Imaging buried Quaternary valleys using the transient electromagnetic method

Buried Quaternary valleys in Denmark are complex structures filled with various deposits consisting primarily of glacio-lacustrine clay, till and meltwater sand, and gravel. The valleys are important geophysical targets, because they often contain significant volumes of groundwater used for public water supply. About 700 km of buried valley structures have been imaged in the western part of Denmark by the transient electromagnetic (TEM) method. The ability to map the valleys depends primarily on valley geometry, infill architecture and the resistivity of the fill sediments as well as the substratum. One-dimensional (1-D) inversion models of the TEM soundings have been used to construct contour maps of 20 m average resistivities and depth to a good conductor, which provide images for geological interpretation. Images of buried valley morphology, fill properties, infill architecture, such as cut-and-fill structures, valley distribution and valley generations, are characterized for case studies from Hornsyld, Holstebro and the Vonsild/Agtrup areas of Denmark.     

Seismic imaging of mid-Pleistocene tunnel-valleys in the North Sea Basin—high resolution from low frequencies

Seismic reflection methods provide continuous access both to stratigraphy (vertical) and to subsurface morphology (horizontal), for which the scales of interest may differ by orders of magnitude. Seismic surveys of Quaternary successions have generally sought to optimise vertical resolution, through the use of higher source frequency content. Here, I show that low-frequency bandwidth is not necessarily a limiting factor for the seismic resolution of glacigenic morpho-sedimentary features. Observations are presented from a buried network of large mid-Pleistocene (Elsterian) tunnel-valleys in the southern North Sea Basin, across a 100×130 km study area with water depths less than 30 m. Low-frequency 2D and 3D seismic multi-channel data, acquired for deeper hydrocarbon exploration, are compared with previously available high-frequency single- and multi-channel profiles (5–15 km grid spacing). The low-frequency data contribute to a new understanding of the basal morphology and fill stratigraphy of the tunnel-valleys, in part due to higher data densities (≥1 km grid spacing), but also to improved imaging of reflectors at depth. The tunnel-valleys are seen to be overdeepened troughs, shallow (≤0.5 km) relative to their widths (≤6 km). The basal unconformity defines a series of arborescent elements, convergent to the south; erosional overlap by younger elements to the north has resulted in anastomosing patterns in places. The fill is dominated by axially downlapping clinoforms, descending to the north, onlapped and overlain by subhorizontal reflectors. Well data show that sand-dominated glaciofluvial sediments are overlain by glaciolacustrine to marine muds. Better definition of the clinoforms on low- versus high-frequency multi-channel data is suggested to reflect the coarse spatial scale of the backset glaciofluvial strata. The results support a simple interpretation of time-transgressive tunnel-valley formation by coeval glaciofluvial erosion and backfill beneath the outer tens of kilometres of the northward receding Elsterian ice sheet margin. Comparable submarginal interpretations have been proposed for drainage features (tunnel-valleys and eskers) of the last deglaciation of both northern Europe and North America using integrated geomorphologic and stratigraphic methods. Commercial 2D and 3D seismic data are widely available from exploration areas such as the North Sea and are argued to constitute an underexploited resource for Quaternary research.     

中国油气储层地质研究面临的挑战和发展方向

论述了我国采取“稳定东部 ,发展西部”的油气战略后 ,油气地质所面临的形势 ,以及油气工业的发展对储层地质提出四个领域的挑战 :深部储层、挤压盆地储层、低渗透储层和碳酸盐岩储层 ;这些都是石油勘探开发中久攻不克的难题。根据我国陆上东西部油气区的勘探开发实际和近年的储层研究实践 ,文章系统多视角地分析了这四个难题 ,并提出了相应客观的研究思路和研究方向。     

鄱阳湖组(第四系)的修订及特征

根据对鄱阳湖地区 Zk0 1钻孔柱状剖面的研究 ,对鄱阳湖组的定义进行修订、补充 ,认为鄱阳湖组为一套以青灰色淤泥质粘土、黄褐色粘土、粉质粉土为主夹少量粉砂或细砂的湖泊—河口三角洲相沉积。年代地层为第四系全新统 ,底界年龄约 6 2 10± 12 5 a B.P.,开阔湖泊沉积始于 32 4 0± 180 a B.P.,且由北向南时代渐新 ,具有明显的穿时性     

