Mid-Holocene evolution and paleoenvironments of the shoreface–offshore transition, north-eastern Argentina: New evidence based on benthic microfauna

A sedimentary record spanning 5792–5511 cal yr BP and 3188–2854 cal yr BP was recovered at 36° 45′ 43″ S–56 ° 37′ 13″ W, south-west South Atlantic. The sedimentological features and micropaleontological (benthic foraminifera and ostracoda) content were analyzed in order to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. Considerable environmental fluctuations are indicated by all these proxies. Five different stages were distinguished: Stage 1 (ca. 5800–5000 cal yr BP) consists of muddy sand with abundant microfossils. In this interval, species typical for inner marine shelf environments maintained a high abundance. Stage 2 consists of plastic light greenish grey clays barren of microfossils, and probably represents fluvial input from the de la Plata River to the shelf contemporaneous of a lowering of sea level. Stage 3 is composed of brownish yellow sandy silts, and represents increasing marine conditions in the area as reflected by higher faunal diversity and typical foraminifera of inner shelf environments. Stage 4 is made of homogeneous mud, barren of microfossil, which represents a new pulse of fluvial input to the shelf in consequence of a new fall in sea level. The final part of the core (Stage 5) is a coarsening upward sequence, grading from greeny brown clayey sandy silts to coarse shelly sands and represents the modern sedimentation in the area. This interpretation strengthens the stepped model of late-Holocene sea-level fall between 5511–5792 cal yr BP and 2854–3188 cal yr BP in Buenos Aires coast, and agrees with the relative sea-level history previously proposed by some authors from western South Atlantic coasts.     

南海大气低层风场的气候特征分析

分析１９８０－１９８７年欧洲中长期预报中心（ＥＣＭＷＦ）每日风场、温度场格点资料及同期南海区域测站和船舶资料，讨论南海低层风场的气候特征。南海为典型的季风活动区，冬季盛行东北季风，夏季盛行西南季风。流场的季节转换表现为季风系统的交替，相应不同的季风系统，南北温度梯度有一逆转过程，南海北部是温度梯度大且发生明显逆转的海区。１２°Ｎ以南海区气温全年变化极小，整个海区大气温度的季节变化不如流场变化快和显著。     

渐新世/中新世分界的地层学事件

介绍渐新世/中新世分界面(即古近纪/新近纪分界面)附近的浮游有孔虫和钙质超微化石事件及其新年龄。2004年国际地层年代表确定该分界面位于第58长偏心率周期弱振幅处,古地磁事件C6Cn.2n底面,经天文调谐后的年龄为23.03 Ma。发生在该界面附近的生物地层学事件主要是浮游有孔虫Paragloborotalia kugleri的始现面(22.96 Ma)和钙质超微化石Sphenolithus delphix的末现面(23.11 Ma)。在南海北部东沙群岛附近的大洋钻探ODP1148站,渐新世/中新世界面以崩塌沉积物为特征,有明显沉积间断,标志南海当时有较大范围的构造运动。     

西太平洋暖池区气象学特征分析

本文根据ＴＯＧＡ－ＣＯＡＲＥ强化观测资料及卫星资料分析讨论了西太平洋暖池区１１－２月间海面气象要素的平均特征。分析发现海面气压平均日变化似乎同中纬度区明显不同。文中还分析讨论了在西太暖池区西风爆发、赤道浅涡、信风逆温及ＩＴＣＥ和南太平洋辐合带ＳＰＣＺ的变化特征。     

南海北部海区水团的判别分析

将判别分析应用于南海北部海区的水团分析。划分为八个水团:沿岸冲淡水团(F),近岸混合水团(M),暖表层水团(WS),表层水团(S),表—次层混合水团(SU),次层水团(U),次—中层混合水团(UI)和中层水团(I)。给出了各水团在四季代表月的Bayes多组判别的系数和参数。用资料检验判别的成效.冬季和春季可达95.90％以上,夏季为94.80％,秋季是全年最低值,为92.72％。讨论了造成错判的原因,并与Fisher判别作了比较。当测值维数较低时,建议选用Bayes判别。对八个水团以及各水团两两之间差异的显著性进行了检验,证实在每个季节中各水团之间的差异,都在高度置信水平(α=0.01)上具有显著性。因而,划分为八个水团是有实际意义的,其判别式的系数和参数,可用于实际的判别和预报。     

南海表层沉积物中钙质超微化石分布特征

为系统描述钙质超微化石在南海表层沉积中的分布特征,对遍布南海的175个样品进行了实验分析。发现不同地区钙质超微化石绝对丰度相差很大,从0—3.8×1010个.g-1不等。平面上将钙质超微化石丰度分为3个区。共鉴定出钙质超微化石21属28种,以Emiliania huxleyi、Florisphaera profunda和Gephyrocapsa oceanica为优势种,其中Florisphaera profunda占据绝对优势。南海钙质超微化石分布具有两个明显特征:一是14°N线南北两边钙质超微化石的分布存在差异;二是南海钙质超微化石丰度以南沙群岛和西沙群岛两片海域为最高,并有东北-西南走向的分布趋势。对影响钙质超微化石分布的水深、上升流与营养盐、陆源物质稀释作用、碳酸盐溶解作用等因素作了讨论,并根据钙质超微化石随水深的变化推测南海碳酸盐补偿深度应在4 000m左右。     

