The term ‘hiatus concretions’ was introduced for the first time by the late Ehrhard Voigt, a well‐known German bryozoan specialist, in 1968 (originally as Hiatus‐Konkretionen). Hiatus concretions are early diagenetic bodies that formed within the host sediment. In this respect, they are similar in composition to other concretions that are very common in siliciclastic deposits of different ages, some of which are known to contain fossils or minerals. Hiatus concretions, however, differ from conventional concretions in their complex post‐diagenetic history, including exhumation on the sea‐floor, colonization by various encrusting and/or boring organisms during a break in sedimentation, and final burial. Thus, the name ‘hiatus concretions’ refers to the fact that they indicate hiatal surfaces in sedimentary sequences ( Fig. 1 ). It is known that hiatus concretions may have developed during very different time‐spans: for example, within a part of one ammonite subzone (i.e. tens of thousands to a few hundreds of thousands of years) or much longer, during a time embracing more than a stage (i.e. several millions of years). The majority of the hiatus concretions known from the fossil record have carbonate cements, usually calcite, and these are the main focus of this article. Some hiatus concretions, however, are cemented by phosphate minerals. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Hiatus concretions in the field. A. A horizon of hiatus concretions weathered out from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) clay sediments at Krzyworzeka, Polish Jura, Poland. B. Close‐up of the hiatus concretions. 相似文献
Plesiosaurs are an unusual and intriguing group of extinct aquatic reptiles ( Fig. 1 ). They are sauropterygians, a group known from an array of semi‐aquatic forms during the Triassic period: placodonts, pachypleurosaurs and nothosaurs. The first plesiosaurs are known from the very latest Triassic, but by the Early Jurassic plesiosaurs were cosmopolitan in distribution and lasted successfully to the latest Cretaceous, when they became victims of the K‐T extinction event. Plesiosaurs were predominantly marine organisms, although their fossils are not uncommon in brackish or even fresh water deposits. We know that all plesiosaurs were carnivorous; many of them were top predators in their respective ecosystems. But with no living descendants (or analogues) plesiosaurs are mysterious fossil organisms—as we will see, many questions regarding their biology remain unanswered or contentious. However, plesiosaurs are currently undergoing renewed scientific attention. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint The beautifully preserved skeleton of the plesiosaur Rhomaleosaurus victor seen in ventral view, from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Holzmaden, Germany (total length 3.44 m). Redrawn from Fraas (1910). 相似文献
The word ‘treasure’ conjures an image of objects of silver and gold, perhaps encrusted with gemstones, and some treasures dug from the ground certainly match this image (Fig. 1 ). However, a theme that ran through the recent exhibition of Treasure at the British Museum was that the archaeological value of treasure does not depend only on its content of precious metals or gems. Many items recovered from archaeological sites are made from or include natural rocks, minerals and gemstones, so that geological and mineralogical techniques and interpretative approaches often make an essential contribution to their study. This article explores the role of scientific examination in realizing the full archaeological value of treasure. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Group of items from a Roman hoard, found at Thetford. These objects are not in Treasure but may be seen in Gallery 49 of the British Museum. 相似文献
These are, however, no general luminescence criteria indicating the depositional environment. Luminescence of calcite and dolomite requires 20–40 ppm Mn, with the equipments used in this study. Aragonite is not yet investigated systematically. Zonal luminescence in carbonate cements may indicate changes of the chemical composition of the aquifer and may be used for “cement stratigraphy”. In skeletons it rather indicates physiological changes. While aragonitic skeletons lose their luminescence Zonation during replacement by calcite, Mg-calcite skeletons may keep parts of it, because their replacement preserves the original crystal fabric. Blotchy luminescence developes in Mg-calcitic particles during their adjustment to lower Mg-calcites by dissolution-precipitation processes in solutions with changing Mn/Fe-ratios. 相似文献
