Biostratigraphic and aminostratigraphic constraints on the age of the Middle Pleistocene glacial succession in north Norfolk,UK

Considerable debate surrounds the age of the Middle Pleistocene glacial succession in East Anglia following some recent stratigraphical reinterpretations. Resolution of the stratigraphy here is important since it not only concerns the glacial history of the region but also has a bearing on our understanding of the earliest human occupation of north‐western Europe. The orthodox consensus that all the tills were emplaced during the Anglian (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12) has recently been challenged by a view assigning each major till to a different glacial stage, before, during and after MIS 12. Between Trimingham and Sidestrand on the north Norfolk coast, datable organic sediments occur immediately below and above the glacial succession. The oldest glacial deposit (Happisburgh Till) directly overlies the ‘Sidestrand Unio‐bed’, here defined as the Sidestrand Hall Member of the Cromer Forest‐bed Formation. Dating of these sediments therefore has a bearing on the maximum age of the glacial sequence. This paper reviews the palaeobotany and describes the faunal assemblages recovered from the Sidestrand Unio‐bed, which accumulated in a fluvial environment in a fully temperate climate with regional deciduous woodland. There are indications from the ostracods for weakly brackish conditions. Significant differences are apparent between the Sidestrand assemblages and those from West Runton, the type site of the Cromerian Stage. These differences do not result from contrasting facies or taphonomy but reflect warmer palaeotemperatures at Sidestrand and a much younger age. This conclusion is suggested by the higher proportion of thermophiles at Sidestrand and the occurrence of a water vole with unrooted molars (Arvicola) rather than its ancestor Mimomys savini with rooted molars. Amino acid racemisation data also indicate that Sidestrand is significantly younger than West Runton. These data further highlight the stratigraphical complexity of the ‘Cromerian Complex’ and support the conventional view that the Happisburgh Till was emplaced during the Anglian rather than the recently advanced view that it dates from MIS 16. Moreover, new evidence from the Trimingham lake bed (Sidestrand Cliff Formation) above the youngest glacial outwash sediments (Briton's Lane Formation) indicates that they also accumulated during a Middle Pleistocene interglacial – probably MIS 11. All of this evidence is consistent with a short chronology placing the glacial deposits within MIS 12, rather than invoking multiple episodes of glaciation envisaged in the ‘new glacial stratigraphy’ during MIS 16, 12, 10 and 6. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江口海水的密度

为了核对1980年国际海水状态方程应用于中国近岸海水的可靠性,高精度的磁力浮沉子密度计在15—25℃,盐度5—35,一个大气压条件下,测量了长江口附近海水及其人工稀释海水的相对密度。结果表明,海水密度直接测量值系统地偏高于状态方程计算值,二者之间的偏差随水样盐度值降低而增大,且与海水[Ca~(2+))/s比值成明显正相关关系。经计算机拟合,导出了长江口附近海水及其稀释海水的状态方程,该方程计算值与实验值的平均标准偏差为±3.9×10~(-3)kg/m~3。     

渤南洼陷沙四上段非均质性储层“二步建模”方法及应用

渤南洼陷沙四上段油气储层非均质性明显,砂层薄且与泥质间层分布,储层分布规律和空间叠置关系复杂。储层主要受深水盐湖、扇三角洲、滑塌浊积扇、近岸浊积扇、远岸浊积扇五类沉积相控制。利用先进的GridStrat建模软件,采用特殊的"二步建模"处理方法,根据不同沉积相的储层参数分布规律,进行井间插值或随机模拟,建立了沉积相、岩性、孔隙度、渗透率和产能系数模型。沉积相模型显示出扇三角洲及浊积扇是砂体分布的主体,且分布范围广;岩性模型显示出不同岩类的分布受沉积相带、构造位置及不同物源控制。孔、渗模型显示沉积相带和岩性是决定储层孔隙度与渗透率发育程度的主控因素。孔隙度决定了储油气空间的数量,渗透率决定了储层产能系数的大小。产能系数模型显示出产能潜力区为浊积扇和扇三角洲的叠合分布区。研究结论对油田开发部署起到积极指导作用。     

冀中坳陷饶阳凹陷留西地区古近系沙河街组沙三上亚段沉积相与隐蔽油藏

通过岩心观察和单井相分析,结合沉积背景资料,认为留西地区古近系沙河街组沙三上亚段发育辫状河三角洲相和湖泊相,以辫状河三角洲前缘亚相和滨浅湖亚相为主,主要发育辫状分流河道、越岸沉积、水下分流河道、河口坝、席状砂等微相。根据层序地层学基本原理,结合前人研究成果,认为本区沙三上亚段为一完整的三级层序,可划分为低位、湖侵和高位3个体系域,分别对应于沙三上亚段沉积时期的早期、中期和晚期,绘制了每个沉积阶段的沉积相图,在此基础上研究了沉积体系的平面展布特征。沙三上亚段沉积时期形成的北高南低的构造背景与辫状河三角洲近东西向展布的砂体形态相互配置,加之良好的油源供给,为后期成藏创造了条件。沙三上亚段沉积早期发育的辫状河三角洲前缘水下分流河道与河口坝砂体是主要的储集体,与沉积中期发育的烃源岩形成了十分有利的生储盖组合,具有优越的隐蔽油藏发育条件。总结了该区隐蔽油藏成藏的4种模式,确定留西地区中南部沙三上亚段沉积早期发育的辫状河三角洲前缘砂体是下一步隐蔽油藏勘探的有利目标。     

Changing grading of soil: effect on critical states

Examples of situations are presented where the grading of a soil changes during its lifetime either by crushing of particles leading to an increase of fine material or by slow transport of fine particles with seepage leading to a decrease of fine material. Such grading changes influence the basic constitutive properties of the soil, in particular properties such as critical states which are dependent on the available range of densities of packing. Discrete element modelling is used to show the dependence of critical state conditions on grading and the way in which the particle assembly seeks out new critical state conditions as the grading changes.     

