Flooding of the continental shelves as a contributor to deglacial CH4 rise

The transition from the last glacial and beginning of Bølling–Allerød and Pre‐Boreal periods in particular is marked by rapid increases in atmospheric methane (CH₄) concentrations. The CH₄ concentrations reached during these intervals, ～650–750 ppb, is twice that at the last glacial maximum and is not exceeded until the onset of industrialization at the end of the Holocene. Periods of rapid sea‐level rise as the Last Glacial Maximum ice sheets retreated and associated with ‘melt‐water pulses’ appear to coincide with the onset of elevated concentrations of CH₄, suggestive of a potential causative link. Here we identify and outline a mechanism involving the flooding of the continental shelves that were exposed and vegetated during the glacial sea‐level low stand and that can help account for some of these observations. Specifically, we hypothesize that waterlogging (and later, flooding) of large tracts of forest and savanna in the Tropics and Subtropics during the deglacial transition and early Holocene would have resulted in rapid anaerobic decomposition of standing biomass and emission of methane to the atmosphere. This novel mechanism, akin to the consequences of filling new hydroelectric reservoirs, provides a mechanistic explanation for the apparent synchronicity between rate of sea‐level rise and occurrence of elevated concentrations of ice core CH₄. However, shelf flooding and the creation of transient wetlands are unlikely to explain more than ～60 ppb of the increase in atmospheric CH₄ during the deglacial transition, requiring additional mechanisms to explain the bulk of the glacial to interglacial increase. Similarly, this mechanism has the potential also to play some role in the rapid changes in atmospheric methane associated with the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A diatom‐inferred record of lake variability during the last 900 years in Lützow–Holm Bay,East Antarctica

Decadal–centennial‐scale climate variability in coastal Antarctica remains poorly understood due to the limited number of highly resolved, well‐dated records. We present a 900‐year, decadal‐scale reconstruction based on sedimentary diatoms from Lake Abi in Lützow–Holm Bay, East Antarctica. Hydrological change is inferred from diatom ecological preferences in conjunction with an existing regional training set and implies that lake water specific conductivity, depth and nitrogen availability are the key drivers of diatom assemblage change. Lake Abi underwent a series of subtle environmental changes related to these environmental variables, possibly driven by changes in catchment snow melt and the duration of seasonal ice cover. Ordination is used to trace the major patterns of change in the diatom community, with notable shifts identified between 470 and 400 and at ～350 cal a BP (where present = CE 1950). The frequency of environmental variability at Lake Abi is broadly consistent with a record of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation during the last millennium, but contrasts with the apparent climate stability elsewhere in eastern Antarctica. Further research is required to constrain the limnological and ecological responses of lakes in coastal Antarctica to obtain more rigorous palaeoclimate reconstructions from these sites of immense potential.     

Anomalous Western Pacific Subtropical High during Late Summer in Weak La Nia Years: Contrast between 1981 and 2013

Both 1981 and 2013 were weak La Niña years with a similar sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the tropical Pacific, yet the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) during August exhibited an opposite anomaly in the two years. A comparison indicates that, in the absence of a strong SST anomaly in the tropics, the cold advection from Eurasian high latitudes and the convection of the western Pacific warm pool play important roles in influencing the strength and position of the WPSH in August. In August 1981, the spatial pattern of 500 hPa geopotential height was characterized by a meridional circulation with a strong ridge in the Ural Mountains and a deep trough in Siberia, which provided favorable conditions for cold air invading into the lower latitudes. Accordingly, the geopotential height to the north of the WPSH was reduced by the cold advection anomaly from high latitudes, resulting in an eastward retreat of the WPSH. Moreover, an anomalous cyclonic circulation in the subtropical western Pacific, excited by enhanced warm pool convection, also contributed to the eastward retreat of the WPSH. By contrast, the influence from high latitudes was relatively weak in August 2013 due to a zonal circulation pattern over Eurasia, and the anomalous anticyclonic circulation induced by suppressed warm pool convection also facilitated the westward extension of the WPSH. Therefore, the combined effects of the high latitude and tropical circulations may contribute a persistent anomaly of the WPSH in late summer, despite the tropical SST anomaly being weak.     

鄂尔多斯盆地晚三叠世延长期古湖盆生物相带划分及地质意义

鄂尔多斯盆地晚三叠世发育大型坳陷型湖盆。湖水的升降影响着湖盆水体面积的大小、深浅以及沉积体系发育分布,进而影响全盆地晚三叠延长统地层生储盖组合的发育特征。通过野外剖面、钻井岩芯中古生物化石的鉴定,结合古生物组合特征对鄂尔多斯盆地晚三叠世湖盆的古生物生态环境进行了恢复。确定鄂尔多斯晚三叠世湖盆是一个最大水深不超过60 m的浅水湖盆,属于温暖潮湿的淡水-半咸水环境。从湖岸到湖心,可以划分为预测古水深1～2 m的河流-沼泽生物相带;预测古水深3～15 m的滨岸-河口三角洲生物相带;预测古水深15～35 m的浅湖生物相带;预测古水深在35～60 m范围的半-深湖生物相带。这些生物相带的划分,为恢复鄂尔多斯盆地晚三叠世时期的岩相古地理奠定了基础,为盆地延长组沉积边界、盆地内沉积体系发育展布以及沉积相带的划分提供了坚实的地质依据,具有理论与实际意义。     

