High‐resolution stratigraphic architecture and lithological heterogeneity within marginal aeolian reservoir analogues

Marginal aeolian successions contain different lithological units with variable geometries, dimensions and spatial distributions. Such variations may result in considerable heterogeneity within hydrocarbon reservoirs developed in successions of this type, which poses a high risk to their efficient development. Here, such heterogeneity is described and characterized at inter‐well (<1 km) scales using two well‐exposed outcrop analogues of ‘end member’ marginal aeolian deposits from the Permian Cedar Mesa Sandstone and Jurassic Page Sandstone of south‐central Utah, USA. The sedimentology and stratigraphic architecture of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone was studied in a 1·2 km² area in the Indian Creek region of southern Utah, where the interval consists of interbedded fluvial and aeolian deposits representative of a fluvial‐dominated erg margin. The Page Sandstone was studied in a 4·3 km² area near Escalante, close to the Utah‐Arizona border, where it consists of interbedded sabkha and aeolian deposits representative of a transitional‐marine erg margin. The three‐dimensional stratigraphic architectures of both reservoir analogues have been characterized, in order to establish the dimensions, geometries and connectivity of high‐permeability aeolian sandstones. Facies architecture of the aeolian‐sabkha deposits is characterized by laterally continuous aeolian sandstone layers of relatively uniform thickness that alternate with layers of heterolithic sabkha deposits. Aeolian sandstones are thus likely to form vertically unconnected but laterally widespread flow units in analogous reservoirs. Facies architecture in the aeolian‐fluvial deposits is more complex, because it contains alternating intervals of aeolian sandstone and fluvial heterolithic strata, both of which may be laterally discontinuous at the studied length‐scales. Aeolian sandstones encased by fluvial heterolithic strata may form small, isolated flow units in analogous reservoirs, although the limited continuity of fluvial heterolithic strata results in vertical connectivity between successive aeolian sandstones in other locations. These architectural templates may be used to condition zonation schemes in models of marginal aeolian reservoirs.     

Towards a climate event stratigraphy for New Zealand over the past 30 000 years (NZ‐INTIMATE project)

It is widely recognised that the acquisition of high‐resolution palaeoclimate records from southern mid‐latitude sites is essential for establishing a coherent picture of inter‐hemispheric climate change and for better understanding of the role of Antarctic climate dynamics in the global climate system. New Zealand is considered to be a sensitive monitor of climate change because it is one of a few sizeable landmasses in the Southern Hemisphere westerly circulation zone, a critical transition zone between subtropical and Antarctic influences. New Zealand has mountainous axial ranges that amplify the climate signals and, consequently, the environmental gradients are highly sensitive to subtle changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions. Since 1995, INTIMATE has, through a series of international workshops, sought ways to improve procedures for establishing the precise ages of climate events, and to correlate them with high precision, for the last 30 000 calendar years. The NZ‐INTIMATE project commenced in late 2003, and has involved virtually the entire New Zealand palaeoclimate community. Its aim is to develop an event stratigraphy for the New Zealand region over the past 30 000 years, and to reconcile these events against the established climatostratigraphy of the last glacial cycle which has largely been developed from Northern Hemisphere records (e.g. Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Termination I, Younger Dryas). An initial outcome of NZ‐INTIMATE has been the identification of a series of well‐dated, high‐resolution onshore and offshore proxy records from a variety of latitudes and elevations on a common calendar timescale from 30 000 cal. yr BP to the present day. High‐resolution records for the last glacial coldest period (LGCP) (including the LGM sensu stricto) and last glacial–interglacial transition (LGIT) from Auckland maars, Kaipo and Otamangakau wetlands on eastern and central North Island, marine core MD97‐2121 east of southern North Island, speleothems on northwest South Island, Okarito wetland on southwestern South Island, are presented. Discontinuous (fragmentary) records comprising compilations of glacial sequences, fluvial sequences, loess accumulation, and aeolian quartz accumulation in an andesitic terrain are described. Comparisons with ice‐core records from Antarctica (EPICA Dome C) and Greenland (GISP2) are discussed. A major advantage immediately evident from these records apart from the speleothem record, is that they are linked precisely by one or more tephra layers. Based on these New Zealand terrestrial and marine records, a reasonably coherent, regionally applicable, sequence of climatically linked stratigraphic events over the past 30 000 cal. yr is emerging. Three major climate events are recognised: (1) LGCP beginning at ca. 28 000 cal. yr BP, ending at Termination I, ca. 18 000 cal. yr BP, and including a warmer and more variable phase between ca. 27 000 and 21 000 cal. yr BP, (2) LGIT between ca. 18 000 and 11 600 cal. yr BP, including a Lateglacial warm period from ca. 14 800 to 13 500 cal. yr BP and a Lateglacial climate reversal between ca. 13 500 and 11 600 cal. yr BP, and (3) Holocene interglacial conditions, with two phases of greatest warmth between ca. 11 600 and 10 800 cal. yr BP and from ca. 6 800 to 6 500 cal. yr BP. Some key boundaries coincide with volcanic tephras. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Significance of infiltrated clays within the Lower Permian Yellow Sands of north-east England

