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1.
We employed X-ray diffraction methods to quantify clay mineral assemblages in the Indus Delta and flood plains since ~ 14 ka, spanning a period of strong climatic change. Assemblages are dominated by smectite and illite, with minor chlorite and kaolinite. Delta sediments integrate clays from across the basin and show increasing smectite input between 13 and 7.5 ka, indicating stronger chemical weathering as the summer monsoon intensified. Changes in clay mineralogy postdate changes in climate by 5–3 ka, reflecting the time needed for new clay minerals to form and be transported to the delta. Samples from the flood plains in Punjab show evidence for increased chemical weathering towards the top of the sections (6–< 4 ka), counter to the trend in the delta, at a time of monsoon weakening. Clay mineral assemblages within sandy flood-plain sediment have higher smectite/(illite + chlorite) values than interbedded mudstones, suggestive of either stronger weathering or more sediment reworking since the Mid Holocene. We show that marine records are not always good proxies for weathering across the entire flood plain. Nonetheless, the delta record likely represents the most reliable record of basin-wide weathering response to climate change.  相似文献   

2.
Iron oxide concretions are formed from post depositional, paleogroundwater chemical interaction with iron minerals in porous sedimentary rocks. The concretions record a history of iron mobilization and precipitation caused by changes in pH, oxidation conditions, and activity of bacteria. Transport limited growth rates may be used to estimate the duration of fluid flow events. The Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, an important hydrocarbon reservoir and aquifer on the Colorado Plateau, USA, is an ideal stratum to study concretions because it is widely distributed, well exposed and is the host for a variety of iron oxide concretions.Many of the concretions are nearly spherical and some consist of a rind of goethite that nearly completely fills the sandstone porosity and surrounds a central sandstone core. The interior and exterior host-rock sandstones are similar in detrital minerals, but kaolinite and interstratified illite–smectite are less abundant in the interior. Lepidocrocite is present as sand-grain rims in the exterior sandstone, but not present in the interior of the concretions.Widespread sandstone bleaching resulted from dissolution of early diagenetic hematite grain coatings by chemically reducing water that gained access to the sandstone through fault conduits. The iron was transported in solution and precipitated as iron oxide concretions by oxidation and increasing pH. Iron diffusion and advection growth time models place limits on minimum duration of the diagenetic, fluid flow events that formed the concretions. Concretion rinds 2 mm thick and 25 mm in radius would take place in 2000 years from transport by diffusion and advection and in 3600 years if transport was by diffusion only. Solid concretions 10 mm in radius would grow in 3800 years by diffusion or 2800 years with diffusion and advection.Goethite (α-FeO (OH)) and lepidocrocite (γ-FeO (OH)) nucleated on K-feldspar grains, on illite coatings on sand grains, and on pore-filling illite, but not on clean quartz grains. Model results show that regions of detrital K-feldspar in the sandstone that consume H+ more rapidly than diffusion to the reaction site determine concretion size, and spacing is related to diffusion and advection rates of supply of reactants Fe2+, O2, and H+.  相似文献   

3.
Stratigraphical, mineralogical, geochemical and optical dating methods were used to reconstruct paleo-hydrological changes in two playas (Phulera, 500 mm/a and Pokharan, 200 mm/a) in near extremum climatic regions of the Thar Desert. Sediment successions in shallow profiles from Phulera and Pokharan contain three and four stratigraphic units, respectively, each with characteristic geochemical properties. These units reflect changes in chemical weathering, detrital input, salinity and provide a measure of the changes in precipitation (i.e. monsoon) through time.Sediments from Pokharan suggest short rainfall events during ca. 6.6–4 ka, relatively stable fresh water (higher and persistent rainfall) regime during 4–2.3 ka, and a hyper saline (low rainfall) condition during 2.3–1.1 ka. Sediments at Phulera, record hyper saline (low rainfall) lacustrine conditions during <2.3 ka to >1.4 ka. Higher abundance of gypsum in Pokharan (2.3–1.1 ka) and proto-dolomite in Phulera (2.3–1.4 ka) are nearly synchronous and reflect enhancement of salinity. Selenite crystals in Pokharan and large desiccation cracks in buried horizons at Phulera reflect desiccation of playas at ca. 2 ka. Both playas progressively became less saline after 1.4 ka. Given the regional nature of this record, these changes are attributed to fluctuation of the monsoon over the Indian sub continent.  相似文献   

