A habitable fluvio-lacustrine environment at Yellowknife Bay, Gale crater, Mars.

PubMed

Grotzinger, J P; Sumner, D Y; Kah, L C; Stack, K; Gupta, S; Edgar, L; Rubin, D; Lewis, K; Schieber, J; Mangold, N; Milliken, R; Conrad, P G; DesMarais, D; Farmer, J; Siebach, K; Calef, F; Hurowitz, J; McLennan, S M; Ming, D; Vaniman, D; Crisp, J; Vasavada, A; Edgett, K S; Malin, M; Blake, D; Gellert, R; Mahaffy, P; Wiens, R C; Maurice, S; Grant, J A; Wilson, S; Anderson, R C; Beegle, L; Arvidson, R; Hallet, B; Sletten, R S; Rice, M; Bell, J; Griffes, J; Ehlmann, B; Anderson, R B; Bristow, T F; Dietrich, W E; Dromart, G; Eigenbrode, J; Fraeman, A; Hardgrove, C; Herkenhoff, K; Jandura, L; Kocurek, G; Lee, S; Leshin, L A; Leveille, R; Limonadi, D; Maki, J; McCloskey, S; Meyer, M; Minitti, M; Newsom, H; Oehler, D; Okon, A; Palucis, M; Parker, T; Rowland, S; Schmidt, M; Squyres, S; Steele, A; Stolper, E; Summons, R; Treiman, A; Williams, R; Yingst, A

2014-01-24

The Curiosity rover discovered fine-grained sedimentary rocks, which are inferred to represent an ancient lake and preserve evidence of an environment that would have been suited to support a martian biosphere founded on chemolithoautotrophy. This aqueous environment was characterized by neutral pH, low salinity, and variable redox states of both iron and sulfur species. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus were measured directly as key biogenic elements; by inference, phosphorus is assumed to have been available. The environment probably had a minimum duration of hundreds to tens of thousands of years. These results highlight the biological viability of fluvial-lacustrine environments in the post-Noachian history of Mars.

Chapter F: Preliminary Bibliography of Lacustrine Diatomite Deposits in the Western United States and Related Topics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bolm, Karen S.; Wallace, Alan R.; Moyle, Phillip R.; Bliss, James D.; Orris, Greta J.

2003-01-01

Introduction As part of the assessment of lacustrine diatomite resources in the Western United States (fig. 1), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) project members conducted a review of literature relating to the formation, location, and nature of deposits in the study area. This preliminary bibliography consists of selected publications to identify, locate, and describe the deposits to be studied, to characterize common geologic factors about the deposits, and to better understand the factors that control their formation, preservation, or destruction. The bibliography also serves as a resource for other workers to research the topic. References included in the preliminary bibliography were gathered by searching existing bibliographic data bases and library collections. Project researchers also contributed references that they found during the course of their work. This bibliography should be considered a working document that will grow as research and literature searches continue. Clearly, many significant publications may be missing from this preliminary list; therefore, USGS staff members intend to issue a revised bibliography as project work progresses. To assure completeness, input from other researchers and industry is welcome. Although the focus of this bibliography is lacustrine diatomite deposits of the Western United States, additional references that provide a foundation of knowledge for the study of diatomites, diatoms, and diatom-related processes (ecology, geology, geochemistry) and for the uses and behavior of diatomite have also been included. An index of keywords has been added to this bibliography, designed to help the user locate reports by topic or by geographic location. The letter 'A' following a number indicates that the report referenced is an abstract.

Palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic, palaeohydrological and chemical/biochemical controls on accumulation of late Eocene coastal lacustrine-palustrine limestones, Southern England

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Armenteros, Ildefonso; Edwards, Nicholas

2012-12-01

The shallow-lacustrine to palustrine Hatherwood Limestone Member of the late Eocene Headon Hill Formation, Southern England, is in a succession of fluvio-estuarine and laguno-lacustrine siliciclastic sediments. It is up to 8.0 m thick and is subdivided by metric-scale palaeotopographic erosion surfaces, one of which underlies lenticular humic siliciclastic mudstones. The limestone lithologies are (1) biocalcilutites/biocalcisiltites, (2) biocalcarenites, (3) calcirudites, and (4) laterally-discontinuous laminar and fenestral crusts. Lithology (1) accumulated in a low-energy shallow-lacustrine depositional environment, indicated by the predominance of pulmonate pond-snails in the mollusc assemblage. In contrast, lithologies (2) and (3) are the coarse-grained fills of shallow palaeotopographic lows, and also form basal lags and palaeokarst-fills. Lithology (3) comprises remnant autochthonous lags that resulted from selective erosion during lacustrine transgressions. Brecciation and proto-intraclast to nodular differentiation in lithology (2) suggests derivation of the intraclasts from subaerially- and pedogenically-modified shallow-lacustrine muds. Laminar crusts (4), 0.5-6.0 cm in thickness, display irregularly undulose and anastamosing laminations 150-400 μm thick, that display differential staining by iron oxide. The abundance of rootlet traces and calcitised parenchymatic root tissues in the fenestral crusts suggests a palustrine depositional environment for these lithologies. The siliciclastic mudstone lithologies are (1) black humic muds and (2) blue-green silty muds and marls. The high C/N molar ratio of the black muds suggests derivation of the humic content mainly from vascular plants in local wetlands. The mollusc assemblage of the blue-green siliciclastic muds resembles floodplain lake assemblages from the regional Palaeogene succession. Mean stable isotopic values for limestone samples, of - 4.75 ± 1.53 for δ13C and - 2.77 ± 1.47 for δ18O, indicate a

The Upper Jurassic Stanleyville Group of the eastern Congo Basin: An example of perennial lacustrine system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caillaud, Alexis; Blanpied, Christian; Delvaux, Damien

2017-08-01

The intracratonic Congo Basin, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is the largest sedimentary basin of Africa. The Jurassic strata outcrop along its eastern margin, south of Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville). In the last century, the Upper Jurassic Stanleyville Group was described as a lacustrine series containing a thin basal marine limestone designed as the ;Lime Fine; beds. Since the proposal of this early model, the depositional environment of the Stanleyville Group, and especially the possible marine incursion, has been debated, but without re-examining the existing cores, outcrop samples and historical fossils from the type location near Kisangani that are available at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (MRAC/KMMA, Tervuren, Belgium). In order to refine the former sedimentology, a series of nine exploration cores drilled in the Kisangani sub-basin have been described. This study aims at integrating sedimentary facies in existing sedimentary models and to discuss the hypothesis of the presence of Kimmeridgian marine deposits along the Congo River near Kisangani, a region which lies in the middle of the African continent. Eight facies have been identified, which permit a reinterpretation of the depositional environment and paleogeography of the Stanleyville Group. The base of the Stanleyville Group is interpreted to represent a conglomeratic fluvial succession, which filled an inherited Triassic paleotopography. Above these conglomerates, a transition to a typically lacustrine system is interpreted, which includes: (1) a basal profundal, sublittoral (brown to dark fine-grained siltstones with microbial carbonates, i.e., the ;Lime Fine; beds) and littoral lacustrine series; covered by (2) a sublittoral to profundal interval (brown to dark organic-rich, fine-grained siltstones), which corresponds to the maximum extent of the paleo-lake; and, finally (3) a shallow lacustrine series (greenish calcareous siltstones and sandstones with red siltstones

Earthquake-induced soft-sediment deformation structures in Late Pleistocene lacustrine deposits of Issyk-Kul lake (Kyrgyzstan)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gladkov, A. S.; Lobova, E. U.; Deev, E. V.; Korzhenkov, A. M.; Mazeika, J. V.; Abdieva, S. V.; Rogozhin, E. A.; Rodkin, M. V.; Fortuna, A. B.; Charimov, T. A.; Yudakhin, A. S.

2016-10-01

This paper discusses the composition and distribution of soft-sediment deformation structures induced by liquefaction in Late Pleistocene lacustrine terrace deposits on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul Lake in the northern Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The section contains seven deformed beds grouped in two intervals. Five deformed beds in the upper interval contain load structures (load casts and flame structures), convolute lamination, ball-and-pillow structures, folds and slumps. Deformation patterns indicate that a seismic trigger generated a multiple slump on a gentle slope. The dating of overlying subaerial deposits suggests correlation between the deformation features and strong earthquakes in the Late Pleistocene.

A multi-proxy palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic record within full glacial lacustrine deposits, western Tennessee, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grimley, D.A.; Daniel, L.; Kaplan, S.W.; Yansa, C.H.; Curry, B. Brandon; Oches, E.A.

2009-01-01

The Fulton Section, along the Mississippi River in western Tennessee, USA, is a 1km continuous exposure (~20m vertically) of Quaternary fluvial and lacustrine deposits, inset within Eocene sediments and buried by thick loess. Fossiliferous slackwater lake sediments record maximum aggradation during the last two major glaciations, with deposition between ca. 190-140 ka and 24-1814C ka BP, based on amino acid and radiocarbon chronology, respectively. During the onset of full glacial conditions (ca. 24-22 14C ka BP), a relatively permanent shallow lake environment is indicated by ostracods, aquatic molluscs, and both pollen and macrofossils of aquatic plants. By 21.8 14C ka BP, increasing emergent plants, amphibious gastropods (Pomatiopsis) and heavier ??18O compositions suggest marsh-like conditions in a periodically drying lake. The surrounding uplands consisted of Picea-Pinus woodlands mixed with cool-temperate hardwoods (e.g. Quercus, Populus, Carya), grasses and herbs. More open conditions ensued ca. 20 14C ka BP, with loess and slopewash gradually infilling the former lake by 18 14C ka BP. Modern analogue analyses of ostracods and palaeontological evidence imply a full glacial climate similar to today's mixed-boreal zone in central Minnesota, USA, about 98C cooler in mean annual temperature than present-day western Tennessee. Copyright ?? 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Deposition of Boron in Possible Evaporite Deposits in Gale Crate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gasda, P. J.; Peets, E.; Lamm, S. N.; Rapin, W.; Lanza, N.; Frydenvang, J.; Clark, B. C.; Herkenhoff, K. E.; Bridges, J.; Schwenzer, S. P.; Haldeman, E. B.; Wiens, R. C.; Maurice, S.; Clegg, S. M.; Delapp, D.; Sanford, V.; Bodine, M. R.; McInroy, R.

2017-12-01

Boron has been previously detected in Gale crater using the ChemCam instrument on board the NASA Curiosity rover within calcium sulfate fracture fill hosted by lacustrine mudstone and eolian sandstone units. Recent results show that up to 300 ppm B is present in the upper sections of the lacustrine unit. Boron has been detected in both the groundwater-emplaced calcium sulfate fracture fill materials and bedding-parallel calcium sulfate layers. The widespread bedding-parallel calcium sulfate layers within the upper strata of the lacustrine bedrock that Curiosity has encountered recently could be interpreted as primary evaporite deposits. We have two hypotheses for the history of boron in Gale crater. In both hypotheses, borates were first deposited as lake water evaporated, depositing primary evaporates that were later re-dissolved by groundwater, which redistributed the boron into secondary evaporitic calcium sulfate fracture fill deposits. In the first scenario, Gale crater may have undergone a period of perennial lake formation during a drier period of martian history, depositing layers of evaporitic minerals (including borates) among lacustrine mudstone layers. In the second scenario, lake margins could have become periodically exposed during cyclic drops in lake level and subsequently desiccated. Evaporites were deposited and desiccation features were formed in lowstand deposits. Either hypothetical scenario of evaporite deposition would promote prebiotic chemical reactions via wet-dry cycles. Boron may be an important prebiotic element, and as such, its presence in ancient martian surface and groundwater provides evidence that important prebiotic chemical reactions could occur on Mars if organics were present. The presence of boron in ancient Gale crater groundwater also provides additional evidence that a habitable environment existed in the martian subsurface well after the expected disappearance of liquid water on the surface of Mars. We will report on the

Depositional environments and cyclo- and chronostratigraphy of uppermost Carboniferous-Lower Triassic -lacustrine deposits, southern Bogda Mountains, NW China - A terrestrfluvialial paleoclimatic record of mid-latitude NE Pangea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yang, W.; Feng, Q.; Liu, Yajing; Tabor, N.; Miggins, D.; Crowley, J.L.; Lin, J.; Thomas, S.

2010-01-01

Two uppermost Carboniferous–Lower Triassic fluvial–lacustrine sections in the Tarlong–Taodonggou half-graben, southern Bogda Mountains, NW China, comprise a 1834 m-thick, relatively complete sedimentary and paleoclimatic record of the east coast of mid-latitude NE Pangea. Depositional environmental interpretations identified three orders (high, intermediate, and low) of sedimentary cycles. High-order cycles (HCs) have five basic types, including fluvial cycles recording repetitive changes of erosion and deposition and lacustrine cycles recording repetitive environmental changes associated with lake expansion and contraction. HCs are grouped into intermediate-order cycles (ICs) on the basis of systematic changes of thickness, type, and component lithofacies of HCs. Nine low-order cycles (LCs) are demarcated by graben-wide surfaces across which significant long-term environmental changes occurred. A preliminary cyclostratigraphic framework provides a foundation for future studies of terrestrial climate, tectonics, and paleontology in mid-latitude NE Pangea.Climate variabilities at the intra-HC, HC, IC, and LC scales were interpreted from sedimentary and paleosol evidence. Four prominent climatic shifts are present: 1) from the humid–subhumid to highly-variable subhumid–semiarid conditions at the beginning of Sakamarian; 2) from highly-variable subhumid–semiarid to humid–subhumid conditions across the Artinskian-Capitanian unconformity; 3) from humid–subhumid to highly-variable subhumid–semiarid conditions at early Induan; and 4) from the highly-variable subhumid–semiarid to humid–subhumid conditions across the Olenekian-Anisian unconformity. The stable humid–subhumid condition from Lopingian to early Induan implies that paleoclimate change may not have been the cause of the end-Permian terrestrial mass extinction. A close documentation of the pace and timing of the extinction and exploration of other causes are needed. In addition, the

Sedimentology and Reservoir Characteristics of Early Cretaceous Fluvio-Deltaic and Lacustrine Deposits, Upper Abu Gabra Formation, Sufyan Sub-basin, Muglad Rift Basin, Sudan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yassin, Mohamed; Abdullatif, Osman; Hariri, Mustafa

2017-04-01

Sufyan Sub-basin is an East-West trending Sub-basin located in the northwestern part of the Muglad Basin (Sudan), in the eastern extension of the West and Central Africa Rift System (WCARS). The Early Cretaceous Abu Gabra Formation considered as the main source rock in the Muglad Basin. In Sufyan Sub-basin the Early Cretaceous Upper Abu Gabra Formation is the main oil-producing reservoir. It is dominated by sandstone and shales deposited in fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine environment during the first rift cycle in the basin. Depositional and post-depositional processes highly influenced the reservoir quality and architecture. This study investigates different scales of reservoir heterogeneities from macro to micro scale. Subsurface facies analysis was analyzed based on the description of six conventional cores from two wells. Approaches include well log analysis, thin sections and scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigations, grain-size, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the Abu Gabra sandstone. The cores and well logs analyses revealed six lithofacies representing fluvio-deltaic and lacustrine depositional environment. The sandstone is medium to coarse-grained, poorly to moderately sorted and sub-angular to subrounded, Sub-feldspathic arenite to quartz arenite. On macro-scale, reservoir quality varies within Abu Gabra reservoir where it shows progressive coarsening upward tendencies with different degrees of connectivity. The upper part of the reservoir showed well connected and amalgamated sandstone bodies, the middle to lower parts, however, have moderate to low sandstone bodies' connectivity and amalgamation. On micro-scale, sandstone reservoir quality is directly affected by textures and diagenesis.The XRD and SEM analyses show that kaolinite and chlorite clay are the common clay minerals in the studied samples. Clay matrix and quartz overgrowth have significantly reduced the reservoir porosity and permeability, while the dissolution of feldspars

Late Cenozoic lacustrine and climatic environments at Tule Lake, northern Great Basin, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Platt, Bradbury J.

1992-01-01

Cores of lake sediment to a depth of 334 m in the town of Tulelake, Siskiyou County, northern California, document the late Cenozoic paleolimnologic and paleoclimatic history of the northwestern edge of the Great Basin. The cores have been dated by radiometric, tephrochronologic and paleomagnetic analyses. Lacustrine diatoms are abundant throughout the record and document a nearly continuous paleolimnologic history of the Tule Lake basin for the last 3 Myr. During most of this time, this basin (Tule Lake) was a relatively deep, extensive lake. Except for a drier (and cooler?) interval recorded by Fragilaria species about 2.4 Ma, the Pliocene is characterized by a dominance of planktonic Aulacoseira solida implying a warm monomictic lake under a climatic regime of low seasonality. Much of the Pleistocene is dominated by Stephanodiscus and Fragilaria species suggesting a cooler, often drier, and highly variable climate. Benthic diatoms typical of alkaline-enriched saline waters commonly appear after 1.0 Ma, and tephrochronology indicates slow deposition and possible hiatuses between about 0.6 and 0.2 Ma. The chronology of even-numbered oxygen isotope stages approximately matches fluctuations in the abundance of Fragilaria since 800 ka indicating that glacial periods were expressed as drier environments at Tule Lake. Glacial and interglacial environments since 150 ka were distinct from, and more variable than, those occurring earlier. The last full glacial period was very dry, but shortly thereafter Tule Lake became a deep, cool lacustrine system indicating a substantial increase in precipitation. Aulacoseira ambigua characterized the latest glacial and Holocene record of Tule Lake. Its distribution indicates that warmer and wetter climates began about 15 ka in this part of the Great Basin. Diatom concentration fluctuates at 41 000 year intervals between 3.0 and 2.5 Ma and at approximately 100 000 year intervals after 1.0 Ma. In the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene

Paleotopographic control of landslides in lacustrine deposits (Trièves plateau, French western Alps)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bièvre, Grégory; Kniess, Ulrich; Jongmans, Denis; Pathier, Erwan; Schwartz, Stéphane; van Westen, Cees J.; Villemin, Thierry; Zumbo, Vilma

2011-01-01

Paleotopography in Quaternary sedimentary environments can be an important factor that controls landslide movement. This study investigates the relation between paleotopography and landslide activity in two adjacent landslides in glaciolacustrine sediments located in the Trièves area (French western Alps). Although both are in slopes underlain by the same lacustrine deposits, the Avignonet and Harmalière landslides exhibit major differences in morphology and displacement rates. Through a combination of geological mapping, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, aerial photographs, global positioning system (GPS), and seismic noise measurements, a three-dimensional impression was made of both landslides. The analysis reveals that the difference in kinematics between the two mass movements can be traced back to at least 50 years ago. The results show that the Harmalière slide, which failed catastrophically in 1981, is still much more active than the Avignonet landslide. The fear was that the Avignonet landslide might develop in a similar catastrophic manner, threatening a number of houses constructed on the landslide. A geophysical survey based on ambient noise measurements allowed us to map the base of the lacustrine clays, and the results indicate the presence of a N-S ridge of hard sediments (Jurassic bedrock and/or compact alluvial layers) on the eastern side of the Avignonet landslide. This ridge disappears when approaching the Harmalière landslide and makes a place to what can be interpreted as a NW-SE oriented paleovalley of the river Drac. We proposed that the ridge acts as a buttress that could mechanically prevent the Avignonet landslide from evolving as fast as the Harmalière. Furthermore, the NW-SE paleovalley located under the Harmalière landslide corresponds to the motion direction of the slide. Therefore, the different behaviour of the two landslides is partly controlled by the paleotopographic setting of Lake Trièves during the last

Paleogeographic implications of Late Miocene lacustrine and nonmarine evaporite deposits in the Lake Mead region: Immediate precursors to the Colorado River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Faulds, James E.; Schreiber, Charlotte; Langenheim, Victoria; Hinz, Nicholas H.; Shaw, Tom; Heizler, Matthew T.; Perkins, Michael E; El Tabakh, Mohammed; Kunk, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Thick late Miocene nonmarine evaporite (mainly halite and gypsum) and related lacustrine limestone deposits compose the upper basin fill in half grabens within the Lake Mead region of the Basin and Range Province directly west of the Colorado Plateau in southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Regional relations and geochronologic data indicate that these deposits are late synextensional to postextensional (ca. 12–5 Ma), with major extension bracketed between ca. 16 and 9 Ma and the abrupt western margin of the Colorado Plateau established by ca. 9 Ma. Significant accommodation space in the half grabens allowed for deposition of late Miocene lacustrine and evaporite sediments. Concurrently, waning extension promoted integration of initially isolated basins, progressive enlargement of drainage nets, and development of broad, low gradient plains and shallow water bodies with extensive clastic, carbonate, and/or evaporite sedimentation. The continued subsidence of basins under restricted conditions also allowed for the preservation of particularly thick, localized evaporite sequences prior to development of the through-going Colorado River.The spatial and temporal patterns of deposition indicate increasing amounts of freshwater input during the late Miocene (ca. 12–6 Ma) immediately preceding arrival of the Colorado River between ca. 5.6 and 4.9 Ma. In axial basins along and proximal to the present course of the Colorado River, evaporite deposition (mainly gypsum) transitioned to lacustrine limestone progressively from east to west, beginning ca. 12–11 Ma in the Grand Wash Trough in the east and shortly after ca. 5.6 Ma in the western Lake Mead region. In several satellite basins to both the north and south of the axial basins, evaporite deposition was more extensive, with thick halite (>200 m to 2.5 km thick) accumulating in the Hualapai, Overton Arm, and northern Detrital basins. Gravity and magnetic lows suggest that thick halite may also lie within the

Hollow Nodules Gas Escape Sedimentary Structures in Lacustrine Deposits on Earth and Gale Crater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonaccorsi, R.; Willson, D.; Fairen, A. G.; Baker, L.; McKay, C.; Zent, A.; Mahaffy, P. R.

2015-12-01

Curiosity's Mastcam and MAHLI instruments in Gale Crater (GC) imaged mm-sized circular rimmed hollow nodules (HNs) (Figure 1A), pitting the Sheepbed mudstone of Yellowknife Bay Formation [1,2]. HNs are significantly smaller than the solid nodules within the outcrop, with an external mean diameter of 1.2 mm and an interior one of 0.7 mm [2] Several formation mechanisms of HNs have been discussed, such as: (1) Diagenetic dissolution of soluble mineral phases; or, (2) Gas bubbles released shortly after sediment deposition [1-3]. In an ephemeral pond in Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley, CA) we observed the formation of hollow nodule sedimentary structures produced by gas bubbles (Figure 1C) preserved in smectite-rich mud that are strikingly similar to those imaged in GC (Figure 1A). This finding supports the gas bubble hypothesis [2]. Ubehebe Crater (UC) surface sediment hollow nodules were sampled, imaged, and their internal diameter measured (200 hollow structures) showing similar shape, distribution, and composition to those imaged by Curiosity in GC. UC in-situ observations suggest the gas bubbles were generated within the slightly reducing ephemerally submerged mud. These intra-crater deposits remain otherwise extremely dry year round, i.e., Air_rH ~2-5%; ground H2O wt%: 1-2%; Summer air/ground T: 45-48ºC/67-70ºC [4-5]. Data from the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), CheMin, and ChemCam instruments onboard the rover revealed that HNs-bearing mudstone are rich in smectite clay e.g., ~18-20% [6,7] deposited in a neutral to mildly alkaline environment, capturing a period when the surface was potentially habitable [1]. The UC HNs-hosting deposits are also rich in smectite clays (~30%) and occur in an ephemeral shallow freshwater setting [4-5]. If present, surface hollow nodules are easy to find in dry clay-rich mud in lacustrine sediments, so they could represent a new indicator of ephemeral but habitable/inhabited environments on both Earth and early Mars. References: [1

Deformation of ``Villafranchian'' lacustrine sediments in the Chisone Valley (Western Alps, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collo, Giovanni; Giardino, Marco

1997-09-01

The Chisone Valley is located in the internal NW Alps, in the Pinerolese District, an area characterized by present low to medium seismicity. Fine-grained sediments (sand, silt and clay with interbedded gravel) crop out in the lower Chisone Valley: they were first interpreted as glaciolacustrine deposits, and then as a lacustrine infilling of the valley floor probably due to differential uplifting of the valley mouth. Review of this data, together with new field and palynological observations, lead us to refer the lacustrine deposits to approximately the Lower Pleistocene (Villafranchian). In many outcrops, the lacustrine deposits show strong soft-sediment deformation such as convolute laminations, water-escape structures and disrupted beds, some of them associated with folds and faults (cm to dm in size); only two sites show metric to decametric folds and faults trending E-W and N-S. Detailed structural analysis conducted along a recently exposed section (Rio Gran Dubbione site) shows several soft-sediment deformation features on the limbs of mesoscale folds. Because of their intimate structural association, the origin of these minor structures seems to be connected to synsedimentary activity on reverse and normal faults (m to dm in size) affecting the lacustrine deposits in the same locality. Soft-sediment deformation features can be interpreted as possible paleoseismites. If so, the present seismicity of the Pinerolese District, which is the major area of such activity in NW Italy, cannot be considered an isolated episode in the geological evolution of the region; even if there is no supporting evidence for continuous seismicity, the deformations in the lacustrine sediments of the Chisone Valley testify to Early Pleistocene seismic activity, probably related to the recent tectonic evolution of the internal side of the NW Alps.

Hydrothermal activity and its paleoecological implications in the latest Miocene to Middle Pleistocene lacustrine environments of the Baza Basin (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Aguilar, José Manuel; Guerra-Merchán, Antonio; Serrano, Francisco; Palmqvist, Paul; Flores-Moya, Antonio; Martínez-Navarro, Bienvenido

2014-07-01

The continental sedimentary record of the Baza Basin (Guadix-Baza Depression, Betic Cordillera, SE Spain) shows six sedimentary units of lacustrine origin deposited from the latest Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene. Depending on the interval considered, the lacustrine deposits are mainly composed of marls, carbonates or gypsiferous evaporites, showing lithological, mineralogical and geochemical features (i.e., magnesium, strontium and sulfur contents, celestine deposits and travertine growths) that are evidence of intense, tectonically-induced hydrothermal activity. According to the high concentrations of strontium and sulfur as well as the abundance of travertines and magnesium clays, the supply of hot waters was greater during the Zanclean, the Gelasian and the Calabrian, as a result of tectonic activity. Hydrothermal activity has continued until the present time and is responsible of the hot springs that are nowadays active in the Guadix-Baza Depression. The paleoenvironmental consequences of these sublacustrine hot springs were that during some intervals the lakes maintained a relatively permanent water table, not subject to periodic desiccations in the dry season, and warmer temperatures throughout the year. This resulted in a high level of organic productivity, especially for the Calabrian, which allowed the development of a rich and well diversified mammalian community, similar to those of modern African savannas with tree patches. In this mild environment, the permanent water sheet favored the presence of drought intolerant megaherbivores such as the giant extinct hippo Hippopotamus antiquus. The high standing crop biomass of ungulates resulted in the availability of abundant carcasses for scavengers such as hyenas and hominins, which explains the very high densities of skeletal remains preserved in the sediments distributed along the lake surroundings.

A short review of paleoenvironments for Lower Beaufort (Upper Permian) Karoo sequences from southern to central Africa: A major Gondwana Lacustrine episode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yemane, K.; Kelts, K.

This paper compares Karoo deposits within the Lower Beaufort (Late Permian) time interval from southern to central Africa. Facies aspects are summarized for selected sequences and depositional environments assessed in connection with the palaeogeography. The comparison shows that thickness of Lower Beaufort sequences varies greatly; sequences are over a kilometre thick at the southern tip, but decrease drastically to the north, northwest and northeast, and is commonly absent from the western part of the subcontinent. Depositional environments are continental except for small estuarine intervals from a sequence in Tanzania. The commonest lithologies comprise mudstones, siltstones, arkoses and carbonates. In spite of the dominance of fluvial facies, the records preserved by intervals of lacustrine sequences suggest that large lakes were major features of the palaeogeography, and that lacustrine environments may have been dominant deposition environments. The Lower Beaufort landscape is generally interpreted as an expansive cratonic lowland with meandering rivers and streams crossing vast floodplains, which were indented by concomitant shallow lakes of various sizes. The lakes from the Karoo tectono-sedimentary terrain were often ephemeral and closely linked with fluvial processes, but large, anoxic lakers are also documented. On the other hand, giant, freshwater lakes, covered large areas of the Zambezian tectono-sedimentary terrain and may have been locally connected. Evidence from abundant freshwater fossil assemblages, particularly from the Zambezian tectono-sedimentary terrain suggest that in spite of the generally semi-arid global climate of the Upper Permian, seasonal precipitation (monsoonal?) supplied enough moisture to sustain large perennial lakes. Because of the unique nature of the Permian cotinental configuration and palaeogeography, however, modern analogues of large systems are lacking. The general lithological and palaeontological correlability of

Sedimentation rates in eastern North America reveal strong links between regional climate, depositional environments, and sediment accumulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goring, S. J.; McLachlan, J. S.; Jackson, S. T.; Blaauw, M.; Christen, J.; Marlon, J.; Blois, J.; Williams, J. W.

2011-12-01

PalEON is a multidisciplinary project that combines paleo and modern ecological data with state-of-the-art statistical and modelling tools to examine the interactions between climate, fire and vegetation during the past two millennia in the northeastern United States. A fundamental challenge for PalEON (and paleo research more broadly) is to improve age modelling to yield more accurate sediment-core chronologies. To address this challenge, we assessed sedimentation rates and their controls for 218 lakes and mires in the northeastern U.S. Sedimentation rates (yr/cm) were calculated from age-depth models, which were obtained from the Neotoma database (www.neotomadb.org) and other contributed pollen records. The age models were recalibrated to IntCal09 and augmented in some cases using biostratigraphic markers (Picea decline, 16 kcal BP - 10.5 kcal BP; Quercus rise, 12 - 9.1 kcal BP; and Alnus decline, 11.5 - 10.6 kcal BP) as described in Blois et al. (2011). Relationships between sedimentation rates and sediment age, site longitude, and depositional environment (lacustrine or mire) are significant but weak. There are clear and significant links between variations in the NGRIP record of δ18O and sedimentation in mires across the PalEON region, but no links to lacustrine sedimentation rates. This result indicates that super-regional climatic control of primary productivity, and thus autochthonic sediment deposition, dominates in mires while deposition in lacustrine basins may be driven primarily by local and regional factors including watershed size, surficial materials,and regional vegetation. The shape of the gamma probability functions that best describe sedimentation rate distributions are calculated and presented here for use as priors in Bayesian age modelling applications such as BACON (Blaauw and Christen, in press). Future applications of this research are also discussed.

Sources and proxy potential of long chain alkyl diols in lacustrine environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rampen, Sebastiaan W.; Datema, Mariska; Rodrigo-Gámiz, Marta; Schouten, Stefan; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.

2014-11-01

Long chain 1,13- and 1,15-alkyl diols form the base of a number of recently proposed proxies used for climate reconstruction. However, the sources of these lipids and environmental controls on their distribution are still poorly constrained. We have analyzed the long chain alkyl diol (LCD) composition of cultures of ten eustigmatophyte species, with three species from different families grown at various temperatures, to identify the effect of species composition and growth temperature on the LCD distribution. The results were compared with the LCD distribution of sixty-two lake surface sediments, and with previously reported LCD distributions from marine environments. The different families within the Eustigmatophyceae show distinct LCD patterns, with the freshwater family Eustigmataceae most closely resembling LCD distributions in both marine and lake environments. Unlike the other two eustigmatophyte families analyzed (Monodopsidaceae and Goniochloridaceae), C28 and C30 1,13-alkyl diols and C30 and C32 1,15-alkyl diols are all relatively abundant in the family Eustigmataceae, while the mono-unsaturated C32 1,15-alkyl diol was below detection limit. In contrast to the marine environment, LCD distributions in lakes did not show a clear relationship with temperature. The Long chain Diol Index (LDI), a proxy previously proposed for sea surface temperature reconstruction, showed a relatively weak correlation (R2 = 0.33) with mean annual air temperature used as an approximation for annual mean surface temperature of the lakes. A much-improved correlation (R2 = 0.74, p-value <0.001) was observed applying a multiple linear regression analysis between LCD distributions and lake temperatures reconstructed using branched tetraether lipid distributions. The obtained regression model provides good estimates of temperatures for cultures of the family Eustigmataceae, suggesting that algae belonging to this family have an important role as a source for LCDs in lacustrine

Nanometer-Scale Pore Characteristics of Lacustrine Shale, Songliao Basin, NE China

PubMed Central

Wang, Min; Yang, Jinxiu; Wang, Zhiwei; Lu, Shuangfang

2015-01-01

In shale, liquid hydrocarbons are accumulated mainly in nanometer-scale pores or fractures, so the pore types and PSDs (pore size distributions) play a major role in the shale oil occurrence (free or absorbed state), amount of oil, and flow features. The pore types and PSDs of marine shale have been well studied; however, research on lacustrine shale is rare, especially for shale in the oil generation window, although lacustrine shale is deposited widely around the world. To investigate the relationship between nanometer-scale pores and oil occurrence in the lacustrine shale, 10 lacustrine shale core samples from Songliao Basin, NE China were analyzed. Analyses of these samples included geochemical measurements, SEM (scanning electron microscope) observations, low pressure CO2 and N2 adsorption, and high-pressure mercury injection experiments. Analysis results indicate that: (1) Pore types in the lacustrine shale include inter-matrix pores, intergranular pores, organic matter pores, and dissolution pores, and these pores are dominated by mesopores and micropores; (2) There is no apparent correlation between pore volumes and clay content, however, a weak negative correlation is present between total pore volume and carbonate content; (3) Pores in lacustrine shale are well developed when the organic matter maturity (Ro) is >1.0% and the pore volume is positively correlated with the TOC (total organic carbon) content. The statistical results suggest that oil in lacustrine shale mainly occurs in pores with diameters larger than 40 nm. However, more research is needed to determine whether this minimum pore diameter for oil occurrence in lacustrine shale is widely applicable. PMID:26285123

Nanometer-Scale Pore Characteristics of Lacustrine Shale, Songliao Basin, NE China.

PubMed

Wang, Min; Yang, Jinxiu; Wang, Zhiwei; Lu, Shuangfang

2015-01-01

In shale, liquid hydrocarbons are accumulated mainly in nanometer-scale pores or fractures, so the pore types and PSDs (pore size distributions) play a major role in the shale oil occurrence (free or absorbed state), amount of oil, and flow features. The pore types and PSDs of marine shale have been well studied; however, research on lacustrine shale is rare, especially for shale in the oil generation window, although lacustrine shale is deposited widely around the world. To investigate the relationship between nanometer-scale pores and oil occurrence in the lacustrine shale, 10 lacustrine shale core samples from Songliao Basin, NE China were analyzed. Analyses of these samples included geochemical measurements, SEM (scanning electron microscope) observations, low pressure CO2 and N2 adsorption, and high-pressure mercury injection experiments. Analysis results indicate that: (1) Pore types in the lacustrine shale include inter-matrix pores, intergranular pores, organic matter pores, and dissolution pores, and these pores are dominated by mesopores and micropores; (2) There is no apparent correlation between pore volumes and clay content, however, a weak negative correlation is present between total pore volume and carbonate content; (3) Pores in lacustrine shale are well developed when the organic matter maturity (Ro) is >1.0% and the pore volume is positively correlated with the TOC (total organic carbon) content. The statistical results suggest that oil in lacustrine shale mainly occurs in pores with diameters larger than 40 nm. However, more research is needed to determine whether this minimum pore diameter for oil occurrence in lacustrine shale is widely applicable.

The occurrence and transformation of lacustrine sediment gravity flow related to depositional variation and paleoclimate in the Lower Cretaceous Prosopis Formation of the Bongor Basin, Chad

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Mingxuan; Zhu, Xiaomin; Geng, Mingyang; Zhu, Shifa; Liu, Wei

2017-10-01

Bed variability of sediment-gravity-flow deposits is quite prevalent in deep-marine settings, but it has not been well investigated in lacustrine settings. The depositional characteristics of various event beds are characterized in the North Slope Belt of the Bongor Basin (Chad), using detailed sedimentological, petrographic, geochemical as well as palynological analysis. Four bed types including classical turbidite bed, debrite bed, hybrid event bed, and hyperpycnite bed were distinguished based on their interpreted depositional processes. Variable mud contents of debrite beds and classic turbidite beds show distinct genetic characteristics in four core wells, whilst the high mud content of cohesive debrite interval and the low mud content of turbidite interval in hybrid event bed demonstrate the existence of flow transformation. Generally, several trace element and rare earth element proxy parameters show that these gravity-flow deposits of BS1-1 and D-3 cores are formed in more distal depositional settings than them of BN8 and BNE3 cores, which is also well consistent with sedimentological understandings achieved by seismic facies analysis. Although palynological results show a general hot arid climate during the deposition of the Prosopis Formation, but the climate-sensitive Sr/Cu ratio demonstrates that most sampled turbidite beds are postulated to be formed within a short humid pulse. The multi-approach analysis has illustrated that two potential forming mechanisms (delta-front-failure and flood-related origin) can be derived in different cored wells of such a small lacustrine rift basin. Differentiated flow transformation plays a significant role in the depositional characteristics and heterogenetic distribution of these event deposits.

Mineral Trends in Early Hesperian Lacustrine Mudstone at Gale Crater, Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rampe, E. B.; Ming, D. W.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Morris, R. V.; Blake, D. F.; Vaniman, D. T.; Bristow, T. F.; Morrison, S. M.; Yen, A. S.; Chipera, S. J.;

Fluvial and Lacustrine Processes in Meridiani Planum and the Origin of the Hematite by Aqueous Alteration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newsom, H. E.; Barber, C. A.; Schelble, R. T.; Hare, T. M.; Feldman, W. C.; Sutherland, V.; Livingston, A.; Lewis, K.

2003-01-01

The prime MER landing site in Meridiani Planum is located on layered materials, including hematite, whose origin as lacustrine or aeolian sediments, or volcanic materials is uncertain. Our detailed mapping of the region provides important constraints on the history of the region. Our mapping of the location of fluvial and lacustrine land forms in the region relative to the layered deposits provides new evidence of a long history of erosion and deposition as has long been noted . In addition, our detailed mapping of the southern boundary of the hematite deposit strongly supports an association between longlived fluvial channels and lacustrine basins and the strongest hematite signatures. This evidence supports an origin of the hematite deposits by interaction with water under ambient conditions in contrast to suggestions of hydrothermal processes due to volcanic or impact crater processes. An important part of the story is the evidence for the localization of the layered deposits due to topographic control induce by the presence of a large early basin we have identified that extends to the north-east of the landing site. Distribution of current channel networks, drainages,

Stratigraphy, age, and depositional setting of the Miocene Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill, central Mojave Desert, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leslie, Shannon R.; Miller, David M.; Wooden, Joseph L.; Vazquez, Jorge A.

2010-01-01

New detailed geologic mapping and geochronology of the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill, 30 km east of Barstow, CA, help to constrain Miocene paleogeography and tectonics of the central Mojave Desert. A northern strand of the Quaternary ENE-striking, sinistral Manix fault divides the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill into two distinct lithologic assemblages. Strata north of the fault consist of: a green rhyolitic tuff, informally named the Shamrock tuff; lacustrine sandstone; partially silicified thin-bedded to massive limestone; and alluvial sandstone to pebble conglomerate. Strata south of the fault consist of: lacustrine siltstone and sandstone; a rhyolitic tuff dated at 19.1 Ma (U-Pb); rock-avalanche breccia deposits; partially silicified well-bedded to massive limestone; and alluvial sandstone and conglomerate. Our U-Pb zircon dating of the Shamrock tuff by SHRIMP-RG yields a peak probability age of 18.7 ± 0.1 Ma. Distinctive outcrop characteristics, mineralogy, remanent magnetization, and zircon geochemistry (Th/U) suggest that the Shamrock tuff represents a lacustrine facies of the regionally extensive Peach Spring Tuff (PST). Here we compare zircon age and geochemical analyses from the Shamrock tuff with those of the PST at Stoddard Wash and provide new insight into the age of zircon crystallization in the PST rhyolite. Results of our field studies show that Miocene strata at Harvard Hill mostly accumulated in a lacustrine environment, although depositional environments varied from a relatively deep lake to a very shallow lake or even onshore setting. Rock-avalanche breccias and alluvial deposits near the base of the exposed section indicate proximity to a steep basin margin and detrital studies suggest a southern source for coarse-grained deposits; therefore, we may infer a southern basin-margin setting at Harvard Hill during the early Miocene. Our geochronology demonstrates that deposition of the Barstow Formation at Harvard Hill extended from before

Random field theory to interpret the spatial variability of lacustrine soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, Savino; Vessia, Giovanna

2015-04-01

The lacustrine soils are quaternary soils, dated from Pleistocene to Holocene periods, generated in low-energy depositional environments and characterized by soil mixture of clays, sands and silts with alternations of finer and coarser grain size layers. They are often met at shallow depth filling several tens of meters of tectonic or erosive basins typically placed in internal Appenine areas. The lacustrine deposits are often locally interbedded by detritic soils resulting from the failure of surrounding reliefs. Their heterogeneous lithology is associated with high spatial variability of physical and mechanical properties both along horizontal and vertical directions. The deterministic approach is still commonly adopted to accomplish the mechanical characterization of these heterogeneous soils where undisturbed sampling is practically not feasible (if the incoherent fraction is prevalent) or not spatially representative (if the cohesive fraction prevails). The deterministic approach consists on performing in situ tests, like Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) or Cone Penetration Tests (CPT) and deriving design parameters through "expert judgment" interpretation of the measure profiles. These readings of tip and lateral resistances (Rp and RL respectively) are almost continuous but highly variable in soil classification according to Schmertmann (1978). Thus, neglecting the spatial variability cannot be the best strategy to estimated spatial representative values of physical and mechanical parameters of lacustrine soils to be used for engineering applications. Hereafter, a method to draw the spatial variability structure of the aforementioned measure profiles is presented. It is based on the theory of the Random Fields (Vanmarcke 1984) applied to vertical readings of Rp measures from mechanical CPTs. The proposed method relies on the application of the regression analysis, by which the spatial mean trend and fluctuations about this trend are derived. Moreover, the

Comparison of formation mechanism of fresh-water and salt-water lacustrine organic-rich shale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Senhu

2017-04-01

Based on the core and thin section observation, major, trace and rare earth elements test, carbon and oxygen isotopes content analysis and other geochemical methods, a detailed study was performed on formation mechanism of lacustrine organic-rich shale by taking the middle Permian salt-water shale in Zhungaer Basin and upper Triassic fresh-water shale in Ordos Basin as the research target. The results show that, the middle Permian salt-water shale was overall deposited in hot and dry climate. Long-term reductive environment and high biological abundance due to elevated temperature provides favorable conditions for formation and preservation of organic-rich shale. Within certain limits, the hotter climate, the organic-richer shale formed. These organic-rich shale was typically distributed in the area where palaeosalinity is relatively high. However, during the upper Triassic at Ordos Basin, organic-rich shale was formed in warm and moist environment. What's more, if the temperature, salinity or water depth rises, the TOC in shale decreases. In other words, relatively low temperature and salinity, stable lake level and strong reducing conditions benefits organic-rich shale deposits in fresh water. In this sense, looking for high-TOC shale in lacustrine basin needs to follow different rules depends on the palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment during sedimentary period. There is reason to believe that the some other factors can also have significant impact on formation mechanism of organic-rich shale, which increases the complexity of shale oil and gas prediction.

The Kramer deposit of southern California--Preliminary insights on the origins of zoned lacustrine evaporite borate deposits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Swihart, G.H.; McBay, E.H.; Smith, D.H.

1992-01-01

Lacustrine evaporite borate deposits span the range from mineralogically unzoned or poorly zoned to concentrically or complexly zoned types. Deposits often contain an inner ulexite or probertite (Na-Ca borates) zone and an outer colemanite (Ca borate) zone. A few deposits contain an innermost borax (Na borate) zone. Boron isotopic analyses of core material from the zoned borax-ulexite-colemanite Kramer deposit have been made with the aim of providing a better understanding of the processes of zone formation. Samples from 6 depths over a 63 foot interval in the borax zone yield a [delta] B-11 range of +0.1 to +2.3 permil. Twomore » samples in the portion of the ulexite zone below the borax zone, vertically separated from one another by 20 feet, yield identical results of [delta]B-11 = [minus]2.1 permit. Three ulexite samples from a 10 foot interval above the borax zone produced results in the range [delta]B-11 = [minus]4.6 to [minus]5.5 permil. A number of possible origins for ulexite at Kramer have been proposed: (1) primary precipitation from the lake brines; (2) postdepositional alteration of the borax zone margin by Ca-rich groundwater; (3) mixing of seeping lake brines and Ca-rich groundwater in muds around the lake. Given the small variation in B isotopic composition exhibited in the borax zone, mechanisms 1 and 2 would produce upper and lower portions of the ulexite zone with similar isotopic compositions. In the third scenario, the difference in composition of the upper and lower ulexites could be due to distance from the lake and relative proportions of seeped lake brine (B-11-rich) and clay adsorbed B (B-10-rich). Furthermore, the cotton ball form of the ulexite in this core is identical to that of ulexite forming today just beneath the surface of dry lakes in NV and CA.« less

Sedimentological reservoir characteristics of the Paleocene fluvial/lacustrine Yabus Sandstone, Melut Basin, Sudan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahgoub, M. I.; Padmanabhan, E.; Abdullatif, O. M.

2016-11-01

Melut Basin in Sudan is regionally linked to the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Central and Western African Rift System (CWARS). The Paleocene Yabus Formation is the main oil producing reservoir in the basin. It is dominated by channel sandstone and shales deposited in fluvial/lacustrine environment during the third phase of rifting in the basin. Different scales of sedimentological heterogeneities influenced reservoir quality and architecture. The cores and well logs analyses revealed seven lithofacies representing fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine depositional environments. The sandstone is medium to coarse-grained, poorly to moderately-sorted and sub-angular to sub-rounded, arkosic-subarkosic to sublitharenite. On the basin scale, the Yabus Formation showed variation in sandstone bodies, thickness, geometry and architecture. On macro-scale, reservoir quality varies vertically and laterally within Yabus Sandstone where it shows progressive fining upward tendencies with different degrees of connectivity. The lower part of the reservoir showed well-connected and amalgamated sandstone bodies, the middle to the upper parts, however, have moderate to low sandstone bodies' connectivity and amalgamation. On micro-scale, sandstone reservoir quality is directly affected by textures and diagenetic changes such as compaction, cementation, alteration, dissolution and kaolinite clays pore fill and coat all have significantly reduced the reservoir porosity and permeability. The estimated porosity in Yabus Formation ranges from 2 to 20% with an average of 12%; while permeability varies from 200 to 500 mD and up to 1 Darcy. The understanding of different scales of sedimentological reservoir heterogeneities might contribute to better reservoir quality prediction, architecture, consequently enhancing development and productivity.

Lacustrine fan delta deposition alongside intrabasinal structural highs in rift basins: an example from the Early Cretaceous Jiuquan Basin, Northwestern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chengcheng; Muirhead, James D.; Wang, Hua; Chen, Si; Liao, Yuantao; Lu, Zongsheng; Wei, Jun

2018-01-01

Development of fan deltas alongside intrabasinal structural highs has been overlooked compared to those forming on basin margins. However, these fan deltas may provide important clues regarding the tectonic and climatic controls on deposition during rift development. This paper documents fan delta deposition alongside an intrabasinal structural high within the Early Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of the Jiuquan Basin, China, using subsurface geological and geophysical data. Deposits observed in drill core support fan delta deposition occurring almost exclusively through subaerial and subaqueous gravity flows. Subsurface mapping reveals a consistent decrease in the areal extent of fan deltas from lowstand to highstand system tracts, suggesting that deposition alongside the structural high is sensitive to lake-level changes. The temporal and spatial distribution of the fan deltas display retrogradational stacking patterns, where fan deltas exhibit a decreasing lateral extent up-sequence until fan delta deposition terminated and was replaced by deposition of fine-grained lacustrine deposits. The retrogradational stacking patterns observed alongside the intrabasinal structural high are not observed in fan deltas along the basin margin in the lower parts of the Xiagou Formation. Subsidence profiles also show differential subsidence across the basin during the earliest stages of this formation, likely resulting from border fault movements. These data suggest that non-uniform stacking patterns in the lower parts of the Xiagou Formation reflect basin-scale tectonic movements as the dominant control on synrift deposition patterns. However, later stages of Xiagou Formation deposition were characterized by uniform subsidence across the basin, and uniform retrogradational stacking patterns for fan deltas alongside the intrabasinal structural high and border fault. These observations suggest that basin-scale tectonic movements played a relatively limited role in controlling

Radiocarbon ages of lacustrine deposits in volcanic sequences of the Lomas Coloradas area, Socorro Island, Mexico

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farmer, J. D.; Farmer, M. C.; Berger, R.

1993-01-01

Extensive eruptions of alkalic basalt from low-elevation fissures and vents on the southern flank of the dormant volcano, Cerro Evermann, accompanied the most recent phase of volcanic activity on Socorro Island, and created the Lomas Coloradas, a broad, gently sloping terrain comprising the southern part of the island. We obtained 14C ages of 4690 +/- 270 BP (5000-5700 cal BP) and 5040 +/- 460 BP (5300-6300 cal BP) from lacustrine deposits that occur within volcanic sequences of the lower Lomas Coloradas. Apparently, the sediments accumulated within a topographic depression between two scoria cones shortly after they formed. The lacrustine environment was destroyed when the cones were breached by headward erosion of adjacent stream drainages. This was followed by the eruption of a thin basaltic flow from fissures near the base of the northernmost cone. The flow moved downslope for a short distance and into the drainages that presently bound the study area on the east and west. The flow postdates development of the present drainage system and may be very recent. Our 14C data, along with historical accounts of volcanic activity over the last century, including submarine eruptions that occurred a few km west of Socorro in early 1993, underscore the high risk for explosive volcanism in this region and the need for a detailed volcanic hazards plan and seismic monitoring.

Deposition and deformation of fluvial-lacustrine sediments of the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic Whitmore Point Member, Moenave Formation, northern Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, Lawrence H.; Lucas, Spencer G.

2010-01-01

The stratigraphic section of the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic Whitmore Point Member of the Moenave Formation at Potter Canyon, Arizona, comprises c. 26 m of gray to black shales and red mudstones interbedded with mainly sheet-like siltstones and sandstones. These strata represent deposition from suspension and sheetflow processes in shallow, perennial meromictic to ephemeral lakes, and on dry mudflats of the terminal floodout of the northward-flowing Moenave stream system. The lakes were small, as indicated by the lack of shoreline features and limited evidence for deltas. Changes in base level, likely forced by climate change, drove the variations between mudflat and perennial lacustrine conditions. Lenticular sandstones that occur across the outcrop face in the same stratigraphic interval in the lower part of the sequence represent the bedload fill of channels incised into a coarsening-upward lacustrine sequence following a fall in base level. These sandstones are distinctive for the common presence of over-steepened bedding, dewatering structures, and less commonly, folding. Deformation of these sandstones is interpreted as aseismic due to the lack of features typically associated with seismicity, such as fault-graded bedding, diapirs, brecciated fabrics and clastic dikes. Rapid deposition of the sands on a fluid-rich substrate produced a reverse density gradient that destabilized, and potentially fluidized the underlying, finer-grained sediments. This destabilization allowed synsedimentary subsidence of most of the channel sands, accompanied by longitudinal rotation and/or ductile deformation of the sand bodies.

Palaeoenvironmental implications of a Holocene sequence of lacustrine-peat sediments from the desert-loess transitional zone in Northern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Feifei; Lu, Ruijie; Liu, Xiaokang; Zhao, Chao; Lv, Zhiqiang; Gao, Shangyu

2018-05-01

A high-resolution lacustrine-peat record from the desert-loess transitional zone in Northern China was obtained to reconstruct Holocene environmental change in the region. AMS 14C dates are used to provide a chronology. The results indicate that the site was a desert environment before 12.2 cal kyr BP, and was then occupied by a paleolake which started to shrink, with a wetland occurring from 6.2 to 3.0 cal kyr BP. Subsequently, the site became a seasonally water-filled depression. Based on the lithology and measurements of grain size and total organic carbon content, the climate changed from arid to humid at 12.2 cal kyr BP, and became more humid after 8.3 cal kyr BP. From 6.2 to 3.0 cal kyr BP, precipitation decreased but the climate remained at an optimum. After 3.0 cal kyr BP, the climate was dry overall but with several humid intervals. A comparison of paleoclimatic records from lacustrine and aeolian deposits from the region reveals a discrepancy about the nature of the early Holocene climate, and we conclude that this is because lacustrine sediments responded more sensitively to precipitation than aeolian deposits when the temperature was low. The environmental evolution of the region was synchronous with changes in the Asian summer monsoon (ASM), but temperature also played a key role in the early Holocene.

Sedimentology and geochemistry of lacustrine sequences of the upper Pleistocene and holocene in intertropical area (Lake Magadi and Green crater lake): paleoclimatic implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damnati, B.

1993-05-01

Sedimentological and geochemical analyses have been carried out on lacustrine deposits of East Africa, at Lake Magadi (2°S, 36°E, Kenya) and at Green Crater Lake (0°S, 36°E, Kenya), to determine the parameters controlling climatic and environmental dynamics during late Pleistocene and Holocene. These sedimentary sequences were collected with a stationary piston corer. At Lake Magadi (Fig. 1), sedimentary and geochemical control show three phases of lake level variation which corresponds to climatic change occurring during the last 40 thousand years. These phases were defined by three lithostratigraphic units. Laminated deposits of Lake Magadi were formed during a wet period. Analysis of these laminae define two microfacies: a dark lamina, characterised by lacustrine organic matter and a light lamina enriched in detritus, carbonates (CaCO 3) and magadiite (NaSi 7O 13(OH) 3, 3H 2O). The formation and preservation of each couplet was favoured by climatic contrast, lake stratification and various origin of the sediments (autochthon and allochthon) in the drainage basin. Therefore a relative chronology can be derived from laminae counting and the duration of deposition of each couplet. Spectral analysis applied on variation of the laminae thickness, shows the existence of three main periods, 4-7 years, 8-14 years and 18-30 years, respectively (Fig. 2). These cyclicites of the lacustrine environment precise former determinations established on more recent lacustrine sequences from East Africa. They are related to the global climatic cycle (quasi-biannual oscillations, El Nino Southern Oscillations and the sun spot cycles). At Green Crater Lake, the study of the sedimentary sequence was completed by physico-chemical analysis of the waters and interface sediments which demonstrate the carbonate, sodium, bicarbonate composition and the thermal and chemical stratification of the modern lake. The sedimentary sequence is characterized by volcanic deposits overlain by

Hydraulic properties of three types of glacial deposits in Ohio

USGS Publications Warehouse

Strobel, M.L.

1993-01-01

The effects of thickness, grain size, fractures, weathering, and atmosphericconditions on vertical ground-water flow in glacial deposits were studied at three sites that represent ground moraine, end moraine, and lacustrine depositional environments. Vertical hydraulic conductivities computed from pumped-well tests were 3.24 x 10-1 to 6.47 x 10-1 ft/d (feet per day) at the site representing end moraine and 1.17 ft/d at the site representing lacustrine deposits. Analysis of test data for the ground moraine site did not yield estimates of hydraulic conductivities, but did indicate that ground water flows through the total thickness of deposits in response to discharge from a lower gravel unit. Vertical hydraulic conductivities computed from pumped-well tests of nested wells and data from drill-core analyses indicate that fractures affect the migration of ground water downward through the glacial deposits at these sites. Flow through glacial deposits is complex; it is controlled by fractures, gram-size distribution, clay content, thickness, and degree of weathering, and atmospheric conditions.

Late Quaternary distal tephra-fall deposits in lacustrine sediments, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

de Fontaine, C.S.; Kaufman, D.S.; Scott, Anderson R.; Werner, A.; Waythomas, C.F.; Brown, T.A.

2007-01-01

Tephra-fall deposits from Cook Inlet volcanoes were detected in sediment cores from Tustumena and Paradox Lakes, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, using magnetic susceptibility and petrography. The ages of tephra layers were estimated using 21 14C ages on macrofossils. Tephras layers are typically fine, gray ash, 1-5??mm thick, and composed of varying proportions of glass shards, pumice, and glass-coated phenocrysts. Of the two lakes, Paradox Lake contained a higher frequency of tephra (0.8 tephra/100 yr; 109 over the 13,200-yr record). The unusually large number of tephra in this lake relative to others previously studied in the area is attributed to the lake's physiography, sedimentology, and limnology. The frequency of ash fall was not constant through the Holocene. In Paradox Lake, tephra layers are absent between ca. 800-2200, 3800-4800, and 9000-10,300??cal yr BP, despite continuously layered lacustrine sediment. In contrast, between 5000 and 9000??cal yr BP, an average of 1.7 tephra layers are present per 100 yr. The peak period of tephra fall (7000-9000??cal yr BP; 2.6 tephra/100 yr) in Paradox Lake is consistent with the increase in volcanism between 7000 and 9000 yr ago recorded in the Greenland ice cores. ?? 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimation of the tectonic slip-rate from Quaternary lacustrine facies within the intraplate Albacete province (SE of Spain)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rodriguez-Pascua, M. A.; Bischoff, J.; Garduno-Monroy, Victor H.; Pérez-López, R.; Giner-Robles, J.L.; Israde-Alcántara, I.; Calvo, J.P.; Williams, Ross W.

2009-01-01

The Quaternary lacustrine basin of Cordovilla (CB) represents one of the most active tectonic areas of the Prebetic Zone (Albacete, SE of Spain). The Quaternary sedimentary deposits of this basin are mainly endoreic lacustrine carbonate and alluvial deposits, developed in a semi-arid climate (Pleistocene-present). The basin is a NW-SE-elongated graben bounded by a major right-lateral oblique-fault, the Pozohondo Fault. This fault trends NW-SE, with an approximate trace of 55 km, and is composed of various segments which are identified by fault scarps. In order to establish the slip-rate of the most active segment of the Pozohondo Fault, called the Cordovilla segment, we carried out a detailed study of the affected Quaternary lacustrine deposits. We found that the lacustrine facies could be related to episodic moderate paleoearthquakes. The slip-rate is calculated to be 0.05 and 0.09 mm/yr, using radiometric dating for the vertical offsets of the lacustrine facies. A trenching study at the northern part of the Cordovilla segment revealed two events caused by paleoearthquakes, with the most recent expressed as an oblique-fault off-setting a poorly-developed soil. The magnitude of the last event was greater than 6, using various empirical relationships for the fault displacement and the surface-length rupture. We estimate episodic activity across the Cordovilla segment, to be characterized by moderate-sized paleoearthquakes (M6), which is in agreement with the tectonic context of an intraplate zone of the Iberian plate. ?? 2009 Elsevier B.V.

Sedimentary facies and depositional environments of early Mesozoic Newark Supergroup basins, eastern North America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smoot, J.P.

1991-01-01

The early Mesozoic Newark Supergroup consists of continental sedimentary rocks and basalt flows that occupy a NE-trending belt of elongate basins exposed in eastern North America. The basins were filled over a period of 30-40 m.y. spanning the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, prior to the opening of the north Atlantic Ocean. The sedimentary rocks are here divided into four principal lithofacies. The alluvial-fan facies includes deposits dominated by: (1) debris flows; (2) shallow braided streams; (3) deeper braided streams (with trough crossbeds); or (4) intense bioturbation or hyperconcentrated flows (tabular, unstratified muddy sandstone). The fluvial facies include deposits of: (1) shallow, ephemeral braided streams; (2) deeper, flashflooding, braided streams (with poor sorting and crossbeds); (3) perennial braided rivers; (4) meandering rivers; (5) meandering streams (with high suspended loads); (6) overbank areas or local flood-plain lakes; or (7) local streams and/or colluvium. The lacustrine facies includes deposits of: (1) deep perennial lakes; (2) shallow perennial lakes; (3) shallow ephemeral lakes; (4) playa dry mudflats; (5) salt-encrusted saline mudflats; or (6) vegetated mudflats. The lake margin clastic facies includes deposits of: (1) birdfoot deltas; (2) stacked Gilbert-type deltas; (3) sheet deltas; (4) wave-reworked alluvial fans; or (5) wave-sorted sand sheets. Coal deposits are present in the lake margin clastic and the lacustrine facies of Carnian age (Late Triassic) only in basins of south-central Virginia and North and South Carolina. Eolian deposits are known only from the basins in Nova Scotia and Connecticut. Evaporites (and their pseudomorphs) occur mainly in the northern basins as deposits of saline soils and less commonly of saline lakes, and some evaporite and alkaline minerals present in the Mesozoic rocks may be a result of later diagenesis. These relationships suggest climatic variations across paleolatitudes, more humid to the

Storm and tide influenced depositional architecture of the Pliocene-Pleistocene Chad Formation, Chad Basin (Bornu Sub-basin) NE Nigeria: A mixed fluvial, deltaic, shoreface and lacustrine complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shettima, Bukar; Kyari, Aji Maina; Aji, Mallam Musa; Adams, Fatimoh Dupe

2018-07-01

Lithofacies analyses of the upper part of the Chad Formation (Bama Ridge Complex) in the Bornu Sub-basin of the Chad Basin indicated four facies associations; fluvial, deltaic, shoreface and lacustrine sequences. The fluvial sequences are composed of fining upward cycles with successive occurrence of planar crossbedded sandstone facies displaying unimodal paleocurrent system and rare mudstone facies typical of braided river system. The deltaic succession consists of both fining and coarsening upwards cycles with the former depicting fluvial setting of an upper delta plain while the later suggestive of mouth-bar sequences. The setting displays a polymodal current system of fluvial, waves, storms and tides that were primarily induced by complex interactions of seiches and lunar tides. Similar current systems devoid of fluvial patterns were reflected in the coarsening upward packages of the shoreface sequences. Lacustrine succession composed of thick bioturbated mudstone facies generally defines the base of these coarsening upward profiles, giving a fluvio-lacustrine geomorphic relief where complex interaction developed the deltaic and shoreface facies along its shorelines. Clay mineral fractions of the formation are dominantly kaolinitic, indicating a predominantly humid tropical-subtropical climatic condition during their deposition. This climatic regime falls within the African humid period of the early-mid Holocene that led to the third lacustrine transgression of the Lake Mega-Chad, whereas the subordinate smectite mineralization points to aridification that characterizes most of the post humid period to recent.