云南建水煌斑岩年代学和地球化学及其构造意义

华南大陆内部燕山期的岩浆事件可分为2期:燕山早期180~150 Ma,燕山晚期140~80 Ma。而处于扬子板块西南缘的滇黔贵等地,仅见有第二期晚白垩世中酸性侵入岩与相关成矿作用,缺乏第一期岩浆活动的时间记录。本文在滇东建水地区首次发现了麦地村煌斑岩,对其进行高精度LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年和主微量元素测试分析。结果显示煌斑岩的锆石U-Pb年龄为(158.4±2.4)Ma(MSWD=4.2),为晚侏罗世的产物,补充了该区较为空白的第一期岩浆热事件。麦地村煌斑岩不相容元素明显高于原始地幔,表现出不同程度的富集,大离子亲石元素Rb、Ba、Ce等富集程度不明显,高场强元素中U、Ta、Pb等表现出一定程度富集,LREE相对富集,HREE相对亏损,不具有Nb-Ta-Ti负异常的俯冲型配分曲线特征,具有明显的OIB型洋岛玄武岩稀土元素配分特征,为板内伸展环境下的产物。滇东地区发育中生代时期的NNE构造,早期NNE向褶皱叠加有后期同方向正断层。早期褶皱表现为SEE-NWW挤压应力作用下的构造特征,后期断层表现出同方向张应力作用下的特征。煌斑岩正是由于该区发生挤压之后伴随着一期应力松弛调整,伸展减压作用诱发地幔物质部分融熔,来自于深处的软流圈地幔流体与岩石圈地幔发生交代作用,形成富集型地幔,交代富集的岩石圈地幔局部受热、部分熔融,发生上升侵位。煌斑岩的侵位时间即是滇东地区中生代从挤压向伸展转换的起始时间。     

TRACE ELEMENT DISTRIBUTION AND IMPLICATIONS IN SEDIMENTS ACROSS THE ALLERØD–YOUNGER DRYAS BOUNDARY IN THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Younger Dryas cooling occurred between 12.8 and 11.7 ka bp . This cooling is thought to have been the result of an abrupt change in atmospheric and oceanic circulations. One of the hypotheses explaining such a change suggests that just before the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling, multiple airbursts/impacts occurred over the Northern Hemisphere. We studied the late Pleistocene sediments from the Netherlands and Belgium to check whether a sudden short event might have taken place just before the onset of the Younger Dryas cooling. The geochemical features revealed suggest that such events might have occurred. The presence of products of biomass burning is suggested on the basis of trace element features of sediments from the lower Younger Dryas boundary. The presence of a volcanic component and a component resulting from extensive biomass burning in the sediments of c. 12.9 ka bp are indicated on the basis of trace element features. The volcanic component may be related to the Laacher See volcano eruption, whereas the cause of the extensive biomass burning remains unclear.     

Metallogenic Mechanism and Tectonic Setting of Tungsten Mineralization in the Yangbishan Deposit in Northeastern China

The Yangbishan iron–tungsten deposit in the Shuangyashan area of Heilongjiang Province is located in the center of the Jiamusi Massif in northeastern China. The rare earth element and trace element compositions of the scheelite show that it formed in a reducing environment and inherited the rare earth element features of the ore-forming fluid. The geochemical characteristics of the gneissic granite associated with the tungsten mineralization show that the magma formed in this reducing environment and originated from the partial melting of metamorphosed shale that contained organic carbon and was enriched with tungsten. In addition, in situ Hf isotopic analysis of zircons from the gneissic granite indicates that they probably originated from the partial melting of a predominantly Paleo–Mesoproterozoic crustal source. According to LA-ICP-MS zircon dating, the Yangbishan orerelated gneissic granite has an Early Paleozoic crystallization age of 520.6 ± 2.8 Ma. This study, together with previous data, indicates that the massifs of northeastern China, including Erguna, Xing'an, Songliao, Jiamusi, and Khanka massifs, belonged to an orogenic belt that existed along the southern margin of the Siberian Craton during the late Pan-African period. The significant continental movements of this orogeny resulted in widespread magmatic activity in northeastern China from 530 Ma to 470 Ma under a tectonic setting that transitioned from compressional syn-collision to extensional postcollision.     

中亚陆间区南带上古生界构造和油气远景(代序)

安加拉-阿尔丹和华北-塔里木两大克拉通之间地壳相对活动性的地区,地质界多称为中亚陆间区,其南带大部分在中国境内。近年来,中国开始把其上古生界作为油气新区、新领域。多数人认为,其在晚古生代已形成过渡型地壳区,其中有许多地块已逐步拼合,在其上发育裂谷型沉积地质体,未受到区域变质,若干实体变形微弱并被上覆层掩盖而得到保存。源于上古生界的油气既可赋存在其内,也可运聚于中生界或基岩内,在其西段已发现了大中型油气田群。但其整体地质研究程度偏低,仍有许多重大区域地质、油气地质问题存在歧见。针对其近年来的进展、存在的问题和油气远景评价作了概括性的评论。