Variability in biomarkers of different saline basins in China

42 samples (sediments and crude oils) from 5 different saline/hypersaline basins of China were examined using variety of geochemical techniques. A pronounced even over odd distribution ofn-alkanes is observed for the Ejinur, Jianghan samples. Abundance of isoprenoid alkanes, dominated by phytane (C₂₀ up to 20 per cent in EOM), and C₂₅ and C₃₀ components is another outstanding feature of these studied lacustrine hypersaline settings, indicating important contributuions from archaebacteria. Gammacerane is a major component of some Eocene Jiangham samples and Cretaceous Taian sediments. Absolute concentration of phytane and gammacerane appears to be linearly related to chlorine and residual (reduced) sulfur contents of sediments from Jianghan basin, suggesting sulfur incoporation might have played an important role in the enhacement of these biomarkers in the anoxic hypersaline, alkaline settings. Wide range of organic sulfur compounds in immature samples of Jianghan Basin reflects a significant pathway for sulfur incorporation under hypersaline, extremely anoxic/reducing conditions, although for some structures a direct origin from some sulfur archaebacteria can not be excluded. Brackish salt marsh sediment and oil from Lenghu depression contain abundant lupane, strong OEP inn-alkane series, and predominance of C₂₉ steranes, suggesting a markedly input from vascular higher plants. The marginal marine evaporate sediments from the hypersaline Triassic Yangtze Platform is unique for its predominant, complete series of isoprenoid alkanes up to C₃₆ (abundant) and C₄₀ (trace). These long-chain isoprenoids are probably derived from phytoplanktons in addition to archaebacteria. The marked difference in biomarker distributions from the various suites of samples support that application of these biomarkers to help effectively characterize different saline basins. The molecular variation is, however, not only due to their discrepancy in biological sources, but also the extension of sulfate reduction and the availability of metal ions during early diagenesis.     

云南腾冲新近系樟科润楠属两种化石及其古环境意义

角质层微细构造特征是化石植物鉴定的重要依据,实验研究了云南腾冲新近系樟科润楠属薄叶润楠Machilus leptophylla和长梗润楠(近似种)Machilus cf. longipedicellata两个化石种的表皮微细构造特征,并与现存对应种类进行了表皮构造和叶结构特征的对比分析,补充证实了两化石种均属于自然分类属性。丰富了我国樟科润楠属化石记录。鉴于大气CO2浓度与植物叶片气孔指数呈负相关关系,Machilus叶片可以作为大气CO2浓度的生物指示器。研究表明,利用该类化石叶片气孔参数可推测地史时期古大气CO2浓度,揭示了新近纪滇西地区为温暖湿润性气候。     

珠江三角洲PRD05孔的高分辨率介形类记录与晚第四纪古环境重建*

对珠江三角洲西江河口附近PRD05孔（113°11′ 02″E,22°31′24″N）的岩性和介形类的高分辨率分析表明,受海平面变化和河流作用的影响,研究区晚第四纪经历了多次环境变化。26600\{a BP\}以前为河流环境,底部为河道沙砾沉积,随后水动力条件减弱,发育河漫滩沉积。26600—13400\{a BP\} 前期发育泛滥平原相沉积,后期受末次冰期的影响,本区暴露地表遭受风化剥蚀,泛滥平原相沉积的上部风化成杂色黏土。珠江口地区冰后期海侵应开始于约13400\{a BP\}。13400—9000\{a BP\}为海侵初期,本区形成沼泽相沉积。9000—4850\{a BP\}为全新世大海侵时期,本区为持续的河口海湾环境,发育以海相—半咸水型为主的介形类动物群,发生了3次小规模的海平面波动,导致水体条件发生变化,从而影响了介形类动物群的组成和丰度。最大海侵发生于7500—7140\{a BP\}之间,PRD05孔主要介形类属种的丰度在这一阶段达到全新世最大值。4850\{a BP\}以来为持续海退期,河流作用增强,本区逐渐转变为上三角洲平原环境。     

Morphometric analysis of sediment conduits on a bathymetric high: Implications for palaeoenvironment and hydrocarbon prospectivity

