The middle pleistocene deposits of Waverley Wood Pit,Warwickshire, England

A complex of channels underlying the Baginton-Lillington Gravel (Baginton Formation) at Waverley Wood Quarry, Warwickshire is described. Fossil pollen and plant macrofossils, Coleoptera, Ostracoda, Mollusca and Mammalia are described from the channel-fill deposits. Consideration of all the evidence allows the identification of four separate stages of channel fill which largely occurred under a cool temperate climate. At the top of Channel 2 evidence for a cold, continental climatic episode can be recognised, suggesting that the whole complex was deposited under a fluctuating climate at the end of a temperate stage. At two levels in the channels human artefacts were recovered confirming the presence of Palaeolithic people in Warwickshire during the deposition of the sediments. Amino-acid geochronology suggests an age within the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage for the channels. The small vertebrate and molluscan faunas indicate that the deposits are no older than the latter part of the ‘Cromerian Complex’ Stage of East Anglia. The regional stratigraphic significance of the Waverley Wood succession is outlined.     

Long-Term Investigation of Spatio-Temporal Variations in Faunal Composition and Species Richness of Megabenthos in Ise Bay,Central Japan

Based on our long-term data from megabenthos sampling from 1993 to 2002 in Ise Bay, central Japan, we examined spatio-temporal variations in taxon composition, species richness and its distribution of megabenthos in the bay in relation to the occurrence of the oxygen-poor water (i.e. oxygen content less than 3 ppm) in bottom waters of the bay. A total of 261 species were identified including 6 cnidarians, 1 tentaculate, 5 annelids, 71 molluscs, 72 crustaceans, 16 echinoderms, 12 urochordates and 78 pisces. Of the most abundant 10 megabenthos species, the following 4 species of echinoderms made up more than the half of megabenthos biomass: Luidia quinaria, Echinocardium cordatum, Asterias amurensis and Astropecten scoparius. Species richness of megabenthos varied significantly between seasons and among stations. The severity and period of occurrence of the oxygen-poor water developing every summer play an important role in determining spatial distributions of species richness in the bay.     

Is the spring water responsible for the fossilization of faunal remains at Florisbad, South Africa?

It is has been suggested that faunal remains at Florisbad were fossilized in a spring context due to the mineralized spring water. However, the environment conducive to the precipitation of CaCO₃ and other authigenic minerals was formed largely through the salinization of the organic layers and clay, and the mineralization of the groundwater. Factors contributing to this favorable environment include: CaCO₃ saturation, pH, the decomposition of halophytes, Eh, rainfall, biomineralization, and aeolian deposition. With the exception of pH, none of the above factors feature in a spring context, with evidence suggesting that the spring water may historically never have carried sufficient minerals for fossilization, and that contact with the spring water may actually have resulted in the demineralization of previously fossilized material. In light of this evidence, it is concluded that the fossilization of faunal remains at Florisbad took place in a sedimentary organic matter and clay environment and could not have taken place in the spring vents where there is an undersaturation of Ca.     

西安翠华山山崩地质遗迹资源保护

文论述了西安翠华山山崩地质遗迹资源保护的目的，进行了保护分区，将其分为核心保护区、缓冲区和视域保护区三个区，重点分析了核心保护区的保护现状，并在此基础上提出了相应的保护内容和对策，以实现山崩地质遗迹资源的可持续利用和发展。     

Response of the cladoceran community to trophic state change in Lake Apopka, Florida

A paleolimnological evaluation of cladoceran microfossils was initiated to study limnological changes in Lake Apopka, a large (125 km²), shallow (mean depth = 1.6 m), warm, polymictic lake in central Florida. The lake switched from macrophyte to algal dominance in the late 1940s, creating a Sediment Discontinuity Layer (SDL) that can be visually used to separate sediments derived from macrophytes and phytoplankton. Cladoceran microfossils were enumerated as a means of corroborating extant eutrophication data from the sediment record. Inferences about the timing and trajectory of eutrophication were made using the cladoceran-based paleo-reconstruction. The cladoceran community of Lake Apopka began to change abruptly in both total abundance and relative percent abundance just before the lake shifted from macrophyte to algal dominance. Alona affinis, a mud-vegetation associated cladoceran, disappeared before the SDL was formed. Planktonic and benthic species also began to increase below the SDL, indicating an increase in production of both planktonic and benthic species. Chydorus cf. sphaericus, an indicator of nutrient loading, increased relative to all other cladocerans beginning in the layer below the SDL and continuing upcore. Changes in the transitional sediment layer formed before the lake switched to phytoplankton dominance, including an increase in total phosphorus concentration, suggest a more gradual eutrophication process than previously reported. Data from this study supported conclusions from other paleolimnological studies that suggested anthropogenic phosphorus loading was the key factor in the hypereutrophication of Lake Apopka.     

Plio-Pleistocene mammals from Mille-Logya,Ethiopia, and the post-Hadar faunal change

We describe the non-primate mammalian fauna from the late Pliocene to earliest Pleistocene deposits of Mille-Logya in the Lower Awash Valley, Ethiopia, dated to c. 2.9–2.4 Ma, and divided into three successive units: Gafura, Seraitu, and Uraitele. We identify 41 mammalian taxa (including rodents), the most diverse group being the Bovidae, with 17 taxa. While the Gafura assemblage still resembles those from the earlier Hadar Formation, the younger Seraitu assemblage documents a major turnover. While there is little change in the species present across this interval, the relative abundances of various taxa change dramatically, with suids being largely replaced by open-country bovids (Alcelaphini and Antilopini). We interpret this faunal change as reflective of an environmental shift, contemporaneous with the replacement of Australopithecus afarensis by Homo in the area.     

Coenotypes in Submerged Paleoforests in the Qianhu Bay, Fujian Province

The paleoforest remains studied are distributed within a range of 18000 m^2 in the intertidal zone of the Qianhu Bay, Fujian Province. Eighty-nine ancient tree stumps can be clearly recognized in the paleoforest remains. Microscopic studies of 10 relatively low-carbonized stump samples definitely showed four species： Glyptostrobus pensUi （Staunt） Kouch, Schima superba Gardn., Cinnamomum Schaeffer, and Litsea Lam. The 14^C dating of some samples yielded the ages of 42560±350 to 〉43000 a B. P., corresponding to the late Late Pleistocene.     

楚科奇海与加拿大海盆表层沉积物表观特征及其环境指示

通过对中国首次和第二次北极科学考察采集的表层沉积物的观察,根据沉积物的颜色和气味、砾石分布、底栖生物及贝壳分布特征的分析,探讨了该海区表层沉积物表观特征变化与有机质输入、沉积物的氧化还原状态的关系、底栖生物分布范围、冰筏碎屑的分布区域及与海流的关系,指出在研究区软体动物生长的北界位于73．5°N,比浮游动物的北界约低2个纬度。冰筏碎屑的北界可作为融冰水的北界或永久冰区的南界,位置在77°24′N附近。通过对沉积物表观特征的综合分析,结合研究区的海流特征,指出研究区的海流分布对沉积物分布有重要影响,尤其是两股不同性质的海流相遇,对西南部与东部两个区域的沉积物组成及性质具有较强的控制作用。