frequent switching (soft‐avulsions sensu Edmonds et al., 2011) of the tributary are responsible for the downstream movement of the channel confluence (at an average rate of approximately 0.5 m per year) dissecting and reworking older braid‐plain sediments. The late Holocene evolution of the confluence can be seen as a variant of the incisional‐frequent channel reorganization (avulsion) model with sequential downstream migration of the reattachment point. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A demonstration of the importance of bedload transport for fluvial bedrock erosion and knickpoint propagation

We provide field evidence for the role of bedload in driving fluvial incision and knickpoint propagation. Using aerial photographs, field surveys, and hydrological data, we constrain the incision history of a bedrock gorge 1200 m long and up to 20 m deep cut by Da'an River in western Taiwan. This reach of the river experienced 10 m of uplift during the 1999 Chi‐Chi earthquake. For five years following the earthquake, bedload was prevented from entering the uplift zone, the knickpoint was static and little incision took place. Bedload transport across the uplift zone resumed in 2004, initiating extremely rapid incision, with 620 m of knickpoint propagation and up to 20 m of downcutting by 2008. This change highlights the relative inefficiency of suspended sediment and the dominant role of bedload as a tool for fluvial erosion and knickpoint propagation. Once bedload tools became available, knickpoint propagation was influenced by geological structure, lithology, and drainage organization. In particular, a change in dip of the sandstone beds at the site caused a decrease of knickpoint propagation velocity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

帕米尔-天山对冲带明尧勒背斜西南倾伏端晚第四纪褶皱变形

褶皱在三维空间的生长包括横向缩短、垂向隆升和侧向扩展.沿褶皱走向不同位置这3个分量的比重是不同的:在背斜中段以缩短和隆升为主;靠近背斜端部,在缩短和隆升的同时也会发生强烈的侧向扩展.前人研究主要集中在褶皱中段,对端部这一相对独特的构造位置研究较少.那么褶皱端部是如何生长变形的,与褶皱中段有何不同,伴随褶皱生长同步变形的河流阶地具有怎样的发育特征?对帕米尔-天山对冲带明尧勒背斜西南倾伏端的研究表明,研究区内的4期河流阶地在垂直褶皱轴向上均发生了强烈反向掀斜,越老的阶地面掀斜角度越大,背斜在西南端的生长是以翼旋转机制进行的.据T2b,T3b,T4a的细颗粒石英光释光年龄及下伏基岩的磁性地层年龄可得46°等斜岩区在距今约0.35Ma、(93.9±18.7)ka、(82.6±16.5)ka和(19.4±2.9) ka时期旋转角度大致呈抛物线曲线函数递减,平均旋转速率依次为＞(0.13±0.01)°/ka、(0.08±0.02)°/ka、(0.05±0.01)°/ka和(0.04±0.01)°/ka,呈明显减小趋势,但该等斜岩区吸收的缩短速率大致保持恒定.河流阶地在发生掀斜和抬升变形的同时,也发生了向西的侧向扩展变形:由东向西,T3a和T4a阶地面上冲沟密度、宽度和下切深度明显减小,阶地拔河高度、陡坎高度和旋转角度也呈减小趋势,这些均反映了背斜向西的侧向扩展.据喀浪勾律克河谷和背斜西南剖面的磁性地层年代学结果,背斜向西侧向加长的速率恒定为16.0 ～ 16.8mm/a.     

Sediment flux into the sea as influenced by different source areas in the drainage basin: example of the Yellow River,China

Abstract

The runoff and sediment of large rivers usually come from different source areas, which make different contributions to the sediment flux into the sea. This has been studied with the example of the Yellow River in China, whose suspended sediment flux into the Bohai Sea accounts for 19.4% of the world total. The drainage basin of this river can be divided into four major water and sediment source areas. The sediment flux into the sea is found to be closely related to the water and sediment from the different source areas in the drainage basin and, accordingly, an empirical regression model has been established to express this relationship. According to this model, in each tonne (t) of sediment from the fine sediment producing area (FSA), 0.85 t (for yearly series) and 0.72 t (for event series) can be transported into the sea; in each tonne of sediment from the coarse sediment producing area (CSA), only 0.21 t (for yearly series) and 0.34 t (for event series) can be transported into the sea. Since the 1970s, the Yellow River's sediment flux into the sea has declined markedly and this reduction can be attributed to a great degree to the soil control measures in the fine sediment producing area. Coupling the models of this study to the previously established models for estimating the impacts of soil control measures on water and sediment balance in the Yellow River basin, a quantitative prediction may be made for the change of sediment flux into the sea that might result from climate change and human activities in the future.