On the basis of distinct lithologic features such as composition, grain size, bedding characteristics and sedimentary structures, six facies were identified in Callovian to Oxfordian rocks exposed southwest of Bhuj, Kachchh. They are interbedded calcareous shale-siltstone (ICSSF), limestone (LF), ferruginous sandstone (FerSF), felspathic sandstone (FelSF), grey shale (GSF) and oolitic limestone (OLF) facies. The rich and highly diversified trace fossils reveal a wide range of animal behaviours represented by dwelling, feeding, crawling and resting structures. Horizontal feeding structures are found abundantly in all lithofacies indicating low wave and current energy and deposition of poorly sorted muddy to sandy sediments. A few coarse layers containing Arenicolites, Ophiomorpha and Skolithos indicate the presence of opportunistic animals (due to their first appearance under harsh conditions) under -intermittently moderate wave and current energy or storm wave conditions (due to coarse grain size and dominance/presence of only vertical trace fossils) in the shoreface zone. Taenidium occurs mainly in the lower shoreface to transitional zone suggesting low to moderate energy conditions. Thalassinoides occurs in middle to lower shoreface settings under relatively low-energy conditions. Zoophycos represents offshore environment, where it occupies the deepest bioturbation levels.The characteristic lithofacies and assemblages of trace fossils in the rocks of the Chari/Jumara Formation indicate a depositional environment fluctuating from the upper shoreface to offshore zone. 相似文献
Palaeontology was established as a science in the Victorian era, yet has roots that stretch deeper into the recesses of history. More than 2000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle deduced that fossil sea shells were once living organisms, and around 500 ad Xenophanes used fossils to argue that many areas of land must have previously been submarine. In 1027, the Persian scholar Avicenna suggested that organisms were fossilized by petrifying fluids; this theory was accepted by most natural philosophers up until the eighteenth century Enlightenment, and even beyond. The late 1700s were notable for the work of Georges Cuvier who established the reality of extinction. This, coupled with advances in the recognition of faunal successions made by the canal engineer William Smith, laid the framework for the discipline that would become known as palaeontology. As the nineteenth century progressed, the scientific community became increasingly well organized. Most fossil workers were gentleman scientists and members of the clergy, who self‐funded their studies in a new and exciting field. Many of the techniques used to study fossils today were developed during this ‘classical’ period. Perhaps the most fundamental of these is to expose a fossil by splitting the rock housing it, and then conduct investigations based upon the exposed surface ( Fig. 1 ). This approach has served the science well in the last two centuries, having been pivotal to innumerable advances in our understanding of the history of life. Nevertheless, there are many cases where splitting a rock in this way results in incomplete data recovery; those where the fossils are not flattened, but are preserved in three‐dimensions. Even the ephemeral soft‐tissues of organisms are occasionally preserved in a three‐dimensional state, for example in the Herefordshire, La Voulte Sûr Rhone and Orsten ‘Fossil Lagerstätten’ (sites of exceptional fossil preservation). These rare and precious deposits provide a wealth of information about the history of life on Earth, and are perhaps our most important resource in the quest to understand the palaeobiology of extinct organisms. With the aid of twenty‐first century technology, we can now make the most of these opportunities through the field of ‘virtual palaeontology’—computer‐aided visualization of fossils. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint A split nodule showing the fossil within, in this case a cockroachoid insect. Fossil 4 cm long (From Garwood & Sutton, in press ). 相似文献
This article presents Sm-Nd and geochemical data on fine-grained sediments of the northern margin from the Yangtze block, China, to understand the variations of Nd isotopic compositions and crustal evolution history in this area. The results are as follows: (1) Nd isotopic compositions for clastic sedimentary rocks of the Middle-Late Proterozoic have relatively positive Nd(t) values ( 2.72 to 0.69), with Nd model ages from 1.38 Ga to 1.55 Ga, corresponding to the contemporaneous volcanic rocks from the Xixiang (西乡) Group. This indicates that the arc-related materials from Middle-Late Proterozoic dominate the provenances of the Middle-Late Proterozoic periods. (2) The gradual decrease in εNd(t) during the Cambrian-Carboniferous periods is likely to reflect the progressively increasing proportion of erosion materials from the Foping (佛坪) and Qinling (秦岭) complexes, corresponding to a gradually decreasing trend in the La/Th ratios. (3) A prominent increase in the εNd(t) value of the Late Permian strata probably reflects the significant incorporation of the mantle-derived materials. The trace element data are compared with data of the Emeishan (峨嵋山) flood basalts. These data indicate that the volcanic dust has been added to the Late Permian strata during the Late Permian, represented by periods of extremely high Emeishan flood basalt activity in the south-eastern margin of the Yangtze block. 相似文献
