A Late‐glacial chironomid record from Hawes Water,northwest England

This paper presents the results of a high‐resolution Late‐glacial chironomid stratigraphy from Hawes Water, a small carbonate lake in northern Lancashire. The samples were from a core taken from the terrestrialised margin of the present lake, which represents an intermediate depth between the true littoral and the profundal. The chironomid assemblage showed a high degree of sensitivity to both broad‐scale and short‐term temperature changes. Comparison with an existing proxy temperature record (δ¹⁸O) for the site confirmed the presence of four temperature inversions within the Late‐glacial Interstadial. A mean July air temperature inference model, derived from acid, soft‐water lakes in Norway and Svalbard, was applied to the data. Despite the absence of carbonate lakes within the Norwegian training set, there was a close similarity between trends in estimated July air temperature and the δ¹⁸O trace, with a particularly strong correspondence in the periods of clay deposition. This suggests that this model is highly robust. The inferred maximum Interstadial temperature was 13.4°C, dropping initially to 7.5°C in the Loch Lomond Stadial. Temperatures reach a maximum of nearly 10°C in this period, cool for a short period before rising rapidly to 13.2°C at the start of the Holocene. These temperatures are similar to but slightly higher than those estimated for Whitrig Bog, southeast Scotland, and lower than those inferred from coleopteran‐based models for sites in South Wales. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response of a climate model to tidal mixing parameterization under present day and last glacial maximum conditions

Experiments with a climate model were conducted under present day and last glacial maximum conditions in order to examine the model’s response to a vertical mixing scheme based on internal tide energy dissipation. The increase in internal tide energy flux caused by a 120 m reduction in sea level had the expected effect on diffusivity values, which were higher under lower sea level conditions. The impact of this vertical diffusivity change on the Atlantic meridional overturning is not straightforward and no clear relationship between diffusivity and overturning is found. There exists a weak positive correlation between overturning and changes to the power consumed by vertical mixing. Most of the climatic response generated by sea level change was not related to alterations in the internal tide energy flux but rather to the direct change in sea level itself.     

Late Quaternary glaciation and equilibrium-line altitudes of the Mayan Ice Cap, Guatemala, Central America

The Sierra los Cuchumatanes (3837 m), Guatemala, supported a plateau ice cap and valley glaciers around Montaña San Juan (3784 m) that totaled ∼ 43 km² in area during the last local glacial maximum. Former ice limits are defined by sharp-crested lateral and terminal moraines that extend to elevations of ∼ 3450 m along the ice cap margin, and to ca. 3000-3300 m for the valley glaciers. Equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) estimated using the area-altitude balance ratio method for the maximum late Quaternary glaciation reached as low as 3470 m for the valley glaciers and 3670 m for the Mayan Ice Cap. Relative to the modern altitude of the 0°C isotherm of ∼ 4840 m, we determined ELA depressions of 1110-1436 m. If interpreted in terms of a depression of the freezing level during maximal glaciation along the modern lapse rate of − 5.3°C km^− 1, this ΔELA indicates tropical highland cooling of ∼ 5.9 to 7.6 ± 1.2°C. Our data support greater glacial highland cooling than at sea level, implying a high tropical sensitivity to global climate changes. The large magnitude of ELA depression in Guatemala may have been partially forced by enhanced wetness associated with southward excursions of the boreal winter polar air mass.     

Palaeoenvironments and weathering regime of the Neoproterozoic Squantum ‘Tillite’, Boston Basin: no evidence of a snowball Earth

