Lake-Level Fluctuations and Small-Scale Vegetation Patterns During the Late Glacial in The Netherlands

Late glacial changes in the vegetation were studied in and around a former lake on the southeastern side of a coversand ridge near Milheeze (southern Netherlands). Analyses of microfossils and macroremains and AMS ¹⁴C dating were performed on four sediment cores along a transect from sand ridge to the lake centre. Small-scale vegetation patterns and lake-level fluctuations were reconstructed in detail based on the information provided by the transect. For the first time in The Netherlands, cores along a transect within one lake were used to reconstruct the amplitude of late glacial lake-level fluctuations. Near Milheeze, a small and shallow lake was formed during the Bølling. The large increase in the water level during the Bølling and early Allerød, and the transition to more eutrophic conditions at the start of the Allerød, were probably related to the disappearance of permafrost. During the Allerød, open birch and pine woodlands developed in the area. In the lake, organic deposits accumulated, and the lake size and depth fluctuated. At the start of the Younger Dryas, higher lake water levels were recorded and woodlands became more open as a result of both a drop in the temperature and an increase in the effective precipitation. During the late Younger Dryas the lake water level dropped as the climate became drier and temperatures slightly increased. Accumulation of organic deposits in the lake ceased at the end of the Younger Dryas, which was caused by a drop in the water level in combination with the hydroseral succession process within the lake itself. The climatic signal reflected in the late glacial flora and lake-level fluctuations agree well with other published data from The Netherlands.     

Comparative analysis of cladoceran microfossils in the Don and Scarborough Formations,Toronto, Canada

Pleistocene deposits at Toronto, consisting of Don Formation (considered to be of Sangamonian interglacial age) and Scarborough Formation (interpreted to be Early Wisconsinan, >50 000 years B.P.) were examined at three sites: Don Valley Brickyard, Leaside, and at the south end of Brimley Road at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs. Comparison of the cladoceran microfossil assemblages described from these sites has enabled reconstruction of the lacustrine environment of the region.Cladoceran microfossil evidence from each site confirmed the disparity in community composition and structure, and in environmental conditions that existed during deposition of the Don and Scarborough Formations. Cladocera community composition averaged 40–45% remains of littoral species in the warmer Don interval at all three sites. The Scarborough Formation contained a more homogeneous cladoceran assemblage, with higher community similarity across sites than observed in the Don Formation. However, there was greater variation in the littoral: planktonic ratio among sites, ranging from >0.90 at Leaside to <0.10 at Brimley Road.Stratigraphically constrained cluster analysis of cladoceran microfossil assemblages clearly separated the communities in the Don Formation from those in the Scarborough Formation at each site. During the interglacial, the Don Brickyard site appears to have been a shallow, protected embayment on the lake shore, whereas the other sites are more distinctly lacustrine. The Scarborough assemblage at each site is representative of deeper, oligotrophic, subarctic lakes.     

Principal stages in evolution of Precambrian organic world: Communication 1. Archean and Early Proterozoic

Expounded in this work are the results of critical consideration of published and original data on biologic nature and appearance chronology of different groups of Archean and Lower Proterozoic (3.5–1.65 Ga) paleontological remains known from geological record. Conclusions are substantiated by morphological analysis of structurally preserved microfossils, their facies distribution, and by inferable genesis and principal evolutionary trends of Archean stromatolites. A special attention is paid to variations of organic and carbonate carbon isotope composition in sedimentary successions with paleontological remains and to recent information about discovered, most ancient biomarkers of large groups of organic world. As a result of this approach, a detailed model of Precambrian organic world evolution is suggested.     

吉南地区万隆组燧石相微生物化石及其古环境意义

拉伸纪作为承接中元古代蓝菌时代以及成冰纪生物锐减的关键地质历史时期,是探索早期生命与环境演化最重要的时期之一。吉林南部地区地处华北板块东北缘,拉伸系发育完整、出露全,在燧石条带、燧石结核和泥页岩中富含微生物化石,是开展拉伸纪古生物学、生物地层学和古环境研究的理想地区。本次工作利用岩石切片法在吉林南部二道江地区万隆组顶部燧石中发现微生物化石6属9种,其中丝状蓝菌1属4种Siphonophycus robustum,S.typicum,S.kestron,S.solidum;球状蓝菌3属3种Eoentophysalis belcherensis,Gloeodiniopsis lamellosa,Scissilisphaera bistratosa;分类位置未定2属2种Glenobotrydion majorinum,Globophycus rugosum。这些微体化石的发现为开展万隆组古环境分析及生物地层对比研究提供了新的素材。研究显示,万隆组燧石相微生物组合以发育管鞘藻席(Siphonophycus mat)为主要特征,丝状蓝菌呈横向展布,长可达400μm以上,显示原地或近原地埋藏的特点...     