The septarian carbonate concretions from the Boom Clay (Belgium) consist mainly of authigenic minerals such as micrite ( 70% bulk volume) and pyrite framboids ( 3%). These mineral phases occur between detrital grains and fossils. The septarian cracks are lined with calcite, which is sometimes covered with pyrite. The preservation of delicate sedimentological features in the concretion matrix (hardly compacted faecal pellets, burrows and uncrushed shells) points to an early origin of the concretions. Systematic geochemical variations from concretion centre to edge suggest that growth continued during shallow burial. The13C values (–17.5 to –20.5) of the concretionary carbonate show that bacterial sulphate-reduction processes were dominant. Sulphate-reduction-derived HCO3- was diluted by marine-related HCO3-, derived from dissolved bioclasts. A slight enrichment in 13C during growth is caused by the decreasing influence of sulphate reduction because of the progressive closure of the diagenetic system due to shallow-burial compaction. The 18O values (–0.5 to +1.0) of the concretionary carbonate point to a marine origin. The slightly 18O-depleted signature with respect to time-equivalent marine-derived carbonate relates to the incorporation of an 18O-depleted component, originating from sulphate and organic matter. The slight decrease in 18O during growth relates to an increasing influence of this component and to a decreasing influence of seawater-derived oxygen during early diagenesis. 相似文献
Giant spheroidal concretions (cannonball concretions; some nearly 6 m in diameter) in fluvial channel‐fill sandstones at two localities of the Dakota Sandstone formed by import of cement constituents at a burial depth of <1 km. During cannonball concretion growth a self‐organizational process restricted concretions to a relatively few but widely spaced, and locally, evenly spaced, sites. Other forms of calcite cements at these localities are cement patches in the form of intergrown grape‐size concretions (grapestone), and, locally, pervasive cement. An early episode of invasion by thermogenically generated H2S, which reacted with iron oxides on detrital grains, generated scattered pyrite crystals and decimetre‐scale spheroidal pyrite concretions. Intergranular volumes (IGV) in the concretions range from 36% to 27%. The absence of a trend in IGV and of carbon and oxygen‐isotope ratios from cannonball centres to margins indicates that these concretions did not cement progressively outwards from the centre. Rather, the modern spheres represent the spatial extent of nucleation sites that were not otherwise organized within that volume. Carbon and oxygen‐isotope values for concretion calcites plot along a swath between depleted values of δ18C of ?36‰ and δ18O of ?13‰ and enriched values of ?4‰ and ?6‰, respectively. Four groups of calcites are evident on the basis of trace‐element content and suggest that the calcite precipitated across a range of oxidation conditions that do not correlate strongly with the isotopic compositions. Although fluvial overbank sandstones have some pedogenic calcite, the channel sandstones have at most a trace of pedogenic calcite and carbonate rock fragments, so that the bulk of cement components were imported to the sandstones. Carbon and calcium sources for calcite cement include marine limestone, carbonate shells, and anhydrite in addition to HCO derived from oxidized methane, most likely derived from beds underlying or laterally in communication with Dakota sandstones. HCO in ascending formation waters, released during compaction, mixed with meteoric water whose temperature and composition varied with time, to generate the 7‰ range in δ18Ocalcite values measured. 相似文献
