Simultaneous thin section and phytolith observations of finely stratified deposits from Neolithic Çatalhöyük,Turkey: implications for paleoeconomy and Early Holocene paleoenvironment

Simultaneous thin section and phytolith observations of finely stratified anthropogenic deposits from the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, dated between 7400 and 6000 BC provide evidence for both the depositional context and phytolith assemblage of these deposits. Although extracted phytoliths provide a general picture of vegetation that supports existing evidence of a local wet marshland environment, comparisons with observations of phytoliths in situ indicate a diverse range of microcontexts, as well as depositional and post‐depositional processes that influence phytolith size. This has implications for studies that use conjoined phytolith size as a proxy for water availability and early agricultural practices. Observations indicate a significant background noise of phytoliths and micro‐charcoal in the deposits, linked to the frequent use of fire, which has implications for interpreting assemblages where phytolith counts are low, such as from floors of buildings. This study confirms the usefulness of phytoliths in providing information on human plant use and environment where the taphonomy of the deposits is clear, and provides new evidence for wet farming of at least some of the wheat found at the site. It also suggests there needs to be greater consideration of phytolith taphonomy, which can be provided to an extent by combining phytolith analysis with thin section micromorphology. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Periglacial landscape evolution and environmental changes of Arctic lowland areas for the last 60 000 years (western Laptev Sea coast, Cape Mamontov Klyk)

Non-glaciated Arctic lowlands in north-east Siberia were subjected to extensive landscape and environmental changes during the Late Quaternary. Coastal cliffs along the Arctic shelf seas expose terrestrial archives containing numerous palaeoenvironmental indicators (e.g., pollen, plant macro-fossils and mammal fossils) preserved in the permafrost. The presented sedimentological (grain size, magnetic susceptibility and biogeochemical parameters), cryolithological, geochronological (radiocarbon, accelerator mass spectrometry and infrared-stimulated luminescence), heavy mineral and palaeoecological records from Cape Mamontov Klyk record the environmental dynamics of an Arctic shelf lowland east of the Taymyr Peninsula, and thus, near the eastern edge of the Eurasian ice sheet, over the last 60 Ky. This region is also considered to be the westernmost part of Beringia, the non-glaciated landmass that lay between the Eurasian and the Laurentian ice caps during the Late Pleistocene. Several units and subunits of sand deposits, peat–sand alternations, ice-rich palaeocryosol sequences (Ice Complex) and peaty fillings of thermokarst depressions and valleys were presented. The recorded proxy data sets reflect cold stadial climate conditions between 60 and 50 Kya, moderate inderstadial conditions between 50 and 25 Kya and cold stadial conditions from 25 to 15 Kya. The Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition, including the Allerød warm period, the early to middle Holocene thermal optimum and the late Holocene cooling, are also recorded. Three phases of landscape dynamic (fluvial/alluvial, irregular slope run-off and thermokarst) were presented in a schematic model, and were subsequently correlated with the supraregional environmental history between the Early Weichselian and the Holocene.     

Late Miocene fish otoliths from the Colombacci Formation (Northern Apennines,Italy): implications for the Messinian ‘Lago‐mare’ event

A fish otolith assemblage from the Messinian ‘Lago‐mare’ deposits of the Colombacci Formation cropping out in the Montecalvo in Foglia Syncline, Marche, central Italy, is described. The assemblage displays a low diversity and consists of seven taxa belonging to three families: the Gobiidae, Myctophidae and Sciaenidae. Sciaenid otoliths are the most abundant elements representing 88% of the entire assemblage. The palaeoecological analysis reveals a coastal shallow marine environment strongly influenced by continental outflow. The low diversity and high abundance of the euryecious sciaenids are indicative of a very simplified food web, which probably represented an ecological response to the fluctuating environmental parameters and available food resources. The fish remains documented here provide an unambiguous evidence that normal marine conditions were present in the Mediterranean, at least in the upper part of the ‘Lago‐mare’ event, and unquestionably demonstrate that the marine refilling preceded the Mio‐Pliocene boundary. These findings clearly demonstrate that fishes, because of their mobility and migratory behaviour, represent a useful tool for the large‐scale interpretation of the environmental conditions of the Messinian Mediterranean water body. The necessity of a new scenario of palaeoenvironmental evolution for the post‐evaporitic Messinian of the Mediterranean is also discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

淄博地区上新世巴漏河组的发现及意义

上新世巴漏河组在淄博地区的发现填补了该地区上新统的空白。阐述了巴漏河组的空间展布特征及其对新构造运动的指示意义 ;综合运用沉积岩相分析、孢粉分析、岩石化学分析等方法对巴漏河组剖面进行了系统研究 ,分析了其成因及形成时代 ,重建了淄博地区上新世晚期的沉积、生态及气候等古地理环境。认为巴漏河组是在上新世晚期由河流搬运堆积形成 ,在其沉积过程中 ,淄博地区的植被由针阔混交林演替为以松为主的针叶林 ,气候由暖湿的暖温带气候向冷湿气候变迁 ,并呈现出进一步干冷化的趋势     

珠江三角洲全新世软体动物群记录与古环境演化

对珠江三角洲中部中山市东升镇附近PRD11孔的岩性和软体动物的分布特征进行分析,并与邻近的PRD10孔以及珠三角其他位置的钻孔记录比较。结果表明：受海平面变化、河流作用和构造升降影响,研究区晚第四纪经历了5个环境阶段：1）约9 010 cal. a B.P.以前,钻孔所在地暴露地表,沉积物遭受风化剥蚀,形成杂色黏土;2）9 010―7 000 cal. a B.P.为全新世大海侵时期,研究区开始发育河口湾环境;3）7 000―5 460 cal. a B.P.,研究区水深短暂下降;4）5 460―3 340 cal. a B.P.水深有所加大,并在约4 546 cal. a B.P.时达到全孔最大水深;5）约3 340 cal. a B.P.以来海水逐渐退出研究区,河流作用增强,研究区逐渐演变为上三角洲平原环境。     