Sedimentology of the lower part of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation and its relationship to uranium deposits, White Canyon area, southeastern Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dubiel, Russell F.

1983-01-01

Closely spaced measured stratigraphic sections of the lower part of the Late Triassic Chinle Formation in the White Canyon area of southeastern Utah depict a fluvial-deltaic-lacustrine depositional sequence that hosts uranium deposits in basal fluvial sandstones. The basal Shinarump Member consists of predominantly trough-crossbedded, coarse-grained sandstone and minor gray, carbonaceous mudstone and is interpreted as a valley-fill sequence overlain by deposits of a braided stream system. The overlying Monitor Butte Member is composed of cyclic- and foreset-bedded siltstone, sandstone, and mudstone and is interpreted as a succession of low-energy fluvial, deltaic and orqanicrich, lacustrine-marsh sediments. The overlying Moss Back Member is composed of a laterally extensive, coarse- to medium-grained, conglomeratic sandstone and is interpreted as a braided-stream system that flowed north to northwest. The entire sequence was deposited in response to changes in local base level associated with a large lake that lay to the west. Isopachs of lithofacies indicate distinct lacustrine basins and a correspondence between these facies and modern structural synclines. Facies changes and coincidence of isopach thicks suggest that structural synclines were active in the Late Triassic and influenced the pattern of sediment distribution within the basins. Uranium mineralization appears to be related to certain low-energy depositional environments in that uranium is localized in fluvial sandstones that lie beneath organic-rich lacustrine-marsh mudstones and carbonaceous delta-front sediments. The reducing environment preserved in these facies may have played an important role in the localization of uranium.

Multidisciplinary distinction of mass-movement and flood-induced deposits in lacustrine environments: implications for Holocene palaeohydrology and natural hazards (Lake Ledro, Southern Alps, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonneau, A.; Chapron, E.; Vannière, B.; Wirth, S. B.; Gilli, A.; Di Giovanni, C.; Anselmetti, F. S.; Desmet, M.; Magny, M.

2012-08-01

High-resolution seismic profiles and sediment cores from Lake Ledro combined with soil and river-bed samples from the lake's catchment area are used to assess the recurrence of natural hazards (earthquakes and flood events) in the southern Italian Alps during the Holocene. Two well-developed deltas and a flat central basin are identified on seismic profiles in Lake Ledro. Lake sediments are finely laminated in the basin since 9000 cal. yr BP and frequently interrupted by two types of sedimentary events: light-coloured massive layers and dark-coloured graded beds. Optical analysis (quantitative organic petrography) of the organic matter occurring in soils, river beds and lacustrine samples together with lake-sediment bulk density and grain-size analysis illustrate that light-coloured layers consist of a mixture of lacustrine sediments and mainly contain algal particles similar to the ones observed in background sediments. Light-coloured layers thicker than 1.5 cm in the main basin of Lake Ledro are dense and synchronous to numerous coeval mass-wasting deposits remoulding the slopes of the basin. They are interpreted as subaquatic mass movements triggered by historical and pre-historical regional earthquakes dated to 2005 AD, 1891 AD, 1045 AD and 1260, 2545, 2595, 3350, 3815, 4740, 7190, 9185 and 11495 cal. yr BP. Dark-coloured sedimentary event are dense and develop high-amplitude reflections in front of the deltas and in the deep central basin. These beds are mainly made of terrestrial organic matter (soils and ligno-cellulosic debris) and are interpreted as resulting from intense hyperpycnal flood events. Mapping and quantifying the amount of soil material accumulated in the Holocene hyperpycnal flood deposits of the sequence and applying the De Ploey erosion model allow estimating that the equivalent soil thickness eroded over the catchment area reached up to 4 mm during the largest Holocene flood events. Such significant soil erosion is interpreted as resulting

The discovery and character of Pleistocene calcrete uranium deposits in the Southern High Plains of west Texas, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Gosen, Bradley S.; Hall, Susan M.

2017-12-18

This report describes the discovery and geology of two near-surface uranium deposits within calcareous lacustrine strata of Pleistocene age in west Texas, United States. Calcrete uranium deposits have not been previously reported in the United States. The west Texas uranium deposits share characteristics with some calcrete uranium deposits in Western Australia—uranium-vanadium minerals hosted by nonpedogenic calcretes deposited in saline lacustrine environments.In the mid-1970s, Kerr-McGee Corporation conducted a regional uranium exploration program in the Southern High Plains province of the United States, which led to the discovery of two shallow uranium deposits (that were not publicly reported). With extensive drilling, Kerr-McGee delineated one deposit of about 2.1 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 0.037 percent U3O8 and another deposit of about 0.93 million metric tons of ore averaging 0.047 percent U3O8.The west-Texas calcrete uranium-vanadium deposits occur in calcareous, fine-grained sediments interpreted to be deposited in saline lakes formed during dry interglacial periods of the Pleistocene. The lakes were associated with drainages upstream of a large Pleistocene lake. Age determinations of tephra in strata adjacent to one deposit indicate the host strata is middle Pleistocene in age.Examination of the uranium-vanadium mineralization by scanning-electron microscopy indicated at least two generations of uranium-vanadium deposition in the lacustrine strata identified as carnotite and a strontium-uranium-vanadium mineral. Preliminary uranium-series results indicate a two-component system in the host calcrete, with early lacustrine carbonate that was deposited (or recrystallized) about 190 kilo-annum, followed much later by carnotite-rich crusts and strontium-uranium-vanadium mineralization in the Holocene (about 5 kilo-annum). Differences in initial 234U/238U activity ratios indicate two separate, distinct fluid sources.

Sedimentary architecture of a sub-lacustrine debris fan: Eocene Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, east China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jianping; Xian, Benzhong; Wang, Junhui; Ji, Youliang; Lu, Zhiyong; Liu, Saijun

2017-12-01

The sedimentary architectures of submarine/sublacustrine fans are controlled by sedimentary processes, geomorphology and sediment composition in sediment gravity flows. To advance understanding of sedimentary architecture of debris fans formed predominantly by debris flows in deep-water environments, a sub-lacustrine fan (Y11 fan) within a lacustrine succession has been identified and studied through the integration of core data, well logging data and 3D seismic data in the Eocene Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, east China. Six types of resedimented lithofacies can be recognized, which are further grouped into five broad lithofacies associations. Quantification of gravity flow processes on the Y11 fan is suggested by quantitative lithofacies analysis, which demonstrates that the fan is dominated by debris flows, while turbidity currents and sandy slumps are less important. The distribution, geometry and sedimentary architecture are documented using well data and 3D seismic data. A well-developed depositional lobe with a high aspect ratio is identified based on a sandstone isopach map. Canyons and/or channels are absent, which is probably due to the unsteady sediment supply from delta-front collapse. Distributary tongue-shaped debris flow deposits can be observed at different stages of fan growth, suggesting a lobe constructed by debrite tongue complexes. Within each stage of the tongue complexes, architectural elements are interpreted by wireline log motifs showing amalgamated debrite tongues, which constitute the primary fan elements. Based on lateral lithofacies distribution and vertical sequence analysis, it is proposed that lakefloor erosion, entrainment and dilution in the flow direction lead to an organized distribution of sandy debrites, muddy debrites and turbidites on individual debrite tongues. Plastic rheology of debris flows combined with fault-related topography are considered the major factors that control sediment distribution and fan

Stratigraphy, correlation, depositional setting, and geophysical characteristics of the Oligocene Snowshoe Mountain Tuff and Creede Formation in two cored boreholes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, Daniel; Nelson, Philip H.

2000-01-01

Core descriptions and geophysical logs from two boreholes (CCM-1 and CCM-2) in the Oligocene Snowshoe Mountain Tuff and Creede Formation, south-central Colorado, are used to interpret sedimentary and volcanic facies associations and their physical properties. The seven facies association include a mixed sequence of intracaldera ash-flow tuffs and breccias, alluvial and lake margin deposits, and tuffaceous lake beds. These deposits represent volcanic units related to caldera collapse and emplacement of the Snowshoe Mountain Tuff, and sediments and pyroclastic material deposited in the newly formed caldera basin, Early sedimentation is interpreted to have been rapid, and to have occurred in volcaniclastic fan environments at CCM-1 and in a variery of volcaniclastic fan, braided stream shallow lacustrine, and mudflat environments at CCM-2. After an initial period of lake-level rise, suspension settling, turbidite, and debris-flow sedimentation occurred in lacustrine slope and basin environments below wave base. Carbonate sedimentation was initially sporadic, but more continuous in the latter part of the recorded lake history (after the H fallout tuff). Sublacustrine-fan deposition occurred at CCM-1 after a pronounced lake-level fall and subsequent rise that preceded the H tuff. Variations in density, neutron, gamma-ray, sonic, and electrical properties of deposits penetrated oin the two holes reflect variations in lithology, porosity, and alteration. Trends in the geophysical properties of the lacustrine strata are linked to downhole changes in authigenic mineralology and a decrease in porosity interpreted to have resulted primarily from diagenesis. Lithological and geophysical characteristics provide a basis for correlation of the cores; however, mineralogical methods of correlation are hampered by the degree of diagenesis and alteration.

Organic sedimentation in modern lacustrine systems: A case study from Lake Malawi, East Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ellis, Geoffrey S.; Barry J. Katz,; Christopher A. Scholz,; Peter K. Swart,

2015-01-01

This study examines the relationship between depositional environment and sedimentary organic geochemistry in Lake Malawi, East Africa, and evaluates the relative significance of the various processes that control sedimentary organic matter (OM) in lacustrine systems. Total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in recent sediments from Lake Malawi range from 0.01 to 8.80 wt% and average 2.83 wt% for surface sediments and 2.35 wt% for shallow core sediments. Hydrogen index (HI) values as determined by Rock-Eval pyrolysis range from 0 to 756 mg HC g−1 TOC and average 205 mg HC g−1 TOC for surface sediments and 228 mg HC g−1 TOC for shallow core samples. On average, variations in primary productivity throughout the lake may account for ~33% of the TOC content in Lake Malawi sediments (as much as 1 wt% TOC), and have little or no impact on sedimentary HI values. Similarly, ~33% to 66% of the variation in TOC content in Lake Malawi sediments appears to be controlled by anoxic preservation of OM (~1–2 wt% TOC), although some component of the water depth–TOC relationship may be due to physical sediment transport processes. Furthermore, anoxic preservation has a minimal effect on HI values in Lake Malawi sediments. Dilution of OM by inorganic sediment may account for ~16% of variability in TOC content in Lake Malawi sediments (~0.5 wt% TOC). The effect of inputs of terrestrial sediment on the organic character of surface sediments in these lakes is highly variable, and appears to be more closely related to the local depositional environment than the regional flux of terrestrial OM. Total nitrogen and TOC content in surface sediments collected throughout the lake are found to be highly correlated (r2 = 0.95), indicating a well-homogenized source of OM to the lake bottom. The recurring suspension and deposition of terrestrial sediment may account for significant amounts of OM deposited in offshore regions of the lake. This process effectively separates denser

Diatom community and palaeoenvironmental properties of Karacaören diatomite deposits (Nevşehir, Central Anatolia, Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yıldız, Ayşegül; Gürel, Ali; Dursun, Yusuf Gökhan

2017-10-01

The diatom community and palaeoenvironmental properties of volcano genetic diatomite deposits that outcrop in the Karacaören (Nevşehir) area are described. Two stratigraphic sections were measured in the study area. One of these sections was measured in Quaternary lake units (K1), and the other in lacustrine sediments of the late Miocene-Pliocene Ürgüp Formation's Bayramhacılı Member (K2). According to stratigraphic and chemical characteristics of the sections, two distinct paleogeographic domains were determined in the study area. One of these, the shallow lacustrine to fluvial area (Quaternary) which is represented by an alternating sequence of diatomite, silt/mud, and tuffite. The other was the deeper lacustrine stage (late Miocene) which is represented by diatomites with some interbedded mud facies, chert and volcanics. From the diatomite samples of these sections, twenty-five species of 10 different diatom genera were identified. When evaluated together, the ecological properties and the distribution of numerical values of the determined diatom genera and species, showed that the study area's diatomite was generally deposited in shallow, high temperature, nutrient-rich water, where nitrogen and phosphorus were abundant and which was an alkaline (pH > 7) freshwater lake environment. Over time the pH value of the environment decreased (pH < 7), and the environment became acidic.

Volcanic influence of Mt. Fuji on the watershed of Lake Motosu and its impact on the lacustrine sedimentary record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamair, Laura; Hubert-Ferrari, Aurélia; Yamamoto, Shinya; El Ouahabi, Meriam; Vander Auwera, Jacqueline; Obrochta, Stephen; Boes, Evelien; Nakamura, Atsunori; Fujiwara, Osamu; Shishikura, Masanobu; Schmidt, Sabine; Siani, Giuseppe; Miyairi, Yosuke; Yokoyama, Yusuke; De Batist, Marc; Heyvaert, Vanessa M. A.; QuakeRecNankai Team

2018-01-01

Lacustrine sediments are particularly sensitive to modifications within the lake catchment. In a volcanic area, sedimentation rates are directly affected by the history of the volcano and its eruptions. Here, we investigate the impact of Mt. Fuji Volcano (Japan) on Lake Motosu and its watershed. The lacustrine infill is studied by combining seismic reflection profiles and sediment cores. We show evidence of changes in sedimentation patterns during the depositional history of Lake Motosu. The frequency of large mass-transport deposits recorded within the lake decreases over the Holocene. Before 8000 cal yr BP, large sublacustrine landslides and turbidites were filling the lacustrine depression. After 8000 cal yr BP, only one large sublacustrine landslide was recorded. The change in sedimentation pattern coincides with a change in sediment accumulation rate. Over the last 8000 cal yr BP, the sediment accumulation rate was not sufficient enough to produce large sublacustrine slope failures. Consequently, the frequency of large mass-transport deposits decreased and only turbidites resulting from surficial slope reworking occurred. These constitute the main sedimentary infill of the deep basin. We link the change in sediment accumulation rate with (i) climate and vegetation changes; and (ii) the Mt. Fuji eruptions which affected the Lake Motosu watershed by reducing its size and strongly modified its topography. Moreover, this study highlights that the deposition of turbidites in the deep basin of Lake Motosu is mainly controlled by the paleobathymetry of the lakefloor. Two large mass-transport deposits, occurring around 8000 cal yr BP and 2000 cal yr BP respectively, modified the paleobathymetry of the lakefloor and therefore changed the turbidite depositional pattern of Lake Motosu.

The Alleret Maar lacustrine sequence (French Massif Central): a 150 ka long early-middle Pleistocene continental paleoenvironmental record.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomade, S.; Pastre, J.; Guillou, H.; Gauthier, A.; Scaillet, S.

2008-12-01

Lacustrine maar sequences of the French Massif Central are of great interest for paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions of mid-latitudes Quaternary continental environments. In particular, the western Velay region yields exceptional sequences spanning the last 450 ka (Reille et al., J. Quat. Sci. 2000). However, older sequences remain largely unknown despite the presence of interbedded alkaline tephras allowing precise absolute radiochronological control of many lacustrine squences. The Alleret maar is a 1500 m wide phreatomagmatic crater that provides a long lacustrine sequence (41 m). The upper part of this sequence (AL2 core, 14.6 m) was studied between 2005 and 2006 (Pastre et al., C. R. Acad Sci, 2007). A 39Ar/40Ar date (557 ± 5ka) obtained from an interbedded tephra layer located at 7m as well as the associated pollen data attribute the beginning of this sequence to the MIS 15. Thanks to the AL3 core recovered in 2005 (40.6 m, CNRS Meudon) several new tephra layers were discovered in the bottom part of this lacustrine sequence. Three new 39Ar/40Ar ages (single crystal analyses) from trachytic tephra layers were obtained at the LSCE Argon Laboratory (France). These layers are located at -30.2, -36.2 and -39.2m. Ages obtained relative to the ACR-2 flux standard (1,201Ma, Kuiper et al., Science, 2008) range from 692 ± 6 ka (MSWD: 2.3, n=18) for the youngest (-30.2m) to 726 ± 9Ka Ka (MSWD: 2.2, n=12) for the lowest tephra located at -39.2m. These new dates indicate a relatively homogeneous deposition rate of 3.5cm/ka and that the last 10 meters cover the MIS 17-MIS18 period. According to these current radiochronological data the complete lacustrine sequence last more than 150ka. Ongoing sedimentary and pollen studies will allow to extend the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records of the French Massif Central towards the beginning of the early middle Pleistocene.

Geophysical imaging of the lacustrine sediments deposited in the La Calderilla Volcanic Caldera (Gran Canaria Island, Spain) for paleoclimate research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Himi, Mahjoub; Rodríguez-González, Alejandro; Criado, Constantino; Tapias, Josefina C.; Ravazzi, Cesare; Pérez-Torrado, Francisco; Casas, Albert

2016-04-01

The discovery of well-preserved maar structures is important not only for studying the eruptive activity and formation of volcanoes, but also for paleoclimate research, since laminated maar lake sediments may contain very detailed archives of climate and environmental history. Maars are a singular type of volcanic structure generated by explosive phreatomagmatic eruptions as a result of interaction between rising magma and groundwater. This kind of structures are characterised by circular craters, often filled with water and/or lacustrine sediments and surrounded by a ring of pyroclastic deposits.Recently a borehole was drilled at the bottom of La Calderilla volcanic complex which penetrated about 8.7 m in its sedimentary sequence and paleobotanical study has supplied the first evidence of paleoenvironmental evolution during the Holocene on the Gran Canaria Island. This survey, however, did not penetrate into the substrate because the total thickness of the sedimentary fill was unknown. Since the age of formation of La Calderilla volcanic complex based on K/Ar dating is about 85,000 years (Upper Pleistocene), the possibility of its sedimentary fill extends beyond of the Holocene is extremely attractive, since, for example, there are few paleoenvironmental data regarding how much the last glaciation that affected the Canary Islands. In these circumstances, the knowledge of the total thickness of the lacustrine sediments is crucial to design a deeper borehole in the next future. Therefore, the subsurface characterisation provided by geophysics is essential for determining thickness and geometry of the sedimentary filling. Multielectrode ERT method was used to obtain five 2-D resistivity cross-sections into La Calderilla volcanic caldera. An Iris Syscal Pro resistivity system with 48 electrodes connected to a 94 m long cable (2m electrode spacing) in Wenner-Schlumberger configuration for an investigation depth of about 20 m. Data quality (q <2 %).was assessed by

An isotopic study of a fluvial-lacustrine sequence: The Plio-Pleistocene koobi fora sequence, East Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cerling, T.E.; Bowman, J.R.; O'Neil, J.R.

1988-01-01

Stable isotopic analyses of Plio-Pleistocene and modern sediments in the fluvial-lacustrine system occupying the Turkana Basin, East Africa provide constraints on the paleoenvironmental and diagenetic histories of the Pliocene through the Recent sediments in the basin. The ??13C values for carbonates in lacustrine sediments range from -15 to +22??? relative to PDB, depending on the varying proportions of CO2 from the atmospheric reservoir and from various metabolic sources. The ??18O values of carbonates in lacustrine sediments indicate that the isotopic composition of paleolake water varied by over 10??? from the Pliocene to the present. The ??13C values for pedogenic carbonates record paleoccologic variations and suggest that C4 plants did not become well established in the preserved depositional parts of the basin until about 1.8 myr ago. The ??18O values pedogenic carbonates suggest a range of over 10??? for the isotopic composition of soil water during this interval. They also suggest a period of major climatic instability from about 3.4 to 3.1 myr and at about 1.8 myr. Together, the ??13C and ??18O values of pedogenic carbonates indicate that the present conditions are as arid and hot as any that had prevailed during deposition of these Plio-Pleistocene sediments. ?? 1988.

Improving age-depth models using sedimentary proxies for accumulation rates in fluvio-lacustrine deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minderhoud, Philip S. J.; Cohen, Kim M.; Toonen, Willem. H. J.; Erkens, Gilles; Hoek, Wim Z.

2017-04-01

Lacustrine fills, including those of oxbow lakes in river floodplains, often hold valuable sedimentary and biological proxy records of palaeo-environmental change. Precise dating of accumulated sediments at levels throughout these records is crucial for interpretation and correlation of (proxy) data existing within the fills. Typically, dates are gathered from multiple sampled levels and their results are combined in age-depth models to estimate the ages of events identified between the datings. In this paper, a method of age-depth modelling is presented that varies the vertical accumulation rate of the lake fill based on continuous sedimentary data. In between Bayesian calibrated radiocarbon dates, this produces a modified non-linear age-depth relation based on sedimentology rather than linear or spline interpolation. The method is showcased on a core of an infilled palaeomeander at the floodplain edge of the river Rhine near Rheinberg (Germany). The sequence spans from 4.7 to 2.9 ka cal BP and consists of 5.5 meters of laminated lacustrine, organo-clastic mud, covered by 1 meter of peaty clay. Four radiocarbon dates provide direct dating control, mapping and dating in the wider surroundings provide additional control. The laminated, organo-clastic facies of the oxbow fill contains a record of nearby fluvial-geomorphological activity, including meander reconfiguration events and passage of rare large floods, recognized as fluctuations in coarseness and amount of allochthonous clastic sediment input. Continuous along-core sampling and measurement of loss-on-ignition (LOI) provided a fast way of expressing the variation in clastic sedimentation influx from the nearby river versus autochthonous organic deposition derived from biogenic production in the lake itself. This low-cost sedimentary proxy data feeds into the age-depth modelling. The sedimentology-modelled age-depth relation (re)produces the distinct lithological boundaries in the fill as marked changes in

Mesozoic lacustrine system in the Parnaíba Basin, northeastern Brazil: Paleogeographic implications for west Gondwana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardoso, Alexandre Ribeiro; Nogueira, Afonso César Rodrigues; Abrantes, Francisco Romério; Rabelo, Cleber Eduardo Neri

2017-03-01

The fragmentation of the West Gondwana during Early Triassic to Cretaceous was marked by intense climatic changes, concomitant with the establishment of extensive desertic/lacustrine systems. These deposits succeeded the emplacement and extrusion of lava flows, related to the pre-rift phase and initial opening of the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. The thermal phase is recorded in the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Pastos Bons Formation, exposed mainly in southeast parts of the Parnaíba Basin, Northeastern Brazil. The sedimentary facies of this unit were grouped in two facies associations (FA), representative of a shallow lacustrine system, influenced by episodic hyperpycnal and oscillatory flows. Central lake facies association (FA1) is composed by laminated mudstone (Ml), sandstone/mudstone rhythmite (S/Mr) and sandstone with even-parallel lamination (Sel). Flysch-like delta front (FA2) consists in sandstones with wave structures (Sw), sandstones with even-parallel stratification (Ses), massive sandstones (Sm), sandstones with soft-sediment deformation structures (Sd) and laminated mudstones (Ml). FA1 was deposited in the deepest portions of the lake, characterized by low energy, episodically disturbed by siliciclastic influx. FA2 presents sandy deposits generated by unconfined flow, probably fed by ephemeral stream flows that generated thickening upward of tabular sandstone beds. The progressive filling of the lake resulted in recurrent shoaling up of the water level and reworking by wave action. The installation of Pastos Bons lakes was controlled by thermal subsidence, mainly in restricted depocenters. The siliciclastic fluvial inflow can be related to the adjacent humid desertic facies, formed under climatic attenuation, typical of post-Triassic period, with reduced biological activity. Smectite and abundant feldspars, in lacustrine facies, corroborate an arid climate, with incipient chemical weathering. The new facies and stratigraphic data present in this

Analysis of soft-sediment deformation structures in Neogene fluvio-lacustrine deposits of Çaybağı Formation, Eastern Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koç Taşgin, Calibe; Türkmen, İbrahim

2009-06-01

During the Neogene, both strike-slip and extensional regimes coexisted in eastern Turkey and, a number of fault-bounded basins associated with the East Anatolian Fault System developed. The Çaybağı Formation (Late Miocene-Early Pliocene) deposited in one of these basins consists of fluvio-lacustrine deposits. Numerous soft-sediment deformation structures are encountered in this formation, particularly in conglomerates, medium- to coarse-grained tuffaceous sandstones and claystones: folded structures (slumps, convolute laminations, and simple recumbent folds), water-escape structures (intruded sands, internal cusps, interpenetrative cusps and sand volcanoes), and load structures (load casts, pseudonodules, flame structures, and pillow structures). These structures are produced by liquefaction and/or fluidization of the unconsolidated sediments during a seismic shock. Consequently, the existence of seismically-induced deformation structures in the Çaybağı Formation and the association with a Neogene intraformational unconformity, growth faults, and reverse faults in the Çaybağı basin attest to the tectonic activity in this area during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene. The East Anatolian Fault System, in particular the Uluova fault zone, is the most probable seismogenic source. Earthquakes with a magnitude of over 5 in the Richter scale can be postulated.

The Lacustrine Upper Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, Four Corners Region, Usa: a Lithological and Mineralogical Terrestrial Analog for Gale Crater, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter-McIntyre, S. L.; Chan, M. A.; McPherson, B. J.

2013-12-01

The upper part of the Jurassic Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation is an iron- and clay-rich volcaniclastic shale deposited in an ephemeral alkaline saline lake system. Sedimentary rocks exposed in Gale Crater consist of similar non-acidic clays, possibly of lacustrine origin. Three primary clastic lithofacies are present in both the Brushy Basin Member and at Gale Crater: silt-/claystone, sandstone, and conglomerate. Both the terrestrial and martian silt-/claystone lithofacies are interpreted as lacustrine depositional environments due to features such as parallel laminated and massive sedimentary structures. Vugs are present in the siltstone/claystone facies on both the Colorado Plateau and at Gale Crater. Fluvial features are also observed in both examples such as cross-bedded sandstones and imbricated conglomerates. Concretions are present in both the Colorado Plateau and Gale Crater units. The vugs in the Brushy Basin Member preserve algal forms with cellular elaboration and are interpreted as charophyte molds. Two distinct suites of elements (1. C, Fe, As, P and, 2. C, S, Se, P) are associated with the microbial fossils and may be potential markers for biosignatures. Vugs at Gale Crater are a potential target to investigate the possibility of preserved microbial (algal) life where early analyses show the presence of the elements capable of supporting life. The Brushy Basin Member is composed predominately of quartz, feldspars, zeolites and altered volcanic ash. The abundant clay minerals in both the terrestrial and martian examples are hypothesized to have formed due to partial alteration of volcanic minerals in alkaline fluid. Similarly, concretions present in the terrestrial unit exhibit a diverse range of mineralogies likely due to alkaline fluid chemistries interacting with reactive volcaniclastic sediments. Terrestrial concretion mineralogy is diverse even within an outcrop or stratigraphic horizon which suggests reactants to precipitate

Prokaryotic Community in Lacustrine Sediments of Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica).

PubMed

Gugliandolo, Concetta; Michaud, Luigi; Lo Giudice, Angelina; Lentini, Valeria; Rochera, Carlos; Camacho, Antonio; Maugeri, Teresa Luciana

2016-02-01

Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica), the largest seasonally ice-free region of the Maritime Antarctica, holds a large number of lakes, ponds, and streams. The prokaryotic structure and bacterial diversity in sediment samples collected during the 2008-2009 austral summer from five inland lakes, two coastal lakes, and an estuarine site were analyzed by Catalyzed Reporter Deposition Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (CARD-FISH) and 16S rRNA 454 tag pyrosequencing techniques, respectively. Differently from inland lakes, which range around the oligotrophic status, coastal lakes are eutrophic environments, enriched by nutrient inputs from marine animals. Although the prokaryotic abundances (estimated as DAPI stained cells) in sediment samples were quite similar among inland and coastal lakes, Bacteria always far dominated over Archaea. Despite the phylogenetic analysis indicated that most of sequences were affiliated to a few taxonomic groups, mainly referred to Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, their relative abundances greatly differed from each site. Differences in bacterial composition showed that lacustrine sediments were more phyla rich than the estuarine sediment. Proteobacterial classes in lacustrine samples were dominated by Betaproteobacteria (followed by Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria), while in the estuarine sample, they were mainly related to Gammaproteobacteria (followed by Deltaproteobacteria, Epsilonproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria). Higher number of sequences of Alphaproteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, and Planctomycetes were observed in sediments of inland lakes compared to those of coastal lakes, whereas Chloroflexi were relatively more abundant in the sediments of coastal eutrophic lakes. As demonstrated by the great number of dominant bacterial genera, bacterial diversity was higher in the sediments of inland lakes than that in coastal lakes

Depositional environments and sedimentology of Vinita Beds, Richmond basin, Virginia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kornfeld, I.E.

The Carnian (middle to late Middle Triassic Age) Richmond basin of northeast Virginia is the oldest of the exposed Newark rift basins of the eastern seaboard. These basins formed during the Mesozoic divergence of the continents. As presently defined, the Richmond basin is a large synclinal feature measuring 32 mi (53 km) long by 8 mi (13 km) wide, and is located west of Richmond, Virginia, and east of Amelia, Virginia. Sediments of the Richmond basin have been assigned to the Richmond Group and have been stratigraphically subdivided into the following informal units, oldest to youngest: coarse boulder breccias, coalmore » measures, Vinita Beds, and Otterdale Sandstone. The Vinita Beds are composed of arkosic sandstones, shales, siltstones, and minor amounts of coal, and are mineralogically immature. They are composed to angular to subrounded rock fragments, quartz, and feldspars, and are high micaceous and kaolinitic. In places, feldspars make up as much as 50% of the rock. Sandstones and conglomerates are cross-bedded and channeled, and shales and siltstones are thinly laminated. The Vinita Beds are rich in fossil fish, branchiopods, and plant fragments. These rocks were deposited in braided streams as well as in paludal and possible lacustrine environments in a humid and heavily vegetated setting.« less

Chapter B: Regional Geologic Setting of Late Cenozoic Lacustrine Diatomite Deposits, Great Basin and Surrounding Region: Overview and Plans for Investigation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallace, Alan R.

2003-01-01

Freshwater diatomite deposits are present in all of the Western United States, including the Great Basin and surrounding regions. These deposits are important domestic sources of diatomite, and a better understanding of their formation and geologic settings may aid diatomite exploration and land-use management. Diatomite deposits in the Great Basin are the products of two stages: (1) formation in Late Cenozoic lacustrine basins and (2) preservation after formation. Processes that favored long-lived diatom activity and diatomite formation range in decreasing scale from global to local. The most important global process was climate, which became increasingly cool and dry from 15 Ma to the present. Regional processes included tectonic setting and volcanism, which varied considerably both spatially and temporally in the Great Basin region. Local processes included basin formation, sedimentation, hydrology, and rates of processes, including diatom growth and accumulation; basin morphology and nutrient and silica sources were important for robust activity of different diatom genera. Only optimum combinations of these processes led to the formation of large diatomite deposits, and less than optimum combinations resulted in lakebeds that contained little to no diatomite. Postdepositional processes can destroy, conceal, or preserve a diatomite deposit. These processes, which most commonly are local in scale, include uplift, with related erosion and changes in hydrology; burial beneath sedimentary deposits or volcanic flows and tuffs; and alteration during diagenesis and hydrothermal activity. Some sedimentary basins that may have contained diatomite deposits have largely been destroyed or significantly modified, whereas others, such as those in western Nevada, have been sufficiently preserved along with their contained diatomite deposits. Future research on freshwater diatomite deposits in the Western United States and Great Basin region should concentrate on the regional

To what extent can intracrater layered deposits that lack clear sedimentary textures be used to infer depositional environments?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadieux, Sarah B.; Kah, Linda C.

2015-03-01

Craters within Arabia Terra, Mars, contain hundreds of meters of layered strata showing systematic alternation between slope- and cliff-forming units, suggesting either rhythmic deposition of distinct lithologies or similar lithologies that experienced differential cementation. On Earth, rhythmically deposited strata can be examined in terms of stratal packaging, wherein the interplay of tectonics, sediment deposition, and base level (i.e., the position above which sediment accumulation is expected to be temporary) result in changes in the amount of space available for sediment accumulation. These predictable patterns of sediment deposition can be used to infer changes in basin accommodation regardless of the mechanism of deposition (e.g. fluvial, lacustrine, or aeolian). Here, we analyze sedimentary deposits from three craters (Becquerel Crater, Danielson Crater, Crater A) in Arabia Terra. Each crater contains layered deposits that are clearly observed in orbital images. Although orbital images are insufficient to specifically determine the origin of sedimentary deposits, depositional couplets can be interpreted in terms of potential accommodation space available for deposition, and changes in the distribution of couplet thickness through stratigraphy can be interpreted in terms of changing base level and the production of new accommodation space. Differences in stratal packaging in these three craters suggest varying relationships between sedimentary influx, sedimentary base level, and concomitant changes in accommodation space. Previous groundwater upwelling models hypothesize that layered sedimentary deposits were deposited under warm climate conditions of early Mars. Here, we use observed stacking patterns to propose a model for deposition under cold climate conditions, wherein episodic melting of ground ice could raise local base level, stabilize sediment deposition, and result in differential cementation of accumulated strata. Such analysis demonstrates that

Hydrocarbon potential of Early Cretaceous lacustrine sediments from Bima Formation, Yola Sub-basin, Northern Benue Trough, NE Nigeria: Insight from organic geochemistry and petrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarki Yandoka, Babangida M.; Abdullah, Wan Hasiah; Abubakar, M. B.; Adegoke, Adebanji Kayode; Maigari, A. S.; Haruna, A. I.; Yaro, Usman Y.

2017-05-01

The Early Cretaceous lacustrine sediments from Bima Formation in the Yola Sub-basin, Northern Benue Trough, northeastern Nigeria were studied based on organic geochemistry and petrology. This is in other to provide information on hydrocarbon generation potential; organic matter type (quality), richness (quantity), origin/source inputs, redox conditions (preservation) and thermal maturation in relation to thermal effect of Tertiary volcanics. The total organic carbon (TOC) contents ranges from 0.38 to 0.86 wt % with extractable organic matter (EOM) below 1000 ppm and pyrolysis S2 yield values from 0.16 to 0.68 mg/g, suggesting poor to fair source rock richness. Based on kerogen pyrolysis and microscopy coupled with biomarker parameters, the organic matters contain Type I (lacustrine algae), Type III (terrestrially derived land-plants) and Type IV kerogens deposited in a mixed lacustrine-terrestrial environment under suboxic to relatively anoxic conditions. This suggest potential occurrence of Early Cretaceous lacustrine sediments (perhaps Lower Cretaceous petroleum system) in Yola Sub-basin of the Northern Benue Trough as present in the neighbouring basins of Chad, Niger and Sudan Republics that have both oil and gas generation potential within the same rift trend (WCARS). Vitrinite reflectance (%Ro) and Tmax values of the lacustrine shales ranges from 1.12 to 2.32 VRo% and 448-501 °C, respectively, indicating peak-late to post-maturity stage. This is supported by the presence of dark brown palynomorphs, amorphous organic matter and phytoclasts as well as inertinite macerals. Consequently, the organic matters in the lacustrine shales of Bima Formation in the Yola Sub-basin appeared as a source of oil (most likely even waxy) and gas prone at a relatively deeper part of the basin. However, the high thermal maturity enhanced the organic matters and most of the hydrocarbons that formed in the course of thermal maturation were likely expelled to the reservoir rock units

Evidence for an 800 km Diameter Impact Structure in Meridiani Planum and Associated Channels and Basins: A Connection with the Origin of the Hematite Deposits?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newsom, H. E.; Barber, C. A.; Schelble, R. T.; Hare, T. M.; Feldman, W. C.; Sutherland, V.; Gordon, H.; Thorsos, I. E.; Livingston, A.; Lewis, K.

2003-01-01

Topographic evidence for the existence of an early 800 km diameter multi-ringed impact structure, and evidence for fluvial and lacustrine environments in Meridiani Planum suggests a connection with the origin of the hematite deposits present in the region.

Depositional environments and paleogeography of the Upper Miocene Wassuk Group, west-central Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Golia, R.T.; Stewart, John H.

1984-01-01

Fluvial and lacustrine deposits of the Miocene Wassuk Group, exposed in Coal Valley, west-central Nevada, are divided into five lithofacies: (1) diatomite, claystone, siltstone, and carbonaceous siltstone deposited in a lake with paludal conditions at the margin; (2) upward-coarsening sequences of sandstone deposited on a delta and fan-delta; (3) channel-form sandstone deposited on a distal braided alluvial plain; (4) clast-supported conglomerate deposited on a proxial braided alluvial plain or distal alluvial fan; and (5) matrix-supported conglomerate deposited on a distal to middle alluvial fan. Petrographic analysis records an upsection change from a predominantly andesitic to a predominantly plutonic provenance. This change, combined with the overall upward-coarsening of the Wassuk Group and the great thickness (2400 m) of the sequence, suggests active uplift and rapid subsidence during deposition of the group. Facies relationships and paleocurrent directions indicate source areas to the south, southeast and west of Coal Valley. The Miocene Wassuk Group was deposited in an intra-arc basin with penecontemporaneous volcanism and tectonic activity. Syndepositional faulting at the southern margin of Coal Valley between 13 and 11 m.y. ago suggests an early episode of northeast-southwest extension prior to the onset of east-west basin and range extension. ?? 1984.

Liquefaction features interpreted as seismites in the Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the Neuquén Basin (Northern Patagonia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moretti, M.; Ronchi, A.

2011-04-01

Superbly exposed soft-sediment deformation structures in Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine deposits along the southern border of the depression area called Bajo de Añelo (Departamento de Añelo, Neuquén Basin) have been analysed. In the study area, five stratigraphic sections were measured in detail: facies distributions and stacking patterns show that these sediments result from the interaction between fluvial and lacustrine systems, represented by cross-bedded and rippled strata, and varved deposits. The lateral extent of the deformation is some hundred metres and the deformed bed involves the lower-mid part of the 30-metre-thick succession. Deformation affects about 1.5 m of coarse-grained sand, fine-grained sand and rare gravel alternations. The base and top of the deformed layer are defined by planar surfaces: undeformed beds of similar thickness, lithology and facies to the deformed layer occur above and below. Deformation is represented by a complex vertical succession of disturbed layers: each layer shows a general load-structure morphology. It can be described as a multilayered unstable density gradient system: in each bed a partial gravitational re-adjustment occurred after liquefaction. Unequal loading related to lateral variation of both bed thickness and grain packing and porosity is a probable additional driving force that can be described in the undeformed beds. Trigger mechanism recognition for the observed liquefaction features can be based on the study of the geometry of deformed beds and on facies analysis results. Two key factors drive our interpretation: (1) the occurrence of undeformed beds below and above the deformed bed; (2) deformed and undeformed beds showing the same sedimentological features. These field data allow us to exclude the action of internal erosive and/or sedimentary processes (such as overloading, wave action, etc.) as possible trigger agents for liquefaction since deformation is totally absent in beds with similar sedimentary

Formation of lacustrine plains in west-central Alaska as a result of permafrost degradation and aggradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanevskiy, M. Z.; Jorgenson, M. T.; Shur, Y.; O'Donnell, J.; Harden, J. W.; Fortier, D.

2012-12-01

Perennially frozen lacustrine sediments containing a large amount of ground ice comprise a significant part of the upper permafrost of the lowlands of west-central Alaska, including Koyukuk Flats and Innoko Flats. Study sites are located in the discontinuous permafrost zone, where permafrost was encountered mainly within uplifted peat plateaus. The upper part of studied sections is formed by frozen peat up to 3 m thick underlain by lacustrine silt, which is mostly ice-rich. Cryogenic structure of lacustrine sediments at different sites has common features: (1) prevalence of layered, braided, and reticulate cryostructures; (2) high variability in the ice content of sediments; (3) high density and low water content of soil aggregates separated by ice lenses. Volume of visible ice in silt reaches at places 40% and more. The thickness of ice lenses generally varies from 1 to 5 cm and occasionally reaches 10 cm. Remnants of peat plateaus are surrounded by unfrozen bogs and fens, formed as a result of thawing and settling of ice-rich lacustrine silt. Modern thermokarst scars initially form at places where ice-rich silt is not protected by a thick layer of organic material. Further development of thermokarst bogs includes lateral enlargement of thaw bulbs and collapsing of the margins of peat plateaus. Lacustrine silt within taliks is covered by woody peat accumulated under forests during the stage of permafrost plateau formation and then by aquatic sphagnum peat accumulated in taliks after collapse. We relate the formation of ice-rich lacustrine sediments to development of lake thermokarst, which affected ice-rich silty yedoma deposits during the transition from Pleistocene to Holocene. Terrain development in lacustrine lowlands of west-central Alaska includes five stages related to permafrost aggradation and degradation from the late Pleistocene to the present time: 1) formation of the ice-rich syngenetic permafrost (yedoma) during the late Pleistocene; 2) yedoma

The middle Holocene climatic records from Arabia: Reassessing lacustrine environments, shift of ITCZ in Arabian Sea, and impacts of the southwest Indian and African monsoons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enzel, Yehouda; Kushnir, Yochanan; Quade, Jay

2015-06-01

A dramatic increase in regional summer rainfall amount has been proposed for the Arabian Peninsula during the middle Holocene (ca. 9-5 ka BP) based on lacustrine sediments, inferred lake levels, speleothems, and pollen. This rainfall increase is considered primarily the result of an intensified Indian summer monsoon as part of the insolation-driven, northward shift of the boreal summer position of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) to over the deserts of North Africa, Arabia, and northwest India. We examine the basis for the proposed drastic climate change in Arabia and the shifts in the summer monsoon rains, by reviewing paleohydrologic lacustrine records from Arabia. We evaluate and reinterpret individual lake-basin status regarding their lacustrine-like deposits, physiography, shorelines, fauna and flora, and conclude that these basins were not occupied by lakes, but by shallow marsh environments. Rainfall increase required to support such restricted wetlands is much smaller than needed to form and maintain highly evaporating lakes and we suggest that rainfall changes occurred primarily at the elevated edges of southwestern, southern, and southeastern Arabian Peninsula. These relatively small changes in rainfall amounts and local are also supported by pollen and speleothems from the region. The changes do not require a northward shift of the Northern Hemisphere summer ITCZ and intensification of the Indian monsoon rainfall. We propose that (a) latitudinal and slight inland expansion of the North African summer monsoon rains across the Red Sea, and (b) uplifted moist air of this monsoon to southwestern Arabia highlands, rather than rains associated with intensification of Indian summer monsoon, as proposed before, increased rains in that region; these African monsoon rains produced the modest paleo-wetlands in downstream hyperarid basins. Furthermore, we postulate that as in present-day, the ITCZ in the Indian Ocean remained at or near the equator all

Microbial community composition along a 50 000-year lacustrine sediment sequence

PubMed Central

Ariztegui, Daniel; Horn, Fabian; Kallmeyer, Jens; Orsi, William D

2018-01-01

Abstract For decades, microbial community composition in subseafloor sediments has been the focus of extensive studies. In deep lacustrine sediments, however, the taxonomic composition of microbial communities remains undercharacterized. Greater knowledge on microbial diversity in lacustrine sediments would improve our understanding of how environmental factors, and resulting selective pressures, shape subsurface biospheres in marine and freshwater sediments. Using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes across high-resolution climate intervals covering the last 50 000 years in Laguna Potrok Aike, Argentina, we identified changes in microbial populations in response to both past environmental conditions and geochemical changes of the sediment during burial. Microbial communities in Holocene sediments were most diverse, reflecting a layering of taxa linked to electron acceptors availability. In deeper intervals, the data show that salinity, organic matter and the depositional conditions over the Last Glacial-interglacial cycle were all selective pressures in the deep lacustrine assemblage resulting in a genetically distinct biosphere from the surface dominated primarily by Bathyarchaeota and Atribacteria groups. However, similar to marine sediments, some dominant taxa in the shallow subsurface persisted into the subsurface as minor fraction of the community. The subsequent establishment of a deep subsurface community likely results from a combination of paleoenvironmental factors that have shaped the pool of available substrates, together with substrate depletion and/or reworking of organic matter with depth. PMID:29471361

Organic Geochemical Characteristics and Depositional Environment of Aǧaçbaşi Plateau Peat, Köprübaşi/Trabzon, NE Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoş Çebi, Fatma; Korkmaz, Sadettin

2013-04-01

Young peat deposits crop out in the southern part of the Aǧaçbaşı region of Trabzon city, Northern Turkey. In this study, chemical, organic geochemical, petrographic and palynological features of the peat occurrences are investigated and results obtained evaluated. According to palynological investigations, it is determined that peats were occured in terrestrial or lacustrine environments, which is containing average of 80% woody, 15% herbaceous and 5% amorphous organic matter. Age of peats has been determined as Miocene or younger, by the palynological age determinations. It is understood from the obtained SCI (Sport Color Index) analysis results that constituting organic material of peat is immature. Total organic carbon content of the peat is average 41.69% by pyrolysis analysis. HI values were calculated as average 315.46 mgHC/gTOC, which is very high for the coal occurrences. The high OI values (avg. 134 mgCO2/gTOC) show that the environments of peat deposits were oxic or suboxic. TAR (Terrigenous/Aquatic Ratio) and CPI (Carbon Preference Index) index value, is found to be 2.4 and 3.4 respectively. These values that resulted from dominance of high-numbered n-alkanes, indicate terrestrial organic matter input. According to the m/z 191 and m/z 217 mass peaks of GC chromatogram data which is obtained by biomarker analysis, sterane/hopane ratio suggests algal organic matter. Moreover, the lack of C34 and C35 homohopans show that organic matter deposited under oxic or suboxic conditions. Moretane/hopane, Tm/Ts and Tm/C30 hopane ratios were calculated in order of 0.15, 3.25 and 0.33, respectively. These values imply acidic and oxic conditions during the formation of peat. Due to the absence of 17α(H)-28.30-bisnorhopan in the m/z 191 chromatograms, it is concluded that Aǧaçbaşı plateau peat might be deposited in a terrestrial or lacustrine environments under oxic or suboxic conditions. Dominant sterane content of C29 suggests terrestrial organic matter input

Architecture and reservoir quality of low-permeable Eocene lacustrine turbidite sandstone from the Dongying Depression, East China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munawar, Muhammad Jawad; Lin, Chengyan; Chunmei, Dong; Zhang, Xianguo; Zhao, Haiyan; Xiao, Shuming; Azeem, Tahir; Zahid, Muhammad Aleem; Ma, Cunfei

2018-05-01

The architecture and quality of lacustrine turbidites that act as petroleum reservoirs are less well documented. Reservoir architecture and multiscale heterogeneity in turbidites represent serious challenges to production performance. Additionally, establishing a hierarchy profile to delineate heterogeneity is a challenging task in lacustrine turbidite deposits. Here, we report on the turbidites in the middle third member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation (Es3), which was deposited during extensive Middle to Late Eocene rifting in the Dongying Depression. Seismic records, wireline log responses, and core observations were integrated to describe the reservoir heterogeneity by delineating the architectural elements, sequence stratigraphic framework and lithofacies assemblage. A petrographic approach was adopted to constrain microscopic heterogeneity using an optical microscope, routine core analyses and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The Es3m member is interpreted as a sequence set composed of four composite sequences: CS1, CS2, CS3 and CS4. A total of forty-five sequences were identified within these four composite sequences. Sand bodies were mainly deposited as channels, levees, overbank splays, lobes and lobe fringes. The combination of fining-upward and coarsening-upward lithofacies patterns in the architectural elements produces highly complex composite flow units. Microscopic heterogeneity is produced by diagenetic alteration processes (i.e., feldspar dissolution, authigenic clay formation and quartz cementation). The widespread kaolinization of feldspar and mobilization of materials enhanced the quality of the reservoir by producing secondary enlarged pores. In contrast, the formation of pore-filling authigenic illite and illite/smectite clays reduced its permeability. Recovery rates are higher in the axial areas and smaller in the marginal areas of architectural elements. This study represents a significant insight into the reservoir architecture and

Dating lacustrine episodes in the eastern Sahara by the epimerization of isoleucine in ostrich eggshells

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, G.H.; Wendorf, F.; Ernst, R.; Schild, R.; Close, A.E.; Friedman, I.; Schwarcz, H.P.

1991-01-01

The eggshell of the African ostrich, Struthio camelus, closely approximates a closed system for the retention of indigenous proteinaceous residues. Epimerization of the protein amino acid isoleucine follows linear first-order kinetics in laboratory simulations nearly to racemic equilibrium, and the variation in D/L ratio within a single fragment, or between fragments of the same age, is significantly less than in other carbonate systems. These observations suggest that the extent of isoleucine epimerization (aIle/Ile ratio) in ostrich eggshell offers the potential for high-resolution geochronology of Quaternary deposits. From the simulation experiments, and dated early Holocene samples for which we have in situ mean annual sediment temperature measurements, Arrhenius parameters have been calculated; the activation energy is 30.33 kcal mol-1, similar to that of other carbonate systems. We have measured the aIle/Ile ratio in ostrich eggshell associated with lacustrine episodes at Bir Tarfawi and Bir Sahara East, two depressions in what is currently the hyperarid eastern Sahara. The ratios can be used directly to indicate qualitatively the time represented by each series of lake sediment, and to correlate disjunct lacustrine deposits within and between the basins. Uranium-series disequilibrium dating of algal mats contained within some of the lake beds indicate that a major wet interval occurred about 130 ka ago. Using the U-series date for calibration, the amino acid ratios are used to date the most recent lacustrine interval to about 100 ka B.P., and two older intervals, one about 200 ?? 25 ka B.P., and an older interval that occurred prior to 250 ka ago. ?? 1991.

Small-scale lacustrine drifts in Lake Champlain, Vermont

USGS Publications Warehouse

Manley, Patricia L.; Manley, T.O.; Hayo, Kathryn; Cronin, Thomas

2012-01-01

High resolution CHIRP (Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse) seismic profiles reveal the presence of two lacustrine sediment drifts located in Lake Champlain's Juniper Deep. Both drifts are positive features composed of highly laminated sediments. Drift B sits on a basement high while Drift A is built on a trough-filling acoustically-transparent sediment unit inferred to be a mass-transport event. These drifts are oriented approximately north–south and are parallel to a steep ridge along the eastern shore of the basin. Drift A, located at the bottom of a structural trough, is classified as a confined, elongate drift that transitions northward to become a system of upslope asymmetric mudwaves. Drift B is perched atop a structural high to the west of Drift A and is classified as a detached elongate drift. Bottom current depositional control was investigated using Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) located across Drift A. Sediment cores were taken at the crest and at the edges of the Drift A and were dated. Drift source, deposition, and evolution show that these drifts are formed by a water column shear with the highest deposition occurring along its crest and western flank and began developing circa 8700–8800 year BP.

High-resolution δ13C record of fossil wood and bulk organic matter from a deep Oligocene lacustrine succession, Bach Long Vi Island, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzi, M.; Schovsbo, N. H.; Fyhn, M. B. W.; Korte, C.

2017-12-01

We present a high-resolution stable isotope record based on bulk organic matter (δ13Corg) and fossil wood (δ13Cwood) originating from Oligocene deep lacustrine sediments cored on the Bach Long Vi Island, northern Gulf of Tonkin, offshore Vietnam. The sediments are exceptionally well preserved. They are thus excellently suited for a detailed stratigraphical analysis of the stable isotope record and as proxy for environmental and climatic changes within this period. The sediments were deposited in rapid subsiding, narrow and elongated fault-bound graben (Fyhn and Phach, 2015) and are represented by deep pelagic lacustrine organic-rich mud interrupted by numerous density-flow deposits (Hovikoski et al., 2016). The density-flow deposits contain abundant fragments of fossil wood. Therefore it was possible to obtain 262 coalified wood fragments together with 1063 bulk organic samples throughout the span of the core. This allowed to establish a high resolution stable C isotope record (δ13Corg and δ13Cwood). In addition 2464 handheld XRF determinations were carried out to further characterize the depositional environment (Rizzi et al., 2017). The organic carbon isotope trend from the 500 m core succession provides insight into the palaeoenvironmental changes of the lake during the Oligocene. Both, global and local factors control the δ13C variations. The aim of the study is to obtain pure global δ13Corg and δ13Cwood signals that would allow comparison of the studied sediments with coeval syn-rift successions in the South China Sea region and other parts of the world. [1] Fyhn and Phach (2015) Tectonics, 34(2): 290-312. [2] Hovikoski et al. (2016) Journal of Sedimentary Research, 86(8): 982-1007. [3] Rizzi et al. (2017) EGU General Assembly Abstract EGU 2017-17584.

Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grotzinger, J.P.; Gupta, S.; Malin, M.C.; Rubin, D.M.; Schieber, J.; Siebach, K.; Sumner, D.Y.; Stack, K.M.; Vasavada, A.R.; Arvidson, R.E.; Calef, F.; Edgar, Lauren; Fischer, W.F.; Grant, J.A.; Griffes, J.L.; Kah, L.C.; Lamb, M.P.; Lewis, K.W.; Mangold, N.; Minitti, M.E.; Palucis, M.C.; Rice, M.; Williams, R.M.E.; Yingst, R.A.; Blake, D.; Blaney, D.; Conrad, P.; Crisp, J.A.; Dietrich, W.E.; Dromart, G.; Edgett, K.S.; Ewing, R.C.; Gellert, R.; Hurowitz, J.A.; Kocurek, G.; Mahaffy, P.G.; McBride, M.J.; McLennan, S.M.; Mischna, M.A.; Ming, D.; Milliken, R.E.; Newsom, H.; Oehler, D.; Parker, T.J.; Vaniman, D.; Wiens, R.C.; Wilson, S.A.

2015-01-01

The landforms of northern Gale crater on Mars expose thick sequences of sedimentary rocks. Based on images obtained by the Curiosity rover, we interpret these outcrops as evidence for past fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments. Degradation of the crater wall and rim probably supplied these sediments, which advanced inward from the wall, infilling both the crater and an internal lake basin to a thickness of at least 75 meters. This intracrater lake system probably existed intermittently for thousands to millions of years, implying a relatively wet climate that supplied moisture to the crater rim and transported sediment via streams into the lake basin. The deposits in Gale crater were then exhumed, probably by wind-driven erosion, creating Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp).

Carbonate replacement of lacustrine gypsum deposits in two Neogene continental basins, eastern Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anadón, P.; Rosell, L.; Talbot, M. R.

1992-07-01

Bedded nonmarine gypsum deposits in the Miocene Teruel and Cabriel basins, eastern Spain, are partly replaced by carbonate. The Libros gypsum (Teruel Graben) is associated with fossiliferous carbonate wackestones and finely laminated, organic matter-rich mudstones which accumulated under anoxic conditions in a meromictic, permanent lake. The gypsum is locally pseudomorphed by aragonite or, less commonly, replaced by calcite. Low δ 13C values indicate that sulphate replacement resulted from bacterial sulphate reduction processes that were favoured by anacrobic conditions and abundant labile organic matter in the sediments. Petrographic evidence and oxygen isotopic composition suggest that gypsum replacement by aragonite occurred soon after deposition. A subsequent return to oxidising conditions caused some aragonite to be replaced by diagenetic gypsum. Native sulphur is associated with some of these secondary gypsum occurrences. The Los Ruices sulphate deposits (Cabriel Basin) contain beds of clastic and selenitic gypsum which are associated with limestones and red beds indicating accumulation in a shallow lake. Calcite is the principal replacement mineral. Bacterial sulphate reduction was insignificant in this basin because of a scarcity of organic matter. Stable isotope composition of diagenetic carbonate indicates that gypsum replacement occurred at shallow burial depths due to contact with dilute groundwaters of meteoric origin. Depositional environment evidently has a major influence upon the diagenetic history of primary sulphate deposits. The quantity of preserved organic matter degradable by sulphate-reducing bacteria is of particular importance and, along with groundwater composition, is the main factor controlling the mechanism of gypsum replacement by carbonate.

The influence of authigenic clay formation on the mineralogy and stable isotopic record of lacustrine carbonates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bristow, Thomas F.; Kennedy, Martin J.; Morrison, Keith D.; Mrofka, David D.

2012-08-01

The mineralogical, compositional and stable isotopic variability of lacustrine carbonates are frequently used as proxies for ancient paleoenvironmental change in continental settings, under the assumption that precipitated carbonates reflect conditions and chemistry of ancient lake waters. In some saline and alkaline lake systems, however, authigenic clay minerals, forming at or near the sediment water interface, are a major sedimentary component. Often these clays are rich in Mg, influencing the geochemical budget of lake waters, and are therefore expected to influence the properties of contemporaneous authigenic carbonate precipitates (which may also contain Mg). This paper documents evidence for a systematic feedback between clay mineral and carbonate authigenesis through multiple precessionally driven, m-scale sedimentary cycles in lacustrine oil-shale deposits of the Eocene Green River Formation from the Uinta Basin (NE Utah). In the studied section, authigenic, Mg-rich, trioctahedral smectite content varies cyclically between 9 and 39 wt.%. The highest concentrations occur in oil-shales and calcareous mudstones deposited during high lake level intervals that favored sedimentary condensation, lengthening the time available for clay diagenesis and reducing dilution by other siliciclastic phases. An inverse relation between dolomite percentage of carbonate and trioctahedral smectite abundance suggests the Mg uptake during clay authigenesis provides a first order control on carbonate mineralogy that better explains carbonate mineralogical trends than the possible alternative controls of (1) variable Mg/Ca ratios in lake water and (2) degree of microbial activity in sediments. We also observe that cyclical change in carbonate mineralogy, believed to be induced by clay authigenesis, also causes isotopic covariation between δ13CPDB and δ18OPDB of bulk sediments because of differences in the equilibrium fractionation factors of dolomite and calcite (˜2‰ and ˜2

The formation of lacustrine dolomites: an example from the Tortonian-Messinian sequence at the East Mediterranean margins (northern Israel)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaked Gelband, Dotan; Starinsky, Abraham; Stein, Mordechai

2017-04-01

Lacustrine water bodies that filled the tectonic depressions in the Lower Galilee area of Israel during the Tortonian-Messinian periods deposited Bira and Gesher Formations, which comprise marly limestones and dolomites, basalts, and varying amounts of mollusc fossils. Most fossils are gastropods of fresh to brackish water origin, while marine representation is minor and comprise monospecific assemblages of euryhaline bivalves. During the deposition of the Tortonian Bira formation the lakes were mostly influenced by meteoric waters while during the deposition of the Messinian Gesher Formation they became more swampy. Here, we set to establish the deposition conditions of the dolomites in the lacustrine formations. The following petrographic characteristics indicate dolomitization of precursor carbonate sediment during early diagenesis stage: (1) Dolomitized fossils with similar texture as the surrounding dolomite matrix; (2) Common euhedral inner zone crystals, representing original growth in solution or plastic environment; (3) Subhedral outer shape derived from neighboring crystals collisions. More information is given by the δ18O and δ13C values of the dolomites. The δ18O of the inter-layered limestones and dolomites fluctuates between -3‰ to -4‰ (VPDB) in the limestones and +5‰ to -1.5‰ (VPDB) in the adjacent dolomites. These fluctuations are prominent in the Bira formation and become smaller along the sequence with the decrease in the dolomite values. δ13C values of both limestones and dolomites gradually decrease along the stratigraphic section, from -3.5‰ to -10‰ (VPDB) in the limestones, and from 0‰ to -8‰ (VPDB) in the dolomites. The data suggest a dolomitization process controlled by the following events: 1. Evaporation of fresh lake waters originated from the surrounding environment as runoff. It should be emphasized that significant evaporation could take place only in terminal lakes, during periods of relatively dry climate with low

Spectral and chemical characterization of jarosite in a palaeolacustrine depositional environment in Warkalli Formation in Kerala, South India and its implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Mahima; Rajesh, V. J.; Sajinkumar, K. S.; Sajeev, K.; Kumar, S. N.

2016-11-01

Coastal cliffs fringing the Arabian Sea near Varkala exhibits the Warkalli Formation of the Tertiary sequence of Kerala, South India, with well-marked occurrence of jarosite associated with other hydrous mineral phases of phyllosilicate family in a palaeo-lacustrine depositional environment. Sandy phyllosilicates dominate the mineral assemblage, but jarosite occurs as a prominent secondary phase formed during acid-sulphate alteration of iron sulphide in this area. Here, we discuss about the potentiality of spectroscopic techniques to identify the possible mineral phases in the collected samples. The samples from the coastal cliffs have been characterized by hyperspectral analysis (VIS-NIR-SWIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra-red Reflectance (FTIR), Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) and Laser Raman spectroscopy. The spectral and chemical analyses have confirmed the jarosite as natrojarosite and phyllosilicate as kaolinite. Other accessory phases have also been identified through XRD. FTIR spectroscopy has played a major role in identifying the major hydrous bonds between the minerals. VIS-NIR-SWIR spectra show several optimum spectral features at 910 nm, 1470 nm, 1849-1864 nm (in the form of a doublet), 1940 nm and 2270 nm, which could be utilised to locate jarosite in the remotely-sensed data. X-ray diffraction peaks helped in the identification of maximum number of minerals (kaolinite, smectite, quartz, feldspar, pyrite, marcasite and hematite) and the variation in jarosite content in the samples. We propose the formation of jarosite in the region by a seasonal, local and temporary development of acidic conditions. Abundance of organic matter in a fluvio-lacustrine environment has developed anaerobic conditions by removing available oxygen through decomposition of organic matter containing sulphur compounds. The sulphur thus liberated combines with hydrogen from water to develop acidic conditions and resulted in the formation of jarosite. The

Seismic Triggers of Lacustrine Subaqueous Landslides in Lake Champlain, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manley, P.; Manley, T.; Ghosh, S. J.; Rosales-Underbrink, P.; Silverhart, P.

