Controls on forearc basin architecture from seismic and sequence stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Great Valley Group,central Sacramento Basin,California

Seismic and sequence stratigraphic analysis of deep-marine forearc basin fill (Great Valley Group) in the central Sacramento Basin, California, reveals eight third-order sequence boundaries within the Cenomanian to mid-Campanian second-order sequences. The third-order sequence boundaries are of two types: Bevelling Type, a relationship between underlying strata and onlapping high-density turbidites; and Entrenching Type, a significantly incised surface marked by deep channels and canyons carved during sediment bypass down-slope. Condensed sections of hemipelagic strata draping bathymetric highs and onlapped by turbidites form a third important type of sequence-bounding element, Onlapped Drapes. Five tectonic and sedimentary processes explain this stratigraphic architecture: (1) subduction-related tectonic tilting and deformation of the basin; (2) avulsion of principal loci of submarine fan sedimentation in response to basin tilting; (3) deep incision and sediment bypass; (4) erosive grading and bevelling of tectonically modified topography by sand-rich, high-density turbidite systems; and (5) background hemipelagic sedimentation. The basin-fill architecture supports a model of subduction-related flexure as the principal driver of forearc subsidence and uplift during the Late Cretaceous. Subduction-related tilting of the forearc and growth of the accretionary wedge largely controlled whether and where the Great Valley turbiditic sediments accumulated in the basin. Deeply incised surfaces of erosion, including submarine canyons and channels, indicate periods of turbidity current bypass to deeper parts of the forearc basin or the trench. Fluctuations in sediment supply likely also played an important role in evolution of basin fill, but effects of eustatic fluctuations were overwhelmed by the impact of basin tectonics and sediment supply and capture. Eventual filling and shoaling of the Great Valley forearc during early Campanian time, coupled with dramatically reduced subsidence, correlate with a change in plate convergence, presumed flat-slab subduction, cessation of Sierran arc volcanism, and onset of Laramide orogeny in the retroarc.     

Early–Middle Jurassic evolution of the northern Yangtze foreland basin: a record of uplift following Triassic continent–continent collision to form the Qinling–Dabieshan orogenic belt

The northern Yangtze foreland basin system was formed during the Mesozoic continental collision between the North and South China plates along the Mianlue suture. In response to the later phase of intra-continental thrust deformation, an extensive E–W-trending molasse basin with river, deltaic, and lake deposits was produced in front of the southern Qinling–Dabieshan foreland fold-and-thrust belt during the Early–Middle Jurassic (201–163 Ma). The basin originated during the Early Jurassic (201–174 Ma) and substantially subsided during the Middle Jurassic (174–163 Ma). A gravelly alluvial fan depositional system developed in the lower part of the Baitianba Formation (Lower Jurassic) and progressively evolved into a meandering river fluvial plain and lake systems to the south. The alluvial fan conglomerates responded to the initial uplift of the southern Qinling–Dabieshan foreland fold-and-thrust belt after the oblique collision between the Yangtze and North China plates during the Late Triassic. The Qianfoya Formation (lower Middle Jurassic) mainly developed from shore-shallow lacustrine depositional systems. The Shaximiao Formation (upper Middle Jurassic) predominantly consists of thick-bedded braided river delta successions that serve as the main body of the basin-filling sequences. The upward-coarsening succession of the Shaximiao Formation was controlled by intense thrusting in the southern Qinling–Dabieshan fold-and-thrust belt. Palaeogeographic reconstructions indicated an extensive E–W foredeep depozone along the fold-and-thrust belt during the Middle Jurassic (174–163 Ma) that was nearly 150 km wide. The depozone extended westward to the Longmenshan and further east to the northern middle Yangtze plate. The northern Yangtze foreland basin was almost completely buried or modified by the subsequent differential thrusting of Dabashan and its eastern regions (Late Jurassic to Cenozoic).     

地层记录中旋回层序界面的识别方法及原理

应用频谱分析技术对测井物理参数记录的沉积旋回在深度域的变化进行了研究,发现沉积速率变化对沉积旋回波长、旋回谱系的组合样式和连续性具有明显的影响。数字模拟实验研究结果表明,在深度域对测井数据进行递进扫描的频谱分析图中,旋回波长和旋回谱系的终止面和转换面,指示沉积速率突变界面,对应地层间断面或沉积体制转型的位置和深度,这是我们识别旋回层序界面的标志,这一结论在深海钻孔中得到了验证。文中详细地介绍了从测井曲线数据中提取沉积旋回信号的数据处理方法和流程,提出根据原始测井曲线建立的极值曲线,可以检测到最明显的旋回波长为10 m级的频谱信号,这一层级的旋回层序界面,可以作为区域等时对比的基准。文中以川西上三叠统须家河组为例,根据自然伽马测井曲线的频谱分析,讨论了旋回层序界面在解决地震层序界面标定中的实用价值。     