Mikulino and Valdai palaeoenvironments in the Vologda area, NW Russia

Nine representative sediment sequences and pollen diagrams obtained during the Quaternary mapping programme carried out by the Geological Expedition (St. Petersburg, Russia) between 1960s and 1980s are presented from the Vologda area, NW Russian Plain, covering the time span from the Moscow cold (Saale) stage into the Late Valdai (Weichsel) substage. This work was done in order to shed light on the evolution of palaeoenvironments, vegetation and climate in the area. The results suggest that two major depressions in the Vologda area, namely the Mologa–Sheksnian and Prisukhonian basins, witnessed lake level fluctuations that were most likely closely linked to climatic fluctuations. It is suggested that during the Mikulino (Eem) thermal optimum most of the lowland areas were dry land. However, during the Early and Middle Valdai, the large depressions started to flood as a result of wet and cold climate. This caused the accumulation of lacustrine and also lacustrine–alluvial and lacustrine–bog sediments into the basins. The Valdai forest composition varied between closed spruce–birch forests and treeless tundra. Lakes persisted throughout the Valdai stage including the extremely dry last glacial maximum (LGM)-time when the Scandinavian Ice Sheet dammed the northbound rivers in the Vologda area.     

Archaebacterial ether lipids: Natural tracers of biogeochemical processes

Methanogen ether lipids have been quantified in sediments from a Florida swamp and the Atlantic ocean. Swamp cores containing acyclic and monocyclic isopranyl ethers are clearly differentiated from deep sea sediments which also contain bicyclic compounds. A concentration maximum near the bottom of the sulfate reducing zone in deep sea sediments may reflect a biogeochemical system in which methanogenesis and sulfate reduction are coupled by the process of methane oxidation. Lipid diagenesis is evident in the deep sea sediments. Species zonation, possibly caused by oxygen sensitivity, is detected in the relative lipid abundances in swamp sediments.     

苏北浅滩钙结核的特征及其环境指示意义

对采自苏北浅滩的钙结核样品进行了岩石学、矿物学和碳氧同位素的分析。样品富含石英和长石砂屑,碳酸钙胶结,其碳和氧同位素组成分别为-8.38‰~-8.19‰V-PDB及-5.23‰~-5.03‰V-PDB。根据样品的氧同位素组成,利用碳酸盐-水体系氧同位素方程,结合现今底层水温度,并考虑可能存在的温度变化,计算得到古沉淀流体的δ18 O水范围为-4.72‰~-4.52‰VSMOW,较正常海水偏负,认为钙结核的形成可能受到了淡水影响。根据结核中碎屑矿物的成分及其成熟度,判断其包含的碎屑矿物源自古黄河,认为这些结核样品可能形成于海陆交互环境,形成时间约为7~6.5ka BP左右,当时古海平面高度比现今低10m左右,古黄河河道可能位于苏北浅滩附近。     

辽宁眼前山铁矿元素地球化学特征与沉积古环境研究

辽宁眼前山铁矿位于鞍山地区南北向和东西向铁矿构造变形带的复合部位,为鞍山地区鞍山式铁矿床的典型代表。本文对眼前山铁矿的岩石学、矿物学进行了研究,对该区铁建造和围岩的主量和微量元素地球化学进行了分析。该区铁建造以条带状为主,少量为块状,其顶底板围岩及矿体夹层主要为太古宇鞍山群千枚岩。主量分析结果表明,铁矿石主要由Si O2和铁的氧化物组成,Al2O3含量较低,LOI较大。矿石微量元素分配曲线属于右倾型,强不相容元素和大离子亲石元素富集,具有显著的Eu正异常,是海底高温热液(300℃)与海水混合的结果,表明了该区BIF形成与海底热液活动关系密切。该区BIF中富集重稀土元素,Y/Ho大于26,La和Eu具有正异常。由于缺少陆源碎屑物质,要形成稳定的条带状构造,推断该区的BIF形成于海水深度大于200 m的浅海环境,形成机制应该是富含铁的海底热液运移到相对浅水区发生氧化沉积所致。通过A-C-FM原岩恢复,结合Zr/Ti O2-Ni图解可知千枚岩为变质沉积岩;Sm/Nd比值也显示了沉积岩的特点。该区千枚岩中Th的变化范围为7.9×10-6~22.5×10-6,平均为15.8×10-6;La的变化范围为17.9×10-6~71.7×10-6,平均为38.4×10-6;La/Sc的平均值为2.3;Th/Sc的平均值为1.0;La/Th的平均值为2.4。这些值都接近大陆岛弧沉积岩特征。综合分析认为,眼前山铁矿成矿环境相当于弧后盆地。     

河北省白洋淀地区中全新世丽蚌动物群及其生态环境意义

丽蚌动物群的分布受气候和地理环境控制,研究地层中的丽蚌动物群可以恢复当时的古环境。在河北省白洋淀地区全新统共发现13种珠蚌科(Unionidae)的化石,属 Lamprotula-Cuneopsis-Unio 组合,称为白洋淀丽蚌动物群。该动物群与长江中下游流域太湖、鄱阳湖、洞庭湖及其周围水域的现代丽蚌动物群和山东王因、河南西水坡中全新世丽蚌动物群相比,虽然分异度低,但其组合特征相似,同属东洋界中印亚界动物地理区,生活于亚热带湿热气候下的河湖环境中。推测白洋淀丽蚌动物群的生活时代应为中全新世早期,当时北亚热带和东洋界的北界应在白洋淀以北的京津-河套一带。