2017-12-01

Lacustrine slumps and debris flows (landslides) have been identified in Lake Champlain via Multibeam and CHIRP (compressed high intensity radar pulse) seismic profile data. Numerous large landslides studied by Ghosh (2012), Rosales-Underbrink (2015), and Silverhart (2016) have shown that many of these landslides are coeval. All landslides failed on a specific interface between marine Champlain Sea and modern lacustrine Lake Champlain sediments. Utilizing radionuclide dating on sediment from the unfailed slopes or undisturbed sediment above failed deposits, sedimentation rates were determined and used to calculate the approximate failure ages for each of the landslides studied. The northernmost failure, south of the Bouquet River, occurred about 950-1200 cal yr BP and is the first mass wasting event of this age to be recorded on Lake Champlain. The remaining landslides failed about 4500-5200 cal yr BP and agree with nearby Western Quebec Seismic Zone (WQSZ) with clusters of terrestrial landslides occurring at 1000 and 5000 cal yr BP triggered by large earthquakes (Brooks, 2015) along the same interface. The 5000 cal yr BP event has been attributed to a M 6.4 or greater earthquake within the WQSZ. The coeval landslides observed in Lake Champlain were likely triggered by this same earthquake. Lake tsunami models show that these simultaneous landslide failures can generate surface waves wave that can impact the Lake Champlain shoreline within 3-10 minutes after the earthquake.

Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars.

PubMed

Grotzinger, J P; Gupta, S; Malin, M C; Rubin, D M; Schieber, J; Siebach, K; Sumner, D Y; Stack, K M; Vasavada, A R; Arvidson, R E; Calef, F; Edgar, L; Fischer, W F; Grant, J A; Griffes, J; Kah, L C; Lamb, M P; Lewis, K W; Mangold, N; Minitti, M E; Palucis, M; Rice, M; Williams, R M E; Yingst, R A; Blake, D; Blaney, D; Conrad, P; Crisp, J; Dietrich, W E; Dromart, G; Edgett, K S; Ewing, R C; Gellert, R; Hurowitz, J A; Kocurek, G; Mahaffy, P; McBride, M J; McLennan, S M; Mischna, M; Ming, D; Milliken, R; Newsom, H; Oehler, D; Parker, T J; Vaniman, D; Wiens, R C; Wilson, S A

2015-10-09

The landforms of northern Gale crater on Mars expose thick sequences of sedimentary rocks. Based on images obtained by the Curiosity rover, we interpret these outcrops as evidence for past fluvial, deltaic, and lacustrine environments. Degradation of the crater wall and rim probably supplied these sediments, which advanced inward from the wall, infilling both the crater and an internal lake basin to a thickness of at least 75 meters. This intracrater lake system probably existed intermittently for thousands to millions of years, implying a relatively wet climate that supplied moisture to the crater rim and transported sediment via streams into the lake basin. The deposits in Gale crater were then exhumed, probably by wind-driven erosion, creating Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp). Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Sedimentation and tectonics in the southern Bida Basin, Nigeria: depositional response to varying tectonic context

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Braide, S.P.

1990-05-01

The Upper Cretaceous Bida basin of central Nigeria is sandwiched between the Precambrian schist belts of the Northern Nigerian massif and the West African craton. Of interest is the southern part of the basin, which developed in continental settings, because the facies architecture of the sedimentary fill suggests a close relation between sedimentation dynamics and basin margin tectonics. This relationship is significant to an understanding of the basin's origin, which has been controversial. A simple sag and rift origin has been suggested, and consequently dominated the negative thinking on the hydrocarbon prospects of the basin which were considered poor. Thismore » detailed study of the facies indicates rapid basin-wide changes from various alluvial fan facies through flood-basin and deltaic facies to lacustrine facies. Paleogeographic reconstruction suggests lacustrine environments were widespread and elongate. Lacustrine environments occurred at the basin's axis and close to the margins. This suggests the depocenter must have migrated during the basin's depositional history and subsided rapidly to accommodate the 3.5-km-thick sedimentary fill. Although distinguishing pull-apart basins from rift basins, based solely on sedimentologic grounds, may be difficult, the temporal migration of the depocenter, as well as the basin architecture of upward coarsening cyclicity, show a strong tectonic and structural overprint that suggests a tectonic framework for the Southern Bida basin similar in origin to a pull-apart basin.« less

Early Triassic wrinkle structures on land: stressed environments and oases for life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Daoliang; Tong, Jinnan; Song, Haijun; Benton, Michael J.; Bottjer, David J.; Song, Huyue; Tian, Li

2015-06-01

Wrinkle structures in rocks younger than the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) extinction have been reported repeatedly in marine strata, but rarely mentioned in rocks recording land. Here, three newly studied terrestrial P-Tr boundary rock succession in North China have yielded diverse wrinkle structures. All of these wrinkles are preserved in barely bioturbated shore-shallow lacustrine siliciclastic deposits of the Liujiagou Formation. Conversely, both the lacustrine siliciclastic deposits of the underlying Sunjiagou Formation and the overlying Heshanggou Formation show rich bioturbation, but no wrinkle structures or other microbial-related structures. The occurrence of terrestrial wrinkle structures in the studied sections reflects abnormal hydrochemical and physical environments, presumably associated with the extinction of terrestrial organisms. Only very rare trace fossils occurred in the aftermath of the P-Tr extinction, but most of them were preserved together with the microbial mats. This suggests that microbial mats acted as potential oases for the surviving aquatic animals, as a source of food and oxygen. The new finds suggests that extreme environmental stresses were prevalent both in the sea and on land through most of the Early Triassic.

Dust deposits on Mars: The 'parna' analog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greeley, Ronald; Williams, Steven H.

1994-01-01

Parna is an Autralian aboriginal word meaning 'sandy dust'. It has been applied to deposits of clay, silt, and sand which were initially transported by the wind as aggregates, or pellets, of sand size. Parna is distinguished by its silt and clay content, which in some cases exceeds 85% of the total volume of the deposit. Much of the fine-grained playa silt and clay is incorporated into the parna as sand-sized aggregates, which greatly facilitate their transportation and reworking by the wind. Rain following aggregate emplacement can cause their disintegration, rendering the parna immobile by the wind, yet some pellets can survive several wetting/drying episodes. Parna deposits on Earth occur both as dune forms and as sheet deposits which mantle older terrains. In both cases the deposits are typically derived from lacustrine (lake) beds, such as playas. There is substantial evidence to suggest that bodies of water existed on Mars in the past. Thus, the potential is high for lacustrine deposits and the formation of parna on Mars. Although no parna dunes have been identified, it is suggested that the deposits derived from White Rock (-8 deg, 335 deg W), near Mamers Valles (34 deg, 343 deg W), and elsewhere on Mars may represent sheet parna. Data obtained from Mars-94/96 missions and potential landed spacecraft may provide additional evidence for the existence of parna on Mars.

Evidences of melting of terrestrial sediments and paleoenvironment changes during the Younger Dryas in tectonic lacustrine basins of Transmexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Israde-Alcantara, I.

2017-12-01

It is well known in the sedimentary record of several parts of the world that during the Younger Dryas interval (YD) ocurred an abrupt environmental change between 12,900 and 11,700 cal yr BP (10,900 to 10,000 14C BP). In the lacustrine basins this changes are often preserved and in some Mexican lakes this is a distinctive stratigraphic marker for the YD. We analized the proxies of this event in cores of two lakes (Chapala, Cuitzeo) and three trenches of ex-lakes (Acambay,Texcoco and El Cedral). Deposits consist of fine detrital material with often Pleistocene fossil vertebrate assemblages. At the Chapala, Cuitzeo, Acambay, and Tocuila lacustrine environments are found in association with a distinctive dark organic layer showing sharp changes in the diatom, pollen, mineralogical and geochemical record. Includes also microscopic magnetic, Fe-rich spherules, silica melted droplets with aerodynamic shapes (tektites), followed by large amounts of charcoal, and sometimes nanodiamonds (Cuitzeo), that were deposited at the onset of the YD or in the limit Pleistocene-Holocene. These unusual materials are buried more than 2.50 meters and were not observed above or below the Younger Dryas sediments at these sites. The geochemistry of the microspherules indicates that they are not volcanic, anthropogenic or authigenic origin. A very distinctive feature is the shape of the spherules, ovoid, polygonal, filigreed or dendritic indicating melting and quenching infering that are product of an impact event. Their morphologies includes hollow shells caused by de-gassing of elements at very high temperatures causing a flattened side with a "skirt" structure by a high-velocity collision.Our results are consistent with the Firestone hypothesis.

Stratigraphic architecture of a fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession at Desolation Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Reference to Walthers’ Law and implications for the petroleum industry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ford, Grace L.; David R. Pyles,; Dechesne, Marieke

2016-01-01

Two large-scale (member-scale) upward patterns are noted: Waltherian, and non-Waltherian. The upward successions in Waltherian progressions record progradation or retrogradation of a linked fluvial-lacustrine system across the area; whereas the upward successions in non-Waltherian progressions record large-scale changes in the depositional system that are not related to progradation or retrogradation of the ancient lacustrine shoreline. Four Waltherian progressions are noted: 1) the Flagstaff Limestone to lower Wasatch Formation member records the upward transition from lacustrine to fluvial—or shallowing-upward succession; 2) the upper Wasatch to Uteland Butte records the upward transition from fluvial to lacustrine—or a deepening upward succession; 3) the Uteland Butte to Renegade Tongue records the upward transition from lacustrine to fluvial—a shallowing-upward succession; and 4) the Renegade Tongue to Mahogany oil shale interval records the upward transition from fluvial to lacustrine—a deepening upward succession. The two non-Waltherian progressions in the study area are: 1) the lower to middle Wasatch, which records the abrupt shift from low to high net-sand content fluvial system, and 2) the middle to upper Wasatch, which records the abrupt shift from high to intermediate net-sand content fluvial system.

Late Cenozoic geology and lacustrine history of Searles Valley, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, George I.

2009-01-01

Canyon Formation and deposits mapped as older gravel and older tufa are extensively exposed over much of the basin floor. The older gravel unit and the gravel facies of the Christmas Canyon Formation are boulder alluvial gravels; parts of these units are probably correlative. The lacustrine facies of the Christmas Canyon Formation includes the Lava Creek ash, which is dated at 0.64 Ma; the older tufa deposits may be equivalent in age to those sediments. Most of this study concerns sediments of the newly described Searles Lake Formation, whose deposition spanned the period between about 150 ka and 2 ka. Most of this formation is lacustrine in origin, but it includes interbedded alluvium. To extract as much geologic detail as possible, criteria were developed that permitted (1) intrabasin correlation of some thin outcrop units representative of only a few thousand years (or less), (2) identification of unconformities produced by subaerial erosion, (3) identification of unconformities produced by sublacustrine erosion, and (4) correlation of outcrop units with subsurface units. The Searles Lake Formation is divided into seven main units, many of which are subdivided on the five larger scale geologic maps. Units A (oldest), B, C, and D are dominantly lacustrine in origin. The Pleistocene-Holocene boundary is placed at the top of unit C. In areas that were a kilometer or more from shore at the time of deposition, deposits of units A,B, and C consist of fine, highly calcareous sand, silt, or clay; nearer to shore they consist of well-sorted coarse sand and gravel. Unit A has been locally subdivided into as many as four subunits, unit B into six subunits, and unit C into six subunits. The finer facies of units A, B, and C contain such high percentages of Caco3 that they are best described as marl. Sediments of unit C, and to a lesser extent those of unit B, are laminated with light- to white-colored layers of aragonite, calcite, or dolomite(?) that may repre

Geochemical characteristics of The Emet (Espey-Hisarcik) borate deposits, Kütahya, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koçak, İ.; Koç, Ş.

2018-06-01

Nearly 72% world's borate reserves are in western part of Turkey. The Emet (Kütahya) deposit is one of these deposits. The Emet borate deposit, like other deposits in western Anatolia, was deposited in Miocene lacustrine environment whose formation coincides with volcanic activity started in Paleogene and lasted to the beginning of Quaternary. The borate ore displaying lenticular structure is alternated with claystone, marl, tuff and thin bedded limestone. The mineral paragenesis is composed of colemanite, hydroboracite, Veatchite, dolomite, calcite, montmorillonite and illite. The Emet borate deposit has been the subject of various geologic and mineralogical studies. In the present study major and trace element contents of 60 borate samples from this deposit are discussed. Among the trace elements, significant enrichment was found in As, Se, Sr, Cs, Sb and Li. Element correlations indicate volcanic source for boron (exhalations and hydrothermal solutions) whilst other elements are found to be derived from a terrestrial source. According to REE data, high Ce concentrations and anomalies are generally indicative of oxygenated depositional environment whilst low Ce contents facilitated the lake waters to be low oxygenated as a result of H2S-rich hydrothermal solutions. The weak negative anomaly detected only in the Hisarcık region is attributed to lacking of Eu contribution to the lake due to insufficient alteration on the continent.

The transitional depositional environment and sequence stratigraphy of Chasma Boreale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brothers, S. C.; Kocurek, G.

2018-07-01

The depositional system within Chasma Boreale is unique in that it contains active aeolian environments, expressed as dune fields, and active cryosphere environments, present as layered ice deposits, as well as environments that transition between these. This work presents a new analysis of the Chasma Boreale sediment system that creates an interpretative framework addressing: (a) controls on the balance between aeolian and cryospheric processes in the modern depositional system, (b) the stratigraphic architecture of related sedimentary deposits, and (c) processes of sediment accumulation and preservation. Images from Context Camera (CTX; 6 m/pixel) are used to classify and map sedimentary environments, surfaces, and deposits on the reentrant floor, to refine the established geologic map of the reentrant, and to infer the stratigraphic record of the accumulation from Chasma Boreale's depositional system. A spectrum of sedimentary environments occurring between those dominated by aeolian and by cryospheric processes are identified. Through time, the boundaries of these sedimentary environments have shifted, resulting in complex lateral changes in the configuration of sedimentary environments on the reentrant's floor. Vertically, the stratigraphic record is characterized by the punctuation of sandy aeolian deposits by icy surfaces that indicate episodes of ice growth that preserve underlying deposits, resulting in accumulation. Stabilized icy surfaces occur at multiple vertical (temporal) scales and lateral extents, suggesting the influence of both regional climate change due to allogenic forcing, as well as autogenic dynamics within the transitional system. These observations demonstrate that the Chasma Boreale accumulation can be interpreted in an aeolian sequence stratigraphic framework. This work contributes the first detailed description of the processes forming polar aeolian sequences, with an emphasis on the competing and complementary dynamics between aeolian

The depositional environments of Schöningen 13 II-4 and their archaeological implications.

PubMed

Stahlschmidt, Mareike C; Miller, Christopher E; Ligouis, Bertrand; Goldberg, Paul; Berna, Francesco; Urban, Brigitte; Conard, Nicholas J

2015-12-01

Geoarchaeological research at the Middle Pleistocene site of Schöningen 13 II-4, often referred to as the Speerhorizont, has focused on describing and evaluating the depositional contexts of the well-known wooden spears, butchered horses, and stone tools. These finds were recovered from the transitional contact between a lacustrine marl and an overlying organic mud, originally thought to be a peat that accumulated in place under variable moisture conditions. The original excavators proposed that hominin activity, including hunting and butchery, occurred on a dry lake shore and was followed by a rapid sedimentation of organic deposits that embedded and preserved the artifacts. Our geoarchaeological analysis challenges this model. Here, we present evidence that the sediments of Schöningen 13 II-4 were deposited in a constantly submerged area of a paleolake. Although we cannot exclude the possibility that the artifacts were deposited during a short, extreme drying event, there are no sedimentary features indicative of surface exposure in the sediments. Accordingly, this paper explores three main alternative models of site formation: anthropogenic disposal of materials into the lake, a geological relocation of the artifacts, and hunting or caching on lake-ice. These models have different behavioral ramifications concerning hominin knowledge and exploitation of the landscape and their subsistence strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Net atmospheric mercury deposition to Svalbard: Estimates from lacustrine sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drevnick, Paul E.; Yang, Handong; Lamborg, Carl H.; Rose, Neil L.

2012-11-01

In this study we used lake sediments, which faithfully record Hg inputs, to derive estimates of net atmospheric Hg deposition to Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic. With the exception of one site affected by local pollution, the study lakes show twofold to fivefold increases in sedimentary Hg accumulation since 1850, likely due to long-range atmospheric transport and deposition of anthropogenic Hg. Sedimentary Hg accumulation in these lakes is a linear function of the ratio of catchment area to lake area, and we used this relationship to model net atmospheric Hg flux: preindustrial and modern estimates are 2.5 ± 3.3 μg m-2 y-1 and 7.0 ± 3.0 μg m-2 y-1, respectively. The modern estimate, by comparison with data for Hg wet deposition, indicates that atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) or other dry deposition processes contribute approximately half (range 0-70%) of the net flux. Hg from AMDEs may be moving in significant quantities into aquatic ecosystems, where it is a concern because of contamination of aquatic food webs.

Metal complexation capacity of Antarctic lacustrine sediments.

PubMed

Alberti, Giancarla; Mussi, Matteo; Quattrini, Federico; Pesavento, Maria; Biesuz, Raffaela

2018-04-01

The purpose of this study is to implement a work that is a part of a project funded by the Italian National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA, Piano Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide) within the main thematic focus "Chemical Contamination-Global Change". This research was devoted to detect and characterize micro and nano components with strong complexing capability towards metal ions at trace level in sea water, lakes and lacustrine sediments, sampled during the XXII expedition of PNRA. In particular, in the present work, the sorption complexation capacity of an Antarctic lacustrine sediments toward Cu(II) and Pb(II) is described. The characterization of the sorption was undertaken, studying kinetics and isotherm profiles. The lake here considered is Tarn Flat in the area of Terra Nova Bay. The sorption equilibria of Cu(II) and Pb(II) on the lacustrine sediments were reached in about 10 h, and they were best modelled by the Langmuir equation. Preliminary, to establish if the data here obtained were consistent with those reported for the same area in other expeditions, a common multivariate techniques, namely the principal component analysis (PCA), was applied and finally the consistency of the data has been confirmed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Classification and sedimentary characteristics of lacustrine hyperpycnal channels: Triassic outcrops in the south Ordos Basin, central China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xian, Benzhong; Wang, Junhui; Gong, Chenglin; Yin, Yu; Chao, Chuzhi; Liu, Jianping; Zhang, Guodong; Yan, Qi

2018-06-01

Subaquatic channels are known as active conduits for the delivery of terrigenous sediments into related marine and lacustrine basins, as well as important targets for hydrocarbon exploration. Compared to submarine channels, lacustrine subaqueous channels created by hyperpycnal flows are understudied. Using well-exposed outcrops collected from three different locations in the southern Ordos Basin, central China, morphologies and architecture of a channelized hyperpycnal system were studied and classified. Six facies associations represent sedimentary processes from strong erosion by bedload dominated hyperpycnal flows, to transitional deposition jointly controlled by bedload and suspended-load dominated hyperpycnal flows, finally to deposition from suspended-load dominated hyperpycnal flows. On the basis of channel morphologies, infilling sediments and sedimentary processes, the documented channels can be classified into four main categories, which are erosional, bedload dominated, suspended-load dominated, and depositional channels. In very proximal and very distal locations, erosional channels and depositional channels serve as two end-members, while in middle areas, bedload-dominated channels and suspended-load dominated channels are transitional types. Erosional channels, as a response to strong erosion from bedload dominated hyperpycnal flows on upper slope, were mainly filled by mud interbedded with thin sand beds. As flow energy decreases, bedload dominated channels develop on middle slopes, which are characterized mainly by under- to balanced sediment infillings with cross-bedded sandstones and/or minor massive sandstones. Compared to bedload dominated channels, suspended-load dominated channels mainly develop in deeper water, and were filled mainly by massive or planar-laminated sandstones. Depositional channels, as a response to suspended-load dominated hyperpycnal flows in deep-water areas, are characterized by thin-medium bed classical turbidites with

Paleogeography and Depositional Systems of Cretaceous-Oligocene Strata: Eastern Precordillera, Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reat, Ellen J.; Fosdick, Julie C.

2016-04-01

New data from the Argentine Precordillera in the southern Central Andes document changes in depositional environment and sediment accumulation rates during Upper Cretaceous through Oligocene basin evolution, prior to the onset Miocene foredeep sedimentation. This work presents new sedimentology, detrital geochronology, and geologic mapping from a series of continental strata within this interval to resolve the timing of sedimentation, nature of depositional environments, and basin paleogeography at the nascent phase of Andean orogenic events, prior to the uplift and deformation of the Precordillera to the west. Five stratigraphic sections were measured across both limbs of the Huaco Anticline, detailing sedimentology of the terrestrial siliciclastic upper Patquía, Ciénaga del Río Huaco (CRH), Puesto la Flecha, Vallecito, and lower Cerro Morado formations. Paleocurrent data indicate a flow direction change from predominantly NE-SW in the upper Patquía and the lower CRH to SW-NE directed flow in the upper CRH, consistent with a large meandering river system and a potential rise in topography towards the west. This interpretation is further supported by pebble lag intervals and 1-3 meter scale trough cross-bedding in the CRH. The thinly laminated gypsum deposits and siltstones of the younger Puesto la Flecha Formation indicate an upsection transition into overbank and lacustrine sedimentation during semi-arid climatic conditions, before the onset of aeolian dune formation. New maximum depositional age results from detrital zircon U-Pb analysis indicate that the Puesto la Flecha Formation spans ~57 Myr (~92 to ~35 Ma) across a ~48 m thick interval without evidence for major erosion, indicating very low sedimentation rates. This time interval may represent distal foredeep or forebulge migration resultant from western lithospheric loading due to the onset of Andean deformation at this latitude. Detrital zircon U-Pb age spectra also indicate shifts in sediment routing

Taphonomy and paleoecology of nonmarine mollusca: indicators of alluvial plain lacustrine sedimentation, upper part of the Tongue River Member, Fort Union Formation ( Paleocene), Northern Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana ( USA).

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanley, J.H.; Flores, R.M.

1987-01-01

The composition, species abundances, and spatial and temporal distributions of mollusc assemblages were controlled by the environments in which they lived and the depositional processes that affected the molluscs after death and before final burial. Post-mortem transport, reworking and concentration of shells, and mixing of faunal elements from discrete habitats produced a taphonomic 'overprint' on assemblage characteristics that directly reflects the processes of alluvial plain and floodbasin lacustrine sedimentation. The 'overprint' can be interpreted from outcrop analysis of molluscan biofabric, which consists of: 1) orientation, fragmentation, size-sorting, abrasion, density, and dispersion of shells, 2) the nature and extent of shell-infilling, and 3) ratio of articulated to disarticulated bivalves. Taphonomic characteristics were used with sedimentological properties to differentiate in-place, reworked, transported, and ecologically mixed mollusc assemblages. This study also defines the paleoecology of habitat preferences of mollusc species as a basis for recognition of the environments in which these assemblages were deposited: 1) large floodbasin lakes, 2) small floodbasin lakes, and 3) crevasse deltas and splays. Integration of sedimentology and paleoecology provides an interdisciplinary approach to the interpretation of alluvial environments through time in the Tongue River Member. -Authors

An overview of the Permian (Karoo) coal deposits of southern Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cairncross, B.

2001-08-01

The coal deposits of southern Africa (Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are reviewed. The coal seams formed during two periods, the Early Permian (Artinskian-Kungurian) and the Late Permian (Ufimian-Kazanian). The coals are associated with non-marine terrestrial clastic sedimentary sequences, most commonly mudrock and sandstones, assigned to the Karoo Supergroup. The Early Permian coals are most commonly sandstone-hosted while the younger coals typically occur interbedded with mudstones. The sediments were deposited in varying tectono-sedimentary basins such as foreland, intracratonic rifts and intercratonic grabens and half-grabens. The depositional environments that produced the coal-bearing successions were primarily deltaic and fluvial, with some minor shoreline and lacustrine settings. Coals vary in rank from high-volatile bituminous to anthracite and characteristically have a relatively high inertinite component, and medium- to high-ash content. In countries where coal is mined, it is used for power generation, coking coal, synfuel generation, gasification and for (local) domestic household consumption.

Geochemical characteristics of Kırka (Sarıkaya) borate deposit, northwestern Anatolia, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koçak, İ.; Koç, Ş.

2016-02-01

The Kırka borate deposit was deposited in a Miocene lacustrine basin which is closely associated with volcanic activity which lasted from Paleogene to the beginning of Quaternary. Borate mineralization alternates with claystone, mudstone, tuff and fine-layered limestone and mostly shows a lenticular structure. The mineral paragenesis is composed of borax, tincalconite, ulexite, kurnakovite, probertite, tunellite, colemanite, dolomite, smectite group minerals, illite and some firstly reported minerals for the Kırka deposit including hydrochloroborite, brianroulstonite, hilgardite-4M and searlesite minerals. In comparison to average values of earth crust, concentrations of Cs, Sr, Li, As and Se were significantly enriched with respective rates of 21, 15, 14, 3 and 188 folds. Regarding KY, KS1 and KS2 locations, there are differences in both element abundances and their geochemical tendencies which are attributed to variations in discharge regime and physico-chemical conditions of the depositional environment. Independent behaviour of B2O3 might indicate that boron is not associated with clays and carbonates and, therefore, most part of boron must be derived from volcanic activity (hydrothermal solutions, gases). REE data indicate that the Kırka borate deposit was formed in a sedimentary environment where highly alkaline (high pH) hydrothermal solutions also took part in borate precipitation process.

Climate Change and Drought Events in the Geochemical Records of the Lacustrine Deposits in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

PubMed Central

Shi, Zhengtao; Niu, Jie; Su, Huai

2016-01-01

Lacustrine deposits at the margin of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP) are sensitive indicators for the evolution of the southwest Asian monsoon (SWAM) during the Quaternary. Thus, they can provide insight into the Quaternary climatic history and their relationship with global climatic changes. The results of the geochemical analysis of the Xiaozhongdian Basin section at the SETP suggest that SiO2 had the highest content of the major elements followed by Al2O3. The order of the abundance of the major elements was generally as follows: SiO2>Al2O3>Fe2O3>CaO>MgO>K2O>TiO2>Na2O>MnO2. The geochemical proxies, such as chemical index of alteration (CIA), the index of compositional variability (ICV) and (CaO+K2O+Na2O)/Al2O3, indicate the weak chemical weathering and the aridification of the margin of the SETP during the Heinrich events. In addition, the aridification of the SETP during the Heinrich events may be closely related to the cold signals transmitted from the high latitudes of the North Atlantic to the TP, and the effect caused the cooling effect to be very strong on the TP as a result of the upper-level westerly jet stream and then reduced the suction action associated with the SWAM, thus accelerating the drying rate of Xiaozhongdian Basin, which was amplifying the degree of drought in Heinrich events. PMID:28033377

Permian paleogeography of west-central Pangea: Reconstruction using sabkha-type gypsum-bearing deposits of Parnaíba Basin, Northern Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abrantes, Francisco R.; Nogueira, Afonso C. R.; Soares, Joelson L.

2016-07-01

Extreme aridity during Late Permian - Early Triassic period was the main factor for resetting the entire paleoclimate of the planet. Permian evaporite basins and lacustrine red beds were widely distributed along the supercontinent of Pangea. Sulphate deposits in Western Pangea, particularly in Northern Brazil, accumulated in an extensive playa lake system. Outcrop-based facies and stratigraphic analysis of up to 20 m thick evaporite-siliciclastic deposits reveal the predominance of laminated reddish mudstone with subordinate limestone, marl and lenses of gypsum. The succession was deposited in shallow lacustrine and inland sabkha environments associated with saline pans and mudflats. Gypsum deposits comprise six lithofacies: 1) bottom-growth gypsum, 2) nodular/micronodular gypsum, 3) mosaic gypsum, 4) fibrous/prismatic gypsum, 5) alabastrine gypsum, and 6) rosettes of gypsum. Gypsum types 1 and 2 are interpreted as primary deposition in saline pans. Bottom-growth gypsum forms grass-like crusts while nodular/micronodular gypsum indicates displacive precipitation of the crust in shallow water and the groundwater capillary zone. Types 3 and 4 are early diagenetic precipitates. Abundant inclusions of tiny lath-like anhydrite crystals suggest a primary origin of anhydrite. Alabastrine gypsum, fibrous gypsum (satinspar) and rosettes of gypsum probably derived from near-surface hydration of anhydrite. The gypsum-bearing deposits in the Parnaíba Basin contribute towards understanding paleogeographic changes in Western Pangea. A progressive uplift of East Pangea, culminated in the forced regression and retreat of epicontinental seas to the West. Restricted seas or large lakes were formed before the definitive onset of desert conditions in Pangea, leading to the development of extensive ergs.

Zooplankton fecal pellets link fossil fuel and phosphate deposits

USGS Publications Warehouse

Porter, K.G.; Robbins, E.I.

1981-01-01

Fossil zooplankton fecal pellets found in thinly bedded marine and lacustrine black shales associated with phosphate, oil, and coal deposits, link the deposition of organic matter and biologically associated minerals with planktonic ecosystems. The black shales were probably formed in the anoxic basins of coastal marine waters, inland seas, and rift valley lakes where high productivity was supported by runoff, upwelling, and outwelling. Copyright ?? 1981 AAAS.

Oligocene Fluvio-Deltaic Depositional Environments Salin Sub-Basin, Central Myanmar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gough, A.; Hall, R.

2017-12-01

A recent increase in accessibility for research in Myanmar has allowed rapid advancements in the understanding of the geology of the country. Evolving depositional environments can be reconstructed in largely unstudied Oligocene deposits of the Salin sub-basin, of the Central Myanmar Basin. Data has been collected through a fieldwork campaign to target well-exposed sediments along the western margin of the basin. The studied outcrops span approximately one hundred kilometres from north to south, and a series of sedimentary logs, palaeocurrent data, 2D panel diagrams, and samples for petrographical analysis have been collected and interpreted. The Oligocene formations studied include the Shwezetaw, Paduang, and Okhmintaung, each of which show a broadly southwards-trending fluvio-deltaic environment of deposition. Towards the north, the lower Rupelian Shwezetaw Formation comprises thick fluviatile sandstones which grade southwards through macrotidal-dominated fluvio-deltaic interbedded siltstones and rare sandstones, into marine sandstones. Overlying this, the upper Rupelian Paduang Formation grades rapidly from rare fluvial sandstones towards the north of the basin into deltaic and marine interbedded sandstones and siltstones to the south. This formation is more marine in nature, suggesting a minor transgression throughout the lower Oligocene. By the time of deposition of the Okhmintaung Formation in the Chattian the observed deposits solely represent a tidally-influenced deltaic depositional environment, with very little temporal variation, suggesting a stable sea level. Despite the relatively unchanging depositional environment, the formations are approximately 4000 m thick, suggesting that sedimentation kept pace with relatively rapid subsidence. This current study, which will combine depositional environment reconstruction, provenance, and sediment routing analysis, will provide important insights into both the tectonic setting and the huge sediment accumulation

Greigite formed in early Pleistocene lacustrine sediments from the Heqing Basin, southwest China, and its paleoenvironmental implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiang, Xiaoke; Xu, Xinwen; Zhao, Hui; Fu, Chaofeng

2018-05-01

The ferrimagnetic iron sulfide greigite (Fe3S4) occurs widely in sulfidic lacustrine and marine sedimentary environments. Knowledge of its formation and persistence is important for both magnetostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental studies. Although the formation mechanism of greigite has been widely demonstrated, the sedimentary environments associated with greigite formation in lakes, especially on relatively long timescales, are poorly understood. A long and continuous sequence of Pleistocene lacustrine sediments was recovered in the Heqing drill core from southwestern China, which provides an outstanding record of continental climate and environment. Integrated magnetic, geochemical, and paleoclimatic analysis of the lacustrine sequence provides an opportunity to improve our understanding of the environmental controls on greigite formation. Rock magnetic and scanning electron microscope analyses of selected samples from the core reveal that greigite is present in the lower part of the core (part 1, 665.8-372.5 m). Greigite occurs throughout this interval and is the dominant magnetic mineral, irrespective of the climatic state. The magnetic susceptibility (χ) record, which is mainly controlled by the concentration of greigite, matches well with variations in the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) index and total organic carbon (TOC) content, with no significant time lag. This indicates that the greigite formed during early diagenesis. In greigite-bearing intervals, with the χ increase, Bc value increase and tends to be stable at about 50 mT. Therefore, we suggest that χ values could estimate the variation of greigite concentration approximately in the Heqing core. Greigite favored more abundant in terrigenous-rich and organic-poor layers associated with weak summer monsoon which are characterized by high χ values, high Fe content, high Rb/Sr ratio and low TOC content. Greigite enhancement can be explained by variations in terrigenous inputs. Our studies demonstrate

Gas-deposit-alloy corrosion interactions in simulated combustion environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luer, Kevin Raymond

High temperature corrosion in aggressive coal combustion environments involves simultaneous corrosion reactions between combustion gases, ash deposits, and alloys. This research investigated the behavior of a ferritic steel (SA387-Gr11) and three weld claddings (309L SS, Alloy 72, and Alloy 622) in five combustion environments beneath solid deposits at 500°C for up to 1000 hours. The synthetic gases consisted of N2-CO-CO-H2-H2O-H 2S-SO2 mixtures that simulated a range of fuel-rich or fuel-lean combustion environments with a constant sulfur content. The synthetic deposits contained FeS2, FeS, Fe3O4 and/or carbon. Reaction kinetics was studied in individual gas-metal, gas deposit, and deposit-alloy systems. A test method was developed to investigate simultaneous gas-deposit-metal corrosion reactions. The results showed reaction kinetics varied widely, depending on the gas-alloy system and followed linear, parabolic, and logarithmic rate laws. Under reducing conditions, the alloys exhibited a range of corrosion mechanisms including carburization-sulfidation, sulfidation, and sulfidation-oxidation. Most alloys were not resistant to the highly reducing gases but offered moderate resistance to mixed oxidation-sulfidation by demonstrating parabolic or logarithmic behavior. Under oxidizing conditions, all of the alloys were resistant. Under oxidizing-sulfating conditions, alloys with high Fe or Cr contents sulfated whereas an alloy containing Mo and W was resistant. In the gas-deposit-metal tests, FeS2-bearing deposits were extremely corrosive to low alloy steel under both reducing and oxidizing conditions but they had little influence on the weld claddings. Accelerated corrosion was attributed to rapid decomposition or oxidation of FeS2 particles that generated sulfur-rich gases above the alloy surface. In contrast, FeS-type deposits had no influence under reducing conditions but they were aggressive to low alloy steel under oxidizing conditions. The extent of damage

Tephras in lacustrine sediments of the Sarliève marsh (French Massif Central): age and preservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fourmont, Agathe; Macaire, Jean-Jacques; Bréhéret, Jean-Gabriel; Argant, Jacqueline; Prat, Béatrice; Vernet, Gérard

2006-12-01

The Sarliève marsh sediments (Massif Central, France) contain two tephras. The first tephra [ 13.7±0.4ka(2δ), ca. 12 000 BP], regionally well known, enables to date the beginning of lacustrine infill to the Lateglacial. The second tephra, the 'tephra de Sarliève', the emitting volcano of which is unknown, would be dated to around the Early Subboreal from pollen data. This occurrence, after the discovery of the 'tephra de Beaunit', emphasizes that volcanic eruption(s) occurred in the 'Chaîne des Puys' or in the volcanic Cézallier more than 1000 years after the last known eruption (Pavin) in the 'Chaîne des Puys' at around 6.6/6.7 ka (5800/5900 BP). In the Sarliève piles, these tephras, well preserved in thick and more silicated deposits of deltas, were not observed in carbonated basin sediments where they were altered. The abundance of authigenic zeolites formed during the Lateglacial in restricted depocentre lacustrine waters allows us to detect initial CF1 tephra occurrence. To cite this article: A. Fourmont et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).

The relationship between carbonate facies, volcanic rocks and plant remains in a late Palaeozoic lacustrine system (San Ignacio Fm, Frontal Cordillera, San Juan province, Argentina)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busquets, P.; Méndez-Bedia, I.; Gallastegui, G.; Colombo, F.; Cardó, R.; Limarino, O.; Heredia, N.; Césari, S. N.

2013-07-01

The San Ignacio Fm, a late Palaeozoic foreland basin succession that crops out in the Frontal Cordillera (Argentinean Andes), contains lacustrine microbial carbonates and volcanic rocks. Modification by extensive pedogenic processes contributed to the massive aspect of the calcareous beds. Most of the volcanic deposits in the San Ignacio Fm consist of pyroclastic rocks and resedimented volcaniclastic deposits. Less frequent lava flows produced during effusive eruptions led to the generation of tabular layers of fine-grained, greenish or grey andesites, trachytes and dacites. Pyroclastic flow deposits correspond mainly to welded ignimbrites made up of former glassy pyroclasts devitrified to microcrystalline groundmass, scarce crystals of euhedral plagioclase, quartz and K-feldspar, opaque minerals, aggregates of fine-grained phyllosilicates and fiammes defining a bedding-parallel foliation generated by welding or diagenetic compaction. Widespread silicified and silica-permineralized plant remains and carbonate mud clasts are found, usually embedded within the ignimbrites. The carbonate sequences are underlain and overlain by volcanic rocks. The carbonate sequence bottoms are mostly gradational, while their tops are usually sharp. The lower part of the carbonate sequences is made up of mud which appear progressively, filling interstices in the top of the underlying volcanic rocks. They gradually become more abundant until they form the whole of the rock fabric. Carbonate on volcanic sandstones and pyroclastic deposits occur, with the nucleation of micritic carbonate and associated production of pyrite. Cyanobacteria, which formed the locus of mineral precipitation, were related with this nucleation. The growth of some of the algal mounds was halted by the progressive accumulation of volcanic ash particles, but in most cases the upper boundary is sharp and suddenly truncated by pyroclastic flows or volcanic avalanches. These pyroclastic flows partially destroyed the

High-resolution seismic stratigraphy of an Holocene lacustrine delta in western Lake Geneva (Switzerland)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baster, I.; Girardclos, S.; Pugin, A.; Wildi, W.

2003-01-01

A high-resolution seismic survey was conducted in western Lake Geneva on a small delta formed by the Promenthouse, the Asse and the Boiron rivers. This dataset provides information on changes in the geometry and sedimentation patterns of this delta from Late-glacial to Present. The geometry of the deposits of the lacustrine delta has been mapped using 300-m spaced grid lines acquired with a 12 kHz Echosounder subbottom profiler. A complete three dimensional image of the sediment architecture was reconstructed through seismic stratigraphic analysis. Six different delta lobes have been recognized in the prodelta area. Depositional centers and lateral extension of the delta have changed through time, indicating migration and fluctuation of river input as well as changes in lake currents and wind regime from the time of glacier retreat to the Present. The delta slope is characterized by a high instability causing stumps developing and by the accumulation of biogenic gas that prevents seismic penetration.

In-situ monitoring of deformation of clayey and volcanic sequences in the lacustrine plain of Iztapalapa, Mexico City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carreon-Freyre, D.; Cerca, M.; Barrientos, B.; Gutierrez, R.; Blancas, D.

2012-12-01

Major cities of Central Mexico with lowering of land elevation problems are located in inter-volcanic and fault bounded basins within the central Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). The most representative and studied case of ground deformation is Mexico City, where the Iztapalapa Municipality presents the highest population density. This area is located over the geological contact between the "Sierra de Santa Catarina" volcanic range and a lacustrine plain. Filling of lacustrine basins includes silty and clayey sediments as well as pyroclastic deposits (coarse and fine grained) and volcanic rocks layers. We used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and MASW prospection to evaluate contrasts in the physical properties of fine grained soils and identify geometry of the deformational features and implemented a mechanical system for in situ monitoring in fractured sites. Deformational features in this basin reflect an interplay between the geological history (depositional conditions), load history, seismic activity, and faulting. Plastic mechanical behaviour predominates in these clayey sediments and differential deformation locally triggers brittle fracturing and/or subsidence of the surface. In this work we present the results of monitoring and characterization of ground deformation and fracturing in different sequences, our results show a dynamic interplay between the mechanisms of ground fracturing and the stress history of sedimentary sequences. Relating the mechanical behaviour of the studied sequences with variations of physical and geological properties should be taken into account to estimate land level lowering and risk of fracturing for urban development planning.

From submarine to lacustrine groundwater discharge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lewandowski, Jörg; Meinikmann, Karin; Pöschke, Franziska; Nützmann, Gunnar; Rosenberry, Donald O.

2017-01-01

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and its role in marine nutrient cycling are well known since the last decade. The freshwater equivalent, lacustrine groundwater discharge (LGD), is often still disregarded, although first reports of LGD are more than 50 years old. We identify nine different reasons why groundwater has long been disregarded in both freshwater and marine environments such as invisibility of groundwater discharge, the size of the interface and its difficult accessibility. Although there are some fundamental differences in the hydrology of SGD and LGD, caused primarily by seawater recirculation that occurs only in cases of SGD, there are also a lot of similarities such as a focusing of discharge to near-shore areas. Nutrient concentrations in groundwater near the groundwater–surface water interface might be anthropogenically enriched. Due to spatial heterogeneity of aquifer characteristics and biogeochemical processes, the quantification of groundwater-borne nutrient loads is challenging. Both nitrogen and phosphorus might be mobile in near-shore aquifers and in a lot of case studies large groundwater-borne nutrient loads have been reported.

Enigmatic Sedimentary Deposits Within Partially Exhumed Impact Craters in the Aeolis Dorsa Region, Mars: Evidence for Past Crater Lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peel, S. E.; Burr, D. M.

2018-06-01

We mapped enigmatic sedimentary deposits within five partially exhumed impact craters within the Aeolis Dorsa Region of Mars. Ten units have been identified and are found to be consistent with deposition within and adjacent to lacustrine systems.

Fluvial/lacustrine diagenesis: Significance for hydrocarbon production and entrapment in the carboniferous Albert Fm, Moncton basin, NB

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Noble, J.P.A.; Chowdhury, A.H.; Yu, H.

1996-12-31

The Carboniferous Horton Group Albert Formation sediments include lacustrine source-rock oil shales and fluvial porous reservoir sandstones. The petrography, stable isotopes, fluid inclusions, cathodoluminescence and mirror/trace element chemistry of these sandstones are used to establish the diagenetic history and controlling factors. Early diagenetic calcite, quartz and albite cements with minor chlorite and kaolinite are variably present and related to depositional mineralogy and lake levels winch controlled the porewater chemistry. Antitaxial veins occurring preferentially in shales are shown, from heavy {delta}C{sup 13} values and fluid inclusions, to be related to methanogenesis in overpressured zones at shallow depths. Later burial calcite andmore » extensive albitisation are related to mineral reactions during the phase of rapid subsidence at temperatures of 80{degrees} to 150{degrees} in the deepest segment of the basin, together with significant dissolution of carbonates and feldspars related mainly to organic acids generated by organic maturation processes. Mass balance calculations indicate that not enough organic matter was present to account for all the estimated secondary porosity and some evidence suggests that reactions between kaolinite and calcite/ankerite to produce chlorite, and mixed layer illite-smectite ordering reactions, produced significant secondary porosity. Burial history reconstructions and thermal modelling of the Albert Fm. sediments using Arrhenius type maturity models and reflectance and rock-eval data suggest locally variable maturation and reservoir production related to the locally different fault tectonic histories characteristic of strike-slip lacustrine segmented basins. The Horton depositional cycle was followed by major dextral transpression with local faulting and inversion and vein cementation.« less

Fluvial/lacustrine diagenesis: Significance for hydrocarbon production and entrapment in the carboniferous Albert Fm, Moncton basin, NB

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Noble, J.P.A.; Chowdhury, A.H.; Yu, H.

1996-01-01

The Carboniferous Horton Group Albert Formation sediments include lacustrine source-rock oil shales and fluvial porous reservoir sandstones. The petrography, stable isotopes, fluid inclusions, cathodoluminescence and mirror/trace element chemistry of these sandstones are used to establish the diagenetic history and controlling factors. Early diagenetic calcite, quartz and albite cements with minor chlorite and kaolinite are variably present and related to depositional mineralogy and lake levels winch controlled the porewater chemistry. Antitaxial veins occurring preferentially in shales are shown, from heavy [delta]C[sup 13] values and fluid inclusions, to be related to methanogenesis in overpressured zones at shallow depths. Later burial calcite andmore » extensive albitisation are related to mineral reactions during the phase of rapid subsidence at temperatures of 80[degrees] to 150[degrees] in the deepest segment of the basin, together with significant dissolution of carbonates and feldspars related mainly to organic acids generated by organic maturation processes. Mass balance calculations indicate that not enough organic matter was present to account for all the estimated secondary porosity and some evidence suggests that reactions between kaolinite and calcite/ankerite to produce chlorite, and mixed layer illite-smectite ordering reactions, produced significant secondary porosity. Burial history reconstructions and thermal modelling of the Albert Fm. sediments using Arrhenius type maturity models and reflectance and rock-eval data suggest locally variable maturation and reservoir production related to the locally different fault tectonic histories characteristic of strike-slip lacustrine segmented basins. The Horton depositional cycle was followed by major dextral transpression with local faulting and inversion and vein cementation.« less

Giving perspective to cliff exposures with ground penetrating radar: Devonian lacustrine shore zone architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrews, Steven; Moreau, Julien; Archer, Stuart

2015-04-01

The orbitally-controlled cyclic lacustrine successions of the Middle Devonian in Northern Scotland contains repeated developments of shore zone sandstones. However, due to the cliff-forming nature of the succession and the attitude of the sections through these sandstones, interpretation of this facies has been problematic. To better understand the shore zone systems, we carried out very high resolution sedimentary logging and constructed photo-panels which were combined with high resolution GPR profiling (250 MHz). To ensure close ties between the sedimentary logs and the GPR data, the cliffs were accessed using rope access techniques while GPR grids were shot directly above. The profiles were shot mainly in the strike direction of what was thought to be the shore elongation every 5-10 m and every 20-30 m in the dip direction. Shore zone systems of 3 different sequences have been imaged for a total of 1155 m of GPR profile collected. This configuration has allowed 3D visualisation of the architecture of the shore zone systems and, in combination with detailed sedimentology, provided insights into the generation of the dynamic shore zone environments. The coastal cliffs of northern Scotland expose sedimentary cycles on average 16-m-thick which record deep lake, perennial lake and playa environments. The shore zone deposits reach 2 to 3.5 m in thickness. Loading and discrete channel forms are recognised in both the GPR data and sedimentary logs through the lower portion of the lake shore zone successions. Up-section the sandstone beds appear to become amalgamated forming subtle low angle accretionary bar complexes which although visible in outcrop, after careful investigation, can be fully visualised and examined in the GPR data. The 3D visualisation allowed mapping the architecture and distribution of the bars . The orientation of these features, recognised from the survey, is consistent with extensive palaeocurrent measurements from oscillation ripples. Further

The depositional setting of the Late Quaternary sedimentary fill in southern Bannu basin, Northwest Himalayan fold and thrust belt, Pakistan.

PubMed

Farid, Asam; Khalid, Perveiz; Jadoon, Khan Zaib; Jouini, Mohammed Soufiane

2014-10-01

Geostatistical variogram and inversion techniques combined with modern visualization tools have made it possible to re-model one-dimensional electrical resistivity data into two-dimensional (2D) models of the near subsurface. The resultant models are capable of extending the original interpretation of the data to depict alluvium layers as individual lithological units within the 2D space. By tuning the variogram parameters used in this approach, it is then possible to visualize individual lithofacies and geomorphological features for these lithologic units. The study re-examines an electrical resistivity dataset collected as part of a groundwater study in an area of the Bannu basin in Pakistan. Additional lithological logs from boreholes throughout the area have been combined with the existing resistivity data for calibration. Tectonic activity during the Himalayan orogeny uplifted and generated significant faulting in the rocks resulting in the formation of a depression which subsequently has been filled with clay-silt and dirty sand facies typical of lacustrine and flood plain environments. Streams arising from adjacent mountains have reworked these facies which have been eroded and replaced by gravel-sand facies along channels. It is concluded that the sediments have been deposited as prograding fan shaped bodies, flood plain, and lacustrine deposits. Clay-silt facies mark the locations of paleo depressions or lake environments, which have changed position over time due to local tectonic activity and sedimentation. The Lakki plain alluvial system has thus formed as a result of local tectonic activity with fluvial erosion and deposition characterized by coarse sediments with high electrical resistivities near the mountain ranges and fine sediments with medium to low electrical resistivities towards the basin center.

Deposition and deformation of stratified rocks in the northern Nia Mensa region of Valles Marineris, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okubo, C. H.

2016-12-01

Large-scale structural and geologic mapping based on HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) digital elevation models reveals new details of the depositional environment for the stratified rocks in the northern Nia Mensa region of eastern Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris, Mars. The map area encompasses the contact between massive sedimentary rocks that comprise most of Nia Mensa and the stratified sedimentary and mass-wasting deposits exposed between Nia Mensa and the north wall of eastern Candor Chasma. The area contains a stratified fan-like deposit on the lower slopes of Nia Mensa. The strata within this deposit dip outward at < 10°, away from its morphologic apex, consistent with an origin as a depositional fan (rather than being carved into a fan shape by erosion). Whether this fan has a subaerial or submarine origin has not yet been determined. Additionally, the fan and surrounding stratified rocks exhibit evidence of soft-sediment deformation in the form of clastic dikes and contorted bedding, indicating that these deposits were water-saturated at the time of deformation. Finally, the northern section of the map area encompasses part of a fractured rise, and deposits interpreted as mud flows mantle the top of this rise. Inferred flow directions suggest that the mud erupted out of these fractures. These findings place constraints on the depositional environment of the local stratified bedrock. The presence of the fan deposit indicates that lateral transport was a component in the depositional history of these sediments. Therefore the sediments did not form entirely as a mantling deposit, such as air fall ash or sediments settled out of a water column. The soft-sediment deformation and subsurface mobilized sediments indicate that groundwater was present in the area after emplacement of the stratified deposits, but before its lithification. These findings point to a wet-playa to lacustrine depositional environment.

Palynology and age of some Cretaceous nonmarine deposits in Mongolia and China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nichols, D.J.; Matsukawa, M.; Ito, M.

2006-01-01

To provide biostratigraphic and paleoecologic data for a major international project studying dinosaur trackways in eastern Asia, samples were collected for palynological analysis from the Choyr Basin of southeastern Mongolia and the Yanji Basin, Jilin Province, northeastern China. Palynologically productive samples from the Choyr Basin are from strata previously identified as either the Shinekhudag Formation or the Zuunbayan Formation but recently renamed the Khuren Dukh Formation; productive samples from the Yanji Basin are from the Tongfosi Formation. The biostratigraphically most important palynomorphs from both units are angiosperm pollen. The Khuren Dukh Formation is determined to be middle to late Albian in age. The Tongfosi Formation is determined to be early Cenomanian in age. These results conflict with some previously published interpretations of the ages of these units. Lacustrine depositional environments are indicated for both units by the presence of freshwater algae in both deposits. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sulfur Geochemistry of a Lacustrine Record from Taiwan Reveals Enhanced Marine Aerosol Input during the Early Holocene

PubMed Central

Ding, Xiaodong; Li, Dawei; Zheng, Liwei; Bao, Hongyan; Chen, Huei-Fen; Kao, Shuh-Ji

2016-01-01

Lacustrine record of marine aerosol input has rarely been documented. Here, we present the sulfur geochemistry during the last deglaciation and early Holocene of a sediment core retrieved from the Dongyuan Lake in southern Taiwan. An unusually high sulfur peak accompanying pyrite presence is observed at 10.5 ka BP. Such high sulfur content in lacustrine record is unusual. The δ34S of sulfur varied from +9.5 to + 17.1‰ with two significant positive shifts at 10.5 and 9.4 ka BP. The sources of sulfur and potential processes involving the sulfur isotope variation including bacterial sulfate reduction, volcanic emissions, in-catchment sulfide oxidation and marine aerosol input are discussed. Enhanced marine aerosol input is the most likely explanation for such sulfur peaks and δ34S shifts. The positive δ34S shifts appeared concurrently with the maximum landslide events over Taiwan resulted from enhanced typhoon activities. The synchronicity among records suggests that increased typhoon activities promoted sea spray, and consequently enhanced the marine aerosol input with 34S-enriched sulfate. Our sulfur geochemistry data revealed sea spray history and marine influence onto terrestrial environment at coastal regions. Wider coverage of spatial-temporal lacustrine sulfur geochemistry record is needed to validate the applicability of sulfur proxy in paleoenvironmental research. PMID:27941864

The paleomagnetism of clastic and precipitate deposits in limestone and dolomite caves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Latham, A.G.; Ford, D.C.

1991-03-01

Clastic sediments and calcite precipitates (stalagmites, flowstones, etc.) are abundant in modern limestone caves and normally are the dominant infillings in buried (paleokarst) caves. Clastic sediment fillings are chiefly of fluviatile or local breakdown origin, but lacustrine, colluvial, eolian, and glacial deposits are known. Paleomagnetism has been studied in the fluviatile and lacustrine types: (1) reversal stratigraphy aids dating of geomorphic and paleoclimatic events in the late Pliocene/Pleistocene; (2) fine magnetostratigraphy has yielded estimates of the westward drift. Calcite precipitates (speleothems) may display natural remanent magnetism of either depositional (DRM) or chemical (CRM) origin. NRMs of modern speleothems are primary,more » not diagenetic; CRMs are invariably associated with the degradation of surface organic matter. (1) Coarse reversal stratigraphy dates geomorphic, etc., events and erosion rates. (2) Fine stratigraphy combined with {sup 230}Th:{sup 234}U dating gives high precision estimates of secular variation, westward drift, and rate of change of geomagnetic anomalies in upper Pleistocene and Holocene deposits. Magnetostratigraphy of paleokarst speleothem fillings associated with hydrocarbons in Ordovician limestones suggest a Permian age for the karstification. Potential applications of magnetostratigraphy to paleokarst deposits of many different scales are considerable.« less

Marine and Lacustrine Organic-rich Sedimentary Unit Time Markers: Implications from Rhenium-Osmium Geochronology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selby, D.

2011-12-01

Geochronology is fundamental to understand the age, rates and durations of Earth processes. This concerned Arthur Holmes who, for much of his career, attempted to define a geological time scale. This is a topic still important to Earth Scientists today, specifically the chronostratigraphy of sedimentary rocks. Here I explore the Re-Os geochronology of marine and lacustrine sedimentary rocks and its application to yield absolute time constraints for stratigraphy. The past decade has seen the pioneering research of Re-Os organic-rich sedimentary rock geochronology blossom into a tool that can now to be used to accurately and precisely determine depositional ages of organic-rich rock units that have experienced up to low grade greenschist metamorphism. This direct dating of sedimentary rocks is critical where volcanic horizons are absent. As a result, this tool has been applied to timescale calibration, basin correlation, formation duration and the timing of key Earth events (e.g., Neoproterozoic glaciations). The application of Re-Os chronometer to the Devonian-Mississippian boundary contained within the Exshaw Formation, Canada, determined an age of 361.3 ± 2.4 Ma. This age is in accord with U-Pb dates of interbedded tuff horizons and also U-Pb zircon date for the type Devonian-Mississippian Hasselbachtal section, Germany. The agreement of the biostratigraphic and U-Pb constraints of the Exshaw Formation with the Re-Os date illustrated the potential of the Re-Os chronometer to yield age determinations for sedimentary packages, especially in the absence of interbedd tuff horizons and biozones. A Re-Os date for the proposed type section of the Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian boundary, Staffin Bay, Isle of Skye, U.K., gave an age of 154.1 ± 2.2 Ma. This Re-Os age presents a 45 % (1.8 Ma) improvement in precision for the basal Kimmeridgian. It also demonstrated that the duration of the Kimmeridgian is nominally 3.3 Ma and thus is 1.6 Ma shorter than previously indicated. In

Marine intervals in Neogene fluvial deposits of western Amazonia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boonstra, Melanie; Troelstra, Simon; Lammertsma, Emmy; Hoorn, Carina

2014-05-01

Amazonia is one of the most species rich areas on Earth, but this high diversity is not homogeneous over the entire region. Highest mammal and tree-alpha diversity is found in the fluvio-lacustrine Pebas system, a Neogene wetland associated with rapid radiation of species. The estuarine to marine origin of various modern Amazonian fish, plants, and invertebrates has been associated with past marine ingressions into this freshwater Pebas system. The exact nature and age of these invasions is, however, debated. Here we present new evidence from fluvial and fluvio-lacustrine deposits of Neogene age in southeast Colombia, that point to periods of widespread marine conditions in western Amazonia. Our evidence is based on an analysis of marine palynomorphs, such as organic linings of foraminifera and dinoflagellate cysts, present in dark sandy clay sediments that outcrop along the Caqueta and Amazon rivers. Characteristically, the foraminiferal linings can be assigned to three benthic morphotypes only, e.g. Ammonia, Elphidium and Trochammina. This low diversity assemblage is associated with estuarine/marginal marine conditions. No distinct marine elements such as shelf or planktonic species were encountered. The observed foraminiferal linings and dinocyst assemblages are typical for a (eutrophic) shallow marine environment, suggesting that the Pebas freshwater wetland system occasionally changed to (marginal) marine. Although some reworked elements are found, a typical Neogene dinocyst taxon is commonly found supporting in situ deposition. Sedimentological features typical for tidal conditions that are reported for sites in Peru and northeastern Brazil likely relate to these marine ingressions. Sea level changes as well as foreland basin development related to Andes formation may have facilitated the entry of marine water during the Neogene.

Alluvial to lacustrine sedimentation in an endorheic basin during the Mio-Pliocene: The Toro Negro Formation, Central Andes of Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciccioli, Patricia L.; Marenssi, Sergio A.; Amidon, William H.; Limarino, Carlos O.; Kylander-Clark, Andrew

2018-07-01

A 2400 m-thick sedimentary column belonging to the Toro Negro Formation was recorded along the Quebrada del Yeso, Sierra de Los Colorados (Vinchina Basin), La Rioja province, NW Argentina. The Vinchina basin is a good example of a closed basin surrounded by the Precordillera fold and thrust belt to the west and basement-cored blocks to the north, south (Western Sierras Pampeanas) and east (Sierra de Famatina). Seven facies associations (FA) are described and interpreted to represent fluvial, lacustrine and alluvial environments developed in the southern part of the Vinchina basin from the Late Miocene until the earliest Pleistocene. The depositional evolution of the formation was divided in four phases. Phase I (∼7-6.6 Ma) represents sedimentation in medial (FA I) to distal (FA II) parts of a southward directed distributive fluvial system with a retrogradational pattern. During phase II (6.6-6.1Ma), the distributive fluvial system was replaced by a mixed clastic-evaporitic shallow lake (FA III) in a high aggradational basin. In phase III (∼6.1-5 Ma) the eastward progradation of a fluvial system (FA IV) was recorded as a distal clastic wedge. Finally, phase IV (∼5-2.4Ma) records two depositional cycles of proximal clastic wedge progradation of fluvial-dominated piedmonts (FAV, FAVII) from the southwest (Sierra de Umango) and/or the west (Precordillera) with an intervening playa lake (FA VI). Two new U-Pb ages obtained from zircons in volcanic ash layers confirm the Late Miocene age of the lower member of the Toro Negro Formation and permit a tight correlation with the central part of the basin (Quebrada de La Troya section). The sedimentation rate calculated for the dated lacustrine-fluvial interval is higher than the corresponding one in La Troya area suggesting a higher subsidence in the southern part of the basin. During the Late Miocene (∼7-6.6Ma) the ephemeral drainage was controlled by an arid to semiarid climate and initially dissipated mostly

Deposition and evolution of the Sivas basin evaporites (Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pichat, Alexandre; Hoareau, Guilhem; Rouchy, Jean-Marie; Ribes, Charlotte; Kergaravat, Charlie; Callot, Jean-Paul; Ringenbach, Jean-Claude

2015-04-01

The Oligo-Miocene Sivas basin (Turkey) is strongly affected by salt tectonics, best expressed in its central part. Halokinesis initiated from the Upper Eocene Hafik formation, composed of thick evaporite layers. Salt tectonics induced the formation of numerous mini basins filled with continental to marine deposits, and nowadays separated by diapiric gypsum walls or welds. Continental deposits filling minibasins developed in arid conditions. Minibasin sandstones are frequently interlayered with evaporitic deposits (gypsum and anhydrite). Two types of depositional evaporites can be distinguished: (i) evaporites precipitated in lacustrine to sebkhaic environment, (ii) gypsarenites resulting from clastic gypsum remobilization. Field observations suggest that both types of depositional evaporites were likely sourced from the recycling of adjacent salt structures. Precipitation of lacustro-sebkhaic evaporites may have been triggered by meteoric waters enriched in dissolved sulfate after the chemical dissolution of outcropping evaporites. Gypsarenite deposits can be explained by mechanical dismantling of nearby evaporite structures. Evaporitic deposits were subsequently involved in active salt tectonics. During periods of quiescent diapirism, thick sebkhaic deposits were also deposited in secondary minibasins located on former salt domes. During periods of diapiric growth, linked to regional compressive tectonics, these deposits were then locally deformed and can show strong flowage textures. When rising diapiric evaporites reached the surface, it was also able to mechanically spread out within the minibasins, forming salt glaciers. In this case, if depositional evaporites were overlying the extruded diapir, both diapiric and depositional evaporites were incorporated in salt tectonic structures. Ongoing chemical analysis should help us to precise more accurately the different sources and the dynamics of these multigeneration evaporites.