As anyone travelling on the roads of southeast England between 2006 and 2008 has probably been aware, major improvements have recently been made at the junction of the M25 and A2 motorways, south of the main Dartford crossing of the River Thames ( Fig. 1 ). The roadworks, funded by the UK Highways Agency, with the main contractors Jacobs Babtie and Costain, were accompanied by archaeological investigations carried out by Oxford Archaeology between 2003 and 2006. The archaeological programme had a major Palaeolithic/Pleistocene element under my direction ( Fig. 2 ) that has produced evidence of Neanderthal occupation early in the last glaciation (the Devensian, which lasted from 115 000 to 10 000 bp ), during a period when Britain had until now, been thought to have been entirely deserted. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Site location and areas of investigation. 相似文献
The tragic scenes of human suffering in the wake of the Asian tsunami in late December 2004 have thrown into sharp relief the Earth's destructive power (Fig. 1 ). Caused by a tectonic event off the coast of Sumatra, it could be described as a very large earthquake, an unusual tsunami and a massive disaster. Or, with a longer view, it could be considered a normal feature of a convergent plate boundary. Both views are correct. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Mass destruction after the tsunami hit the village on the sand bar at Phi Phi Island, Thailand, with unscathed limestone hills behind (Rex Features). 相似文献
<正>1.Introduction The continental crust,covering nearly a third of the Earth's surface,is dominantly made up of granites and granodiorites(Rudnick and Gao, 2003).Although the vast majority of these granitoids are amphiboleand /or biotite-bearing,orthopyroxene-bearing granitoids form a minor but important component of the lower continental crust in many high-grade terrains(e.g.,Bohlender et al.,1992;Kilpatrick and Ellis,1992;Sheraton et al.,1992;Berger et al.,1995;Zhou et al., 1995;Peucat et al.,1996;Duchesne and Wilmart,1997;Hughes et al.,1997;Prame.1997;Frost et al.,2000;Janasi,2002;Mendes 相似文献
A devastating earthquake of magnitude 7 struck very close and almost beneath Port au Prince the capital of Haiti, the western half of the island of Hispaniola, early in the morning of Tuesday, 12 January 2010 ( Fig. 1 ). While in absolute terms this was by no means the largest earthquake recorded this year globally, the death toll is around 230 000, making it one of the world's worst earthquakes in terms of casualties in recorded history, with almost uncountable economic loss to one of the poorest countries in the world. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Intensity map of 2010 Haiti earthquake (Image: USGS). 相似文献
For understanding the Mesozoic tectonics of Yanshan （燕山 ） belt, the authors took geological mapping in the belt. A large-scale thrust structure was identified in Yonganpu （永安堡） area. in the western part of Suizhong （绥中 ） County, Liaoning （辽宁 ） Province during our recent mapping in the Yanshan belt. The hanging wall of the thrust was composed of Archean gneiss and the overlying Early Cretaceous Zhangjiakou （张家口 ） Formation; meanwhile, the strongly ductile deformed volcanic rocks of Zhangjiakou Formation comprised the footwall in Yong＇anpu tectonic window. This discovery indicates the existence of strongly contractional deformation in the Yanshan belt after the eruption of Early Cretaceous Zhangjiakou volcanic rocks. On the basis of mapping and research, it is concluded that the published official geological maps have failed to identify the major structural features of the Yanshan belt. 相似文献
The Swedish Deep Drilling Program (SDDP) has been initiated to study fundamental problems of the dynamic Earth system, its natural history and evolution. Many key scientific questions can be addressed through in situ investigations only, requiring deep continental drilling. Some are unique to Scandinavia, most are of international interest and significance. At present, five core projects ( Fig. 1 ) with international teams are integrating scientific problems with societal and industrial applications. If SDDP succeeds to attract the funding required, Sweden will have a number of world‐class boreholes at key locations by 2020. Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Locations of SDDP drilling project proposals. PFDP—Postglacial Fault Drilling Project; PaMVAS—Palaeoproterozoic mineralized volcanic arc systems: the Skellefte District; COSC—Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides; DRL—The Dellen Impact Crater, a geoscientific deep rock laboratory; SELHO—Svecofennian accretion, an example of the early structural evolution in a large hot orogen; CISP—Concentric Impact Structures in the Palaeozoic: the Lockne and Siljan craters. Background and inset image from Blue Marble Next Generation data set (NASA Earth Observatory, http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/BlueMarble/ ). 相似文献