Erratum “Boundary” in ancient Persian tradition of statehood: an introduction to the origins of the concept of boundary in pre-modern history

Erratum to: GeoJournal 62: 51–58 DOI 10.1007/s10708-005-8562-2 The erroneous version of this article was originally published in GeoJournal 62: 51–58. This amended version corrects the formatting errors which are evident in the original version.Abstract It is universally accepted that the need for defining precise lines of separation and points of contacts between states is the byproduct of the emergence of nation-states and ‘world economy’ in the nineteenth century Europe. Nevertheless, it is hard to overlook the fact that these modern notions are rooted in periods prior to the emergence in Europe of nation-states. There are indications that ancient civilizations were familiar with the notion of ‘state’ in connection with the concepts of territory and boundary. Ancient texts reveal that this basic principle existed in ancient Persian literature in respect of matters of state, territory, and boundary. Similarly, the likelihood exists that these Persian notions could have influenced Roman civilization. It is widely believed that a combination of ancient Greco-Roman and Persian civilizations is a major contributor to what culturally constitutes ‘West’. Later in the Sassanid period the inter-linked notions of state, territory, and boundary developed substantially, coming quite close to their contemporary forms. On the other hand, considering that ‘justice’ was the corner stone of ancient Persian Political philosophy, the idea that ancient␣Iranian spatial arrangement might have contributed to the evolution of the concept of democracy in the West may not be too difficult to contemplate.The online version of the original article can be found at     

The political geography of religion: historical state-church relations in Europe and recent challenges

Historical processes of state formation and nation building are crucial for an understanding of the geography of religions and churches in Europe. Each country has developed its own model of state-church relations, giving rise to a ‘bewildering variety’ as Grace Davie aptly remarks. The aim of this paper is to bring some order to this variety by developing a framework for the comparative study of church-state relations based on Stein Rokkan’s famous conceptual map and recent extensions of it to Central and Eastern Europe by John Madeley. According to that framework Europe has been divided into three mono-confessional (Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox) blocs and two multi-confessional culture belts from Northwest to Southeast, and from Northeast to Southeast. This historical pattern has been challenged by secularisation, which started with the Enlightenment and the French Revolution (Western Europe) and the Russian Revolution (Eastern Europe until the velvet revolutions of 1989/1991) and then became widespread after the ‘cultural revolutions’ of the 1960s. A second challenge has to do with globalisation and its consequences, such as massive immigration and the rise of immigrant religions, and in general deterritorialisation, which means the disembeddedness of religion from its national territory. A third challenge concerns reterritorialisation at other (supranational, regional, transnational, and local) scales, of which the new territorial order of the European Union seems to be the most important. Finally, this paper serves as an introduction to the case studies on church-state relations in this special issue.     

The changing relationship between state and church/religion in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is part of the historic Northwest-Southeast multi-confessional culture belt according to the comparative framework of church-state relations in Europe as recently developed by Madeley on the basis of Rokkan’s conceptual map. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of the church-state relations in the Netherlands within this historic framework of state-formation and nation-building, and to interpret recent challenges of its historic state-church model, such as secularisation, the rise of immigrant religions, and general ‘de- and re-territorialisation’ tendencies. The Netherlands developed from a relatively very tolerant polity dominated by the Calvinist Church to a ‘pillarised’ society, in which the Rome-Reformation divide (which also had a strong geographical dimension) was institutionalised in the political system. After the 1960s, very strong secularisation put this ‘pillarised’ system under severe pressure, but the remnants of this system offered a favourable opportunity structure for religious newcomers (Muslims in particular), who could establish their mosques and Muslim schools relatively easily. However, while the main Protestant churches, and even Catholic and Protestant political parties have merged, failing integration of these newcomers in Dutch society and terrorist attacks at the global level as well as in the Netherlands encouraged a new divide between Muslims and non-Muslims. The metropolitan areas in particular became the scene of this new divide.     

胜利油田孤岛油区馆陶组上段沉积结构单元

结构单元分析法(Architectural-Element Analysis)作为一种比较成熟的研究方法,已广泛应用于古代河流沉积研究.本文首次根据钻孔资料分析胜利油田孤岛油区馆陶组上段5～1+2砂层组河流沉积的结构单元.该段5～1+2砂层组岩石类型简单,可分为11个岩相类型.根据界面特征、岩相组合、内部几何形态、外部几何形态和垂向剖面特征等划分出6个结构单元:河道滞流沉积(CHL)、侧向加积砂坝(LA)、天然堤(LV)、决口扇(CS)、决口水道(CR)和洪泛平原细粒(FF).其中洪泛平原细粒(FF)、决口扇(CS)和侧向加积砂坝(LA)结构单元最为发育,其次是天然堤(LV)和决口水道(CR)结构单元,而河道滞流沉积(CHL)结构单元则不甚发育.决口扇(CS)结构单元是馆陶组上段砂体发育的主要单元之一,且富含油气资源.因此,进一步加强决口扇的研究对油气资源的勘察是十分必要的.