Palaeoenvironments during MIS 3 and MIS 2 inferred from lacustrine intercalations in the loess-palaeosol sequence at Bobingen (southern Germany)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayr, Christoph; Matzke-Karasz, Renate; Stojakowits, Philipp; Lowick, Sally E.; Zolitschka, Bernd; Heigl, Tanja; Mollath, Richard; Theuerkauf, Marian; Weckend, Marc-Oliver; Bäumler, Rupert; Gregor, Hans-Joachim

2017-12-01

Recently exposed loess-palaeosol sequences in the northern Alpine foreland close to Bobingen (southern Germany) were investigated with a multi-proxy approach combining isotopic, geochemical, lithological, and micropalaeontological methods. Luminescence ages date the sections into the Middle and Upper Würmian periods corresponding to Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2. A gleyic soil horizon at the base was dated to 45 ka and provided a palynoflora dominated by Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Pinus, as well as frequent aquatic taxa. Lacustrine conditions prevailed after the gley formation until 30 ka, providing a comparatively diverse lacustrine fauna dominated by aquatic gastropods and the ostracod species Candona candida. At the transition to the Upper Würm, climatic conditions became harsh, indicated by accelerated deposition of more coarse-grained loess, organic geochemical indicators, and scarceness of biotic remains. Two tundra-gley horizons in the Upper Würm point to short phases of climatic amelioration with higher humidity also evidenced by reoccurrence of ostracod and aquatic gastropod remains. We propose that these climatic ameliorations were coincident with the Greenland interstadials 4 and 2.

Lipid-based palaeotemperature reconstruction in lakes: New insights on the applicability of branched GDGTs in lacustrine sedimentary archives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, Yuki; De Jonge, Cindy; Hopmans, Ellen C.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Gilli, Adrian; Lehmann, Moritz F.; Niemann, Helge

2014-05-01

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are bacterial membrane lipids that occur ubiquitously in soils worldwide. The relative abundances of nine structurally related brGDGTs (used in the MBT and CBT indices) have been shown to correlate with mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and soil pH, making them potential proxies in sediments that receive soil organic matter from terrestrial environments. The brGDGT distributions in lake deposits, however, mostly follow a different correlation with air temperature and (to a minor extent) lake water pH. This points to a substantial contribution of brGDGTs from in situ production within the lake water column and/or -sediments. It is also quite likely that the fractions of soil- and lake-derived brGDGTs vary considerably between sampling sites and with time, due to spatial and temporal changes in sediment input rates. Paleoclimate reconstructions using lacustrine brGDGT records thus remain challenging, especially because little is known about the environmental variables that control bacterial brGDGT production within aquatic environments. In order to decipher the impact of in situ production, we compared the brGDGT composition of surface sediments and corresponding catchment soils of 35 lakes from the Swiss alpine region, spanning an altitudinal gradient from 200 - 2000 m above mean sea level. We used an improved HPLC method to additionally quantify six recently discovered isomers, which vary in the position of their methyl branches. These 6-methyl compounds previously co-eluted with those brGDGTs used to calculate the MBT and CBT indices, obscuring any paleoenvironmental information they potentially yield. A principal component analysis suggests that the fractional abundances of the 6-methyl brGDGTs are primarily controlled by the surface water pH of the lakes. Notably, and in contrast to soils, the fractional abundance of the 5-methyl pentamethylated brGDGT in lake sediments does not show a correlation with

Microbially mediated carbon cycling at the Cenomanian-Turonian transition in lacustrine environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, H.; Zhang, S.; Jiang, G.; Underwood, M.; Wan, X.

2009-12-01

The Late Cretaceous Cenomanian-Turonian (C-T) transition records a major ocean anoxic event (OAE2) and a positive carbon isotope excursion. These events have been documented mostly from marine successions and their expression in terrestrial environments is highly desirable. Here we report a high-resolution organic carbon isotope record across the C-T boundary from the Qingshankou Formation (K2qn) of the terrestrial Songliao Basin (SLB) in northeastern China. Samples were collected from the drilled core (SK-1) and cover the bottom 60 m of the K2qn that has been correlated to the C-T transition using the astronomical time scale. The results show a long-term negative δ13Corg excursion superimposed on short-term δ13Corg cycles. Most δ13Corg cycles have a reverse relationship with total organic carbon (TOC) concentration, except at the beginning and the end of the long-term δ13Corg excursion. Spectral analysis of the δ13Corg, TOC and Gamma Ray Logging curves (GR) reveals three distinct cycle bands with the thickness of 14.5-9.0m, 5.8-3.4m and 2.2-1.5m, which were interpreted as the short eccentricity, obliquity, and precession cycles, respectively. The investigated section recorded about 7 short eccentricity and 39 precession cycles. The reverse relationship between TOC and δ13Corg is inconsistent with the general TOC-δ13Corg pattern seen in most lacustrine environments, in which increasing primary productivity (and thus TOC) in the epilimnion results in higher δ13Corg values. In combination with existing biomarker data from K2qn, the TOC-δ13Corg pattern in SLB is better explained by microbially mediated carbon cycling that is astronomically controlled by the precession cycles. During precession minima (summer insolation maxima) periods, intensified precipitation and increased chemical weathering may have led to sustained eutrophication in SLB and the bloom of chemoautotrophic and methanotrophic organisms in the basin. Significant biomass contribution from

Evidence of orbital forcing in lake-level fluctuations in the Middle Eocene oil shale-bearing lacustrine successions in the Mudurnu-Göynük Basin, NW Anatolia (Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ocakoğlu, F.; Açıkalın, S.; Yılmaz, İ. Ö.; Şafak, Ü.; Gökçeoğlu, C.

2012-08-01

Mudurnu-Göynük basin of the Sakarya Zone in NW Anatolia comprises ca. 1500 m thick Paleocene-Eocene terrestrial to shallow marine succession overlying the Late Cretaceous deeper marine progradational fore-arc sediments. Formed in a foreland setting in relation to southerly situated İzmir-Ankara suture zone, this terrestrial succession (regionally known as Kızılçay group) comprises a thin (<200 m) oil shale-bearing lacustrine section with very good cyclic patterns that potentially serves the quantification of stratigraphy and enlightening the origin of cyclicities of various hierarchy. Our detailed facies analysis on three correlative measured sections showed that mudstone, oil shale and thinner limestone alternations characterize the relatively deeper part of the Eocene lake with probable marine intervention, while thicker limestone, coal, marl and occasional oil shale alternations typify the southern relatively freshwater shoal areas. These facies are frequently organized as meter-scale symmetric to asymmetric transgressive-regressive cycles. Spectral analysis of the mudstone beds and the cycles within the lacustrine succession strongly indicates the occurrence of full bands of Milankovitch with the shortest precession cycle (19 ka) at ca. 2.30 m. Our observations further revealed quite rhythmic thin couplets with estimated durations of 365-730 yr that might represent abrupt climatic changes during deposition. On the other hand, longer duration (ca. 1 Ma) of shoaling and deepening trends in the studied sections were attributed basically to varying subsidence due to tectonic loading in the southerly suture zone. Lastly, regarding the distribution of depositional environments we propose that the oil shale exploration activities should be carried out within a 20 km wide E-W running belt while the southern limits of this belt is more prolific for coal resources.

Tectonic and climatic controls on continental depositional facies in the Karoo Basin of northern Natal, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner, Brian R.

1986-02-01

The eastern Karoo Basin, South Africa, contains a thick sequence of terrigenous clastic sediments comprising a meanderbelt facies, braided channel facies divided into coarse and fine subfacies, fluviolacustrine facies and aeolian facies. Depositional trends and changes in fluvial style reflect a progressive increase in aridity of the climate under stable tectonic conditions, interrupted by two phases of source area tectonism and the development of fine and coarse clastic wedges of the braided channel subfacies; the latter signifying a short interlude of cool, wet conditions. The fine braided channel subfacies occurs in the upper part of the meanderbelt facies, which was deposited by ephemeral, meandering mixed-load streams of variable discharge and sinuosity, under dry, semi-arid climatic conditions. These deposited complex, internally discordant channel sands and well-developed levee deposits. Following deposition of the coarse braided channel subfacies semi-arid conditions returned and fluvial deposition was dominated by ephemeral, straight to slightly sinuous mixed load streams characterised by simple channel sand bodies. As the aridity of the climate increased, the streams became more localised and carried an increasing proportion of fines. Interbedded with and overlying the fluvial deposits is a mudstone-dominated lacustrine sequence grading up into aeolian sands suggesting a playa lake-type situation. The general absence of evaporites from these sediments is attributed to the fresh nature of the lake waters, as evidenced by the freshwater aquatic organisms and clay-mineral suite, the lack of adequate inflow for solute accumulation and the removal of dust impregnated by salts from the surface of the dry lake bed during the dry season by superheated, upward-spiralling columns of air. Broadly similar environments to the fluvio-lacustrine and aeolian facies sequence are to be found in the Lake Eyre Basin of central Australia and the Okavango "delta" of northern

Are watershed and lacustrine controls on planktonic N2 fixation hierarchically structured?

PubMed

Scott, J Thad; Doyle, Robert D; Prochnow, Shane J; White, Joseph D

2008-04-01

N2 fixation can be an important source of N to limnetic ecosystems and can influence the structure of phytoplankton communities. However, watershed-scale conditions that favor N2 fixation in lakes and reservoirs have not been well studied. We measured N2 fixation and lacustrine variables monthly over a 19-month period in Waco Reservoir, Texas, USA, and linked these data with nutrient-loading estimates from a physically based watershed model. Readily available topographic, soil, land cover, effluent discharge, and climate data were used in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to derive watershed nutrient-loading estimates. Categorical and regression tree (CART) analysis revealed that lacustrine and watershed correlates of N2 fixation were hierarchically structured. Lacustrine conditions showed greater predictive capability temporally. For instance, low NO3(-) concentration (<25 microg N/L) and high water temperatures (>27 degrees C) in the reservoir were correlated with the initiation of N2 fixation seasonally. When lacustrine conditions were favorable for N2 fixation, watershed conditions appeared to influence spatial patterns of N2 fixation within the reservoir. For example, spatially explicit patterns of N2 fixation were correlated with the ratio of N:P in nutrient loadings and the N loading rate, which were driven by anthropogenic activity in the watershed and periods of low stream flow, respectively. Although N2 fixation contributed <5% of the annual N load to the reservoir, 37% of the N load was derived from atmospheric N2 fixation during summertime when stream flow in the watershed was low. This study provides evidence that watershed anthropogenic activity can exert control on planktonic N2 fixation, but that temporality is controlled by lacustrine conditions. Furthermore, this study also supports suggestions that reduced inflows may increase the propensity of N2-fixing cyanobacterial blooms in receiving waters of anthropogenically modified landscapes.

Geomorphic Drainage Capture Recorded by Oxygen Isotopes of Green River Formation Lacustrine Mudstone, Eocene, Wyoming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doebbert, A. C.; Booth, A. L.; Carroll, A.; Chamberlain, C.; Rhodes, M.

2005-12-01

The isotopic composition of cement and other meteoric precipitates are increasingly being used to interpret orogenic uplift histories, based on the relationship between altitude and rainwater δ18O. However, other variables such as changing regional drainage patterns may also affect the downstream composition of surface waters, especially when multiple drainages commingle in a lake. The Green River Formation contains some of the best documented lacustrine deposits in the world, making it ideal for examining such issues. Carbonate mudstone in balanced-fill facies of the lower LaClede Bed averages 3.41‰ (PDB), and records a deep, saline to brackish lake that fluctuated near its sill. In contrast, overfilled facies of the upper LaClede Bed record a freshwater lake, and δ18O reaches values as low as -9.72‰. This transition occurred shortly after deposition of the Analcite Tuff at 48.94 ± 0.12 Ma (Smith et al., 2003), and was geologically abrupt. Based on 40Ar/39Ar-calibrated sediment accumulation rates it required no more than 200-300 ky. An almost identical transition occurs in two cores separated by about 30 km, making local diagenesis an unlikely cause. The magnitude of δ18O change is similar to that in some uplift studies, but its rapidity virtually excludes uplift as a controlling mechanism. Instead, we propose that both the change in sedimentation and the sharp decrease in δ18O are the result of a drainage capture event. The addition of a new drainage to the basin may have adjusted isotopic values in two ways: by introducing runoff with relatively low δ18O, and by decreasing residence time (and therefore evaporation) of lake water. Decreasing 87Sr/86Sr across the same transition suggests that the newly added waters may have been sourced from rising volcanic topography to the north in the Absaroka province. Although this rising topography allows for the possibility of some uplift component, the rate of change in lacustrine δ18O is consistent with

Grain size statistics and depositional pattern of the Ecca Group sandstones, Karoo Supergroup in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baiyegunhi, Christopher; Liu, Kuiwu; Gwavava, Oswald

2017-11-01

Grain size analysis is a vital sedimentological tool used to unravel the hydrodynamic conditions, mode of transportation and deposition of detrital sediments. In this study, detailed grain-size analysis was carried out on thirty-five sandstone samples from the Ecca Group in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Grain-size statistical parameters, bivariate analysis, linear discriminate functions, Passega diagrams and log-probability curves were used to reveal the depositional processes, sedimentation mechanisms, hydrodynamic energy conditions and to discriminate different depositional environments. The grain-size parameters show that most of the sandstones are very fine to fine grained, moderately well sorted, mostly near-symmetrical and mesokurtic in nature. The abundance of very fine to fine grained sandstones indicate the dominance of low energy environment. The bivariate plots show that the samples are mostly grouped, except for the Prince Albert samples that show scattered trend, which is due to the either mixture of two modes in equal proportion in bimodal sediments or good sorting in unimodal sediments. The linear discriminant function analysis is dominantly indicative of turbidity current deposits under shallow marine environments for samples from the Prince Albert, Collingham and Ripon Formations, while those samples from the Fort Brown Formation are lacustrine or deltaic deposits. The C-M plots indicated that the sediments were deposited mainly by suspension and saltation, and graded suspension. Visher diagrams show that saltation is the major process of transportation, followed by suspension.

Depositional environment and sedimentary of the basinal sediments in the Eibiswalder Bucht (Radl Formation and Lower Eibiswald Beds), Miocene Western Styrian Basin, Austria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stingl, K.

1994-12-01

The Eibiswald Bucht is a small subbasin of the Western Styrian Basin exposing sediments of Lower Miocene age. In the past the entire sequence exposed in the Eibiswalder Bucht has been interpreted as being of fluvial/lacustrine origin; here, results are presented of detailed sedimentological investigations that lead to a revision of this concept. The lowermost siliciclastic sedimentary unit of the Eibiswalder Bucht sequence is the Radl Formation. It is overlain by the Eibiswald Beds, which are subdivided into the Lower, Middle and Upper Eibiswald Beds. The Radl Formation and the Lower Eibiswald Beds are interpreted as a fan delta complex deposited along NNW-SSE striking faults. Based on the sedimentary facies this fan delta can be subdivided into a subaerial alluvial fan facies group, a proximal delta facies group and a distal delta/prodelta facies group. The Radl Formation comprises the alluvial fan and proximal delta facies groups, the Lower Eibiswald Beds the distal delta/prodelta facies group. The alluvial fan and the proximal delta consist of diverse deposits of gravelly flows. The distal delta/prodelta consists of wave-reworked, bioturbated, low density turbidites intercalated with minor gravelly mass flows. The prodelta can be regarded as as the basin facies of the small and shallow Eibiswalder Bucht, where marine conditions prevailed. The basin was probably in part connected with the Eastern Styrian Basin, the contemporary depositional environment of the Styrian Schlier (mainly turbiditic marine offshore sediments in the Eastern Styrian Basin). Analysis of the clast composition, in conjunction with the paleotransport direction of the coarse delta mass flows of the Radl Formation, shows that the source rocks were exclusively crystalline rocks ranging from greenschists to eclogites.

Glaciolacustrine deposits formed in an ice-dammed tributary valley in the south-central Pyrenees: New evidence for late Pleistocene climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sancho, Carlos; Arenas, Concha; Pardo, Gonzalo; Peña-Monné, José Luis; Rhodes, Edward J.; Bartolomé, Miguel; García-Ruiz, José M.; Martí-Bono, Carlos

2018-04-01

Combined geomorphic features, stratigraphic characteristics and sedimentologic interpretation, coupled with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates, of a glacio-fluvio-lacustrine sequence (Linás de Broto, northern Spain) provide new information to understand the palaeoenvironmental significance of dynamics of glacier systems in the south-central Pyrenees during the Last Glacial Cycle (≈130 ka to 14 ka). The Linás de Broto depositional system consisted of a proglacial lake fed primarily by meltwater streams emanating from the small Sorrosal glacier and dammed by a lateral moraine of the Ara trunk glacier. The resulting glacio-fluvio-lacustrine sequence, around 55 m thick, is divided into five lithological units consisting of braided fluvial (gravel deposits), lake margin (gravel and sand deltaic deposits) and distal lake (silt and clay laminites) facies associations. Evolution of the depositional environment reflects three phases of progradation of a high-energy braided fluvial system separated by two phases of rapid expansion of the lake. Fluvial progradation occurred during short periods of ice melting. Lake expansion concurred with ice-dam growth of the trunk glacier. The first lake expansion occurred over a time range between 55 ± 9 ka and 49 ± 11 ka, and is consistent with the age of the Viu lateral moraine (49 ± 8 ka), which marks the maximum areal extent of the Ara glacier during the Last Glacial Cycle. These dates confirm that the maximum areal extent of the glacier occurred during Marine Isotope Stages 4 and 3 in the south-central Pyrenees, thus before the Last Glacial Maximum. The evolution of the Linás de Broto depositional system during this maximum glacier extent was modulated by climate oscillations in the northern Iberian Peninsula, probably related to latitudinal shifts of the atmospheric circulation in the southern North-Atlantic Ocean, and variations in summer insolation intensity.

Subsurface geology of the late Tertiary and Quaternary water-bearing deposits of the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Croft, M.G.

1972-01-01

The study area, which includes about 5,000 square miles of the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley, is a broad structural trough of mostly interior drainage. The Sierra Nevada on the east is composed of consolidated igneous and metamorphic rocks of pre-Tertiary age. The surface of these rocks slopes 4?-6? southwestward from the foothills and underlies the valley. The Coast Ranges on the west consist mostly of complexly folded and faulted consolidated marine and nonmarine sedimentary rocks of Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary age, which dip eastward and overlie the basement complex. Unconsolidated deposits, of late Pliocene to Holocene age, blanket the underlying consolidated rocks in the valley and are the source of most of the fresh ground water. The unconsolidated deposits, the subject of this report, are divided into informal stratigraphic units on the basis of source of sediment, environment of deposition, and texture. Flood-basin, lacustrine, and marsh deposits are fine grained and underlie the valley trough. They range in age from late Pliocene to Holocene. These deposits, consisting of nearly impermeable gypsiferous fine sand, silt, and clay, are more than 3,000 feet thick beneath parts of Tulare Lake bed. In other parts of the trough, flood-basin, lacustrine, and marsh deposits branch into clayey or silty clay tongues designated by the letter symbols A to F. Three of these tongues, the E, C, and A clays, lie beneath large areas of the southern part of the valley. The E clay includes the Corcoran Clay Member of the Tulare Formation, the most extensive hydrologic confining layer in the valley. The E clay underlies about 3,500 square miles of bottom land and western slopes. The beds generally are dark-greenish-gray mostly diatomaceous silty clay of Pleistocene age. Marginally, the unit bifurcates into an upper and a lower stratum that contains thin beds of moderately yellowish-brown silt and sand. The E clay is warped into broad, gentle northwesterly

Impacts of shore expansion and catchment characteristics on lacustrine thermokarst records in permafrost lowlands, Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lenz, Josefine; Jones, Benjamin M.; Wetterich, Sebastian; Tjallingii, Rik; Fritz, Michael; Arp, Christopher D.; Rudaya, Natalia; Grosse, Guido

2016-01-01

Arctic lowland landscapes have been modified by thermokarst lake processes throughout the Holocene. Thermokarst lakes form as a result of ice-rich permafrost degradation, and they may expand over time through thermal and mechanical shoreline erosion. We studied proximal and distal sedimentary records from a thermokarst lake located on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska to reconstruct the impact of catchment dynamics and morphology on the lacustrine depositional environment and to quantify carbon accumulation in thermokarst lake sediments. Short cores were collected for analysis of pollen, sedimentological, and geochemical proxies. Radiocarbon and 210Pb/137Cs dating, as well as extrapolation of measured historic lake expansion rates, were applied to estimate a minimum lake age of ~1400 calendar years BP. The pollen record is in agreement with the young lake age as it does not include evidence of the “alder high” that occurred in the region ~4000 cal yr BP. The lake most likely initiated from a remnant pond in a drained thermokarst lake basin (DTLB) and deepened rapidly as evidenced by accumulation of laminated sediments. Increasing oxygenation of the water column as shown by higher Fe/Ti and Fe/S ratios in the sediment indicate shifts in ice regime with increasing water depth. More recently, the sediment source changed as the thermokarst lake expanded through lateral permafrost degradation, alternating from redeposited DTLB sediments, to increased amounts of sediment from eroding, older upland deposits, followed by a more balanced combination of both DTLB and upland sources. The characterizing shifts in sediment sources and depositional regimes in expanding thermokarst lakes were, therefore, archived in the thermokarst lake sedimentary record. This study also highlights the potential for Arctic lakes to recycle old carbon from thawing permafrost and thermokarst processes.

Stratigraphy of the layered terrain in Valles Marineris, Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komatsu, G.; Strom, Roger G.

1991-01-01

The layered terrain in Valles Marineris provides information about its origin and the geologic history of this canyon system. Whether the terrain is sedimentary material deposited in a dry or lacustrine environment, or volcanic material related to the tectonics of the canyon is still controversial. However, recent studies of Gangis Layered Terrain suggests a cyclic sequence of deposition and erosion under episodic lacustrine conditions. The stratigraphic studies are extended to four other occurrences of layered terrains in Valles Marineris in an attempt to correlate and distinguish between depositional environments. The Juvantae Chasma, Hebes Chasma, Ophir and Candor Chasmata, Melas Chasma, and Gangis Layered Terrain were examined. Although there are broad similarities among the layered terrains, no two deposits are exactly alike. This suggests that there was no synchronized regional depositional processes to form all the layered deposits. However, the similar erosional style of the lower massive weakly bedded unit in Hebes, Gangis, and Ophir-Candor suggests it may have been deposited under similar circumstances.

Unique phenomenon of the accumulation of terrestrial metal iron particles in lacustrine deposits: Zhombolok volcanic region, East Sayan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pechersky, D. M.; Kazanskii, A. Yu.; Markov, G. P.; Tselmovich, V. A.; Shchetnikov, A. A.

2018-01-01

The native iron particles that were previously detected by thermomagnetic and microprobe analyses in the sediments of different age in many regions of the world are of extraterrestrial origin. The similarity in the compositions, grain shapes, and sizes observed in the extraterrestrial and terrestrial particles of native iron testifies to the common production conditions of iron particles during the formation of planets. In this paper, the single finding of terrestrial iron in the lacustrine sediments of the Zhombolok volcanic region, East Sayan, is discussed. The uniqueness of the results indicates that the spatial distribution of the particles of native iron is limited to a fairly narrow area around their source—volcanic eruption or/and the fall of a large meteorite.

Lakes or wetlands? A comment on 'The middle Holocene climatic records from Arabia: Reassessing lacustrine environments, shift of ITCZ in Arabian Sea, and impacts of the southwest Indian and African monsoons' by Enzel et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engel, Max; Matter, Albert; Parker, Adrian G.; Parton, Ash; Petraglia, Michael D.; Preston, Gareth W.; Preusser, Frank

2017-01-01

Enzel et al. (2015) reassess sedimentary records of Early to Mid-Holocene lake sites in Arabia based on a reinterpretation of published multiproxy data and a qualitative analysis of satellite imagery. The authors conclude that these sites represent palaeo-wetland environments rather than palaeolakes and that the majority of the Arabian Peninsula experienced no or, if at all, only a very minor increase of rainfall at that time mainly due to eastward expansion of the East African Summer Monsoon. We disagree with their reassessment and identify several cases where unequivocal evidence for early Late Pleistocene and Early to Mid-Holocene perennial lake environments in Arabia, lasting for centuries to millennia, was neglected by Enzel et al. (2015). Here we summarize findings which indicate the presence of lakes from the sites of Jubbah, Tayma, Mundafan (all Saudi Arabia), Wahalah, Awafi (both UAE), and the Wahiba Sands (Oman), supported by evidence including occurrence of barnacle colonies in living position, remnant bioclastic shoreline deposits, undisturbed varve formation, shallowing-up lacustrine sequences, various aquatic freshwater, brackish and saline micro- and macrofossils, such as ichnofaunal remains, which are the result of prolonged field-based research. While the precise depth, hydrology and ecology of these water bodies is still not entirely resolved, their perennial nature is indicative of a markedly increased precipitation regime, which, in combination with more abundant groundwater and increased spring outflow in terminal basins fed by charged aquifers, was sufficient to overcome evaporative losses. The palaeolakes' influence on sustaining prehistoric populations is corroborated by the presence of rich archaeological evidence.

Facies analysis, depositional environments and paleoclimate of the Cretaceous Bima Formation in the Gongola Sub - Basin, Northern Benue Trough, NE Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shettima, B.; Abubakar, M. B.; Kuku, A.; Haruna, A. I.

2018-01-01

Facies analysis of the Cretaceous Bima Formation in the Gongola Sub -basin of the Northern Benue Trough northeastern Nigeria indicated that the Lower Bima Member is composed of alluvial fan and braided river facies associations. The alluvial fan depositional environment dominantly consists of debris flow facies that commonly occur as matrix supported conglomerate. This facies is locally associated with grain supported conglomerate and mudstone facies, representing sieve channel and mud flow deposits respectively, and these deposits may account for the proximal alluvial fan region of the Lower Bima Member. The distal fan facies were represented by gravel-bed braided river system of probably Scot - type model. This grade into sandy braided river systems with well developed floodplains facies, forming probably at the lowermost portion of the alluvial fan depositional gradient, where it inter-fingers with basinal facies. In the Middle Bima Member, the facies architecture is dominantly suggestive of deep perennial sand-bed braided river system with thickly developed amalgamated trough crossbedded sandstone facies fining to mudstone. Couplets of shallow channels are also locally common, attesting to the varying topography of the basin. The Upper Bima Member is characterized by shallow perennial sand-bed braided river system composed of successive succession of planar and trough crossbedded sandstone facies associations, and shallower channels of the flashy ephemeral sheetflood sand - bed river systems defined by interbedded succession of small scale trough crossbedded sandstone facies and parallel laminated sandstone facies. The overall stacking pattern of the facies succession of the Bima Formation in the Gongola Sub - basin is generally thinning and fining upwards cycles, indicating scarp retreat and deposition in a relatively passive margin setting. Dominance of kaolinite in the clay mineral fraction of the Bima Formation points to predominance of humid sub - tropical

Luminescence dating of the lacustrine record of Vršac (Carpathian Basin, Serbia) - implications for a palaeoenvironmetal reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klasen, N.; Zeeden, C.; Markovic, S.; Fischer, P.; Lehmkuhl, F.; Schulte, P.; Bösken, J.; Hambach, U.; Vött, A.

2017-12-01

The Carpathian Basin is one of the key areas to investigate the influence of the continental, Mediterranean and Atlantic climate interaction over Europe. The available Upper Pleistocene and Holocene geoarchives in the region are mainly loess-paleosol records. Long lacustrine records are sparse and do not always span the whole last glacial cycle. In the area around Vršac, we drilled a 10 m core to contribute to the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Carpathian Basin. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) was used to find the best-suited drilling location. We applied luminescence and radiocarbon dating, because a robust chronology is important for the interpretation of the sedimentary record. Pulsed OSL measurements were carried out to identify the best sampling positions. We expect runoff from the catchment being the main source of the lacustrine sediments, because coarse fluvial input is absent. Knowledge about the depositional conditions is important in luminescence dating to evaluate partial bleaching prior to deposition, which may cause age overestimation. Therefore, we compared infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signals with post infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) signals, which bleach at different rates. Estimation of a representative water content has major influence on the age estimate, but remains challenging in luminescence dating. We measured the present day water content as well as the saturation water content, to account for variations over time. Luminescence and radiocarbon ages differ greatly from each other. According to the laboratory experiments, luminescence dating was reliable and we conclude that radiocarbon ages were underestimated because of an intrusion of younger organic material. The initial results demonstrated the potential of the drill core. Integrating more proxy data will be useful to enhance the importance of the geoarchive at Vršac for a better understanding of the last glacial cycle in the Carpathian

Distinguishing megathrust from intraplate earthquakes using lacustrine turbidites (Laguna Lo Encañado, Central Chile)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Daele, Maarten; Araya-Cornejo, Cristian; Pille, Thomas; Meyer, Inka; Kempf, Philipp; Moernaut, Jasper; Cisternas, Marco

2017-04-01

One of the main challenges in seismically active regions is differentiating paleo-earthquakes resulting from different fault systems, such as the megathrust versus intraplate faults in subductions settings. Such differentiation is, however, key for hazard assessments based on paleoseismic records. Laguna Lo Encañado (33.7°S; 70.3°W; 2492 m a.s.l.) is located in the Central Chilean Andes, 50 km east of Santiago de Chile, a metropole with about 7,000,000 inhabitants. During the last century the study area experienced 3 large megathrust earthquakes (1906, 1985 and 2010) and 2 intraplate earthquakes (1945 and 1958) (Lomnitz, 1960). While the megathrust earthquakes cause Modified Mercalli Intensities (MMIs) of VI to VII at the lake (Van Daele et al., 2015), the intraplate earthquakes cause peak MMIs up to IX (Sepúlveda et al., 2008). Here we present a turbidite record of Laguna Lo Encañado going back to 1900 AD. While geophysical data (3.5 kHz subbottom seismic profiles and side-scan sonar data) provides a bathymetry and an overview of the sedimentary environment, we study 15 short cores in order to understand the depositional processes resulting in the encountered lacustrine turbidites. All mentioned earthquakes triggered turbidites in the lake, which are all linked to slumps in proximal areas, and are thus resulting from mass wasting of the subaquatic slopes. However, turbidites linked to the intraplate earthquakes are additionally covered by turbidites of a finer-grained, more clastic nature. We link the latter to post-seismic erosion of onshore landslides, which need higher MMIs to be triggered than subaquatic mass movements (Howarth et al., 2014). While intraplate earthquakes can cause MMIs up to IX and higher, megathrust earthquakes do not cause sufficiently high MMIs at the lake to trigger voluminous onshore landslides. Hence, the presence of these post-seismic turbidites allows to distinguish turbidites triggered by intraplate earthquakes from those

Grain-Scale Analyses of Curiosity Data at Marias Pass, Gale Crater, Mars: Methods Comparison and Depositional Interpretation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sacks, L. E.; Edgar, L. A.; Edwards, C. S.; Anderson, R. B.

2016-12-01

Images acquired by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) and the ChemCam Remote Micro Imager (RMI) onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover provide grain-scale data that are critical for interpreting sedimentary deposits. At the location informally known as Marias Pass, Curiosity used both cameras to image the nine rock targets used in this study. We used manual point-counts to measure grain size distributions from those images to compare the abilities of the two cameras. The manually derived results were compared to automated grain size data obtained using pyDGS (Digital Grain Size), an open-source python program. Grain size analyses were used to test the lacustrine and aeolian depositional hypotheses for the Murray and Stimson formations at Marias Pass. Results indicate that the MAHLI and RMI instruments, despite their different fields of view and properties, provide comparable grain size measurements. Additionally, pyDGS does not account for grains smaller than a few pixels and thus does not report representative grain size data and should not be used on images with a large fraction of unresolved grains. Finally, the data collected at Marias Pass are consistent with the existing interpretations of the Murray and Stimson formations. The fine-grained results of the Murray formation analyses support lacustrine deposition, while the mean grain size of the Stimson formation is fine to medium sized sand, consistent with aeolian deposition. However, directly above the contact with the Murray formation, larger rip-up clasts of the Murray formation are present in the Stimson formation. It is possible that water was involved at this stage of erosion and re-deposition, prior to aeolian deposition. Additionally, the grain-scale analyses conducted in this study show that the Dust Removal Tool on Curiosity should be used prior to capturing images for grain-scale analysis. Two images of the target informally named Ronan, taken before and after brushing, resulted

Anatomy of major coal successions: Facies analysis and sequence architecture of a brown coal-bearing valley fill to lacustrine tract (Upper Valdarno Basin, Northern Apennines, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ielpi, Alessandro

2012-07-01

A late Pliocene incised valley fill to lacustrine succession, which contains an interbedded brown coal seam (< 20 m thick), is examined in terms of facies analysis, physical stratigraphy and sequence architecture. The succession (< 50 m thick) constitutes the first depositional event of the Castelnuovo Synthem, which is the oldest unconformity bounded stratigraphic unit of the nonmarine Upper Valdarno Basin, Northern Apennines (Italy). The integration of field surveys and borehole logs identified the following event sequence: first valley filling stages by coarse alluvial fan and channelised streams; the progressive setting of low gradient floodbasins with shallow floodplain lakes; subsequent major waterlogging and extensive peat mire development; and system drowning and establishment of permanent lacustrine conditions. The deposits are grouped in a set of nested valley fills and are arranged as high-frequency depositional sequences. The sequences are bounded by minor erosive truncations and have distinctive upward trends: lowstand system tract thinning; transgressive system tract thickening; highstand system tract thinning and eventual non-deposition; and the smoothing of along-sequence boundary sub-aerial incisions. Such features fit in with the notion of an idealised model where second-order (high-frequency) fluctuations, modulated by first-order (low-frequency) base-level rising, have short-lived standing + falling phases and prolonged transgressions, respectively. Furthermore, the general sequence architecture reveals how a mixed palustrine-siliciclastic system differs substantially from a purely siliciclastic one. In the transgressive phases, terrigenous starvation induces prevailing peat accumulation, generating abnormally thick transgressive system tracts that eventually come to occupy much of the same transgression-generated accommodation space. In the highstand phases, the development of thick highstand system tracts is then prevented by sediment upstream

Descriptive and grade-tonnage models of volcanogenic manganese deposits in oceanic environments; a modification

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mosier, Dan L.; Page, Norman J

1988-01-01

Four types of volcanogenic manganese deposits, distinguished on the basis of geologic, geochemical, and geophysical characteristics, appear to result from a combination of volcanic and hydrothermal processes related to hot-spring activity in oceanic environments. We compare these four desposit types, here called the Franciscan, Cuban, Olympic Peninsula, and Cyprus, with respect to host rocks, associated rocks, minerals, deposit shape, dimensions, volume, tonnage, grade, and mineral-deposit density (number of deposits per unit area). Franciscan-type deposits occur in obducted oceanic ridge and backarc marginal-basin environments, are associated with chert, shale, and graywacke aroun the margins of mafic volcanic centers, and have a median tonnage of 450 t and median grades of 36 weight percent Mn and less than 5.1 weight percent Fe. Cuban-type deposits occur in island-arc environments, are associated with tuff and limestone around domal structures or intrusions inferred to be volcanic centers, and have a median tonnage of 6,400 t and median grades of 39 weight percent Mn and less than 4.4 weight percent Fe. Olympic Peninsula-type deposits occur in obducted oceanic midplate settings, are associated with argillaceous limestone, argillite, and graywacke around mafic volcanic centers (seamounts or islands), and have a median tonnage of 340 t and median grades of 35 weight percent Mn and less than 6.5 weight percent Fe. Cyprus-type deposits occur in the same tectonic environments as Franciscan type but are associated with basalt, marl, chalk, silt, and chert off the ridge-axis position and have a median tonnage of 41,000 t and median grades of 33 weight percent Fe and 8 weight percent Mn. All these deposits are thin ellipsoids, concordant to the host rocks, but Cyprus-and Cuban-type deposits are larger than Franciscan- and Olympic Peninsula-type deposits. Except for Cyprus-type deposits, which are manganiferous iron (umber) deposits composed of hydrated iron and

Impact Crater Deposits in the Martian Highlands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mest, S. C.; Crown, D. a.

2005-01-01

The martian highlands of Noachis Terra (20-30 deg S, 20-50 deg E), Tyrrhena Terra (0-30 deg S, 50- 100 deg E) and Terra Cimmeria (0-60 deg S, 120-170 deg E) preserve long and complex histories of degradation, but the relative effects of such factors as fluvial, eolian, and mass wasting processes have not been well constrained. The effects of this degradation are best observed on large (D greater than 10 km) impact craters that characterize the ancient highlands. Some craters exhibit distinct interior deposits, but precise origins of these deposits are enigmatic; infilling may occur by sedimentary (e.g., fluvial, lacustrine, eolian), mass wasting and (or) volcanic processes.

The Mount Edgecumbe tephra deposits, a marker horizon in southeastern Alaska near the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Riehle, J.R.; Mann, D.H.; Peteet, D.M.; Engstrom, D.R.; Brew, D.A.; Meyer, C.E.

1992-01-01

Late Pleistocene tephra deposits found from Sitka to Juneau and Lituya Bay are assigned to a source at the Mount Edgecumbe volcanic field, based on similarity of glass compositions to nearvent deposits and on thinning away from Kruzof Island. The sequence of near-vent layers is basaltic andesite and andesite at the base, rhyolite, and mixed dacite and rhyolite on top. The only breaks in the tephra sequence are two 1-mm-thick silt partings in a lake-sediment core, indicating a depositional interval from basaltic andesite to dacite of no more than about a millennium. Tephra deposits at sites >30 km from the vent are solely dacite and rhyolite and are 10,600 to 11,400 14C yr old based on interpretation of 18 radiocarbon ages, including 5 by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Basaltic andesite and andesite deposits nearer the vent are as much as 12,000 yr old. Discrepancy among radiocarbon ages of upland tephra deposits provisionally correlated as the same grainfall is resolvable within ??2 ?? of analytical uncertainty. Comparison of bulk and AMS ages in one sediment core indicates a systematic bias of +600 to +1100 yr for the bulk ages; correlation of tephra deposits among upland and lacustrine sites implies an additional discrepancy of 200-400 yr between upland (relatively too young) and lacustrine ages. In any case, the Mount Edgecumbe tephra deposits are a widespread, latest Pleistocene stratigraphic marker that serves to emphasize the uncertainty in dating biogenic material from southeastern Alaska. ?? 1992.

Geology and mineral deposits of Churchill County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Willden, Ronald; Speed, Robert C.

1974-01-01

Churchill County, in west-central Nevada, is an area of varied topography and geology that has had a rather small total mineral production. The western part of the county is dominated by the broad low valley of the Carson Sink, which is underlain by deposits of Lake Lahontan. The bordering mountain ranges to the west and south are of low relief and underlain largely by Tertiary volcanic and sedimentary units. Pre-Tertiary rocks are extensively exposed east of the Carson Sink in the Stillwater Range, Clan Alpine Mountains, Augusta Mountains, and New Pass Mountains. The eastern valleys are underlain by Quaternary alluvial and lacustrine deposits contemporaneous with the western deposits of Lake Lahontan. The eastern mountain ranges are more rugged than the western ranges and have higher relief; the eastern valleys are generally narrower.

Trace fossils from Jurassic lacustrine turbidites of the Anyao Formation (Central China) and their environmental and evolutionary significance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buatois, Luis A.; Mángano, M. Gabriela; Wu, Xiantao; Zhang, Guocheng

1996-01-01

The Lower Jurassic Anyao Formation crops out near Jiyuan city, western Henan Province, central China. It is part of the infill of the nonmarine early Mesozoic Jiyuan‐Yima Basin. In the Jiyuan section, this unit is about 100 m thick and consists of laterally persistent, thin and thick‐bedded turbidite sandstones and mudstones displaying complete and base‐or top‐absent Bouma sequences, and thick‐bedded massive sandstones. The Anyao Formation records sedimentation within a lacustrine turbidite system developed in a pull‐apart basin. Processes involved include high and low density turbidity currents, sometimes affected by liquefaction or fluidization. Facies analysis suggests that this succession is formed by stacked aggradational turbidite lobes. The absence of thick mudstone packages indicates that background sedimentation was subordinate to high frequency turbidite deposition.The Anyao Formation hosts a moderately diverse ichnofauna preserved as hypichnial casts on the soles of thin‐bedded turbidite sandstones. The ichnofauna consists of Cochlichnus anguineus, Hel‐minthoidichnites tenuis, Helminthopsis abeli, H. hieroglyphica, Mono‐morphichnus lineatus, Paracanthorhaphe togwunia, Tuberculichnus vagans, Vagorichnus anyao, tiny grazing trails, and irregularly branching burrows. Vagorichnus anyao occurs not only as a discrete trace, but also as a compound ichnotaxon intergrading with Gordia marina and Tuberculichnus vagans. Both predepositional and post‐depositional traces are present on the soles of turbidites.This ichnofauna comprises both feeding and grazing traces produced by a deposit‐feeding lacustrine benthic biota. Crawling traces are rare. Although certain ichnofossils (e.g. V. anyao, P. togwunia) show overall similarities with deep‐sea agrichnia, they differ in reflecting remarkably less specialized feeding strategies, displaying overcrossing between specimens (and to a lesser extent, self‐crossing), and in the case of V�

Sedimentary architecture and depositional environment of Kudat Formation, Sabah, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghaheri, Samira; Suhaili, Mohd; Sapari, Nasiman; Momeni, Mohammadsadegh

2017-12-01

Kudat Formation originated from deep marine environment. Three lithofacies association of deep marine turbidity channel was discovered in three Members of the Kudat Formation in Kudat Peninsula, Sabah, Malaysia. Turbidite and deep marine architecture elements was described based on detailed sedimentological studies. Four architecture elements were identified based on each facies association and their lithology properties and character: inner external levee that was formed by turbidity flows spill out from their confinement of channel belt; Lobes sheet that was formed during downslope debris flows associated with levee; Channel fill which sediments deposited from high to low density currents with different value of sediment concentration; and overbank terrace which was formed by rapid suspension sedimentation. The depositional environment of Kudat Formation is shelf to deep marine fan.

Soft sediment deformation structures in a lacustrine sedimentary succession induced by volcano-tectonic activities: An example from the Cretaceous Beolgeumri Formation, Wido Volcanics, Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ko, Kyoungtae; Kim, Sung Won; Lee, Hong-Jin; Hwang, In Gul; Kim, Bok Chul; Kee, Won-Seo; Kim, Young-Seog; Gihm, Yong Sik

2017-08-01

The Cretaceous Beolgeumri Formation is composed of laminated mudstones intercalated with sandstones, chert, and a bed of lapilli tuff that were deposited in a lacustrine environment at the terminal part of a regional strike-slip fault systems on the southwestern Korean Peninsula. The Beolgeumri Formation contains various types of soft sediment deformation (SSD) structures that are characterized by a wide extent (< 4 km), lateral continuity (< 200 m), and vertical repetition. The SSD structures can be classified into six categories based on their morphological features and deformation styles: 1) fold structures, 2) load structures, 3) water-escape structures, 4) rip-down structures, 5) boudin structures, and 6) synsedimentary fault structures. Field examination of SSD structures together with an analysis of the sedimentological records of the Beolgeumri Formation indicate that the SSD structures formed largely by liquefaction and/or fluidization triggered by ground shaking during earthquakes. To constrain the timing of the development of SSD structures in the Beolgeumri Formation, we conducted sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) U-Pb zircon age dating of block sized lithic clasts bearing volcaniclastic deposits that conformably underlie (the Mangryeongbong Tuff) and overlie (the Ttandallae Tuff) the Beolgeumri Formation. The Mangryeongbong and Ttandallae Tuffs have ages of 86.63 ± 0.83 Ma and 87.24 ± 0.36 Ma, respectively, indicating that the Beolgeumri Formation was deposited during a short interval between major volcanic eruptions. The large lithic clasts of volcaniclastic deposits suggest that the Beolgeumri Formation was deposited adjacent to an active volcanic edifice(s). Syndepositional magmatic activities are suggested by the occurrence of a lapilli tuff bed in the Beolgeumri Formation and an igneous intrusion (intermediate sill) that is crosscut by a sand dike, as well as the similar age results of the underlying and overlying volcaniclastic

Microbial Fossilization in Mineralizing Environments: Relevance for Mars "EXOPALEONTOLOGY"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farmer, Jack D.; DesMarais, David J.; Morrison, David (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The goals of post-Viking exobiology include the search for a Martian fossil record. How can we optimize future exploration efforts to search for fossils on Mars? The Precambrian fossil record indicates that key factors for the long-term preservation of microbial fossils include: 1) the rapid entombment and/or replacement of organisms and organic matter by fine-grained, stable mineral phases (e.g. silica, phosphate, and to a lesser extent, carbonate), 2) low-permeability host sediments (maintaining a closed chemical system during early diagenesis), and 3) shallow burial (maintaining post-depositional temperatures and pressures within the stability range for complex organic molecules). Modem terrestrial environments where early mineralization commonly occurs in association with microbial organisms include: subaerial thermal springs and shallow hydrothermal systems, sub-lacustrine springs and evaporites of alkaline lakes, and subsoil environments where hardpans (e.g. calcretes, silcretes) and duricrusts form. Studies of microbial fossilization in such environments provide important insights preservation patterns in Precambrian rocks, while also playing a role in the development of strategies for Mars exopaleontology. The refinement of site priorities for Mars exopaleontology is expected to benefit greatly from high resolution imaging and altimetry acquired during upcoming orbital missions, and especially infrared and gamma ray spectral data needed for determining surface composition. In anticipation of future orbital missions, constraints for identifying high priority mineral deposits on Mars are being developed through analog remote sensing studies of key mineralizing environments on Earth.

Modeling particle dispersion and deposition in indoor environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, N. P.; Niu, J. L.

Particle dispersion and deposition in man-made enclosed environments are closely related to the well-being of occupants. The present study developed a three-dimensional drift-flux model for particle movements in turbulent indoor airflows, and combined it into Eulerian approaches. To account for the process of particle deposition at solid boundaries, a semi-empirical deposition model was adopted in which the size-dependent deposition characteristics were well resolved. After validation against the experimental data in a scaled isothermal chamber and in a full-scale non-isothermal environmental chamber, the drift-flux model was used to investigate the deposition rates and human exposures to particles from two different sources with three typical ventilation systems: mixing ventilation (MV), displacement ventilation (DV), and under-floor air distribution (UFAD). For particles originating from the supply air, a V-shaped curve of the deposition velocity variation as a function of particle size was observed. The minimum deposition appeared at 0.1- 0.5μm. For supermicron particles, the ventilation type and air exchange rate had an ignorable effect on the deposition rate. The movements of submicron particles were like tracer gases while the gravitational settling effect should be taken into account for particles larger than 2.5μm. The temporal increment of human exposure to a step-up particle release in the supply air was determined, among many factors, by the distance between the occupant and air outlet. The larger the particle size, the lower the human exposure. For particles released from an internal heat source, the concentration stratification of small particles (diameter <10μm) in the vertical direction appeared with DV and UFAD, and it was found the advantageous principle for gaseous pollutants that a relatively less-polluted occupied zone existed in DV and UFAD was also applicable to small particles.

Assessing Reservoir Depositional Environments to Develop and Quantify Improvements in CO 2 Storage Efficiency. A Reservoir Simulation Approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Okwen, Roland; Frailey, Scott; Leetaru, Hannes

2014-09-30

The storage potential and fluid movement within formations are dependent on the unique hydraulic characteristics of their respective depositional environments. Storage efficiency (E) quantifies the potential for storage in a geologic depositional environment and is used to assess basinal or regional CO 2 storage resources. Current estimates of storage resources are calculated using common E ranges by lithology and not by depositional environment. The objectives of this project are to quantify E ranges and identify E enhancement strategies for different depositional environments via reservoir simulation studies. The depositional environments considered include deltaic, shelf clastic, shelf carbonate, fluvial deltaic, strandplain, reef,more » fluvial and alluvial, and turbidite. Strategies considered for enhancing E include CO 2 injection via vertical, horizontal, and deviated wells, selective completions, water production, and multi-well injection. Conceptual geologic and geocellular models of the depositional environments were developed based on data from Illinois Basin oil fields and gas storage sites. The geologic and geocellular models were generalized for use in other US sedimentary basins. An important aspect of this work is the development of conceptual geologic and geocellular models that reflect the uniqueness of each depositional environment. Different injection well completions methods were simulated to investigate methods of enhancing E in the presence of geologic heterogeneity specific to a depositional environment. Modeling scenarios included horizontal wells (length, orientation, and inclination), selective and dynamic completions, water production, and multiwell injection. A Geologic Storage Efficiency Calculator (GSECalc) was developed to calculate E from reservoir simulation output. Estimated E values were normalized to diminish their dependency on fluid relative permeability. Classifying depositional environments according to normalized baseline

Recent Developments in Facies Models for Siliciclastic Sediments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miall, Andrew D.

1982-01-01

Discusses theory of facies models (attempts to synthesize/generalize information about depositional environments), strengths/weaknesses of facies modelling, recent advances in facies models for siliciclastic sediments (focusing on fluvial, lacustrine, eolian and glacial environments, clastic shorelines and continental shelves, and clastic…

Mixed fluvial systems of Messak Sandstone, a deposit of Nubian lithofacies, southwestern Libya

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lorenz, J.C.

1987-05-01

The Messak Sandstone is a coarse to pebbly, tabular cross-bedded, Lower Cretaceous deposit of the widespread Nubian lithofacies. It was deposited at the northern edge of the Murzuq basin in southwestern Libya. Although the sedimentary record is predominantly one of braided fluvial systems, a common subfacies within the formation is interpreted to record the passage of straight-crested sand waves across laterally migrating point bars in sinuous rivers, similar to the pattern documented by Singh and Kumar on the modern Ganga and Yamuna Rivers. Because the sand waves were larger on the lower parts of the point bars, lateral migration createdmore » diagnostic thinning-upward, unidirectional cosets of tabular cross-beds as well as fining-upward, grain-size trends. Common, thick, interbedded claystones, deposited in associated paludal and lacustrine environments, and high variance in cross-bed dispersion patterns also suggest the local presence of sinuous fluvial systems within the overall braided regime. The Messak Sandstone contains some of the features that led Harms et al to propose an unconventional low-sinuosity fluvial environment for the Nubian lithofacies in Egypt, and the continuously high water levels of this model may explain channel-scale clay drapes and overturned cross-beds in the Messak. However, most of the Messak characteristics are incompatible with the low-sinuosity model, suggesting instead that the fluvial channels in the Murzuq basin alternated between braided and high-sinuosity patterns.« less

Mass-movement deposits in the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, western Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.

2015-01-01

The Eocene Green River Formation was deposited in two large Eocene saline lakes, Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins and Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin. Here we will discuss mass-movement deposits in just the Piceance Basin part of Lake Uinta.

From the North American Great Basin to the planet Mars: Taking Lacustrine Geomorphology into the 21st Century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edgett, Kenneth S.; Parker, Timothy J.

1997-09-01

Introduction. The entire planet Mars is presently a desert more arid than any on Earth. The planet appears to have had more water in the past, and some of this water affected the surface geology and geomorphology by carving a variety of channels. Despite the evidence for running water in the martian past, the presence of sanding bodies of water (lakes, oceans) has been a topic of considerable controversy in the past two decades. The issue is still not settled, but evidence has mounted to suggest that lakes and oceans were indeed a major factor in shaping the present geomorphology of the martian surface. Although there remains uncertainty as to whether lakes were present on Mars, major efforts to seek evidence for fossil martian organisms are focused on the search for lake sediments and tufa deposits [1]. In 2001 and 2003, the NASA Mars Surveyor Program will launch mobile rovers designed to explore the surface and collect samples for return to Earth. The first set of samples will reach Earth in 2008. The types of landing sites being considered for the '01 and '03 missions include areas interpreted as ancient lacustrine deposits. Knowledge and experience with the geomorphology of lacustrine features in the North American Great Basin is crucial for identifying lake features on Mars. Martian Lakes and Oceans: Prior to spacecraft exploration of Mars, many early astronomers though that the low-albedo surfaces of Mars could be seas or lakes, others considered these to be vast tracts of vegetation [2]. The low-albedo surfaces are now known to be the result of aeolian action on the distribution of sand and dust. The Mariner 4, 6, and 7 spacecraft in 1965 and 1969 stunned the world by showing a cratered, lunar-like martian surface. In 1972, Mariner 9 showed a more Earth-like surface - indeed, there were numerous channels, some carved by massive floods, others perhaps by fluvial run-off or sapping. The Viking orbiters (1976-1980) provided additional images; these formed the

Late Miocene sedimentary environments in south-western Amazonia (Solimões Formation; Brazil).

PubMed

Gross, Martin; Piller, Werner E; Ramos, Maria Ines; Douglas da Silva Paz, Jackson

2011-08-01

In Miocene times a vast wetland existed in Western Amazonia. Whereas the general development of this amazing ecosystem is well established, many questions remain open on sedimentary environments, stratigraphical correlations as well as its palaeogeographical configuration. Several outcrops located in a barely studied region around Eirunepé (SW Amazonas state, Brazil) were investigated to obtain basic sedimentological data. The observed deposits belong to the upper part of the Solimões Formation and are biostratigraphically dated to the Late Miocene. Vertically as well as laterally highly variable fine-grained clastic successions were recorded. Based on the lithofacies assemblages, these sediments represent fluvial deposits, possibly of an anastomosing river system. Sand bodies formed within active channels and dominant overbank fines are described (levees, crevasse splays/channels/deltas, abandoned channels, backswamps, floodplain paleosols). Lacustrine environments are restricted to local floodplain ponds/lakes. The mollusc and ostracod content as well as very light δ 18 O and δ 13 C values, measured on ostracod valves, refer to exclusively freshwater conditions. Based on palaeontological and geological results the existence of a long-lived lake ("Lake Pebas") or any influx of marine waters can be excluded for that region during the Late Miocene.

Plio-Pleistocene facies environments from the KBS Member, Koobi Fora Formation: implications for climate controls on the development of lake-margin hominin habitats in the northeast Turkana Basin (northwest Kenya).

PubMed

Lepre, Christopher J; Quinn, Rhonda L; Joordens, Josephine C A; Swisher, Carl C; Feibel, Craig S

2007-11-01

Climate change is hypothesized as a cause of major events of Plio-Pleistocene East African hominin evolution, but the vertically discontinuous and laterally confined nature of the relevant geological records has led to difficulties with assessing probable links between the two. High-resolution sedimentary sequences from lacustrine settings can provide comprehensive data of environmental changes and detailed correlations with well-established orbital and marine records of climate. Hominin-bearing deposits from Koobi Fora Ridge localities in the northeast Turkana Basin of Kenya are an archive of Plio-Pleistocene lake-margin sedimentation though significant developmental junctures of northern African climates, East African environments, and hominin evolution. This study examines alluvial channel and floodplain, nearshore lacustrine, and offshore lacustrine facies environments for the approximately 136-m-thick KBS Member (Koobi Fora Formation) exposed at the Koobi Fora Ridge. Aspects of the facies environments record information on the changing hydrosedimentary dynamics of the lake margin and give insights into potential climatic controls. Seasonal/yearly climate changes are represented by the varve-like laminations in offshore mudstones and the slickensides, dish-shaped fractures, and other paleosol features overprinted on floodplain strata. Vertical shifts between facies environments, however, are interpreted to indicate lake-level fluctuations deriving from longer-term, dry-wet periods in monsoonal rainfall. Recurrence periods for the inferred lake-level changes range from about 10,000 to 50,000 years, and several are consistent with the average estimated timescales of orbital precession ( approximately 20,000 years) and obliquity ( approximately 40,000 years). KBS Member facies environments from the Koobi Fora Ridge document the development of lake-margin hominin habitats in the northeast Turkana Basin. Environmental changes in these habitats may be a result of

Seeking Signs of Life on Mars: The Importance of Sedimentary Suites as Part of Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

iMOST Team; Mangold, N.; McLennan, S. M.; Czaja, A. D.; Ori, G. G.; Tosca, N. J.; Altieri, F.; Amelin, Y.; Ammannito, E.; Anand, M.; Beaty, D. W.; Benning, L. G.; Bishop, J. L.; Borg, L. E.; Boucher, D.; Brucato, J. R.; Busemann, H.; Campbell, K. A.; Carrier, B. L.; Debaille, V.; Des Marais, D. J.; Dixon, M.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Farmer, J. D.; Fernandez-Remolar, D. C.; Fogarty, J.; Glavin, D. P.; Goreva, Y. S.; Grady, M. M.; Hallis, L. J.; Harrington, A. D.; Hausrath, E. M.; Herd, C. D. K.; Horgan, B.; Humayun, M.; Kleine, T.; Kleinhenz, J.; Mackelprang, R.; Mayhew, L. E.; McCubbin, F. M.; McCoy, J. T.; McSween, H. Y.; Moser, D. E.; Moynier, F.; Mustard, J. F.; Niles, P. B.; Raulin, F.; Rettberg, P.; Rucker, M. A.; Schmitz, N.; Sefton-Nash, E.; Sephton, M. A.; Shaheen, R.; Shuster, D. L.; Siljestrom, S.; Smith, C. L.; Spry, J. A.; Steele, A.; Swindle, T. D.; ten Kate, I. L.; Usui, T.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.; Wadhwa, M.; Weiss, B. P.; Werner, S. C.; Westall, F.; Wheeler, R. M.; Zipfel, J.; Zorzano, M. P.

2018-04-01

Sedimentary, and especially lacustrine, depositional environments are high-priority geological/astrobiological settings for Mars Sample Return. We review the detailed investigations, measurements, and sample types required to evaluate such settings.

Spawning migration of lacustrine-adfluvial bull trout in a natural area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brenkman, Samuel J.; Larson, Gary L.; Gresswell, Robert E.

2001-01-01

We investigated the spawning migration of lacustrine-adfluvial bull trout Salvelinus confluentus in the North Fork Skokomish River in Olympic National Park (Washington State) during 1996. Day-snorkeling and electrofishing were conducted to determine timing and duration of the migration and the distribution and abundance of bull trout. The primary spawning migration began in early October and was waning by December. Bull trout migrated 6 km or less up the river from Lake Cushman. Increased river discharge and decreased water temperature appeared to be the primary environmental variables corresponding to the initiation of the migration. Mean length of migratory bull trout increased from June to December. Comparisons with other lacustrine-adfluvial bull trout populations in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia suggested that these populations exhibit specific migratory strategies related to local environmental conditions.

Rare earth element geochemistry of shallow carbonate outcropping strata in Saudi Arabia: Application for depositional environments prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eltom, Hassan A.; Abdullatif, Osman M.; Makkawi, Mohammed H.; Eltoum, Isam-Eldin A.

2017-03-01

The interpretation of depositional environments provides important information to understand facies distribution and geometry. The classical approach to interpret depositional environments principally relies on the analysis of lithofacies, biofacies and stratigraphic data, among others. An alternative method, based on geochemical data (chemical element data), is advantageous because it can simply, reproducibly and efficiently interpret and refine the interpretation of the depositional environment of carbonate strata. Here we geochemically analyze and statistically model carbonate samples (n = 156) from seven sections of the Arab-D reservoir outcrop analog of central Saudi Arabia, to determine whether the elemental signatures (major, trace and rare earth elements [REEs]) can be effectively used to predict depositional environments. We find that lithofacies associations of the studied outcrop (peritidal to open marine depositional environments) possess altered REE signatures, and that this trend increases stratigraphically from bottom-to-top, which corresponds to an upward shallowing of depositional environments. The relationship between REEs and major, minor and trace elements indicates that contamination by detrital materials is the principal source of REEs, whereas redox condition, marine and diagenetic processes have minimal impact on the relative distribution of REEs in the lithofacies. In a statistical model (factor analysis and logistic regression), REEs, major and trace elements cluster together and serve as markers to differentiate between peritidal and open marine facies and to differentiate between intertidal and subtidal lithofacies within the peritidal facies. The results indicate that statistical modelling of the elemental composition of carbonate strata can be used as a quantitative method to predict depositional environments and regional paleogeography. The significance of this study lies in offering new assessments of the relationships between

Geology of the Ivanhoe Hg-Au district, northern Nevada: Influence of Miocene volcanism, lakes, and active faulting on epithermal mineralization

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallace, A.R.