4.
Rapid weathering and erosion rates in mountainous tropical watersheds lead to highly variable soil and saprolite thicknesses which in turn impact nutrient fluxes and biological populations. In the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico, a 5-m thick saprolite contains high microorganism densities at the surface and at depth overlying bedrock. We test the hypotheses that the organisms at depth are limited by the availability of two nutrients, P and Fe. Many tropical soils are P-limited, rather than N-limited, and dissolution of apatite is the dominant source of P. We document patterns of apatite weathering and of bioavailable Fe derived from the weathering of primary minerals hornblende and biotite in cores augered to 7.5 m on a ridgetop as compared to spheroidally weathering bedrock sampled in a nearby roadcut.Iron isotopic compositions of 0.5 N HCl extracts of soil and saprolite range from about δ56Fe = 0 to ? 0.1‰ throughout the saprolite except at the surface and at 5 m depth where δ56Fe = ? 0.26 to ? 0.64‰. The enrichment of light isotopes in HCl-extractable Fe in the soil and at the saprolite–bedrock interface is consistent with active Fe cycling and consistent with the locations of high cell densities and Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria, identified previously. To evaluate the potential P-limitation of Fe-cycling bacteria in the profile, solid-state concentrations of P were measured as a function of depth in the soil, saprolite, and weathering bedrock. Weathering apatite crystals were examined in thin sections and an apatite dissolution rate of 6.8 × 10? 14 mol m? 2 s? 1 was calculated. While surface communities depend on recycled nutrients and atmospheric inputs, deep communities survive primarily on nutrients released by the weathering bedrock and thus are tightly coupled to processes related to saprolite formation including mineral weathering. While low available P may limit microbial activity within the middle saprolite, fluxes of P from apatite weathering should be sufficient to support robust growth of microorganisms in the deep saprolite.  相似文献   

5.
Mylonite textures in granodiorite boulders are responsible for higher rates of surface denudation of host rocks and the progressive development of unusual rock weathering features, termed weathering posts. These textures are characterized by smaller grain sizes, higher biotite content, and a higher biotite axial ratio in host rocks relative to weathering posts. Elemental concentrations do not show a significant difference between weathering posts and the host rocks in which they are found, and this reflects the absence of a weathering residue on the rock surfaces. Chemical weathering loosens the bonds between mineral grains through the expansion of biotite, and the loosened grains fall off or are blown off the boulder surface and continue their chemical alteration in the surrounding soil. The height of weathering posts on late Quaternary moraines increases at a linear rate of ~ 1.45 ± 0.45 cm (1000 yr)? 1 until post heights reach the diameter of host rocks. Such a rate of boulder denudation, if unrecognized, would generate significant errors (> 20%) in cosmogenic exposure ages for Pleistocene moraines. Given the paucity of boulders with diameters that significantly exceed 1.5 m, the maximum age of utility of weathering posts as a numeric age indicator is ~ 100 ka.  相似文献   

6.
Quaternary glaciation of Mount Everest   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  
The Quaternary glacial history of the Rongbuk valley on the northern slopes of Mount Everest is examined using field mapping, geomorphic and sedimentological methods, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and 10Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) dating. Six major sets of moraines are present representing significant glacier advances or still-stands. These date to >330 ka (Tingri moraine), >41 ka (Dzakar moraine), 24–27 ka (Jilong moraine), 14–17 ka (Rongbuk moraine), 8–2 ka (Samdupo moraines) and ～1.6 ka (Xarlungnama moraine), and each is assigned to a distinct glacial stage named after the moraine. The Samdupo glacial stage is subdivided into Samdupo I (6.8–7.7 ka) and Samdupo II (～2.4 ka). Comparison with OSL and TCN defined ages on moraines on the southern slopes of Mount Everest in the Khumbu Himal show that glaciations across the Everest massif were broadly synchronous. However, unlike the Khumbu Himal, no early Holocene glacier advance is recognized in the Rongbuk valley. This suggests that the Khumbu Himal may have received increased monsoon precipitation in the early Holocene to help increase positive glacier mass balances, while the Rongbuk valley was too sheltered to receive monsoon moisture during this time and glaciers could not advance. Comparison of equilibrium-line altitude depressions for glacial stages across Mount Everest reveals asymmetric patterns of glacier retreat that likely reflects greater glacier sensitivity to climate change on the northern slopes, possibly due to precipitation starvation.  相似文献   