长江三角洲对流域输沙变化的响应:进展与问题

流域变化对河流三角洲的影响已成为全球性的问题。由于流域水库建设的影响,长江输沙率自1980年以来呈现明显下降趋势,引发了研究人员对长江三角洲地貌和沉积响应问题的关注。在地貌上,海图对比和海岸冲淤观测的证据显示,长江输沙率目前已经低于冲淤平衡的临界值,使三角洲进入了蚀退阶段。分析表明,根据水下三角洲部分范围的沉积速率与河流输沙率的关系进行计算,会过低估计临界输沙率。对于水下三角洲整体而言,应根据沉积物滞留指数来更准确地估算临界输沙率,而且需要区分2个"临界输沙率",一个是保持三角洲体积的临界值,另一个是保持三角洲陆上部分面积的临界值。在沉积响应上,来自长江水下三角洲沉积中心的柱状样显示出沉积速率自下而上减小的趋势,反映了流域输沙率变化的影响。今后,如将柱状样采集区域扩大到沉积中心之外的整个水下三角洲范围,则所获得的数据不仅有助于沉积速率响应特征的全面了解,而且还可应用于沉积物滞留指数特征和控制因素的分析以及河口区碳循环过程变化的研究。此外,在长江三角洲沉积记录的分析方面,为了更好地提取气候、环境演化信息,应充分考虑沉积记录形成后所经历的自身变化(如成岩作用变化、分解和衰变等)和相对于岸线迁移的空间位置变化。     

西秦岭八方山—二里河Pb-Zn矿区硅质岩的微区成分特征及演化

硅质岩以SiO2为主,并广泛发育于造山带内。激光Raman、SEM-EDS分析结果显示,研究区硅质岩微组构特征记录了造山作用、成矿作用和重结晶作用等的改造。SEM分析显示,研究区硅质岩中石英颗粒较小且呈紧密堆积,这些特征符合热水沉积快速结晶的特点。激光Raman分析结果中,石英颗粒自边缘向中心核部的拉曼特征峰(463cm-1)经高斯拟合(Gaussian Fitting)后尖锐程度逐渐递增,半高宽(FWHM)递减,反映了石英自身的重结晶作用。在石英颗粒边界与碳酸盐脉的接触部位,结晶程度和有序度自内向外呈递增趋势,反映了石英颗粒遭受了流体的影响,SEM分析结果中石英颗粒的絮状反应残余边界进一步支持了该结论。在SEM下,金属硫化物在裂隙和空隙中发生沉淀并呈线状和零星浸染状分布,与应力作用及杂质矿物有着密切的关系。另外,据硅质岩中的脉体穿插关系,指示西秦岭存在碳酸盐(铁白云石)热液→金属硫化物热液→硅质-碳酸盐(方解石)热液的多阶段流体演化,与东秦岭流体作用具有较好的相似性。     

Controls on the alluviation of oxbow lakes by bed‐material load along the Sacramento River,California

Differences in the nature and quantity of sediment filling oxbow lakes have significant implications for the evolution of meandering rivers and the development of floodplains, influencing rates of meander migration and the valley width over which migration takes place. In an effort to identify the controls on the alluviation of oxbow lakes by coarse bed material, this study examined the sedimentary records stored within oxbow lakes of the Sacramento River of California, USA, and found that the volume of gravel in storage correlated negatively with the diversion angle separating flow between the river channel and the entrance into each lake. A method was devised for estimating the original channel bathymetry of the studied lakes and for modelling the hydraulic and sediment‐transport effects of the diversion angle within channels recently abandoned by meander cut‐off. The diversion angle determines the width of a flow separation within the abandoned‐channel entrance, reducing the discharge diverted from the river channel and thus limiting the ability of the abandoned channel to transport bed material. Aggradation rates are faster within entrances to abandoned channels with high diversion angles, resulting in the rapid isolation of lakes that store only a small volume of coarse‐grained sediment. Aggradation rates are slower within channel entrances where diversion angles are low, resulting in the slow transitioning of such channels into oxbow lakes with a larger and more extensive accumulation of coarse‐grained sediment. These findings compare well with observations in other natural settings and the mechanism which is described for the control of the diversion may explain why some oxbow lakes remain as open‐water environments for centuries, whereas others are filled completely within decades of cut‐off.     

黄龙洞年轻石笋的~(210)Pb测年研究

利用210Pb测年法对来自亚洲季风系统相互作用的青藏高原边缘区、高海拔的黄龙洞两根年轻石笋进行了测年研究,数据分析结果显示黄龙洞石笋顶部的210Pb放射性活度随距离呈指数衰变,衰变的趋势逐渐减缓,表明所研究的石笋中含有过剩的210Pb,样品顶部年龄小于100a。对黄龙洞石笋过剩210Pb数据进行非线性拟合,计算出两根石笋的平均沉积速率分别为0.104mm/a和0.143mm/a,与利用230Th测年法得到的沉积速率在定年误差范围之内一致,表明黄龙洞的210Pb测年数据是可靠的,通过计算石笋的沉积速率,可以建立近百年的石笋记录。研究表明,利用210Pb测年方法可以判断石笋(或石笋顶部)是否为100a内沉积的年轻石笋,弥补230Th法测定年轻石笋年龄的不足,有利于建立更加精确的石笋年代标尺,对探讨洞穴现代沉积记录和现代气象数据之间的相关性,明确洞穴石笋δ18O值所指示的气候环境含义具有重要意义。     