2003-01-01

The mercury-gold deposits of the Ivanhoe mining district in northern Nevada formed when middle Miocene rhyolitic volcanism and high-angle faulting disrupted a shallow lacustrine environment. Sinter and replacement mercury deposits formed at and near the paleosurface, and disseminated gold deposits and high-grade gold-silver veins formed beneath the hot spring deposits. The lacustrine environment provided abundant meteoric water; the rhyolites heated the water; and the faults, flow units, and lakebeds provided fluid pathways for the hydrothermal fluids. A shallow lake began to develop in the Ivanhoe area about 16.5 Ma. The lake progressively expanded and covered the entire area with fine-grained lacustrine sediments. Lacustrine sedimentation continued to at least 14.4 Ma, and periodic fluctuations in the size and extent of the lake may have been responses to both climate and nearby volcanism. The eruption of rhyolite and andesite flows and domes periodically disrupted the lacustrine environment and produced interfingered flows and lake sediments. The major pulse of rhyolitic volcanism took place between 15.16 ± 0.05 and 14.92 ± 0.05 Ma. High-angle faulting began in the basement about 15.2 Ma, penetrated to and disrupted the paleosurface after 15.10 ± 0.06 Ma, and largely ceased by 14.92 ± 0.05 Ma. Ground motion related to both faulting and volcanism created debris flows and soft-sediment deformation in the lakebeds. Mercury-gold mineralization was coeval with rhyolite volcanism and high-angle faulting, and it took place about 15.2 to 14.9 Ma. At and near the paleosurface, hydrothermal fluids migrated through tuffaceous sediments above relatively impermeable volcanic and Paleozoic units, creating chalcedonic, cinnabar-bearing replacement bodies and sinters. Disseminated gold was deposited in sedimentary and volcanic rocks beneath the mercury deposits, although the hydrologic path between the two ore types is unclear. Higher-grade gold-silver deposits formed in

Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and volume of sediments behind a dam relic on the Muskegon River, Big Rapids, Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Westjohn, David B.

1997-01-01

The proposed removal of the remnants of a hydroelectric dam in the Muskegon River at Big Rapids, Michigan, will potentially affect flow of the river at the city's water intake system. Fifteen boreholes were augered in bottom sediments in the river just upstream from the dam relic, and streambottom profiles were made using ground-penetrating radar. Data from boreholes show that sediments captured by the dam foundation were deposited in two distinctly different sedimentary environments. Sediments that overlie the pre-dam channel surface consist of lacustrine clay, wood chips, silt, and sand. These lacustrine sediments are interbedded in a cyclical fashion, and they were deposited under low flow to stagnant water conditions during 1916-66, when a 17-foot-tall hydroelectric dam was in place. Demolition of the upper 13 feet of this dam in 1966 resulted in erosion of most of the lacustrine sediments, and subsequent deposition of coarser alluvium in the impoundment behind the remaining dam foundation. Lacustrine sediments are present in the active part of the stream channel and extend from the dam foundation to about 1,300 feet upstream. The composite thickness of lacustrine sediments and overlying coarser alluvium was determined from sediment cores collected from the boreholes. The volume of these sediments is estimated to be about 19,000 cubic yards.

Deposits of the Peruvian Pisco Formation compared to layered deposits on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sowe, M.; Bishop, J. L.; Gross, C.; Walter, S.

2013-09-01

Deposits of the Peruvian Pisco Formation are morphologically similar to the mounds of Juventae Chasma at the equatorial region on Mars (Fig. 1). By analyzing these deposits, we hope to gain information about the environmental conditions that prevailed during sediment deposition and erosion, hence conditions that might be applicable to the Martian layered and hydrated deposits. Mariner 9 data of the Martian mid-latitudes have already shown evidence of the wind-sculptured landforms that display the powerful prevailing eolian regime [1]. In addition, [2] reported on similarities between Martian erosional landforms and those of the rainless coastal desert of central Peru from the Paracas peninsula to the Rio Ica. As indicated by similar erosional patterns, hyper-arid conditions and unidirectional winds must have dominated at least after deposition of the sediments, which are intermixed volcaniclastic materials and evaporate minerals at both locations. Likewise, variations in composition are displayed by alternating layers of different competence. The Pisco formation bears yardangs on siltstones, sandstones and clays with volcaniclastic admixtures [3] whereas the presence of sulphate minerals and the omnipresent mafic mineralogy has been reported for the layered mounds of Juventae Chasma equally [4]. Likewise, a volcanic airfall deposition and lacustrine formation have been proposed for the sulphate-rich deposits of Juventae Chasma [5,6]. In order to find out about potential spectral similarities, we performed a detailed spectral analysis of the surface by using LANDSAT and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) VNIR/ SWIR data (visible to near-infrared and shortwave infrared region).

Sedimentological Characteristics and Classification of Depositional Processes and Deposits in the Glacial Environment,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

I characteristics and classification of depositional processes and d,4, r -%sits in the glacial environment C",. 44k (1-I J For conversion of SI metric...Discussion with Dr. John Shaw, Dr. Geoffrey Boulton, Dr. David Croot and Dr. Ross Powell helped considerably in formulating ideas presented in this report...glacial or non- glacial origins of diamictites of Precambrian and COMPARISON OF MELT-OUT other ages (e.g., Schermerhorn 1974, Edwards AND SEDIMENT FLOW

Hydrogeology of an ancient arid closed basin: implications for tabular sandstone-hosted uranium deposits

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sanford, R.F.

1990-01-01

Hydrogeologic modeling shows that tabular-type uranium deposits in the Grants uranium region of the San Juan basin, New Mexico, formed in zones of ascending and discharging regional ground-water flow. The association of either lacustrine mudstone or actively subsiding structures and uranium deposits can best be explained by the occurrence of lakes at topographic depressions where ground water having different sources and compositions is likely to converge, mix, and discharge. Ascending and discharging flow also explains the association of uranium deposits with underlying evaporites and suggests a brine interface. The simulations contradict previous suggestions that ground water moved downward in the mudflat. -Author

Changes in floral composition with depositional environment in Texas Eocene Manning Formation lignites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gennett, J.A.; Raymond, A.L.

1986-09-01

The floral composition of palynomorph assemblages of Jacksonian Texas lignites is closely linked to depositional systems. Localities on the eastern Gulf coastal plain are included in the late Eocene Fayette delta system, and lignite formation is considered to have occurred in lower deltaic environments. Samples are commonly dominated by grains of Caprifoliipites/Salixpollenites, Momites, or Nyssa, indicating dicotyledonous tree-dominated swamps. Some samples contain abundant Cicatricosspories spores, suggesting marshy, fern-dominated areas. The San Miguel lignite deposit in McMullen County is located on the eastern margin of the south Texas strand-plain/barrier-bar system. Caprifoliipites/Salixpollenites pollen is rare in the San Miguel, and most ofmore » the levels are dominated by small tricolporates such as cupuliferoipollenites and Sapotaceae. Nyssa is locally important. The lignite is considered to have been deposited in a nondeltaic freshwater swamp behind a barrier island. The Miguel Alleman deposit, across the Mexican border in Tamaulipas, is thought to have developed in a lagoonal-estuarine environment. Dinoflagellates such as Wetzeliella are common at some levels, indicating marine conditions. As with San Miguel, small tricolporates and Momipites are common. These assemblages contrast with Sabinian floras. Wilcox Group east Texas lignites were formed in fluvial environments. Betulaceous pollen is common in these coals. Sabinian south Texas lignites formed in marine environments yield dinoflagellates and Chenopodium-type pollen. Chenopods are common in present-day Gulf Coast salt marshes but seem to have been absent from Jackson-age seacoasts.« less

Depositional environments during the Late Palaeozoic ice age (LPIA) in northern Ethiopia, NE Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bussert, Robert

2014-11-01

The Late Palaeozoic sediments in northern Ethiopia record a series of depositional environments during and after the Late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA). These sediments are up to 200 m thick and exceptionally heterogeneous in lithofacies composition. A differentiation of numerous types of lithofacies associations forms the basis for the interpretation of a large range of depositional processes. Major glacigenic lithofacies associations include: (1) sheets of diamictite, either overlying glacially eroded basement surfaces or intercalated into the sediment successions, and representing subglacial tillites, (2) thick massive to weakly stratified muddy clast-poor diamictites to lonestone-bearing laminated mudstones originating from a combination of suspension settling of fines and iceberg rainout, (3) lensoidal or thin-bedded diamictites deposited from debris flows, (4) wedges of traction and gravity transported coarse-grained sediments deposited in outwash fans, (5) irregular wedges or sheets of mudstones deformed primarily by extension and incorporating deformed beds or rafts of other lithofacies formed by slumping, and (6) irregular bodies of sandstone, conglomerate and diamictite deformed by glacial pushing. The dominance of laminated or massive clast-bearing mudstones in most successions indicates ice-contact water bodies as the major depositional environment. Into this environment, coarse-grained sediments were transported by various gravity driven transport processes, including dropstone activity of ice-bergs, slumping, cohesive debris flow, hyperconcentrated to concentrated flow, hyperpycnal flow, and by turbidity flow. Close to glacier termini, wedge-shaped bodies of conglomerate, sandstone, diamictite and mudstone were deposited primarily in subaqueous outwash-fans. Soft-sediment deformation of these sediments either records ice push during glacier advance or re-sedimentation by slumping. Apart from an initial glacier advance when thick ice of temperate or

Discriminating between tectonism and climate signatures in palustrine deposits: Lessons from the Miocene of the Teruel Graben, NE Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso-Zarza, Ana M.; Meléndez, Alfonso; Martín-García, Rebeca; Herrero, Mª Josefa; Martín-Pérez, Andrea

2012-07-01

The Upper Miocene (Vallesian-Turolian) Unit II of the Teruel Graben comprises at its top a 25 m-thick sequence of palustrine deposits. Deposition of the entire unit commenced some 9 to 7 Ma ago in a half-graben basin. Here, via a recent quarry, we examine in detail the lateral and vertical distribution of Unit II's palustrine facies and their features to determine the palaeogeography and main controls on deposit formation. Our findings suggest the deposits formed at a low-gradient lake margin with different energy levels. These energy levels controlled the type of primary deposit within the lake; wackestone to packstone sediments formed in low-energy conditions, whereas cross-bedded rudstones to floatstones formed under higher energy conditions, by erosion and redeposition of prior lacustrine deposits. Pedogenic and diagenetic modifications of the primary sediments took place during sedimentary discontinuities (SD) when the lacustrine sediments were subaerially exposed. These processes serve to explain the formation of eight different palustrine limestones: limestones with root traces, mottled limestones, brecciated limestones, flat pebble breccias, granular limestones, micro-karstified limestones with laminar calcretes, carbonate mounds and clayey limestones with laminar calcretes. Based on the features and thicknesses of the modified sediments five different morphological stages (I to V) of palustrine carbonates are defined. Stage I is characterized by incipient mottling and brecciation. Stage II shows mottling and strong brecciation that lead to the formation of intraclast breccias, in which the fragments are mostly "in situ". In Stage III, the primary fabric is totally changed; intraclasts have moved and may have lost their initial morphology. This Stage III may also be characterized by the formation of micro-karst. Stage IV is typified by the presence of coated grains and thin root mats. The chronological data available suggest that the formation of Stage III

Discovery of silicified lacustrine micro-fossils and stromatolites: Triassic-Jurassic Fundy Group, Nova Scotia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cameron, B.

A unique assemblage of silicified invertebrate and algal fresh-water lake fossils has been discovered in the Scots Bay Formation at the top of the Triassic-Jurassic Fundy Group of the Fundy Basin in Nova Scotia. This is important because the basins of the eastern North American Triassic-Jurassic rift system have not yielded many invertebrate and algal fossils. These new finds will contribute significantly to evolutionary, paleoecological and biostratigraphic studies of fresh-water Mesozoic deposits. Silicified fossils have been extracted from chert-bearing, mixed carbonate and siliciclastic lithologies. They include ostracodes, gastropods, rare bivalves, charaphytes (algae), stromatolites, and chert nodules cored with well-preserved woodymore » tissues of tree trunks. Possible algal filaments occur in the silicified stromatolites. This association of charaphytes, ostracodes, microscopic gastropods and stromatolites is found in carbonate lakes today. The Scots Bay Formation is probably a near-shore carbonate facies of the more widespread silicilastic lacustrine McCoy Brook Formation. The gastropods and ostracodes, studied by SEM, indicate a Jurassic age for the Scots bay Formation, confirming speculations based on other data.« less

Tree-Ring Investigation of Holocene Flood-Deposited Wood From the Oneida Lake Watershed, New York State

Treesearch

Irina P. Panyushkina; Steven W. Leavitt; Eugene W. Domack; Alex C. Wiedenhoeft

2015-01-01

Glacial deposition and fluvial/lacustrine sedimentation interact over terrains in central New York State to preserve a history of geological and hydrological events as well as hydroclimatic transitions. The lower reach of Fish Creek draining the eastern watershed of Oneida Lake, NY, is an area with prominent wood remains. This study explores a collection of 52 logs...

Late Miocene sedimentary environments in south-western Amazonia (Solimões Formation; Brazil)

PubMed Central

Gross, Martin; Piller, Werner E.; Ramos, Maria Ines; Douglas da Silva Paz, Jackson

2011-01-01

In Miocene times a vast wetland existed in Western Amazonia. Whereas the general development of this amazing ecosystem is well established, many questions remain open on sedimentary environments, stratigraphical correlations as well as its palaeogeographical configuration. Several outcrops located in a barely studied region around Eirunepé (SW Amazonas state, Brazil) were investigated to obtain basic sedimentological data. The observed deposits belong to the upper part of the Solimões Formation and are biostratigraphically dated to the Late Miocene. Vertically as well as laterally highly variable fine-grained clastic successions were recorded. Based on the lithofacies assemblages, these sediments represent fluvial deposits, possibly of an anastomosing river system. Sand bodies formed within active channels and dominant overbank fines are described (levees, crevasse splays/channels/deltas, abandoned channels, backswamps, floodplain paleosols). Lacustrine environments are restricted to local floodplain ponds/lakes. The mollusc and ostracod content as well as very light δ18O and δ13C values, measured on ostracod valves, refer to exclusively freshwater conditions. Based on palaeontological and geological results the existence of a long-lived lake (“Lake Pebas”) or any influx of marine waters can be excluded for that region during the Late Miocene. PMID:26523089

Sedimentary Basin Structure of the Hadar Formation's Lacustrine-Dominated Depocenter (Ledi-Geraru, Afar, Ethiopia) and its Relevance for Investigating Hominin Paleoenvironments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimaggio, E. N.; Campisano, C. J.; Arrowsmith, J. R.; Dupont-Nivet, G.; Johnson, R. A.; Warren, M. B.

2008-12-01

Sedimentary sequences preserved in East African rift basins record the long-term response of past depositional environments to climatic and tectonic forcing. Motivations for recent field investigations at the Ledi-Geraru site, part of the greater Hadar sedimentary basin in the Afar region of Ethiopia, stem from a need to characterize local basin structure and expand and refine interpretations of the complex mid-late Pliocene history of local and regional-scale landscape change during a time of critical importance for understanding hominin evolution. Detailed geologic mapping (1:7,000), measured stratigraphic sections, and seismic reflection surveys provide the datasets necessary for basin evaluation. The Ledi-Geraru sedimentary sequence (>250m thick) exposes nearly the entirety of the hominin-bearing Hadar Formation of west- central Afar. Both primary unmodified lake deposits and intervals modified by subsequent subaerial exposure and pedogenesis are well-exposed. The lacustrine-dominated signature is indicated by the prevalence of laminated silty clays that contain leaf impressions, fish scales, and gastropod shells, undisturbed laminated diatomite and clays, and pedogenically modified diatomaceous silts. The sequence is generally flat lying, with low bedding dips ranging from 0-2° NNW to <1° NNE and minor NNW trending faults with <5 m vertical offset. Whereas coeval fluvio-lacustrine sediments associated with hominin and archaeological sites west of Ledi-Geraru (e.g., Hadar and Gona) are marked by comparatively slow and episodic sedimentation, sedimentation rates in the Ledi-Geraru sequence are extremely high and consistent, on the order of ~0.9-1.0mm/yr. Laterally extensive tephra marker beds and paleomagnetic records provide excellent age control for sedimentation rate estimates and correlation to nearby fossil-rich sequences. As the Hadar basin sediments preserve a rich paleoanthropologic and archaeological record, this work provides the geologic framework

High-resolution multi-proxy reconstruction of Lake Ighiel (Western Carpathians, Romania): processes and controlling factors of lacustrine dynamics during the mid and late Holocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haliuc, Aritina; Veres, Daniel; Hubay, Katalin; Begy, Robert; Brauer, Achim; Hutchinson, Simon; Braun, Mihaly

2016-04-01

Concerns about current and prospective environmental change have increased the interest in past climate variability and its impact on the bio-hydro-atmosphere and human society. Acting as high-resolution terrestrial archives, lacustrine sediments are the result of the complex interaction between internal and external forcing and an important tool in efforts to resolve questions related to the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions of the recent past. Here we discuss a new, high-resolution sedimentary record from the Romanian Carpathians (central-eastern Europe). Lake Ighiel (46° 10'50"N, 23° 22'00"E) is a small lake located in a mid-altitude mountain belt (Trascau Mountains) at an altitude of 924 m ( lake maximum depth 9 m; catchment area 487 ha). We employ detailed 210Pb and 14C dating coupled with high-resolution X-ray fluorescence scanning (μ-XRF) measurements, long-core sedimentary logging, environmental magnetic proxies (susceptibility, natural and induced remanences) in an attempt to trace the 6000 years evolution of lake-catchment system. More specifically, we discuss: i) the temporal evolution of the main sedimentation phases of the lake based on sedimentological, geochemical and magnetic proxies; ii) the amplitude and interplay of processes (natural and/or anthropogenic) controlling the depositional environment through time; iii) assess the contribution of each controlling factors and reconstruct the evolution of lacustrine system and palaeoclimate forcing using multivariate statistics. The sedimentary record can be divided into six phases based on alternating high and low detrital fluxes, oscillating lacustrine productivity and redox conditions. A series of detrital events (5200; 4800; 5400; 5250; 4500; 4050; 3800; 3500; 3250; 3050; 2650; 2350; 2250; 1400; 1100; 500; 100 cal yr BP) were identified by microfacies analyses and X-ray fluorescence scanning (μ-XRF) analysis. These events are reflected in most of the parameters and appear

The East Africa Oligocene intertrappean beds: Regional distribution, depositional environments and Afro/Arabian mammal dispersals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbate, Ernesto; Bruni, Piero; Ferretti, Marco Peter; Delmer, Cyrille; Laurenzi, Marinella Ada; Hagos, Miruts; Bedri, Omar; Rook, Lorenzo; Sagri, Mario; Libsekal, Yosief

2014-11-01

inspection of the Agere Selam (Mekele) intertrappean beds revealed the occurrence of lacustrine limestones and diatomites, which were contrastingly quite subordinate with respect to the fine clastic sediments found in the nearby Amba Alaji area. Further south, the intertrappean section in the Jema valley (100 km north of Addis Ababa and close to the Blue Nile gorge) is 120 m thick with predominant clastic sediments and a few diatomites at the top. Literature information from 35 additional sites, including northern Kenya, Yemen, Sudan and Saudi Arabia sections, confirms the fluvial and lacustrine depositional environment of the intertrappean beds, underlines the interest in their mammal fauna (Chilga, Losodok), and reports exploitable coal seams for some of them. As for the vegetal landscape in which the intertrappean beds were deposited, pollen and plant analysis results indicative of a tropical wet forest, similar to that of present-day western Africa. Another common feature of the intertrappean beds is their relatively limited thickness, averaging a few tens of meters, but reaching a few hundred meters in graben-related basins, such as Delbi Moye in southern Ethiopia. In most cases only thin, lens-shaped successions were deposited above the hummocky topography of their volcanic substratum, commonly unaffected by significant faulting. An average duration of the intertrappean beds is from one to three million years. This time interval is commonly matched by a few tens (or more rarely, hundreds) of meters of sediments left over after erosive episodes or depositional starvation. As to the lateral continuity of the intertrappean beds, the present-day outcrops show large differences: from some tens of kilometers in the Mendefera area, to a few tens of kilometres in the Jema valley, and to a few hundreds meters in the Agere Selam (Mekele) area. Even if it is difficult to quantify the original size of the sedimentation areas, it nevertheless proves that the intertrappean basins

Features caused by ground ice growth and decay in Late Pleistocene fluvial deposits, Paris Basin, France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertran, Pascal; Andrieux, Eric; Bateman, Mark; Font, Marianne; Manchuel, Kevin; Sicilia, Deborah

2018-06-01

Last Glacial fluvial sequences in the Paris Basin show laminated lacustrine deposits OSL and radiocarbon dated to between 24.6 and 16.6 ka in one site and overlying alluvial sandy gravel. A thermokarst origin of the lakes is supported by abundant traces of ground ice, particularly ice wedge pseudomorphs beneath the lacustrine layers and synsedimentary deformation caused by thaw settlement. The features include brittle deformation (normal and reverse faults) resulting from ground subsidence owing to ice melting and ductile deformations caused by slumping of the sediments heaved by the growth of ice-cored mounds. These correspond to lithalsas (or lithalsa plateaus) and/or to open system pingos. At least two generations of thermokarst are recorded and may reflect the millennial climate variability typical of the Last Glacial. The structures studied in quarries are associated with an undulating topography visible in 5-m DEMs and a spotted pattern in aerial photographs. The search for similar patterns in the Paris Basin indicates that many other potential thermokarst sites exist in the Last Glacial terrace (Fy) of rivers located north of 48°N when they cross the lower Cretaceous sands and marls. In some sites, the presence of organic-poor, fine-grained deposits presumably of lacustrine origin was confirmed by borehole data. The site distribution coincides broadly with that already known for ice wedge pseudomorphs. This study provides new evidence of permafrost-induced ground deformations in France and strongly suggests that thermokarst played a significant and probably largely underestimated role in the genesis of Late Pleistocene landscapes.

Coal depositional models in some Tertiary and Cretaceous coal fields in the U.S. Western Interior

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flores, R.M.

1979-01-01

Detailed stratigraphic and sedimentological studies of the Tertiary Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, and the Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation and Star Point Sandstone in the Wasatch Plateau, Utah, indicate that the depositional environments of coal played a major role in controlling coal thickness, lateral continuity, potential minability, and type of floor and roof rocks. The potentially minable, thick coal beds of the Tongue River Member were primarily formed in long-lived floodbasin backswamps of upper alluvial plain environment. Avulsion of meandering fluvial channels contributed to the erratic lateral extent of coals in this environment. Laterally extensive coals formed in floodbasin backswamps of a lower alluvial plain environment; however, interruption by overbank and crevasse-splay sedimentation produced highly split and merging coal beds. Lacustrine sedimentation common to the lower alluvial plain, similar to the lake-covered lower alluvial valley of the Atchafalaya River Basin, is related to a high-constructive delta. In contrast to these alluvial coals are the deltaic coal deposits of the Blackhawk Formation. The formation consists of three coal populations: upper delta plain, lower delta plain, and 'back-barrier'. Coals of the lower delta plain are thick and laterally extensive, in contrast to those of the upper delta plain and 'back-barrier', which contain abundant, very thin and laterally discontinuous carbonaceous shale partings. The reworking of the delta-front sediments of the Star Point Sandstone suggests that the Blackhawk-Star Point delta was a high-destructive system. ?? 1979.

Classification of gravity-flow deposits and their significance for unconventional petroleum exploration, with a case study from the Triassic Yanchang Formation (southern Ordos Basin, China)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Aiping; Yang, Renchao; (Tom) van Loon, A. J.; Yin, Wei; Han, Zuozhen; Zavala, Carlos

2018-08-01

The ongoing exploration for shale oil and gas has focused sedimentological research on the transport and deposition mechanisms of fine-grained sediments, and more specifically on fine-grained mass-flow deposits. It appears, however, that no easily applicable classification scheme for gravity-flow deposits exists, and that such classifications almost exclusively deal with sandy and coarser sediments. Since the lack of a good classification system for fine-grained gravity flow deposits hampers scientific communication and understanding, we propose a classification scheme on the basis of the mud content in combination with the presumed transport mechanism. This results in twelve types of gravity-flow deposits. In order to show the practical applicability of this classification system, we apply it to the Triassic lacustrine Yanchang Formation in the southern Ordos Basin (China), which contains numerous slumps, debris-flows deposits, turbidites and hyperpycnites. The slumps and debrites occur mostly close to a delta front, and the turbidites and hyperpycnites extend over large areas from the delta slopes into the basin plain. The case study shows that (1) mud cannot only be transported but also deposited under active hydrodynamic conditions; (2) fine-grained gravity-flow constitute a significant part of the lacustrine mudstones and shales; (3) muddy gravity flows are important for the transport and deposition of clastic particles, clay minerals and organic matter, and thus are important mechanisms involved in the generation of hydrocarbons, also largely determining the reservoir capability for unconventional petroleum.

Carbonate Formation And Diagenesis In Pastos Grandes Laguna (Bolivia): Modern Analog For The South Atlantic Cretaceous Presalt Travertinoid Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muller, E.; Ader, M.; Gérard, E.; Virgone, A.; Gaucher, E.; Bougeault, C.; Durlet, C.; Moreira, M. A.; Virgile, R.; Vennin, E.; Agogué, H.; Hugoni, M.

2017-12-01

The Cretaceous Presalt travertinoid deposits of the South Atlantic are usually considered as "strange deposits" having poor equivalents in modern environments. Pastos Grandes Laguna, which is located in a 2.9 Ma caldera on the andean-bolivian Altiplano (at 4450 m), is intersected by active faults with hydrothermal fluids and presents a spherulitic plateform with similar sedimentological facies to the Presalt: halite and bedded evaporites, shrub-shaped calcites, ooids, pisolites and various stromatolites. Pastos Grandes Laguna is certainly one of the best modern analog of the Presalt for investigating the on going processes of carbonate deposition and diagenesis and the influence of biology. During two expeditions, we recovered samples of gas, water and microbial mats from the hydrothermal sources to the evaporating zones on the spherulitic plateform. These samples are being analyzed to determine 1) the influence of the gases emitted at the hydrothermal sources (chemical and isotopic composition) on the chemistry of the Laguna and the mineralogy of its sediments and 2) the role of ecosystems that develop in this environment on carbonate formation. Preliminary results on gas composition, corrected for the atmospheric contribution, indicates a magmatic source of CO2 partly mantellic associated with a small crustal contribution. Other initial results have so far indicated that CO2 gas emissions, evaporation, as well as photosynthesis and respiration play a role on water chemistry and carbonate precipitation. This study will contribute to the overall understanding of the role of organisms in sedimentation and the predictive diagenetic evolution of hydrothermal and lacustrine deposits.

Investigations of young (< 2.94 Ma) Hadar Formation deposits and their implication for basin development in southern Afar, Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiMaggio, E.; Arrowsmith, R.; Campisano, C. J.; Johnson, R. A.; Deino, A. L.; Warren, M.; Fisseha, S.; Cohen, A. S.

2014-12-01

Sedimentary deposits in Pliocene extensional rift basins in the Afar Depression, Ethiopia chronicle the evolution and paleoenvironmental context of early humans. In the lower Awash Valley, the long-studied Hadar Basin still lacks constraints on basin development during the onset and termination of Hadar Formation (~3.8 - 2.94 Ma) sedimentation. Here we present new mapping and analysis of tephra deposits from a 26 meter-thick section of sediments exposed in the central Ledi-Geraru project area at Gulfaytu, including 20 m of sediments and tephras conformably overlying a 2.94 Ma tephra marker bed (BKT-2U) that previously served as the uppermost dated tephra of the Hadar Formation. Within the overlying 20 meters of primarily lacustrine strata, we identified eight post-BKT-2U tuffs; four were suitable for geochemical characterization, and one yielded an 40Ar/39Ar age of 2.931 ± 0.034 Ma. Based on regional sedimentation rates and the tephra 40Ar/39Ar age, we infer that the newly mapped Hadar Formation at Gulfaytu represents ca. 20 kyr of post-BKT-2 sedimentation. An erosional surface marked by a conglomerate truncates the strata at Gulfaytu, and shows similarities to the well-documented Busidima unconformity surface to the southwest, suggesting that structural changes after 2.93 Ma also affected basin conditions in central Ledi-Geraru. Furthermore, subsurface geophysical investigations support a model whereby deposition rates and the stratigraphic thickness of paleo-Lake Hadar sediments are greatest in the central Ledi-Geraru, ~20 km northeast of the well-exposed lacustrine-dominated sediments of the Hadar Formation. In addition to preserving a record of post-BKT-2 strata, the central Ledi Geraru hosts the thickest subsurface lacustrine sedimentary record within the Hadar Basin hitherto described, making central Ledi-Geraru an ideal location for collecting a continuous core by the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP).

Sedimentological characteristics and depositional processes of sediment gravity flows in rift basins: The Palaeogene Dongying and Shahejie formations, Bohai Bay Basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lei; Chen, Hongde; Zhong, Yijiang; Wang, Jun; Xu, Changgui; Chen, Anqing; Du, Xiaofeng

2017-10-01

(hyperpycnal flow). The depositional models may be applicable to oil and gas exploration and production from sediment gravity flow systems in similar lacustrine depositional environments elsewhere.

The ichnologic record of the continental invertebrate invasion: evolutionary trends in environmental expansion, ecospace utilization, and behavioral complexity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buatois, L.A.; Mangano, M.G.; Genise, Jorge F.; Taylor, T.N.

1998-01-01

The combined study of continental trace fossils and associated sedimentary facies provides valuable evidence of colonization trends and events throughout the Phanerozoic. Colonization of continental environments was linked to the exploitation of empty or under-utilized ecospace. Although the nonmarine trace fossil record probably begins during the Late Ordovician, significant invasion of nonmarine biotopes began close to the Silurian-Devonian transition with the establishment of a mobile arthropod epifauna (Diplichnites ichnoguild) in coastal marine to alluvial plain settings. Additionally, the presence of vertical burrows in Devonian high-energy fluvial deposits reflects the establishment of a stationary, deep suspension-feeding infauna of the Skolithos ichnoguild. The earliest evidence of plant-arthropod interaction occurred close to the Silurian-Devonian boundary, but widespread and varied feeding patterns are known from the Carboniferous. During the Carboniferous, permanent subaqueous lacustrine settings were colonized by a diverse, mobile detritus-feeding epifauna of the Mermia ichnoguild, which reflects a significant palaeoenvironmental expansion of trace fossils. Paleozoic ichnologic evidence supports direct routes to the land from marginal marine environments, and migration to lakes from land settings. All nonmarine sedimentary environments were colonized by the Carboniferous, and subsequent patterns indicate an increase in ecospace utilization within already colonized depositional settings. During the Permian, back-filled traces of the Scoyenia ichnoguild record the establishment of a mobile, intermediate-depth, deposit-feeding in-fauna in alluvial and transitional alluvial-lacustrine sediment. Diversification of land plants and the establishment of ecologically diverse plant communities through time provided new niches to be exploited by arthropods. Nevertheless, most ot the evolutionary feeding innovations took place relatively early, during the Late

Brief communication: beyond the South African cave paradigm--Australopithecus africanus from Plio-Pleistocene paleosol deposits at Taung.

PubMed

Hopley, Philip J; Herries, Andy I R; Baker, Stephanie Edwards; Kuhn, Brian F; Menter, Colin G

2013-06-01

Following the discovery of the "Taung Child" (Australopithecus africanus) in 1924 in the Buxton-Norlim Limeworks near Taung, the fossil-bearing deposits associated with the Dart and Hrdlička pinnacles have been interpreted as the mined remnants of cave sediments that formed within the Plio-Pleistocene Thabaseek Tufa: either as a younger cave-fill or as contemporaneous carapace caves. When combined with the Plio-Pleistocene dolomitic cave deposits from the "Cradle of Humankind," a rather restricted view emerges that South African early hominins derived from cave deposits, whereas those of east and central Africa are derived from fluvio-lacustrine and paleosol deposits. We undertook a sedimentological and paleomagnetic analysis of the pink-colored deposit (PCS) from which the "Taung Child" is purported to have derived and demonstrate that it is a calcrete, a carbonate-rich pedogenic sediment, which formed on the paleo-land surface. The deposit extends 100 s of meters laterally beyond the Dart and Hrdlička Pinnacles where it is interbedded with the Thabaseek Tufa, indicating multiple episodes of calcrete development and tufa growth. The presence of in situ rhizoconcretions and insect trace fossils (Celliforma sp. and Coprinisphaera sp.) and the distinctive carbonate microfabric confirm that the pink deposit is a pedogenic calcrete, not a calcified cave sediment. Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence indicates that a second, reversed polarity, fossil-bearing deposit (YRSS) is a younger fissure-fill formed within a solutional cavity of the normal polarity tufa and pink calcrete (PCS). These observations have implications for the dating, environment, and taphonomy of the site, and increase the likelihood of future fossil discoveries within the Buxton-Norlim Limeworks. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Equatorial Layered Deposits in Arabia Terra, Mars: Facies and Process Variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pondrelli, M.; Rossi, A.; van Gasselt, S.; Le Deit, L.; Glamoclija, M.; Cavalazzi, B.; Franchi, F.; Fueten, F.; Hauber, E.; Zegers, T.

2012-12-01

Genetic mechanisms proposed to explain Equatorial Layered Deposits (ELDs) formation include subglacial volcanism, aeolian/airfall, lacustrine, lacustrine/volcanic and spring-fed deposition. ELDs have been frequently shown to consist of sulfates (e.g. Gendrin et al., 2005) that might form as a response to evaporation in a playa environment (Hoefen et al., 2003) or during spring precipitation (e.g. Allen and Oehler, 2008; Rossi et al., 2008). The importance of groundwater-dominated hydrological systems was proposed to explain the formation of light-toned deposits in Meridiani Planum and Arabia Terra (e.g. Andrews-Hanna et al. 2007). Additionally, fluid expulsion processes have been invoked to explain the formation of mounds within the light-toned deposits in Arabia Terra (Allen and Oehler, 2008; Rossi et al., 2008; Pondrelli et al., 2011). Potential for habitable conditions of both playa and spring-related settings (Cavalazzi et al., 2007; Glamoclija et al., 2011) coupled with the high preservation potential within sulfates (Panieri et al., 2010), make these deposits a good candidate to understand the potential past habitability of the planet. In order to investigate ELDs genesis, an area in the vicinity of Firsoff crater, where ELDs are present within and outside the craters, was selected for geological mapping and analysis of the landforms and their association using the available dataset, including CRISM in order to infer ELDs composition. Within Firsoff crater, ELDs form a bulge that can be estimated to be at least a few hundred meters thick, while, outside the craters, ELDs form flat-lying deposits. Although heavily eroded by wind and carved by yardangs, several morphologies within the ELDs in the craters seem to be depositional, which would exclude that the entire Firsoff basin had been originally filled by ELDs. Within craters, ELDs consist of roughly meter thick layers draping and onlapping the substratum. They appear affected by polygonal patterns with no

Sedimentology, stratigraphy, and depositional environment of the Crystal Geyser Dinosaur Quarry, east-central Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Suarez, M.B.; Suarez, C.A.; Kirkland, J.I.; Gonzalez, Luis A.; Grandstaff, D.E.; Terry, D.O.

2007-01-01

The Crystal Geyser Dinosaur Quarry, near Green River, Utah, is located at the base of the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) Yellow Cat Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation. The quarry preserves a nearly monospecific accumulation of a new basal therizinosauroid, Falcarius utahensis. We used field descriptions and petrographic analysis to determine the depositional environment and development of the quarry strata. Results of these analyses suggest that the quarry represents multiple episodes of bone accumulation buried by spring and overbank flood deposits. Evidence for these previously undescribed spring deposits includes calcite macroscopic structures within the quarry strata - such as pisolites and travertine fragments - and calcite micromorphologies - including radial-fibrous, feather, and scandulitic dendrite morphologies and tufa clasts. At least two episodes of bone incorporation are preserved in the quarry based on their stratigraphic position and lithologic associations. The unique depositional setting in and around the Crystal Geyser Dinosaur Quarry appears to have been favorable for the preservation of vertebrate fossils and provides insight into early Cretaceous environments in North America. Copyright ?? 2007, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology).

Lacustrine records of Holocene climate and environmental change from the Lofoten Islands, Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balascio, Nicholas L.

Lakes sediments from the Lofoten Islands, Norway, can be used to generate well resolved records of past climate and environmental change. This dissertation presents three lacustrine paleoenvironmental reconstructions that show evidence for Holocene climate changes associated with North Atlantic climate dynamics and relative sea-level variations driven by glacio-isostatic adjustment. This study also uses distal tephra deposits (cryptotephra) from Icelandic volcanic eruptions to improve the chronologies of these reconstructions and explores new approaches to crypto-tephrochronology. Past and present conditions at Vikjordvatnet, Fiskebolvatnet, and Heimerdalsvatnet were studied during four field seasons conducted from 2007--2010. Initially, each lake was characterized by measuring water column chemistry, logging annual temperature fluctuations, and conducting bathymetric and seismic surveys. Sediment cores were then collected and analyzed using multiple techniques, including: sediment density, magnetic susceptibility, loss-on-ignition, total carbon and nitrogen, delta13C and delta 15N of organic matter, and elemental compositions acquired by scanning X-ray fluorescence. Chronologies were established using radiocarbon dating and tephrochronology. A 13.8 cal ka BP record from Vikjordvatnet provides evidence for glacial activity during the Younger Dryas cold interval and exhibits trends in Ti, Fe, and organic content during the Holocene that correlate with regional millennial-scale climate trends and provide evidence for more rapid events. A 9.7 cal ka BP record from Fiskebolvatnet shows a strong signal of sediment inwashing likely driven by local geomorphic conditions, although there is evidence that increased inwashing at the onset of the Neoglacial could have been associated with increased precipitation. Heimerdalsvatnet provides a record of relative sea-level change. A 7.8 cal ka BP sedimentary record reflects changes in salinity and water column conditions as the

Sunlight affects aggregation and deposition of graphene oxide in the aquatic environment.

EPA Science Inventory

In this study, we investigate the role of simulated sunlight on the physicochemical properties, aggregation, and deposition of graphene oxide (GO) in aquatic environments. Results show that light exposure under varied environmental conditions significantly impacts the physicochem...

Evolution of the Early Triassic marine depositional environment in the Croatian Dinarides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aljinović, Dunja; Smirčić, Duje; Horacek, Micha; Richoz, Sylvain; Krystyn, Leopold; Kolar-Jurkovšek, Tea; Jurkovšek, Bogdan

2014-05-01

Dienerian and Smithian are characterized by strong siliciclastic input and deposition of red shales, siltstones and sandstones with intercalation of oolithic and bioclastic grainstones. Hummocky-cross-strata witness the importance of storms. Presence of loadcasts and abundant casts of bivalve shells suggest quick deposition of terrigenous material and instant burying of epifauna during storms. Abundant trace fossils preserved in shales evidence intensive life activity in an overall shallow depositonal environment. During the Spathian deposition of lime mudstones and marls prevails. Two Spathian intervals bear ammonoid fauna suggest deposition in slightly deeper environment and a connection with the open sea testifying a transgression at the beginning of Spathian. Even in deeper environment storms play a significant role assuming deposition above storm wave base. The influence of storms in this deeper environment is recognized as accumulation of coarsegrained bioclastic lag at the base of storm beds, graded calcisiltites, gutter casts and hummocky-cross-stratified beds. Intense bioturbation suggest colonization by organisms between storms. Pending from nature and distribution of facies the Plavno sequence has been interpreted as epeiric ramp. An epeiric ramp is defined here as having a very low bathymetric slope (negligible in its inner regions), no grainy shoreface facies, water depths of tens of meters, a width of many hundreds of kilometers and depositional processes dominated by storms.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cregg, A.K.

Kenya basins have evolved primarily through extension related to episodic continental rifting. In eastern Kenya, thick accumulations of sediments formed within grabens during the prerift phase (Precambrian to Carboniferous) of the Gondwana breakup. Synrift sedimentation (Late Carboniferous to Middle Jurassic) occurred within a north-south rift system, which included the Mandera basin, South Anza basin, and Lamu embayment. During the Early Jurassic, a marine transgression invaded the margins of the eastern Kenya rift basins, resulting in the deposition of platform carbonates and shales. A Callovian-aged salt basin formed in the offshore regions of the Lamu embayment. Intermittent tectonic activity and eustaticmore » sea-level changes controlled sedimentation, which produced marine shales, carbonates or evaporites, and fluvio-deltaic to lacustrine sandstones. From the Early Cretaceous to recent, continental sediments were deposited within the North Anza and Turkana basins. These fluvial-lacustrine sediments are similar to the Lower Cretaceous sequences that have produced oil in the Mesozoic Sudanese Abu Gabra rift. Although exploration activities began in the early 1950s, significant occurrences of potential reservoir, source, and seal lithologies as well as trapping configurations remain in many areas. Favorable structures and sequences of reservoir sandstones and carbonates overlain by potentially sealing lacustrine or marine shales, evaporites, or volcanics have been noted. Potential source beds are believed to be present within shales of the lacustrine or marine depositional environments.« less

Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Environments: Aggregation, Deposition, and Enhanced Contaminant Transport.

PubMed

Alimi, Olubukola S; Farner Budarz, Jeffrey; Hernandez, Laura M; Tufenkji, Nathalie

2018-02-20

Plastic litter is widely acknowledged as a global environmental threat, and poor management and disposal lead to increasing levels in the environment. Of recent concern is the degradation of plastics from macro- to micro- and even to nanosized particles smaller than 100 nm in size. At the nanoscale, plastics are difficult to detect and can be transported in air, soil, and water compartments. While the impact of plastic debris on marine and fresh waters and organisms has been studied, the loads, transformations, transport, and fate of plastics in terrestrial and subsurface environments are largely overlooked. In this Critical Review, we first present estimated loads of plastics in different environmental compartments. We also provide a critical review of the current knowledge vis-à-vis nanoplastic (NP) and microplastic (MP) aggregation, deposition, and contaminant cotransport in the environment. Important factors that affect aggregation and deposition in natural subsurface environments are identified and critically analyzed. Factors affecting contaminant sorption onto plastic debris are discussed, and we show how polyethylene generally exhibits a greater sorption capacity than other plastic types. Finally, we highlight key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to improve our ability to predict the risks associated with these ubiquitous contaminants in the environment by understanding their mobility, aggregation behavior and their potential to enhance the transport of other pollutants.

Ecological state of the Romanian Black Sea littoral lacustrine ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomoiu, M.-T.

2009-04-01

The author uses the results of his own researches as well as data from specialty literature to assess the ecological state of some typical lacustrine ecosystems considered, about 50 years ago, of major importance by their functions, services and researches, for the human populations in the settlements nearby. Based on this assessment the author recommends a few criteria which can be taken into account when programs of integrated management of these coastal ecosystems are initiated. The paper focuses on the study cases regarding the following major ecosystems: 1. Razelm-Sinoie Lagoon Complex - tightly linked to the Danube River and Delta systems, 2. Taşaul Lake - interfered in the last two decades by a branch of the DanubeRiver - Black Sea Canal and 3. Techirghiol Lake - for a long time under the sea level, a hyperhaline lake with therapeutic, sapropelic mud, disturbed by huge quantities of freshwaters infiltrated from the irrigation system. At present, the state of the lacustrine ecosystems at the Romanian Black Sea Coast can be characterized, mainly, by the following aspects: · Increase in the quantities of nutrients and chemical toxicants; · Rise in the level and frequency of eutrophication and pollution phenomena; · Drastic reduction of specific diversity; · Simplification of communities' structure - biocoenosis homogeneity; · Decrease in numerical abundance and biomass of benthic populations and consequently, low biofilter power by the decrease of the filter-feeder populations; · Worsening of the qualitative and the quantitative state of the biological benthic resources; · Thriving opportunistic forms (e.g. the worms causing sediment bioturbation); · Invasion by some exotic species, with harmful, unexpected consequences; · All populations undergo quantitative fluctuations; · Decrease in the fish population and in the use values of lacustrine assets, with strong impact on the welfare of the human society. Almost all pressure forms associated with the

The Influences of Geologic Depositional Environments on Sand Boil Development, Tara Wildlife Lodge Area in Mississippi

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

ER D C/ G SL T R- 16 -7 The Influences of Geologic Depositional Environments on Sand Boil Development, Tara Wildlife Lodge Area in...client/default. ERDC/GSL TR-16-7 March 2016 The Influences of Geologic Depositional Environments on Sand Boil Development, Tara Wildlife Lodge...Army Corps of Engineers Washington, DC 20314-1000 ERDC/GSL TR-16-7 ii Abstract A comprehensive study of the subsurface geology in the Tara Wildlife

Regional stratigraphy and subsurface geology of Cenozoic deposits, Gulf Coastal Plain, south-central United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hosman, R.L.

1991-01-01

Although Cenozoic deposits are not uniformly differentiated, interstate correlations of major Paleocene and Eocene units are generally established throughout the area. Younger deposits are not as well differentiated. Some stratigraphic designations made at surface exposures cannot be extended into the sub-surface, and the scarcity of distinct geologic horizons has hampered differentiation on a regional scale. The complexities of facies development in Oligocene and younger coastal deposits preclude the development of extensive recognizable horizons needed for stratigraphic applications. Coastal deposits are a heterogeneous assemblage of deltaic, lagoonal, lacustrine, palustrine, eolian, and fluvial clastic facies and local calcareous reef facies. Even major time boundaries, as between geologic series, are not fully resolved. Surficial Quaternary deposits overlie the truncated subcrops of Tertiary strata and generally are distinguishable, although some contacts between Pleistocene and underlying Pliocene deposits have been a ?lstoncal source of controversy. Glacially related terraces are characteristic of the Pleistocene Epoch, and alluvium of aggrading streams typifies the Holocene. 

[Postspawning survival in lacustrine sock-eyed salmon Oncorhynchus nerka Walb].

PubMed

Markevich, G N; Ivashkin, E G; Pavlov, E D

2011-01-01

The state of gonads, age, structure of scales, and size of specimens of the resident lacustrine form of sock-eyed salmon--kokanee Onchorhynchus nerka--are analyzed. In stocked, previously fishless, lakes, there are specimens that have survived spawning and have remained active for a year or several years. No evidence was found of the possibility of repeated spawning. Thus, such fish do not belong to the spawning stock of the population, and their ecological function is not clear.

MX Siting Investigation. Geotechnical Evaluation of Luke Bombing and Gunnery Range. Geotechnical Report, Lechuguilla Desert, Arizona. Volume I.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-01-20

8217-5000 -150 C KILOETERS , 1 2 V i asagerat- EXPLANATION i SURFICIAL BASIN FILL; Alluvial tans and playa lacustrine deposits; average seismic velocity...Undetermined e Velocity zone I represents alluvial fan deposits and possible playa /lacustrine materials underlying the unconsolidated, thin 1younger...alluvial fan unit (A5y, A5yf). Velocity zone 2 seems to represert older, playa /lacustrine deposits overlying Veloc- ity zone 3, which may be the well

Sediment characteristics and configuration within the Otsego City Dam impoundment on the Kalamazoo River, Michigan, 2001-02

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rheaume, S.J.; Hubbell, D.L.; Rachol, C.M.; Simard, A.; Fuller, L.M.

2004-01-01

The removal of the Otsego City Dam on the Kalamazoo River at Otsego, Mich., is under consideration by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Otsego. The historical discharge of papermill waste containing polychlorinated biphenyls from sources upstream from the dam has led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to designate the Kalamazoo River from Morrow Dam near Comstock to its mouth near Saugatuck as a Federal Superfund site. The papermill waste is concentrated in organic sediment and kaolinite clay, with the sediment containing as much as 94 milligrams per kilogram polychlorinated biphenyls. This contaminated sediment could move if the dam is removed; therefore, it is necessary to estimate the characteristics and configuration of the sediment before removal plans begin. Data from augered sections and sediment cores show that the current Otsego City impoundment sediments were deposited in two distinctly different sedimentary environments: (1) lacustrine sediments consisting of organic-rich silt and clay, fine to medium sand, and some gravel deposited in a repetitive, cyclic fashion related to former stream velocities when the Otsego City impoundment water levels were 2-4 feet higher (1880s-1960s), and from downstream movement of lacustrine sediments during the removal of the upstream Plainwell Dam superstructure in the 1980s; and (2) more recent (1980s-2002) coarse-grained alluvium deposited on top of the lacustrine sediments. The volume of instream sediment contained within the Otsego City impoundment is estimated to be about 457,270 cubic yards. This estimate is based on the composite thicknesses of the lacustrine deposits and overlying alluvium, which were determined to contain PCBs, and does not include bank or flood-plain deposits.

Evaluating the Contributions of Atmospheric Deposition of Carbon and Other Nutrients to Nitrification in Alpine Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oldani, K. M.; Mladenov, N.; Williams, M. W.

2013-12-01

The Colorado Front Range of the Rocky Mountains contains undeveloped, barren soils, yet in this environment there is strong evidence for a microbial role in increased nitrogen (N) export. Barren soils in alpine environments are severely carbon-limited, which is the main energy source for microbial activity and sustenance of life. It has been shown that atmospheric deposition can contain high amounts of organic carbon (C). Atmospheric pollutants, dust events, and biological aerosols, such as bacteria, may be important contributors to the atmospheric organic C load. In this stage of the research we evaluated seasonal trends in the chemical composition and optical spectroscopic (fluorescence and UV-vis absorbance) signatures of snow, wet deposition, and dry deposition in an alpine environment at Niwot Ridge in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to obtain a better understanding of the sources and chemical character of atmospheric deposition. Our results reveal a positive trend between dissolved organic carbon concentrations and calcium, nitrate and sulfate concentrations in wet and dry deposition, which may be derived from such sources as dust and urban air pollution. We also observed the presence of seasonally-variable fluorescent components that may be attributed to fluorescent pigments in bacteria. These results are relevant because atmospheric inputs of carbon and other nutrients may influence nitrification in barren, alpine soils and, ultimately, the export of nitrate to alpine watersheds.

Abiotically-formed, primary dolomite in the mid-Eocene lacustrine succession at Gebel El-Goza El-Hamra, NE Egypt: An approach to the role of smectitic clays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wanas, H. A.; Sallam, E.

2016-08-01

needed to better characterize the role of clays during dolomite formation in alkaline lacustrine environments at ambient temperatures.

Reconnaissance geochronology of tuffs in the Miocene Barstow Formation: implications for basin evolution and tectonics in the central Mojave Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, David M.; Leslie, Shannon R.; Hillhouse, John W.; Wooden, Joseph L.; Vazquez, Jorge A.; Reynolds, R.E.

2010-01-01

Early to middle Miocene lacustrine strata of the Barstow Formation are well dated in just a few places, limiting our ability to infer basin evolution and regional tectonics. At the type section in the Mud Hills, previous studies have shown that the lacustrine interval of the Barstow Formation is between ~16.3 Ma and ~13.4 Ma. Elsewhere, lake beds of the Barstow Formation have yielded vertebrate fossils showing the Hemingfordian/Barstovian transition at ~16 Ma but are otherwise poorly dated. In an attempt to clarify the age and depositional environments of the lake deposits, we are mapping the Barstow Formation and dating zircons from interbedded tuffs, as well as testing ash-flow tuffs for the distinctive remanent magnetization direction of the widespread Peach Spring Tuff. Thus far, our new U-Pb zircon ages indicate that the Barstow lake beds contain tuff beds as old as 19.1 Ma and as young as 15.3 Ma. At Harvard Hill, Barstow lake beds contain a thick tuff dated at 18.7 Ma. On the basis of zircon ages, mineralogy, zircon chemistry, and paleomagnetic results, we consider the thick tuff to be a lacustrine facies of the Peach Spring Tuff. We have identified the Peach Spring Tuff by similar methods at eight localities over a broad area, providing a timeline for several fluvial and lacustrine sections. The new dates indicate that long-lived lacustrine systems originated before 19 Ma and persisted to at least 15 Ma. The onset of lacustrine conditions predates the Peach Spring Tuff in most Barstow Formation sections and may be older than 19.5 Ma in some places. The new data indicate that the central Mojave Desert contained narrow to broad lake basins during and after extension, and that Barstow lacustrine deposits did not exclusively postdate extensional tectonics. At present, it is unclear whether several separate, small lake basins coexisted during the early to middle Miocene, or if instead several small early Miocene basins gradually coalesced over about 6 million

Reconnaissance geochronology of tuffs in the Miocene Barstow Formation: implications for basin evolution and tectonics in the central Mojave Desert

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, D.M.; Leslie, S.R.; Hillhouse, J.W.; Wooden, J.L.; Vazquez, J.A.; Reynolds, R.E.

2010-01-01

Early to middle Miocene lacustrine strata of the Barstow Formation are well dated in just a few places, limiting our ability to infer basin evolution and regional tectonics. At the type section in the Mud Hills, previous studies have shown that the lacustrine interval of the Barstow Formation is between ~16.3 Ma and ~13.4 Ma. Elsewhere, lake beds of the Barstow Formation have yielded vertebrate fossils showing the Hemingfordian/Bartovian transition at ~16 Ma but are otherwise poorly dated. In an attempt to clarify the age and depositional environments of the lake deposits, we are mapping the Barstow Formation and dating zircons from interbedded tuffs, as well as testing ash-flow tuffs for the distinctive remanent magnetization direction of the widespread Peach Spring Tuff. Thus far, our new U-Pb zircon ages inficate that the Barstow lake beds contain tuff beds as old as 19.1 Ma and as young as 15.3 Ma. At Harvard Hill, Barstow lake beds contain a thick tuff dated at 18.7 Ma. On the basis of zircon ages, mineralogy, zircon chemistry, and paleomagnetic results, we consider the thick tuff to be a lacustrine facies of the Peach Spring Tuff. We have identified the Peach Spring Tuff by similar methods at eight localities over a broad area, providing a timeline for several fluvial and lacustrine sections. The new dates indicate that long-lived lacustrine systems originated before 19 Ma and persisted to at least 15 Ma. The onset of lacustrine conditions predates the Peach Spring Tuff in most Barstow Formation sections and may be older than 19.5 Ma in some places. The new data indicate that the central Mojave Desert contained narrow to broad lake basins during and after extension, and that Barstow lacustrine deposits did not exclusively postdate extensional tectonics. At present, it is unclear whether several separate, small lake basins coexisted during the early to middle Miocene, or if instead several small early Miocene basins gradually coalesced over about 6 millions

Recent marine deposits reconstruction of two depositional environments of the French Atlantic coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pouzet, Pierre; Maanan, Mohamed; Schmidt, Sabine; Athimon, Emmanuelle; Robin, Marc

2017-04-01

This work provides a 300-yr high-resolution record of past storm and/or tsunami events using a multi-proxy analysis (137Cs and 210Pb dating, chemical composition and grain size) of sedimentary deposits from two coastal depositional environments of the French Atlantic coast. We analyse two wetland areas situated just behind a narrow coastal sand strip: 1) the Mer Blanche and 2) the Turballe. Evidence for strong extratropical storms and /or tsunamis events can be identified in this central part of the Bay of Biscay from the XIXth to the XXth century. Nine short sediment cores were collected in August 2016 using gravity type corer of 10 inner diameter and 100 cm length. Each core was longitudinally sliced, each half section photographed and described. High-resolution elemental analyses of split sediment cores were done using an Avaatech XRF core scanner. Then sediment cores were sampled every 0.5 cm. Grain size analysis was done using a Malvern 2600 laser beam grain sizer; organic carbon was measured by Leco induction furnace. 137Cs, 210Pb and 226Ra activities were measured on about 2 g dried sediment using a low background, well-type γ spectrometer (Canberra). The 210Pb in excess, which is used for dating, was calculated as the difference of measured 210Pb and of its supported activities (226Ra). The history information is performed using historical documents including narrative sources, ancient maps, records of cities repairs, surveys conducted after a disaster, newspaper from different departmental and national archives, and meteorological data. Coastal depositional environments were affected hardest by extreme environmental and climatological events during the last century. In the Mer Blanche core, three extreme episodes can be observed: i) at 36 cm, sediment is characterized by coarser sand and higher Sr/Al ratio, this episode coincides with a high tidal wave in spring 1937; ii) at 55 cm, we observe the presence of many gravels, they dates back to the high tidal

Depositional environment of the Onverwacht sedimentary rocks Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paris, I. A.

The Onverwacht Group is the basal part of the ca 3.5 Ga succession forming the Barberton greenstone belt. It comprises a volcanic pile overlain by a thin layer of volcaniclastic sediments which, due to silicification, are extremely well preserved. There has been a controversy as to how and in what environment these sediments were formed, different sets of data being presented to reach opposite conclusions. The Onverwacht Group has been extensively repeated tectonically and here for the first time, sediments from different structural levels are studied together. Three separate facies have been recognised, a distal and proximal turbidite facies and a subaerial facies. Deposition of Onverwacht Group sedimentary rocks occurred in an oceanic basin characterised by the presence of emergent volcanic islands. After eruption, material was deposited both subaerially and in a shallow submarine environment on the volcanic slopes and, as a result of pyroclastic flow, in the deeper parts of the basin.

Wind influence on the course of sedimentation processes of the laminated lacustrine sediments of Lake Czechowskie

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiśniewska, Daria; Kramkowski, Mateusz; Tyszkowski, Sebastian

2016-04-01

The studies of the laminated lacustrine sediments play a very important role in the analysis of climate change. They provide valuable information related to the response of the ecosystem to changes in the environment. The condition for the development of the annual lamination is calm sedimentation, which can be compromised by the movement of water caused by waving. The depth to which this movement affects depends on the shape of the lake basin as well as the velocity and direction of the wind. During the study of sedimentary processes of laminated deposits in Lake Czechowskie (Tuchola Forest, North Poland, 53°52'N, 18°14' E, 108 m asl), the following question arose: How strong was the influence of the wind on the processes of lacustrine sedimentation? The key in getting the answers was the use of GIS techniques. Lake Czechowskie has an area of 76.6 hectares; it has two deeps separated by a threshold: a deeper one of 33 m (maximum depth of the basin) in the central-eastern part, and a shallower of 13 m in the western part. The speed of movement of water that is able to move sediment from the bottom of the lake, called the orbital wave velocity, is the basis for the designation of areas where re-suspension takes place. To calculate the wave parameters, the process of mixing, as well as the designation of re-suspension zones, the tool-script Wave Model (Rohweder et al. 2008) in the program ArsGIS 10.1 was used. The input data were wind direction and velocity from the meteorological station of Wirty about 15 km away, bathymetric data from acoustic profiling, and the Maximum Orbital Wave Velocity. The elements taken into account include maximum wind velocity of the multi-year 1996-2013, with particular emphasis on hurricanes Ksawery (December 2013) and Yoda (November 2011), during which wind velocity exceeded 120 km/h. In addition, maximum wind velocity ever recorded in the Polish Lowlands was considered. On the basis of the modelling, the authors delimited the areas

Reconstructing the Holocene depositional environments along the northern coast of Sfax (Tunisia): Mineralogical and sedimentological approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamourou, Ali; Touir, Jamel; Fagel, Nathalie

2017-05-01

A sedimentological and mineralogical study of sedimentary cores allowed reconstructing the evolution of depositional environments along the Northern coast of Sfax (Tunisia). The aim of this research work is to identify the factors controlling the sedimentation from the Holocene to the Present time. Three 30-m sediment cores collected by drilling at 30 m water depth were analyzed for their color, magnetic susceptibility signal, grain size by laser diffraction, organic matter content by loss of ignition, carbonate content by calcimetry and mineralogy by X-ray diffraction on bulk powder and clay <2 μm. They broadly present the same sedimentological and mineralogical features. Microscopical observations of petrographic slides allowed identifying six main sedimentary facies. Bulk mineralogical assemblages comprised clay minerals, quartz, calcite, gypsum and K-feldspars were examined. Considerable change was observed in the carbonate content that mimicked the bioclaste abundance and diluted the detrital minerals (clay minerals, quartz and feldspars). The gypsum mainly occurred in the lower sedimentary columns (SC12 and SC9) and in the upper/middle of core SC6. The clay fraction was made of a mixture of kaolinite, illite, smectite and palygorskite with no clear variation through core depth. Both grain-size parameters and magnetic susceptibility profile showed a sharp transition in the upper 2-5 m of the sedimentological columns. Coarse, sandy to gravely sediments characterized by a low magnetic susceptibility signal were replaced by fine bioclastic-rich clayey sediments. The analysis of vertical succession of depositional facies revealed a fluvial depositional environment (coastal plain) basically marked by fluvial channels and inundation plains at the bottom of all cores. However, core-top sediments recorded a littoral marine environment with sand depositions rich in gastropods, lamellibranches and algæ. Depositional facies, sedimentological and mineralogical

Biosignatures in modern sulfates: texture, composition and depositional environments of gypsum deposits at Guerrero Negro, Baja, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogel, M. B.; Des Marais, D. J.; Jahnke, L. L.; Turk, K.; Kubo, M.