0．7Ma以来的念青唐古拉山脉隆升过程——来自冰川剥蚀作用的证据

通过对念青唐古拉山冰碛地层划分及冰碛物同位素测年，发现最早一期冰碛物形成于0．7～0．6MaBP，指示自中更新世以来念青唐古拉山脉开始隆升，主峰地区发生了大规模的冰川剥蚀作用，形成了大面积分布的冰碛高平台；0．2～0．14MaBP念青唐古拉山又快速隆升，并堆积了刚刚伸出各大沟谷口的高侧碛；0．07～0．03MaBP念青唐古拉山再次小规模隆起，形成各大沟谷内的侧碛和终碛垄；0．01Ma BP还有小规模冰川活动。念青唐古拉山主峰地区的冰川剥蚀作用反映出的山脉隆升过程，可较好地与青藏高原的隆起过程相对比，它应是青藏高原隆升的响应。     

Calcrete profile development in Quaternary alluvial sequences,southeast Spain: implications for using calcretes as a basis for landform chronologies

A detailed study of the morphology and micro‐morphology of Quaternary alluvial calcrete profiles from the Sorbas Basin shows that calcretes may be morphologically simple or complex. The ‘simple’ profiles reflect pedogenesis occurring after alluvial terrace formation and consist of a single pedogenic horizon near the land surface. The ‘complex’ profiles reflect the occurrence of multiple calcrete events during terrace sediment aggradation and further periods of pedogenesis after terrace formation. These ‘complex’ calcrete profiles are consequently described as composite profiles. The exact morphology of the composite profiles depends upon: (1) the number of calcrete‐forming events occurring during terrace sediment aggradation; (2) the amount of sediment accretion that occurs between each period of calcrete formation; and (3) the degree of pedogenesis after terrace formation. Simple calcrete profiles are most useful in establishing landform chronologies because they represent a single phase of pedogenesis after terrace formation. Composite profiles are more problematic. Pedogenic calcretes that form within them may inherit carbonate from calcrete horizons occurring lower down in the terrace sediments. In addition erosion may lead to the exhumation of older calcretes within the terrace sediment. Calcrete ‘inheritance’ may make pedogenic horizons appear more mature than they actually are and produce horizons containing carbonate embracing a range of ages. Calcrete exhumation exposes calcrete horizons whose morphology and radiometric ages are wholly unrelated to terrace surface age. Composite profiles are, therefore, only suitable for chronological studies if the pedogenic horizon capping the terrace sequence can be clearly distinguished from earlier calcrete‐forming events. Thus, a detailed morphological/micro‐morphological study is required before any chronological study is undertaken. This is the only way to establish whether particular calcrete profiles are suitable for dating purposes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution and inheritance of a rock coast: western Galicia,northwestern Spain

There is increasing evidence that shore platforms and other elements of rock coasts may be inherited, at least in part, from interglacial stages when sea level was similar to today's. Most of this evidence, which includes ancient beaches and datable terrestrial deposits, has been obtained from areas of resistant, slowly eroding rock, where the platforms often appear to be much too wide to have developed since the sea reached its present level. It is much more dif?cult to demonstrate that inheritance has occurred in areas of weaker rock, which generally lack any datable material. The coast of western Galicia in northwestern Spain has shore platforms in igneous and metamorphic rocks that were deeply weathered during the Tertiary. These platforms are closely associated with ancient beaches from the last interglacial stage, and associated periglacial and ?uvio‐nival deposits that covered and fossilized most of the Eemian platforms and cliffs during the late middle and late Weichselian glacial stage. The sedimentary processes and the thickness and facies of the sediments were determined by the height, aspect and gradient of the coastal mountains, and their distance from the coast. Radiocarbon dating, sedimentary analysis and platform morphology indicate that the shore platforms of Galicia have been inherited from at least the last interglacial stage. They were fossilized in places beneath thick Weichselian deposits and then exhumed during the Holocene transgression. The abundant evidence for inheritance in Galicia has important implications for other coasts in fairly weak rocks where such evidence is generally lacking. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

La vallée d'Ys : un paléoréseau hydrographique immergé en baie de Douarnenez (Finistère,France)

Interpretation of the recent high-resolution survey, CANADOU 2000, in the Bay of Douarnenez (Finistère, France) allowed us to restore the morphology of the substratum and the sedimentary filling of the bay. The Brioverian and Palaeozoic substratum reveals a well-defined network of incised valleys as results of successive emergence stages of the Bay during the Quaternary. Valleys join in a westward-widened mean valley, called Ys Valley. The present-day sedimentary fill of the bay of Douarnenez appears mainly controlled by the Holocene rise and the consecutive highstand. It comprises fluvial and estuarine deposits filling up incised valleys and marine sedimentation extending out of the incised valleys. To cite this article: G. Jouet et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).To cite this article: G. Jouet et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

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.     

沈阳满堂4.3级地震的烈度及地震地质背景

2003年3月30日在沈阳市郊满堂乡发生了ML4．3级地震，本文讨论了这次地震的烈度并对震区的地震地质条件作了初步分析。