湖北清江和尚洞石笋古环境研究的回顾和展望

从1997年开始对湖北清江和尚洞开展了系统的现代过程监测和地质记录的综合研究,以了解气候和生物信息的传输、转化和记录过程,并由此重建长江中游末次冰期以来的气候和生态环境。通过对和尚洞的大气、植被、土壤、围岩、滴水和沉积碳酸盐开展年代学、水文学、地球化学、地球物理学、地球生物学等多学科的调查,已经积累了许多现代过程的基础资料,为进一步进行石笋记录的研究奠定了很好的基础。同时,研究发现该洞穴石笋具有年代准确、环境和生态信息丰富、分辨率高、记录时间长等众多优点,是重建过去气候和生态变化历史的优质载体。下一步研究应该充分利用这些特点,力争在季风的年际和年代际变化以及不同气候态下环境与生物的相互作用两个方向取得进展。     

A multiple cave deposit assessment of suitability of speleothem isotopes for reconstructing palaeo‐vegetation and palaeo‐temperature

The suitability of speleothems for interpreting palaeoclimate is typically determined by using either the Hendy Test, overlapping analysis or long‐term cave environment monitoring. However, in many cases, these methods are not applicable, because a speleothem lacks clearly traceable layers for the Hendy Test, it is difficult to obtain an overlapping speleothem nearby, or long‐term cave monitoring is impractical. The authors propose a multiple cave deposit approach to assess the suitability of speleothems for palaeoclimate study. Speleothems collected from two sites within Raccoon Mountain Cave, Tennessee (USA) exhibit remarkable spatial variation (δ¹³C: ?10·3‰ to ?2·2‰) over a relatively short distance (ca 260 m). Drip water δ¹⁸O values exhibit a seasonal precipitation signal at Site 1 and an annual signal at Site 2. Combining field observations, water isotope analysis and trace‐element data, the authors propose that the speleothem formation at Site 1 and Site 2 tapped distinct sources of CO₂: (i) CO₂ derived from overlying soils for Site 1; and (ii) limestone dissolved inorganic carbon induced by ground water dissolution for Site 2. Using fresh cave deposits (modern speleothem) δ¹³C (100% C3 vegetation) as an analogue, a simple model was developed to estimate land surface vegetation for speleothems. The speleothem formation temperature estimated using fresh cave deposit δ¹⁸O values generally reflects the mean annual temperature in this region. This study indicates that spatial variations in carbon isotopes could be caused by different carbon sources dominating in different parts of the cave, which should be taken into consideration by researchers when using speleothem δ¹³C values to reconstruct temporal palaeo‐vegetation changes. This study demonstrates a practical sampling strategy for verifying suitability of speleothems for palaeo‐vegetation and palaeo‐temperature reconstructions by analysing multiple cave deposits, especially for cases in which the Hendy Test, parallel sampling and long‐term monitoring of cave environment are not feasible.     

Preliminary results from U-Th dating of glacial-interglacial deposition cycles in a silica speleothem from Venezuela

Recent explorations in Cueva Charles Brewer, a large cave in a sandstone tepui, SE Venezuela, have revealed silica biospeleothems of unprecedented size and diversity. Study of one — a sub-spherical mass of opaline silica — reveals a complex, laminated internal structure consisting of three narrow dark bands alternating with two wider light bands. Uranium-thorium dating has produced 3 stratigraphically correct dates on the light bands from 298 ± 6 (MIS 9) to 390 ± 33 ka (MIS 11). U concentration is only 30-110 ppb. Initial ²³⁴U/²³⁸U ratios are high and increase over time from 1.8 to 5.3. Growth rate is very low, the fastest, at 0.37 ± 0.23 mm/ka, in MIS 9. Trace element and heavy metal content of the dark bands is distinctly higher than that of the light bands. It is hypothesized that the dark and light bands correlate with drier/glacial and wetter/interglacial periods, respectively, and that this sample probably began to grow in MIS 13. The cave is in a region that straddles a regionally important ecotone: the speleothem isotopic and trace element variations may preserve a useful paleoclimatic signal. This is the first published suite of U-Th dates from a single silica speleothem and the longest Quaternary record for this region.     

黄龙洞年轻石笋的~(210)Pb测年研究

利用210Pb测年法对来自亚洲季风系统相互作用的青藏高原边缘区、高海拔的黄龙洞两根年轻石笋进行了测年研究,数据分析结果显示黄龙洞石笋顶部的210Pb放射性活度随距离呈指数衰变,衰变的趋势逐渐减缓,表明所研究的石笋中含有过剩的210Pb,样品顶部年龄小于100a。对黄龙洞石笋过剩210Pb数据进行非线性拟合,计算出两根石笋的平均沉积速率分别为0.104mm/a和0.143mm/a,与利用230Th测年法得到的沉积速率在定年误差范围之内一致,表明黄龙洞的210Pb测年数据是可靠的,通过计算石笋的沉积速率,可以建立近百年的石笋记录。研究表明,利用210Pb测年方法可以判断石笋(或石笋顶部)是否为100a内沉积的年轻石笋,弥补230Th法测定年轻石笋年龄的不足,有利于建立更加精确的石笋年代标尺,对探讨洞穴现代沉积记录和现代气象数据之间的相关性,明确洞穴石笋δ18O值所指示的气候环境含义具有重要意义。     