2007-12-01

Gypsum (CaSO4·H2O) is an important phase in biogeochemistry and sedimentology as a mineral sink for sulfur, a paleoclimatic indicator, and an endolithic niche for phototrophic and chemotrophic bacteria. Sulfate deposits are also important targets of exploration for evidence of habitable environments and life on Mars. Gypsum deposits from a range of sedimentary environments at the Guerrero Negro crystallizer ponds and sabkha settings were investigated for microscale structure and composition to differentiate fabrics formed under microbial influence from those formed under abiogenic conditions. Sub-sedimentary gypsum forms in sabkha environments as mm to cm scale selenite discs (termed bird beak gypsum; Warren, 2006) and selenite disc aggregates. Selenite discs and other sub-sedimentary gypsum are characterized by a sinuous axial microtexture and poikilitically enclosed detrital particles. Sub-aqueous gypsum forms as cements, granules (termed gypsooids), and massive botryoidal crusts that line the sediment water interface and margins of managed crystallizer ponds and natural anchialine pools. Sub-aqueous gypsum exhibits a wide range of textures and mineral/biofilm associations that include amorphous to euhedral, tabular, needle and lensoidal morphologies. Elemental sulfur forms rinds on prismatic, growth aligned gypsum twins and reticulate magnesian carbonate is interspersed with both twinned crystals and rosette aggregates in stratified sub-aqueous environments. Intracrystalline biofilms and cell material was observed in association with nearly all sub-aqueous morphologies but only scarce evidence has been found for intercrystalline microbial communities. Columnar microbial communities living in anchialine pools were found to host precipitation of mm scale gypsum granules in their EPS matrix. Fine scale gypsum textures are unlikely to persist through diagenetic alteration, but understanding their primary associations with sulfur and carbonates is necessary for

Shallow lacustrine system of the Permian Pedra de Fogo Formation, Western Gondwana, Parnaíba Basin, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araújo, Raphael Neto; Nogueira, Afonso César Rodrigues; Bandeira, José; Angélica, Rômulo Simões

2016-04-01

The Permian Period of the Parnaíba Basin, northern Brazil, represented here by deposits from the Pedra de Fogo Formation, records important events that occurred in Western Gondwana near its boundary with the Mesozoic Era. The analysis of outcrop based facies from the Permian Pedra de Fogo Formation, which is 100 m thick, carried out along the eastern and western borders of the Parnaiba Basin, allowed the identification of eleven sedimentary facies, which were grouped into three distinct facies associations (FA), representative of a shallow lacustrine system associated with mudflats and ephemeral rivers. Bioturbation, desiccation cracks, silcretes and various siliceous concretions characterize the Pedra de Fogo deposits. The FA1 mudflat deposits occur predominantly at the base of the Pedra de Fogo Formation and consist of laminated claystone/mudstone, mudcrack-bearing sandstones/mudstones and sandstones exhibiting cross-lamination, massive and megaripple bedding. Popcorn-like silicified nodules and casts indicate evaporite deposits. Other common features are silica concretions, silicified tepees and silcretes. FA2 represents nearshore deposits and consists of fine-grained sandstones with evenly parallel lamination, climbing ripple cross-lamination, massive and megaripple bedding and mudstone/siltstone showing evenly parallel lamination. FA3 refers to wadi/inundite deposits, generally organized as fining-upward cycles of metric size, composed of conglomerates and medium-grained pebbly sandstones showing massive bedding and cross-stratification, as well as claystone/siltstone showing evenly parallel to undulate lamination. Scour-and-fill features are isolated in predominantly tabular deposits composed of mudstones interbedded with fine to medium-grained sandstones showing planar to slightly undulate lamination. Silicified plant remains previously classified as belonging to the Psaronius genus found in the uppermost levels of the Pedra de Fogo Formation, near the

Woolly erionite from the Reese River zeolite deposit, Lander County, Nevada, and its relationship to other erionites

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gude, Arthur J.; Sheppard, Richard A.

1981-01-01

Woolly erionite from the Reese River deposit, Nevada, is identical in appearance to that at the type locality, near Durkee, Oregon. Both of these erionites differ in appearance from all other erionite reported in the past 20 years from diverse rocks throughout the world which are described as prismatic or acicular in habit. The non-woolly erionites are especially common as microscopic crystals in diagenetically altered vitroclastic lacustrine deposits of Cenozoic age. The Reese River woolly erionite fills joints in gray to brownish-gray lacustrine mudstone of probably Pliocene age, in a zone about 1 m thick beneath a conspicuous gray vitric tuff. Compact masses of long, curly, woolly erionite fibers are in the plane of the joint and locally are associated with opal. Indices of refraction are ω = 1.468 and ε = 1.472; hexagonal unit-cell parameters are a = 13.186(2) Å, c = 15.055(1) Å, and V = 2267.1(0.9) Å3. A chemical analysis of woolly erionite yields a unit-cell composition of: Na1.01K2.84Mg0.3Ca1.69Al8.18Si27.84O72 · 28.51H2O.

Mechanosensory based orienting behaviors in fluvial and lacustrine populations of mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi)

Treesearch

Sheryl Coombs; Gary D. Grossman

2006-01-01

We compared prey-orienting and rheotactic behaviors in a fluvial (Coweeta Creek) and lacustrine (Lake Michigan) population of mottled sculpin. Blinded sculpin from both populations exhibited unconditioned, mechanosensory based rheotaxis to low velocity flows. Whereas Lake Michigan sculpin generally showed increasing levels of positive rheotaxis to increasing velocities...

Ants adjust their pheromone deposition to a changing environment and their probability of making errors

PubMed Central

Czaczkes, Tomer J.; Heinze, Jürgen

2015-01-01

Animals must contend with an ever-changing environment. Social animals, especially eusocial insects such as ants and bees, rely heavily on communication for their success. However, in a changing environment, communicated information can become rapidly outdated. This is a particular problem for pheromone trail using ants, as once deposited pheromones cannot be removed. Here, we study the response of ant foragers to an environmental change. Ants were trained to one feeder location, and the feeder was then moved to a different location. We found that ants responded to an environmental change by strongly upregulating pheromone deposition immediately after experiencing the change. This may help maintain the colony's foraging flexibility, and allow multiple food locations to be exploited simultaneously. Our treatment also caused uncertainty in the foragers, by making their memories less reliable. Ants which had made an error but eventually found the food source upregulated pheromone deposition when returning to the nest. Intriguingly, ants on their way towards the food source downregulated pheromone deposition if they were going to make an error. This may suggest that individual ants can measure the reliability of their own memories and respond appropriately. PMID:26063845

Oasis deposits in the southern margin of the Taklimakan Desert and abrupt environmental changes during the last 30 ka

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shu, P.; Li, B.; Wang, H.; Cheng, P.; An, Z.; Zhou, W.; Zhang, D. D.

2017-12-01

Taklimakan Desert, the largest arid landform in the Eurasia, is one of the most important dust sources in the world. Growing evidences shows that millennial-scale abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period in the region. However, records on millennial-scale climate and environmental changes remain poorly understood because dating eolian, lacustrine, and fluvial sediments and establishing the reliable environmental proxies from these records are always challenging. Here, we present 32 AMS 14C dates of bulk sediments, grain size, and Rb/Sr ratio parameters from the oasis sequence and dates of bulk loess and charcoal from the upstream source regions to examine the significance of oasis sediments on millennial-scale environmental changes in the Taklimakan Desert. We found that substantial reversal of radiocarbon dates on total organic carbon (TOC) was controlled by source region organic carbon input. Loess hills, alpine meadow north of the study region provided fluvial deposits along drainage system and deflation in the river valleys further provide eolain materials. We argue that early oasis deposits experienced deflation and re-deposition less severe than the younger oasis deposits. After refining radiocarbon age-depth relationships for an age model by Bacon package, proxy records show substantial abrupt fluctuations in climate and environments during the last glacial period, among which three wet intervals, two dry periods are identified. The wetter and warmer conditions during the Holocene facilitated human to occupy the oasis.

Characterization of petroleum reservoirs in the Eocene Green River Formation, Central Uinta Basin, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morgan, C.D.; Bereskin, S.R.

2003-01-01

The oil-productive Eocene Green River Formation in the central Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah is divided into five distinct intervals. In stratigraphically ascending order these are: 1) Uteland Butte, 2) Castle Peak, 3) Travis, 4) Monument Butte, and 5) Beluga. The reservoir in the Uteland Butte interval is mainly lacustrine limestone with rare bar sandstone beds, whereas the reservoirs in the other four intervals are mainly channel and lacustrine sandstone beds. The changing depositional environments of Paleocene-Eocene Lake Uinta controlled the characteristics of each interval and the reservoir rock contained within. The Uteland Butte consists of carbonate and rare, thin, shallow-lacustrine sandstone bars deposited during the initial rise of the lake. The Castle Peak interval was deposited during a time of numerous and rapid lake-level fluctuations, which developed a simple drainage pattern across the exposed shallow and gentle shelf with each fall and rise cycle. The Travis interval records a time of active tectonism that created a steeper slope and a pronounced shelf break where thick cut-and-fill valleys developed during lake-level falls and rises. The Monument Butte interval represents a return to a gentle, shallow shelf where channel deposits are stacked in a lowstand delta plain and amalgamated into the most extensive reservoir in the central Uinta Basin. The Beluga interval represents a time of major lake expansion with fewer, less pronounced lake-level falls, resulting in isolated single-storied channel and shallow-bar sandstone deposits.

Quaternary deposits in southwestern Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, G.I.

1974-01-01

Geologic evidence in the closed Seistan Basin of southwestern Afghanistan and adjacent parts of Iran and Pakistan indicates that a lake as much as 65,000 sq km in size occupied this closed depression during Pleistocene time. The deposits consist mostly of lacustrine silt and clay and have a maximum observed thickness of about 250 m. A layer of alluvial gravels overlies the sequence. The deposits are probably early or middle Pleistocene in age; they are old enough to have sustained nearly 300 m of erosion over large areas but are not faulted or detectably folded in the central part of the basin although they are upwarped along the west edge of the basin. Sand dunes cover extensive areas of the basin. Dune orientation shows that the strong surface winds enter the basin blowing toward the south-southeast and then are deflected to the east, apparently as a response to mountains bordering the basin on its south side. The Gawdezereh, a large deflation depression, may be a result of an augmented excavation ability of winds that oc urs where turbulence is created along a zone of deflection. ?? 1974.

Integration of rock physical signatures with depositional environments: A case study from East Coast of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mondal, Samit; Yadav, Ashok; Chatterjee, Rima

2018-01-01

Rock physical crossplots from different geological setup along eastern continental margin of India (ECMI) represent diversified signatures. To characterize the reservoirs in rock physics domain (velocity/modulus versus porosity) and then connecting the interpretation with geological model has been the objectives of the present study. Petrophysical logs (total porosity and volume of shale) from five wells located at sedimentary basins of ECMI have been analyzed to quantify the types of shale such as: laminated, dispersed and structural in reservoir. Presence of various shale types belonging to different depositional environments is coupled to define distinct rock physical crossplot trends for different geological setup. Wells from three different basins in East Coast of India have been used to capture diversity in depositional environments. Contact model theory has been applied to the crossplot to examine the change in rock velocity with change in reservoir properties like porosity and volume of shale. The depositional and diagenetic trends have been shown in the crossplot to showcase the prime controlling factor which reduces the reservoir porosity. Apart from that, the effect of geological factors like effective stress, sorting, packing, grain size uniformity on reservoir properties have also been focused. The rock physical signatures for distinct depositional environments, effect of crucial geological factors on crossplot trends coupled with established sedimentological models in drilled area are investigated to reduce the uncertainties in reservoir characterization for undrilled potentials.

Landscape characteristics of Rhizophora mangle forests and propagule deposition in coastal environments of Florida (USA)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sengupta, R.; Middleton, B.; Yan, C.; Zuro, M.; Hartman, H.

2005-01-01

Field dispersal studies are seldom conducted at regional scales even though reliable information on mid-range dispersal distance is essential for models of colonization. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential distance of dispersal of Rhizophora mangle propagules by comparing deposition density with landscape characteristics of mangrove forests. Propagule density was estimated at various distances to mangrove sources (R. mangle) on beaches in southwestern Florida in both high-and low-energy environments, either facing open gulf waters vs. sheltered, respectively. Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems were used to identify source forests and to determine their landscape characteristics (forest size and distance to deposition area) for the regression analyses. Our results indicated that increasing density of propagules stranded on beaches was related negatively to the distance of the deposition sites from the nearest stands of R. mangle and that deposition was greatly diminished 2 km or more from the source. Measures of fragmentation such as the area of the R. mangle forests were related to propagule deposition but only in low-energy environments. Our results suggest that geographic models involving the colonization of coastal mangrove systems should include dispersal dynamics at mid-range scales, i.e., for our purposes here, beyond the local scale of the forest and up to 5 km distant. Studies of mangrove propagule deposition at various spatial scales are key to understanding regeneration limitations in natural gaps and restoration areas. Therefore, our study of mid-range propagule dispersal has broad application to plant ecology, restoration, and modeling. ?? Springer 2005.

Radiocarbon dates for lava flows and pyroclastic deposits on Sao Miguel, Azores

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, R.B.; Rubin, M.

1991-01-01

We report 63 new radiocarbon analyses of samples from Sao Miguel, the largest island in the Azores archipelago. The samples are mainly carbonized tree roots and other plant material collected from beneath 20 mafic lava flows and spatter deposits and from within and beneath 42 trachytic pyroclastic flow, pyroclastic surge, mudflow, pumice-fall and lacustrine deposits and lava flows. One calcite date is reported. These dates establish ages for 48 previously undated lava flows and pyroclastic deposits, and revise three ages previously reported. These data are critical to deciphering the Holocene and late Pleistocene eruptive history of Sao Miguel and evaluating its potential volcanic hazards. Average dormant intervals during the past 3000 years are about 400 years for Sete Cidades volcano, 145 years for volcanic Zone 2, 1150 years for Agua de Pau volcano and 320 years for Furnas volcano. No known eruptions have occurred in volcanic Zone 4 during the past 3000 years. -from Authors

Unraveling the mineralogy of delta deposits on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterloo, Mikki; Kierein-Young, Kathryn

2017-04-01

Detailed geologic characterizations of three of 50+ fan deltas on Mars have yielded important information on their mineralogy as well as formation processes. Data returned from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) have been used to identify spectroscopic signatures consistent with phyllosilicates in fans or deltas within paleolake basins (i.e., Eberswalde, Holden, and Jezero) that indicate sustained subaqueous sediment deposition. Based on these results, two periods of martian history have been identified when the surface or near surface may have been habitable: (1) during the formation of the iron-magnesium smectite clays, likely in the Early Noachian and (2) during the Late Noachian to Early Hesperian fluvial surface activity that led to the formation of Jezero lake. On Earth, rapid deposition of deltaic sediments can preserve organic materials; hence Martian fan deltas may be ideal environments to investigate the past habitability of the planet. Rapid burial coupled with the identification of phyllosilicates within at least some of the martian deltas makes an even more intriguing argument for further investigation of the remainder of deltas. This is because phyllosilicates, and specifically smectite clays, have the ability to trap organic matter in the interlayer sites of their mineral structures and in terrestrial settings are commonly associated with the most organic rich units. Organic materials that were transported into paleolakes would likely have been buried relatively quickly. Hence, the organics would have been protected within the clay-rich deltaic and lacustrine deposits from oxidation and photochemical dissociation. We will present the initial results of a comprehensive study designed to investigate the compositional and mineralogical variability of the remainder of dust-free, previously un-characterized deltas on Mars (of which, there are 33). Our study aims to provide key information regarding differences in formation

Monitoring Atmospheric Deposition of Nitrogen in Alpine Environments in Rocky Mountain and Yosemite National Parks, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roop, H. A.; Clow, D. W.; Mills, J.; Fenn, M. E.

2011-12-01

Recent increases in atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) in the western U.S. have adversely impacted surface water quality and changed the composition of aquatic biota in high-elevation lakes. Existing N deposition data are generally not spatially diverse; representation of remote wilderness areas and high-elevation watersheds is often lacking, making it difficult to assess the importance of variations in N deposition on water quality impacts. This study aims to better understand N deposition in remote environments, particularly in alpine environments, where both the quantity and environmental impact of atmospheric N deposition are poorly understood. Understanding the impacts of N deposition on these environments is important for National Park resource and water-quality managers. Using ion-exchange resin (IER) collectors, seasonal through-fall of nitrogen was measured at 29 sites in the Rocky Mountains and 21 sites in the Sierra Nevada from 2006-2011. The IER collectors, deployed in pairs, represent geographically diverse transects aimed to quantify the spatial distribution of nitrogen deposition. Placed on talus slopes or in areas of exposed bedrock, the IER collectors were installed immediately following snowmelt (June/July) and replaced with new collectors prior to the first snowfall (September). Following spring melt, the collectors deployed over the winter were exchanged with new collectors. These seasonal swaps capture winter/spring and summer/fall deposition. A majority of the sites were paired with seasonal surface-water quality samples, allowing for comparison with nitrate levels in surface waters. In the lab, N compounds are eluted from the resins, then diluted and analyzed on an ion- chromatograph. Preliminary data from 2006, representing 16 sites with uncontaminated samples in Rocky Mountain National Park, suggest higher nitrogen deposition on the east side of the park. Average summer N deposition for an 85-day exposure period at the eastern slope

Gold deposition by sulfidation of ferrous Fe in the lacustrine sediments of the Pueblo Viejo district (Dominican Republic): The effect of Fe-C-S diagenesis on later hydrothermal mineralization in a Maar-Diatreme complex

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kettler, R.M.; Rye, R.O.; Kesler, S.E.; Meyers, P.A.; Polanco, J.; Russell, N.

1992-01-01

The Pueblo Viejo district, located in the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic, contains large Au-Ag deposits associated with acid-sulfate alteration within spilites, conglomerates and carbonaceous sedimentary rocks that were deposited in a maar-diatreme complex. Much of the Au mineralization occurs in pyritic, carbonaceous siltstones of the Pueblo Viejo Maar-Diatreme Member of the Cretaceous Los Ranchos Formation. Pyrite is the only Fe-bearing phase in mineralized rock, whereas siderite is the dominant Fe-bearing phase in siltstones distal to mineralization. Disseminated pyrite occurs as framboids, cubes, pyritohedra, concretions and cement. Early framboids occur throughout the district. Au occurs as inclusions in later non-framboid disseminated pyrite (NFDP); an occurrence that is interpreted to be indicative of contemporaneous deposition. Pyrite framboids exhibit a wide range of ??34Scdt-values (-17.5 to +4.8???) and are interpreted to have formed during biogenic reduction of pore-water sulfate. The NFDP yield restricted ??34Scdt-values ( x ?? = -5.2???, s = ??2.4???, n = 43) similar to those obtained from later vein pyrite ( x ?? = -6.4???, s = ??1.5???, n = 12). Alunite and barite have ??34S-values ranging from +18.8 to +21.6???. The interpretation that the NFDP, vein pyrite, alunite and barite, and possibly even the framboidal pyrite share a common source of igneous sulfur is supported by the ??34S data. Siderite occurs as concretions and cement, contains abundant Mg (Fe0.75Mg0.19Mn0.03Ca0.02CO3) and has ??13Cpdb- and ??18Osmow-values ranging from -2.5 to +1.1%. and +14.6 to +19.5???, respectively. These data are consistent with the interpretation that the siderite formed in lacustrine sediments and that the carbonate in the siderite is probably methanogenic, although contributions from oxidation of organic matter during biogenic sulfate reduction, thermal decarboxylation of organic matter, or magmatic vapor cannot be ruled out. Disseminated Au

Depositional environments of the uranium-bearing Cutler Formations, Lisbon Valley, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Campbell, John A.; Steele-Mallory, Brenda A.

1979-01-01

The Cutler Formation in Lisbon Valley, San Juan County, Utah, is composed predominantly of fluvial arkosic sandstones, siltstones, shales, and mudstones that were deposited by meandering streams that flowed across a flood plain and tidal flat close to sea level. Two types of channel deposits are recognized from their sedimentary structures: meandering and distributary. The flood plain was occasionally transgressed by a shallow sea from the west, resulting in the deposition of several thin limestones and marine sandstones. The marine sandstones were deposited as longshore bars. Wind transported sand along the shoreline of the shallow sea, forming a coastal dune field. Marine sandstones and eolian sandstones are more common in the upper Cutler in the southern part of the area, whereas in the central and northern part of the area the formation is predominantly fluvial. Crossbed orientation indicates that Cutler streams flowed S. 67? W. on the the average, whereas marine currents moved sediment S. 36? E. and N. 24? W., and wind transported sand S. 800 E. The uranium in the Cutler is found in the central and northern part of the area, in the upper part of the formation, in small fluvial sandstone bodies that were deposited predominantly in a distributary environment. No uranium is known in the marine or eolian sandstones. Petrographically, the uranium-bearing sandstones are identical to other Cutler fluvial sandstones except that they contain less calcite and more clay and are slightly coarser grained. Ore formation has modified the host sandstones very little.

Analysis on the overpressure characterization with respect to depositional environment facies: Case Study in Miri Area, Baram Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mhd Hanapiah, N.; Yusoff, W. I. Wan; Zakariah, M. N. A.

2017-10-01

Overpressure studies in oil and gas exploration and production are carried out in order to mitigate any losses that could happen while drilling. These concerns can be addressed by enhancing the understanding of overpressure characterization in the fields. This research emphasizes in determining the pore pressure trend in Miri area to assist pore pressure prediction for future hydrocarbon exploration and production. Generally, pore pressure trends are related to mechanisms that contribute to the overpressure generation. In the region predominant overpressure are disequilibrium compaction within the prodelta shales meanwhile in outer shelf overpressure generation controlled by fluid expansion in deltaic sequence of inner shelf area. The objective of this research is to analyze the pore pressure profile of wells for determining vertical trends of pore pressure for various depositional environment facies of Miri area. Integration of rock physics and pore pressure analysis and relating the trends to environment depositional environment facies within shale underlying sand interval. Analysis done shows that overpressure top is characterize by depositional environment facies within shale underlying sand interval.

Lacustrine-fluvial interactions in Australia's Riverine Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kemp, Justine; Pietsch, Timothy; Gontz, Allen; Olley, Jon

2017-06-01

Climatic forcing of fluvial systems has been a pre-occupation of geomorphological studies in Australia since the 1940s. In the Riverine Plain, southeastern Australia, the stable tectonic setting and absence of glaciation have combined to produce sediment loads that are amongst the lowest in the world. Surficial sediments and landforms exceed 140,000 yr in age, and geomorphological change recorded in the fluvial, fluvio-lacustrine and aeolian features have provided a well-studied record of Quaternary environmental change over the last glacial cycle. The region includes the Willandra Lakes, whose distinctive lunette lakes preserve a history of water-level variations and ecological change that is the cornerstone of Australian Quaternary chronostratigraphy. The lunette sediments also contain an ancient record of human occupation that includes the earliest human fossils yet found on the Australian continent. To date, the lake-level and palaeochannel records in the Lachlan-Willandra system have not been fully integrated, making it difficult to establish the regional significance of hydrological change. Here, we compare the Willandra Lakes environmental record with the morphology and location of fluvial systems in the lower Lachlan. An ancient channel belt of the Lachlan, Willandra Creek, acted as the main feeder channel to Willandra Lakes before channel avulsion caused the lakes to dry out in the late Pleistocene. Electromagnetic surveys, geomorphological and sedimentary evidence are used to reconstruct the evolution of the first new channel belt following the avulsion. Single grain optical dating of floodplain sediments indicates that sedimentation in the new Middle Billabong Palaeochannel had commenced before 18.4 ± 1.1 ka. A second avulsion shifted its upper reaches to the location of the present Lachlan River by 16.2 ± 0.9 ka. The timing of these events is consistent with palaeohydrological records reconstructed from Willandra Lakes and with the record of

Ants adjust their pheromone deposition to a changing environment and their probability of making errors.

PubMed

Czaczkes, Tomer J; Heinze, Jürgen

2015-07-07

Animals must contend with an ever-changing environment. Social animals, especially eusocial insects such as ants and bees, rely heavily on communication for their success. However, in a changing environment, communicated information can become rapidly outdated. This is a particular problem for pheromone trail using ants, as once deposited pheromones cannot be removed. Here, we study the response of ant foragers to an environmental change. Ants were trained to one feeder location, and the feeder was then moved to a different location. We found that ants responded to an environmental change by strongly upregulating pheromone deposition immediately after experiencing the change. This may help maintain the colony's foraging flexibility, and allow multiple food locations to be exploited simultaneously. Our treatment also caused uncertainty in the foragers, by making their memories less reliable. Ants which had made an error but eventually found the food source upregulated pheromone deposition when returning to the nest. Intriguingly, ants on their way towards the food source downregulated pheromone deposition if they were going to make an error. This may suggest that individual ants can measure the reliability of their own memories and respond appropriately. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Evidences of Neotectonic Movements Recorded in Fluvial and Lacustrine Deposits of the Niger River in Bamako, Mali

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dembele, N. D. J.

2015-12-01

Two alluvial profiles showing evidences of tectonic movements were discovered along the right bank of the Niger River at Bamako. The first profile of 25 meters thick is composed of a laminated silt layer of about 22 meters, of a gray sand layer of 25 cm and a pebble layer of 2 meters. A layer of 80 cm wide, an intrusive body, crosscuts the silt layers. The Grain size and heavy minerals analysis showed that this vertical layer is different in structure, texture and composition from the other layers. The second profile of about 20 meters is composed of interbedded fluvial gravel and sand deposits. The tectonic evidences found on those layers are of three types: faults and fractures, folds and the intrusion between silts deposits of the sand layers previously presented. The faults and fractures are located mainly on the fluvial gravel and sand deposits, whereas the silts deposits are folded and show some microfaults. The intrusion of a sand layer between the silt layer is a geological process that is not yet well understood but it is believed that this phenomena occurs during earthquakes as the sand layer during such event behave as a liquid. The discovery of such layer testifies that earthquakes used to happen in the area. As they concern only the alluvial deposits, their age should be no more than the Quaternary period. The presence of such tectonic evidences is surprising as Bamako like all the Republic of Mali is located on the west African craton that is supposed to be tectonically stable and their occurrence on Quaternary unconsolidated sediments shows that tectonic movements used to occur on that area during the last 2 millions years or may be less whereas people continue to build houses and other social infrastructures on them without any caution.

Grain size analysis and depositional environment of shallow marine to basin floor, Kelantan River Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afifah, M. R. Nurul; Aziz, A. Che; Roslan, M. Kamal

2015-09-01

Sediment samples were collected from the shallow marine from Kuala Besar, Kelantan outwards to the basin floor of South China Sea which consisted of quaternary bottom sediments. Sixty five samples were analysed for their grain size distribution and statistical relationships. Basic statistical analysis like mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis were calculated and used to differentiate the depositional environment of the sediments and to derive the uniformity of depositional environment either from the beach or river environment. The sediments of all areas were varied in their sorting ranging from very well sorted to poorly sorted, strongly negative skewed to strongly positive skewed, and extremely leptokurtic to very platykurtic in nature. Bivariate plots between the grain-size parameters were then interpreted and the Coarsest-Median (CM) pattern showed the trend suggesting relationships between sediments influenced by three ongoing hydrodynamic factors namely turbidity current, littoral drift and waves dynamic, which functioned to control the sediments distribution pattern in various ways.

Petrographic and geochemical evidence for the formation of primary, bacterially induced lacustrine dolomite: La Roda 'white earth' (Pliocene, Central Spain)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garcia, Del; Cura, M.A.; Calvo, J.P.; Ordonez, S.; Jones, B.F.; Canaveras, J.C.

2001-01-01

Upper Pliocene dolomites ('white earth') from La Roda, Spain, offer a good opportunity to evaluate the process of dolomite formation in lakes. The relatively young nature of the deposits could allow a link between dolomites precipitated in modern lake systems and those present in older lacustrine formations. The La Roda Mg-carbonates (dolomite unit) occur as a 3??5- to 4-m- thick package of poorly indurated, white, massive dolomite beds with interbedded thin deposits of porous carbonate displaying root and desiccation traces as well as local lenticular gypsum moulds. The massive dolomite beds consist mainly of loosely packed 1- to 2-??m-sized aggregates of dolomite crystals exhibiting poorly developed faces, which usually results in a subrounded morphology of the crystals. Minute rhombs of dolomite are sparse within the aggregates. Both knobbly textures and clumps of spherical bodies covering the crystal surfaces indicate that bacteria were involved in the formation of the dolomites. In addition, aggregates of euhedral dolomite crystals are usually present in some more clayey (sepiolite) interbeds. The thin porous carbonate (mostly dolomite) beds exhibit both euhedral and subrounded, bacterially induced dolomite crystals. The carbonate is mainly Ca-dolomite (51-54 mol% CaCO3), showing a low degree of ordering (degree of ordering ranges from 0??27 to 0??48). Calcite is present as a subordinate mineral in some samples. Sr, Mn and Fe contents show very low correlation coefficients with Mg/Ca ratios, whereas SiO2 and K contents are highly correlated. ??18O- and ??13C-values in dolomites range from -3??07??? to 5??40??? PDB (mean = 0??06, ?? = 1??75) and from -6??34??? to -0??39??? PDB (mean = -3??55, ?? = 1??33) respectively. Samples containing significant amounts of both dolomite and calcite do not in general show significant enrichment or depletion in 18O and 13C between the two minerals. The correlation coefficient between ??18O and ??13C for dolomite is extremely

Relationship of fluviodeltaic facies to coal deposition in the lower Fort Union formation (Palaeocene), south-western North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Belt, Edward S.; Flores, Romeo M.; Warwick, Peter D.; Conway, Kevin M.; Johnson, Kirk R.; Waskowitz, Robert S.; Rahmani, R.A.; Flores, Romeo M.

1984-01-01

Facies analysis of the Ludlow and Tongue River Members of the Palaeocene Fort Union Formation provides an understanding of the relationship between fluviodeltaic environments and associated coal deposition in the south-western Williston Basin. The Ludlow Member consists of high-constructive delta facies that interfinger with brackish-water tongues of the Cannonball Member of the Fort Union Formation. The lower part of the Ludlow Member was deposited on a lower delta plain that consisted of interdistributary crevasse and subdelta lobes. The upper part of the Ludlow Member was deposited in meander belts of the upper delta plain. The delta plain facies of the Ludlow Member is overlain by alluvial plain facies consisting of swamp, crevasse-lobe, lacustrine, and trunk meander belt deposits of the Tongue River Member. The Ludlow delta is believed to have been fed by fluvial systems that probably flowed from the Powder River Basin to the Williston Basin undeterred by the Cedar Creek Anticline. However, the evidence indicates that the Cedar Creek Anticline was prominent enough, during early Tongue River Member deposition, to cause the obstruction of the regional fluvial system flowing from the SW, and the formation of local drainage.The Ludlow Member contains 18 coal beds in the area studied, of which the T-Cross and Yule coals are as thick as 4 m (12 ft). Abandoned delta lobes served as platforms where coals formed, which in turn, were drowned by mainly fresh water and subordinate brackish water. Repetition of deltaic sedimentation, abandonment, and occupation by swamp led to preservation of the T-Cross and Oyster coals in areas as extensive as 260 km2 (< 100 miles2).

Luminescence dating of paleolake deltas and glacial deposits in Garwood Valley, Antarctica: Implications for climate, Ross ice sheet dynamics, and paleolake duration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Levy, Joseph S.; Rittenour, Tammy M.; Fountain, Andrew G.; O'Connor, Jim E.

2017-01-01

The formation of perched deltas and other lacustrine deposits in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica is widely considered to be evidence of valley-filling lakes dammed by the grounded Ross Sea ice sheet during the local Last Glacial Maximum, with lake drainage interpreted as a record of grounding line retreat. We used luminescence dating to determine the age of paleolake deltas and glacial tills in Garwood Valley, a coastal dry valley that opens to the Ross Sea. Luminescence ages are stratigraphically consistent with radiocarbon results from algal mats within the same delta deposits but suggest radiocarbon dates from lacustrine carbonates may overestimate deposit ages by thousands of years. Results suggest that late Holocene delta deposition into paleolake Howard in Garwood Valley persisted until ca. 3.5 ka. This is significantly younger than the date when grounded ice is thought to have retreated from the Ross Sea. Our evidence suggests that the local, stranded ice-cored till topography in Garwood Valley, rather than regional ice-sheet dynamics, may have controlled lake levels for some McMurdo Dry Valleys paleolakes. Age control from the supraglacial Ross Sea drift suggests grounding and up-valley advance of the Ross Sea ice sheet into Garwood valley during marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 4 (71–78 ka) and the local Last Glacial Maximum (9–10 ka). This work demonstrates the power of combining luminescence dating with existing radiocarbon data sets to improve understanding of the relationships among paleolake formation, glacial position, and stream discharge in response to climate change.

Variations in eruptive style and depositional processes of Neoproterozoic terrestrial volcano-sedimentary successions in the Hamid area, North Eastern Desert, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalaf, Ezz El Din Abdel Hakim

2013-07-01

Two contrasting Neoproterozoic volcano-sedimentary successions of ca. 600 m thickness were recognized in the Hamid area, Northeastern Desert, Egypt. A lower Hamid succession consists of alluvial sediments, coherent lava flows, pyroclastic fall and flow deposits. An upper Hamid succession includes deposits from pyroclastic density currents, sills, and dykes. Sedimentological studies at different scales in the Hamid area show a very complex interaction of fluvial, eruptive, and gravitational processes in time and space and thus provided meaningful insights into the evolution of the rift sedimentary environments and the identification of different stages of effusive activity, explosive activity, and relative quiescence, determining syn-eruptive and inter-eruptive rock units. The volcano-sedimentary deposits of the study area can be ascribed to 14 facies and 7 facies associations: (1) basin-border alluvial fan, (2) mixed sandy fluvial braid plain, (3) bed-load-dominated ephemeral lake, (4) lava flows and volcaniclastics, (5) pyroclastic fall deposits, (6) phreatomagmatic volcanic deposits, and (7) pyroclastic density current deposits. These systems are in part coeval and in part succeed each other, forming five phases of basin evolution: (i) an opening phase including alluvial fan and valley flooding together with a lacustrine period, (ii) a phase of effusive and explosive volcanism (pulsatory phase), (iii) a phase of predominant explosive and deposition from base surges (collapsing phase), and (iv) a phase of caldera eruption and ignimbrite-forming processes (climactic phase). The facies architectures record a change in volcanic activity from mainly phreatomagmatic eruptions, producing large volumes of lava flows and pyroclastics (pulsatory and collapsing phase), to highly explosive, pumice-rich plinian-type pyroclastic density current deposits (climactic phase). Hamid area is a small-volume volcano, however, its magma compositions, eruption styles, and inter

Tracking Reactive Nitrogen Sources, Chemistry and Deposition in Urban Environments Using Stable Isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hastings, M. G.; Clark, S. C.; Chai, J.; Joyce, E.; Miller, D. J.; Schiebel, H.; Walters, W.

2017-12-01

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) includes compounds such as nitrogen oxides (NOx, HONO), ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3-), ammonium (NH4+), and organic nitrates. These compounds serve major roles in controlling the composition of our atmosphere, and have a direct impact on ecosystem health and water quality. Our research is focused on using stable isotopes of Nr to investigate variations in sources, chemistry, atmospheric transport, and deposition. Our aim is to fingerprint distinct emission sources - such as vehicles, power plants, aircraft, agriculature, wildfires, and lightning - and track their influence in the environment. We have recently characterized vehicle emission plumes, emissions from agricultural soils under different management practices, and (in the near future) wildfire plumes in the western U.S. Our approach targets characterizing the isotopic composition of NOx, HONO, and NH3 at both the emissions source and the plume scale. In contrast to large ranges found for individual tailpipe emissions of NOx, on-road plumes in the U.S. have a mean δ15N of -4.7 ± 1.7‰. The plume scale approach integrates across the typical U.S. fleet giving a representative value that can be used for tracking the impact of this emission source in the environment. NH3 also tends towards a narrow isotopic range when considered at the roadside scale compared to individual vehicles. In agricultural settings, the isotopes of NOx and HONO released from soils under different fertilizer practices is typically very negative in δ15N (-40 to -10‰) and appears to vary most with soil N properties rather than meteorology. Our work is now extending to discern sources influencing Nr deposition in an urban area at the head of New England's largest estuary. National monitoring of N deposition shows decreases in NO3- (but not NH4+) deposition over the last two decades, following better controls on NOx emissions. Wet deposition collected in an urban area exhibits N concentrations that are often 3

Clay minerals behaviour in thin sandy clay-rich lacustrine turbidites (Lake Hazar, Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Ouahabi, Meriam; Hubert-Ferrari, Aurelia; Lamair, Laura; Hage, Sophie

2017-04-01

Turbidites have been extensively studied in many different areas using cores or outcrop, which represent only an integrated snapshot of a dynamic evolving flow. Laboratory experiments provide the missing relationships between the flow characteristics and their deposits. In particular, flume experiments emphasize that the presence of clay plays a key role in turbidity current dynamics. Clay fraction, in small amount, provides cohesive strength to sediment mixtures and can damp turbulence. However, the degree of flocculation is dependent on factors such as the amount and size of clay particles, the surface of clay particles, chemistry and pH conditions in which the clay particles are dispersed. The present study focuses on thin clayey sand turbidites found in Lake Hazar (Turkey) occurring in stacked thin beds. Depositional processes and sources have been previously studied and three types were deciphered, including laminar flows dominated by cohesion, transitional, and turbulence flow regimes (Hage et al., in revision). For the purpose of determine the clay behavior in the three flow regimes, clay mineralogical, geochemical measurements on the cores allow characterising the turbidites. SEM observations provide further information regarding the morphology of clay minerals and other clasts. The study is particularly relevant given the highly alkaline and saline water of the Hazar Lake. Clay minerals in Hazar Lake sediments include kaolinite (1:1-type), illite and chlorite (2:1-type). Hazar lake water is alkaline having pH around 9.3, in such alkaline environment, a cation-exchange reaction takes place. Furthermore, in saline water (16‰), salts can act as a shield and decrease the repulsive forces between clay particle surfaces. So, pH and salt content jointly impact the behaviour of clays differently. Since the Al-faces of clay structures have a negative charge in basic solutions. At high pH, all kaolinite surfaces become negative-charged, and then kaolinite

Early Miocene depositional environments in the northern margin of the Mediterranean, southwestern Anatolia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yavuz, H.H.; Oercen, S.

1988-08-01

The continental and shallow marine clastics and carbonates exposed around the towns of Kale and Acipayam in southwestern Anatolia were investigated to interpret the depositional environments in the northern margin of the Mediterranean in terms of lithofacies and biozones. These deposits include Miogypsina intermedia and M. irregularis, indicating Burdigalian age when correlated with the same species in the different parts of the Tethys Sea and Indian-Pacific Oceans. The clastic lower part of the succession is characterized by sheet flow and braided-stream deposits of an alluvial-fan/fan-delta complex. Marine carbonates overlie these deposits, but in some places a transgressive lag deposit liesmore » between the unconformity surface and the carbonates. The lag deposit unit corresponds to the Gastropoda biozone, including Ostrea, Terebralia, and Pecten. Four carbonate facies are recognized: (1) Clayey limestones with ahermatypic corals, ostracods, macrofossils, and foraminifers. This facies corresponds to the Textularia-Rotalia biozone. (2) Packstones and grainstones with abundant nearshore and some offshore foraminifers, corresponding to the Miliolidae biozone. (3) Packstones and wackestones with offshore foraminifers. This facies includes the Miogypsina irregularis-Miogypsina intermedia biozone. (4) Boundstones and very poorly sorted reef-talus conglomerates including hermatypic corals, foraminifers, and binding foraminifers. This facies is the coral biozone. These sediments define the northern extent of the Tethys Sea in the investigated area during the Burdigalian. They were deposited in a shallow carbonate platform at the southern margin of the Anatolian mainland, which had a steep coast characterized by an alluvial-fan/fan-delta complex.« less

Monitoring tropical environments with Space Shuttle photography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helfert, Michael R.; Lulla, Kamlesh P.

1989-01-01

Orbital photography from the Space Shuttle missions (1981-88) and earlier manned spaceflight programs (1962-1975) allows remote sensing time series to be constructed for observations of environmental change in selected portions of the global tropics. Particular topics and regions include deforestation, soil erosion, supersedimentation in streams, lacustrine, and estuarine environments, and desertification in the greater Amazon, tropical Africa and Madagascar, South and Southeast Asia, and the Indo-Pacific archipelagoes.

Assessment of atmospheric trace metal deposition in urban environments using direct and indirect measurement methodology and contributions from wet and dry depositions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omrani, Mehrazin; Ruban, Véronique; Ruban, Gwenaël; Lamprea, Katerine

2017-11-01

Bulk Atmospheric Deposition (BAD), Wet Atmospheric Deposition (WAD) and Dry Atmospheric Deposition (DAD) were all measured within an urban residential area in Nantes (France) over a 9-month period (27 February - 10 December 2014). The objectives of this study were to compare 2 methods for measuring dry and wet atmospheric depositions in the urban environment (DAD and WAD: direct method; BAD and WAD: indirect one), and to characterize as well the variations and relative contributions of these depositions. Trace metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pt and V) were used to carry out these comparison and quantification. BAD was collected with two open polyethylene containers (72 × 54 × 21 cm), while WAD was collected by means of an automated rainwater collector and DAD was determined from both air measurements (recorded by an air sampler) and 7Be deposition velocities. The comparison based on a detailed evaluation of uncertainties showed a significant difference between the direct and indirect methods. Dry and wet depositions varied widely from one month to the next. Zn and Cu were the most abundant elements in both dry and wet depositions. The mean contribution of DAD to the bulk atmospheric deposition during this 9-month study was significant for Zn, Cu and V (about 25%) as well as for Pb (approx. 60%). For this relatively unpolluted urban residential catchment, the contribution of atmospheric deposition to global load at the catchment outlet was low, between 10% and 20% for Zn, Cu, V and Pb, 25% for Cr and about 30% for Ni. For other urban sites exhibiting high atmospheric pollution however, the atmospheric contribution to the global pollution load could be much greater. An accurate and representative estimation of DAD thus proves critical.

Sediment facies, depositional environments, and distribution of phytoclasts in the recent Mahakam River delta, Kalimantan, Indonesia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gastaldo, R.A.; Huc, A.Y.

1992-12-01

The Mahakam River delta is a tide- and wave-dominated delta located on the edge of the Kutei basin, eastern Kalimantan, Borneo. It is a coastal deltaic sequence, Neogene to Holocene in age, from which all recoverable hydrocarbons (crude oil and natural gas) are considered to be derived from kerogen III predecessors. However, a complete understanding of the types of sediments sourcing the hydrocarbons has not yet been achieved. A vibracoring program sampled the principal fine-grained depositional environments in two transects; one within the fluvially-dominated regime, one within the tidally-dominated regime. Ten sedimentary facies are distinguished and phytoclasts have been recoveredmore » from all environments of deposition. Canopy parts from the mixed tropical forest community are preserved throughout the delta, whereas dicotyledonous angiosperm mangroves are restricted to the subtidal zone and delta front. Nypa parts are preserved in most depositional environments. In sites where there appears to be an absence of macrodetritus, dispersed cuticle is recoverable. Identifiable plant parts include wood and fibrous tissues, Nypa petioles and leaf laminae, dicotyledonous angiosperm leaves and isolated cuticles, fruits and seeds, roots and rootlets, and moss. Dammar is found either as dispersed resin ducts or amorphous clasts. Additional biotic components found in bedded plant litters include insects, gastropods, bivalves, sand dollars, ostracods, and crabs. Fluvial channels and depositional sites associated with these systems in the delta front can be differentiated from Nypa swamps and mixed tropical hardwood-palm swamps based on their phytological components and accessory biotic elements. 39 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs.« less

Late Holocene Environmental Reconstruction and Flood Records of Lake Bafa, Western Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yalamaz, Burak; Bulkan, Özlem; Namık Çaǧatay, M.; Acar, Dursun

2016-04-01

Lake Bafa is a significant inland lake located in the Büyük Menderes River Basin near the Aegean Sea in the horst and graben system of western Turkey. Lake Bafa was part of the ancient Gulf of Latmos that was gradually filled by the prograding sediments of Büyük Menderes River during the Holocene transgression, and resulted in the creation of the Lake in the southern part. The lake is presently located 15 km from the shoreline, 2 m above sea level. It has a maximum depth of 21 m and surface area of 60 km2. We used multi-proxy analyses of a 4.17 m-long core extending back to ca. 2300 years from the central depo centre of the lake. The objectives are to reconstruct the environmental evolution of the Lake Bafa as it changed from a marginal marine to a lacustrine environment, and to investigate the flood records during the past 2300 yrs. The core is composed of three units: an uppermost lacustrine unit, a unit representing marine to lacustrine conditions and a lowermost marine unit. The uppermost lacustrine unit is 1 m-thick, homogenous clayey silt mud layer with relatively high total organic carbon (TOC= 2.5 - 4.5 %), high total inorganic carbon (TIC = 1.8 -4.5 %) and low detrital input (Si, K, Zr, Ti). According to AMS radiocarbon dating, it was deposited over the last 600 yrs under brackish lacustrine conditions. The underlying unit is 2 m-thick, and consists of banded mud layers with relatively low TOC (1.2-4 %) and TIC (1.2-3.5) contents and high detrital input. Its fossil content, with scarce Cardium sp. and Ammonia sp., indicates that it was deposited under brackish water conditions and represents a transition from marine to lacustrine environments. The unit was deposited between ca. 600 and 1750 yrs BP, and includes frequent flood units ranging up to 10 cm-thick fine sand- to clay-bearing coarse silt. The lowermost unit is characterized by relatively high TOC (2-5.5 %), TIC (1.5-3.5 %) contents and high detrital input. With its abundant Cardium sp. and

The ichthyofauna of limnic systems in Quaternary deposits of extreme southern Brazil

PubMed Central

Assumpção, Cindy M.; Quintela, Fernando M.; Corrêa, Fabiano; Loebmann, Daniel

2016-01-01

Abstract The Quaternary in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), southern Brazil, is geologically represented by the coastal plain and was originated by successive events of Pleistocene-Holocene marine transgressions and the occurrence of alluvial deposits. This paper aimed to characterize the fish assemblage occurring in a swampy Quaternary area adjacent to Lagoa Pequena, a lacustrine system connected to the west margin of the Laguna dos Patos estuary. A checklist is also provided of the ichthyofauna so far recorded in limnic systems of Quaternary deposits in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. A total of 42 species was recorded, distributed in nine orders, 18 families and 31 genera. Characidae and Cichlidae were the most representative families, comprising 15 and 4 species respectively. A bibliographic revision associated to our sample data revealed the occurrence of 156 species in limnic systems inserted in RS Quaternary deposits (114 limnic, 15 marine/estuarine/limnic, ten marine/estuarine, nine estuarine/limnic and eight marine). Characiformes and Siluriformes are the most diverse orders, corroborating the Neotropical pattern. Seven species can be considered endemic to RS Quaternary deposits. PMID:28174498

Hot-spring sinter deposits in the Alvord-Pueblo Valley, Harney County, Oregon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cummings, M.L.; St. John, A.M.

1993-04-01

Silica sinter deposits occur at Borax Lake, Alvord Hot Springs, and Mickey Springs in the Alvord-Pueblo Valley. Although the sinter deposits occur in areas of active hot springs, sinter is not being deposited. Hot springs are localized along faults that have been active since the Pleistocene. The sinter deposits formed after the drying of glacial Lake Alvord, but before and during extensive wind deflation of glacial-lacustrine sediments. At Mickey Springs, sinter rests directly on unaltered, unconsolidated lithic-rich sand. At Borax Lake, sinter overlies unaltered diatomite, but some armoring, presumably by silica, of the 30 m vent has developed. Field relationsmore » suggest rapid dumping of silica from solution without alteration of the country rock at the vent. Discharge of thermal fluids and cold groundwater along the same structure may have produced colloidal silica carried in a solution stripped of dissolved silica. Sinter is composed of opal-a, traces of detrital feldspar and quartz, and evaporation-related boracite. The concentration of Sb is similar among the three sinter deposits (20 to 70 ppm); however, As, Cs, and Br are highest at Borax Lake (5 to 560 ppm; 26 to 118 ppm; 5 to 1,040 ppm) while Hg is highest at Mickey Springs (1.0 to 5.2 ppm).« less

Lithostratigraphy and physical properties of lacustrine sediments of the last ca. 150 kyr from Chalco basin, central México

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortega-Guerrero, Beatriz; Lozano-García, Socorro; Herrera-Hernández, Dimitris; Caballero, Margarita; Beramendi-Orosco, Laura; Bernal, Juan Pablo; Torres-Rodríguez, Esperanza; Avendaño-Villeda, Diana

2017-11-01

The recognition of past climatic fluctuations in sedimentary sequences in central Mexico is relevant for understanding the forcing mechanisms and responses of climatic system in the northern American tropic. Moreover, in this active volcanic setting the sedimentary record preserves the history of past volcanic activity. Climatic and environmental variability has been documented for the last tenths of thousands of years from the upper lacustrine sediments in Chalco basin. A series of cores drilled down to 122 m depth in this basin offer a long, continuous and high resolution record of past climatic changes of the last ca. 150 kyr in this region. Here we present the detailed lithostratigraphy and some physical properties (magnetic susceptibility and density) of the master sequence. Sedimentary components and their abundance were identified and quantified in smear slides and direct core observations. Age model is based on 13 14C and one 230Th/U dates. Based on their facies association seven lithostratigraphic units were defined, which reflect the main stages of lake Chalco evolution. These phases closely match the marine isotopic stages. The data reveal that at the end of MIS6 Chalco was a relatively deep and stratified freshwater lake. During MIS5 the depositional environment fluctuated between low lake stands to marshy and marginal playa settings with sporadic flooding events, and severe arid periods resulted in aerial exposure of lake sediments. Low lake stands persisted during MIS4 and MIS3, with minor fluctuations towards slightly deeper phases. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the deglacial period (21-13 kyr) are characterized by intense volcanism. The early and mid-Holocene high calcareous content and alkaline-subsaline lake suggest dry conditions. The fluctuations of lake levels inferred provide the basis for future paleoclimatic works.

A great volcanic eruption around AD 1300 recorded in lacustrine sediment from Dongdao Island, South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhongkang; Long, Nanye; Wang, Yuhong; Zhou, Xin; Liu, Yi; Sun, Liguang

2017-02-01

The contents of Ti, Al and Fe 2 O 3 in a lacustrine sediment core (DY6) collected from Dongdao Island, South China Sea (SCS), were determined to be much higher than those in the three major sediment end-members (coral sand, guano and plants), and their likely sources include terrigenous dust and volcanic ash. At 61 cm (˜AD 1300), the contents of Ti, Al and Fe 2 O 3 have an abnormally high spike, which cannot be explained by terrigenous dust. The Sr and Nd isotope compositions at 61 cm are in excellent agreement with those in volcanic materials, but they are significantly different from those in terrigenous dust, implying a possible material input from historical volcanic eruptions in the lacustrine sediment DY6. The documented great Samalas volcanic eruption at AD 1257 in Indonesia is likely the candidate for this volcanic eruption.

Depositional environments and processes in Upper Cretaceous nonmarine and marine sediments, Ocean Point dinosaur locality, North Slope, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Phillips, R.L.

2003-01-01

A 178-m-thick stratigraphic section exposed along the lower Colville River in northern Alaska, near Ocean Point, represents the uppermost part of a 1500 m Upper Cretaceous stratigraphic section. Strata exposed at Ocean Point are assigned to the Prince Creek and Schrader Bluff formations. Three major depositional environments are identified consisting, in ascending order, of floodplain, interdistributary-bay, and shallow-marine shelf. Nonmarine strata, comprising the lower 140 m of this section, consist of fluvial distributaries, overbank sediments, tephra beds, organic-rich beds, and vertebrate remains. Tephras yield isotopic ages between 68 and 72.9 Ma, generally consistent with paleontologic ages of late Campanian-Maastrichtian determined from dinosaur remains, pollen, foraminifers, and ostracodes. Meandering low-energy rivers on a low-gradient, low-relief floodplain carried a suspended-sediment load. The rivers formed multistoried channel deposits (channels to 10 m deep) as well as solitary channel deposits (channels 2-5 m deep). Extensive overbank deposits resulting from episodic flooding formed fining-upward strata on the floodplain. The fining-upward strata are interbedded with tephra and beds of organic-rich sediment. Vertical-accretion deposits containing abundant roots indicate a sheet flood origin for many beds. Vertebrate and nonmarine invertebrate fossils along with plant debris were locally concentrated in the floodplain sediment. Deciduous conifers as well as abundant wetland plants, such as ferns, horsetails, and mosses, covered the coastal plain. Dinosaur skeletal remains have been found concentrated in floodplain sediments in organic-rich bone beds and as isolated bones in fluvial channel deposits in at least nine separate horizons within a 100-m-thick interval. Arenaceous foraminifers in some organic-rich beds and shallow fluvial distributaries indicate a lower coastal plain environment with marginal marine (bay) influence. Marginal marine strata

Multiple Magma Batches Recorded in Tephra Deposits from the Toba Complex, Sumatra.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearce, N. J. G.; Westgate, J.; Gatti, E.

2015-12-01

The Toba Caldera Complex is the largest Quaternary caldera on Earth, and has generated three voluminous and compositionally similar rhyolitic tuffs, viz. the Oldest (OTT, 800 ka), Middle (MTT, ~500 ka) and Youngest Toba Tuffs (YTT, 75 ka). These tephra deposits are widespread across Indonesia, Malaysia, South China Sea, Sea of Bengal, India and Indian Ocean and provide useful stratigraphic markers in oceanic, lacustrine and terrestrial environments. Single shard trace element analysis of these deposits reveals the changing availability of different batches of magma through time, with Sr, Ba and Y contents defining 5 discrete magma populations in YTT, 4 populations in MTT and only a single, low Ba population in OTT. Within an individual eruption these populations are clearly distinct, but between eruptions (e.g. MTT and YTT) some of these populations overlap while others do not, indicating both the longevity (and/or continuous supply of fresh material) and evolution of these magma batches in the Toba Complex. Major element compositions of the different groups show equilibration at different pressures (based on Q'-Ab'-Or'), with the equilibration of low Ba populations at ~160 MPa, increasing to depths of ~210 MPa for the highest Ba population. The proportions of different populations of glass in distal YTT shows that relatively little of the high Ba population makes it into the distal record across India, and that this population appears to be over-represented in the proximal free glass and pumice from the caldera walls. This data may shed light on magma availability and tephra dispersal during the YTT eruption. Similarly, the glass composition of individual pumices from proximal deposits record regional, compositional and temporal differences in the erupted products. These show, for example, the apparent mingling of some of the magma batches and also that the high Ba population appears early (i.e. stratigraphically lower) in the northern caldera wall.

Evaluating Late Cretaceous OAEs and the influence of marine incursions on organic carbon burial in an expansive East Asian paleo-lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Matthew M.; Ibarra, Daniel E.; Gao, Yuan; Sageman, Bradley B.; Selby, David; Chamberlain, C. Page; Graham, Stephan A.

2018-02-01

Expansive Late Cretaceous lacustrine deposits of East Asia offer unique stratigraphic records to better understand regional responses to global climate events, such as oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), and terrestrial organic carbon burial dynamics. This study presents bulk organic carbon isotopes (δ13Corg), elemental concentrations (XRF), and initial osmium ratios (187Os/188Os, Osi) from the Turonian-Coniacian Qingshankou Formation, a ∼5 Ma lacustrine mudstone succession in the Songliao Basin of northeast China. A notable δ13Corg excursion (∼ + 2.5‰) in organic carbon-lean Qingshankou Members 2-3 correlates to OAE3 in the Western Interior Basin (WIB) of North America within temporal uncertainty of high-precision age models. Decreases in carbon isotopic fractionation (Δ13C) through OAE3 in the WIB and Songliao Basin, suggest that significantly elevated global rates of organic carbon burial drew down pCO2, likely cooling climate. Despite this, Osi chemostratigraphy demonstrates no major changes in global volcanism or weathering trends through OAE3. Identification of OAE3 in a lake system is consistent with lacustrine records of other OAEs (e.g., Toarcian OAE), and underscores that terrestrial environments were sensitive to climate perturbations associated with OAEs. Additionally, the relatively radiogenic Osi chemostratigraphy and XRF data confirm that the Qingshankou Formation was deposited in a non-marine setting. Organic carbon-rich intervals preserve no compelling Osi evidence for marine incursions, an existing hypothesis for generating Member 1's prolific petroleum source rocks. Based on our results, we present a model for water column stratification and source rock deposition independent of marine incursions, detailing dominant biogeochemical cycles and lacustrine organic carbon burial mechanisms.

Understanding processes affecting mineral deposits in humid environments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Seal, Robert R.; Ayuso, Robert A.

2011-01-01

Recent interdisciplinary studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have resulted in substantial progress toward understanding the influence that climate and hydrology have on the geochemical signatures of mineral deposits and the resulting mine wastes in the eastern United States. Specific areas of focus include the release, transport, and fate of acid, metals, and associated elements from inactive mines in temperate coastal areas and of metals from unmined mineral deposits in tropical to subtropical areas; the influence of climate, geology, and hydrology on remediation options for abandoned mines; and the application of radiogenic isotopes to uniquely apportion source contributions that distinguish natural from mining sources and extent of metal transport. The environmental effects of abandoned mines and unmined mineral deposits result from a complex interaction of a variety of chemical and physical factors. These include the geology of the mineral deposit, the hydrologic setting of the mineral deposit and associated mine wastes, the chemistry of waters interacting with the deposit and associated waste material, the engineering of a mine as it relates to the reactivity of mine wastes, and climate, which affects such factors as temperature and the amounts of precipitation and evapotranspiration; these factors, in turn, influence the environmental behavior of mineral deposits. The role of climate is becoming increasingly important in environmental investigations of mineral deposits because of the growing concerns about climate change.

Rifting by continental rotation, mantle flow and hotspot volcanism in the salt-depositing South Atlantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szatmari, P.

2012-04-01

Rabinowitz & LaBrecque (1979) proposed that Africa and South America separated between 130 Ma and 107 Ma by 11.1° rigid plate rotation about an Euler pole in NE Brazil. According to those authors, the two continents remained contiguous in the north as the wedge-shaped South Atlantic opened up between them and deposited salt mostly over oceanic crust. Subsequent seismic profiling and drilling showed that salt, restricted to north of the volcanic proto-Walvis Ridge, deposited over rift sediments and stretched-thinned continental crust. Increasingly accurate restorations by Nürnberg & Müller (1991), Aslanian et al. (2009), Torsvik et al. (2009), and Moulin et al. (2010) differentiated in both continents several rigid plates separated by active deformation zones. Still, tectonic analysis of the rifted margins indicates that the main Early Cretaceous event was the clockwise rotation of South America about an Euler pole in its northeast. Both rifting and volcanism, including the Paraná-Etendeka large igneous province, where most flood basalts erupted at 134.6 ± 0.6 Ma (Thiede & Vasconcelos, 2010), were controlled by distance and orientation of rift segments relative to that pole in NE Brazil. Rifting was active from latest Jurassic to early Albian time (Magnavita et al., 2011) over inherited late Proterozoic fold-thrust belts. By Aptian time a long, dry wedge-shaped basin formed north of the volcanic barrier of the proto-Walvis Ridge, widening southward to 700 km and subsiding deep below sea level in the Santos Basin. The basin was filled with oil-rich lacustrine limestone and marine salt, each more than 2 km thick, deposited in often desiccating shallow water over the partially hyperextended continental crust of the São Paulo Plateau (Zalán et al., 2010; Magnavita et al., 2011; Szatmari, 2011). Further south marine sediments deposited over oceanic crust. Surface subsidence of the long, deep sediment-starved rift wedge was shaped, prior to the deposition of the

Multiple-scale hydraulic characterization of a surficial clayey aquitard overlying a regional aquifer in Louisiana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, Steven W.; Cherry, John A.; Parker, Beth L.

2018-03-01

The vertical hydraulic conductivity (Kv) of a 30-m thick surficial clayey aquitard overlying a regional aquifer at an industrial site in the Mississippi River Valley in Louisiana was investigated via intensive hydraulic characterization using high resolution vertical hydraulic head profiles with temporal monitoring and laboratory tests. A study area was instrumented with a semi-circular array of piezometers at many depths in the aquitard at equal distance from a large capacity pumping well including replicate piezometers. Profiles showed negligible head differential to 20 m bgs, below which there was an abrupt change in vertical gradients over the lower 8-10 m of the aquitard. Hydraulic characteristics are strongly associated with depositional environment; the upper zone of minimal head differentials with depth and minimal variation over time correlates with Paleo-Mississippi River backswamp deposits, while the lower zone with large head differentials and slow but moderate head changes correlates with lacustrine deposits. The lower zone restricts groundwater flow between the surface and underlying regional aquifer, which is hydraulically connected to the Mississippi River. Lab tests on lacustrine samples show low Kv (8 × 10-11-4 × 10-9 m/s) bracketing field estimates (6 × 10-10 m/s) from 1-D model fits to piezometric data in response to large aquifer head changes. The slow response indicates absence of through-going open fractures in the lacustrine unit, consistent with geotechnical properties (high plasticity, normal consolidation), suggesting high integrity that protects the underlying aquifer from surficial contamination. The lack of vertical gradients in the overlying backswamp unit indicates abundant secondary permeability features (e.g. fractures, rootholes) consistent with depositional and weathering conditions. 2-D stylized transient flow simulations including both units supports this interpretation. Other published reports on surficial aquitards in the

A Major Eocene Lake System in the Hinterland of the North American Cordillera Comes into Geochronologic Focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. E.; Cassel, E. J.; Canada, A.; Jicha, B.; Singer, B. S.

2015-12-01

,000 km2 area of NE NV at 40.45 ± 0.08 Ma, near the end of Elko Formation accumulation. Within this bed, the hydrogen isotope composition of glass hydration waters vary systematically according to paleo-landscape position, recording a 102 ± 20‰ increase in δD values for glasses deposited in lacustrine versus fluvial environments.

A 3400 year paleolimnological record of prehispanic human–environment interactions in the Holmul region of the southern Maya lowlands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wahl, David B.; Estrada-Belli, Francisco; Anderson, Lysanna

2015-01-01

The timing, magnitude and drivers of late Holocene environmental change in the Holmul region of the southern Maya lowlands are examined by combining paleoenvironmental and archeological data. Environmental proxy analyses on a ~ 3350 cal yr lacustrine sediment record include pollen, charcoal, loss on ignition, magnetic suscep- tibility, and elemental geochemistry. Archeological evidence is derived from extensive settlement surveys conducted near the study site. Results indicate nearby settlement and agricultural activity taking place in an environment characterized by open forest from around 3350 to 950 cal yr BP. The fire history shows a dramatic increase in burning during the Classic period, possibly reflecting changing agricultural strategies. A distinct band of carbonate deposited from 1270 to 1040 cal yr BP suggests decreased hydrologic input associated with drier conditions. Abrupt changes in proxy data around 940 cal yr BP indicate a cessation of human disturbance and local abandonment of the area.

