遗迹学的研究现状与新进展--第8届国际遗迹组构专题研讨会综述

第8届国际遗迹组构专题研讨会于2005年2月17~23日在新西兰奥克兰大学召开。从会议报告、展板、论文摘要集和野外地质旅行可以看出: 遗迹化石正确的分类命名及其形态功能和生态环境再造仍然是遗迹学的基础和主要内容,常见和复杂遗迹化石的精细研究和重新解释将导致遗迹化石指示古环境和古生态意义的重大变革,遗迹化石特征的实验模拟和实证观测是定量解释造迹生物行为习性和生态环境意义的有效手段,许多鲜为人知或被忽略的问题和现象走进遗迹学家的视野, 陆相遗迹化石群落与遗迹组构研究有了新的进展,遗迹组构的岩心成像技术和三维模拟在油气勘探中正发挥越来越大的作用,学科交叉融合和高新技术测试方法的引进是遗迹学发展的重要推动力。     

连结过去、现在和未来的遗迹组构研究:第13届国际遗迹组构专题研讨会综述

第13届国际遗迹组构专题研讨会于2015年5月14日—21日在日本高知大学召开。从会议报告、展板和野外地质考察可以看出:(1)遗迹化石的演化古生态学和复杂遗迹化石的古生态学、埋藏学精细分析将是未来遗迹学的研究热点;(2)遗迹化石的正确分类命名及其形态功能和古环境分析依然是遗迹学的基础和主要内容;(3)新遗迹学展示了巨大的生命力,成为了将今论古的重要钥匙;(4)三维动画模拟未来将推动遗迹学、生态学的科学普及;(5)遗迹组构在油气勘探应用中已取得了重大的成果。学科交叉和高新技术测试方法、跨越多学科的思维路线将是遗迹学发展的重要推动力。     

Upper Cretaceous bottom current deposits,north-east Greenland

Reported ancient bottom current deposits in deep marine settings are scarce and most of them remain contentious. This study describes sedimentological, ichnological and petrographical characteristics of a drill core that covers ca 10 Myr of Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy at Hold with Hope, north-east Greenland. The core is divided into four facies associations, which are interpreted to reflect deposition from bottom currents, turbidity flows and hemipelagic settling in slope and/or near slope environments. The evidence for bottom current influence is three-fold. Firstly, pervasive indications of winnowing such as marine bioclast-rich lags and outsized clasts on ‘mud on mud’ contacts are suggestive of low-sediment concentration flows capable of transporting up to pebble-sized clasts. Common Mn–Fe–Mg rich carbonate matrix cements and various types of hiatal chemogenic lag deposits showing glauconite, apatite and carbonate clasts also point to condensation, prolonged exposure at the sediment–water interface and recurrent phases of sea-floor erosion. Secondly, such deposits can show indicators for tidal processes such as double mud-drapes, tangential bottom sets in dune-scale cross-bedding and cyclic rhythmites. Thirdly, inverse to normal grading at various scales is common in fully marine, commonly seafloor-derived sediments. Ichnological data indicate considerable taxonomic variability in the bottom current deposits, but recurrent fabrics are characteristically dominated by morphologically simple burrows such as Thalassinoides and Planolites, with secondary Phycosiphon, Nereites, Zoophycos and/or Chondrites. In general, opportunistic taxa are common whereas mature composite ichnofabrics are rare. The omission surfaces are locally burrowed with stiffground to firmground trace fossil suites. The results contribute to establishing sedimentological, ichnological and mineralogical criteria for recognition of bottom current deposits as well as to the understanding of the Late Cretaceous palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Arctic region.     

古氧相——一个新的沉积学研究领域

简要介绍了富氧相、贫氧相、厌氧相、外富氧相和这氧相的主要特征、成因及目前古氧相分析的主要途径，包括古生态学、遗迹学、有机相和沉积地球化学分析。根据国内外研究资料，结合笔者科研成果，综述了古氧相在今地球科学研究领域，如层序地层、岩相古地理编图、重要地质事件研究及地史恢复中的应用及其前景。     

痕迹组构的概念、型式与分析

扼要介绍和论述了痕迹组构的概念、复合型式、痕迹分层、梯阶类型或结构模式以及痕迹组构的一般描述方法等内容。     

Using a modern analogue to interpret depositional position in ancient fluvial-tidal channels: Example from the McMurray Formation,Canada

The fluvial–tidal transition (FTT) is a complex depositional zone, where fluvial flow is modified by tides as rivers approach a receiving marine basin. Variations in the relative importance of tidal versus fluvial processes lead to a distinctive distribution of sediments that accumulate on channel bars. The FTT generally consists of three broad zones: (1) a freshwater-tidal zone; (2) a tidally influenced freshwater to brackish-water transition; and (3) a zone of relatively sustained brackish-water conditions with stronger tides. A very common type of deposit through the fluvial–tidal transition, especially on the margins of migrating channels, is inclined heterolithic stratification (IHS). At present, a detailed account of changes in the character of IHS across the FTT of a paleo-channel system has not been reported, although a number of modern examples have been documented. To fill this gap, we quantitatively assess the sedimentology and ichnology of IHS from seven cored intervals in three geographic areas situated within the youngest paleovalley (“A” Valley) in the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation of Alberta, Canada. We compare the data to trends defined along the FTT in the present-day Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada to interpret paleo-depositional position in the ancient fluvial–tidal channels.Analysis determined that the mean mudstone thickness is 8.2 cm in the southern study area (SA). Mean thickness increases to 11 cm in the central study area (CA), and decreases again to 4.4 cm in the northern study area (NA). The proportion of mudstone is 31% in SA, 44% in CA, and 27% in NA. Thickness-weighted mean bioturbation intensity in sands varied from 0.29 in SA and CA, to 0.28 in NA. On the other hand, thickness-weighted mean bioturbation intensity (BI) in mudstone increases from 1.46 in SA, to 1.77 in CA, and is 1.94 in NA. The ichnological diversity also increased from south to north.Sedimentological results show similar trends to those of the Fraser River, enabling the identification of a freshwater to brackish-water transition zone with tidal influence. The interpreted position of the transition is underpinned by the bioturbation intensity and trace-fossil diversity trends, indicating periodic brackish-water conditions throughout SA in the McMurray Formation during low river flow conditions. Together, these data suggest that a broad FTT existed in the “A” Valley, with fluvial-dominated channels to the south that experienced seasonal brackish-water inundation during base flow, and channels experiencing increasing brackish-water influence lying further north towards a turbidity maximum zone. The FTT zone appears to have extended for several hundred kilometers from south to north.Based on the sedimentological and ichnological data, as well as estimations of lateral accretion rates, we refute the commonly applied Mississippi River depositional analogue for McMurray Formation channels. Rather, we show that while not a perfect fit, the tidally influenced Fraser River shows much greater agreement with the depositional character recorded in McMurray Formation IHS. Future work on the McMurray system should focus on characterizing tide-dominated deltaic and estuarine systems, such as the Ganges-Brahmaputra, and on forward-modeling the evolution of tide-dominated and tide-influenced river systems.