Cyclone and bioturbation effects on sediments from coral reef lagoons

Despite the severity of tropical cyclone ‘Winifred’, which crossed the Great Barrier Reef on 1 February 1986, there were little long-term effects on lagoon surface sediments from reefs in its path. Short-term effects were apparent only at one particularly exposed area. These were: an increase in proportion of the coarse fraction, the establishment of sand ripples, and the destruction of the mounds produced by callianassid shrimps (normally the dominant topographic feature). Within six weeks this area was indistinguishable from a typical reef lagoon. This is probably the result of sediment reworking by callianassid shrimp, involving selective burial of the coarse fragments and transport to the surface of finer particles. Sediment turnover rates by callianassids are commensurate with change to the sediment within the relatively short period observed. The sediment fauna responded quickly to the changes in sediment type. Immediately after the cyclone the disturbed area supported a fauna typical of the coarse sediments on the shallow reef flat, as the sediment reverted to a more normal type so the fauna changed back to that typical of a reef lagoon.     

Tidally incised valleys on tropical carbonate shelves: An example from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The formation of incised valleys on continental shelves is generally attributed to fluvial erosion under low sea level conditions. However, there are exceptions. A multibeam sonar survey at the northern end of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, adjacent to the southern edge of the Gulf of Papua, mapped a shelf valley system up to 220 m deep that extends for more than 90 km across the continental shelf. This is the deepest shelf valley yet found in the Great Barrier Reef and is well below the maximum depth of fluvial incision that could have occurred under a − 120 m, eustatic sea level low-stand, as what occurred on this margin during the last ice age. These valleys appear to have formed by a combination of reef growth and tidal current scour, probably in relation to a sea level at around 30–50 m below its present position.

Tidally incised depressions in the valley floor exhibit closed bathymetric contours at both ends. Valley floor sediments are mainly calcareous muddy, gravelly sand on the middle shelf, giving way to well-sorted, gravely sand containing a large relict fraction on the outer shelf. The valley extends between broad platform reefs and framework coral growth, which accumulated through the late Quaternary, coincides with tidal current scour to produce steep-sided (locally vertical) valley walls. The deepest segments of the valley were probably the sites of lakes during the last ice age, when Torres Strait formed an emergent land-bridge between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Numerical modeling predicts that the strongest tidal currents occur over the deepest, outer-shelf segment of the valley when sea level is about 40–50 m below its present position. These results are consistent with a Pleistocene age and relict origin of the valley.

Based on these observations, we propose a new conceptual model for the formation of tidally incised shelf valleys. Tidal erosion on meso- to macro-tidal, rimmed carbonate shelves is enhanced during sea level rise and fall when a tidal, hydraulic pressure gradient is established between the shelf-lagoon and the adjacent ocean basin. Tidal flows attain a maximum, and channel incision is greatest, when a large hydraulic pressure gradient coincides with small channel cross sections. Our tidal-incision model may explain the observation of other workers, that sediment is exported from the Great Barrier Reef shelf to the adjacent ocean basins during intermediate (rather than last glacial maximum) low-stand, sea level positions. The model may apply to other rimmed shelves, both modern and ancient.     

The sequence of sediment behaviour during wave-induced liquefaction

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of the complete sequence of sediment behaviour beneath progressive waves. The sediment was silty with d ₅₀ = 0.060 mm. Two kinds of measurements were carried out: pore-water pressure measurements (across the sediment depth), and water-surface elevation measurements. The process of liquefaction/compaction was videotaped from the side simultaneously with the pressure and water-surface elevation measurements. The video records were then analysed to measure: (i) the time development of the mudline, (ii) the time development of liquefaction and compaction fronts in the sediment and (iii) the characteristics of the orbital motion of the liquefied sediment including the motion of the interface between the water body and the sediment. The ranges of the various quantities in the tests were: wave height, H  = 9–17 cm, wave period, T  = 1.6 sec, water depth = 42 cm, and the Shields parameter = 0.34–0.59. The experiments reveal that, with the introduction of waves, excess pore pressure builds up, which is followed by liquefaction during which internal waves are experienced at the interface of the water body and the liquefied sediment, the sequence of processes known from a previous investigation. This sequence of processes is followed by dissipation of the accumulated excess pore pressure and compaction of the sediment which is followed by the formation of bed ripples. The present results regarding the dissipation and compaction appear to be in agreement with recent centrifuge wave-tank experiments. As for the final stage of the sequence of processes (formation of ripples), the ripple steepness (normalized with the angle of repose) for sediment with liquefaction history is found to be the same as that in sediment with no liquefaction history.     

The formation and evolution of the barrier islands of Inhaca and Bazaruto, Mozambique

The barrier islands of Inhaca and Bazaruto are related to the extensive coastal dune system of the Mozambican coastal plain, south-east Africa. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of key stratigraphic units indicates that accretion of sediment within these systems is episodic. Both islands appear to have been initiated as spits extending from structural offsets in the coastline. Superposition of significant quantities of sediment upon these spits during subsequent sea-level highstands formed the core of the islands, which were anchored and protected by beachrock and aeolianite formation. At least two distinct dune-building phases occurred during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, tentatively attributed to marine transgressions during sub-stages 5e and 5c. Although some localized reactivation of dune surfaces occurred prior to the Holocene, large quantities of sediment were not deposited on either island during the low sea-levels associated with MIS 2. Significant dune-building and sediment reworking occurred immediately prior to and during the Holocene, though it is not clear whether these processes were continuous or episodic. Significant erosion of the eastern shoreline of Bazaruto suggests that it is far less stable than Inhaca and may suffer further large-scale erosion. A model is presented for the formation of barrier islands along the Mozambican coastal plain.     