Eocene oil shales from Jordan – Paleoenvironmental implications from reworked microfossils

Reworked microfossils, common in Paleogene sediments in Jordan, are here used to reconstruct the depositional environment. The reworked taxa, which include both calcareous nannofossils and foraminifera of Cretaceous and Paleocene age, were found in Eocene oil shales. The potential provenance of the reworked material and the underlying processes of the reworking are discussed. We differentiate between a subaerial erosion of exposed hinterland strata and a submarine abrasion of sediments.A total of 73 smear slides have been prepared to identify calcareous nannofossils, another fifteen samples were analyzed for foraminifera. The allochthonous calcareous nannofossil and foraminifera taxa can be linked to a lithified source, which was eroded and transported with both calcitic lithic fragments and organic matter. Multiple factors controlling the transport of the reworked taxa during the time of deposition have been investigated for the Jordanian oil shales. Climate changes are thought to be the cause for changes in the abundance patterns and in the composition of the reworked taxa. The input of common autochthonous components during arid phases and more allochthonous sediment particles during humid periods filled the Eocene sink. A fall in relative sea level, perhaps in combination with increased storm activity, caused a transport of reworked material to deeper parts of the Azraq Hamza Sub-basin. The relative sea level changes in turn were related to syndepositional movements, redefining the shape of the Azraq Hamza Sub-basin and its internal fault-block architecture.     

Confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman imagery of ancient microscopic fossils

Among all problems confronting the study of ancient permineralized (petrified) microscopic fossils, two stand out, the need for (1) accurate documentation of their three-dimensional morphology, and (2) direct analysis of their chemical composition and that of their surrounding mineral matrices. To address these problems we demonstrate the use of two techniques that we have recently introduced to Precambrian paleobiology: confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman imagery. These techniques, both of which are non-intrusive and non-destructive, can provide data by which to characterize, in situ and at micron-scale resolution, the cellular and organismal morphology of thin section-embedded organic-walled fossils. In addition, Raman imagery provides direct analyses of the molecular–structural composition of the kerogenous components of such fossils and of their surrounding matrices, and a means to assess quantitatively the geochemical maturity of the preserved organics. Use of these techniques for studies of ancient microscopic fossils can provide information in three dimensions at high spatial resolution about their morphology and cellular anatomy, taphonomy and fidelity of preservation, composition and mode of preservation, and their biogenicity and syngenetic origin with the rocks in which they occur.     

渤海海域黄河口南斜坡火山岩地层划分及意义

渤海海域黄河口南斜坡新生代火山岩规模大,喷发期次多,非均质性强,地震反射杂乱,地层划分对比难度大。为了厘定渤海海域黄河口南斜坡火山岩系地层层位,对研究区火山岩的岩石学特征及火山岩系夹层中的化石展开系统研究。薄片分析结果表明,渤海海域黄河口南斜坡火山岩主要分为火山熔岩和火山碎屑岩两大类,其中火山熔岩主要有杏仁状玄武岩、气孔玄武岩、致密玄武岩、辉绿岩以及角砾熔岩四种,火山碎屑岩以凝灰岩为主。结合渤海海域黄河口南斜坡火山岩中常见铁方解石、沸石、绿泥石等热水沉积矿物、部分玄武岩保存有淬碎结构、氧化系数(Fe2O3/FeO)低以及火山岩与黑色泥岩互层等四方面,证据证实研究区部分火山岩具有水下喷发特征。渤海海域黄河口南斜坡火山岩系夹层中发现了丰富的介形虫、藻类和孢粉化石,指示火山岩系上段为东营组二段沉积,火山岩系下段主体为东营组三段。根据化石的层位指示意义,明确黄河口南斜坡东营组三段沉积时期物源主要来自莱北低凸起的中生界和沙河街组一段地层。通过化石的古环境指示意义,对这套地层的形成过程进行恢复。这套地层层位的落实对明确黄河口南斜坡新生代油气成藏规律具有重要意义。     

废黄河三角洲典型钻孔XJ01全新世地层与微体古生物记录

钻孔XJ01位于废黄河三角洲滨淮镇附近,钻孔中上更新统顶部与全新统有4个14C测年数据控制,该孔全新统岩性特征自下而上为潮间带含贝壳砾质砂层、浅海相淤泥质黏土层、三角洲前缘相深灰色粉砂、三角洲平原相黏土质粉砂及粉砂质黏土。全新统微体古生物分析结果详细地反映了废黄河三角洲典型区域各时期的沉积环境,其中,全新统下部见大量的有孔虫与海相介形虫,中部微体古生物略少,上部地层中海相介形虫增多。整个全新世微体生物组合揭示了一个河口变化的水动力控制沉积环境。     

Quaternary charophytes from Salina del Bebedero, Argentina: their relation with extant taxa and palaeolimnological significance

Charophyte (Charales, green macroscopic algae) assemblages found in Quaternary shoreline sediments from Salina del Bebedero, Argentina, are described in detail, illustrated, and statistically analysed. Fossil gyrogonites, Late Pleistocene and Holocene in age, of Chara cf. hispida var. major (Hartman) Wood, Chara halina García, Chara hornemannii Wallmann, Chara bulbillifera (Donterberg) García, Lamprothamnium haesseliae Donterberg and Lamprothamnium succinctum (Braun ex Ascherson) Wood were identified. A comparison with extant charophyte species of similar ecological requirements allowed for an accurate systematical determination and provided useful data for complementary palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical approaches. On this basis, a reconstruction of palaeo-salinities for the Salina del Bebedero lake, represented by eleven palaeo-beaches, is proposed. Also the associations of charophytes with the ostracods Cyprideis sp., Limnocythere sp., Pampacythere sp., Cypridopsis sp., Darwinula sp., Ilyocypris gibba (Randohr) Brady and Norman, and the foraminifers Ammonia sp., Elphidium gunteri Cole, Quinqueloculina sp., and one species of Discorbacea are analysed, since they are present in both the fossil and modern environments.