7.
Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the Lower Colorado River (LCR) and tributary alluvial fans emanating from the Black Mountains near Golden Shores, Arizona record six cycles of Late Cenozoic aggradation and incision of the LCR and its adjacent alluvial fans. Cosmogenic 3He (3Hec) ages of basalt boulders on fan terraces yield age ranges of: 3.3–2.2 Ma, 2.2–1.1 Ma, 1.1 Ma to 110 ka, < 350 ka, < 150 ka, and < 63 ka. T1 and Q1 fans are especially significant, because they overlie Bullhead Alluvium, i.e. the first alluvial deposit of the LCR since its inception ca. 4.2 Ma. 3Hec data suggest that the LCR began downcutting into the Bullhead Alluvium as early as 3.3 Ma and as late as 2.2 Ma. Younger Q2a to Q4 fans very broadly correlate in number and age with alluvial terraces elsewhere in the southwestern USA. Large uncertainties in 3Hec ages preclude a temporal link between the genesis of the Black Mountain fans and specific climate transitions. Fan-terrace morphology and the absence of significant Plio-Quaternary faulting in the area, however, indicate regional, episodic increases in sediment supply, and that climate change has possibly played a role in Late Cenozoic piedmont and valley-floor aggradation in the LCR valley.  相似文献   

8.
Fourteen samples obtained from Torridon sandstone boulders on four moraines marking the limit of the Wester Ross Readvance (WRR) in NW Scotland yielded tightly clustered 10Be exposure ages confirming contemporaneous or penecontemporaneous moraine deposition. Collectively, the 14 samples yield mean ages of 13.5 ± 1.2 ka to 14.0 ± 1.7 ka, depending on choice of geomagnetic scaling and sampling surface erosion rates. All fourteen moraine ages are significantly younger than an age of ca 16.3 ka previously proposed for the WRR, and also younger than most samples obtained from rock outcrops within the WRR limits. The ages obtained for the WRR moraines appear to confirm that a substantial cover of glacier ice persisted over low ground in NW Scotland during at least the early part of the Lateglacial Interstade (≈Greenland Interstade 1). We infer that the WRR probably occurred in response to rapid short-lived cooling during the Older Dryas climatic reversal (≈Greenland Interstade 1d), though the possibilities that the WRR represents ice-margin response to a later climatic reversal during the Lateglacial Interstade or stabilization and readvance of the ice margin following rapid offshore calving cannot be discounted.  相似文献   

9.
Proglacial lake sediments at Goting in the Higher Central Himalaya were analyzed to reconstruct the summer monsoon variability during the Last Glacial to early Holocene. Sedimentary structures, high resolution mineral magnetic and geochemical data suggest that the lacustrine environment experienced fluctuating monsoonal conditions. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating indicates that the lake sedimentation occurred before 25 ka and continued after 13 ka. During this period, Goting basin witnessed moderate to strengthened monsoon conditions around 25 ka, 23.5 ka–22.5 ka, 22 ka–18 ka, 17 ka–16.5 ka and after14.5–13 ka. The Last Glacial phase ended with the deposition of outwash gravel dated at ～11 ka indicating glacial retreat and the onset of Holocene condition. Additionally, centennial scale fluctuations between 16.5 ka and 12.7 ka in the magnetic and geochemical data are seen.A close correspondence at the millennial scale between our data and that of continental and marine records from the Indian sub-continent suggests that Goting basin responded to periods of strengthened monsoon during the Last Glacial to early Holocene. We attribute the millennial scale monsoon variability to climatic instability in higher northern latitudes. However, centennial scale abrupt changes are attributed to the result of albedo changes on the Himalaya and Tibetan plateau.  相似文献   

