Facies and architectural element analysis of a meandering fluvial succession: The Permian Warchha Sandstone, Salt Range, Pakistan

The 30 to 155 m thick Early Permian (Artinskian) Warchha Sandstone of the Salt Range, Pakistan is a conglomerate, sandstone and claystone succession within which seven lithofacies types (Gt, St, Sp, Sr, Sh, Fl and Fm) occur in a predictable order as repeated fining-upward cycles. Common sedimentary structures in the conglomerates and sandstones include planar and trough cross-bedding, planar lamination, soft sediment-deformed bedding, compound cosets of strata with low-angle inclined bounding surfaces and lags of imbricated pebbles. Structures in the finer-grained facies include desiccation cracks, raindrop imprints, caliche nodules and bioturbation. Groups of associated facies are arranged into nine distinct architectural elements (channels, gravel bars, sandy bedforms, downstream and laterally accreting barforms, sand sheets, crevasse splays, levees, floodplain units and shallow lakes), which is consistent with a fluvial origin for the succession. The types of architectural elements present and their relationship to each other demonstrate that the Warchha Sandstone preserves a record of a meandering river system that drained the northern margin of Gondwanaland. The dominance of fine-grained (floodplain) facies over gravel-grade (channel-base) facies and the widespread occurrence of large-scale lateral accretion elements supports the interpretation of a high-sinuosity, meandering fluvial system in which channel bodies accumulated via the lateral accretion of point bars but in which the active channels covered only a small part of a broad floodplain at any time instant. Although the regional and temporal distribution of these deposits is complex, in broad terms the lower part is dominated by stacked, multistorey channel bodies, whereas single-storey channel elements isolated in abundant fine-grained floodplain deposits dominate the middle and upper parts of the formation.     

A latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacial history and paleoclimate reconstruction at Three Sisters and Broken Top Volcanoes, Oregon, U.S.A.

At least three sets of moraines mark distinct glacial stands since the last glacial maximum (LGM) in the Three Sisters region of the Oregon Cascade Range. The oldest stand predates 8.1 ka (defined here as post-LGM), followed by a second between ∼ 2 and 8 ka (Neoglacial) and a third from the Little Ice Age (LIA) advance of the last 300 years. The post-LGM equilibrium line altitudes were 260 ± 100 m lower than that of modern glaciers, requiring 23 ± 9% increased winter snowfall and 1.4 ± 0.5°C cooler summer temperatures than at present. The LIA advance had equilibrium line altitudes 110 ± 40 m lower than at present, implying 10 ± 4% greater winter snowfall and 0.6 ± 0.2°C cooler summer temperatures.     

Quantifying sedimentation patterns of small landslide-dammed lakes in the central Oregon Coast Range

Understanding sedimentation patterns in small coastal watersheds due to landscape perturbations is critical for connecting hillslope and fluvial processes, in addition to managing aquatic habitats for anadromous fish and other aquatic species in the Oregon Coast Range (OCR). Changes in sedimentation patterns spanning the last 250 years are preserved in two landslide-dammed lakes in small watersheds (< 10 km²) underlain by the Tyee Formation in the central OCR. Dendrochronology of drowned Douglas-fir stumps in both lakes provided precise timing of the damming and formation of the lakes, with Klickitat Lake forming in winter ad 1751/52 and Wasson Lake in winter ad 1819/20. Perturbations from wildfires, logging and road development, and previously underappreciated snow events affect sedimentation rates in the lakes to different degrees, and are identified in the sediment record using cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs), high-resolution charcoal stratigraphy, local fire records, and aerial photography. Each lake has variable sedimentation accumulation rates (0.05–4.4 cm yr⁻¹) and mass accumulation rates (0.02–1.42 g cm⁻² yr⁻¹). Sedimentation rates remained low from the landslide-damming events until the mid-19th century, when they increased following stand-replacing wildfires. Aside from a sediment remobilization triggered by human modification of the landslide dam at Klickitat Lake around 1960, the largest peaks in mass accumulation rates in the mid-20th century at both lakes in the early 1950s precede major road construction and logging activity in the watersheds. Subsequent sedimentation rates are lower, but variable, and possible effects of logging and road development might be exacerbated by abnormal precipitation and heavy snow events. A comparison of previous studies of landslide-dammed lakes in larger watershed of the OCR are consistent with our findings of increased sedimentation in the mid-20th century, as well as higher sedimentation rates in the debris-flow dominated southern Tyee Formation than in the lower-relief northern Tyee Formation.     