The Permian Yellow Sands are preserved as nine aeolian ridges in north-east England. The sands are soft and friable and locally contain large amounts of interstitial detrital clays, which are interpreted as the product of early mechanical clay infiltration. Features within the sands considered to be due to mechanical clay infiltration include grain coatings, meniscus and geopetal fabrics. The infiltrated clays mask crystal nucleation sites on grain surfaces and often amalgamate into lenses or form continuous clay-rich layers. Calcite and quartz cement growth has consequently been limited and often confined to the coarser, generally clay-free horizons. The meniscus and geopetal fabrics were formed early during accretion of the dunes and helped to bind and stabilize the sediment, which restricted reworking during the Zechstein transgression to the uppermost few decimeters.     

风沙灾害风险评估研究进展

风沙灾害是气象灾害的重要组成部分,具有影响范围大、季节性强、灾害损失大等特点,已成为中国北方沙区的生态灾难,严重影响人居环境和社会经济的可持续发展。为了评估风沙灾害对中国社会经济的影响,已有学者对中国风沙灾害问题进行了长期研究,但对区域风沙灾害风险系统评估研究相对较少,尚未建立系统的风沙灾害风险评价体系。在综合分析近30年相关文献的基础上,借鉴其他自然灾害评估方法,从风沙灾害风险评估理论内涵、评估指标及评估方法等方面对相关研究进行了全面的分析,指出目前风沙灾害风险评估还存在理论不完善、评估模型不合理、孕灾环境指标量化不细致和指标体系繁杂、风险评估方法单一、指标分级和权重计算的主观性强、社会经济数据不能空间化等问题。因此,未来在风沙灾害评估研究时需借鉴、引入和融合其他自然灾害风险评估理论和技术方法,综合近年来在风沙物理学、风沙地貌学、防沙治沙工程学、沙漠化遥感技术和理论等方面的成果,建立多指标的综合风沙灾害评估模型,为预防区域风沙灾害、降低风沙灾害损失和保障"一带一路"经济发展提供理论依据。     

Characteristics of aeolian grain transport over a fluvio-glacial lacustrine braid delta,Lake Tekapo,New Zealand

This paper presents results from one of the few scientific studies to examine the physical characteristics of aeolian sediment transport in an alpine area, where topographically reinforced foehn winds initiate dust storm events. The major objective of this study is to improve knowledge of aeolian processes in mid-latitude alpine regions experiencing extreme wind speeds. Of particular interest is the role of surface characteristics in contributing to the unusually deep saltation layer which is seen to form over fluvio-glacial deposits in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Sediment was collected at several heights (0ċ5, 1, 2 and 4 m) and locations over a large alpine braided river delta, and standard laboratory techniques used to examine grain size characteristics. An image processing technique was also used to evaluate grain roundness. Grains filtered from the airstream at 0ċ5 m and 1 m above such surfaces were found to display a mean grain size of approximately 300 to 435 μm, resembling grain size characteristics of saltation clouds previously observed in high latitude, cold climate locations, in contrast to desert and prairie environments. Samples collected at 2 and 4 m above the surface were found to consist of 60 to 65 per cent sand-sized material, with some grains exceeding 1–1ċ5 mm in diameter. Grain shape analysis conducted on silt- and clay-sized grains filtered from the airstream above mixed sand and gravel surfaces showed such grains to display an increase in grain roundness with height. This characteristic is thought to reflect the airstream's shape-sorting ability and has important implications with respect to the often observed increase in grain roundness in aeolian deposits with increasing distance from source areas. Namely, if more rounded grains are preferentially carried higher into the airstream and therefore into regions of higher wind speed, they should theoretically be transported further from the entrainment zone before being deposited. The high wind speeds observed, often exceeding 30 m s⁻¹, are seen to transport significantly larger sediment than reported in the literature for desert and prairie environments. In addition, the mixture of grain sizes, and especially the pebble- and cobble-sized clasts that dominate the fluvio-glacial deposits associated with the braided rivers in this mountain region, also appear to increase significantly the trajectory height of saltating sand grains. As a result of these two factors, the depth of the saltation cloud often exceeds 1 m. Observations made in this study therefore highlight the need for field and laboratory aeolian process studies to be extended to examine grain transport over coarse-grained beds during much higher wind velocities than typically reported in the literature. Such studies would provide a valuable insight into aeolian processes in high latitude/altitude environments, such as loess genesis. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

