The submarine landscape of the ‘Jurassic Coast’ World Heritage Site,Dorset, UK and its Setting

This paper reviews recent studies of the seabed offshore from the Jurassic Coast and discusses their significance for understanding landforms of the World Heritage Site’s Setting as well as adding to understanding of the structures exposed in the cliffs. The processes of coastal formation as sea-levels rose and fell during the Pleistocene and in the recent post-glacial period are critical for this as they reveal the landforms which preserve former shorelines. Detailed surveys of the seabed provide evidence of the low slope of much of this seabed and so enhance the potential to interpret older terrestrial landforms which have been attributed to uplift of former sea beds. Considering both the seabed and the coast from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene means that it is possible to assess the human impact on these landforms and processes, as well as the natural timescale within which changes occur. The paper describes the seabed geomorphology, relating this, where appropriate, to both the coastal landforms and the exposed structures. Current interpretations of the seabed features and their implications for our understanding of the recent evolution of the Site and Setting are explored. The features of the coast and adjacent sea bed at different phases of the changing coastal environment are discussed to the extent that the available evidence makes this possible, but for much of the area this remains speculative.     

Creating adaptive social-ecological fit: The role of regional actors in the governance of Sea-level rise adaptation in San Francisco bay

Sea level rise is one of the most pressing climate adaptation issues around the world. Often, coastal communities are interdependent in their exposure to sea level rise – if one builds a seawall, it will push water to another – and would benefit from a coordinated adaptive response. The literature on social-ecological systems (SES) calls for actors placed at higher levels of governance (e.g. regional government in a metropolitan area) to improve coordination between local managers by serving as brokers. However, we lack empirical insight on how higher-level actors might improve coordination in practice, and theoretical development on the implications of their intermediation. To address these gaps, we study the case of adaptation to sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay Area. We build a social-ecological network of social actors and shoreline segments using original survey data and simulated scenarios of tidal and traffic interdependencies between shoreline segments. We perform a frequency analysis of network motifs that operationalize social-ecological ‘fit’ in the context of the Bay Area. We find that regional actors and non-governmental organizations increase social-ecological fit by providing intermediation between actors who work on different shoreline segments, whether interdependent or not. This shows that these actors provide adaptive social-ecological fit, future-proofing the Bay Area to current and future climate adaptation challenges.     

Combining Geography,Math, and Science to Teach Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

This study examines the effectiveness of integrating geography into existing math and science curriculum to teach climate change and sea level rise. The desired outcome is to improve student performance in all three subjects. A sample of 120 fifth graders from three schools were taught the integrated curriculum over a period of two to three weeks. They were given a pretest and posttest comprised of questions measuring knowledge relevant to the lesson in terms of geography, math, science, and spatial skills. Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to determine significant differences in student performance. These t-tests indicate statistically significant improvements in all but one instance across all subjects, at all schools for both boys and girls. No statistically significant results were observed for a control group of an additional twenty-seven fifth graders. These results demonstrate the value of combining geography with math and science to improve student performance in STEM knowledge.     

Environmental problems in coastal zone of Chin──sea-level rise and groundwater table decline

Foundationitem:UndertheauspicesoftheKeyProjectoftheChineseAcademyofSciences(KZ951-Al-203)1IntroductionTherearellcoastalprovincesandprovince-levelmwhcipalihesinChina,excludingTaiwan,HongKong,andallcao,withl8OOodri-longcoastallines(FigUrl).Thisregionisaneconondodly-develoPedanddensely-populatedzonewithalandareaofl3.8%ofthenahon'stOtal,55.6%ofitSgrossdomesticproducLnd39-8%,PfitSPOPulationinl997.Thepopulallondensityis4.4hmesthaofthetalonalaverage.The299cihesinthesellcoastalprovincesare4…     

辽河三角洲地区海平面上升趋势及其影响评估

根据潮位资料分析,辽河三角洲平原和辽东湾东岸近四五十年来相对海平面处于上升趋势,从70年代以来平均每年上升量为5mm左右.考虑到辽河三角洲平原地面下沉以及全球性海平面将加速上升,预计下个世纪内,辽河三角洲平原相对海平面上升的速率将达到8-10mm/a,到2050年相对海平面上升量将达到40～55cm.利用遥感和地理信息系统,对不同的海平面上升量将造成的土地淹没损失进行了预测.如不加防护,相对海平面上升0.5m时,将淹没近4000km2,包括整个营口市区和半个盘锦市区;上升1.0m时,将淹没5000km2.对海平面上升将造成海岸侵蚀、风暴潮和洪涝等灾害加剧等影响也进行了分析.     

