Seismic scattering at the top of the mantle Transition Zone

We document strong seismic scattering from around the top of the mantle Transition Zone in all available high resolution explosion seismic profiles from Siberia and North America. This seismic reflectivity from around the 410 km discontinuity indicates the presence of pronounced heterogeneity in the depth interval between 320 and 450 km in the Earth’s mantle. We model the seismic observations by heterogeneity in the form of random seismic scatterers with typical scale lengths of kilometre size (10-40 km by 2-10 km) in a 100-140 km thick depth interval. The observed heterogeneity may be explained by changes in the depths to the α-β-γ spinel transformations caused by an unexpectedly high iron content at the top of the mantle Transition Zone. The phase transformation of pyroxenes into the garnet mineral majorite probably also contributes to the reflectivity, mainly below a depth of 400 km, whereas we find it unlikely that the presence of water or partial melt is the main cause of the observed strong seismic reflectivity. Subducted oceanic slabs that equilibrated at the top of the Transition Zone may also contribute to the observed reflectivity. If this is the main cause of the reflectivity, a substantial amount of young oceanic lithosphere has been subducted under Siberia and North America during their geologic evolution. Subducted slabs may have initiated metamorphic reactions in the original mantle rocks.     

6 000 a BP以来长江下游地区古洪水与气候变化关系初步研究

通过对埋藏古树、泥炭、以及海相贝壳测年资料进行搜集和整理，结果表明：长江下游地区6000 a BP以来古洪水的发生与气候变化有着密切的联系。由于长江下游地区地势低平这一地貌特点，使得海面变化对于研究区洪水发生有着重要的影响，气候变化导致的海面上升对长江下游河段径流的顶托作用导致河流上溯以及地面排水不畅，致使洪水发生频率加大以及洪水危害的程度加强，出现“小水大灾”的现象，长江三角洲地区古洪水发生频率与美洲地区古洪水发生频率的对比研究表明，长江三角地区乃至整个长江流域在大的气候变化趋势上与全球其它地区是相似的，既有全球气候变化特点的同时又具有区域响应的特点，这对于未来研究区洪水发生的预测有着重要意义。     

辽宁义县—北票地区义县组地层层序——义县阶标准地层剖面建立和研究之一

义县地区广义的义县组可解体为王家屯组 (暂命名 )和义县组 ;分属王家屯和义县火山旋回 ,前者为偏酸、偏碱性 ,后者主体为中基性、末期为中酸性火山岩系 ,并广泛发育潜火山岩相的玄武玢岩、安山玢岩和火山集块角砾熔岩筒。该区有七个主要沉积层 ,自下而上分别为王家屯组马神庙层、义县组老公沟层、业南沟层、砖城子层、大康堡层、朱家沟层和金刚山层 ;产有较丰富的无脊椎动物、脊椎动物和植物化石。以砖城子层、大康堡层和金刚山层为界 ,义县火山旋回可划分为 4个亚旋回 ,分别代表火山活动的初始期、主期、晚期和末期。北票四合屯地区的义县组相当义县地区义县组的第一和第二亚旋回 ,含鸟类化石的主沉积层 (尖山沟层和上园层 )可与砖城子层对比     

黄骅坳陷中北区沙河街组四段上亚段地层的确认

以往黄骅坳陷仅在南区的王官屯地区发现过确切的古近系沙河街组四段地层。上世纪 90年代初 ,地层古生物工作者曾根据个别单井孢粉化石资料 ,怀疑黄骅坳陷北区的北塘凹陷局部分布有沙四段。但由于当时的勘探程度较低 ,化石证据不足 ,因而没有得到广泛认可。中区板桥和歧口凹陷过去从未发现沙四段。通过对板桥凹陷地层的系统古生物分析 ,发现中北区沙三段下伏原来部分归属中生界的地层中含大量的藻类、介形虫、腹足类及轮藻化石 ,依据它们的生物群特征 ,这套地层应属于沙河街组四段 ,且为沙四段上亚段。     

Les manifestations tectoniques synsédimentaires associées à la compression éocène en Tunisie : implications paléogéographiques et structurales sur la marge Nord-Africaine

In central Tunisia, a synsedimentary tectonic episode has been pointed out through the tectonic movements affecting the Late Palaeocene–Early Eocene successions. This tectonic episode has controlled, to a large extent, the palaeogeographic setting of the area during that period and confirmed the important effect induced by the Pyrenean shortening phase on the edge of the African plate, which obviously has witnessed a common history with the southern part of the European plate. To cite this article: A. El Ghali et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

Paleoclimate Changes during the Early Oiigocene in the Hoh Xil Region, Northern Tibetan Plateau