云南石林洞穴发育特征

石林位于滇东喀斯特高原南部,喀斯特极其发育,以发育了典型的石林地形而闻名遐迩,倍受国内外喀斯特学者的关注。洞穴是本区广泛发育分布的一种喀斯特地下形态,类型多样。依据它们的剖面形态、成因和所处的地貌部位差异,将其划分为罅状洞穴、水平洞穴和倾斜洞穴三个类型。洞穴在发育分布上受到区域碳酸盐岩地层分布的控制,表现出洞穴分布的相对集中性、洞穴发育对地层的选择性和洞穴发育的成层性等特征。洞穴发育规模绝大多数为中小型洞穴;洞穴多为现代地下洞河,埋藏浅且多天窗,并且洞穴的发育延伸方向明显受裂隙构造的控制。通过对石林地区喀斯特洞穴发育条件、洞穴发育类型、分布特征和洞穴发育的古地理环境特征分析,论述了石林地区洞穴的发育特征。     

Late Quaternary dietary shifts of the Cape grysbok (Raphicerus melanotis) in southern Africa

The Cape grysbok is endemic to southern Africa's Cape Floral Region where it selectively browses various species of dicotyledonous vegetation. Fossil evidence indicates that the grysbok persisted under glacial and interglacial conditions throughout the late Quaternary and inhabited a range of environments. This study employs mesowear analysis to reconstruct grysbok diets over time and in response to changing environments at Nelson Bay Cave, Die Kelders Cave 1, Klasies River Mouth, and Swartklip 1. Results indicate that the amount of grasses (monocots) versus leafy vegetation (dicots) included in the diet fluctuated over time and largely in agreement with changes in faunal community structure. The case for dietary flexibility is particularly clear at Nelson Bay Cave, where there is a significant trend from mixed feeding towards increased browsing from the late Pleistocene (~ 18,500 ¹⁴C yr BP) through the Holocene. Dietary shifts at Nelson Bay Cave are consistent with the hypothesis that declining grassland productivity is responsible for the terminal Pleistocene extinction of several large ungulates in southern Africa. Furthermore, the short-term dietary shifts demonstrated here (100s to 1000s of years) provide an important caution against relying on taxonomic uniformitarianism when reconstructing the dietary preferences of fossil ungulates, both extant and extinct.     

Stratigraphy,sedimentary development and palaeoenvironmental context of a naturally accumulated pitfall cave deposit from southeastern Australia

McEachern's Deathtrap Cave (G—49/50) is located in the Lower Glenelg region of southeastern Australia and records a Late Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentary record that has been directly influenced by surface processes during its formation. The sedimentary sequence contained within the cave is divided into lower, middle and upper sequences consisting of eight facies. The lower sequence represents the earliest phase of sedimentation, and groundwater fluctuations during the Last Interglacial period resulted in its erosion and redistribution deeper into the cave system. A decrease in the magnitude and frequency of flood events in the cave during the formation of the middle sequence indicates increasingly drier surface conditions prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. The middle sequence has a minimum age of 9840 ± 290 a BP. Moving sand sheets during the Last Glacial blocked the entrance to the cave allowing flowstones to develop on the cave floor. The surface environment surrounding the cave was probably not as dry as contemporaneous inland sites because sedimentation continued to be dominated by flowing water during this period. Holocene sedimentation is represented by the upper sequence and reflects wetter cave conditions between 7680 ± 160 a BP and 5700 ± 110 a BP. A major phase of sediment accretion occurs after 5700 a BP and correlates to a phase of dune instability in the Lower Glenelg region. Flowing water remodelled the sediment cone sometime after 2240 ± 100 a BP, which represents a period of increased surface runoff, although it is not clear whether this is due to climatic or anthropogenic influences.     

Precise dating of abrupt shifts in the Asian Monsoon during the last deglaciation based on stalagmite data from Yamen Cave, Guizhou Province, China

Based on 33 U/Th dates and 1020 oxygen isotopic data from stalagmite Y1 from Yamen Cave, Guizhou Province, China, a record of the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) was established. The record covers the last deglaciation and the early Holocene (from 16.2 to 7.3 ka BP) with an average oxygen isotope resolution of 9 years. The main millennial-scale deglacial events first identified in Greenland (Greenland Interstadial Events: GIS 1e through GIS 1a) and later in China are clearly present in the Y1 record. By analogy to earlier work, we refer to these as Chinese Interstadials (CIS): CIS A.1e to CIS A.1a. The onset of these events in Y1 δ18O records are nominally dated at: 14750±50, 14100±60, 13870±80, 13370±80, and 12990±80 a BP. The end of CIS A.1a or the beginning of the Younger Dryas (YD) event is nominally at 12850±50 a BP and the end of the YD dates to 11500±40 a BP. The δ18O values shift by close to 3‰ during the transition into the Bφlling-Allerφd (BA, the onset of CIS A.1e) and at the end of the YD. Comparisons of Y1 to previously published early Holocene records show no significant phase differences. Thus, the East Asia Monsoon and the Indian Monsoon do not appear to have been out of phase during this interval. The Y1 record confirms earlier work that suggested that solar insolation and North Atlantic climate both affect the Asian Monsoon.     

岩溶洞穴内气候环境因子关系分析——以贵州省织金洞为例

织金洞为旅游洞穴,且洞内竖井以及裂隙较多,洞内封闭环境较差,因此随着洞外大气环境的变化和游客量的波动,存在夏秋两季洞内CO2浓度、湿度均高于冬春两季的现象。2015年1月至2016年1月经对织金洞内CO2浓度、气压、气温、湿度等气候环境数据进行相关性统计分析得出:夏秋两季气温与CO2浓度呈现负相关,相关系数r分别为-0.728 76和-0.656 16,冬春两季则呈正相关,两季CO2浓度与气温的相关系数r分别达0.854 52和0.938 46;洞内气候环境因子除湿度与温度的关系外,各环境因子间在SINE函数基础上拟合度较高,拟合度大部分处于0.6～0.8之间。洞内各气候环境因子的关系,经分析认为可能由于洞内外气流交换状况的季节性变化以及外界大气降水、洞内水量、上覆土壤CO2、游客量、照明设施等因素共同影响所致。