Estimation of the shortening rate since late Pleistocene in the Aksu area on the southern flank of the Tianshan, China

This research focused on the Aksu area in the central part of the southern Tianshan. Along the 60 km wide Aksu fold-and-thrust belt, active thrusts reach the surface and offset the youngest sediments. Our research was based on the geomorphologic study that examined the advance and retreat of glaciers cut by thrusts in the Tomur area in the north of Aksu. Our fieldwork revealed that two fault scarps were clearest across three different moraines that represent the maximum of advance of glaciers during three glacial periods along the Tailan River in the Tomur area. The measured heights of the fault scarps that cut the moraines, together with the moraines-inferred age, imply a shortening rate of 1.85 mm/a on the Aksu area since late Pleistocene. This rate, similar to that of the Korla area on its east side and of the Kaping area on its west side, but lower than that of the Kashgar area farther west and of the Manas area in the northern margin of the belt, implies that the distribution of shortening across the Tianshan changed markedly along the mountain.     

山东蒙山九龙潭冰川堆积“垄槽序列”的特征及演化过程研究——兼论冰川、泥石流堆积序列的差异性

中国东部中低山区是否存在第四纪冰川已经争议了一个世纪，作为东部地区冰川堆积重要依据的"泥砾"（冰碛），一直被持非冰川观点者称作是泥石流沉积物。但是，由于冰川与泥石流的堆积过程之间存在本质差别，这必然在堆积体的特征上表现出专属性差异。因此建立冰川与泥石流在堆积特征与堆积过程上的专属性差异，在冰碛物的成因分析、冰碛堆积过程恢复上就有着重要意义。文章在对比分析了冰川堆积与泥石流堆积的过程差异的基础上，发现两类堆积体在平面与剖面上都存在明确的专属性差别。冰川冰碛在平面上形成专属性的垄槽序列，剖面上显示为无层理、混杂堆积状态。泥石流形成堆积扇，扇面上呈放射状垄岗堆积，剖面上表现为韵律序列。这是区别冰川与泥石流堆积体的本质所在。在此基础上，对蒙山九龙潭一带混杂堆积体进行调查与恢复，发现其具有典型的冰川成因垄槽序列特征，结合其剖面上表现为无层理、混杂堆积特征，从沉积序列与沉积过程的角度，佐证了蒙山九龙潭混杂堆积为第四纪冰川作用的事实。垄槽序列既是堆积物是否为冰川作用属性判断的专属性特征，也是恢复冰碛堆积体基本地貌特征与堆积过程的理论基础。      

Genesis of late pleistocene cross-valley moraine ridges,South—Central Ulster,Northern Ireland

Four genetic varieties of ice-marginal cross-valley moraine ridge have been identified in south-central Ulster, Northern Ireland. Type I ridges are flat topped, composed of stratified, water-lain sediments and formed by coalescence of a series of supraaquatic deltas. Type II ridges are sharp crested, composed of stratified, water-lain sediments and formed by coalescence of a series of subaquatic deltas. Type III ridges show mixed morphological and sedimentological characteristics of type I and II ridges. Type IV ridges are sharp crested or hummocky, composed of poorly-sorted and poorly-stratified water-lain sediments and formed by coalescence of a series of subaquatic sediment gravity flow cones. Field evidence indicates that cross-valley moraine ridges in south-central Ulster were deposited in proglacial lacustrine environments. Ridge type depended principally on (1) the nature of the proglacial bedrock slope; (2) the manner in which meltwater entered the proglacial zone; and (3) ice-sheet behaviour during deglaciation, particularly within the ice-sheet terminus zone.     

大连红黏土形成期研究

从大连红黏土被第四系松散层所覆盖的现象出发,分析了大连地区沿海岸附近冰碛残丘的特征与形成过程。论证了大连地区陆地和海湾的红黏土都具有聚合沉积的特征,并且确定了大连红黏土形成期是在第四系冰川期之前。此外论证了大连红黏土是大连地区古地理古气候的标志性地层之一。     

Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS)-6 Glacial Advances on the Tibetan Plateau More Extensive than during MIS-2 due to More Abundant Precipitation

Numerous studies dated glacial deposits within the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen. While most focus on young deposits, i.e., younger than the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM or Marine oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS)-2, ~20 ka), older moraines such as those from MIS-6 (~130–191 ka) are much harder to date and interpret due to the less well-preserved nature of their surfaces and boulders, as well as their scattered and continuous age distribution due to long-lived erosion since deposition. Here, we dated with 10Be, two imbricated moraines near Yadong in southern Tibet, as MIS-2 and 6, showing that the most extensive, smooth surfaces were abandoned during MIS-6. Compiling published data from 54 MIS-6 moraines on the Tibetan Plateau reveals that they exist in most regions, dry or humid. They are particularly well-preserved (sharp crests) in eastern and northern Tibet, while in southern and central Tibet, their crests are rounded to sub-rounded. Because both MIS-2 and 6 were equally cold, and because MIS-6 moraines are much more extensive than those from the LGM, we conclude that MIS-6 glacial advances were controlled by more abundant precipitation than during MIS-2. This would be consistent with the peak in Asian monsoon during MIS-6, revealed by sediments from the South China Sea.     