10.
The extensive shoreline deposits of Lake Chilwa, southern Malawi, a shallow water body today covering 600 km2 of a basin of 7500 km2, are investigated for their record of late Quaternary highstands. OSL dating, applied to 36 samples from five sediment cores from the northern and western marginal sand ridges, reveal a highstand record spanning 44 ka. Using two different grouping methods, highstand phases are identified at 43.7–33.3 ka, 26.2–21.0 ka and 17.9–12.0 ka (total error method) or 38.4–35.5 ka, 24.3–22.3 ka, 16.2–15.1 ka and 13.5–12.7 ka (Finite Mixture Model age components) with two further discrete events recorded at 11.01 ± 0.76 ka and 8.52 ± 0.56 ka. Highstands are comparable to the timing of wet phases from other basins in East and southern Africa, demonstrating wet conditions in the region before the LGM, which was dry, and a wet Lateglacial, which commenced earlier in the southern compared to northern hemisphere in East Africa. We find no evidence that wet phases are insolation driven, but analysis of the dataset and GCM modelling experiments suggest that Heinrich events may be associated with enhanced monsoon activity in East Africa in both timing and as a possible causal mechanism.  相似文献   

11.
Based on the concepts (a) that the stable C and O isotopes combined with the Sr isotope ratios of fracture fills should reflect the source groundwater from which the solid phases precipitated and (b) that U-series disequilibria (USD) enable the calculation of residence time for the U by using Fe oxides as the best candidate, an “isotopic toolbox” was applied to fracture fill from the crystalline basement of the Vienne district. The fracture fills are formed mainly of carbonates, clays and Fe oxides. The isotope data indicate two main generations of carbonate that originated from hydrothermal circulation and equilibrium with present-day groundwaters but the Sr isotope ratios highlight another component with a higher 87Sr/86Sr ratio reflecting the complexity of the water–rock interactions.For the USD, the Fe-hydroxides located at 207 m depth yield an age of 102 ± 5 ka (St. Germain I interglacial stage), whereas those located at 277 m and 300 m yield respective ages of 173 ± 15 ka and 181 ± 10 ka. These corresponding to the transition between the penultimate glacial period (isotopic stage 6) and the end of the preceding interglacial stage (isotopic sub-stage 7a). Investigating water–rock interaction (87Sr/86Sr, 18O, 13C, USD) in the fracture-fill minerals from the crystalline basement has shown that such an approach is relevant to developing an understanding of how the groundwater system has changed over time.  相似文献   

12.
Iron mobilisation from aquifer rocks in an important fractured aquifer system in South Africa is resulting in clogging of boreholes by Fe oxide minerals. Leach experiments using natural waters were conducted to determine the effects of redox conditions, pH lithology and presence of organic acids on the rate and extent of Fe dissolution from aquifer rocks, with the aim of clarifying the association of Fe clogging with geological formations that show Fe staining on weathering. The results indicate that the greatest amount of Fe (>30 mmol/kg rock) is leached from arenaceous rocks with low total Fe contents (49.0–75.0 mmol/kg) under anoxic conditions. Rocks with the highest Fe contents (>800 mmol/kg) generated low concentrations of Fe (<10 mmol/kg) even under favourable conditions of 0 mg/L DO and pH 3. The extent of Fe dissolution from the rocks was found to be most strongly dependent on the redox conditions, and the form of Fe present in the rock, with ascorbate-extracted amorphous Fe being the most mobile. The rate of dissolution is affected by pH and the presence of natural organic acids in the leachate. However, the effect of organic acids was only noticeable on arenaceous rocks.  相似文献   