In contrast to Solnhofen-type conservation Lagerstätten, the platy limestones of the Benkovac Stone of the Eocene of Croatia contains a variety of trace fossils. They belong to the Nereites ichnofacies, characterized by a suite of highly specialized ichnogenera, turbiditic preservation, and distinctive pre-event versus post-event communities. In siliciclastic rocks, this ichnofacies stands for turbiditic deep-sea sediments. Also unusual is the lack of body fossils. The only exceptions are occasional plant debris and Bencovacinaconcentrica. n. gen., n. sp., which is affiliated with xenophyophorian Foraminifera. These giant protozoans survive on present deep-sea bottoms, but they were also common on the shallow-marine biomats in Ediacaran times. These findings contradict the current shallow-marine interpretation, which is based on the regional geologic setting and sedimentary structures typical for tempestites. Thus, the Benkovac Stone would be an ideal place to test the reliability of ichnological versus sedimentological depth criteria in an entirely calcareous sequence. 相似文献
Fluorescence microscopy is useful not only for identifying most of the oil-prone organic matter (macerals) in sedimentary rocks and coals but also for assessing their thermal maturities (ranks). This report introduces a violet-light excitation system which induces more than one order of magnitude stronger fluorescence intensity that the commonly used UV-light excitation system. The red/green quotient from violet-light excited fluorescence, Qv, of sporinite can be easily measured using this system. Several examples using coal and cuttings samples are presented to demonstrate the use of this technique for evaluating the thermal maturities of coals and sedimentary rocks.From the results of our studies we conclude that:
1.(1) Violet-light excited fluorescence from sporinites can be routinely measured to assess thermal maturity.
2.(2) Spectral (Quantitative) fluorescence technique is useful for evaluating thermal maturity when samples are poorly polished or deficient in vitrinite.
3.(3) Visual (Strew-mounted) kerogen slides can not be used for fluorescence measurements unless a non-fluorescent mounting medium is used.
There are a variety of approaches to the restoration of the primary rocks,but various discrimina-tion diagrams or functional formulae have a limit on their application and discrimination accuracy.On the basis of statistical analyses in conjunction with the advantages of various discrimination dia-grams,this paper presents a new functional discriminant:Dy=-2lgA 1gE-0.5lgF-2lgM 3lgC 5.5lgN 1.5lgK-Z.The above discriminant can be rewritten as :Dy=lg EC^3N^5.5K^1.5/A^2F^0.5M^2-Z This discriminant is not applicable to sedimentary rocks,particularly those enriched in Ca, and Mg rich ultrabasic rocks.In this study 1640 typical rock samples and 126 sedimentary (metasedimentary )rock samples and 126 volcanogenic iron ore samples were tested with the above described discriminant .The results obtained are satisfactory with the exception of feldspar sandstone.The discrimination rates for various types of rocks are in the range of 85-95% or more with a total discrimination rate of 91.7%.This paper analyzes the factors leading to wrong discrimination and also points out that coarse detrital rocks,weathered volcanic rocks,volcanic fine detrital rocks of two different material sources and Ca-rich sedimentary rocks are easy to suffer wrong discrimination. 相似文献
A group of high grade metamorphic rocks from the Arendal area in Southern Norway has been analyzed for bulk geochemistry, and carbon and sulfur isotopic composition. A good correspondence between the composition of the Arendal rocks and common unmetamorphosed sedimentary and magmatic rocks suggests that except for some volatile compounds no mass transport took place during metamorphism. The high grade mafic rocks interlayered with the metasediments originate from basaltic tuffs and/or intrusives.Carbon occurs as graphite and also in small amounts in a still unidentified form. The carbon of the silicic metasedimentary rocks is isotopically light with an average
13C of –20.2, but significantly heavier than carbonaceous matter from unmetamorphosed Precambrian sediments. This is probably due to thermal pyrolysis of the original sedimentary organic matter and to the escape of a gas phase enriched in light carbon by reactions with the graphitic substance during metamorphism.Both the metasediments and the high grade mafic rocks have relatively high sulfur contents. The mean
34S values are 3.3 and 1.8, respectively. This can be explained by isotopically heavy sulfur in the original sediment. Some migration of sulfur probably has occurred from the metasediments into the metamafic rocks.No influence of the hypersthene isograd on the chemical and stable isotope composition could be detected. 相似文献
