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1.
Luminescence dating of extensive dune fields and associated eolian sandsheets provided a chronology of recently recognized Pleistocene and early Holocene dry climate episodes in the currently humid warm temperate northern-northeastern Gulf of Mexico region. Scattered parabolic dunes and clusters of intersecting parabolic dunes, along with elongated shore-transverse and shore-parallel dunes, developed. These landforms occur in a 390-km-long and 2- to 3-km-wide, semicontinuous belt in southeast Alabama and northwestern Florida. Dune elevations reach ± 22 m. Sangamon coastal barrier sectors were the primary source of the eolian sand. Deflation was coeval with early Wisconsin to mid-Holocene marine low sea-levels and associated distant shorelines. Early Holocene dune dates were synchronous, with indications of a hypsithermal dry interval in southeast Louisiana, the Yucatan, and the south Atlantic seaboard. Overlapping with dry episodes in Yucatan and the High Plains, Texas dunes and Louisiana and Texas prairie mounds, especially in the southwest Texas coast still dominated by dry climate, suggests intervals of early to late Holocene drought. The dates provide the basis for identifying and correlating Wisconsin, early, and late Holocene climate phases between currently semiarid and humid, coastal and interior areas. They contribute to future studies, including interregional paleoclimate modeling. Although Pleistocene coastal eolian deposition coincided with glaciation in the northern interior and with cooler temperatures of a reduced Gulf of Mexico, Holocene aridity phases may have been related to major variations in the position of high-pressure cells, storm tracks, and branches of the jet stream, and even to prolonged La Niña conditions.  相似文献   

2.
Small mounds of peat rise several metres above the level of the water‐table at Melaleuca Inlet and Louisa Plains on the buttongrass plains in southwest Tasmania. Possible origins of the peat mounds have been explored by pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of a set of samples taken from a vertical section of one peat mound at Melaleuca. The peat accumulation is entirely of Holocene age although the mound is underlain by sapric peats preserving a cold climate palynoflora of probable Late Pleistocene age. Peats at and near the base of the mound accumulated under a heath sedgeland during the earliest Holocene while after about 7630 a BP the peat‐forming vegetation was shrub‐dominated. The radiocarbon data indicate two main phases of overall peat accumulation, between 7630 and 5340 a BP (Middle Holocene) and between 4450 and 450 a BP (Late Holocene), that were interrupted by a wildfire which burnt into the surface peats. The maintenance of high surface and internal levels of moisture almost certainly was the critical factor behind the low incidence of in situ fires burning into the surface peats on the mound. The perennial influx of groundwater below the mound is a possible origin that fits well with our observations, although the expansion and contraction of soils cannot be discounted as an initiating factor. Enhanced nutrient input from birds may have helped promote growth in the peat‐forming communities. The data do not support the mounds being eroded remnants of a former blanket peat cover or being due to periglacial activity. The peat mounds of southwest Tasmania deserve maximum protection because of their rarity in the Australian landscape and, it seems, elsewhere.  相似文献   

3.
Mounds that have formed around spring vents occur in a variety of environmental settings, many at sites generally difficult or inaccessible for sampling. In contrast, over 500 tufa mounds occur in the dry bed of Searles Lake, California. The mounds range from minor features to 45 m in height; most are 5 to 12 m high. These mounds, composed of calcite and aragonite, formed associated with spring vents in the Pleistocene lake bottom. Thus, analyses of these mounds in Searles Lake provide a model with regard to the origin and architecture of tufa mounds. The mounds consist of four distinctive tufa facies. The initial deposits consist of porous tufa, including the innermost (porous 1) and the outermost (porous 2) deposits, followed by nodular tufa, then columnar tufa, and laminated crusts. There are two simple sequences of tufa deposition. The first sequence is from porous 1 to nodular to laminated crusts and, finally, to porous 2. A second sequence consists of: porous 1 to columnar to laminated crusts and, lastly, to porous 2. Facies changes are a response to changes in environmental conditions from deep water (porous 1 facies) to an essentially dry lake phase (during and after the formation of laminated crusts facies), to deep water (porous 2 facies) and, at the present time, totally dry. The primary constituents that comprise the tufa deposits include thin laminae, pisoids, spherulites, peloids and stromatolite‐like crusts. On the microscopic scale, these constituents dominantly make up nano‐spheres, micro‐rods and rod‐like crystals, as well as other calcified bodies. These constituents are interpreted to be the calcified remains of bacterial bodies. These findings suggest that microbial participation in the construct of other mounds should be a major concern of investigation, both for terrestrial and extraterrestrial spring‐fed mounds.  相似文献   