滇中震旦系碳酸盐岩破碎地层的钻探护孔新技术

破碎地层中钻探，采用有效的护孔技术是避免孔内事故发生的重要手段，同时也是保证完成钻探各项技术经济指标的先决条件。本文阐述了在具代表性的磷矿破碎地层中钻进所遇到的护孔难题及其所采用的护孔新技术、新方法。     

Wave-influenced deltas: geomorphological implications for facies reconstruction

ABSTRACT A process‐based facies model for asymmetric wave‐influenced deltas predicts significant river‐borne muds with potentially lower quality reservoir facies in prodelta and downdrift areas, and better quality sand in updrift areas. Many ancient barrier‐lagoon systems and ‘offshore bars’ may be better reinterpreted as components of large‐scale asymmetric wave‐influenced deltaic systems. The proposed model is based on a re‐evaluation of several modern examples. An asymmetry index A is defined as the ratio between the net longshore transport rate at the mouth (in m³ year^?1) and river discharge (in 10⁶ m³ month^?1). Symmetry is favoured in deltas with an index below ≈ 200 (e.g. Tiber, lobes of the Godavari delta, Rosetta lobe of the Nile, Ebro), whereas deltas with a higher index are asymmetric (e.g. Danube – Sf. Gheorghe lobe, Brazos, Damietta lobe of the Nile). Periodic deflection of the river mouth for significant distances in the downdrift direction occurs in extreme cases of littoral drift dominance (e.g. Mahanadi), resulting in a series of randomly distributed, quasi‐parallel series of sand spits and channel fills. Asymmetric deltas show variable proportions of river‐, wave‐ and tide‐dominated facies both among and within their lobes. Bayhead deltas, lagoons and barrier islands form naturally in prograding asymmetric deltas and are not necessarily associated with transgressive systems. This complexity underlines the necessity of interpreting ancient depositional systems in a larger palaeogeographic context.     

Late Pliocene to late Pleistocene environments preserved at the Palisades Site, central Yukon River, Alaska

The Palisades Site is an extensive silt-loam bluff complex on the central Yukon River preserving a nearly continuous record of the last 2 myr. Volcanic ash deposits present include the Old Crow (OCt; 140,000 yr), Sheep Creek (SCt; 190,000 yr), PA (2.02 myr), EC (ca. 2 myr), and Mining Camp (ca. 2 myr) tephras. Two new tephras, PAL and PAU, are geochemically similar to the PA and EC tephras and appear to be comagmatic. The PA tephra occurs in ice-wedge casts and solifluction deposits, marking the oldest occurrence of permafrost in central Alaska. Three buried forest horizons are present in association with dated tephras. The uppermost forest bed occurs immediately above the OCt; the middle forest horizon occurs below the SCt. The lowest forest bed occurs between the EC and the PA tephras, and correlates with the Dawson Cut Forest Bed. Plant taxa in all three peats are common elements of moist taiga forest found in lowlands of central Alaska today. Large mammal fossils are all from common late Pleistocene taxa. Those recovered in situ came from a single horizon radiocarbon dated to ca. 27,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The incongruous small mammal assemblage in that horizon reflects a diverse landscape with both wet and mesic environments.     

ADVANCES IN MEASURING TECHNIQUES OF BED LOAD

I.m~UCrIONBedloadisthesedimentwhichmovesalongtheriverbedintheformofrolling,slidingandsaltation.BedloadmaycreatemanyproblemsintheoperationandmaintenanceofnavigationchannelandinthedevelOPmentofhydroelectricity.Dataofbedloaddischargearealsorequiredinthedesignofreservoir,inwhichtheinflowbedloadareallactuallytrapped.Thewaysofbedloadmotionaredifferentfordifferentsizes.Thus,itisextremelydifficulttodeterminethebedloaddischargeaccurately.Manyequationshavebeenproposedtocalculatethebedloaddischarge.H…     

Long-term bed load transport rate based on aerial-photo and ground penetrating radar surveys of fan-delta growth, Coast Mountains, British Columbia

Sequential aerial photography, sonar bathymetry, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and sediment sampling and analysis provide the basis for calculating the volumetric and mass rate of progradation of the delta of Fitzsimmons Creek, a steep, high-energy, debris-flow-dominated channel draining about 100 km² of the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Fitzsimmons Creek is typical of small mountain rivers in the region. GPR imaging is used to define the pre-depositional morphology of the receiving basin, a technique that improves the accuracy of the volumetric survey. The 52-year record (1947–1999) of progradation yielded an average annual volumetric transport rate of 1.00±0.16×10⁴ m³ year⁻¹ for bed load, corresponding to a mass transport rate of 1.60±0.28×10⁴ Mg year⁻¹. Bed load yields are consistent with those obtained in hydrogeomorphically similar basins in the region and elsewhere. Decade-based annual rates, which vary from 0.64±0.11×10⁴ to 2.85±0.38×10⁴ Mg year⁻¹, provide poor estimates of the 52-year average. Indeed, the 52-year record may also not be long enough to fully integrate the significant fluctuations in the sediment efflux from Fitzsimmons Creek. The methodology proposed in this paper can be transferred to other comparable mountain environments worldwide.