Modern (<100 years) sedimentation in the Taiwan Strait: Rates and source-to-sink pathways elucidated from radionuclides and particle size distribution

A large number of sediment cores collected during 2005-2010 from the Taiwan Strait were analyzed for radionuclides (²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be) to elucidate sedimentation dynamics in this all-important gateway linking two largest marginal seas in the western Pacific (namely, the South China Sea and the East China Sea). Apparent sediment accumulation rates derived from ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs profiles vary from <0.1 to >2 cm/yr, averaging ∼0.4 cm/yr and showing a spatial pattern closely related to hydrodynamics and sediment source-to-sink pathways. Spatial-temporal variation of ⁷Be activity in surface sediments off Taiwan’s west coast indicates episodic deposition of flood layers and their mobility from river estuaries toward the north. In conjunction with particle size distribution in surface sediments and the structure of sediment strata revealed by sub-bottom echo images; the radionuclide data can be used to outline three different sediment source-to-sink dispersal systems. Based on sediment loads of surrounding rivers and the distribution of sediment accumulation rates, lateral transport is required to account for the budget and size distribution of sediments in the strait.     

Evolution and degradation of flat‐top mesas in the hyper‐arid Negev,Israel revealed from 10Be cosmogenic nuclides

Mesas are ubiquitous landforms in arid and semiarid regions and are often characterized by horizontal stratified erodible rocks capped by more resistant strata. The accepted conceptual model for mesa evolution and degradation considers reduction in the width of the mesa flat‐top plateau due to cliff retreat but ignores possible denudation of the mesa flat‐top and the rates and mechanism of erosion. In this study we examine mesas in the northeastern hyperarid Negev Desert where they appear in various sizes and morphologies and represent different stages of mesa evolution. The variety of mesas within a single climatic zone allows examination of the process of mesa evolution through time. Two of the four sites examined are characterized by a relatively wide (200–230 m) flat‐top and a thick caprock whereas the other two are characterized by a much narrower remnant flat‐top (several meters) and thinner caprock. We use the concentration of the cosmogenic nuclide ¹⁰Be for: (a) determining the chronology of the various geomorphic features associated with the mesa; and (b) understanding geomorphic processes forming the mesa. The ¹⁰Be data, combined with field observations, suggest a correlation between the width of flat‐top mesa and the denudation and cliff retreat rates. Our results demonstrate that: (a) cliff retreat rates decrease with decreasing width of the flat‐top mesa; (b) vertical denudation rates increase with decreasing width of the flat‐top mesa below a critical value (~60 m, for the Negev Desert); (c) the reduction in the width of the flat‐top mesa is driven mainly by cliff retreat accompanied by extremely slow vertical denudation rate which can persist for a very long time (>10⁶ Ma); and (d) when the width of the mesa decreases below a certain threshold, its rate of denudation increases dramatically and mesa degradation is completed in a short time. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黄土高原黄土．和红粘土10Be地球化学特征

充分认识元素和同位素在不同环境条件下的地球化学行为,是运用元素和同位素示 踪环境变化的前提。对来自于黄土高原的黄土、古土壤和红粘土样品的宇宙成因核素¹⁰Be测量和化学成分分析,以及各种化学淋溶实验表明：¹⁰Be主要以吸附状态赋存于粉尘沉积物粘粒矿物的表面,部分已结合进自生的粘土矿物中;在粉尘沉积物风化过程中¹⁰Be与⁹Be和～的活动性相似,基本没有发生迁移,其原因是连续沉积的粉尘含有大量的碱性物质,阻止了…Be的解吸附和淋滤;沉积和风化作用导致了¹⁰Be浓度与化学指标在黄土-古土壤和红粘土剖面中的协同变化。     

黄土和红粘土中宇宙成因核素定年的潜力: 10 Be浓度与化学成分的关系*

宇宙成因核素¹⁰ Be(半衰期1.5Ma)不但是古环境变化的示踪剂,而且具有确定地质年龄的能力。80个全岩样品的¹⁰ Be和化学分析数据表明,黄土高原约6Ma以来的红粘土和黄土序列中年龄校正的¹⁰ Be浓度与沉积物粒度和风化程度的化学指标具有显著的关系。根据这种关系建立的¹⁰ Be浓度与化学指标的经验回归线性模型,可以估计红粘土和黄土形成时的¹⁰ Be浓度,确定红粘土和黄土形成的¹⁰ Be放射性年龄。     

