The Eltanin asteroid impact: possible South Pacific palaeomegatsunami footprint and potential implications for the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition     

James Goff  Catherine Chagué‐Goff  Michael Archer  Dale Dominey‐Howes  Chris Turney 《第四纪科学杂志》2012,27(7):660-670

Large asteroid impacts are rare, and those into the deep ocean are rarer still. The Eltanin asteroid impact around 2.51 ± 0.07 Ma occurred at a time of great climatic and geological change associated with the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary. Numerical models of the event indicate that a megatsunami was generated, although there is debate concerning its magnitude and the region‐wide extent of its influence. We summarise the existing evidence for possible Eltanin megatsunami deposits in Antarctica, Chile and New Zealand, while also examining other potential sites from several locations, mainly around the South Pacific region. In reviewing these data we note that these events were unfolding at the same time as those associated with the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary and, as such, most of the geological evidence from that time has a climatic interpretation. The potential climatic and geological ramifications of the Eltanin asteroid impact, however, have failed to be considered by most researchers studying this time period. Although we are not advocating that all geological activity at that time is connected with the Eltanin asteroid impact, it raises interesting questions about the role potentially played by such catastrophic events in contributing to or even triggering epochal transitions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Silurian and Devonian systems     

Maxwell R. Banks  E. D. Gill  K. L. Burns 《Australian Journal of Earth Sciences》2013,60(2):177-187

The Ediacara mineral field is situated 30 km W of Beltana on the western margins of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, and consists of silver‐lead and copper deposits in lower Cambrian carbonate rocks that contain anomalous base‐metal contents throughout the Adelaide Geosyncline. The lower Cambrian rocks, which consist of the basal Parachilna Formation and overlying Ajax Limestone, rest disconformably on the Precambrian, and at Ediacara occupy a shallow N‐S elongate syncline near the hinge zone of the Adelaide Geosyncline. The main primary ore minerals of the silver‐lead mineralization are galena and pyrite, with very minor chalcopyrite and sphalerite, and rare tetrahedrite and pearceite. The gangue consists mainly of silica (both chalcedony and quartz), with minor dolomite and rare barite. The mineralization is stratabound and occurs in conformable zones, the lowest of which commences about 30–50 m above the base of the Cambrian sequence. The host to the silver‐lead mineralization, the Ajax Limestone, can be subdivided into three units which represent a set of lithologies, structures and organic traces indicative of a shallow near‐shore carbonate environment. The silver‐lead mineralization is mainly present in sandy and laminated dolomites which were deposited in an environment ranging from sub‐tidal to bar and channel and tidal flat, respectively. Four types of mineralization have been recognized; disseminated sulphides of syngenetic and/or diagenetic origin and epigenetic concentrations along stylolites, in veins and as breccia fillings. Post‐depositional solution activity has affected a large proportion of the carbonate sequence. The effects of this activity range from stylolites through stylobreccias to solution collapse breccias. The epigenetic concentrations of mineralizations have apparently been formed by the remobilization of the disseminated sulphides during solution activity. The ore and gangue minerals of the epigenetic mineralization display both euhedral forms and distinct colloform banding, and framboidal textures have also been observed in both pyrite and galena. There is evidence of repeated episodic precipitation and no simple paragenetic sequence can be recognized. Fluid inclusions in silica and dolomite associated with the epigenetic mineralization have homogenization temperatures of 159 to 199°C and freezing temperatures that indicate the fluids to be saline brines containing NaCl with CaCl₂ and/or MgCl₂. Sulphur isotope analyses show a range of 8³⁴S values from ‐12.5 to +8.6 per mil, with no evidence of significant differences between the four types of mineralization. The data suggest deposition of the disseminated sulphides as a result of biological reduction of seawater sulphate in a system partially open with respect to sulphate supply. Subsequent remobilization of sulphides apparently involved little or no sulphur isotope fractionation. The Ediacara silver‐lead deposits have many features in common with Mississippi Valley‐type lead‐zinc deposits and appear to have similarities in terms of genesis, in that the epigenetic mineralization has been formed as a result of post‐depositional solution activity during diagenesis in a sedimentary basin. The scale of transport of the metals deposited as the epigenetic mineralization at Ediacara appears, however, to have been very much less than that of the metals in other Mississippi Valley‐type deposits.  相似文献   