Early Cretaceous Adakitic Rocks in the Northern Great Xing’an Range, NE China: Implications for the Final Closure of Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean and Regional Extensional Setting

A large amount of igneous rocks in NE China formed in an extensional setting during Late Mesozoic. However, there is still controversy about how the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean and the Paleo-Pacific Ocean effected the lithosphere in NE China. In this paper, we carried out a comprehensive study for andesites from the Keyihe area using LA-ICP-MS zircon UPb dating and geochemical and Hf isotopic analysis to investigate the petrogenesis and tectonic setting of these andesites. The U-Pb dating yields an Early Cretaceous crystallization age of 128.3±0.4 Ma. Geochemically, the andesites contain high Sr(686–930 ppm) and HREE contents, low Y(11.9–19.8 ppm) and Yb(1.08–1.52 ppm) contents, and they therefore have high Sr/Y(42–63) and La/Yb(24–36) ratios, showing the characteristics of adakitic rocks. Moreover, they exhibit high K_2O/Na_2O ratios(0.57–0.81), low Mg O contents(0.77–3.06 wt%), low Mg# value(17–49) and negative εHf(t) values(-1.7 to-8.5) with no negative Eu anomalies, indicating that they are not related to the oceanic plate subduction. Based on the geochemical and isotopic data provided in this paper and regional geological data, it can be concluded that the Keyihe adakitic rocks were affected by the Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic regime, forming in a transition setting from crustal thickening to regional extension thinning. They were derived from the partial melting of the thickened lower crust. The closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean may finish in early Early Cretaceous, followed by the collisional orogenic process. The southern part region of its suture belt was in a post-orogenic extensional setting in the late Early Cretaceous.     

东北大兴安岭北段蛇绿岩的时空分布及与区域构造演化关系的研究

大兴安岭北段作为中亚造山带东段重要组成单元,该区域的构造背景一直悬而未决,它涉及兴安与松辽地块基底属性、额尔古纳地块亲缘性以及三者之间的拼贴位置、时限和方式等众多科学问题。蛇绿岩作为研究造山带的重要工具之一,不仅是古板块或微地块的重要边界,而且是认识地幔组成和壳幔演化的重要窗口。然而大兴安岭北段蛇绿岩却鲜有报道。根据近年来野外工作及结合前人研究成果,文章探讨了蛇绿岩形成时代及构造环境。研究表明：(1)大兴安岭北段蛇绿岩整体呈北东向展布,但时代跨越较大,主要包括新元古代、早奥陶世-志留纪、石炭纪-二叠纪;(2)大兴安岭北段蛇绿岩均有E-MORB地球化学特征,其中新元古代的蛇绿岩明显亏损高场强元素Nb、Ta,而晚古生代的蛇绿岩则相对富集高场强元素;(3)大兴安岭北段新元古代蛇绿岩可能形成于洋内岛弧环境,记录着前寒武纪陆弧碰撞信息,而早奥陶世-志留纪蛇绿岩可能与早古生代弧盆体系演化相关。尽管上述认识为大兴安岭北段古生代的地球动力学背景研究提供了新的依据,但大兴安岭北段蛇绿岩仍存在较多问题亟须解决。     