Evidence of Glacial Erratic Rollover Revealed by 10Be and 26Al Concentration Variations

Cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating is one of the most intensively applied dating methods with which to study glacial geomorphology.Glacial erratics have been the major dating objective in many studies.Some research has proposed that glacial erratics may undergo rollover and re-transportation during the late exposure stage,which can affect the dating results.However,there is no direct evidence to confirm this possibility.In this study,we collected seven samples from a vertical section inside a glacial erratic in the paleo-Daocheng ice cap in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau,measuring their contents of the cosmogenic nuclides ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al.The results show that from the top to the bottom,the concentrations of 10Be were(1.21±0.05)×10⁶,(1.00±0.02)×10⁶,(0.88±0.03)×10⁶,(0.77±0.02)×10⁶,(0.75±0.03)×10⁶,(0.95±0.03)×10⁶ and(1.46±0.04)×10⁶ atoms/g.The ¹⁰Be concentrations decreased from(1.21±0.05)×10⁶ atoms/g to(0.75±0.03)×10⁶ atoms/g and then increased to(1.46±0.04)×10⁶ atoms/g,which is not consistent with the theoretical prediction of a gradual decrease.This phenomenon indicates that the glacial erratic may have rolled over at least once.The lower surface of the erratic could have been on top at some time in the past.Therefore,its exposure age was greater than the exposure age that was expected,based on its current orientation.This study provides numerical evidence for an erratic rollover event.     

黔中气溶胶传输的210 Pb和7 Be示踪:Ⅱ.月及年时间尺度的剖析

自2001年12月连续逐周在贵阳观风山附近对近地面空气210Pb-7Be浓度和沉降量的观测表明:区域性降水和气温制约近地面空气210Pb具高浓度U型年分布;降水量和平流层向下输送影响近地面空气7Be月均浓度的季节性变化;210Pb/7Be月均浓度比率受控于210Pb变化和富7Be气团下沉的影响.观风山与瓦里关山之间因纬度和海拔的关系,7Be比率急剧震荡,显示出海洋性贫7Be气团入侵对观风山地区的明显影响.2002-2008年间贵阳观风山近地面空气210Pb的年均浓度(2.8±0.6)mBq/m3,约为全球若干站点中最高平均浓度值的4倍;而7Be的年均浓度(4.8±0.6)mBq/m3,与全球高海拔站点长期观测的平均值相当,大约为北半球中纬度对流层顶部附近7Be浓度值(18.0 mBq/m3)的1/3.8,显示出低纬度、较高海拔地区的预期水平.2003年,瓦里关山和观风山近地面空气7Be的年均浓度比为3.8,与预期的大气输送和混合作用基本一致.7Be月均浓度的增大趋势反映出受太阳黑子数减少的变化关系,其影响底线大约为4 mBq/m3;7Be年均浓度波动的增大趋势反映出受太阳黑子数降低的可能影响.贵阳观风山降水中7Be和210Pb的体积加权浓度分别为0.72 Bq/L和0.27 Bq/L;年沉降通量分别为0.080 Bq/(cm2·a)和0.031 Bq/(cm2·a).数值模拟显示出全球空气210Pb高浓度区和高沉降通量环带分布,印证了洱海和红枫湖沉积物7Be和157Cs蓄积的模拟结果.     