辽河坳陷西部高升以北地区湖盆深陷期的沉积特征

辽河坳陷西部凹陷高升以北地区湖盆深陷期经历了初始断陷阶段→快速沉降阶段→稳定沉降阶段→剧烈沉降阶段→短暂回返阶段共5个阶段。湖盆初始断陷阶段,沉积区主要处于中北部,以冲积扇-浊积扇-湖泊沉积为主;湖盆快速沉降阶段,沉积区南扩,以浊积扇-湖泊沉积为主;湖盆稳定沉降阶段,沉积区覆盖了整个研究区,以扇三角洲-浊积扇-湖泊沉积为主;湖盆剧烈沉降阶段以辫状河三角洲-浊积扇-湖泊沉积为主;而当湖盆进入短暂回返阶段时,北部出露地表遭受剥蚀,沉积区南退,以辫状河三角洲-扇三角洲-湖泊沉积为主。湖盆的沉降中心、沉积中心、沉积方式、沉积相类型及其空间配置等均受湖盆演化阶段控制。同时油气储集砂体的发育、油气圈闭类型等也受湖盆演化特点的影响,湖盆陡坡侧易于形成构造圈闭、岩性圈闭和复合圈闭等,缓坡侧则易于形成地层及岩性圈闭。     

Experimental Study of Dissolution Rates of Fluorite in HCl–H2O Solutions

The experiments of the dissolution kinetics of fluorite were performed in aqueous HCl solutions over the temperature range of 25–100 °C using a flow-through experimental apparatus. With a constant input of aqueous HCl solution through the reactor, output concentrations of the dissolved species Ca, F, Cl vary with flow rate, as well as with the surface compositions. Measured output concentrations of dissolved species and the pH can be used to determine a rate law for fluorite dissolution. Fluorite dissolution rates are found to be pH dependent. Usually, dissolution rates of fluorite decreases with increasing dissolved Ca in the output solution at 25 and 100 °C. Dissolution rate can be expressed as

Cosmogenic Be and Al exposure ages of tors and erratics, Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland: Timescales for the development of a classic landscape of selective linear glacial erosion

The occurrence of tors within glaciated regions has been widely cited as evidence for the preservation of relic pre-Quaternary landscapes beneath protective covers of non-erosive dry-based ice. Here, we test for the preservation of pre-Quaternary landscapes with cosmogenic surface exposure dating of tors. Numerous granite tors are present on summit plateaus in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland where they were covered by local ice caps many times during the Pleistocene. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al data together with geomorphic relationships reveal that these landforms are more dynamic and younger than previously suspected. Many Cairngorm tors have been bulldozed and toppled along horizontal joints by ice motion, leaving event surfaces on tor remnants and erratics that can be dated with cosmogenic nuclides. As the surfaces have been subject to episodic burial by ice, an exposure model based upon ice and marine sediment core proxies for local glacial cover is necessary to interpret the cosmogenic nuclide data. Exposure ages and weathering characteristics of tors are closely correlated. Glacially modified tors and boulder erratics with slightly weathered surfaces have ¹⁰Be exposure ages of about 15 to 43 ka. Nuclide inheritance is present in many of these surfaces. Correction for inheritance indicates that the eastern Cairngorms were deglaciated at 15.6 ± 0.9 ka. Glacially modified tors with moderate to advanced weathering features have ¹⁰Be exposure ages of 19 to 92 ka. These surfaces were only slightly modified during the last glacial cycle and gained much of their exposure during the interstadial of marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 5 or earlier. Tors lacking evidence of glacial modification and exhibiting advanced weathering have ¹⁰Be exposure ages between 52 and 297 ka. Nuclide concentrations in these surfaces are probably controlled by bedrock erosion rates instead of discrete glacial events. Maximum erosion rates estimated from ¹⁰Be range from 2.8 to 12.0 mm/ka, with an error weighted mean of 4.1 ± 0.2 mm/ka. Three of these surfaces yield model exposure-plus-burial ages of 295_− 71^+ 84, 520_− 141^+ 178, and 626_− 85^+ 102 ka. A vertical cosmogenic nuclide profile across the oldest sampled tor indicates a long-term emergence rate of 31 ± 2 mm/ka. These findings show that dry-based ice caps are capable of substantially eroding tors by entraining blocks previously detached by weathering processes. Bedrock surfaces and erratic boulders in such settings are likely to have nuclide inheritance and may yield erroneous (too old) exposure ages. While many Cairngorm tors have survived multiple glacial cycles, rates of regolith stripping and bedrock erosion are too high to permit the widespread preservation of pre-Quaternary rock surfaces.