13.
Chemical weathering of Mg, Ca-silicates and alumino-silicates contributes significantly to the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 over long time scales. The present work focuses on how this mode of weathering may change in the presence of free-living bacteria in oligotrophic waters, which compose most of the surface freshwaters of the Earth. Forsterite (Fo90) was reacted for 1 week with a stable Escherichia coli population in water maintained at 37 °C and neutral pH in a batch reactor. Control samples with suspensions of pure olivine powders and E. coli cells in pure water were also used for reference. Olivine controls reproduce the Mg, Si and Fe release in solutions predicted from rates published in the literature with pH shifts of less than 0.5 unit. After 1 week, under abiotic conditions, weathered surfaces are enriched in Fe and Fe3+ relative to the initial composition of the mineral. Bacterial controls (without minerals) show decreasing Eh with increasing cell concentrations (−50 mV with 7 × 107 cells/mL and −160 mV with 8 × 108 cells/mL). Magnesium concentrations in bacterial control solutions are in the μg/L range and can be accounted for by the release of Mg from dead cells. More than 80% of the cells were still alive after 1 week. The solutions obtained in the experiments in which olivine reacts in the presence of cells show Mg and Si concentrations a few tens of percent lower than in the mineral control samples, with a prominent depletion of Fe(III) content of the mineral surfaces. Magnesium mass balance discounts both significant bacterial uptake and inhibition of the Mg dissolution rates as a consequence of changing pH and Eh. Coating by bacterial cell layers is also negligible. E. coli reduces the chemical weathering of olivine. This study infers that the presence of free-living Proteobacteria, a prevalent group of subsurface bacteria, should decrease the amount of riverine Mg released by chemical weathering of mafic rocks.  相似文献   

14.
This paper contributes to the emerging picture of late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental change in the Bonneville basin, western North America, through analysis of pollen and sediments from the Blue Lake marsh system, a major wetland area located on the western margin of the Great Salt Lake desert. Analyses of data obtained from the upper 4 m of the Blue Lake core suggest that during the latest Pleistocene, when Lake Bonneville covered the Blue Lake site, pine and sagebrush dominated terrestrial plant communities. These steppe-woodland taxa declined in abundance after ～12 cal ka BP. Wetland plant communities developed at or nearby Blue Lake by ～11.9 cal ka BP and bulrush-dominated marshes were established no later than 10.8 cal ka BP. The Blue Lake wetlands largely desiccated during a dry and warm early middle Holocene ～8.3–6.5 cal ka BP. Climatic amelioration starting ～6.5 cal ka BP is marked principally by a local return of marshes at the expense of playa and grass meadow communities, and a regional increase in sagebrush relative to other dryland shrubs. Singleleaf pinyon pine migrated into the nearby Goshute Mountains after ～8 cal ka BP. Late Holocene fluctuations include cool intervals from ～4.4 to 3.4 and ～2.7 to 1.5 cal ka BP and warmer conditions from 3.4 to 2.7 cal BP and after 1.5 cal ka BP.  相似文献   

15.
The Holocene and late Pleistocene environmental history of the teri (‘sandy waste’ in local parlance) red sands in the southeast coastal Tamil Nadu was examined using remote sensing, stratigraphy, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Geomorphological surveys enabled the classification of the teri red sands as, 1) inland fluvial teri, 2) coastal teri and, 3) near-coastal teri dunes. The inland teri sediments have higher clay and silty-sand component than the coastal and near-coastal teri, suggesting that these sediments were deposited by the fluvial process during a stronger winter monsoon around > 15 ka. The coastal teri dunes were deposited prior to 11.4 ± 0.9 ka, and the near-coastal dunes aggraded at around 5.6 ± 0.4 ka. We interpret that the coastal dunes were formed during a period of lower relative sea level and the near-coastal dunes formed during a period of higher sea level. Dune reddening is post deposition occurred after 11.4 ± 0.9 ka for the coastal teri dunes and after 5.6 ± 0.4 ka for the near-coastal teri dunes. Presence of microlithic sites associated with the coastal dunes suggest that the cultures existed in the region during 11.4 ± 0.9 ka and 5.6 ± 0.4 ka.  相似文献   