4.
《Comptes Rendus Geoscience》2018,350(5):212-221
Sedimentological and geochemical studies of boxcores from the Brittlestar Ridge I and Cabliers carbonate mounds, along the Moroccan Mediterranean margin, show that sediments are composed of cold water scleratian corals and micritic mud, muddy micrite or muddy allochem limestone matrix, outlining seven different facies that can be attributed to “cluster reefs”. The mixed siliciclastic/carbonate sediments have been derived from both extra- and intrabasinal sources. Extra-basinal sources may be the geological formations outcropping in the Moroccan hinterland and Sahara, the latter including corals and associated bioclasts. Sediments were transported by wind and rivers and redistributed by bottom currents and local upwelling. Our results confirm the role of tectonics in the genesis of these carbonate mounds and reveal that their developments during the Holocene (10.34–0.91 ka BP) was controlled by climatic fluctuations (e.g. Holocene Climate Optimum and Little Ice Age), eustatic sea level change, and hydrodynamic regime.  相似文献   

5.
Eolian sediments are common within the middle Gila River Valley, southern Arizona, and reflect variability in eolian and fluvial processes during the late Holocene. This study focuses on deciphering the stratigraphic record of eolian deposition and associated luminescence dating of quartz extracts by single aliquot regeneration (SAR) protocols. Stratigraphic assessment coupled with luminescence ages indicates that there are four broad eolian depositional events at ca. 3145 ± 220 yr, 1950-1360 yr, 800 ± 100 yr, and 690-315 yr. This nascent chronology, correlated with regional archeological evidence and paleoclimate proxy datasets, leads to two general conclusions: (1) loess deposits, transverse-dune formation and sand-sheet deposition in the late Holocene are probably linked to flow variability of the Gila River, though the last two events are concordant with regional megadroughts; and (2) the stability of eolian landforms since the 19th century reflects the lack of eolian sediment supply during a period of fluvial incision, resulting in Entisol formation on dunes. The prime catalyst of eolian activity during the late Holocene is inferred to be sediment supply, driven by climate periodicity and variable flow within the Gila River catchment.  相似文献   

6.
在中全新世后阶段,当海岸风沙正处于始发状态,平潭西南的岗湖还是一个由多叉的山谷组成的洼地。到全新世晚期,由于全球气候的变化和优势的北北东方向风力的逐渐增强,河谷洼地与海湾相联结的地区长时间风沙的堆积而形成岚湖。  相似文献   

7.
Earthen mounds with archaeological artifacts have been well known in Marajó Island since the 19th century. Their documented dimensions are impressive, e.g., up to 20 m high, and with areas as large as 90 ha. The mounds, locally known as tesos, impose a significant relief on the very low‐lying landscape of this region, which averages 4 to 6m above present sea level. These features have been traditionally interpreted as artificial constructions of the Marajoara culture, designed for defense, cemetery purposes, or escape from flooding. Here, we provide sedimentological and geomorphological data that suggest an alternative origin for these structures that is more consistent with their monumental sizes. Rather than artificial, the Marajoara tesos seem to consist of natural morphological features related to late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial, and possibly tidal‐influenced, paleochannels and paleobars that became abandoned as depositional conditions changed through time. Although utilized and modified by the Marajoara since at least 2000 years ago, these earthen mounds contain a significant non‐anthropogenically modified sedimentary substratum. Therefore, the large Marajoara tesos are not entirely artificial. Ancient Marajoara cultures took advantage of these natural, preexisting elevated surfaces to base their communities and develop their activities, locally increasing the sizes of these fluvial landforms. This alternative interpretation suggests less cumulative labor investment in the construction of the mounds and might have significant implications for reconstructing the organization of the Marajoara culture. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.  相似文献   

8.
Recent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that region. Particle size and geochemical data indicate that the mineral fraction of the lake sediments is not derived from the local basalt and is probably eolian. Silt deposition took place from at least the latter part of the mid-Wisconsin interstadial period through the Holocene, based on radiocarbon dating. Based on the locations of likely loess sources, eolian silt in western Alaska was probably deflated by northeasterly winds from glaciofluvial sediments. If last-glacial winds that deposited loess were indeed from the northeast, this reconstruction is in conflict with a model-derived reconstruction of paleowinds in Alaska. Mass accumulation rates in Zagoskin Lake were higher during the Pleistocene than during the Holocene. In addition, more eolian sediment is recorded in the lake sediments than as loess on the adjacent landscape. The thinner loess record on land may be due to the sparse, herb tundra vegetation that dominated the landscape in full-glacial time. Herb tundra would have been an inefficient loess trap compared to forest or even shrub tundra due to its low roughness height. The lack of abundant, full-glacial, eolian silt deposition in the loess stratigraphic record of central Alaska may be due, therefore, to a mimimal ability of the landscape to trap loess, rather than a lack of available eolian sediment.  相似文献   