大兴安岭北段索图罕地区碱长花岗岩成因及形成构造背景

本文对大兴安岭北段索图罕地区碱长花岗岩进行了系统的全岩地球化学、锆石U-Pb同位素年代学的研究,并探讨了其成因和构造意义。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年结果表明,花岗岩形成于早白垩世,年龄为（139.50±0.56）Ma。岩石地球化学结果显示,索图罕林场碱长花岗岩属于高钾钙碱性的A型花岗岩,岩石具有富硅和碱、贫CaO和MgO的特征,岩石稀土元素质量分数较高,相对富集轻稀土元素,具有明显的负Eu异常,富集Rb、Th、U、K等大离子亲石元素,亏损Nb、P、Ti等高场强元素,稀土元素配分图解具有右斜"V"字形的特征。索图罕林场碱长花岗岩为弱过铝质A型花岗岩,来源于地壳物质的部分熔融。样品微量元素构造判别图解落入后碰撞区域,代表伸展环境。结合区域地质特征,认为该碱长花岗岩的形成与蒙古-鄂霍茨克洋闭合后的岩石圈伸展相关。     

The evolution of zircon during low‐P partial melting of metapelitic rocks: theoretical predictions and a case study from Mt Stafford,central Australia

Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary migmatite reflects the highest temperature parts of a regional aureole at Mt Stafford, central Australia, comprising rocks that experienced 500–800 °C at ≈3 kbar. Whole‐rock major element concentrations are correlated with Zr content, psammitic compositions having nearly twice the Zr content of pelitic compositions. Zirconium is concentrated in mesosome compared with leucosome. Zircon is largely detrital, mostly lacking any overgrowth contemporary with migmatite formation. Comparatively small proportions of micro‐zircon (<10 μm) in sub‐solidus rocks are mostly hosted by quartz and plagioclase. Much higher proportions (three to five times) of micro‐zircon in migmatite are hosted by prograde K‐feldspar, cordierite and biotite. T–X and P–T NCKFMASHTZr pseudosections constructed using thermocalc model the distribution of Zr between solid and silicate liquid phases. Half of the detrital zircon (~100 ppm Zr) is predicted to be dissolved into silicate liquid at ≈800 °C and all dissolved by 850 °C, if all zircon is involved in the equilibration volume. Melt segregation at relatively low temperature is predicted to enrich the residuum in Zr, consistent with the observed distribution of Zr between mesosome and leucosome. The limited development of metamorphic zircon rims or overgrowths at Mt Stafford is explained by three concurrent processes: (i) Zr liberated during prograde metamorphism formed micro‐zircon, rather than following the prediction that Zr will partition into silicate liquid; (ii) some detrital zircon was probably armoured by other rock‐forming minerals, reducing Zr content in the effective bulk rock composition; and (iii) small proportions of melt loss during migmatization removed Zr that otherwise would have been available to form metamorphic rims.     

念青唐古拉山脉西段雪线高度变化遥感观测

利用Landsat TM/ETM+/8 OLI和HJ1A遥感影像资料作为数据源,通过目视解译方法,提取念青唐古拉山脉西段雪线高度变化值,同时对研究区周边气温与降水变化趋势进行分析,研究其与冰川变化的关系。结果表明：2004~2013年北坡13条冰川和南坡15条冰川的雪线高度都呈升高的趋势;从整体上来考察,北坡雪线高度升高值为14 m/a,南坡升高值为4.9 m/a,北坡升高速度比南坡快;自1964年以来,研究区气温升高趋势显著,降水增加不明显,气候变暖是冰川退缩的主要原因;北坡冰川比南坡冰川经历更大的物质负平衡,主要是由于气温的升高率北坡比南坡快所致。     

The Middle and Upper Devonian in southeastern flank of the Siberian platform (Southern Verkhoyansk Region,Sette-Daban Mountain Range)

Data on Middle and Upper Devonian deposits studied in southeastern flank of the Siberian platform are considered. A scheme of stratigraphic zoning in the study region is presented. Nineteen sedimentological and biotic events, which are recorded in the studied sections, are of the regional, interregional and global ranks. Their connection with eustatic sea-level fluctuations is established. Sections of the formation and regional horizon stratotypes and parastratotypes are described. The revision of species Mucrospirifer novosibiricus (Toll) is carried out.     

观光旅游地客流时间分布特性的比较研究——以九寨沟、黄山及福建永安桃源洞鳞隐石林国家风景名胜区为例

旅游地与主要游客市场的空间结构（距离关系）在相当大程度上影响着游客年内分布、日变化等时间结构。旅游地旅游资源及旅游环境季节性特征也是游客年内分布的决定因子。