未来海平面上升对厦门海滩侵蚀的测算

本文通过波浪计算和理论海滩剖面方程的拟合,以Ｂｒｕｕｎ模式为基础,根据Ｅｖｅｒｔｓ剖面积分方法,测算了厦门厦门大学海滨浴场、鼓浪屿港 仔后海滨浴场沙滩未来１００ａ海平面上升引起的海滩后退量值。与此同时,计算了Ｂｒｕｕｎ模式的结果。计算结果表明,两处海滨浴 滩的后退值分别为１４．８１和１３．９５ｍ与Ｂｒｕｕｎ模式的结果相当接近。     

被动陆缘盆地陆隆斜坡对盐构造形成的影响 ——来自物理模拟实验的启示

被动陆缘盆地盐构造形成的影响因素及时空演化分析受到了国内外学者的高度重视.丰富的油气资源促进了被动陆缘盆地地震资料品质的不断提升,高精度地震数据的解译结果表明,被动陆缘盆地盐层下的地形往往具有大型的起伏特征,而前人在基底构造形态对盐构造形成影响方面的研究并未取得共识,仍需要深入研究和探讨.为此,本文基于前人的研究认识,...     

鄂尔多斯盆地中奥陶统马五6亚段高频旋回层序研究:论海平面升降与横山凸起沉积分异效应*

高频旋回分析有利于揭示浅水碳酸盐岩台地海平面升降、沉积物响应、古地理单元演化及对盆地内沉积分异影响等诸多沉积学信息。依据鄂尔多斯盆地横山地区丰富的钻井取心资料,通过岩石类型、典型五级旋回结构等分析,对中奥陶统马家沟组马五₆亚段开展了高频旋回研究。研究表明: (1)基于研究区内马五₆亚段碳酸盐岩与蒸发岩共生组合的9种岩石类型,识别出5种典型T-R单旋回,其中旋回Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ为云质潟湖—颗粒滩—灰泥丘沉积,Ⅳ、Ⅴ为膏盐质潟湖沉积,并以5种单旋回为基本单元搭建骨架井五级高频旋回结构剖面;(2)依据五级高频旋回结构剖面建立的Fischer图解,认为马五₆亚段处于三级旋回晚期,内部发育“2个”四级旋回,具有初次海退—快速海侵—再次海退的相对海平面变化趋势;(3)结合五级旋回厚度统计,认为第1套四级旋回沉积期处于隆拗格局发育阶段,该时期横山凸起作为水下高地,对东西两侧海水封隔明显;至第2套四级旋回沉积阶段,填平补齐作用导致横山凸起影响减弱,海水循环得到改善,凸起东西两侧盐度明显下降。以马五₆亚段为例的高频旋回研究,在横山地区马五₆亚段地层学、沉积学研究中取得了较好的效果,以期在鄂尔多斯盆地马家沟组未来研究中得到进一步推广和实践。     

Sequence stratigraphy of the Dakota Formation (Cenomanian), southern Utah: interplay of eustasy and tectonics in a foreland basin

