Dynamic early Holocene vegetation development on the Faroe Islands inferred from high-resolution plant macrofossil and pollen data

Vegetation dynamics during the earliest part of the Holocene (11,250-10,250 cal yr BP) have been reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence on Sandoy, the Faroe Islands, using detailed plant macrofossil and pollen evidence. The plant macrofossils suggest the initial vegetation was sparse herb and shrub tundra, with Salix herbacea and open-ground species, followed by the development of a denser and more species-rich arctic heathland after 11,150 cal yr BP. Despite high pollen values for Betula nana, macrofossils are rare. The bulk of the macrofossils recorded are S. herbacea and Empetrum leaves with numerous herb taxa and an abundance of Racomitrium moss. Conditions start to change around 10,800 cal yr BP, with increased catchment erosion and sediment delivery to the lake from ca. 10,600 cal yr BP, and a transition to alternating Cyperaceae and Poaceae communities between ca. 10,450 and 10,250 cal yr BP. This vegetation change, which has been recorded throughout the Faroes, has previously been interpreted as a retrogressive shift from woody shrubs to a herbaceous community. The detailed plant macrofossil data show the shift is the replacement of an Empetrum arctic heathland by grassland and moist sedge communities. These taxa dominate the modern landscape.     

Bovid mortality profiles in paleoecological context falsify hypotheses of endurance running–hunting and passive scavenging by early Pleistocene hominins

The world’s first archaeological traces from 2.6 million years ago (Ma) at Gona, in Ethiopia, include sharp-edged cutting tools and cut-marked animal bones, which indicate consumption of skeletal muscle by early hominin butchers. From that point, evidence of hominin meat-eating becomes increasingly more common throughout the Pleistocene archaeological record. Thus, the substantive debate about hominin meat-eating now centers on mode(s) of carcass resource acquisition. Two prominent hypotheses suggest, alternatively, (1) that early Homo hunted ungulate prey by running them to physiological failure and then dispatching them, or (2) that early Homo was relegated to passively scavenging carcass residues abandoned by carnivore predators. Various paleontologically testable predictions can be formulated for both hypotheses. Here we test four predictions concerning age-frequency distributions for bovids that contributed carcass remains to the 1.8 Ma. old FLK 22 Zinjanthropus (FLK Zinj, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) fauna, which zooarchaeological and taphonomic data indicate was formed predominantly by early Homo. In all but one case, the bovid mortality data from FLK Zinj violate test predictions of the endurance running-hunting and passive scavenging hypotheses. When combined with other taphonomic data, these results falsify both hypotheses, and lead to the hypothesis that early Homo operated successfully as an ambush predator.     

塔里木盆地西北缘早二叠世后碰撞花岗质岩浆活动及其构造意义

塔里木地块西北缘的阔什布拉克钾长花岗岩富碱（Na2O+K2O平均836％>8％）,富钾（K2O/Na2O=127～147）,准铝质（A/CNK=082～088）,属于高钾钙碱性系列岩浆岩。岩石的稀土含量较高（ΣREE=26390×10-6～44575×10-6）,富集Th、U、Ta、Nb、Hf和Y等高场强元素和大离子亲石元素Rb,具有强的负Eu异常（δEu=0003～0019）,富集高不相容元素（Zr＋Nb＋Ce＋Y=368×10-6～531×10-6>350×10-6),高Ga（Ga/Al×10〖CS％0,0,0,0〗〖CS〗000=417～472>26）,显示出A型花岗岩的地球化学特征。岩石Th/U比值（平均为386）、Nb/Ta比值（平均为1275）和Rb Th富集、Ti亏损指示其壳源成因。对花岗岩进行的LA ICP MS微区原位锆石 U Pb 定年结果表明,花岗岩的结晶侵位年龄为2754±28 Ma。综合西南天山与塔里木盆地早二叠世花岗质岩浆活动的特点,认为早二叠世西南天山的后碰撞岩浆活动不仅在西南天山内部引起了强烈的花岗质岩浆活动,而且对塔里木地块西北边缘的花岗质岩浆活动也有显著的影响。阔什布拉克A型花岗岩也说明西南天山地区的碰撞造山作用在2754±28 Ma之前已经趋于结束,以南天山洋盆为代表的古亚洲洋已基本结束了其演化历史。     