9.
松辽盆地南缘四平-双辽地区第四系全新统地层划分   总被引:1,自引:1,他引:0  
松辽盆地南缘大面积被多种成因类型的第四系地层覆盖.按其成因类型,四平-双辽地区可划分的全新统地层单位有:早-中期冲积成因温泉河组;中期湖沼堆积成因坦途组;晚期冲积成因大辽河组;风积成因科尔沁组;湖沼堆积成因协日嘎组.全新世早-中期是一种比较温湿疏林草原-干早的草甸草原植被环境,晚期是一种温湿疏林草原-比较干旱的草甸草原植被环境.  相似文献   

10.
The process of organomineralization is increasingly well understood with respect to modern carbonate sediments accumulating adjacent to tropical reef atolls and reef caves. Mineralization related to non-living organic substrates results in autochthonous micrite production (‘automicrites’). ‘Automicrites’ are the main constructive element of Lower Cretaceous (Albian) carbonate mud mounds in northern Spain. These slope mud mounds occur within transgressive and early highstand system tracts encompassing several macrobenthic ecological zones. They are clearly separated from the biocalcifying carbonate factory (Urgonian carbonate platforms), in both space and time. Within these build-ups, most ‘automicrites’ were initially indurated and accreted to form a medium-relief growth framework. ‘Automicrites’ have a uniform, presumably high-Mg-calcite precursor mineralogy. They show an inorganic stable-isotope signature (?13C around +3·3‰) within the range of early marine cements, and skeletal compounds lacking major vital effects. Epifluorescence microscopy shows that they have facies-specific fluorescence, which is similar to skeletal compounds of Acanthochaetetes, but clearly different from allomicritic sediment and cements, which are mostly non-fluorescent. The EDTA-soluble intracrystalline organic fraction (SIOF) of Albian automicrites shows an amino acid spectrum that is similar to shallow subsurface samples from their modern counterparts. Gel electrophoresis of the SIOF demonstrates an exclusively acidic character, and a mean molecular size range between 20 and 30 kDa. Experiments in vitro (inhibition tests) indicate that the SIOF has a significant Ca2+-binding capacity. Fluorescence and chemical characteristics of SIOF point to a main substance class, such as humic and fulvic acids, compounds that form from pristine organic matter during early diagenesis. Biomarker analyses provide evidence for the crucial role of biodegradation by heterotrophic microorganisms, but no biomarker for cyanobacteria has been found. Primary sources of organic material should have been manifold, including major contributions by metazoans such as sponges. It is concluded that many carbonate mud mounds are essentially organomineralic in origin and that the resulting fabric of polygenetic muds (‘polymuds’) may represent ancestral metazoan reef ecosystems, which possibly originated during the Neoproterozoic.  相似文献   

11.
The Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River is an ephemeral stream that flows across the western Rolling Plains of West Texas. Intensive pedestrian archaeological survey, covering some 8700 acres of the drainage, produced a site inventory with a general paucity of identifiable Paleoindian and Early to Middle Archaic components, whereas Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric sites were widespread and found in a diversity of landscape positions. Geoarchaeological investigations were conducted in conjunction with this survey and later testing activities, and suggested that much of this temporally and spatially skewed archaeological record may be attributable to the evolution of landscapes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene time period, rather than original occupation intensities. Most of the landscape in the study area has been subject to erosional stripping, but in selected localities late Pleistocene and Holocene depositional landform-sediment assemblages of fluvial, alluvial/colluvial fan, and eolian origin are preserved. With few exceptions, however, depositional contexts or stable geomorphic surfaces more than 3000 years old are erosionally truncated, completely absent, or deeply buried. As a result, a bias is imposed that renders older cultural records either poorly preserved or deeply buried and of low visibility to traditional survey techniques. Similar natural formation processes are likely at other locations on the western Rolling Plains, and should be considered during interpretation of prehistoric population dynamics in the area. The biases imposed by such natural formation processes on the western Rolling Plains are slightly different from other areas in the Southern Great Plains of the United States, but in most cases the known archaeological record corresponds with opportunities for preservation and visibility provided by geologic trajectories, and may reflect little on spatial and temporal discontinuities in prehistoric cultural activity.  相似文献   