16.
The concept that Rannoch Moor, the centre of the Younger Dryas (YD), West Highland Icefield, was deglaciated as early as 12.5 cal ka BP is discussed in the light of radiocarbon dates and varve sequences from outlet glaciers of this icefield, and climate change during the YD. The maximum positions of three YD glaciers were reached after 11.6–11.8 cal ka BP (Lomond), and after 11.8–11.9 cal ka BP (Spean and Treig) indicating that ice remained on Rannoch Moor until long after c.12.5 cal ka BP, and possibly until the YD/Holocene transition at c.11.7 cal ka BP. Further, the Spean glacier dammed a proglacial lake in Lochaber for at least 495 varve years over a period that included the deposition of the Vedde Ash (c.12.1 cal ka BP) and a late YD ash layer (c. 11.7–11.2 cal ka BP), a thesis at variance with supposed early YD deglaciation. Recent examination of this issue using 10Be exposure age determinations from Rannoch Moor is equivocal. In view of the presence of hard water algae at the sampling site on Rannoch Moor it is recommended that the ‘early’ 14C dates from Rannoch Moor need to be further reassessed using chronological constraints provided by dated microtephra, and a collaborative radiocarbon dating programme.  相似文献   

17.
This study forms part of a wider investigation of late Quaternary environments in the Southern Hemisphere. We here review the terrestrial and near-shore proxy data from Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), New Zealand and surrounding oceans during 35–10 ka, an interval spanning the lead-up to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the LGM proper (21 ± 2 ka), and the ensuing deglaciation. Sites selected for detailed discussion have a continuous or near continuous sedimentary record for this time interval, a stratigraphically consistent chronology, and one or more sources of proxy climatic data. Tropical Australia, Indonesia and PNG had LGM mean annual temperatures 3–7 °C below present values and summer precipitation reduced by at least 30%, consistent with a weaker summer monsoon and a northward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The summer monsoon was re-established in northwest Australia by 14 ka. Precipitation in northeast Australia was reduced to less than 50% of present values until warmer and wetter conditions resumed at 17–16 ka, followed by a second warmer, wetter phase at 15–14 ka. LGM temperatures were up to 8 °C lower than today in mainland southeast Australia and up to 4 °C cooler in Tasmania. Winter rainfall was much reduced throughout much of southern Australia although periodic extreme flood events are evident in the fluvial record. Glacial advances in southeast Australia are dated to 32 ± 2.5, 19.1 ± 1.6 and 16.8 ± 1.4 ka, with periglacial activity concentrated towards 23–16 ka. Deglaciation was rapid in the Snowy Mountains, which were ice-free by 15.8 ka. Minimum effective precipitation in southern Australia was from 14 to 12 ka. In New Zealand the glacial advances date to ～28, 21.5 and 19 ka, with the onset of major cooling at ～28 ka, or well before the LGM. There is no convincing evidence for a Younger Dryas cooling event in or around New Zealand, but there are signs of the Antarctic Cold Reversal in and around New Zealand and off southern Australia. There remain unresolved discrepancies between the climates inferred from pollen and those inferred from the beetle and chironomid fauna at a number of New Zealand sites. One explanation may be that pollen provides a generalised regional climatic signal in contrast to the finer local resolution offered by beetles and chironomids. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were up to 5 °C cooler during the LGM with rapid warming after 20 ka to attain present values by 15 ka. The increase in summer monsoonal precipitation at or before 15 ka reflects higher insolation, warmer SSTs and steeper thermal gradients between land and sea. The postglacial increase in winter rainfall in southern Australia is probably related to the southward displacement of the westerlies as SSTs around Antarctica became warmer and the winter pack ice and Antarctic Convergence Zone retreated to the south.  相似文献   