The snowball Earth hypothesis describes episodes of Neoproterozoic global glaciations, when ice sheets reached sea‐level, the ocean froze to great depth and biota were decimated, accompanied by a complete shutdown of the hydrological cycle. Recent studies of sedimentary successions and Earth systems modelling, however, have brought the hypothesis under considerable debate. The Squantum ‘Tillite’ (Boston Basin, USA), is one of the best constrained snowball Earth successions with respect to age and palaeogeography, and it is suitable to test the hypothesis for the Gaskiers glaciation. The approach used here was to assess the palaeoenvironmental conditions at the type locality of the Squantum Member through an analysis of sedimentary facies and weathering regime (chemical index of alteration). The stratigraphic succession with a total thickness of ca 330 m documents both glacial and non‐glacial depositional environments with a cool‐temperate glacial to temperate non‐glacial climate weathering regime. The base of the succession is composed of thin diamictites and mudstones that carry evidence of sedimentation from floating glacial ice, interbedded with inner shelf sandstones and mudstones. Thicker diamictites interbedded with thin sandstones mark the onset of gravity flow activity, followed by graded sandstones documenting channellized mass gravity flow events. An upward decrease in terrigenous supply is evident, culminating in deep‐water mudstones with a non‐glacial chemical weathering signal. Renewed terrigenous supply and iceberg sedimentation is evident at the top of the succession, beyond which exposure is lost. The glacially influenced sedimentary facies at Squantum Head are more consistent with meltwater dominated alpine glaciation or small local ice caps. The chemical index of alteration values of 61 to 75 for the non‐volcanic rocks requires significant exposure of land surfaces to allow chemical weathering. Therefore, extreme snowball Earth conditions with a complete shutdown of the hydrological cycle do not seem to apply to the Gaskiers glaciation.     

Development of sediment–landform associations at cold glacier margins,Dry Valleys,Antarctica

The impact of modern cold glaciers on arid periglacial landscapes has received little attention compared with other glacial regimes, and there is a widely held assumption that cold glaciers are not effective geomorphological agents, despite recent studies to the contrary. This paper focuses on the processes operating at the margins of a number of glaciers in the Dry Valleys of Victoria Land, notably the Wright Lower Glacier. The glaciers are entraining primarily older drift deposits and highly weathered regolith which texturally are sandy gravels, as well as well‐sorted sands of fluvial origin. Despite basal temperatures of the order of ?16°C, frozen layers and blocks of sand and gravel are being incorporated into the base of the glaciers by folding and thrusting. The sedimentary products are ridges and aprons several metres high within which the principal lithofacies are sand, gravel, foliated glacier ice, lake ice and snow. These facies are glaciotectonized strongly. Draped over these landforms is a veneer of well‐sorted aeolian sand up to half a metre thick. Supraglacial streams flowing off the glaciers incise these landforms and the sediment is redeposited as alluvial fans, lake deltas and lake‐bottomset deposits. Overall the sediment/landform association differs markedly from those of other glacial regimes, with sand and gravel being the dominant facies, while the usual indicators of glacier working (such as facets and striations on clasts) are lacking. The preservation potential for these landforms on a thousand‐year time scale is high, as modification in this arid regime by slope processes and running water is limited. Sublimation of buried ice is so slow that ridge features are likely to remain ice‐cored almost indefinitely, modified only by wind transport and weathering.     

Rift kinematics preserved in deep-time erosional landscape below the northern North Sea

Our understanding of continental rifting is, in large parts, derived from the stratigraphic record. This record is, however, incomplete as it does not often capture the geomorphic and erosional signal of rifting. New 3D seismic reflection data reveal a Late Permian-Early Triassic landscape incised into the pre-rift basement of the northern North Sea. This landscape, which covers at least 542 km², preserves a drainage system bound by two major tectonic faults. A quantitative geomorphic analysis of the drainage system reveals 68 catchments, with channel steepness and knickpoint analysis of catchment-hosted palaeo-rivers showing that the landscape preserved a >2 Myr long period of transient tectonics. We interpret that this landscape records a punctuated uplift of the footwall of a major rift-related normal fault (Vette Fault) at the onset of rifting. The landscape was preserved by a combination of relatively rapid subsidence in the hangingwall of a younger fault (Øygarden Fault) and burial by post-incision sediments. As such, we show how and why erosional landscapes are preserved in the stratigraphic record, and how they can help us understand the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of ancient continental rifts.     