Diagenetic Crystal Growth in the Murray Formation, Gale Crater, Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kah, L. C.; Kronyak, R. E.; Ming, D. W.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Schieber, J.; Sumner, D. Y.; Edgett, K. S.

2015-01-01

The Pahrump region (Gale Crater, Mars) marks a critical transition between sedimentary environments dominated by alluvial-to-fluvial materials associated with the Gale crater rim, and depositional environments fundamentally linked to the crater's central mound, Mount Sharp. At Pahrump, the Murray formation consists of an approximately 14-meter thick succession dominated by massive to finely laminated mudstone with occasional interbeds of cross-bedded sandstone, and is best interpreted as a dominantly lacustrine environment containing tongues of prograding fluvial material. Murray formation mudstones contain abundant evidence for early diagenetic mineral precipitation and its subsequent removal by later diagenetic processes. Lenticular mineral growth is particularly common within lacustrine mudstone deposits at the Pahrump locality. High-resolution MAHLI images taken by the Curiosity rover permit detailed morphological and spatial analysis of these features. Millimeter-scale lenticular features occur in massive to well-laminated mudstone lithologies and are interpreted as pseudomorphs after calcium sulfate. The distribution and orientation of lenticular features suggests deposition at or near the sediment-water (or sediment-air) interface. Retention of chemical signals similar to host rock suggests that original precipitation was likely poikilotopic, incorporating substantial amounts of the primary matrix. Although poikilotopic crystal growth is common in burial environments, it also occurs during early diagenetic crystal growth within unlithified sediment where high rates of crystal growth are common. Loss of original calcium sulfate mineralogy suggests dissolution by mildly acidic, later-diagenetic fluids. As with lenticular voids observed at Meridiani by the Opportunity Rover, these features indicate that calcium sulfate deposition may have been widespread on early Mars; dissolution of depositional and early diagenetic minerals is a likely source for both calcium

Geochemical partitioning of lead in biogenic carbonate sediments in a coral reef depositional environment.

PubMed

Horta-Puga, Guillermo

2017-03-15

The fate of trace elements in reef depositional environments has not been extensively investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the partitioning of Pb in sediments of the Veracruz Reef System, and its relation to local environmental sources. Lead was determined in four geochemical fractions: exchangeable (3.8±0.4μgg -1 ), carbonate (57.0±13.6μgg -1 ), organic matter (2.0±0.9μgg -1 ), and mineral (17.5±5.4μgg -1 ). For the mineral fraction, lead concentrations were higher in those reefs influenced by river discharge or by long-distance transport of terrigenous sediments. The bioavailable concentration of lead (range: 21.9-85.6μgg -1 ) indicates that the Veracruz Reef System is a moderately polluted area. As expected, the carbonate fraction contained the highest proportion of Pb (70%), and because the reef framework is largely made up of by biogenic carbonate sediments, hence, it is therefore the most important repository of Pb in coral reef depositional environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geomorphology and depositional sub-environments of Assateague Island MD/VA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morton, Robert A.; Bracone, Jeremy E.; Cooke, Brian

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey is studying coastal hazards and coastal change to improve our understanding of coastal ecosystems and to develop better capabilities of predicting future coastal change. One approach to understanding the dynamics of coastal systems is to monitor changes in barrier-island sub-environments through time. This involves examining morphological and topographic change at time scales ranging from millennia to years and space scales ranging from tens of kilometers to meters. Of particular interest are the processes that produce those changes and determining whether or not those processes are likely to persist into the future. In these analyses of hazards and change, both natural and anthropogenic influences are considered. Quantifying past magnitudes and rates of coastal change and knowing the principal factors that govern those changes are critical to predicting what changes are likely to occur under different scenarios, such as short-term impacts of extreme storms or long-term impacts of sea-level rise. Assateague Island MD/VA was selected for detailed mapping of barrier island morphology and topography because the island offers a diversity of depositional sub-environments that are representative of other barrier islands along the middle Atlantic coast. The geomorphology and sub-environment map emphasizes the origins of the surficial features and it also serves as a basis for documenting which sub-environments are relatively stable, such as the barrier island core, and those that are highly dynamic, such as the beach and active overwash zones.

Fluvial Volumes, Timescales, and Intermittency in Milna Crater, Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buhler, P.; Fassett, C. I.; Head, J. W.; Lamb, M. P.

2017-01-01

Ancient lake deposits and valley networks on Mars provide strong evidence that its surface was once modified by liquid water, but the extent of that modification is still debated. Ancient lacustrine deposits in Milna Crater provide insight into the timescale and fluid volume required to construct fluvially derived sedimentary deposits near the Noachian-Hesperian boundary. Placing the lacustrine deposits their regional context in Paraná Valles provides a quantitative measurement of the intermittency of large, water-mediated sediment transport events in that region.

The pre-spawning migratory behaviour of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in a large lacustrine catchment.

PubMed

Kennedy, R J; Allen, M

2016-09-01

The movements of adult Atlantic salmon Salmo salar were determined as they migrated to spawning habitats in a large lacustrine catchment, Lough Neagh, in Northern Ireland. The minimum average ground speed of S. salar through the lake was 2·1 km day(-1) and the mean residence time was 11 days. Tagged S. salar tended to actively migrate through the lake which represented a transitory habitat for adult S. salar. Migration time from the release site, through the lake, to a spawning tributary decreased during the migratory period. During the 4 year study period between 20·5 and 41·6% of tagged S. salar which entered the lake each year, explored at least one other channel before ascending the final spawning tributary. Exploratory behaviour was more likely in S. salar which spawned in the tributaries furthest from the sea. Exploratory behaviour was also more likely to occur during periods of reduced discharge in the natal stream. The fishery management implications of complex pre-spawning behaviour in a mixed stock lacustrine system, are discussed. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Evidence for persistent flow and aqueous sedimentation on early Mars.

PubMed

Malin, Michael C; Edgett, Kenneth S

2003-12-12

Landforms representative of sedimentary processes and environments that occurred early in martian history have been recognized in Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera and Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System images. Evidence of distributary, channelized flow (in particular, flow that lasted long enough to foster meandering) and the resulting deposition of a fan-shaped apron of debris indicate persistent flow conditions and formation of at least some large intracrater layered sedimentary sequences within fluvial, and potentially lacustrine, environments.

Lacustrine responses to decreasing wet mercury deposition rates: results from a case study in northern Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brigham, Mark E.; Sandheinrich, Mark B.; Gay, David A.; Maki, Ryan P.; Krabbenhoft, David P.; Wiener, James G.

2014-01-01

We present a case study comparing metrics of methylmercury (MeHg) contamination for four undeveloped lakes in Voyageurs National Park to wet atmospheric deposition of mercury (Hg), sulfate (SO4–2), and hydrogen ion (H+) in northern Minnesota. Annual wet Hg, SO4–2, and H+ deposition rates at two nearby precipitation monitoring sites indicate considerable decreases from 1998 to 2012 (mean decreases of 32, 48, and 66%, respectively). Consistent with decreases in the atmospheric pollutants, epilimnetic aqueous methylmercury (MeHgaq) and mercury in small yellow perch (Hgfish) decreased in two of four lakes (mean decreases of 46.5% and 34.5%, respectively, between 2001 and 2012). Counter to decreases in the atmospheric pollutants, MeHgaq increased by 85% in a third lake, whereas Hgfish increased by 80%. The fourth lake had two disturbances in its watershed during the study period (forest fire; changes in shoreline inundation due to beaver activity); this lake lacked overall trends in MeHgaq and Hgfish. The diverging responses among the study lakes exemplify the complexity of ecosystem responses to decreased loads of atmospheric pollutants.

High resolution HH-XRF scanning and XRD modelling as a tool in sedimentological analysis - A case study from the Enreca-3 core, Bach Long Vi Island, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzi, Malgorzata; Hemmingsen Schovsbo, Niels; Korte, Christoph; Bryld Wessel Fyhn, Michael

2017-04-01

To improve the understanding and interpretation of the depositional environment of a late Oligocene lacustrine organic rich oil-prone source rock succession, 2464 hand held (HH)-XRF measurements were made systematically on the 500 m long, continuous core from the fully cored Enreca-3 well. This core, drilled on the remote Bach Long Vi Island, northern Gulf of Tonkin, offshore Vietnam, represents a deep lake succession alternating between lacustrine pelagic dominated sediments interrupted by hyperpycnal turbidites, high density turbidites and debris flows [1, 2]. From a combined HH-XRF-XRD data set, multivariate data analysis and regression models are used to type the rock and to predict the XRD mineral composition based on HH-XRF composition. The rock types and the modelled mineral composition highlight the geochemical variations of the sediment and allows for direct comparison with sedimentological processes and facies changes. The modeling also depicts the cyclic alteration of rock types that are present on many different scales ranging from centimeters to hundreds of meters [1, 2]. The sedimentological and geochemical variations observed throughout the cored section reflects fluctuating paleoclimate, tectonism and hinterland condition controlling the depositional setting, which may provide a deeper understanding of the deposition of this and similar Paleogene syn-rift succession in the South China Sea region. It allows furthermore the development of a more generalized depositional model relevant for other deep-lacustrine syn-rift basins. [1] Petersen et al. (2014) Journal of Petroleum Geology, 37: 373-389. [2] Hovikoski et al. (2016) Journal of Sedimentary Research, 86(8): 982-1007.

Defining the upper age limit of luminescence dating: A case study using long lacustrine records from Chew Bahir, Ethiopia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapot, Melissa S.; Roberts, Helen M.; Lamb, Henry F.; Schäbitz, Frank; Asrat, Asfawossen; Trauth, Martin H.

2017-04-01

present study explores a means of defining the upper limit for reliable luminescence ages for sedimentary records without an established chronologic framework, using a long ( 280m; Cohen et al., 2016) lacustrine record from Chew Bahir, Ethiopia, drilled as part of the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Programme (ICDP) and CRC806 "Our way to Europe". Natural saturation of OSL signals is explored by plotting natural signal intensity against depth, creating a pseudo-Natural DRC that can be compared to laboratory DRCs. Unlike the homogenous deposits of the Chinese Loess Plateau where the Natural DRC concept was developed, the 280m composite core from Chew Bahir shows significant variation in lithology enabling investigation of the effects of sample to sample variability on Natural DRC construction, and facilitating comparison between signals from fine-quartz, fine-polymineral, and coarse-potassium feldspar grains. This work demonstrates how the concepts of Natural DRCs can be used to define the upper dating limit of sample suites without independent age control, providing valuable information for long sedimentary sequences such as the lacustrine deposits from Chew Bahir. Chapot M.S., et al. (2012), Radiation Measurements 47: 1045-1052. Cohen A, et al. (2016), Scientific Drilling 21: 1-16. Wintle, A.G., Murray, A.S. (2006) Radiation Measurements 41: 369-391.

Sediment characteristics and configuration within three dam impoundments on the Kalamazoo River, Michigan, 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rheaume, S.J.; Rachol, C.M.; Hubbell, D.L.; Simard, Andreanne

2002-01-01

The removal of the remnants of three hydroelectric dams on the Kalamazoo River near Plainwell, Otsego, and Allegan, Michigan, has been proposed. The benefits of this removal include returning the Kalamazoo River to its pre-dam flow, increasing recreational use and safety on the river, and improving aquatic habitat. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated this reach of the Kalamazoo River as a Federal Superfund site because of the historical discharge of papermill waste containing polychlorinated biphenyls. Much of this waste material remains concentrated in organic sediment and kaolinite clay deposited upstream from the three dam foundations. Sediment containing up to 150 milligrams per kilogram polychlorinated biphenyls could move if dam foundations are removed; therefore, it is necessary to estimate the characteristic and configuration of the sediment before work begins. Data collected from augered sections and sediment cores show that impoundment sediments were deposited in two distinctly different sedimentary environments. Interbedded lacustrine sediments that overlie the pre-dam channel surface consist of organic-rich silt and clay, fine to medium sand, and some gravel. These materials were deposited in a repetitive, cyclic fashion related to former stream velocities when the impoundment water levels were 5-10 feet higher. Lowering of these water levels and demolition of the superstructures of these dams resulted in erosion of much of these instream lacustrine sediments and subsequent deposition of coarse-grained alluvium in the impounded channel behind the remaining dam foundations. The composite thicknesses of the lacustrine deposits and overlying alluvium was determined from sediment cores collected from each impoundment. The volume of instream sediment contained in each impoundment is estimated to be about 77,600 cubic yards at the Plainwell impoundment; 268,900 cubic yards at the Otsego impoundment; and 1,192,600 cubic yards at the

Hydrological responses of the Chihuahua Desert of Mexico to possible Heinrich Stadials: A study inferred from geochemistry and stable isotopes of lacustrine sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quiroz-Jiménez, J. D.; Roy, P. D.; Lozano-SantaCruz, R.; López Balbiaux, N.; Girón-García, P.

2016-12-01

The Heinrich Stadials (H6-H1) were cooler intervals of different duration characterized by massive discharge of icebergs from the Laurentide Ice Sheet mainly through the Hudson Straight into the Atlantic Ocean. In this paper, we present a proxy record to infer hydrological responses of the Chihuahua Desert of Mexico to all the Heinrich Stadials (HS) from element ratios, CO3 abundance, and oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of lacustrine calcite of the sediments deposited between depths of 560-78 cm ( 66-8 ka) of a new core collected from the Santiaguillo Basin. Sediments deposited during different HS were identified by radiocarbon dating up to 27.3 ka, extrapolation of an average sediment rate and tuning the CO3 abundance record with insolation in rest of the sequence, and oxygen isotope composition of authigenic CO3. Proxies suggest that hydroclimate of the Chihuahua Desert of Mexico responded differently to different HS. The overall runoff and hence precipitation remained below average during H6, H4, H2 and H1. Both of them were above average during H5 and H3. Similarly, runoff during H4 showed the least variability and it was the most variable during H5. Except for H2, negative excursions in δ18O values suggest cooler conditions during all other HS. In general, dissolved HCO3- was mainly sourced from the atmospheric CO2 during arid intervals. Both the lake productivity and atmospheric CO2 influenced the carbon isotope composition of dissolved HCO3- during humid intervals. During the H2, δ13C values indicate dominant influence of lacustrine productivity. Similar to Chihuahua Desert of Mexico, speleothem records from Fort Stanton and Cave of the Bells (Asmerom et al., 2010; Wagner et al., 2010) showed that hydroclimate of southwest USA also experienced millennial-scale variability and some intervals were more homogeneous compared to others. We did not observe concurrency in proxy records of the Chihuahua Desert of Mexico and southwest USA. Instead, we

Diagenetic contrast of sandstones in hydrocarbon prospective Mesozoic rift basins (Ethiopia, UK, USA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolela, A.

2014-11-01

Diagenetic studied in hydrocarbon-prospective Mesozoic rift basins were carried out in the Blue Nile Basin (Ethiopia), Ulster Basin (United Kingdom) and Hartford Basin (United States of America). Alluvial fan, single and amalgamated multistorey meandering and braided river, deep and shallow perennial lake, shallow ephemeral lake, aeolian and playa mud-flat are the prominent depositional environments. The studied sandstones exhibit red bed diagenesis. Source area geology, depositional environments, pore-water chemistry and circulation, tectonic setting and burial history controlled the diagenetic evolution. The diagenetic minerals include: facies-related minerals (calcrete and dolocrete), grain-coating clay minerals and/or hematite, quartz and feldspar overgrowths, carbonate cements, hematite, kaolinite, illite-smectite, smectite, illite, chlorite, actinolite, laumontite, pyrite and apatite. Diversity of diagenetic minerals and sequence of diagenetic alteration can be directly related to depositional environment and burial history of the basins. Variation in infiltrated clays, carbonate cements and clay minerals observed in the studied sandstones. The alluvial fan and fluviatile sandstones are dominated by kaolinite, illite calcite and ferroan calcite, whereas the playa and lacustrine sandstones are dominated by illite-smectite, smectite-chlorite, smectite, chlorite, dolomite ferroan dolomite and ankerite. Albite, pyrite and apatite are predominantly precipitated in lacustrine sandstones. Basaltic eruption in the basins modified mechanically infiltrated clays to authigenic clays. In all the studied sandstones, secondary porosity predominates over primary porosity. The oil emplacement inhabited clay authigenesis and generation of secondary porosity, whereas authigenesis of quartz, pyrite and apatite continued after oil emplacement.

Characteristics of depositional environments in the Nakdong River Estuary, South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, Han Jun; Lee, Jun-Ho; Kang, Jeongwon; Choi, Jae Ung

2017-04-01

Most of the major Korean estuaries, under high pressure from development, have dams with environmental problems, including restricted water circulation, low water quality, decreased biodiversity and wetland destruction. The Nakdong estuary on the southeastern coast of Korean Peninsula is an enclosed type with two large estuarine dams that were constructed in 1934 and between 1983 and 1987. The construction of dams has led to geomorphologic evolution of the barrier islands within Nakdong estuary. The estuary has been characterized as barrier-lagoon system with various subenvironments and microtidal with a 1.5 m tidal range. The sedimentary analyses and monitoring short-term sedimentation rates were investigated to understand characteristics of depositional environments in barrier-lagoon system of the Nakdong River Estuary. The surface sediments in the system were classified into three sedimentary facies in summer 2015. Generally, sand sediment was dominated in the seaward side of barrier islands and muddy sand sediment was dominated on the lagoon. Sandy mud and mud sediments were distributed in the tidal flat near Noksan industrial district and channels near dams. Fourteen a priori subenvironments were distinguished based on differences in landscape characterization (sediment texture, salinity, total organic carbon, pH and C/N ratios). The dendrogram resulting from cluster analysis of environmental variables from 14 a priori subenvironments could be clustered into 4 groups that were characterized by different sediment texture and hydrodynamic energy. The short-term sedimentation rates were obtained seasonally from three lines by burying a plate at sub-bottom depth from May 2015 to May 2016. The deposition was dominated on the tidal flat between mainland and Jinudo (JW- Line) and Sinjado (SJ-Line) with the net deposition rate of 10.09 mm/year and 12.38 mm/year, respectively. The erosion was dominated on the tidal flats at Eulsukdo (ES-Line) on the east side of the

Depositional environments and paleocurrent directions in the Precambrian Moeda Formation, Minas Gerais, Brazil

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindsey, David A.

1975-01-01

The middle Precambrian Moeda Formation of Minas Gerais, Brazil, contains uranium and other minerals believed to be of detrital origin. Two areas of anomalously high concentrations of uranium have been discovered in conglomeratic zones that are interpreted as paleochannels. Because the distribution of uranium is believed to be controlled at least in part by sedimentation, a reconnaissance study was undertaken to assess the depositional environment and sediment dispersal pattern of the Moeda Formation.

Characteristics of depositional environment and evolution of Upper Cretaceous Mishrif Formation, Halfaya Oil field, Iraq based on sedimentary microfacies analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Yuan; Zhou, Lu; Tan, Xiucheng; Guo, Rui; Zhao, Limin; Li, Fei; Jin, Zhimin; Chen, Yantao

2018-04-01

As one of the most important carbonate targets in the Middle East, Upper Cretaceous Mishrif Formation has been highlighted for a long time. Although consensus has been reached on the overall sedimentary background, disputes still exist in understanding the sedimentary environment changes among sub-regions due to relatively limited research, rare outcrop, and incomplete drilled core, which hinders the analysis on sedimentary environment and thus the horizontal and vertical correlation. In this study, taking the Halfaya Oil Field as an example, the sedimentary microfacies analysis method was introduced to comprehensively characterize the cored interval of Mishrif Formation, including Single Layers MC1-1 to MA2. A total of 11 sedimentary microfacies are identified through system identification of sedimentary microfacies and environmental analysis, with reference to the standard microfacies classification in the rimmed carbonate platform. Then three kinds of environments are identified through microfacies assemblage analysis, namely restricted platform, open platform, and platform margin. Systematic analyses indicate that the deposits are mainly developed in the open platform and platform margin. Meanwhile, rock-electricity interpretation model is established according to the electricity response to cored intervals, and is then employed to interpret the uncored intervals, which finally helps build the sedimentary evolution pattern through horizontal and vertical correlation. It is proposed that the Single Layers MC1-1 to MB2-3 were deposited in the open platform featured by low water level, including sub-environments of low-energy shoal within platform and inter-shoal sea; Single Layers MB2-2 to MB1-2B were deposited in the open platform and platform margin, including sub-environments of high-energy shoal on the platform margin, low-energy shoal within platform, inter-shoal sea, and open sea; and Single Layers MB1-2A to MA2 were again deposited in the open platform

Deposition modes in the paleo-lake Colônia (São Paulo, SE / Brazil): detrital input and bio-geochemical processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roeser, Patricia; Ledru, Marie-Pierre; Thouveny, Nicolas; Tachikawa, Kazuyo; Rostek, Frauke; Garcia, Marta; Struck, Ulrich; Sawakuchi, André; Favier, Charly; Bard, Edouard

2017-04-01

Colônia, a geomorphological circular structure in southeast Brazil, probably originated from an meteor impact with still unknown age. The structure, situated 40 km south of the center of the mega city São Paulo, has ca. 3.6 km in diameter and a surrounding rim elevated by ca. 120 meters. At present, the inner part of the structure contains a swampy alluvial plain. Sediment columns recovered in September 2014 have shown that below a circa 8 meter thick peat deposit, sediments are lacustrine and characterized by light-gray bands (cm scale). According to a preliminary age-depth model, based on radiocarbon ages, luminescence ages and paleomagnetism, the transition between lake to peat deposition seems to relate to climate boundary conditions from glacial towards interglacial conditions. In the lacustrine fine-grained sediments, the banded gray layers have distinct grain size, as macroscopically observed from mica grains/plates. Correlated to high-resolution geochemical data, lighter colored bands hold increased amounts of K and Si [XRF counts], originating from detrital input from the basin, e.g. flood events during tropical storms. Potassium is mainly contained in the crystalline structure of muscovite, whereas silica is additionally contained in kaolinite and quartz, thereby completing the minerals that make out the major mineral assemblage found in the sediments. Pyrite is found as an accessory mineral with average concentrations between 1 and 2%, peaking at 5% up to 10% in covariance to Fe/Ti [XRF count ratio]. Overall a covariance pattern, with or without phase lag, between pyrite, ∂13C (of TOC) and the concentrations of the biomarker hopane is observed in the lacustrine sediments. These relationships likely originate from stratification conditions in the paleo-lake, such that a more stable stratification eventually led to anoxic lake bottom conditions, favoring authigenic/microbial pyrite precipitation, better preservation of organic matter and affecting gas

Mineralogy of an ancient lacustrine mudstone succession from the Murray formation, Gale crater, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rampe, E. B.; Ming, D. W.; Blake, D. F.; Bristow, T. F.; Chipera, S. J.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Morris, R. V.; Morrison, S. M.; Vaniman, D. T.; Yen, A. S.; Achilles, C. N.; Craig, P. I.; Des Marais, D. J.; Downs, R. T.; Farmer, J. D.; Fendrich, K. V.; Gellert, R.; Hazen, R. M.; Kah, L. C.; Morookian, J. M.; Peretyazhko, T. S.; Sarrazin, P.; Treiman, A. H.; Berger, J. A.; Eigenbrode, J.; Fairén, A. G.; Forni, O.; Gupta, S.; Hurowitz, J. A.; Lanza, N. L.; Schmidt, M. E.; Siebach, K.; Sutter, B.; Thompson, L. M.

2017-08-01

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has been traversing strata at the base of Aeolis Mons (informally known as Mount Sharp) since September 2014. The Murray formation makes up the lowest exposed strata of the Mount Sharp group and is composed primarily of finely laminated lacustrine mudstone intercalated with rare crossbedded sandstone that is prodeltaic or fluvial in origin. We report on the first three drilled samples from the Murray formation, measured in the Pahrump Hills section. Rietveld refinements and FULLPAT full pattern fitting analyses of X-ray diffraction patterns measured by the MSL CheMin instrument provide mineral abundances, refined unit-cell parameters for major phases giving crystal chemistry, and abundances of X-ray amorphous materials. Our results from the samples measured at the Pahrump Hills and previously published results on the Buckskin sample measured from the Marias Pass section stratigraphically above Pahrump Hills show stratigraphic variations in the mineralogy; phyllosilicates, hematite, jarosite, and pyroxene are most abundant at the base of the Pahrump Hills, and crystalline and amorphous silica and magnetite become prevalent higher in the succession. Some trace element abundances measured by APXS also show stratigraphic trends; Zn and Ni are highly enriched with respect to average Mars crust at the base of the Pahrump Hills (by 7.7 and 3.7 times, respectively), and gradually decrease in abundance in stratigraphically higher regions near Marias Pass, where they are depleted with respect to average Mars crust (by more than an order of magnitude in some targets). The Mn stratigraphic trend is analogous to Zn and Ni, however, Mn abundances are close to those of average Mars crust at the base of Pahrump Hills, rather than being enriched, and Mn becomes increasingly depleted moving upsection. Minerals at the base of the Pahrump Hills, in particular jarosite and hematite, as well as enrichments in Zn, Ni, and Mn, are products of

Sustained Water Quality Impacts in Marine Environments Due to Mechanical Milling of Volcanic Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genareau, K. D.; Cronin, S. J.; Stewart, C.; Back, E.

2015-12-01

Explosive volcanic eruptions are known to be a significant geohazard, but post- or inter-eruptive processes (such as lahars, landslides, and debris avalanches) can be equally damaging to local and regional areas by remobilizing deposits. Numerous studies have found that soluble salts bound to ash grain surfaces may be quickly released into exposed waters, often lowering pH and adding trace metals with both beneficial and deleterious effects on marine flora and fauna (e.g., Fe influx initiating blooms of marine phytoplankton). Most of the cation content of pyroclastic deposits is released slowly into the environment through weathering and alteration processes. However, other pathways exist through the physical comminution of pyroclasts in fluvial and marine settings. In this case, mechanical fracturing of pyroclasts during progressive stages of disaggregation will lead to exposure of reactive particle surfaces. This study evaluates the potential, ongoing effects on water quality by experimental, mechanical milling of pyroclasts and the evaluation of released metals into exposed waters using the pyroclastic density current deposits of both the 2010 eruption of Merapi and the 2014 eruption of Kelud (Java, Indonesia), which have a bulk basaltic andesite/andesite composition (60-65 wt% SiO2). The electrical conductivity (EC) of water samples positively correlates with Ca and Sr concentrations in the case of bulk ash, whole, and crushed lapilli, but correlates with Na for the milled samples. Compared to other stages of pyroclast disaggregation, milled lapilli have the greatest effect on the concentration of alkali elements and produce a significant increase in Ca, Na, K, and Si. Mechanical milling of pyroclasts grinds down minerals and glass, resulting in an increased EC, pH, and Na concentration of exposed waters. Similar experiments are currently being conducted using basalt (50 wt% SiO2) and rhyolite (70 wt% SiO2) deposits, and these results will be presented

Outcrop-Scale Hyperspectral Studies of a Lacustrine-Volcanic Mars Analog: Examination with a Mars 2020-like Instrument Suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, P.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Blaney, D. L.; Bhartia, R.; Allwood, A.

2015-12-01

Using the recently developed Ultra Compact Imaging Spectrometer (UCIS) (0.4-2.5 μm) to generate outcrop-scale infrared images and compositional maps, a Mars-relevant field site near China Ranch in the Mojave Desert has been surveyed and sampled to analyze the synergies between instruments in the Mars 2020 rover instrument suite. The site is broadly comprised of large lacustrine gypsum beds with fine-grained gypsiferous mudstones and interbedded volcanic ashes deposited in the Pleistocene, with a carbonate unit atop the outcrop. Alteration products such as clays and iron oxides are pervasive throughout the sequence. Mineralogical mapping of the outcrop was performed using UCIS. As the 2020 rover will have an onboard multispectral camera and IR point spectrometer, Mastcam-Z and SuperCam, this process of spectral analysis leading to the selection of sites for more detailed investigation is similar to the process by which samples will be selected for increased scrutiny during the 2020 mission. The infrared image is resampled (spatially and spectrally) to the resolutions of Mastcam-Z and SuperCam to simulate data from the Mars 2020 rover. Hand samples were gathered in the field (guided by the prior infrared compositional mapping), capturing samples of spectral and mineralogical variance in the scene. After collection, a limited number of specimens were chosen for more detailed analysis. The hand samples are currently being analyzed using JPL prototypes of the Mars 2020 arm-mounted contact instruments, specifically PIXL (Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry) and SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence). The geologic story as told by the Mars 2020 instrument data will be analyzed and compared to the full suite of data collected by hyperspectral imaging and terrestrial techniques (e.g. XRD) applied to the collected hand samples. This work will shed light on the potential uses and synergies of the Mars 2020 instrument suite, especially

Imaging Quaternary glacial deposits and basement topography using the transient electromagnetic method for modeling aquifer environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simard, Patrick Tremblay; Chesnaux, Romain; Rouleau, Alain; Daigneault, Réal; Cousineau, Pierre A.; Roy, Denis W.; Lambert, Mélanie; Poirier, Brigitte; Poignant-Molina, Léo

2015-08-01

Aquifer formations along the northern shore of the Saint-Lawrence River in Quebec (Canada) mainly consist of glacial and coastal deposits of variable thickness overlying Precambrian bedrock. These deposits are important because they provide the main water supply for many communities. As part of a continuing project aimed at developing an inventory of the groundwater resources in the Charlevoix and Haute-Côte-Nord (CHCN) regions of the province of Quebec in Canada, the central loop transient electromagnetic (TEM) method was used to map the principal hydrogeological environments in these regions. One-dimensional smooth inversion models of the TEM soundings have been used to construct two-dimensional electrical resistivity sections, which provided images for hydrogeological validation. Electrical contour lines of aquifer environments were compared against available well logs and Quaternary surface maps in order to interpret TEM soundings. A calibration table was achieved to represent common deposits and basements. The calibration table was then exported throughout the CHCN region. This paper presents three case studies; one in the Forestville site, another in the Les Escoumins site and the other in the Saint-Urbain site. These sites were selected as targets for geophysical surveys because of the general lack of local direct hydrogeological data related to them.

Use of cover habitat by bull trout Salvelinus confluentus and lake trout Salvelinus namaycush in a laboratory environment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Meeuwig, Michael H.; Guy, Christopher S.; Fredenberg, Wade A.

2011-01-01

Lacustrine-adfluvial bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, migrate from spawning and rearing streams to lacustrine environments as early as age 0. Within lacustrine environments, cover habitat pro- vides refuge from potential predators and is a resource that is competed for if limiting. Competitive inter- actions between bull trout and other species could result in bull trout being displaced from cover habitat, and bull trout may lack evolutionary adaptations to compete with introduced species, such as lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush. A laboratory experiment was performed to examine habitat use and interactions for cover by juvenile (i.e., <80 mm total length) bull trout and lake trout. Differences were observed between bull trout and lake trout in the proportion of time using cover (F1,22.6=20.08, P<0.001) and bottom (F1,23.7 = 37.01, P < 0.001) habitat, with bull trout using cover and bottom habitats more than lake trout. Habitat selection ratios indicated that bull trout avoided water column habitat in the presence of lake trout and that lake trout avoided bottom habitat. Intraspecific and interspecific agonistic interactions were infrequent, but approximately 10 times greater for intraspecific inter- actions between lake trout. Results from this study provide little evidence that juvenile bull trout and lake trout compete for cover, and that species-specific differences in habitat use and selection likely result in habitat partitioning between these species.

Depositional setting and diagenetic evolution of some Tertiary unconventional reservoir rocks, Uinta Basin, Utah.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pitman, Janet K.; Fouch, T.D.; Goldhaber, M.B.

1982-01-01

The Douglas Creek Member of the Tertiary Green River Formation underlies much of the Uinta basin, Utah, and contains large volumes of oil and gas trapped in a complex of fractured low-permeability sandstone reservoirs. In the SE part of the basin at Pariette Bench, the Eocene Douglas Creek Member is a thick sequence of fine- grained alluvial sandstone complexly intercalated with lacustrine claystone and carbonate rock. Sediments were deposited in a subsiding intermontane basin along the shallow fluctuating margin of ancient Lake Uinta. Although the Uinta basin has undergone postdepositional uplift and erosion, the deepest cored rocks at Pariette Bench have never been buried more than 3000m.-from Authors

Predictions and Tests of the "Late Noachian Icy Highlands" Climate Model: Can Evidence for Fluvial/Lacustrine Systems Be Reconciled?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Head, J. W., III

2016-12-01

Improved 3D global simulations (GCMs) of the early martian climate have found that for atmospheric pressures greater than a fraction of a bar, atmospheric-surface thermal coupling occurs and the adiabatic cooling effect (ACE) causes temperatures in the southern uplands to fall significantly below the global average. Long-term climate evolution simulations indicate that in these circumstances, water ice is transported to the highlands from low-lying regions for a wide range of obliquities. Conditions are too cold (MAT 225 K) to permit the presence of long-term surface liquid water, including streams, lakes and oceans. The LNIH equilibrium state predicts: 1) a global permafrost layer, 2) a horizontally stratified hydrological cycle/system, 3) thick ice deposits in the southern uplands, 4) an extended water ice cap on the southern pole, and 5) no rainfall, streams lakes or oceans. The majority of these predictions are in direct conflict with the observed fluvial/lacustrine geologic record. Can non-equilibrium conditions in a LNIH scenario explain these conflicts by transient heating and melting of the LNIH? As steps in the comprehensive testing of this "Late Noachian Icy Highlands" (LNIH) model we explore the predictions for geologic settings and processes in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium climate states. We assess the following sources of disequilibrium: 1) Top-down heating and melting: a) impact cratering, b) extrusive/explosive volcanism, and c) short-term emission of greenhouse gases. 2) Bottom up heating and melting: a) enhanced regional-global geothermal gradients, and b) thick ice accumulation to cause/sustain basal melting, wet-based glaciation and runoff. We assess these disequilibrium mechanisms in terms of: 1) the altitude dependence of melting, 2) melting duration, 3) volumes of meltwater produced, 4) predicted locations of meltwater production, and 6) comparison to the distribution of fluvial/lacustrine features. We find that the Late Noachian Icy

Lacustrine flow (divers, side scan sonar, hydrogeology, water penetrating radar) used to understand the location of a drowned person

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruffell, Alastair

2014-05-01

An unusual application of hydrological understanding to a police search is described. The lacustrine search for a missing person provided reports of bottom-water currents in the lake and contradictory indications from cadaver dogs. A hydrological model of the area was developed using pre-existing information from side scan sonar, a desktop hydrogeological study and deployment of water penetrating radar (WPR). These provided a hydrological theory for the initial search involving subaqueous groundwater flow, focused on an area of bedrock surrounded by sediment, on the lake floor. The work shows the value a hydrological explanation has to a police search operation (equally to search and rescue). With hindsight, the desktop study should have preceded the search, allowing better understanding of water conditions. The ultimate reason for lacustrine flow in this location is still not proven, but the hydrological model explained the problems encountered in the initial search.

Influence of depositional environment on diagenesis in St. Peter sandstone, Michigan basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lundgren, C.E. Jr.; Barnes, D.A.

1989-03-01

The Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone in the Michigan basin was deposited in marine peritidal to storm-dominated, outer shelf depositional environments that evolved in a regionally significant transgressive pattern. The formation is bounded by carbonate and shaly clastic strata of the Prairie du Chien Group below and is transitional to condensed sequence clastics and carbonates of the Glenwood Formation above. Sedimentologic and petrographic analysis of conventional core from 25 wells suggests that reservoir quality in the formation is strongly dependent on a complex diagenetic history, especially the nature and subsequent dissolution of intergranular carbonate in the sandstone. Petrographic evidence indicatesmore » that porosity in the formation formed by dissolution of precursor dolomite of various origins and, locally, the formation of pore-filling authigenic clay (chlorite-illite). Authigenic clay is the incongruent dissolution product of dolomite, detrital K-feldspar, and, possibly, muscovite and results in diminished reservoir quality where abundant in the St. Peter Sandstone. Authigenic clay is volumetrically more significant in the upper portions of the formation and is associated with higher concentrations of detrital K-feldspar. Depositional facies controlled the distribution and types of intergranular carbonate (now dolomite) and detrital K-feldspar in the St. Peter Sandstone and hence reservoir quality; both components were more significant in storm-shelf sandstone facies.« less

Vanadium accumulation in carbonaceous rocks: A review of geochemical controls during deposition and diagenesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breit, G.N.; Wanty, R.B.

1991-01-01

Published data relevant to the geochemistry of vanadium were used to evaluate processes and conditions that control vanadium accumulation in carbonaceous rocks. Reduction, adsorption, and complexation of dissolved vanadium favor addition of vanadium to sediments rich in organic carbon. Dissolved vanadate (V(V)) species predominate in oxic seawater and are reduced to vanadyl ion (V(IV)) by organic compounds or H2S. Vanadyl ion readily adsorbs to particle surfaces and is added to the sediment as the particles settle. The large vanadium concentrations of rocks deposited in marine as compared to lacustrine environments are the result of the relatively large amount of vanadium provided by circulating ocean water compared to terrestrial runoff. Vanadium-rich carbonaceous rocks typically have high contents of organically bound sulfur and are stratigraphically associated with phosphate-rich units. A correspondence between vanadium content and organically bound sulfur is consistent with high activities of H2S during sediment deposition. Excess H2S exited the sediment into bottom waters and favored reduction of dissolved V(V) to V(IV) or possibly V(III). The stratigraphic association of vanadiferous and phosphatic rocks reflects temporal and spatial shifts in bottom water chemistry from suboxic (phosphate concentrated) to more reducing (euxinic?) conditions that favor vanadium accumulation. During diagenesis some vanadium-organic complexes migrate with petroleum out of carbonaceous rocks, but significant amounts of vanadium are retained in refractory organic matter or clay minerals. As carbon in the rock evolves toward graphite during metamorphism, vanadium is incorporated into silicate minerals. ?? 1991.

Detailed north-south cross section showing environments of deposition, organic richness, and thermal maturities of lower Tertiary rocks in the Uinta Basin, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Ronald C.

2014-01-01

The Uinta Basin of northeast Utah has produced large amounts of hydrocarbons from lower Tertiary strata since the 1960s. Recent advances in drilling technologies, in particular the development of efficient methods to drill and hydraulically fracture horizontal wells, has spurred renewed interest in producing hydrocarbons from unconventional low-permeability dolomite and shale reservoirs in the lacustrine, Eocene Green River Formation. The Eocene Green River Formation was deposited in Lake Uinta, a long-lived saline lake that occupied the Uinta Basin, the Piceance Basin to the east, and the intervening Douglas Creek arch. The focus of recent drilling activity has been the informal Uteland Butte member of the Green River Formation and to a much lesser extent the overlying R-0 oil shale zone of the Green River Formation. Initial production rates ranging from 500 to 1,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day have been reported from the Uteland Butte member from horizontal well logs that are as long as 4,000 feet (ft);. The cross section presented here extends northward from outcrop on the southern margin of the basin into the basin’s deep trough, located just south of the Uinta Mountains, and transects the area where this unconventional oil play is developing. The Monument Butte field, which is one of the fields located along this line of section, has produced hydrocarbons from conventional sandstone reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation and underlying Wasatch Formation since 1981. A major fluvial-deltaic system entered Lake Uinta from the south, and this new line of section is ideal for studying the effect of the sediments delivered by this drainage on hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Green River Formation. The cross section also transects the Greater Altamont-Bluebell field in the deepest part of the basin, where hydrocarbons have been produced from fractured, highly overpressured marginal lacustrine and fluvial reservoirs in the Green River, Wasatch

Geochemistry and diagenesis of Miocene lacustrine siliceous sedimentary and pyroclastic rocks, Mytilinii basin, Samos Island, Greece

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stamatakis, M.G.; Hein, J.R.; Magganas, A.C.

1989-01-01

A Late Miocene non-marine stratigraphic sequence composed of limestone, opal-CT-bearing limestone, porcelanite, marlstone, diatomaceous marlstone, dolomite, and tuffite crops out on eastern Samos Island. This lacustrine sequence is subdivided into the Hora Beds and the underlying Pythagorion Formation. The Hora Beds is overlain by the clastic Mytilinii series which contains Turolian (Late Miocene) mammalian fossils. The lacustrine sequence contains volcanic glass and the silica polymorphs opal-A, opal-CT, and quartz. Volcanic glass predominantly occurs in tuffaceous rocks from the lower and upper parts of the lacustrine sequence. Opal-A (diatom frustules) is confined to layers in the upper part of the Hora Beds. Beds rich in opal-CT underlie those containing opal-A. The occurrence of opal-CT is extensive, encompassing the lower Hora Beds and the sedimentary rocks and tuffs of the Pythagorion Formation. A transition zone between the opal-A and opal-CT zones is identified by X-ray diffraction patterns that are intermediate between those of opal-CT and opal-A, perhaps due to a mixture of the two polymorphs. Diagenesis was not advanced enough for opal-CT to transform to quartz or for volcanic glass to transform to opal-C. Based on geochemical and mineralogical data, we suggest that the rate of diagenetic transformation of opal-A to opal-CT was mainly controlled by the chemistry of pore fluids. Pore fluids were characterized by high salinity, moderately high alkalinity, and high magnesium ion activity. These pore fluid characteristics are indicated by the presence of evaporitic salts (halite, sylvite, niter), high boron content in biogenic silica, and by dolomite in both the opal-A and opal-CT-bearing beds. The absence of authigenic K-feldspar, borosilicates, and zeolites also support these pore fluid characteristics. Additional factors that influenced the rate of silica diagenesis were host rock lithology and the relatively high heat flow in the Aegean region from

Disentangling natural and anthropogenic signals in lacustrine records: An example from the Ilan Plain, NE Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jyh-Jaan; Huh, Chih-An; Wei, Kuo-Yen; Löwemark, Ludvig; Lin, Shu-Fen; Liao, Wen-Hsuan; Yang, Tien-Nan; Song, Sheng-Rong; Lee, Meng-Yang; Su, Chih-Chieh; Lee, Teh-Quei

2016-11-01

The impact of human activities has been increasing to a degree where humans now outcompete many natural processes. When interpreting environmental and climatic changes recorded in natural archives on historical time scales, it is therefore important to be able to disentangle the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic processes. Lake Meihua on the Ilan Plain in northeastern Taiwan offers a particularly suitable opportunity to test how human activities known from historical records can be recorded in lacustrine sediment. For this purpose, three cores from Lake Meihua have been studied by a multiproxy approach, providing the first decadal-resolution lacustrine records covering the past 150 years in Taiwan. Profiles of excess 210Pb, 137Cs and 239,240Pu from two short cores (MHL-09-01 and MHL-11-02) allowed a precise chronology to be established. The presence of a yellow, earthy layer with lower levels of organic material coincide with the record of land development associated with the construction of the San-Chin-Gong Temple during AD 1970-1982. Furthermore, in the lower part of the cores, the upwards increasing trend of inc/coh, TOC, TOC/TN, and grain size, coupled with the palynological data (increase of Alnus, Mallotus, Trema and herbs) from the nearby core MHL-5A with radiocarbon chronology, suggest that the area surrounding the lake has been significantly affected by agricultural activities since the arrival of Chinese settlers around AD 1874. In sum, this study demonstrates that this suite of lacustrine sediments in northeastern Taiwan has recorded human activities in agreement with historical documents, and that different human activities will leave distinct sedimentological, geochemical, and palynological signatures in the sedimentary archives. Therefore, multiproxy reconstructions are important to capture the complex nature of human-environmental interactions. A better understanding of the weathering and erosion response to human activities can

The relationship between humans and climate across the North Atlantic: what can lacustrine biomarkers tell us?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Wet, G.; Castañeda, I. S.; Bradley, R. S.; Small, G.; Barrasso, T.

2016-12-01

While climate change has been implicated in the colonization/population dynamics of the North Atlantic region, researchers in many cases are forced to compare archaeological data with distant paleoclimate records, making these linkages tenuous. Our research utilizes novel organic biomarkers in lacustrine sediments to produce paired paleoclimate and human occupancy reconstructions to better address questions surrounding human migration and climate change. Here we present preliminary results from two prominent locations in the history of the European colonization of the North Atlantic. The first, carried out on the Norse "Eastern Settlement" in Southern Greenland, attempts to answer the long-standing question of whether climate change caused the demise of the colony in the 1400s C.E. Second, we use similar techniques to search for evidence of the first peopling of the Faroe Islands, a highly debated topic. The use of lacustrine biomarkers allows for numerous aspects of both paleoclimate and human presence in a catchment to be reconstructed. We reconstruct paleotemperatures using branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) and alkenones (the UK37 Index), when present. Additionally, will analyze the difference in the hydrogen isotopic composition of long and short-chain plant leaf waxes as a proxy for lake water balance. Human occupancy in the region is investigated using fecal sterols and stanols, primarily created by the breakdown of cholesterol. Some of these compounds, such as coprostanol (the dominant sterol in human waste), provide strong evidence of human settlements and have been identified in some of our lake records. Our preliminary results suggest that temperatures were increasing in SW Greenland during the period when the Norse are thought to have died out, potentially challenging the long-standing view of climate deterioration being the primary cause of their demise. Primary productivity biomarkers from lake Eidisvatnet, in the Faroe Islands

Deposition rates of fungal spores in indoor environments, factors effecting them and comparison with non-biological aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanaani, Hussein; Hargreaves, Megan; Ristovski, Zoran; Morawska, Lidia

Particle deposition indoors is one of the most important factors that determine the effect of particle exposure on human health. While many studies have investigated the particle deposition of non-biological aerosols, few have investigated biological aerosols and even fewer have studied fungal spore deposition indoors. The purpose of this study was, for the first time, to investigate the deposition rates of fungal particles in a chamber of 20.4 m 3 simulating indoor environments by: (1) releasing fungal particles into the chamber, in sufficient concentrations so the particle deposition rates can be statistically analysed; (2) comparing the obtained deposition rates with non-bioaerosol particles of similar sizes, investigated under the same conditions; and (3) investigating the effects of ventilation on the particle deposition rates. The study was conducted for a wide size range of particle sizes (0.54-6.24 μm), at three different air exchange rates (0.009, 1.75 and 2.5 h -1). An Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer Spectrometer (UVAPS) was used to monitor the particle concentration decay rate. The study showed that the deposition rates of fungal spores ( Aspergillus niger and Penicillium species) and the other aerosols (canola oil and talcum powder) were similar, especially at very low air exchange rates (in the order of 0.009). Both the aerosol and the bioaerosol deposition rates were found to be a function of particle size. The results also showed increasing deposition rates with increasing ventilation rates, for all particles under investigation. These conclusions are important in understanding the dynamics of fungal spores in the air.

High-coercivity minerals from North African Humid Period soil material deposited in Lake Yoa (Chad)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Just, J.; Kroepelin, S.; Wennrich, V.; Viehberg, F. A.; Wagner, B.; Rethemeyer, J.; Karls, J.; Melles, M.

2015-12-01

The Holocene is a period of fundamental climatic change in North Africa. Humid conditions during the so-called African Humid Period (AHP) have favored the formation of big lake systems. Only very few of these lakes persist until today. One of them is Lake Yoa (19°03'N/20°31'E) in the Ounianga Basin, Chad, which maintains its water level by ground water inflow. Here we present the magnetic characteristics together with proxies for lacustrine productivity and biota of a sediment core (Co1240) from Lake Yoa, retrieved in 2010 within the framework of the Collaborative Research Centre 806 - Our Way to Europe (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). Magnetic properties of AHP sediments show strong indications for reductive diagenesis. An up to ~ 80 m higher lake level is documented by lacustrine deposits in the Ounianga Basin, dating to the early phase of the AHP. The higher lake level and less strong seasonality restricted deep mixing of the lake. Development of anoxic conditions consequently lead to the dissolution of iron oxides. An exception is an interval with high concentration of high-coercivity magnetic minerals, deposited between 7800 - 8120 cal yr BP. This interval post-dates the 8.2 event, which was dry in Northern Africa and probably caused a reduced vegetation cover. We propose that the latter resulted in the destabilization of soils around Lake Yoa. After the re-establishment of humid conditions, these soil materials were eroded and deposited in the lake. Magnetic minerals appear well preserved in the varved Late Holocene sequence, indicating (sub-) oxic conditions in the lake. This is surprising, because the occurrence of varves is often interpreted as an indicator for anoxic conditions of the lake water. However, the salinity of lake water rose strongly after the AHP. We therefore hypothesize that the conservation of varves and absence of benthic organisms rather relates to the high salinity than to anoxic conditions.

Late Holocene evolution of playa lakes in the central Ebro depression based on geophysical surveys and morpho-stratigraphic analysis of lacustrine terraces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutiérrez, F.; Valero-Garcés, B.; Desir, G.; González-Sampériz, P.; Gutiérrez, M.; Linares, R.; Zarroca, M.; Moreno, A.; Guerrero, J.; Roqué, C.; Arnold, L. J.; Demuro, M.

2013-08-01

The origin and morpho-stratigraphic evolution of the largest playa-lake system (La Playa-El Pueyo) in the Bujaraloz-Sástago endorheic area, located in the semiarid central sector of the Ebro Depression, are analysed. The enclosed depressions are developed on gypsiferous Tertiary bedrock and show a prevalent WNW-ESE orientation parallel to the direction of the prevalent strong local wind (Cierzo). Yardangs have been carved in bedrock and unconsolidated terrace deposits in the leeward sector of the largest lake basins. A sequence of three lacustrine terrace levels has been identified by detailed geomorphological mapping. The treads of the upper, middle and lower terrace levels are situated at + 9 m, + 6 m and + 0.5 m above the playa-lake floors, respectively. Seismic refraction and electrical resistivity profiles acquired in La Playa reveal a thin basin fill (~ 2 m) with a planar base. These data allow ruling out the genetic hypothesis for the depressions involving the collapse of large bedrock cavities and support a mixed genesis of combined widespread dissolution and subsidence by groundwater discharge and eolian deflation during dry periods. The 5 m thick deposit of the middle terrace was investigated in hand-dug and backhoe trenches. Six AMS radiocarbon ages from this terrace indicate an aggradation phase between 3.9 ka and ca. 2 ka. These numerical ages yield a maximum average aggradation rate of 2.6 mm/yr and a minimum excavation rate by wind deflation of 3 mm/yr subsequent to the accumulation of the middle terrace. The latter figure compares well with those calculated in several arid regions of the world using yardangs carved in palaeolake deposits. The aggradation phase between 4 and 2 ka is coherent with other Iberian and Mediterranean records showing relatively more humid conditions after 4 ka, including the Iron Ages and the Iberian-Roman Period.

Testing the Late Noachian Icy Highlands Model: Geological Observations, Processes and Origin of Fluvial and Lacustrine Features.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Head, James; Wordsworth, Robin; Forget, Francis; Madeleine, Jean-Baptiste; Halvey, Italy

2014-05-01

ice cover and its susceptibility to melting and runoff, and describe top-down melting and fluvial channel formation processes in a LNIH environment. We find that: 1) episodic top-down melting of the LNIH is a robust mechanism to produce the observed fluvial and lacustrine features; 2) the characteristics and distribution of features in the Dorsa Argentea Formation are consistent with an extensive circum-polar ice cap during LNIH time; and 3) the nature of preserved LN impact craters is consistent with impact cratering processes in the LNIH environment. 393 words.

Sulphur isotope constraints on formation conditions of the Luiswishi ore deposit, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lerouge, C.; Cailteux, J.; Kampunzu, A. B.; Milesi, J. P.; Fléhoc, C.

2005-07-01

Luiswishi is a Congo-type Neoproterozoic sediment-hosted stratiform Cu-Co ore deposit of the Central Africa Copperbelt, located northwest of Lubumbashi (DRC). The ores form two main Cu-Co orebodies hosted by the Mines Subgroup, one in the lower part of the Kamoto Formation and the other at the base of the Dolomitic Shales Formation. Sulphides occur essentially as early parallel layers of chalcopyrite and carrolite, and secondarily as late stockwork sulphides cross-cutting the bedding and the early sulphide generation. Both types of stratiform and stockwork chalcopyrite and carrolite were systematically analyzed for sulphur isotopes, along the lithostratigraphic succession of the Mine Series. The quite similar δ 34S values of stratiform sulphides and late stockwork sulphides suggest an in situ recrystallization or a slight remobilization of stockwork sulphides without attainment of isotopic equilibrium between different sulphide phases (chalcopyrite and carrolite). The distribution of δ 34S values (-14.4‰ to +17.5‰) combined with the lithology indicates a strong stratigraphic control of the sulphur isotope signature, supporting bacterial sulphate reduction during early diagenesis of the host sediments, in a shallow marine to lacustrine environment. Petrological features combined with sulphur isotopic data of sulphides at Luiswishi and previous results on nodules of anhydrite in the Mine Series indicate a dominant seawater/lacustrine origin for sulphates, precluding a possible hydrothermal participation. The high positive δ 34S values of sulphides in the lower orebody at Luiswishi, hosted in massive chloritic-dolomitic siltite (known as Grey R.A.T.), fine-grained stratified dolostone (D.Strat.) and silicified-stromatolitic dolomites alternating with chloritic-dolomitic silty beds (R.S.F.), suggest that they were probably deposited during a period of regression in a basin cut off from seawater. The variations of δ 34S values (i.e. the decrease of δ 34S values

The depositional environment and petrology of the White Rim Sandstone Member of the Permian Cutler Formation, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steele-Mallory, B. A.

1982-01-01

The White Rim Sandstone Member of the Cutler Formation of Permian age in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, was deposited in coastal eolian and associated interdune environments. This conclusion is based on stratigraphic relationships primary sedimentary structures, and petrologic features. The White Rim consists of two major genetic units. The first represents a coastal dune field and the second represents related interdune ponds. Distinctive sedimentary structures of the coastal dune unit include large- to medium-scale, unidirectional, tabular-planar cross-bedding; high-index ripples oriented parallel to dip direction of the foresets; coarse-grained lag layers; avalanche or slump marks; and raindrop impressions. Cross-bedding measurements suggest the dunes were deposited as transverse ridges by a dominantly northwest to southeast wind. Distinctive sedimentary structures of the interdune pond unit include wavy, horizontally laminated bedding, adhesion ripples, and desiccation polygons. These features may have been produced by alternate wetting and drying of sediment during water-table fluctuations. Evidence of bioturbation is also present in this unit. Petrologic characteristics of the White Rim helped to define the depositional environment as coastal. A crinoid fragment was identified at one location; both units are enriched in heavy minerals, and small amounts of well rounded, reworked glauconite were found in the White Rim throughout the study area. Earlier work indicates that the White Rim sandstone is late Wolfcampian to early Leonardian in age. During this time, the Canyonlands area was located in a depositional area alternately dominated by marine and nonmarine environments. Results of this study suggest the White Rim represents a coastal dune field that was deposited by predominantly on-shore winds during a period of marine transgression.

Mercury in soils, lakes, and fish in Voyageurs National Park (Minnesota): Importance of atmospheric deposition and ecosystem factors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiener, J.G.; Knights, B.C.; Sandheinrich, M.B.; Jeremiason, Jeffrey D.; Brigham, M.E.; Engstrom, D.R.; Woodruff, L.G.; Cannon, W.F.; Balogh, S.J.

2006-01-01

Concentrations of methylmercury in game fish from many interior lakes in Voyageurs National Park (MN, U.S.A.) substantially exceed criteria for the protection of human health. We assessed the importance of atmospheric and geologic sources of mercury to interior lakes and watersheds within the Park and identified ecosystem factors associated with variation in methylmercury contamination of lacustrine food webs. Geologic sources of mercury were small, based on analyses of underlying bedrock and C-horizon soils, and nearly all mercury in the O- and A-horizon soils was derived from atmospheric deposition. Analyses of dated sediment cores from five lakes showed that most (63% ?? 13%) of the mercury accumulated in lake sediments during the 1900s was from anthropogenic sources. Contamination of food webs was assessed by analysis of whole, 1-year-old yellow perch (Perca flavescens), a regionally important prey fish. The concentrations of total mercury in yellow perch and of methylmercury in lake water varied substantially among lakes, reflecting the influence of ecosystem processes and variables that affect the microbial production and abundance of methylmercury. Models developed with the information-theoretic approach (Akaike Information Criteria) identified lake water pH, dissolved sulfate, and total organic carbon (an indicator of wetland influence) as factors influencing methylmercury concentrations in lake water and fish. We conclude that nearly all of the mercury in fish in this seemingly pristine landscape was derived from atmospheric deposition, that most of this bioaccumulated mercury was from anthropogenic sources, and that both watershed and lacustrine factors exert important controls on the bioaccumulation of methylmercury. ?? 2006 American Chemical Society.

Depositional environment of near-surface sediments, King George Basin, Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, H. I.; Park, B. K.; Chang, S. K.; Han, M. W.; Oh, J. K.

1994-03-01

Four sediment cores were collected to determine the depositional environments of the King George Basin northeast of Bransfield Strait, Antarctica. The cored section revealed three distinct lithofacies: laminated siliceous ooze derived from an increased paleoproductivity near the receding sea-ice edges, massive muds that resulted from hemipelagic sedimentation in open water, and graded sediments that originated from nearby local seamounts by turbidity currents. Clay mineral data of the cores indicate a decreasing importance of volcanic activity through time. Active volcanism and hydrothermal activity appear to be responsible for the enrichment of smectite near the Penguin and Bridgeman Islands.

Sediment-Hosted Copper Deposits of the World: Deposit Models and Database

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cox, Dennis P.; Lindsey, David A.; Singer, Donald A.; Diggles, Michael F.

2003-01-01

Introduction This publication contains four descriptive models and four grade-tonnage models for sediment hosted copper deposits. Descriptive models are useful in exploration planning and resource assessment because they enable the user to identify deposits in the field and to identify areas on geologic and geophysical maps where deposits could occur. Grade and tonnage models are used in resource assessment to predict the likelihood of different combinations of grades and tonnages that could occur in undiscovered deposits in a specific area. They are also useful in exploration in deciding what deposit types meet the economic objectives of the exploration company. The models in this report supersede the sediment-hosted copper models in USGS Bulletin 1693 (Cox, 1986, and Mosier and others, 1986) and are subdivided into a general type and three subtypes. The general model is useful in classifying deposits whose features are obscured by metamorphism or are otherwise poorly described, and for assessing regions in which the geologic environments are poorly understood. The three subtypes are based on differences in deposit form and environments of deposition. These differences are described under subtypes in the general model. Deposit models are based on the descriptions of geologic environments and physical characteristics, and on metal grades and tonnages of many individual deposits. Data used in this study are presented in a database representing 785 deposits in nine continents. This database was derived partly from data published by Kirkham and others (1994) and from new information in recent publications. To facilitate the construction of grade and tonnage models, the information, presented by Kirkham in disaggregated form, was brought together to provide a single grade and a single tonnage for each deposit. Throughout the report individual deposits are defined as being more than 2,000 meters from the nearest adjacent deposit. The deposit models are presented here as

Mihi Breccia: A stack of lacustrine sediments and subaqueous pyroclastic flows within the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

USGS Publications Warehouse

Downs, Drew

2016-01-01

The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, encompasses a wide variety of arc-related strata, although most of its small-volume (non-caldera-forming) eruptions are poorly-exposed and extensively hydrothermally altered. The Mihi Breccia is a stratigraphic sequence consisting of interbedded rhyolitic pyroclastic flows and lacustrine sediments with eruption ages of 281 ± 18 to at least 239 ± 6 ka (uncertainties at 2σ). In contrast to other small-volume rhyolitic eruptions within the TVZ, Mihi Breccia is relatively well-exposed within the Paeroa fault block, and contains minimal hydrothermal alteration. Pyroclastic flow characteristics and textures including: 1) breadcrusted juvenile clasts, 2) lack of welding, 3) abundant ash-rich matrix, 4) lack of fiamme and eutaxitic textures, 5) lack of thermal oxidation colors, 6) lack of cooling joints, 7) exclusive lacustrine sediment lithic clasts, and 8) interbedding with lacustrine sediments, all indicating that Mihi Breccia strata originated in a paleo-lake system. This ephemeral paleo-lake system is inferred to have lasted for > 50 kyr (based on Mihi Breccia age constraints), and referred to as Huka Lake. Mihi Breccia pyroclastic flow juvenile clast geochemistry and petrography correspond with similar-aged (264 ± 8, 263 ± 10, and 247 ± 4 ka) intra-caldera rhyolite domes filling the Reporoa caldera (source of the 281 ± 81 Kaingaroa Formation ignimbrite). These exposed intra-caldera rhyolite domes (as well as geophysically inferred subsurface domes) are proposed to be source vents for the Mihi Breccia pyroclastic flows. Soft-sediment deformation associated with Mihi Breccia strata indicate either seismic shock, rapid sediment loading during pyroclastic flow emplacement, or both. Thus, the Mihi Breccia reflects a prolonged series of subaqueous rhyolite dome building and associated pyroclastic flows, accompanied by seismic activity, emplaced into a large paleo-lake system within the TVZ.

Mihi Breccia: A stack of lacustrine sediments and subaqueous pyroclastic flows within the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downs, Drew T.