12.
Bryozoan mounds from the middle Danian (Lower Palaeocene) of the Danish Basin represent a possibly new class of non‐cemented skeletal mounds. The sedimentology and palaeoecology of the mounds have recently been studied in detail. Three‐dimensional images of middle Danian bryozoan mound structures in the Limhamn limestone quarry, south‐west Sweden, obtained from combined reflected ground‐penetrating radar signals and outcrop analysis provide new information about the architecture and growth development of such mounds. The mounds are composed of bryozoan limestone and dark‐grey to black flint bands which outline mound geometries. Ground‐penetrating radar data sections are collected over a 120 m by 60 m grid of data lines with trace spacing of 0·25 m, providing a depth penetration of 7 to 12 m and a vertical resolution of ca 0·30 m. The ground‐penetrating radar images outline the geometry of the internal layering of the mounds which, typically, have widths and lengths of 30 to 60 m and heights of 5 to 10 m. Mound architecture and growth show great variability in the ground‐penetrating radar images. Small‐scale mound structures with a palaeorelief of only a few metres may constitute the basis for growth of larger mounds. The outermost beds of the individual mounds are commonly characterized by sub‐parallel to parallel reflections which have a circular to slightly oval appearance in map view. The mounds are mainly aggrading and do not show clear signs of pronounced lateral migration during growth, although some mound structures indicate a preferential growth direction towards the south. Growth patterns interpreted from the ground‐penetrating radar images suggest that the palaeocurrents in the study area may have shown great variability, even on a small scale. This observation is in contrast to results from studies of extensive, slightly older early Danian mound complexes exposed in coastal cliffs at Stevns Klint and Karlby Klint located 50 and 200 km away from the study area, respectively. At these locations the mounds show a remarkably uniform development and typically are asymmetrical, clearly showing migration directions towards the south. These differences in mound geometry may be the result of differences in the current systems and water depths that existed during formation of the early and middle Danian mounds, respectively. The mounds at Limhamn were located closer to the basin margin in shallower water than those at Stevns Klint and Karlby Klint. In addition, the difference in mound architecture may be due to the occurrence of non‐layered, irregular coral mounds intercalated with the bryozoan mounds at Limhamn.  相似文献   

13.
Geoarchaeological investigations in an area surrounding the confluence of the upper Colorado and Concho Rivers, Edwards Plateau of West Texas, have produced a detailed landscape evolution model which provides a framework for discussion of the influences of geomorphic processes on the development, preservation, and visibility of the archaeological record. Field mapping within the study area has differentiated six allostrati-graphic units of fluvial origin in both valleys, as well as extensive eolian sand sheets along the Colorado River. Early to middle Pleistocene terrace remnants cap many upland areas, whereas two distinct late Pleistocene terrace surfaces are widespread within the study area at somewhat lower elevations. Fluvial activity during the time period of human occupation is represented by an extensive Holocene terrace and underlying valley fill, which is up to 11 m in thickness. Valley fill sediments can be subdivided into allostratigraphic units of early to middle Holocene (ca. 10,000–5000 yr B.P.) and late Holocene age (ca. 4600–1000 yr B.P.), which are separated by a buried soil profile. The modern incised channels and very narrow floodplains represent the last millennium. Eolian sand sheets of early to middle Holocene age overlie limestone- and shale-dominated uplands, Pleistocene terraces, and in some cases the Holocene valley fill along the Colorado River. Pleistocene terraces have been stable features in the landscape and available for settlement through the time period of human occupation. Archaeological materials of all ages occur at the surface, and the record preserved in individual sites range from that associated with discrete periods of activity to longer-term palimpsests that represent repeated use over millennia. Sites within early to middle Holocene and late Holocene fills represent short-term utilization of constructional floodplains during the Paleoindian through early Archaic and middle to late Archaic time periods respectively. By contrast, those that occur along the buried soil profile developed in the early to middle Holocene fill record middle to late Archaic cultural activity on stable terrace surfaces, and represent relatively discrete periods of activity to longer-term palimpsests that represent repeated use over the 3000–4000 years of subaerial exposure. Late Prehistoric sites occur as palimpsests on soils developed in late Holocene alluvium or stratified within modern floodplain facies. Paleoindian through Late Prehistoric sites occur stratified within eolian sand sheets or along the unconformity with subjacent fluvial deposits. The landscape evolution model from the upper Colorado and Concho Rivers is similar to that developed for other major valley axes of the Edwards Plateau. This model may be regionally applicable, and can be used to interpret the geomorphic setting and natural formation processes for already known sites, as well as provide an organizational framework for systematic surface and subsurface survey for new archaeological records. 0 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  相似文献   