Sedimentary Record of the Younger Saalian Ice Margin Stagnation in Eastern Poland: Development of a Regular Pattern of Glaciolacustrine Kames

Glaciolacustrine kames in the Bielsk Podlaski area (eastern Poland) exhibit a unique regular pattern. Three representative morphological kame types were chosen for detailed sedimentological analyses, specifically: isolated, isometric mounds; isolated, elongated hills; and branching ridges. All types comprised fine‐grained sandy and sandy/silty deposits. Lithofacies analysis resulted in the distinction of several lithofacies associations. Associations dominated by medium‐ or large‐scale, massive or horizontally laminated sands are interpreted as proximal subaqueous fans; associations dominated by medium‐ or small‐scale lithofacies of ripple‐drift cross‐laminated sand are interpreted as distal subaqueous fans; and those dominated by sandy/silty, silty or silty/clayey lithofacies with horizontal lamination are interpreted as lake bottomsets. Rates of sediment accumulation appear to have been fast, resulting in syndepositional and metadepositional deformation structures of two types: water‐escape structures, and slumps on subaqueous slopes. After the ice‐walled lake basins filled with sediment, glaciofluvial erosion and deposition alternated, resulting in erosional channels of up to 1 m deep, later filled with gravel or gravely sand. The results indicate that kames developed in a supraglacial environment within a topography of ice‐cored moraines containing ice‐walled lakes that persisted due to the presence of permafrost. Pauses during retreat of the ice walls resulted in ice‐contact deformations at the edges of the kames. Kame formation is therefore consistent with a continental climate and this may explain the increased abundance of this type of kame system in Eastern Europe.     

藏东南地区冰碛物斜坡钢花管注浆加固试验研究

本文以藏东南地区帕隆藏布流域冰碛物斜坡为例,针对其架空结构较多、固结程度欠佳的特点,提出钢花管注浆加固技术。通过15个注浆孔现场注浆、现场开挖、取样测试等,探讨其施工工艺及加固效果,并结合FLAC3D数值模拟,进一步阐明其加固机理及设计方法。研究结果表明,冰碛物浅表层注浆有效加固半径为20~55 cm,浆液扩展路径与架空结构展布息息相关;注浆加固后土体粘聚力、内摩擦角、压缩模量均得到改善,竖直渗透系数变小;其注浆压力宜采用0.5~1.0 MPa;水灰比宜选用2、1;注浆孔间距与有效加固半径的比值不宜大于8。通过现场试验,形成一套基于3.5 m³空压机、YT28型凿岩机、空心自钻式锚杆及气动式注浆机的花管注浆工艺,轻便快捷,施工效率高,尤其适用于交通不便、施工条件差的情形。     

祁连山第四纪冰碛物的ESR测年研究

论述了ＥＳＲ测年的原理和方法,并利用ＥＳＲ测年方法对祁连山的冷龙岭和走廊南山的摆浪河流域第四纪冰碛物进行了年代测定,结果表明,冰碛物样品的ＥＳＲ年龄与野外地层对比推测的年龄和和＾１４Ｃ、ＴＬ测定的年龄基本一致,且同一冰碛物不同位位置采集的样品年龄也一致,说明本次测定的冰碛物年龄是可信及可靠的。     

ESR dating of glacial moraine deposits: Some insights about the resetting of the germanium (Ge) signal measured in quartz

The electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of tills using germanium-doped (Ge) paramagnetic centers in quartz has advantages over other dating techniques, as quartz is common, processing is easy, and the technique has the potential for dating features several hundreds of thousands years old. ESR dating of moraines is based on the supposition that either subglacial comminution or exposure to sunlight resets the signal. However, actual dating suggests that a signal that is initially present cannot be bleached to zero by grinding alone. We found that grinding coarse samples (0.5–1 mm in diameter) to the mean grain size of fine sand (0.125–0.193 mm) reduced the signal intensity to 53–69% of its original value. From the value of the signal difference, one can devise a correction factor for ESR ages of subglacial sediment. Polymineralic grains are commonly present in till. Exposure of them to sunlight for several days can reduce the signal intensity to 7–8% of its original value within 1–2 mm thick of the sediment surface. However, within 5–8 mm of the sediment surface, exposure to sunlight for over one week only reduced the signal intensity to mean plateau values of 42–50% of the initial value. Mixing upper and lower layers of the samples during exposure to sunlight changed the signal intensity. This suggests that the amount of bleaching varies spatially. Sediments initially deposited at the margins of ice caps or ice sheets and subsequently overridden may have been sufficiently exposed to sunlight to allow ESR dating of moraines. The purity of the quartz and the grain size have significant impacts on signal intensity; intensive purification and the use of a uniform fine sand fraction are thus recommended.