Canyons and other sediment conduits are important components of the deep‐water environment and are the main pathways for sediment transport from the shelf to the basin floor. Using 3‐D and 2‐D seismic reflection data, seismic facies and statistical morphometric analyses, this study showed the architectural evolution of five canyons, two slide scars and four gullies on the southern part of the Loppa High, Barents Sea. Morphometric parameters such as thalweg depth (lowest point on a conduit's base), wall depth (middle point), height, width and base width, sinuosity, thalweg gradient, aspect ratio (width/height) and cross‐sectional area of the conduits were measured at intervals of 250‐m perpendicular to the conduits’ pathways. Our results show that the canyons and slide scars in the study area widen down slope, whereas the gullies are narrow and short with uniform widths. The sediment conduits in the study area evolved in three stages. The first stage is correlated with a time when erosion and bypass were dominant in the conduits, and sediment transferred to the basin in the south. The second stage occurred when basin subsidence was prevalent, and a widespread fine‐grained sequence was deposited as a drape blanketing the canyons and other conduits. A final stage occurred when uplift and glacial erosion configured the entire southern Loppa High into an area of denudation. Our work demonstrates that the morphometric parameters of the canyons, slide scars and gullies generally have increasing linear trends with down‐slope distance, irrespective of their geometries. The morphometric analysis of the sediment conduits in the study area has wider applications for understanding depositional processes, reservoir distribution and petroleum prospectivity in frontier basins.     

准噶尔盆地的侏罗系

简介了准噶尔盆地周边侏罗系各岩组的沉积特征及所含生物群面貌。根据生物群纵向演变规律和横向对比，将八道湾组的时代归于早侏罗世早期，不排除其底部为晚三叠世的可能；三工河组为早侏罗世晚期至中侏罗世早期；头屯河组与盆地东北缘五彩湾组相当，属中侏罗世晚期。早、中侏罗世准噶尔盆地气候温暖潮湿，盆地边缘以河流沼泽相为主，是重要成煤时期，中侏罗世晚期以后，盆地开始抬升，盆地边缘以河流相为主，气候变干热，除东北缘外，生物贫乏；晚侏罗世时，盆地受燕山运动影响，激烈抬升，边缘形成河流相或山麓河流相粗碎屑沉积，伴随有强烈的火山活动。     

Foraminifera from the Vectis Formation (Wealden Group, Lower Cretaceous) of the Wessex Sub-basin, southern England: a preliminary account

Foraminifera are documented from the uppermost part of the essentially lagoonal Vectis Formation (Barremian to possibly early Aptian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England. Monospecific and low-diversity influxes of indigenous agglutinated taxa are identified from claystones of mudflat or subaqueous origin, and their palaeoecological significance is assessed. In contrast, reworked Upper Jurassic foraminifera are associated with coarser-grained bioclastic deposits and indicate the proximity of the Wessex Sub-basin margin, immediately to the north.     

Quaternary fossil fauna from the Luangwa Valley,Zambia

This paper describes a large collection of Quaternary fossil fauna from the Luangwa Rift Valley, Zambia. Stone Age artefacts have been recovered from stratified fluvial contexts, but no in situ fossil faunas have yet been recovered. We report on 500 fossil specimens collected from the surface of point bars exposed seasonally along the banks of the main Luangwa River channel. We used non‐destructive X‐ray fluorescence analysis of the fossils' chemical signatures to determine whether they derive from one or many primary contexts, and the relationship between chemical signature and state of preservation. Specimens are identified to taxon (genus) to reconstruct palaeoenvironments and biochronology. A relatively wide range of taxa is identified, including a fossil hominin talus, described here. None of the fossils is positively attributable to extinct species, except a femur of an extinct Theropithecus reported in 2003. Although no additional extinct taxa were identified, some of the remains were attributable to genera that are not currently found in this region. The results suggest that most of the assemblage derives from sediments which are Middle Pleistocene or later, and that past environments in the Luangwa Valley may have differed from the habitat availability found today.     

山西太原早二叠世一种新的莲座蕨目植物及古植物地理学和古环境意义?