Towards developing sediment quality assessment guidelines for aquatic systems: An Australian perspective     

A. V. Arakel 《Australian Journal of Earth Sciences》2013,60(4):335-369

Sediment at the sediment‐water interface of natural and man‐made waterways forms an integral part of the ecosystem because it is affected by a continuous flux of physical, chemical and biological components between the sediment, interstitial water and the overlying water column. Aquatic sediments contain records of past and present urban and rural runoff, chemical discharges and spills. In recent years sediment quality has received increasing attention following identification of the role of sediment as both a sink for pollutants and as a contaminant source with potential impacts on the quality of receiving waters. Research has indicated that the processes leading to remobilization of contaminated sediments in upstream reaches of a waterway may, through time, exert a significant influence on water quality in the downstream reaches. This, together with the cumulative effects due to contaminant input from point and non‐point source discharges, have dramatic effects on water quality and thus on ecosystem structure and functioning.

The problems associated with elevated concentrations of many hazardous organic and inorganic compounds have resulted in the establishment of aquatic sediment quality criteria and management guidelines in many overseas countries, with the objectives being the reduction and elimination of adverse environmental effects and human health risks associated with contaminated sediments. Whereas more than 70% of the Australian population is clustered around the coastal waterways, little is known about the role of sediments as a repository of environmental pollutants and/or as a source of adverse impacts on water quality and the health of our rivers. The paucity of knowledge on the quality of aquatic sediment highlights the need for the development of coherent guidelines for sediment quality assessment and management of contaminated sites, which are consistent with Australian environmental conditions and land use features.

A comparative evaluation of sediment quality information from eight coastal rivers along the east coast of Australia, presented in this paper, indicates the possibility for establishing a framework for regional sediment quality assessment. This may be achievable by using textural and compositional attributes of bottom sediments in depositional areas to develop databases on the loading and concentration trends of nutrients and contaminants. Regional variability in sediment quality determinants are shown to reflect the influence of catchment hydrology, lithology and land use on nutrient and contaminant concentration trends. Locally, the loading and partitioning behaviour of sediment‐bound contaminants is largely controlled by the nature and the extent of interactions occurring at the sediment‐water interface within individual depositional units.

The concept of ‘Sediment Effect Zone’ is introduced to provide a compartmental approach to the characterization of aquatic sediments and depositional environments in different hydrologic zones. This approach offers a rational basis for follow‐up chemical and biological assessments to establish sediment quality standards and management guidelines. Because of the complex influences of environmental, methodological and statistical factors on defining the sediment variability, the need for implementing proper quality control measures from early stages of design of a sediment quality assessment program is highlighted.  相似文献   

Biomarkers in sedimentary sulfides of precambrian age     

Bernd Mycke  Walter Michaelis  Egon T. Degens 《Organic Geochemistry》1988,13(4-6)

Samples of the Mt Isa formation (Australia, c, 1.5 Ga), and the Shungit formation (U.S.S.R., c. 2.3 Ga) were studied by organic geochemical means. All samples were freed of any low-molecular-weight solvent soluble organic material in order to insure the authenticity of the analysed material. The isolation of biochemical compounds entrapped in sulfides was the major goal of this work.Organic compounds that were entrapped during the early stages of sulfide formation may obviously survive extended periods of time and can be released by a mild hydrogenation of the sulfides. Preliminary investigations of the hydrocarbon fraction indicate n-alkanes, monomethylalkanes, cycloalkanes, and an unknown series of branched alkanes as major constituents. Their distribution patterns show great selectivity with respect to structures and chain lengths of individual compounds. Differences between the hydrogenation reaction product and the sample extract may arise from the release of a different kind of lipid material through dissolution of the sulfides.  相似文献   

Subfossil and modern diatom plankton and the paleolimnology of Rotsee (Switzerland) since 1850     

André F. Lotter 《Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries》1989,51(4):338-350