Sedimentological, cyclic-stratigraphic, paleomagnetic, and clay-mineralogical studies on the early Oligocene Yaxicuo Group in the Hoh Xil Basin, the largest Cenozoic sedimentary basin in the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau, provide abundant information of paleoclimate changes. A 350-m thick section in the middle-lower Yaxicuo Group was analyzed to reveal the climatic history that occurred in the Hoh Xil region during the early Oligocene interval 31.30-30.35 Ma, dated with the paleomagnetic chronostratigraphy. The results indicate that add and cold climate dominated the Hoh Xil region during the early Oligocene in general, being related to the global cooling and drying events that occurred in the earliest Oligocene. Within this period, relatively warm and wet climate accompanied by strong tectonic activity occurred in the 31.05-30.75 Ma interval; while add and cold climate and relatively inactive tectonics occurred in the 31.30-31.05 and 30.75-30.35 Ma intervals. Furthermore, spectral analyses of high-temporal resolution paleoclimatic records show orbital periods including eccentricity, obliquity, and precession. It is concluded that paleoclimate changes during the early Oligocene in the Hoh Xil region were forced by both tectonic activity and orbital periods.     

Numerical models of tectonic deformation at the Baltica–Avalonia transition zone during the Paleocene phase of inversion

Predictions from dynamic modelling of the lithospheric deformation are presented for Northern Europe, where several basins underwent inversion during the Late Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic and contemporary uplift and erosion of sediments occurred. In order to analyse the evolution of the continental lithosphere, the equations for the deformation of a continuum are solved numerically under thin sheet assumption for the lithosphere. The most important stress sources are assumed to be the Late Cretaceous Alpine tectonics; localized rheological heterogeneities can also affect local deformation and stress patterns. Present-day observations available in the studied region and coming from seismic structural interpretations and stress measurements have been used to constrain the model. Our modelling results show that lateral variation in lithospheric strength below the basin systems in Central Europe strongly controls the regional deformation and the stress regime. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the geometry of the boundary between Baltica and Avalonia, together with different rheological characteristics of the two plates, had a crucial role on local crustal deformation and faulting regime resulting in the Baltica–Avalonia transition zone from the S–N Alpine convergence.     

Lipid distribution in a subtropical southern China stalagmite as a record of soil ecosystem response to paleoclimate change

Lipid extracts from a 61.7-cm-long subtropical stalagmite in southern China, spanning the period of ca. 10,000–21,000 yr ago as constrained by U–Th dating, were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The higher plants and microorganisms in the overlying soils contribute a proportion of n-alkanes identified in the stalagmite. The occurrence of LMW (lower molecular weight) n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones in the stalagmite was mainly related to the soil microorganisms. We suggest that HMW (higher molecular weight) n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones identified in the stalagmite originate from soil organics and reflect input from contemporary vegetation. Shifts in the ratio of LMW to HMW n-alkanols or n-alkan-2-ones indicative of the variation of soil ecosystems (e.g., microbial degradation of organic matter and/or the relative abundance of soil microorganisms to higher plants) are comparable with the subtropical alkenone-SST (sea surface temperature) record of the same period. The similar trends seen in the δ¹³C data and the lipid parameters in this stalagmite imply that the overlying soil ecosystem response to climate might be responsible for the variation of δ¹³C values.     

Rivers, chemical weathering and Earth's climate

We detail the results of recent studies describing and quantifying the large-scale chemical weathering of the main types of continental silicate rocks: granites and basalts. These studies aim at establishing chemical weathering laws for these two lithologies, describing the dependence of chemical weathering on environmental parameters, such as climate and mechanical erosion. As shown within this contribution, such mathematical laws are of primary importance for numerical models calculating the evolution of the partial pressure of atmospheric CO₂ and the Earth climate at geological timescales. The major results can be summarized as follow: (1) weathering of continental basaltic lithologies accounts for about 30% of the total consumption of atmospheric CO₂ through weathering of continental silicate rocks. This is related to their high weatherability (about eight times greater than the granite weatherability); (2) a simple weathering law has been established for basaltic lithologies, giving the consumption of atmospheric CO₂ as a function of regional continental runoff, and mean annual regional temperature; (3) no such simple weathering law can be proposed for granitic lithologies, since the effect of temperature can only be identified for regions displaying high continental runoff; (4) a general law relating mechanical erosion and chemical weathering has been validated on small and large catchments. The consequences of these major advances on the climatic evolution of the Earth are discussed. Particularly, the impacts of the onset of the Deccan trapps and the Himalayan orogeny on the global carbon cycle are reinvestigated. To cite this article: B. Dupré et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).