祁连山东段庄浪河流域地貌特征及其构造指示意义

晚新生代以来,青藏高原北东向扩展,致使祁连山地区遭受了强烈的构造隆升,造就了祁连山地区复杂的构造格局和急剧变化的构造地貌,其典型水系流域地貌特征揭示了该地区的新构造活动和地貌演化过程。庄浪河流域位于祁连山东段,作为青藏高原北东向扩展的前缘地区,庄浪河流域的地貌参数对构造活动非常敏感,提取庄浪河流域的地貌信息,有助于揭示祁连山东段庄浪河流域地貌对构造活动的响应,及系统探讨该区地貌发育特征及其所蕴含的构造意义。庄浪河流域内及边缘发育有庄浪河断裂、天祝盆地南缘断裂、疙瘩沟隐伏断裂以及金强河-毛毛山-老虎山断裂。晚新生代以来,这些断裂仍在活动,并且控制着流域内的构造变形、山体隆升和河流水系地貌发育。本研究采用ALOS DEM 12.5 m数据,基于ArcGIS空间分析技术,通过高程条带剖面、河流坡降指标体系（K,SL,SL/K）和Hack剖面、面积-高程积分值（HI）和积分曲线（HC）等方法,对庄浪河流域地貌特征进行了初步分析。结果表明,庄浪河地区地形起伏由北西向南东递减,构造活动存在东西分异的规律;庄浪河流域内部K值、SL、SL/K、HI值西侧高于东侧,Hack剖面西侧相比东侧上凸更明显;H...     

九江市蓼花剖面末次冰期中晚期沉积的粒度端元特征与气候变化

鄱阳湖湖滨地区广泛分布着晚第四纪风沙沉积序列。在星子县沙岭沙山进行野外调查后选择蓼花剖面开展工作,测试了地质时代和粒度,对粒度结果使用端元分析模型进行研究,探讨该区域末次冰期中晚期的气候变化规律。结果显示：该剖面由湖相-古土壤-沙丘砂等沉积相叠覆堆积组成,形成于末次冰期中晚期（48.8—17.1 ka）。端元分析模型将粒度数据分解出3个不同的粒度端元,不同端元组分在垂向上呈峰谷交替的旋回变化,EM1代表粉砂端元组分,峰值对应湖相和古土壤发育时期;EM2和EM3代表中砂—粗砂端元组分,峰值对应沙丘砂发育期,这些峰谷交替变化的规律指示了末次冰期的季风演变以及气候波动变化,万年尺度上表现为LH10 (48.8—39.9 ka)和LH3～LH5 (28.1—17.1 ka)的冬季风强盛期,分别对应深海氧同位素的MIS3b和MIS2阶段。LH6～LH9 (39.9—28.1 ka)为温暖的夏季风时期,对应深海氧同位素的MIS3a阶段。这些变化与YZ洞石笋氧同位素以及格陵兰冰心有良好的对应,与全球气候变化基本一致。     

The human-landscape system: challenges for geomorphologists

Deliberately or indirectly, most of the terrestrial surface has been affected by the actions of human beings. For that reason, geomorphologists have needed to broaden their scope of inquiry to encompass the human-landscape system. Four themes related to human actions emerge in recent research in geomorphology: (1) human impacts on geomorphic systems, (2) human-landscape feedbacks, (3) geomorphic hazards and (4) stratigraphic markers of anthropogenic origin. The importance of humans as geomorphic agents challenges geomorphologists and their collaborators to move beyond unidirectional cause-and-effect (human impacts), and develop new research frameworks that better integrate the ongoing interactions between people and landscapes.     

丹麦日德兰半岛西海岸典型岸段地貌概况及研究现状

通过实地调查和资料搜集,对丹麦日德兰半岛西海岸典型岸段的地貌类型和研究现状进行了总结。丹麦日德兰半岛西海岸岸线长度约为470km,海岸类型可以分为无障壁海岸和有障壁海岸2大类。无障壁海岸以沙丘为主,并有海蚀崖,主要分布在斯卡恩(Skagen)到布劳万角(Bl?vands Huk);有障壁海岸地貌类型以障壁岛—潟湖、盐沼为主,主要分布在布劳万角到勒姆岛(R?m?),并向南进入德国。丹麦西海岸北部属于冰后期地壳回弹上升区,向南地壳回弹幅度逐渐减弱,至Ringk?bing峡湾地区变为地壳稳定区,再向南地壳变为下降区,因此,全新世地层中分别记录了不同的相对海面变化信息。距今7 150a以来,北部的Skagen岬角地区的相对海面下降了16~25m;Skallingen地区过去5 000a间海面在现代海面附近波动,其后侧Ho Bugt盐沼地区4 000a以来相对海面上升了4m;过去8 000a间,R?m?障壁岛的相对海面上升了15m。欧洲学者在丹麦西海岸地区取得的典型成果包括:海面变化重建(包括海面变化标志点、泥炭层压实校正、定年等)、全新世地质环境演化、开放潮坪现代沉积定量研究等,为海岸带研究提供了有益参考。