晚古生代古亚洲洋俯冲作用:来自珲春前山镁铁质侵入岩的年代学和地球化学记录

珲春地区前山镁铁质侵入岩主要由橄榄辉长岩、苏长岩和辉长闪长岩组成,形成年龄273±2Ma,为早二叠世侵入岩。该岩体显示出岛弧拉斑玄武岩的元素地球化学特征,弱富集LREE且正Eu(Eu/Eu*=1.05～1.44)异常的REE配分模式,在不相容元素中富集大离子亲石元素(LILE)如Ba和Sr,亏损高场强元素(HFSE)(La/Nb=2.8～4.8;Zr/Sm=8.0～22.5),与起源于流体交代地幔楔部分熔融的岛弧低钾拉斑玄武岩类似。在同位素特征上低放射成因Sr,高放射成因Nd和Hf(87Sr/86Sr(i)=0.70295～0.70375;εNd(t)=+4.5～+6.4;εHf(t)=+9.6～+14.6),反映其来源于同位素组成亏损的交代地幔。结合区域地质背景,我们认为前山镁铁质岩形成于晚古生代期间古亚洲洋向华北板块的俯冲作用背景,其亏损Nb-Ta、Zr-Hf及Hf-Nd同位素解耦特点说明该岩体最有可能来源于俯冲流体交代的地幔楔。     

华北及其以北地区晚古生代—早中生代构造格架主体特点

从全球尺度对原大西洋与古亚洲洋构造域大地构造旋回及其演化特征进行对比研究,有助于了解巨型构造域内的区域构造演化的关联性。建立古大陆构造单元属性"动态行为"的理念,将复合造山区与毗邻大地构造单元进行关联分析,揭示出华北前陆盆地的形成发展与毗邻复合造山区的构造演化进程密切相关。华北及其以北地区晚古生代—早中生代构造格架的主体特点是:1)蒙古—兴安复合造山区发育石炭纪—二叠纪陆表海盆地、裂陷槽和上叠盆地,及三叠纪的山间盆地;2)华北前陆盆地与复合造山区构造演化进程同步,在古陆上形成石炭纪海相和海陆交互相沉积,二叠纪—中三叠世的陆相沉积,以发育红层和局部形成膏盐为特点;3)原华北古陆北缘"构造岩浆活化带"属晚古生代—早中生代蒙古—兴安复合造山区最南端的构造单元,具有构造前锋带属性。     

华南地区早古生代沉积演化与油气地质条件

从构造角度上,现今的华南地区可以分为扬子地块和华夏地块,从成冰纪(南华纪)开始,由于受基底性质和构造活动等因素的影响,华南地区的沉积演化出现了分异,在扬子地块和华夏地块具有不同的沉积环境和沉积充填序列。总体上讲,扬子地块主体属于克拉通盆地,其多数时期为陆表海和局限浅海环境,构建了稳定的碳酸盐台地沉积和广泛分布的黑页岩沉积;而华夏地块处于构造活动环境,早期火山活动强烈,属于裂陷盆地,未形成统一的碳酸盐台地沉积,以陆源碎屑沉积充填为主体。两者不同的沉积环境和沉积序列决定了两个地区油气基本地质条件的差异:扬子地块具有丰富的烃源岩、良好的储集层以及封盖层的先天条件,而华夏地块没有较好的生油层和储集层。因此,在针对以早古生代地层为目的层的油气勘探工作部署时,应优先集中在扬子地块区。     

海拉尔盆地查干诺尔凹陷扎赉诺尔群孢粉组合

内蒙古自治区呼伦贝尔盟地区海拉尔盆地查干诺尔凹陷扎赉诺尔群自下而上划分为4个孢粉组合。云杉粉Piceaepollenites sp.-单束松粉Abietineaepollenites sp.-三角粒面孢Granulatisporites sp.组合,分布于大磨拐河组一段;罗汉松粉Podocarpidites sp.-双束松粉Pinuspollenites sp.-无突肋纹孢Cicatricosisporites sp.组合,分布于大磨拐河组二段;无突肋纹孢Cicatricosisporites sp.-刺毛孢Pilosisporite sp.-水龙骨单缝孢Polypodiaceaesporites sp.组合,分布于伊敏组一段;有突肋纹孢Appendicisporites sp.-桫椤孢Cyathidites sp.-星粉Astropollis sp.组合,分布于伊敏组二、三段。上述孢粉组合研究证明,大磨拐河组地质时代为早白垩世凡兰吟期—欧特里夫期(Valanginian-Hauterivian),尽管没有出现最原始的被子植物花粉,但也不排除部分进入巴列姆期(Barremian)的可能,伊敏组的地质时代为早白垩世巴列姆期-阿普第期(Barremian-Aptian)。据此认为扎赉诺尔群地质时代为早白垩世凡兰吟期—阿普第期(Valanginian-Aptian)。     