风尘石英在物源示踪和古气候研究中的应用

系统总结了近几十年来应用风尘石英的物理和化学特性(如粒度、形貌特征、电子自旋共振(ESR)信号强度、结晶度指数(CI)、含量和通量,以及δ~(18)O等)进行物源和古气候示踪等方面的研究进展,并分析了其中存在的问题。结果表明石英的这些指标具有稳定性,可以指示物源和古气候变化,对目前研究提出的问题和建议也对今后用风尘石英指示古气候变化的研究有重要的借鉴意义。     

垣曲盆地最高阶地风尘堆积形成时代及其构造意义

对垣曲盆地原土坪阶地剖面进行了详细的沉积学和磁性地层学研究,结果表明,原土坪剖面地层自下而上由水下河湖相-漫滩相-风尘堆积构成,整个剖面记录了一个水位下降、由水下沉积环境转变为气下环境的连续堆积过程。剖面地层记录的1.84～1.62MaB.P.期间由河湖相沉积环境转变为典型风尘堆积的沉积转型及风尘堆积反映出的1.21MaB.P.前后古气候变化事件是对青藏高原青藏运动C幕和昆黄运动的区域沉积响应。开始于1.62MaB.P.的典型风尘堆积底界年龄代表了该级阶地的形成时代,表明该段黄河至少在此时已经形成。     

Niveo-aeolian deposits and denivation forms,with special reference to the great Kobuk Sand Dunes,Northwestern Alaska

The geomorphology, lithology and chronostratigraphy of extensive, late Pleistocene inland and river dune sands, aeolian sand sheets (‘cover sands’) and loess deposits of periglacial origin in northwestern Europe are well known. However, the idea that some of these aeolian sediments result from niveo-aeolian processes is still an open question, as no diagnostic sedimentary features have yet been reported. Moreover, actual niveo-aeolian sediments and related denivation forms, reported from various cold-climate regions, are not suitable analogues. Recent observations in active dune fields in northwestern Alaska indicate that interstratification of wind-driven snow and sand preferentially occurs on slip faces of transverse, barchanoid or parabolic dune ridges. Annual denivation forms develop: e.g. snow ramparts, sinkholes, snow hummocks, snow meltwater fans and tensional cracks. The surface consists of a cracked wet sand layer with a dimpled surface and spongy structure. Although the preservation potential of these features is low in this specific case, similar features may be observed in ancient sediments elsewhere and provide useful palaeoclimatic indicators. The niveo-aeolian concept should therefore not specifically be related to late Pleistocene cover sand deposition in northwestern Europe, as previously assumed.     

吉林双辽地区风沙堆积古温度研究

文章根据吉林双辽地区风沙堆积物中的Fe3+/Fe2+值,计算了风沙堆积时的古温度及其变化,结合堆积物的定年数据,建立了该区76.9±6.0～17.8±1.4kaB.P.期间温度波动旋回。结果表明:这一地质时期吉林双辽地区年均温度变化于1.13℃～8.70℃之间,整体较现在为低,应为末次冰期影响所致。该研究得到的松辽平原末次冰期的温度数据,为系统建立松辽平原晚更新世古气候年表提供了重要基础资料。     

华南沿海老红砂的成因与红化作用

根据野外调查和室内实验分析，以及测年数据，本文讨论了华南沿海老红砂的成因、年龄与形成环境。认为老红砂是晚更新世末次冰期海岸风沙堆积，红色特征与亚间冰期的温暖古气候有关。在湿热气候下，古风成砂中含铁硅酸盐矿物氧化生成赤铁矿，而使无色石英沙粒染成红色，是其红化的主要机制。风成砂形成红色的时间不超过１万年。