14.
New stratigraphic and geochronologic data from the Killpecker Dunes in southwestern Wyoming facilitate a more precise understanding of the dune field’s history. Prior investigations suggested that evidence for late Pleistocene eolian activity in the dune field was lacking. However, luminescence ages from eolian sand of ∼15,000 yr, as well as Folsom (12,950-11,950 cal yr B.P.) and Agate Basin (12,600-10,700 cal yr) artifacts overlying eolian sand, indicate the dune field existed at least during the latest Pleistocene, with initial eolian sedimentation probably occurring under a dry periglacial climate. The period between ∼13,000 and 8900 cal yr B.P. was characterized by relatively slow eolian sedimentation concomitant with soil formation. Erosion occurred between ∼8182 and 6600 cal yr B.P. on the upwind region of the dune field, followed by relative stability and soil formation between ∼5900 and 2700 cal yr B.P. The first of at least two latest Holocene episodes of eolian sedimentation occurred between ∼2000 and 1500 yr, followed by a brief (∼500 yr) episode of soil formation; a second episode of sedimentation, occurring by at least ∼700 yr, may coincide with a hypothesized Medieval warm period. Recent stabilization of the western Killpecker Dunes likely occurred during the Little Ice Age (∼350-100 yr B.P.). The eolian chronology of the western Killpecker Dunes correlates reasonably well with those of other major dune fields in the Wyoming Basin, suggesting that dune field reactivation resulted primarily due to departures toward aridity during the late Quaternary. Similar to dune fields on the central Great Plains, dune fields in the Wyoming Basin have been active under a periglacial climate during the late Pleistocene, as well as under near-modern conditions during the latest Holocene.  相似文献   

15.
Seven boulders measuring 100 to 1000 m3are scattered along the coastal ridge of north Eleuthera. Some are situated on ridge crests up to 20 m above present sea level. The boulders were probably deposited during oxygen-isotope substage 5e or 5d, as shown by their stratigraphic setting and by amino acid racemization ratios.d-alloisoleucine/l-isoleucine ratios were determined for land snails, and oolite of both marine and eolian origin was associated with the boulders. Like the boulders, the probable source rocks exposed in the adjacent cliffs are composed of marine and eolian limestone of oolitic and peloidal composition. The source beds are correlated with stage 9 or 11. The largest boulder is about 10 times the size of the largest Holocene ones moved by waves in the area. Tsunamis are a reasonable possibility as a transporting mechanism of the Pleistocene boulders. However, if deposited instead by storms during the last interglaciation, the storms were of much greater intensity than those occurring in the region during the late Holocene.  相似文献   

16.
Chinese loess deposits are generally considered to be the product of dust storms and dust falls from the central Asia arid zones that were transported across China by the northwesterly continental monsoon. In contrast, the Zhengzhou Loess found southeast of the Loess Plateau, adjacent to the floodplain of the Yellow River, records a different eolian regime and dust source. The Zhengzhou Loess was investigated by field observations, measurements of magnetic susceptibility, particle-size distribution, loss-on-ignition, CaCO3 and chemical contents. Both field observations and the laboratory results indicate that, during the last glacial, the Zhengzhou Loess was supplied by two different eolian regimes and dust sources, one was from the fresh flood deposits of the Yellow River driven by the northeast winds from the low-lying floodplain, and the other was from the dust storms and dust falls that traveled across the Loess Plateau driven by the northwesterly continental monsoon from the central Asian arid lands. The early Holocene, 11,500–8500 a BP, was a transition during the change in eolian regime and dust source because of the weakened northwesterly monsoon along with the global climatic amelioration. Following the retreat of the northwesterly monsoon from the onset of the mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum at 8500 a BP, dust supply from the drifting sand zone on the Yellow River floodplain became dominant because of the intensified strength of the northeast winds from the Bohai Sea. From 3100 a BP onwards, climatic aridity and extensive human disturbance have resulted in intensive eolian processes causing the incursion of the drifting sand into the Zhengzhou Loess zone. These results show that loess accumulation is more complex than traditionally assumed. The origin of loess deposits elsewhere outside the Loess Plateau may be related to dust sources derived from alluvial sediments of major river systems.  相似文献   