The diatom biostratigraphy of the topmost sediment meter of Rotsee, Central Switzerland, is characterized by a major change fromCyclotella comensis-dominated toStephanodiscus hantzschii/S. parvus-dominated assemblages. A comparison between old phytoplankton samples, taken between 1910–1930, and subfossil diatom assemblages is used for dating the upper 35 cm of the core. There is evidence that the change in dominant diatoms occurred in 1919/20, thus before the opening of an artificial inlet in 1922, and is due to increasing eutrophication. Furthermore, the sedimentary carbonate content can be used as a good indicator for past phytoplankton productivity in Rotsee.  相似文献   

Influence of climate on the radioactivity of lake and sea sediments: first results     

I. Liritzis  R. B. Galloway  M. Kovacheva  V. B. Kalcheva 《Geophysical Journal International》1994,116(3):683-687

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Radiometric dating of lake sediments from Signy Island (maritime Antarctic): evidence of recent climatic change   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

P. G. Appleby  V. J. Jones  J. C. Ellis-Evans 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1995,13(2):179-191

Sediment cores from three lakes (Moss, Sombre and Heywood) in the maritime Antarctic (Signy Island, South Orkney Islands) have been successfully dated radiometrically by²¹⁰Pb and¹³⁷Cs. The core inventories of both fallout radionuclides are an order of magnitude higher than that which can be supported by the direct atmospheric flux at this latitude. The elevated values may be explained by fallout onto the catchment during the winter being delivered directly to the lakes during the annual thaw. Two of the lakes (Sombre and Heywood) show marked increases in sediment accumulation afterc. 1950. This appears to be associated with a documented rise in temperature in the South Orkney Islands, which has caused extensive deglaciation at Signy Island.This is the tenth of a series of papers to be published by this journal following the 20 ^th anniversary of the first application of²¹⁰Pb dating of lake sediments. Dr P.G. Appleby is guest editing this series.  相似文献   

Variation among fossil chironomid assemblages in surficial sediments of Bodensee-Untersee (SW-Germany): implications for paleolimnological interpretation     

Alexandra Schmäh 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1993,9(2):99-108

In paleolimnology, subfossil head capsules of chironomids play an important role as ecological indicators of lake history. It is important to determine, therefore, whether fossil assemblages are representative of former biocoenoses. There is evidence that headcapsules washed in from other places can make up a significant percentage of the total. As interpretations are usually drawn from the examination of a single core, it is of special interest to know whether a fossil assemblage of a single site properly reflects limnological conditions of the whole lake. This study examined the taxonomic distribution of subfossil chironomids in the surficial sediments of the Bodensee-Untersee, with the aim of assessing the variability in chironomid assemblages. Apparently, most of the head capsules of the profundal fossil assemblages in the Untersee had been washed in from the littoral zone or from the slope. Although the Bodensee-Untersee is a rather large lake, variability is surprisingly low among all samples. Therefore a correct interpretation from a single core may be possible.  相似文献   

The influence of salinity and flocculation upon the acquisition of remanent magnetization in some artificial sediments     

M. J. van  Vreumingen 《Geophysical Journal International》1993,114(3):607-614

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Spatial uniformity of sediment accumulation in varved lake sediments in northern Sweden     

G. Petterson  I. Renberg  P. Geladi  A. Lindberg  F. Lindgren 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1993,9(3):195-208

As part of an investigation aimed at assessing the potential of northern Swedish varved lake sediments for fine-resolution reconstruction of past climatic conditions, the following questions were addressed; how representative is a single core, does the appearance of varves change as the sediment ages, and how can varve thickness and within-varve structures be digitized? Analyses of replicate cores from Kassjön, using sample sequences of seasonal, annual and centennial time resolution, show that spatial variability of sediment accumulation in the varved sediment is very low. Comparisons of intensity curves from image analysis of freeze cores of recent sediments from Lake Nylandssjön, sampled in 1980 and 1985, indicate that the varves acquire their appearance at the sediment-water interface during sedimentation and that the varve structures are preserved during diagenetic processes. Measurement of varve thicknesses with a tree-ring microscope and with image analysis gave similar results. However, with image analysis, within-varve structures such as colour variations and thicknesses of seasonal layers, can also be recorded, increasing the possibilities for palaeolimnological and palaeoclimatic inferences.  相似文献