18.
Windblown and vehicle-raised dust from unvegetated mine tailings can be a human health risk. Airborne particles from As-rich abandoned Au mine tailings from Nova Scotia, Canada have been characterized in terms of particle size, As concentration, As oxidation state, mineral species and texture. Samples were collected in seven aerodynamically fractionated size ranges (0.5–16 μm) using a cascade impactor deployed at three tailings fields. All three sites are used for recreational activities and off-road vehicles were racing on the tailings at two mines during sample collection. Total concentrations of As in the <8 μm fraction varied from 65 to 1040 ng/m3 of air as measured by proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis. The same samples were analysed by synchrotron-based microfocused X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (μXANES) and X-ray diffraction (μXRD) and found to contain multiple As-bearing mineral species, including Fe–As weathering products. The As species present in the dust were similar to those observed in the near-surface tailings. The action of vehicles on the tailings surface may disaggregate material cemented with Fe arsenate and contribute additional fine-grained As-rich particles to airborne dust. Results from this study can be used to help assess the potential human health risks associated with exposure to airborne particles from mine tailings.  相似文献   

19.
《Quaternary Science Reviews》2003,22(10-13):1291-1297
We report the first luminescence ages for the archeological and geological sediments forming the substrate of the Birimi archaeological site in the Northern Region of Ghana. The site's significance rests on the fact that it contains a rich collection of artifact assemblages representative of three distinct cultures, and that, on the basis of artifact typology, the earliest assemblage is diagnostic of the Middle Stone Age (MSA). In situ occurrences of MSA artifacts are found at over 1 m below today's surface. They are overlain by a ceramic-rich complex of a sedentary or semi-sendentary Later Stone Age culture known as the Kintampo. The western half of the site is dominated by the industrial remains of Iron Age smelting activity.Elemental, mineralogical, and sedimentological analysis of the cultural and sub-cultural sedimentary horizons at the site revealed at least three distinct lithostratigraphic units. The quartz sediments are derived from the sandstone of the Gambaga escarpment, mass wasted and accreted fluvially at a rate of 3.2 cm/ka, forming a wide terrace at Birimi. Silts and finer fractions derive from windblown dust, likely from White Volta River and granitic sources to the north. Soil forming processes and wide fluctuations in moisture have progressively reduced the sediments at depth to the resistant quartz and kaolinite, with rich iron oxide coatings, and created two ironstone horizons composed of goethite-cemented quartz nodules.Multiple aliquot green-light stimulated optical ages for 125–150 μm quartz grains yielded ages of 23.6±2.9 and 40.8±11.8 ka for the MSA-bearing sediments, and 58.4±15.3 ka for the base of the terrace. Radiocarbon ages on charcoal from Kintampo-bearing units are 3.36–3.83 ka cal BP, and are supported by thermoluminescence (TL) ages on pottery sherds and burnt house daub fragments of this cultural complex. A 0.4 ka age on sediment from the site's surface confirms that the quartz zeroes well when exposed to natural light. Sediments bearing the Kintampo artifacts, however, yielded ages of 7.8–16.9 ka. These ages were obtained on sediments from large pits, some over 50 cm deep, and they deviate only slightly from the ages expected for naturally aggraded sediments at these depths. We conclude, therefore, that extensive digging of pits by the Kintampo dwellers was followed by rapid refilling, and that the bulk mobilization of the matrix did not permit the sedimentary quartz grains to experience any appreciable zeroing at that time.  相似文献   

20.
The evolution processes and forcing mechanisms of the Horqin dunefield in northern China are poorly understood. In this study, systematic OSL dating of multiple sites is used together with pollen analysis of a representative section in order to reconstruct the evolution of the dunefield since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our results show that there was extensive dune mobilization 25–10 ka, transition to stabilization 10–8 ka, considerable dune stabilization 8–3 ka, and multiple episodes of stabilization and mobilization after 3 ka. Comparison of dune evolution of the dunefields in northern China during the Holocene showed that Asian monsoon and resultant effective moisture have played an important role in the evolution of dunefields at the millennial time scale. Further analysis indicated that the dune evolution in the Horqin dunefield before 3 ka was synchronous with climatic changes. However, increasing human activity has impacted dune evolution during the last 3 ka.  相似文献   

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