Luminescence dating of sand–loess sequences and response of Mu Us and Otindag sand fields (north China) to climatic changes

The sand–loess transition zone in north China is sensitive to climate change, and is an ideal place to investigate past environmental changes. However, past climate change at millennial–centennial timescales in this region has not been well reconstructed because of limited numerical dating. Alternations of sandy loam soils with aeolian sand layers in the Mu Us and Otindag sand fields, which lie along the sand–loess transition zone, indicate multiple intervals of dune activity and stability. This change is probably a response to variations of the East Asian monsoon climate during the late Quaternary. The single aliquot regeneration (SAR) optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating protocol, which has been successfully applied to aeolian deposits worldwide, is applied to these two sand fields in this study. The OSL ages provide reliable constraints for reconstruction of past climate changes at suborbital timescale. Sections in both sand fields contain aeolian sand beds recording millennial‐scale episodes of dry climate and widespread dune activation, including episodes at about the same time as Heinrich Event 5 and the Younger Dryas in the North Atlantic region. These results demonstrate the potential of aeolian sediments in semi‐arid north China to record millennial‐scale climatic events, and also suggest that dry–wet climate variation at the desert margin in China may be linked to climatic change elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, through atmospheric circulation. This article was published online on 27 November 2008. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected (16 December 2008). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary landscapes in Central Australia: sedimentary history and palaeoecology of Puritjarra rock shelter

Puritjarra rock shelter provides a long record of late Quaternary vegetation in the Australian arid zone. Analysis of the sedimentary history of this rock shelter is combined with reanalysis of charcoal and phytolith records to provide a first‐order picture of changing landscapes in western Central Australia. These show a landscape responding to increasing aridity from 45 ka with deflation of clay‐rich red palaeosols (<45 ka) and sharp declines in grassland and other vegetation at 40–36 ka, and at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (24 ka). Vegetation in the catchment of the rock shelter recovered after 15 ka with expansion of both acacia woodland and spinifex grasslands, registering stronger summer rainfall in the interior of the continent. By 8.3 ka re‐vegetation of local palaeosols and dunes had choked off sediment supply to the rock shelter and the character of the sediments changed abruptly. Poaceae values peaked at 5.8 ka, suggesting the early–mid Holocene climatic optimum in Central Australia is bracketed between 8.3 and 5.8 ka. Local vegetation was disrupted in the late Holocene with a sharp decline in Poaceae at 3.8 ka, coinciding with an abrupt intensification of ENSO. Local grasslands recovered over the next two millennia and by 1.5 ka the modern vegetation appears to have become established. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary Seasonal Sea-Ice History of the Northeastern Japan Sea

The Late Quaternary sea-ice history of the northeastern Japan Sea is discussed on the basis of the occurrence of dropstones and ice-rafted debris (IRD) in fine sediment cores. IRD was found in all strata except those from the Holocene and oxygen isotope stage 5.5. The largest expansion of sea ice was recognized at the last glacial maximum (LGM; oxygen isotope stage 2), when the southern margin of seasonal sea ice was probably located in the vicinity of the Matsumae Plateau. The margin might occasionally have expanded further southward to off the Oga Peninsula. Sea ice expanded southward from mid-stage 5 to the LGM in response to global cooling, but with much fluctuation. Sea ice remained during deglaciation until around 10 ka, but after 10 ka it retreated northward rapidly in response to global warming and changes in surface water conditions. Greater fluctuations in IRD were found in core GH95-1208 collected from off Rumoi, Hokkaido, Japan. More IRD was found in sediments from late stage 3, late stage 5, and early stage 6. The fluctuations were not concordant with global climate changes (based on the standard oxygen isotope curve), and may have been controlled by regional climate factors such as the strength of the winter monsoon, which is related in turn to high-latitude atmospheric circulation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

山东省胶莱盆地东北缘宋家沟金矿地质特征及其成因初探

山东省宋家沟金矿位于胶莱盆地东北缘 ,产于莱阳群林寺山组断裂破碎带中。牟—即断裂带为切割莱阳群的断裂 ,对金矿起控制作用。早白垩纪晚期的火山—岩浆活动为深部含金热液的运移提供了通道 ,并在其有利的构造部位沉淀成矿。稀土元素特征和氧、硫同位素特征亦说明宋家沟金矿的物质来源以深源为主 (幔源及下地壳中的金 ) ,是早白垩世晚期的火山—岩浆活动作用的结果。     

Age and paleoclimatic significance of late Holocene lakes in the Carson Sink, NV, USA

New dating in the Carson Sink at the termini of the Humboldt and Carson rivers in the Great Basin of the western United States indicates that lakes reached elevations of 1204 and 1198 m between 915 and 652 and between 1519 and 1308 cal yr B.P., respectively. These dates confirm Morrison's original interpretation (Lake Lahontan: Geology of the Southern Carson Desert, Professional Paper 40, U.S. Geol. Survey, 1964) that these shorelines are late Holocene features, rather than late Pleistocene as interpreted by later researchers. Paleohydrologic modeling suggests that discharge into the Carson Sink must have been increased by a factor of about four, and maintained for decades, to account for the 1204-m lake stand. The hydrologic effects of diversions of the Walker River to the Carson Sink were probably not sufficient, by themselves, to account for the late Holocene lake-level rises. The decadal-long period of increased runoff represented by the 1204-m lake is also reflected in other lake records and in tree ring records from the western United States.     