Characteristics and tectonic setting of volcanic rocks in Early Cretaceous Baiyingaolao Formation of Keyouzhongqi area，Inner Mongolia

The authors studied zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating,the zircon Hf isotope and geochemistry of acidic volcanic rocks in Baiyingaolao Formation of Keyouzhongqi area,Inner Mongolia,and discussed the chronology, source region and tectonic setting of the volcanic rocks in the studied area． The clear oscillatory zoning of zir- cons indicates a typical magmatic origin,and the results of dating show that the volcanic rocks of Baiyingaolao Formation were formed in Early Cretaceous (121.5 ±1.0 Ma)． The features of major and trace elements show that the rocks are alkali-rich,poor in calcium and magnesium with enrichment in LILEs like Th,U,K and Gd and depletion in HFSEs,e.g. Nb,Ta,Sr and Ti． The fact implies that they were the products of partial melting of the crust． εHf(t) = ( +6.30--+9.06) and TDM2=600--835 Ma,suggest the magma originated from par- tial melting of the young crust． Combined with the evolution of regional tectonic structure,the authors conclude that the acidic volcanic rocks of Baiyingaolao Formation may be formed under the extensional environment relat- ed to the subduction of Paleo-Pacific Plate．     

江南南部初夏雨季的降水和环流气候特征

基于1961～2010年气象台站逐日降水资料、同期美国NCEP/NCAR的逐日再分析格点资料,通过气候平均、REOF分析、聚类分析等方法,分析了江南地区初夏降水的地域性和时段性特征,及西太平洋副高和高、低空急流等大气环流的相应演变过程。结果发现:（1）江南南部27.5°～29.5°N存在一个独立于华南前汛期和江淮梅雨的初夏雨季,该雨季平均发生时间为6月11～30日,比江淮梅雨早约8天左右。（2）西太平洋副高的西伸东退是江南南部初夏雨季发生发展的重要环流背景,6月第2候副高发生突变性加速西伸之后雨季开始,雨季期间850 hPa副高西伸脊点基本稳定在最西位置即133°E附近,6月第6候副高东退北抬后雨季结束。（3）低层急流大风带的形成和位置是江南南部初夏雨季阶段的重要动力条件,印度洋和孟加拉湾向东北延伸的低层急流与西太平洋副高西北侧的气流连通形成低层急流大风带,并与北侧上空的高空急流耦合,降水集中区位于低层急流大风带左侧、高空急流入口区右侧。     

Eocene oil shales from Jordan – Paleoenvironmental implications from reworked microfossils

Reworked microfossils, common in Paleogene sediments in Jordan, are here used to reconstruct the depositional environment. The reworked taxa, which include both calcareous nannofossils and foraminifera of Cretaceous and Paleocene age, were found in Eocene oil shales. The potential provenance of the reworked material and the underlying processes of the reworking are discussed. We differentiate between a subaerial erosion of exposed hinterland strata and a submarine abrasion of sediments.A total of 73 smear slides have been prepared to identify calcareous nannofossils, another fifteen samples were analyzed for foraminifera. The allochthonous calcareous nannofossil and foraminifera taxa can be linked to a lithified source, which was eroded and transported with both calcitic lithic fragments and organic matter. Multiple factors controlling the transport of the reworked taxa during the time of deposition have been investigated for the Jordanian oil shales. Climate changes are thought to be the cause for changes in the abundance patterns and in the composition of the reworked taxa. The input of common autochthonous components during arid phases and more allochthonous sediment particles during humid periods filled the Eocene sink. A fall in relative sea level, perhaps in combination with increased storm activity, caused a transport of reworked material to deeper parts of the Azraq Hamza Sub-basin. The relative sea level changes in turn were related to syndepositional movements, redefining the shape of the Azraq Hamza Sub-basin and its internal fault-block architecture.