The Dakota Formation in southern Utah (Kaiparowits Plateau region) is a succession of fluvial through shallow-marine facies formed during the initial phase of filling of the Cretaceous foreland basin of the Sevier orogen. It records a number of relative sea-level fluctuations of different frequency and magnitude, controlled by both tectonic and eustatic processes during the Early to Late Cenomanian. The Dakota Formation is divided into eight units separated by regionally correlatable surfaces that formed in response to relative sea-level fluctuations. Units 1–6B represent, from bottom to top, valley-filling deposits of braided streams (unit 1), alluvial plain with anastomosed to meandering streams (2), tide-influenced fluvial and tide-dominated estuarine systems (3A and 3B), offshore to wave-dominated shoreface (4, 5 and 6A) and an estuarine incised valley fill (6A and 6B). The onset of flexural subsidence and deposition in the foredeep was preceded by eastward tilting of the basement strata, probably caused by forebulge migration during the Early Cretaceous, which resulted in the incision of a westward-deepening predepositional relief. The basal fluvial deposits of the Dakota Formation, filling the relief, reflect the onset of flexural subsidence and, possibly, a eustatic sea-level rise. Throughout the deposition of the Dakota Formation, flexure controlled the long-term, regional subsidence rate. Locally, reactivation of basement faults caused additional subsidence or minor uplift. Owing to a generally low subsidence rate, differential compaction locally influenced the degree of preservation of the Dakota units. Eustasy is believed to have been the main control on the high-frequency relative sea-level changes recorded in the Dakota. All surfaces that separate individual Dakota units are flooding surfaces, most of which are superimposed on sequence boundaries. Therefore, with the exception of unit 6B and, possibly, 3B, most of the Dakota units are interpreted as depositional sequences. Fluvial strata of units 1 and 2 are interpreted as low-frequency sequences; the coal zones at the base and within unit 2 may represent a response to higher frequency flooding events. Units 3A to 6B are interpreted as having formed in response to high-frequency relative sea-level fluctuations. Shallow-marine units 4, 5 and 6A, interpreted as parasequences by earlier authors, can be divided into facies-based systems tracts and show signs of subaerial exposure at their boundaries, which allows interpretation as high-frequency sequences. In general, the Dakota units are good examples of high-frequency sequences that can be misinterpreted as parasequences, especially in distal facies or in places where signs of subaerial erosion are missing or have been removed by subsequent transgressive erosion. Both low- and high-frequency sequences represented by the Dakota units are stacked in an overall retrogradational pattern, which reflects a long-term relative sea-level rise, punctuated by brief periods of relative sea-level fall. There is a relatively major fall near the end of the M. mosbyense Zone, whereas the base of the Tropic shale is characterized by a major flooding event at the base of the S. gracile Zone. A similar record of Cenomanian relative sea-level change in other regions, e.g. Europe or northern Africa, suggests that both high- and low-frequency relative sea-level changes were governed by eustasy. The high-frequency relative sea-level fluctuations of ≈100 kyr periodicity and ≈10–20 m magnitude, similar to those recorded in other Cenomanian successions in North America and Central Europe, were probably related to Milankovitch-band, climate-driven eustasy. Either minor glacioeustatic fluctuations, superimposed on the overall greenhouse climate of the mid-Cretaceous, or mechanisms, such as the fluctuations in groundwater volume on continents or thermal expansion and contraction of sea water, could have controlled the high-frequency eustatic fluctuations.     

Stratigraphic evidence for an Early Aptian sea-level fluctuation: the Graua Limestone of south-eastern Ethiopia

The occurrence of a thin band of marine limestone (Graua Limestone) within a thick succession of fluviatile sandstones in south-eastern Ethiopia is direct evidence of flooding of part of the East African craton (Horn of Africa). According to the presence of abundant orbitolinid foraminifers (Palorbitolina lenticularis Blumenbach andPraeorbitolina cormyi Schroeder), the age of the Graua Limestone can be referred to the Early Aptian. Stratigraphy and palaeogeographic reconstructions for the Early Cretaceous in the surrounding regions (Kenya, Somalia, Yemen, Socotra, Oman, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Libya) show that the Early Aptian transgression was of regional extent. Our data seem to confirm that this transgression was of relatively short duration. This pulse cannot be related to tectono-eustatic mechanisms, which are too slow. A short-lived event should be invoked: either a regional tectonic pulse or the desiccation of the proto-South Atlantic.