报道了山西太原西山煤田早二叠世早期太原组7号煤层煤核中一种具解剖构造的两侧对称的莲座蕨目聚合囊，这是目前为止华夏植物区已知地质时代最早的两侧对称的莲座蕨目聚合囊。经对比研究，将当前标本归入始莲座蕨属Eoangiopteris Mamay，并建立一新种：山西始莲座蕨E.shanxiensis sp. nov.。新种的主要特征：生殖小羽片至少2.6 mm宽，长度不明，中脉具一“C”形维管束。小羽片明显背卷，但没有影响到聚合囊的排列。聚合囊两侧对称，长0.75~1.1 mm，宽0.35~0.55 mm，由8~12枚孢子囊构成，孢子囊侧向相互接触。聚合囊具短而明显的托，由薄壁组织包围着维管组织构成。孢子囊直径150~250 mm，高550~850 mm，纵切面上呈筒状，具明显的实心的顶端。孢子囊面向外的壁在中下部为2~3层细胞厚，在顶端为3~4层细胞厚，细胞近等径，壁较厚；侧壁和面向内的壁1层细胞厚，在孢子囊中下部呈弦向伸长状，在顶端则呈径向伸长状，壁较薄。孢子数量多，可达1 000粒以上，小，近球形，直径8~13 mm，具三缝构造，孢子壁由外壁和周壁构成，外壁光滑，周壁具细颗粒纹饰。讨论了本新种的系统分类位置，很可能属于辉木科。根据欧美植物区和华夏植物区两侧对称的莲座蕨目聚合囊的分布特征探讨了本新种的古植物地理学意义。并结合7号煤层煤核中植物化石的组成特征和一些植物的生态解剖学构造简要探讨了本新种的生活环境特征。     

准噶尔盆地地壳动力学与油气储集层沉积相模型

本文以地壳动力学观点对准噶尔盆地发生、发育序列进行了探讨。该盆地生长序次分为五个阶段：①前盆地发育阶段（Ｃ３前）：被动大陆边缘；②裂陷阶段（Ｃ３→Ｐ１）：火山弧后盆地－残余弧后盆地；③压陷阶段（Ｐ２→）：前陆盆地；④坳陷阶段：内陆湖泊盆地；⑤萎缩阶段（Ｒ→Ｑ）：内陆湖泊→盐湖盆地。其中，晚二叠世和中生代的压陷和坳陷阶段有利于油气储集层形成。并且建立了油气储层沉积模型：下二叠统为大陆火山喷发相→洪冲积扇相→河流相或三角洲相→海相或湖相；上二叠统和三叠系分缓坡型和陡岸型。缓坡型沉积模式为洪冲积扇相→河流相→三角洲相→滨浅湖亚相→半深湖亚相。陡岸型为洪冲积扇相→扇三角洲相→滨浅湖亚相→半深湖亚相及浊积扇相；侏罗系八道湾组和西山密组不仅为较好油气储层，同时亦为富煤单元，其沉积模式为过境河流相→冲积扇相→辫状河流相→辫状三角洲相→湖泊相，或者，洪冲积扇相→河流沼泽亚相→湖湾亚相→滨湖沼泽亚相→滨浅湖亚相。     

Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Upper Permian Maomaolong Formation in Gannan area of the West Qinling: Based on ichnonetwork analysis

The continuous Permian-Triassic strata in West Qinling represent deep-marine deposits. In this paper,abundant trace fossils(seventeen ichnospecies,twelve ichnogenera)have been identified in the Upper Permian Maomaolong Formation in the Gannan area of the western Qinling orogen. As a new ichnologic method,ichnonetwork analysis focuses on the reconstruction of the community system composed of interconnected ichnotaxa,which provides useful means for studying the behavior and ecology of ichnocoenosis. In this study,an ichnonetwork analysis is conducted with trace fossils data obtained from the first hand filed trip. The results show that ichnocoenosisis structured in the Maomaolong Formaiton,and three ichnoassociations were controlled by palaeoenvironments: Palaeophycus-Lockeia-Arenicolites-Dictyodora-Planolites-Protovirgularia-Chondrites (C1,proximal turbidite zone),Palaeophycus-Lockeia-Arenicolites-Dictyodora-Protovirgularia-Phycodes-Chondrites-Helminthopsis (C2,turbidite transition zone-distal turbidite zone),and Palaeophycus-Nereites-Scolicia-Protovirgularia-Helminthopsis (C3,distal turbidite zone). The evolution from C1 to C3 in the Upper Permian Maomaolong Formation from the Gannan area of the West Qinling reveals the palaeoenvironmental changes from proximal turbidite zone to distal turbidite zone.