Stratigraphic evidence for late-Holocene aeolian sand mobilization and soil formation in south-central Kansas, U.S.A.

Stratigraphic evidence and radiocarbon dating of sediments from the Great Bend Sand Prairie in Kansas indicates that significant deposits of aeolian sand have accumulated in the region during the late Holocene. Radiocarbon ages obtained from total humates in buried soils suggest that five periods of late-Holocene stability and soil formation are preserved in dune fields at approximately 2300, 1400, 1000, 700, 500 and 300 years B.P. Reactivation of aeolian sand in the past 1000 years has resulted in a variety of well defined, parabolic dunes. In general, events in the region correspond with established chronologies elsewhere on the Great Plains and in particular correlate well with dune fields in north-eastern Colorado. Overall, results indicate that the threshold of landscape stability on the Great Bend Sand Prairie can easily be crossed in the current climatic regime.     

The sedimentation history of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: results from analysis of seismic reflection profiles

An extensive seismic reflection profile survey conducted concurrently with a sediment coring program in northern Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel revealed a detailed Holocene lake level history. Seven acoustic sequences were identified in the seismic stratigraphy, and these sequences show great variation in both the character and the spatial distribution of sediment deposition through time. The depths to the acoustically-defined sequence boundaries were digitized from the analog seismic records and merged with Loran-C navigation records from the cruise, yielding a three-dimensional record of the location of each sequence boundary. Thicknesses of the sequences were calculated from these depths, and a minimum-curvature spline surface was fit to the thickness data. These surfaces were used to construct isopach maps which show the trends in thickness of sediment accumulation throughout the lake basins for each of the sequences. ¹⁴C-AMS dates of materials from the cores fixed the dates of the sediment sequence boundaries, allowing sediment accumulation rates to be calculated. The distribution of sedimentation in the basins as shown on the isopach maps allowed assessment of sediment transport and water flow through the basins over time, which when combined with the work of Lewis & Anderson (1989), provides a detailed record of the transport and drainage of water through these basins as the Wisconsinan ice sheet retreated and isostatic rebound opened and closed outlets. Reversals of flow direction through the Straits of Mackinac and through the channels connecting Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and the North Channel are indicated by changes in sediment thickness distributions.     

Paleolimnological analysis of Ullswater using testate amoebae

Tests of testate amoebae extracted from samples of bottom sediments from 33 tarns in the English Lake District reveal a relationship between their distribution and physical-chemical parameters of the tarn waters.Nebela and several species ofDifflugia appear to prefer more acidic conditions, i.e., pH less than 6.2, while others such asCentropyxis, Lesquereusia and some species ofCyclopyxis andDifflugia are more common in lakes with pH's above that value.Using these data, and inferring rates of sedimentation from the densities of tests found in a 6-m core, a paleolimnological history for the past 11 000 years is presented for Ullswater (English Lake District). The record of testate amoebae, beginning shortly after deglaciation, depicts an uneven increase in acidity and a history of episodes of rapid and slow deposition that correlate reasonably well with paleoclimatological changes and anthropogenic alterations in the catchment.     

四川西昌螺髻山全新世植被与环境变化

通过对沉积物进行孢粉、植物碎屑、硅藻和矿物等的研究和表土的孢粉分析,发现外来孢粉可以远远多于原地沉积的孢粉。并证明该地区在12400年B.P.时,雪线已经高于3660m,从12000年B.P.开始进入全新世。作者在文献[1]中探讨了我国大气透明度系数的空间分布及其主要影响因子。本文则探讨大气透明度系数的时间变化,特别是它的长期变化及其成因。结果发现:火山爆发可使大气透明度系数明显减小;由于人类活动影响,冬季大气透明度系数P_z、P_d有明显的减小趋势,P_2、F_d与用煤量等污染指标有很好的负相关。文中还对大气可降水含量的气候学推算方法进行了探讨。     