10Be ages of late Pleistocene deglaciation and Neoglaciation in the north‐central Brooks Range,Arctic Alaska

We present a chronology of late Pleistocene deglaciation and Neoglaciation for two valleys in the north‐central Brooks Range, Alaska, using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure dating. The two valleys show evidence of ice retreat from the northern range front before ～16–15 ka, and into individual cirques by ～14 ka. There is no evidence for a standstill or re‐advance during the Lateglacial period, indicating that a glacier advance during the Younger Dryas, if any, was less extensive than during the Neoglaciation. The maximum glacier expansion during the Neoglacial is delimited by moraines in two cirques separated by about 200 km and dated to 4.6 ± 0.5 and 2.7 ± 0.2 cal ka BP. Both moraine ages agree with previously published lichen‐inferred ages, and confirm that glaciers in the Brooks Range experienced multiple advances of similar magnitude throughout the late Holocene. The similar extent of glaciers during the middle Holocene and the Little Ice Age may imply that the effect of decreasing summer insolation was surpassed by increasing aridity to limit glacier growth as Neoglaciation progressed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Isotopic insights into smoothening of abandoned fan surfaces, Southern California

Cosmogenic nuclide concentrations measured on abandoned fan surfaces along the Mojave section of the San Andreas Fault suggest that sediment is generated, transported, and removed from the fans on the order of 30-40 kyr. We measured in situ produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be, and in some cases ²⁶Al, in boulders (n = 15), surface sediment (n = 15), and one depth profile (n = 9). Nuclide concentrations in surface sediments and boulders underestimate fan ages, suggesting that ¹⁰Be accumulation is largely controlled by the geomorphic processes that operate on the surfaces of the fans and not by their ages.Field observations, grain-size distribution, and cosmogenic nuclide data suggest that over time, boulders weather into grus and the bar sediments diffuse into the adjacent swales. As fans grow older the relief between bars and swales decreases, the sediment transport rate from bars to swales decreases, and the surface processes that erode the fan become uniform over the entire fan surface. The nuclide data therefore suggest that, over time, the difference in ¹⁰Be concentration between bars and swales increases to a maximum until the topographic relief between bars and swales is minimized, resulting in a common surface lowering rate and common ¹⁰Be concentrations across the fan. During this phase, the entire fan is lowered homogeneously at a rate of 10-15 mm kyr⁻¹.     

原地宇宙成因核素(TCN)测年靶标制备

自20世纪80年代以来,得益于高能加速器质谱的发展及其分析精度的提高,TCN测年技术得到了快速发展,并被成功应用于解决诸多领域关键性的年代学问题研究中,对地学的发展也起到了革命性的推动作用。TCN测年由测年靶标制备、AMS测量及数据分析等步骤组成。其中测年靶标制备直接影响AMS的测量结果,进而影响可靠年代学框架的建立与古气候环境的重建。测年靶标制备首先是代表性样品的采集,继而是所用靶标矿物的提纯,再者是所测元素的分离提取,最后是靶标压制。此处以第四纪冰川研究中应用较为广泛的TCN放射性核素¹⁰Be与²⁶Al为例,结合冰川侵蚀与沉积地貌的分布及其特征,从样品采集、石英提纯、¹⁰Be与²⁶Al核素的分离提取及最后的靶标压制等方面展开论述,以期为初涉第四纪冰川研究的学者提供TCN测年靶标制备的理论指导,同时也为地学其他研究领域该测年技术的应用提供参考。     

Lateglacial and early Holocene dynamics of adjacent valley glaciers in the Western Swiss Alps

The Alps play a pivotal role for glacier and climate reconstructions within Europe. Detailed glacial chronologies provide important insights into mechanisms of glaciation and climate change. We present 26 ¹⁰Be exposure dates of glacially transported boulders situated on moraines and ice‐moulded bedrock samples at the Belalp cirque and the Great Aletsch valley, Switzerland. Weighted mean ages of ～10.9, 11.1, 11.0 and 9.6 ka for the Belalp, on up to six individual moraine ridges, constrain these moraines to the Egesen, Kartell and Schams stadials during Lateglacial to early Holocene times. The weighted mean age of ～12.5 ka for the right‐lateral moraine of the Great Aletsch correlates with the Egesen stadial related to the Younger Dryas cooling. These data indicate that during the early Holocene between ～11.7 and ～9.2 ka, glaciers in the Swiss Alps seem to have been significantly affected by cold climatic conditions initiated during the Younger Dryas and the Preboreal Oscillation. These conditions resulted in glacier margin oscillations relating to climatic fluctuations during the second phase of the Younger Dryas – and continuing into Boreal times – as supported by correlation of the innermost moraine of the Belalp Cirque to the Schams (early) Holocene stage. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.