中国兴凯湖北岸平原晚全新世花粉记录及泥炭沼泽形成

通过兴凯湖北岸平原泥炭剖面高分辩率花粉分析研究，对晚全新世花粉划分4个组合带。XKH-4组合时期(1857～1746aB．P．)为沼泽发育前期，这一时期花粉浓度小，陆生草本植物占优势，气候干冷。XKH-3组合时期(1746～1287aB．P．)为沼泽发育早期，这一时期花粉浓度较大，且水生植物花粉含量为剖面最高，喜温落叶阔叶植物大发展时期，气候温和湿润。XKH-2组合时期(1287～602aB．P．)为沼泽发育中期，这一时期花粉浓度最小，但以陆生草本植物为主，木本植物为辅，水生植物急剧减少，针叶植物出现两次高峰，气候向冷干方向发展。XKH-1组合时期(602aB．P．至今)为沼泽发育盛期，这一时期花粉浓度最大，陆生草本植物大发展时期，气候波动较大。     

云南东北部拱王山末次冰期

1 Introduction The Gongwang mountains constitute one of the few high m ountains of irrefutable late Pleistocene glaciation in eastern China. This area is one of the m ost extensively studied Quaternary geologicallocationsin eastern China and the interpret…     

新疆北部古地磁研究

通过和布克赛尔、克拉玛依、玛纳斯—乌鲁木齐地区泥盆纪到白垩纪古地磁研究,主要取得以下结果:(1)首次建立了准噶尔西北缘及南缘石炭纪—白垩纪古地磁极移曲线,由石炭纪到二叠纪的古地磁极位置基本在同一区间,说明该时期这些地区为一个统一的构造单元,而其古地磁极明显与塔里木、哈萨克斯坦、西伯利亚地块存在着差异。(2)该地区侏罗纪及白垩纪古地磁结果与塔里木地块结果一致,侏罗纪乌鲁木齐与和布克赛尔磁偏角相差30°左右,说明和布克赛尔地区相对乌鲁木齐地区逆时针旋转了30°左右,晚古生代以后曾发生过南向移动,而侏罗、白垩纪以来均向北发生了相当规模的北向运动,并发生了相对旋转,目前东、西准噶尔的构造格局可能就是由于局部相对旋转造成的。(3)中国大陆在早二叠世还不是一个联合的整体,而是以相互分离的独立块体分布于45°N—15°S的古特提斯洋中。(4)该地区二叠纪的磁偏角为165°—168°,而塔里木为218°,哈萨克斯坦为229°,说明存在35°—55°的逆时针旋转,这个旋转可能是由于西部推覆构造造成的。如果将西准噶尔超基性岩带顺时针旋转35°—55°后,东准噶尔超基性岩带、西准噶尔超基性岩带和斋桑泊—鲁布佐夫斯克超基性岩带应在同一构造带上。(5)该地区晚古生代古纬度变化不明显,位于30°—45     

毕节煤矿区晚二叠世煤层稀土元素的物质来源

对取自毕节地区晚二叠世11个可采煤层的13个样品的稀土元素(REE)的物质来源进行分析。发现:海洋来源对稀土元素的富集作用极其微弱;来自植物成因的物质来源小于1%;煤样中δEu负异常,而陆源岩具有Eu负异常的特点。结合晚二叠世多期喷发的峨眉山玄武岩,因此认为稀土元素的物质来源主要受陆源影响和控制。     

北祁连加里东造山带从挤压到伸展造山机制的转换

早古生代早期，北祁连造山带发生强烈的挤压变形作用，形成加里东期的俯冲－增生杂岩、高压变质岩，并使造山带岩石圈地壳加厚缩短。志留纪末期，加厚的造山带岩石圈由于垮塌作用及根部的拆沉作用，使造山带从挤压造山机制转换为伸展造山机制，并进入后造山伸展作用阶段，增厚的岩石圈开始减薄，发生不同层次的伸展作用，同时伴随花岗岩及Ａｎ∈变质岩的穹隆以及泥盆纪磨拉石盆地上叠盆地（Ｃ－Ｔ）的形成。石炭纪末，北祁连造山带岩石圈地壳已基本减薄到正常厚度。而现今的北祁连造山带的缩短和抬升则为喜马拉雅期再造山作用的产物