1998年春夏南海温盐结构及其变化特征

利用1998年5～8月“南海季风试验”期间“科学1”号和“实验3”号科学考察船两个航次CTD资料,分析了1998年南海夏季风暴发前后南海主要断面的温盐结构及其变化特征.观测发现,南海腹地基本被典型的南海水团所控制,但在南海东北部尤其是吕宋海峡附近,表层和次表层水明显受到西太平洋水的影响.季风暴发以后,南海北部表面温度有显著升高,升幅由西向东递减,而南海中部和南部表面温度基本没变,这使得南海北部东西向温度梯度和整个海盆南北向温度梯度均减小.北部断面表层盐度普遍由34以上降低到34以下,混合层均有所发展,是季风暴发后降水和风力加剧的结果.观测期间黑潮水跨越吕宋海峡的迹象明显但变化剧烈.4～5月,黑潮次表层水除在吕宋海峡中北部出现外,在吕宋岛以西亦有发现,表明有部分黑潮水从吕宋海峡南端沿岸向西进而向南进入南海.6～7月,次表层高盐核在吕宋海峡中北部有极大发展,但在吕宋岛以西却明显萎缩;虽然看上去黑潮水以更强的流速进、出南海,但对南海腹地动力热力结构的影响未必更大.一个超过34.55的表层高盐水体于巴拉望附近被发现,似与通过巴拉望两侧水道入侵南海的西太平洋水有关.     

南海北部海区上层水体平均声速场的变化

对所收集到的南海北部海区的温度、盐度和深度历史资料进行了声速的计算、统计与分析,结果表明该海区上层水体的平均声速场有较明显的年际变化:表层声速的平面分布显示出沿岸水与外海水强弱交替变化的特征,声速等值线的走向几乎与岸线平行,等声速线的值自近岸向外海增加,大陆架外缘海区声速的水平梯度较大;下层声速的分布以环流和水体共同作用的形式出现,50m层声速平面分布的趋势除冬季与表层稍为相似外,其余季节与表层有明显的差别,春、夏季节50m层声速自西向东增加,而秋季与其表层分布相反,自近岸向外海减小;声速的垂直分布受海水升温与降温的影响显著,春、夏季表层海水升温,海表声速最大,声速自海表随深度的增加而减小;秋、冬季表层附近水层降温,声速稍偏低,普遍出现正梯度现象,最大声速移至表层以下的水层,这个深度随季节的改变而改变,随海区的不同而不同.该海区的平均声速有年波动现象,表层波幅最大,随深度的增加波幅变小,至100m水层其波动的位相几乎与表层相反.     

Freshening of the Intermediate Waters in the Northern South China Sea over the PastSix Decades

The properties of salinity in the South China Sea (SCS), a significant marginal sea connecting the Pacific andIndian Oceans, are greatly influenced by the transport of fresh water flux between the two oceans. However, the long-termchanges in the intermediate water in the SCS have not been thoroughly studied due to limited data, particularly in relationto its thermodynamic variations. This study utilized reanalysis data products to identify a 60-year trend of freshening in theintermediate waters of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), accompanied by an expansion of low-salinity water. Thestudy also constructed salinity budget terms, including advection and entrainment processes, and conducted an analysis ofthe salinity budget to understand the impacts of external and internal dynamic processes on the freshening trend of theintermediate water in the NSCS. The analysis revealed that the freshening in the northwest Pacific Ocean and theintensification of intrusion through the Luzon Strait at intermediate levels are the primary drivers of the salinity changes inthe NSCS. Additionally, a weakened trend in the intensity of vertical entrainment also contributes to the freshening in theNSCS. This study offers new insights into the understanding of regional deep sea changes in response to variations in boththermodynamics and oceanic dynamic processes.     

Main Controlling Factors on Hydrocarbon Accumulation and Distribution in Marine Sedimentary Sequences in South China

Multiple source rock assemblages were deposited in the sedimentary provinces in South China in geologic history,and some of them were destructed by and some survived against multiple tectonic movements.Therefore,multiple sources,mixed sources,and uneven distribution of sources occurred in the marine sedimentary basins in South China during the late stage of hydrocarbon pooling.Epidiagenesis of the marine carbonate reservoirs and its modification to reservoir poroperm characteristics determined the formation and the scale of natural gas pools.The exploration practices show that the large to medium gas fields mainly occur in areas with high-quality reservoirs.Detailed study of the paleo-oil accumulations and typical oil and gas reservoirs reveals that the basins experienced multiphase superimposition and modification,leading to the distribution of the Paleozoic paleo-oil accumulations and bitumen in the peripheral areas.The phenomenon that oil and gas production concentrates in the Sichuan basin indicates that the overall sealing conditions of a basin determine the oil/gas potentials and the scale of oil and gas production.This is a critical factor controlling the accumulation and distribution of gas in the marine sequences in South China.The early oil and gas pools in the Yangtze platform left billions of bitumen in the peripheral areas due to the destruction of seals.Since the Himalayan,"late-generation and late-accumulation" gas pools represented by the gas pools in the Sichuan (四川) basin were formed in the marine sedimentary sequences in South China as a result of the change of the sealing conditions.Current gas discoveries appear to be "paleo-generation and paleo-accumulation" gas pools but actually are "late-generation and late-accumulation" gas pools.These patterns of hydrocarbon pooling clearly depict themselves in western Sichuan basin and Weiyuan (威远)gas field.It is revealed that the gas pools in the Sichuan basin were mainly formed as a result of hydrocarbon phase change (thermal cracking of oil to gas),miscible migration,and dynamic equilibration since the Himalayan.A large number of gas pools were formed in the Himalayan and the gas pools in the marine sequences are characterized by late pooling; this kind of gas fields/pools are controlled by:(1) effectiveness of modification and superimposition of the marine basins,(2) effectiveness of the source rocks,(3) effectiveness of the overall preservation conditions,and (4) effectiveness of plays.