The upper pleistocene loess of southern Tunisia: A statement

On the Matmata Plateau, the sedimentological characteristics of the peri-desert loess and the interbedded palaeosols (particle-size distribution; chemical and mineralogical composition of major components; trace elements; clay mineral assemblage; heavy mineral assemblage; SEM-examined surficial textures of the quartz and palygorskite grains) show notable homogeneity: they also indicate its allochthonous origins (the main sedimentary source being the Great Eastern Erg), its transport as an aeolian suspension sediment prior to deposition, and moderate pedogenesis acting during deposition. The emplacement of the loess was synchronous with a ‘pluvial’ steppe palaeoenvironment moister than at present, as shown by ¹⁸O and ¹³C data. The palaeosols point to a weak pedogenesis and colluvial and alluvial reworking that were contemporary with the aeolian deposition. ¹⁴C radiometric dating suggests a main period of pluvial dust-fall/loess deposition in the Upper Pleistocene (until 10 000 yr BP) and a shorter one in the Middle Holocene.     

陕西凤太矿田层控铅锌矿床古剥蚀面与古构造对成矿的控制作用

野外和室内研究表明,凤太矿田古道盆古道岭组岩层沉积结束后,曾出露水面,致使该组顶部出现不规则古剥蚀面和喀斯特地貌,为相继沉淀的矿石提供了堆积的场所。随后,由于北东向同沉积构造的反复活动,将该区分割成一系列的凹槽,同沉积构造的活动驱动深部流体上升,形成海底喷流铅锌矿床。     

福建沿海全新世地壳垂直运动速率

本文以78个古海面遗迹为根据,运用线性相关的计算方法讨论了:(1)闽东沿海(福鼎、宁德、罗源、连江等地);(2)福州盆地与长乐海岸平原;(3)福清龙高半岛与平潭岛;(4)莆田沿海。(5)九龙江平原;(6)漳浦、云霄、东山、诏安等地的全新世地壳垂直运动速率。在全新世时本区大部分地区以上升运动为主、平均速率一般为0.8—2.8毫米/年,在时空上略呈规律性变化,结果与形变测量资料可以对比     

Statistical models for the estimation of net phosphorus sedimentation in lakes

The empirical adequacy of four phosphorus mass-balance models is evaluated with respect to how the prediction error variance of the corresponding net sedimentation parameters is propagated in the steadystate equations. Using the criterion of minimum propagation error variance (PEV), different groups of lakes can be distinguished for which different empirical equations are used to predict net phosphorus sedimentation. The classification reduced prediction error significantly and also reflected different patterns of sedimentation. Application of this criterion to time-series of individual lakes shows that it is possible to determine a priori whether net annual sedimentation will be better correlated to the annual loading or to the lake content. The correlations depended also on the load/lake content ratio, suggesting that net sedimentation is best viewed as the sum of the partial sedimentation of the load and of the partial sedimentation of the lake content. On average, 25% of the load and 18% of the lake content are sedimented annually. Viewing net phosphorus sedimentation as a function of both the load and the lake content can also explain and predict the well-known cross-sectional correlation between phosphorus retention and water residence time.     

A numerical compaction model of overpressuring in shales

A one-dimensional model of sediment compaction is presented to relate pressure, porosity, permeability, and fluid and solid-particle velocities in an evolving sedimentary basin. The burial history of a sedimentary package is followed and incorporated into rate models for diagenetic reactions to predict clay compositions with depth. The governing set of nonlinear, partial differential equations constitutes a moving boundary problem and is solved by a finite difference scheme. Sedimentation rates and a permeability-porosity function for shales are required to implement the model. Additional factors are incorporated to mimic the effect of increased fluid volume generated by dehydration from clay mineral transformations and by thermal expansion. We demonstrate that the major cause of overpressuring in sediments accumulating along passive margins is nonequilibrium compaction. Sedimentation rates and strata permeability are the most important geologic factors in the formation of overpressured zones. Smectite dehydration and aquathermal pressuring play secondary roles in the development and sustenance of overpressures.