17.
Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and 3500 cal yr B.P. and climate became variable with distinct wet and dry phases. Lake Tahoe probably spilled intermittently during this time. No core was recovered that represented the period between 3500 and 2600 cal yr B.P. The past 2500 years appear to have had recurrent persistent droughts. The timing and magnitude of droughts identified in the pollen record compares favorably with previously published δ18O data from Pyramid Lake. The timing of these droughts also agrees with the ages of submerged rooted stumps in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and woodrat midden data from central Nevada. Prolonged drought episodes appear to correspond with the timing of ice drift minima (solar maxima) identified from North Atlantic marine sediments, suggesting that changes in solar irradiance may be a possible mechanism influencing century-scale drought in the western Great Basin.  相似文献   

18.
The regional landscape of the Salado depression is related to weathering, eolian and fluvial processes generated under different climatic conditions. Although during most of the Holocene the climatic conditions were warm and humid, previously, a vast plain dominated by deflation processes and enhanced by weathering processes was developed in an arid environment. Fluvial deposits produced afterwards are continuous and lithologically homogeneous, which allows differentiation and characterization of the entire stratigraphic sequence. The stratigraphic units of this area, closely related to the paleoclimatic conditions, are recognized and characterized. Three lithostratigraphic units of fluvial origin (Members) and two paleosols have been differentiated. The first ones were grouped in the Luján Formation. Some of the units are related to other ones previously recognized in this area (La Chumbiada Member and La Pelada Geosol), but others have no similarity or relationship with previously known units (Gorch and Puente Las Gaviotas Members, and Frigorífico Belgrano Geosol). Radiocarbon ages suggest that the fluvial sequences were deposited after the glacial maximum, corresponding to MIS 1, except for the basal levels of the lower member which is late Late Pleistocene. Although the general paleoclimatic conditions were related to warm and humid climate, events related to water deficits were also recognized, which could be related to the Younger Dryas, the middle Holocene and the late Holocene.  相似文献   

19.
Study of the eolian fraction of late Quaternary sediments from the tropical Atlantic reveals that two modes of long-term climate variability have existed in tropical Africa during the last 150,000 yr. Tropical northwest Africa (i.e., the southwestern Sahara and Sahel) was driest during glaciations and stades, but wetter than at present during interglaciations and interstades. This may be a response to ice sheets at higher latitudes, via equatorward displacement of the westerlies and the subtropical high. In contrast, central equatorial Africa (southeast of the Sahara) was most arid during interstades and times of ice growth, and most humid during deglaciation. Wet periods in this area correspond to insolation maxima in northern hemisphere summer. A 23,000-yr precessional rhythm is suggested, supporting a direct link between African Monsoon intensity and orbitally modulated insolation. The late Holocene is the only time observed when both areas are arid during an interglacial episode. This may reflect, in part, anthropogenic disturbance of late Holocene climates.  相似文献   

20.
The Magellan mound province in the Porcupine Basin   总被引:5,自引:0,他引:5  
The Magellan mound province is one of the three known provinces of carbonate mounds or cold-water coral banks in the Porcupine Seabight, west of Ireland. It has been studied in detail using a large and varied data set: 2D and 3D seismic data, sidescan sonar imagery and video data collected during ROV deployment have been used to describe the mounds in terms of origin, growth processes and burial. The aim of this paper is to present the Magellan mounds and their setting in an integrated, holistic way. More than 1,000 densely spaced and mainly buried mounds have been identified in the area. They all seem to be rooted on one seismic reflection, suggesting a sudden mound start-up. Their size and spatial distribution characteristics are presented, together with the present-day appearance of the few mounds that reach the seabed. The underlying geology has been studied by means of fault analysis and numerical basin modelling in an attempt to identify possible hydrocarbon migration pathways below or in the surroundings of the Magellan mounds. Although conclusive evidence concerning the processes of mound initiation proves to be elusive, the results of both fault analysis and 2D numerical modelling failed to identify, with confidence, any direct pathways for focused hydrocarbon flow to the Magellan province. Diffuse seepage however may have taken place, as drainage area modelling suggests a possible link between mound position and structural features in the Hovland-Magellan area. During mound development and growth, the interplay of currents and sedimentation seems to have been the most important control. Mounds which could not keep pace with the sedimentation rates were buried, and on the few mounds which maintained growth, only a few corals survive at present.  相似文献   

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