2016-11-01

The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, encompasses a wide variety of arc-related strata, although most of its small-volume (non-caldera-forming) eruptions are poorly-exposed and extensively hydrothermally altered. The Mihi Breccia is a stratigraphic sequence consisting of interbedded rhyolitic pyroclastic flows and lacustrine sediments with eruption ages of 281 ± 18 to at least 239 ± 6 ka (uncertainties at 2σ). In contrast to other small-volume rhyolitic eruptions within the TVZ, Mihi Breccia is relatively well-exposed within the Paeroa fault block, and contains minimal hydrothermal alteration. Pyroclastic flow characteristics and textures include: 1) prismatically jointed juvenile clasts, 2) lack of welding, 3) abundant ash-rich matrix, 4) lack of fiamme and eutaxitic textures, 5) lack of thermal oxidation colors, 6) lack of cooling joints, 7) exclusive lacustrine sediment lithic clasts, and 8) interbedding with lacustrine sediments, all indicating that Mihi Breccia strata originated in a paleo-lake system. This ephemeral paleo-lake system is inferred to have lasted for > 50 kyr (based on Mihi Breccia age constraints), and referred to as Huka Lake. Mihi Breccia pyroclastic flow juvenile clast geochemistry and petrography correspond with similar-aged (264 ± 8, 263 ± 10, and 247 ± 4 ka) intra-caldera rhyolite domes filling the Reporoa caldera (source of the 281 ka Kaingaroa Formation ignimbrite). These exposed intra-caldera rhyolite domes (as well as geophysically inferred subsurface domes) are proposed to be source vents for the Mihi Breccia pyroclastic flows. Soft-sediment deformation associated with Mihi Breccia strata indicates either seismic shock, rapid sediment loading during pyroclastic flow emplacement, or both. Thus, the Mihi Breccia reflects a prolonged series of subaqueous rhyolite dome building and associated pyroclastic flows, accompanied by seismic activity, emplaced into a large paleo-lake system within the TVZ.

Chronological framework for the deglaciation of the Lake Michigan lobe of the Laurentide ice sheet from ice-walled lake deposits

USGS Publications Warehouse

Curry, B.; Petras, J.

2011-01-01

A revised chronological framework for the deglaciation of the Lake Michigan lobe of the south-central Laurentide Ice Sheet is presented based on radiocarbon ages of plant macrofossils archived in the sediments of low-relief ice-walled lakes. We analyze the precision and accuracy of 15 AMS 14C ages of plant macrofossils obtained from a single ice-walled lake deposit. The semi-circular basin is about 0.72km wide and formed of a 4- to 16-m-thick succession of loess and lacustrine sediment inset into till. The assayed material was leaves, buds and stems of Salix herbacea (snowbed willow). The pooled mean of three ages from the basal lag facies was 18 270??50 14C a BP (21 810cal. a BP), an age that approximates the switch from active ice to stagnating conditions. The pooled mean of four ages for the youngest fossil-bearing horizon was 17 770??40 14C a BP (21 180cal. a BP). Material yielding the oldest and youngest ages may be obtained from sediment cores located at any place within the landform. Based on the estimated settling times of overlying barren, rhythmically bedded sand and silt, the lacustrine environment persisted for about 50 more years. At a 67% confidence level, the dated part of the ice-walled lake succession persisted for between 210 and 860cal. a (modal value: 610cal. a). The deglacial age of five moraines or morainal complexes formed by the fluctuating margin of the Lake Michigan lobe have been assessed using this method. There is no overlap of time intervals documenting when ice-walled lakes persisted on these landforms. The rapid readvances of the lobe during deglaciation after the last glacial maximum probably occurred at some point between the periods of ice-walled lake sedimentation. ?? 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An interpretation of carbon and sulfur relationships in Black Sea sediments as indicators of environments of deposition

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leventhal, J.S.

1983-01-01

Syngenetic iron sulfides in sediments are formed from dissolved sulfide resulting from sulfate reduction and catabolism of organic matter by anaerobic bacteria. It has been shown that in recent marine sediments deposited below oxygenated waters there is a constant relationship between reduced sulfur and organic carbon which is generally independent of the environment of deposition. Reexamination of data from recent sediments from euxinic marine environments (e.g., the Black Sea) also shows a linear relationship between carbon and sulfur, but the slope is variable and the line intercepts the S axis at a value between 1 and 2 percent S. It is proposed that the positive S intercept is due to watercolumn microbial reduction of sulfate using metabolizable small organic molecules and the sulfide formed is precipitated and accumulates at the sediment-water interface. The variation in slope and intercept of the C to S plots for several cores and for different stratigraphic zones for the Black Sea can be interpreted in relation to thickness of the aqueous sulfide layer or thinness of the oxygen containing layer and to deposition rate, but also may be influenced by availability of iron, and perhaps the type of organic matter (Leventhal, 1979). ?? 1983.

Fluvial sedimentary styles and associated depositional environments in the buntsandstein west of river rhine in saar area and pfalz (F.R. Germany) and vosges (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dachroth, Wolfgang

The Buntsandstein west of river Rhine in Saar area, Pfalz and Vosges consists of three fluvial magnacycles which are characterized by different associated non-alluvial environments. The stratigraphic sequence is divided by several unconformities reflecting tectonic movements which were connected with periods of extension of the depositional area. Two major phases and two minor events are recognized by the evaluation of the Pfalz unconformity and the Lothringen unconformity, and the Leuter unconformity and the Saar unconformity, respectively. The Lower Buntsandstein (including Zechstein) compries the first magnacycle and is built up of alluvial-fan deposits, fluvial braidplain sediments and marine to lagoonal deposits. Some aeolian sands as well as several palaeosols are also present. The palaeolandscape consists of alluvial fans seaming the margin of the basin and fluvial braidplains reaching from the toes of the fan belt to the centre of the depositional area which is occupied by a lagoonal sea that partially evolves into a playa-lake with progressive refreshment. The Middle Buntsandstein comprises the second magnacycle and is composed of an alternation of aeolian Dünnschichten and fluvial Felsbänke. The third facies are alluvial-fan deposits of palaeogeographically restricted distribution along the margins of the basin. The aeolian Dünnschichten originate in the marginal parts of chott-type depressions (in comparison with the recent Chott Djerid in Tunesia) where rising ground water moistens the dry sediments that are laid down on the playa floor and thus allows their enhanced preservation. In dry periods, wind-blown sand is spread out as plane sheets or as migrating wind ripple trains, or accumulates to barchanoid-type dunes that advance across the flat. Depending on supply of sand, all stages of transition between dune fields with only narrow interdune corridors between the ridges and interdune playas with isolated widely-spaced dunes are developed. The

Hydroecology of Amazonian lacustrine Arcellinida (testate amoebae): A case study from Lake Quistococha, Peru.

PubMed

Patterson, R Timothy; Huckerby, Gail; Kelly, Thomas J; Swindles, Graeme T; Nasser, Nawaf A

2015-10-01

Organic rich sediments were obtained from seven core tops taken in Lake Quistococha, near the city of Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon. Subsamples from 0 to 4cm depth in each core were analyzed under dissecting light microscopy to carry out the first investigation of Arcellinida (testate lobose amoebae) from a lacustrine environment in this ecologically important region. The fauna was characterized by a low diversity, low abundance community dominated by centropyxids. This fauna is similar to 'stressed' assemblages reported from temperate latitudes, except that test concentrations were two orders of magnitude lower than typical in temperate lakes. Principle arcellinidan stressors in Lake Quistococha likely include the low pH 4 conditions in the lake, and a general lack of suitable minerogenic material to construct tests in the organic rich lake substrate. The low pH conditions are the result of runoff and seepage of water high in dissolved organic carbon from the adjacent similarly low pH 4 terrestrial peatland. The dearth of minerogenic material is the result of the lake being isolated from riverine input for the past ∼2000 years, even during flooding events. Other limiting factors contributing to depressed arcellinidan populations may include nutrient supply, predation pressure, competition, and post-mortem taphonomic factors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Chemical Vapor Deposition at High Pressure in a Microgravity Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCall, Sonya; Bachmann, Klaus; LeSure, Stacie; Sukidi, Nkadi; Wang, Fuchao

1999-01-01

In this paper we present an evaluation of critical requirements of organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD) at elevated pressure for a channel flow reactor in a microgravity environment. The objective of using high pressure is to maintain single-phase surface composition for materials that have high thermal decomposition pressure at their optimum growth temperature. Access to microgravity is needed to maintain conditions of laminar flow, which is essential for process analysis. Based on ground based observations we present an optimized reactor design for OMCVD at high pressure and reduced gravity. Also, we discuss non-intrusive real-time optical monitoring of flow dynamics coupled to homogeneous gas phase reactions, transport and surface processes. While suborbital flights may suffice for studies of initial stages of heteroepitaxy experiments in space are essential for a complete evaluation of steady-state growth.

Uplift sequence of the Andes at 30°S: Insights from sedimentology and U/Pb dating of synorogenic deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suriano, J.; Mardonez, D.; Mahoney, J. B.; Mescua, J. F.; Giambiagi, L. B.; Kimbrough, D.; Lossada, A.

2017-04-01

The South Central Andes at 30°S represent a key area to understand the Andes geodynamics as it is in the middle of the flat slab segment and all the morphotectonic units of the Central Andes are well developed. This work is focused in the proximal synorogenic deposits of the Western Precordillera, in the La Tranca valley, in order to unravel the uplift sequence of this belt. Nine facies associations were recognized; most of them represent piedmont facies with local provenance from Precordillera and were deposited in the wedge-top depozone, as is expected for proximal sinorogenic deposits. However there are intercalations of transference fluvial systems, which show mixed provenance indicating that Permo-Triassic igneous rocks were already exposed to the west (Frontal Cordillera). There are also lacustrine deposits which are interpreted as the result of damming by fault activity at east of the studied basin. Finally, two maximum depositional ages at ca. 11 Ma and 8 Ma of these deposits indicate that the onset of uplift of the Precordillera at 30°S is little older than 11 Ma. These data change two previous ideas about the evolution of the Precordillera: its uplift at 30° S is younger than proposed by previous works and it is nearly synchronous along strike.

Surficial Geologic Map of the West Franklin Quadrangle, Vanderburgh and Posey Counties, Indiana, and Henderson County, Kentucky

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, David W.; Newell, Wayne L.; Counts, Ronald C.; Fraser, Gordon S.; Fishbaugh, David A.; Brandt, Theodore R.

2007-01-01

environments and geologic history of the alluvium and lacustrine deposits.

Summer temperatures inferred from varved lacustrine sediment at Iceberg Lake in southcentral Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diedrich, K.; Loso, M. G.

2010-12-01

Iceberg Lake, a glacier-dammed lake in southcentral Alaska, has been previously shown to record over 1,500 years of continuous laminated lacustrine sediment deposition. Because previous work was based on examination of subaerial outcrops exposed by stream incision in the bed of the jökulhlaup-drained lake, the length of the record was limited by the extent of the outcrops. In August of 2010, we returned to core the remote lake; our goal was recovery of the complete sedimentary record in the lake, extending perhaps back to the onset of late Holocene glaciation—around 3-5 ka in this region. We used a Vibarcorer system to recover sediment cores from two locations, one near the site of previous work and another at the distal end of the lake. The longest cores recovered were 5.2 meters and 6.2 meters at the proximal and distal sites, respectively. Based on the average lamination thickness established previously at the proximal site (4.7 mm), these cores should each represent over 1000 years of sediment accumulation, and likely much longer at the distal site, where laminations are expected to be thinner. Having established previously that the lake’s laminations are annual varves and that they are positively correlated with summer (melt-season) temperatures, our analysis is focused on documenting a long time-series of annual sediment accumulation and summer-layer particle size. Both measurements will be used to interpret the history of summer temperatures. The cores may also provide sedimentary evidence of the timing of advances/retreats of nearby glaciers, including the Tana Glacier and Bagley Icefield, helping to clarify the poorly-constrained timing of neoglaciation in Southern Alaska. The paleoclimate record produced at Iceberg Lake will be included in the Arctic System Science 8ka project

Marine-to-lacustrine transition, mud volcanism, and slope instability in an active tectonic setting: the MIS 5 to 4 transition in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grall, Céline; Henry, Pierre; Kendé, Julia; Namık Çaǧatay, M.; Kadir Eriş, K.; Paillès, Christine; Sorlien, Christopher; Shillington, Donna; McHugh, Cecilia; Steckler, Michael; Çifçi, Günay; Géli, Louis

2016-04-01

In the Sea of Marmara, glacio-eustatic cycles set the tempo of a complex history of disconnection and reconnection with the Black Sea and with the global ocean through the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, the sedimentary record consists of alternating high stand marine sediments and lowstand sea or lake sediments. The Sea of Marmara is also an active transtensional basin along the Northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault (NNAF), which accommodates most (~3/4) of the 21-27 mm/a dextral slip between Eurasia and Anatolia. This peculiar setting makes the Sea of Marmara an exceptional site to study the interplay of paleo-environmental factors and seismotectonic processes. Notably, Mass Transport Deposits (MTDs) crossing the faults provide offset markers although their age remains uncertain. A high resolution seismic stratigraphic model has been proposed for 100 ka glacial cycles, based on onlap sequences within basins, and paleo-deltas at shorelines. The sedimentation rate in basins decreases during episodes of sea-level rise and reach maximum values during low stands. Remarkably, seismic reflector sequences display nearly identical character for locations with similar sedimentation rate. The uppermost sequence boundary reflector (Red-H1) has been recently cored at several locations during MARSITECRUISE (Ifremer R/V Pourquoi Pas?, Oct-Nov. 2014), enabled us to correlate high resolution seismic data with core data. The Red-H1 reflector is regionally characterized by a high amplitude and a reverse polarity. Correlations between seismic data and piston core logs indicate that the reverse polarity of this reflector may be explained by a negative density contrast between lacustrine sediments above and a greenish sapropellic layer of several meters thickness below. On shelves, Red-H1 is on top of the low stand wedge. On slopes and topographic highs, Red-H1 appears as an erosional surface laterally correlative with an onlapping unit in basins and is frequently overlain by

Lacustrine Records of Holocene Mountain Glacier Fluctuations from Western Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweinsberg, A.; Briner, J. P.; Bennike, O.

2014-12-01

Recent studies have focused on documenting fluctuations of the Greenland Ice Sheet margin throughout the Holocene but few data exist that constrain past changes of local glaciers independent of the ice sheet. Our research combines proglacial lake sediment analysis with cosmogenic 10Be dating of Holocene moraines and radiocarbon dating of ice-cap-killed vegetation with an overall objective to use this multi-proxy approach to generate a detailed record of the coupled climate-glacier system through the Holocene. Here, we present lacustrine records of mountain glacier variability from continuous pro-glacial lake sediment sequences recovered from two glaciated catchments in northeastern Nuussuaq, western Greenland. We use radiocarbon-dated sediments from Sikuiui and Pauiaivik lakes to reconstruct the timing of advance and retreat of local glaciers. Sediments were characterized with magnetic susceptibility (MS), gamma density, Itrax XRF and visible reflectance spectroscopy at 0.2 cm intervals and sediment organic matter at 0.5 cm intervals. Basal radiocarbon ages provide minimum-age constraints on deglaciation from Sikuiui and Pauiaivik lakes of ~9.6 and 8.7 ka, respectively. Organic-rich gyttja from deglaciation until ~5.0 ka in Pauiaivik Lake suggests minimal glacial extent there while slightly elevated MS values from ~9.0 - 7.0 ka in Sikuiui Lake may reflect early Holocene glacial advances. Minerogenic sediment input gradually increases starting at ~5.0 ka in Pauiaivik Lake, which we interpret as the onset of Neoglaciation in the catchment. Furthermore, a distinct episode of enhanced glacial activity from ~4.0 - 2.2 ka in Sikuiui Lake may be correlative to a period of persistent snowline lowering evidenced by radiocarbon dates of ice-killed vegetation from nearby ice cap margins. Results from these lacustrine records and our ice-killed vegetation dataset suggest a middle Holocene onset of Neoglaciation ~5.0 - 4.0 ka in this region. We are supplementing these records

Stratigraphy and depositional environments of Fox Hills Formation in Williston basin

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daly, D.J.

The Fox Hills Formation (Maestrichtian), representing part of a regressive wedge deposited during the withdrawal of the sea from the Western Interior at the close of the Cretaceous, consists of marginal marine strata transitional between the offshore deposits of the underlying Pierre Shale and the terrestrial deltaic and coastal deposits of the overlying Hell Creek Formation. An investigation of outcrops of the Fox Hills Formation along the western and southern flanks of the Williston basin and study of over 300 oil and gas well logs from the central part of the basin indicate that the formation can be divided bothmore » stratigraphically and areally. Stratigraphically, the Fox Hills can be divided into lower and upper sequences; the lower includes the Trail City and Timber Lake Members, and the upper sequence includes the Colgate Member in the west and the Iron Lightning and Linton Members in the east. Areally, the formation can be divided into a northeastern and western part, where the strata are 30-45 m thick and are dominated by the lower sequence, and into a southeastern area where both the lower and upper sequences are well developed in a section 80-130 m thick. Typically, the lower Fox Hills consists of upward-coarsening shoreface or delta-front sequences containing hummocky bedding and a limited suite of trace fossils, most notably Ophiomorpha. In the southeast, however, these strata are dominated by bar complexes, oriented northeast-southwest, composed of cross-bedded medium to very fine-grained sand with abundant trace and body fossils. The upper Fox Hills represents a variety of shoreface, deltaic, and channel environments. The strata of the Fox Hills Formation exhibit facies similar to those reported for Upper Cretaceous gas reservoirs in the northern Great Plains.« less

Peat in the ?Niayes? of Senegal: depositional environment and Holocene evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lézine, A.-M.; Chateauneuf, J.-J.

The "Niayes" peat deposits north of Dakar, in Senegal, provide an unusual opportunity to study the continental and littoral detrital environment of the Holocene in West Africa. These organic deposits, that may attain a thickness of 10m, accumulated in Late Pleistocene interdune basins whose extend morphology depend closely upon the palaeohydrologic evolution of and the continental model for this zone during the Holocene. The present sub-Canarian climate of this region allows the preservation of an azonal vegetation of Guinean chorological affinity that is evidence of the wider development of now more southerly vegetation during the older Holocene. The nature of the sedimentary facies of these peatfields is closely related to the altitude of the basins of accumulation and the position of the fresh/salt water interface which conditions the recharge of the shallow aquifer. Thus, fresh-water and mangrove-swamp peats exist more or less closely associated according to the site. 14C age determinations gives ages for these deposits between 12000 B.P. and the present, and detailed palynological studies have shown that there were two periods of climatic optimum, one between 9000 and 7000 B.P. and one between 4000 and 2000 B.P. The highly variable rates of sedimentation (0.2-12,5 mm/y for the continental zones and 2 mm/y for the mangrove swamps) are related to the paleotopography of the water-table or to very local fluctuations of sea level. The evolution of the vegetal biomass, evaluated both qualitatively (relative representation of the various vegetation levels) and quantitatively (concentration of pollen per gram of dry sediment) during the course of the Holocene enables reconstruction of the complete climatic and hydrologic history of the region up to the dawn of the Present.

Application of Lacustrine Biomarkers to Reconstruct Late Holocene Temperature Change in the Saskatchewan Prairies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavazzin, B.; Toney, J. L.; Pearson, E. J.; Schouten, S.; Leavitt, P.; Haig, H.

2016-12-01

Extreme hydrological events such as prolonged droughts are among Canada's costliest natural calamities resulting in disastrous impacts on agriculture, forestry, industry, and ecosystems. Investigations into climate variations prior to significant anthropogenic modification are essential to build effective projection models and adaptation strategies needed to reduce economic, social and environmental vulnerability within the prairies eco-region. In this study we use organic geochemical analysis of lipids produced by bacteria, archaea and algae in lake and catchment sediments. These organic compounds are highly resistant to degradation and accumulate in the sediments as geochemical fossils or biomarkers. In particular we focus on Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraethers (GDGT) biomarkers which are ubiquitous in soils and lacustrine environments and can be applied as quantitative temperature proxies in regions of the world where other proxies cannot be used. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between GDGT distribution and temperature and assess the potential for establishing a GDGT-based paleothermometer for the Canadian prairies lakes. Our training set includes GDGT data from core-top sediments from 105 lakes across spanning a 5° latitudinal gradient and spring surface water temperature gradient of about 9°C. We identified 30 known bacterial and archaeal GDGTs, including the novel archaeal tetraether lipids with a cyclohexyl ring. These compounds are present in varying proportions in all the lakes investigated, suggesting a broad range of GDGT inputs and also potential in-situ production. We analysed the relationships between individual GDGT compounds against temperature, pH, conductivity, water depth and other environmental variables. We also examined previously published GDGT-environment indices in order to test the applicability of previously developed GDGT-based paleotemperature calibrations to the prairies lakes and assess whether a new

Depositional Environments of Late Danian Plant Localities: Chubut Provice, Patagonia, Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comer, E.; Slingerland, R. L.; Wilf, P.

2010-12-01

Diverse, well-preserved macroflora are observed within Cretaceous and Paleocene sediments of Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. These macroflora are the most well preserved early Paleocene flora from Gondwana and add new insight into the diversity and environments of that epoch. Two major sites of fossil preservation, Palacio de los Loros and Parque Provincial Ormachea, sit near the top of the Late Danian (65.5-61.7 Ma) Salamanca Formation. Understanding the depositional history of the Salamanca is important in characterizing paleoenvironments in which these flora lived and relating these Patagonian macroflora to concurrent Paleocene flora within the Gondwanan supercontinent. During a two week field season, twenty stratigraphic sections were measured along the outcrop belt at Palacio de los Loros and Ormachea Park as well as two minor sites; Las Flores, and Rancho Grande. Photo mosaics, laser ranger data, and stratigraphic columns were merged with elevated geologic maps and imported into Fledermaus to generate a 3-D visualization of facies relationships. Rock samples were also collected and will be thin sectioned and analyzed for petrography and grain size. The Salamanca Fm. consists of 7 facies, listed here in stratigraphically ascending order: 1)Transgressive sands, 2)Wispy-bedded claystone, 3)Banco Verde, 4)White Cross bedded sandstone, 5)Accretion set siltstone, 6)Transitional silty claystone and 7)Banco Negro. Based on these facies, the Salamanca Fm. is interpreted as a marine-shelf to brackish, tide-dominated, estuarine deposit. The base of the Salamanca Fm. rests on an unconformity representing a marine flooding surface and lower sections of the Salamanca, facies 1 and 2, contain abundant glauconite and fossils indicative of a marine shelf environment. These facies give way upwards to bi-directional trough cross bedded sandstones interspersed with flaser bedded sandy siltstones (facies 3 and 4) indicating a less marine estuary with strong flow regimes

Late Cenozoic geology and lacustrine history of Searles Valley, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nathenson, M.; Smith, G. I.; Robinson, J. E.; Stauffer, P. H.; Zigler, J. L.

2010-12-01

(beaches or tufa benches) are common, but their deposits tend to be thin. Combining the subsurface evidence of lake history with the outcrop record allows the history of lake fluctuations to be reconstructed for the period between about 150 ka and the present. Translating this record of lake fluctuations into paleohydrologic and paleoclimatic histories is complicated by uncertainties as to which of the several components of climate affected runoff volumes and lake-surface evaporation. A simplified model, however, suggests that the flow of the Owens River stayed between 2.5 and 4.5 times its present flow volume for most of the past 150 ky. Its flow exceeded this range only about 14 percent of the time, and it fell below this range only 4 percent of the time—which includes the present. In fact, the past 10 ky is clearly the driest period during the past 150 ky in the Owens River drainage. Smith, G.I., 2009, Late Cenozoic geology and lacustrine history of Searles Valley, Inyo and San Bernardino Counties, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1727, 115 p., 4 plates.

Diagenetic silica enrichment and late-stage groundwater activity in Gale crater, Mars

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frydenvang, Jens; Gasda, Patrick J.; Hurowitz, Joel A.; Grotzinger, John P.; Wiens, Roger C.; Newsom, Horton E.; Edgett, Ken S.; Watkins, Jessica; Bridges, John C.; Maurice, Sylvestre; Fisk, Martin R.; Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Rapin, William; Stein, Nathan; Clegg, Sam M.; Schwenzer, S. P.; Bedford, C.; Edwards, P.; Mangold, Nicolas; Cousin, Agnes; Anderson, Ryan; Payre, Valerie; Vaniman, David; Blake, David; Lanza, Nina L.; Gupta, Sanjeev; Van Beek, Jason; Sautter, Violaine; Meslin, Pierre-Yves; Rice, Melissa; Milliken, Ralf; Gellert, Ralf; Thompson, Lucy; Clark, Ben C.; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Fraeman, Abigail A.; Kinch, Kjartan M; Madsen, Morten B.; Mitofranov, Igor; Jun, Insoo; Calef, Fred J.; Vasavada, Ashwin R.

2017-01-01

Diagenetic silica enrichment in fracture-associated halos that crosscut lacustrine and unconformably overlying aeolian sedimentary bedrock is observed on the lower north slope of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater, Mars. The diagenetic silica enrichment is colocated with detrital silica enrichment observed in the lacustrine bedrock yet extends into a considerably younger, unconformably draping aeolian sandstone, implying that diagenetic silica enrichment postdates the detrital silica enrichment. A causal connection between the detrital and diagenetic silica enrichment implies that water was present in the subsurface of Gale crater long after deposition of the lacustrine sediments and that it mobilized detrital amorphous silica and precipitated it along fractures in the overlying bedrock. Although absolute timing is uncertain, the observed diagenesis likely represents some of the most recent groundwater activity in Gale crater and suggests that the timescale of potential habitability extended considerably beyond the time that the lacustrine sediments of Aeolis Mons were deposited.

Magnetostratigraphy of The Astronomically-forced Alluvial Fan To Lacustrine Sequences of The Teruel Basin (late Miocene, Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dam, J.; Aziz, H. Abdul; Hilgen, F. J.; Krijgsman, W.

During the last years, more and more examples of allocyclic, astronomical forced variations in the continental record have been documented. Sedimentary hiatuses, tra- ditionally regarded as the primary reason for the absence of clear patterns of orbital signature in the terrestrial domain, may be absent or short, given the appropriate set- ting. Spanish endoreic basins, for instance, form a ideal setting for the registration of orbital-forced climate change, as has been demonstrated for the Middle Miocene distal-alluvial fan-floodplain to lacustrine deposits of the Calatayud Basin. Astronom- ical forcing of sedimentary cycles has also been demonstrated in the Late Miocene distal alluvial fan to lacustrine sequences of the Teruel Basin. The early Late Miocene Cascante and Cañizar sections South of the town of Teruel show distinct cyclic bed- ding of red and/or green mottled mudstones alternating with white carbonate beds, whereby the alternation is mainly controlled by precession and eccentricity. The car- bonate beds are interpreted as (shallow) lake highstands, which occur in response to submergence of the alluvial fan distal plain. Small mammal teeth have been recov- ered from organic-richer layers at the base of the carbonate cycles in the Cascante and Cañizar sections. The recovery of mammal remains in terrestrial Milankovitch forced settings is crucial for several reasons: 1) it provides a first approximate age estimation for the sequence, thereby constraining other sources of temporal information such as magnetostratigraphy; 2) it infers very accurate ages of the mammal localities after as- tronomical tuning of the cyclic patterns; 3) it formulates hypotheses on the climatic regime and its variability using precise correlations to the insolation curve and in- terpretation of phase relations; and 4) it confronts the astronomically-based climatic reconstruction with the paleoecological reconstructions and faunal changes observed in the mammals themselves

Morphology and Fractal Characterization of Multiscale Pore Structures for Organic-Rich Lacustrine Shale Reservoirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yang; Wu, Caifang; Zhu, Yanming; Chen, Shangbin; Liu, Shimin; Zhang, Rui

Lacustrine shale gas has received considerable attention and has been playing an important role in unconventional natural gas production in China. In this study, multiple techniques, including total organic carbon (TOC) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), helium pycnometry and low-pressure N2 adsorption have been applied to characterize the pore structure of lacustrine shale of Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation from the Ordos Basin. The results show that organic matter (OM) pores are the most important type dominating the pore system, while interparticle (interP) pores, intraparticle (intraP) and microfractures are also usually observed between or within different minerals. The shapes of OM pores are less complex compared with the other two pore types based on the Image-Pro Plus software analysis. In addition, the specific surface area ranges from 2.76m2/g to 10.26m2/g and the pore volume varies between 0.52m3/100g and 1.31m3/100g. Two fractal dimensions D1 and D2 were calculated using Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) method, with D1 varying between 2.510 and 2.632, and D2 varying between 2.617 and 2.814. Further investigation indicates that the fractal dimensions exhibit positive correlations with TOC contents, whereas there is no definite relationship observed between fractal dimensions and clay minerals. Meanwhile, the fractal dimensions increase with the increase in specific surface area, and is negatively correlated with the pore size.

Review of taxonomy, geographic distribution, and paleoenvironments of Azhdarchidae (Pterosauria)

PubMed Central

Averianov, Alexander

2014-01-01

Abstract The taxonomy, geographic distribution, and paleoenvironmental context of azhdarchid pterosaurs are reviewed. All purported pteranodontid, tapejarid, and azhdarchid specimens from the Cenomanian Kem Kem beds of Morocco are referred to a single azhdarchid taxon, Alanqa saharica. The four proposed autapomorphies of Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis from the lower Maastrichtian Sebeş Formation of Romania are based on misinterpretations of material and this taxon is likely a subjective junior synonym of Hatzegopteryx thambema. Among 54 currently reported azhdarchid occurrences (51 skeletal remains and 3 tracks) 13% are from lacustrine deposits, 17% from fluvial plain deposits, 17% from coastal plain deposits, 18% from estuarine and lagoonal deposits, and 35% from costal marine deposits. Azhdarchids likely inhabited a variety of environments, but were abundant near large lakes and rivers and most common in nearshore marine paleoenvironments. PMID:25152671

Sedimentology and palaeontology of the Upper Jurassic Puesto Almada Member (Cañadón Asfalto Formation, Fossati sub-basin), Patagonia Argentina: Palaeoenvironmental and climatic significance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabaleri, Nora G.; Benavente, Cecilia A.; Monferran, Mateo D.; Narváez, Paula L.; Volkheimer, Wolfgang; Gallego, Oscar F.; Do Campo, Margarita D.

2013-10-01

Six facies associations are described for the Puesto Almada Member at the Cerro Bandera locality (Fossati sub-basin). They correspond to lacustrine, palustrine, and pedogenic deposits (limestones); and subordinated alluvial fan, fluvial, aeolian, and pyroclastic deposits. The lacustrine-palustrine depositional setting consisted of carbonate alkaline shallow lakes surrounded by flooded areas in a low-lying topography. The facies associations constitute four shallowing upward successions defined by local exposure surfaces: 1) a Lacustrine-Palustrine-pedogenic facies association with a 'conchostracan'-ostracod association; 2) a Palustrine facies association representing a wetland subenvironment, and yielding 'conchostracans', body remains of insects, fish scales, ichnofossils, and palynomorphs (cheirolepidiacean species and ferns growing around water bodies, and other gymnosperms in more elevated areas); 3) an Alluvial fan facies association indicating the source of sediment supply; and 4) a Lacustrine facies association representing a second wetland episode, and yielding 'conchostracans', insect ichnofossils, and a palynoflora mainly consisting of planktonic green algae associated with hygrophile elements. The invertebrate fossil assemblage found contains the first record of fossil insect bodies (Insecta-Hemiptera and Coleoptera) for the Cañadón Asfalto Formation. The succession reflects a mainly climatic control over sedimentation. The sedimentary features of the Puesto Almada Member are in accordance with an arid climatic scenario across the Upper Jurassic, and they reflect a strong seasonality with periods of higher humidity represented by wetlands and lacustrine sediments.

Cooling Strategies for Vane Leading Edges in a Syngas Environment Including Effects of Deposition and Turbulence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ames, Forrest; Bons, Jeffrey

2014-09-30

roughness levels found on in service vanes (Bons, et al., 2001, up to 300 microns) flow blockage in first stage turbine nozzles can easily reach 1 to 2 percent in conventional turbines. Deposition levels in syngas fueled gas turbines are expected to be even more problematic. The likelihood of significant deposition to the leading edge of vanes in a syngas environment indicates the need to examine this effect on the leading edge cooling problem. It is critical to understand the influence of leading edge geometry and turbulence on deposition rates for both internally and showerhead cooled leading edge regions. The expected level of deposition in a vane stagnation region not only significantly changes the heat transfer problem but also suggests that cooling arrays may clog. Addressing the cooling issue suggests a need to better understand stagnation region heat transfer with realistic roughness as well as the other variables affecting transport near the leading edge. Also, the question of whether leading edge regions can be cooled internally with modern cooling approaches should also be raised, thus avoiding the clogging issue. Addressing deposition in the pressure side throat region of the nozzle is another critical issue for this environment. Issues such as examining the protective effect of slot and full coverage discrete-hole film cooling on limiting deposition as well as the influence of roughness and turbulence on effectiveness should be raised. The objective of this present study is to address these technical challenges to help enable the development of high efficiency syngas tolerant gas turbine engines.« less

Depositional environments and cyclicity of the Early Ordovician carbonate ramp in the western Tarim Basin (NW China)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Chuan; Chen, Daizhao; Song, Yafang; Zhou, Xiqiang; Ding, Yi; Zhang, Gongjing

2018-06-01

During the Early Ordovician, the Tarim Basin (NW China) was mainly occupied by an extensive shallow-water carbonate platform, on which a carbonate ramp system was developed in the Bachu-Keping area of the western part of the basin. Three well-exposed typical outcrop sections of the Lower Ordovician Penglaiba Formation were investigated in order to identify the depositional facies and to clarify origins of meter-scale cycles and depositional sequences, thereby the platform evolution. Thirteen lithofacies are identified and further grouped into three depositional facies (associations): peritidal, restricted and open-marine subtidal facies. These lithofacies are vertically stacked into meter-scale, shallowing-upward peritidal and subtidal cycles. The peritidal cycles are mainly distributed in the lower and uppermost parts of the Penglaiba Formation deposited in the inner-middle ramp, and commonly start with shallow subtidal to intertidal facies followed by inter- to supratidal facies. In contrast, the subtidal cycles occur throughout the formation mostly in the middle-outer ramp and are dominated by shallow to relatively deep (i.e., intermediate) subtidal facies. The dominance of asymmetrical and incomplete cycles suggests a dominant control of Earth's orbital forcing on the cyclic deposition on the platform. On the basis of vertical facies and cycle stacking patterns, and accommodation changes illustrated by the Fischer plots from all studied sections, five third-order depositional sequences are recognized in the Penglaiba Formation. Individual sequences comprise a lower transgressive part and an upper regressive one. In shallow-water depositional environments, the transgressive packages are dominated by thicker-than-average subtidal cycles, indicating an increase in accommodation space, whereas regressive parts are mainly represented by thinner-than-average peritidal and subtidal cycles, denoting a decrease in accommodation space. In contrast, in intermediate to

The effect of tectonic evolution on lacustrine syn-rift sediment patters in Qikou Sag, Bohaiwan Basin, eastern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Y.; Wang, H.; Xu, W.

2013-12-01

Normal fault arrays and associated relay ramps between two overlapping en-echelon normal faults are well known to control the deposition and distribution of sediments in alluvial, fluvial and deltaic systems in rift settings. The influence of transfer zones or relay ramps on sediment routes and dispersal patterns in subaqueous (deeper marine/lacustrine), however, is barely studied and hence less clear. Previous experimental studies indicate that subaqueous relay ramps may act as sediment transportation pathways if certain conditions are available. In this study, we integrate detailed structural and stratigraphic analysis with three-dimensional seismic data and limited well log data from the Qikou Sag to examine the tectonic evolution and the syn-rift sediment patterns response to fault growth and linkage in an active rift setting. Qikou Sag is located at the center of Huanghua Depression, Bohaiwan Basin of eastern China. Structurally, it is a typical continental rift basin characterized by a linked system of two NEE-SWW-striking half-grabens and one E-W-striking graben. Qikou sag is filled with Eocene-Oligocene syn-rift sediments and Miocene to Quaternary post-rift sediments. The Eocene-Oligocene rifting stage can be divided into early rifting period (43-36.5 Ma, the third member and second member of Shahejie Formation, Es3 and Es2), stable rifting period (36.5-29Ma, the first member of Shaehejie Formation, Es1) and fault-depressed diversionary period (29-24.6Ma, the Dongying Formation, Ed). This study focus on the early syn-rift, the third and second member of Shehejie Formation, which is mostly dark-grey mudstone interbedded with fine to coarse-grained sandstone deposited by large-scale turbidity currents in deep-lake. In particular, we use a combination of thickness variability and facies distributions, onlap patterns within a high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework, integrated with structural geometry, fault activity and subsidence history analysis to

Hinterland drainage closure and lake formation in response to middle Eocene Farallon slab removal, Nevada, U.S.A.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. Elliot; Cassel, Elizabeth J.; Jicha, Brian R.; Singer, Brad S.; Canada, Andrew S.

2017-12-01

ash beds in the Dead Horse Formation at Copper Basin in northern Elko County indicate intermittent ash bed deposition between 45.2 Ma and 38.6 Ma, and an episode of lacustrine deposition between 39.8 Ma and 38.6 Ma that post-dates the main phase of Lake Elko. δD values of volcanic glass sampled from dated ash beds reflect changes in the hydrogen isotope compositions of local Eocene waters, and systematically vary by 80-102‰ according to their depositional environment. The Elko Formation and overlying volcanic strata are overlain regionally by a pronounced unconformity of ∼20 m.y. In the Copper Basin area, deposition continued locally into the Oligocene in the hanging wall of a ductile detachment. The geochronologic and isotopic framework presented here permits reanalysis of the Piñon Range carbonate proxy record that was previously interpreted to record both regional uplift and the middle Eocene climatic optimum. New data suggest instead that isotope values of hydration waters within the Elko Formation were strongly influenced by evaporation, and a change from lacustrine to non-lacustrine conditions can account for the δ18O shift that was interpreted to reflect regional uplift. Moreover, the end of Elko Formation deposition predated the middle Eocene climatic optimum. We interpret the overall record of drainage ponding and paleovalley inundation, progressively more evaporative lacustrine conditions, increasingly proximal volcanism, and subsequent prolonged unconformity to reflect the surface effects of progressive NE to SW removal of the Farallon slab.

Shell We Date? ESR Dating Sangamon Interglacial Episode Deposits at Hopwood Farm, IL.

PubMed

Blackwell, Bonnie A B; Kim, Danny M K; Curry, B Brandon; Grimley, David A; Blickstein, Joel I B; Skinner, Anne R

2016-12-01

During the Sangamon Episode, North America occasionally experienced warm climates. At Hopwood Farm, IL, a small kettle lake filled with sediment after the Illinois Episode glaciers retreated from southern Illinois. To date those deposits, 14 mollusc samples newly collected with associated sediment from three depths at Hopwood Farm were dated by standard electron spin resonance (ESR) dating. ESR can date molluscs from ~0.5 ka to >2 Ma in age with 5-10% precision, by comparing the accumulated radiation dose with the total radiation dose rate from the mollusc and its environment. Because all molluscs contained ≤0.6 ppm U, their ages do not depend on the assumed U uptake model. Using five different species, ESR analyses for 14 mollusc subsamples from Hopwood Farm showed that Unit 3, a layer rich in lacustrine molluscs, dates at 102 ± 7 ka to 90 ± 6 ka, which correlates with Marine (Oxygen) Isotope Stage 5c-b. Thus, the period with the highest non-arboreal pollen at Hopwood also correlates with the European Brørup, Dansgaard-Oeschger Event DO 23, a time period when climates were cooling and drying somewhat over the same period. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Facies analysis and depositional environments of upper part of Richmond group (upper Ordovician), Richmond, Indiana, to Xenia, Ohio

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Betz, C.E.; Martin, W.D.

Rock sections of the Drakes, Elkhorn, and Whitewater Formations were studied along an east-west-trending line in order to distinguish facies changes in a slope direction across the paleodepositional basin. The Richmond limestones, shales, and dolostones formed from fine-grained, terrigenous and carbonate sediments deposited on a shallow marine ramp within the humid, tropical, low latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Depositional environments on the ramp are represented by five main facies type. The five Richmond facies form a subtidal to supratidal shallowing-upward sequence. This progressive shallowing during the Late Ordovician resulted from the westward regional progradation of Queenston deltaic facies.

Upper Albian to Lower Turonian deposits and associated breccias along the Dahar cuestas (southeastern Tunisia): Origin and depositional environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krimi, Mabrouk; Ouaja, Mohamed; Zargouni, Fouad

2017-11-01

The carbonate Zebbag Formation of Upper Albian to Lower Turonian age which outcrops along the Dahar cuestas (south eastern Tunisia) includes several breccia intervals. The stratigraphic hierarchy of these breccia levels led to achieving a detailed sequential analysis within a spectrum of depositional environments extending from subtidal to inner to middle ramp settings. Six major transgressive/regressive sequences make up the stacking of the elementary sequences beginning with transgressive and/or storm wave breccias capped by desiccation and/or collapse breccias. The stratigraphic evolutionary history of the breccia facies are interpreted as the result of the interplay between eustatic and tectonic factors. This model is in accord with the tectonic activities common during Upper Albian-Lower Turonian responsible for the sequences onlapping.

Rapid releases of metal salts and nutrients following the deposition of volcanic ash into aqueous environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Morgan T.; Gislason, Sigurður R.

2008-08-01

Deposition of volcanic ash into aqueous environments leads to dissolution of adsorbed metal salts and aerosols, increasing the bioavailability of key nutrients. Volcanogenic fertilization events could increase marine primary productivity, leading to a drawdown of atmospheric CO 2. Here we conduct flow-through experiments on unhydrated volcanic ash samples from a variety of locations and sources, measuring the concentrations and fluxes of elements into de-ionized water and two contrasting ocean surface waters. Comparisons of element fluxes show that dissolution of adsorbed surface salts and aerosols dominates over glass dissolution, even in sustained low pH conditions. These surface ash-leachates appear unstable, decaying in situ even if kept unhydrated. Volcanic ash from recent eruptions is shown to have a large fertilization potential in both fresh and saline water. Fluorine concentrations are integral to bulk dissolution rates and samples with high F concentrations display elevated fluxes of some nutrients, particularly Fe, Si, and P. Bio-limiting micronutrients are released in large quantities, suggesting that subsequent biological growth will be limited by macronutrient availability. Importantly, acidification of surface waters and high fluxes of toxic elements highlights the potential of volcanic ash-leachates to poison aqueous environments. In particular, large pH changes can cause undersaturation of CaCO 3 polymorphs, damaging populations of calcifying organisms. Deposition of volcanic ash can both fertilize and/or poison aqueous environments, causing significant changes to surface water chemistry and biogeochemical cycles.

Reconstructing the deposition environment and long-term fate of Chernobyl 137Cs at the floodplain scale through mobile gamma spectrometry.

PubMed

Varley, Adam; Tyler, Andrew; Bondar, Yuri; Hosseini, Ali; Zabrotski, Viachaslau; Dowdall, Mark

2018-09-01

Cs-137 is considered to be the most significant anthropogenic contributor to human dose and presents a particularly difficult remediation challenge after a dispersal following nuclear incident. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant meltdown in April 1986 represents the largest nuclear accident in history and released over 80 PBq of 137 Cs into the environment. As a result, much of the land in close proximity to Chernobyl, which includes the Polessie State Radioecology Reserve in Belarus, remains highly contaminated with 137 Cs to such an extent they remain uninhabitable. Whilst there is a broad scale understanding of the depositional patterns within and beyond the exclusion zone, detailed mapping of the distribution is often limited. New developments in mobile gamma spectrometry provide the opportunity to map the fallout of 137 Cs and begin to reconstruct the depositional environment and the long-term behaviour of 137 Cs in the environment. Here, full gamma spectrum analysis using algorithms based on the peak-valley ratio derived from Monte Carlo simulations are used to estimate the total 137 Cs deposition and its depth distribution in the soil. The results revealed a pattern of 137 Cs distribution consistent with the deposition occurring at a time of flooding, which is validated by review of satellite imagery acquired at similar times of the year. The results were also consistent with systematic burial of the fallout 137 Cs by annual flooding events. These results were validated by sediment cores collected along a transect across the flood plain. The true merit of the approach was confirmed by exposing new insights into the spatial distribution and long term fate of 137 Cs across the floodplain. Such systematic patterns of behaviour are likely to be fundamental to the understanding of the radioecological behaviour of 137 Cs whilst also providing a tracer for quantifying the ecological controls on sediment movement and deposition at a landscape scale. Copyright © 2018

40 CFR 1610.4 - Deposition Transcripts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Deposition Transcripts. 1610.4 Section... INVESTIGATIONS § 1610.4 Deposition Transcripts. (a) Transcripts of depositions of witnesses compelled by subpoena... by the person conducting the deposition. (b) Such a witness, after completing the compelled testimony...

40 CFR 1610.4 - Deposition Transcripts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Deposition Transcripts. 1610.4 Section... INVESTIGATIONS § 1610.4 Deposition Transcripts. (a) Transcripts of depositions of witnesses compelled by subpoena... by the person conducting the deposition. (b) Such a witness, after completing the compelled testimony...

Global deposition of airborne dioxin.

PubMed

Booth, Shawn; Hui, Joe; Alojado, Zoraida; Lam, Vicky; Cheung, William; Zeller, Dirk; Steyn, Douw; Pauly, Daniel

2013-10-15

We present a global dioxin model that simulates one year of atmospheric emissions, transport processes, and depositions to the earth's terrestrial and marine habitats. We map starting emission levels for each land area, and we also map the resulting deposits to terrestrial and marine environments. This model confirms that 'hot spots' of deposition are likely to be in northern Europe, eastern North America, and in parts of Asia with the highest marine dioxin depositions being the northeast and northwest Atlantic, western Pacific, northern Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. It also reveals that approximately 40% of airborne dioxin emissions are deposited to marine environments and that many countries in Africa receive more dioxin than they produce, which results in these countries being disproportionately impacted. Since human exposure to dioxin is largely through diet, this work highlights food producing areas that receive higher atmospheric deposits of dioxin than others. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stratigraphy, facies analysis and depositional environments of the Upper Unit of Abu Roash "E" member in the Abu Gharadig field, Western Desert, Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hewaidy, Abdel Galil; Elshahat, O. R.; Kamal, Samy

2018-03-01

Abu Roach "E" member is of an important hydrocarbon reservoir-producing horizon in the Abu Gharadig Field (north Western Desert, Egypt). This study is used to build facies analysis and depositional environments model for the Upper Unit of the Abu Roash "E" member in Abu Gharadig Field. This target has been achieved throughout the sedimentological, wire line logs, lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic analyses of more than 528 feet cores. The high-resolution biostratigraphic analysis provides a calibration for the paleo-bathymetry and depositional environmental interpretations. Biozonation and lithostratigraphic markers are used to constrain stratigraphic correlation. Integration between the core description and petorographic microfacies analysis by microscope examination provide an excellent indication for the rock types and depositional environments. Five depositional facies types are detected including carbonate inner ramp, tidal flats, tidal channels, supra-tidal and tide dominated delta facies. This model helps in the understanding of the Upper Unit of Abu Roash "E" member reservoir distribution as well as lateral and vertical facies changes that contribute to the development strategy for the remaining hydrocarbon reserves for this important oil reservoir.

A genetic model based on evapoconcentration for sediment-hosted exotic-Cu mineralization in arid environments: the case of the El Tesoro Central copper deposit, Atacama Desert, Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández-Mort, A.; Riquelme, R.; Alonso-Zarza, A. M.; Campos, E.; Bissig, T.; Mpodozis, C.; Carretier, S.; Herrera, C.; Tapia, M.; Pizarro, H.; Muñoz, S.

2017-12-01

Although the formation of exotic-Cu deposits is controlled by multiple factors, the role of the sedimentary environment has not been well defined. We present a case study of the El Tesoro Central exotic-Cu deposit located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. This deposit consists of two mineralized bodies hosted within Late Cenozoic gravels deposited in an arid continental environment dominated by alluvial fans with sub-surficial ponded water bodies formed at the foot of these fans or within the interfan areas. Both exotic-Cu orebodies mostly consist of chrysocolla, copper wad, atacamite, paratacamite, quartz, opal, and calcite. The most commonly observed paragenesis comprises chrysocolla, silica minerals, and calcite and records a progressive increase in pH, which is notably influenced by evaporation. The results of stable isotope analyses (δ13C and δ18O) and hydrogeochemical simulations confirm that evapoconcentration is the main controlling factor in the exotic-Cu mineralization at El Tesoro Central. This conclusion complements the traditional genetic model based on the gradual neutralization of highly oversaturated Cu-bearing solutions that progressively cement the gravels and underlying bedrock regardless of the depositional environment. This study concludes that in exotic-Cu deposits formed relatively far from the source, a favorable sedimentary environment and particular hydrologic and climatic conditions are essential to trap, accumulate, evapoconcentrate, neutralize and saturate Cu-bearing solutions to trigger mineralization. Thus, detailed sedimentological studies should be incorporated when devising exploration strategies in order to discover new exotic-Cu resources, particularly if they are expected to have formed relatively far from the metal sources.

Chemical-Vapor-Deposited Diamond Film

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miyoshi, Kazuhisa

1999-01-01

This chapter describes the nature of clean and contaminated diamond surfaces, Chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond film deposition technology, analytical techniques and the results of research on CVD diamond films, and the general properties of CVD diamond films. Further, it describes the friction and wear properties of CVD diamond films in the atmosphere, in a controlled nitrogen environment, and in an ultra-high-vacuum environment.

Oil Shale

USGS Publications Warehouse

Birdwell, Justin E.

2017-01-01

Oil shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks formed in many different depositional environments (terrestrial, lacustrine, marine) containing large quantities of thermally immature organic matter in the forms of kerogen and bitumen. If defined from an economic standpoint, a rock containing a sufficient concentration of oil-prone kerogen to generate economic quantities of synthetic crude oil upon heating to high temperatures (350–600 °C) in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis) can be considered an oil shale.

Sedimentary record of seismic events in the Eocene Green River Formation and its implications for regional tectonics on lake evolution (Bridger Basin, Wyoming)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Törő, Balázs; Pratt, Brian R.

2016-10-01

Outcrops and cores from the top of the lacustrine Tipton Member and the base of the Wilkins Peak Member ( 51.5 Ma) of the Eocene Green River Formation, Bridger Basin in southwestern Wyoming yield a wide variety of sedimentary deformation features many of which are laterally extensive for more than 50 km. They include various types of folds, load structures, pinch-and-swell structures, microfaults, breccias and sedimentary dikes. In most cases deformation is represented by hybrid brittle-ductile structures exhibiting lateral variation in deformation style. These occur in low-energy, profundal organic-rich carbonate mudstones (oil shales), trona beds, tuffs, and profundal to sublittoral silty carbonate deposited in paleolake Gosiute. The deformation is not specific to the depositional environment because sedimentary units stratigraphically higher with similar facies show no deformation. The studied interval lacks any evidence for possible trigger mechanisms intrinsic to the depositional environment, such as strong wave action, rapid sediment loading, evaporite dissolution and collapse, or desiccation, so 'endogenic' causes are ruled out. Thus, the deformation features are interpreted as seismites, and change in deformation style and inferred increase in intensity towards the south suggest that the earthquakes were sourced from the nearby Uinta Fault System. The 22 levels exhibiting seismites recognized in cores indicate earthquakes with minimum magnitudes between 6 and 7, minimum epicentral intensity (MCS) of 9, and varying recurrence intervals in the seismic history of the Uinta Fault System, with a mean apparent recurrence period of 8.1 k.y. using average sedimentation rates and dated tuffs; in detail, however, there are two noticeably active periods followed by relative quiescence. The stratigraphic position of these deformed intervals also marks the transition between two distinct stages in lake evolution, from the balanced-filled Tipton Member to the overlying

Transformation of marine sediment to paddy soil: Primary marine, lacustrine, and land plant lipids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller-Niggemann, Cornelia; Cao, Zhihong; Schwark, Lorenz

2010-05-01

More than fifty percent of the world's population feeds on rice. The continuous population increase and urban sprawl leads to an ever-increasing demand for new rice cultivation area, in particular China. For centuries suitable coastal areas in China have been exploited for land reclamation, i.e. conversion of coastal marine and lacustrine marshlands into rice paddy fields. Flooded rice paddies are considered one of the major biogenic sources of methane into the atmospheric. Methane is thought to be about 30 times more efficient as greenhouse gas, when compared to carbon dioxide. Overall, rice fields are assumed to contribute app. 10-25% to global CH4 production. It is thus paramount importance to study the effects of increasing rice cultivation and land reclamation in China. For global carbon cycle investigation, it is crucial whether paddy soils, due to their large extent and higher carbon turnover, serve as carbon (CO2) sinks or sources. Here we present results from a chronosequence study of paddy soils with different and well known starting dates of cultivation, in the Zhejiang province (Yangtze River delta) by land reclamation through the building of protective dikes over the past 2000 years. Two end members of natural sediments subjected to land reclamation, a marine tidal mudflat in the Yangtze delta and a coastal lake, represent the substrate on which the paddy soil evolution started. Dike systems were constructed 2000, 1000, 700, 300, 100, and 50 years before present. We are thus able to follow the evolution of rice paddy soils developed on marine sediments using eight well defined tie-points. This chronosequence is then used for assessing the relative proportion of primary marine or lacustrine organic matter preserved in present day soils and to identify the amount and composition of organic matter added since cultivation started. Paddy soil management introduces rice plants debris and exudates as well as rice-associated microbial biomass (covered in a

Origin of lacustrine carbonate-dominated clinoforms in the lower- Permian Lucaogou low-order cycle, southern Bogda Mountains, NW China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yiran

Lacustrine carbonate clinoforms deposit can reflect ancient lake condition like paleoclimate and lake type. Complex lithofacies of a carbonate-dominated clinoform package in lower Permian Lucaogou low order cycle, Bogda Mountains, NW China, provide clues on clinoform-forming processes in a half-graben lake. The clinoform package is 5.2 m thick, prograding from S to N for 200 m with a maximum 15o dip angle, and spans 4 km laterally. A clinoform consists of a lower siliciclastic-rich and an upper carbonate-rich beds, forming a clinoform cycle. Results of petrographic study of 30 thin sections suggest that the clinoform package is composed of mixed siliciclasticcarbonate rocks. Carbonate-rich bed is composed of diagenetically-altered lithic packstone and wackestone, and siliciclastic-rich clinoform of micritic sandstone. The foundation rock is mainly microbial boundstone, indicating a shallow littoral environment. The carbonate-rich beds mainly consist of coarse peloids, rip-up intraclasts, aggregate grains, and volcanic lithics. The siliciclastic-rich clinoform is rich in coarse volcanic lithics. Both types of clinoforms contain abundant current laminations, indicating frequent strong current activities. The lack of evidence of unidirectional current flow suggests that the carbonate-dominated clinoform package was probably primarily formed by wave and longshore current processes. Unlike grains in wave-built terrace in the Glenns Ferry Formation (Swirydczuk et al., 1979, 1980), few ooids were observed in the studied strata, which do not have local sediments as nucleus and are often broken. This indicates that the wave was not facing the lake margin directly but was more oblique to the lake margin. The carbonate-dominated clinoform package is thus interpreted as a bar or spit, controlled primarily by lake shoreline morphology and strong wave and current activities. The shift between carbonate and siliciclastic rich clinoform beds within a clinoform cycle suggests high

Facies analysis, palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and stratigraphic development of the Early Cretaceous sediments (Lower Bima Member) in the Yola Sub-basin, Northern Benue Trough, NE Nigeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarki Yandoka, Babangida M.; Abubakar, M. B.; Abdullah, Wan Hasiah; Amir Hassan, M. H.; Adamu, Bappah U.; Jitong, John S.; Aliyu, Abdulkarim H.; Adegoke, Adebanji Kayode

2014-08-01

The Benue Trough of Nigeria is a major rift basin formed from the tension generated by the separation of African and South American plates in the Early Cretaceous. It is geographically sub-divided into Southern, Central and Northern Benue portions. The Northern Benue Trough comprises two sub-basins; the N-S trending Gongola Sub-basin and the E-W trending Yola Sub-basin. The Bima Formation is the oldest lithogenetic unit occupying the base of the Cretaceous successions in the Northern Benue Trough. It is differentiated into three members; the Lower Bima (B1), the Middle Bima (B2) and the Upper Bima (B3). Facies and their stratigraphical distribution analyses were conducted on the Lower Bima Member exposed mainly at the core of the NE-SW axially trending Lamurde Anticline in the Yola Sub-basin, with an objective to interpret the paleodepositional environments, and to reconstruct the depositional model and the stratigraphical architecture. Ten (10) lithofacies were identified on the basis of lithology, grain size, sedimentary structures and paleocurrent analysis. The facies constitute three (3) major facies associations; the gravelly dominated, the sandy dominated and the fine grain dominated. These facies and facies associations were interpreted and three facies successions were recognized; the alluvial-proximal braided river, the braided river and the lacustrine-marginal lacustrine. The stratigraphic architecture indicates a rifted (?pull-apart) origin as the facies distribution shows a progradational succession from a shallow lacustrine/marginal lacustrine (at the axial part of the basin) to alluvial fan (sediment gravity flow)-proximal braided river (gravel bed braided river) and braided river (channel and overbank) depositional systems. The facies stacking patterns depict sedimentation mainly controlled by allogenic factors of climate and tectonism.

Miocene to recent history of the western Altiplano in northern Chile revealed by lacustrine sediments of the Lauca basin (18°15' 18°40' S/69°30' 69°05'W)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kött, A.; Gaupp, R.; Wörner, G.

1995-12-01

The intramontane Lauca Basin at the western margin of the northern Chilean Altiplano lies to the west of and is topographically isolated from the well-known Plio-Pleistocene lake system of fluvio-lacustrine origin that covers the Bolivian Altiplano from Lake Titicaca to the north for more than 800 km to the Salar de Uyuni in the south. The Lauca Basin is filled by a sequence of some 120 m of mainly upper Miocene to Pliocene elastic and volcaniclastic sediments of lacustrine and alluvial origin. Volcanic rocks, partly pyroelastic, provide useful marker horizons. In the first period (6 4 Ma) of its evolution, the ‘Lago Lauca’ was a shallow ephemeral lake. Evaporites indicate temporarily closed conditions. After 4 Ma the lake changed to a perennial water body surrounded by alluvial plains. In the late Pleistocene and Holocene (2-0 Ma) there was only marginal deposition of alluvial and glacial sediments. The basin formed as a half-graben or by pull-apart between 10 and 15 Ma (tectonic displacement of the basal ignimbrite sequence during the ‘Quechua Phase’) and 6.2 Ma (maximum K/Ar ages of biotites of tuff horizons in the deepest part of the basin). Apart from this early basin formation, there has been surprisingly little displacement during the past 6 Ma close to the Western Cordillera of the Altiplano. Also, climate indicators (pollen, evaporites, sedimentary facies) suggest that an arid climate has existed for the past 6 Ma on the Altiplano. Together, these pieces of evidence indicate the absence of large scale block-faulting, tilt and major uplift during the past 5 6 Ma in this area.

Miocene to Recent history of the western Altiplano in northern Chile revealed by lacustrine sediments of the Lauca Basin (18°15'-18°40'S/69°30'-69°05'W)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kött, A.; Gaupp, R.; Wörner, G.

The intramontane Lauca Basin at the western margin of the northern Chilean Altiplano lies to the west of and is topographically isolated from the well-known Plio-Pleistocene lake system of fluvio-lacustrine origin that covers the Bolivian Altiplano from Lake Titicaca to the north for more than 800km to the Salar de Uyuni in the south. The Lauca Basin is filled by a sequence of some 120m of mainly upper Miocene to Pliocene clastic and volcaniclastic sediments of lacustrine and alluvial origin. Volcanic rocks, partly pyroclastic, provide useful marker horizons. In the first period (6-4Ma) of its evolution, the 'Lago Lauca' was a shallow ephemeral lake. Evaporites indicate temporarily closed conditions. After 4Ma the lake changed to a perennial water body surrounded by alluvial plains. In the late Pleistocene and Holocene (2-0Ma) there was only marginal deposition of alluvial and glacial sediments. The basin formed as a half-graben or by pull-apart between 10 and 15Ma (tectonic displacement of the basal ignimbrite sequence during the 'Quechua Phase') and 6.2Ma (maximum K/Ar ages of biotites of tuff horizons in the deepest part of the basin). Apart from this early basin formation, there has been surprisingly little displacement during the past 6Ma close to the Western Cordillera of the Altiplano. Also, climate indicators (pollen, evaporites, sedimentary facies) suggest that an arid climate has existed for the past 6Ma on the Altiplano. Together, these pieces of evidence indicate the absence of large scale block-faulting, tilt and major uplift during the past 5-6Ma in this area.

Determinants of aerosol lung-deposited surface area variation in an urban environment.

PubMed

Reche, Cristina; Viana, Mar; Brines, Mariola; Pérez, Noemí; Beddows, David; Alastuey, Andrés; Querol, Xavier

2015-06-01

Ultrafine particles are characterized by a high surface area per mass. Particle surface has been reported to play a significant role in determining the toxicological activity of ultrafine particles. In light of this potential role, the time variation of lung deposited surface area (LDSA) concentrations in the alveolar region was studied at the urban background environment of Barcelona (Spain), aiming to asses which processes and sources govern this parameter. Simultaneous data on Black Carbon (BC), total particle number (N) and particle number size distribution were correlated with LDSA. Average LDSA concentrations in Barcelona were 37 ± 26 μm(2)cm(-3), levels which seem to be characteristic for urban environments under traffic influence across Europe. Results confirm the comparability between LDSA data provided by the online monitor and those calculated based on particle size distributions (by SMPS), and reveal that LDSA concentrations are mainly influenced by particles in the size range 50-200 nm. A set of representative daily cycles for LDSA concentrations was obtained by means of a k-means cluster technique. The contribution of traffic emissions to daily patterns was evidenced in all the clusters, but was quantitatively different. Traffic events under stable atmospheric conditions increased mean hourly background LDSA concentrations up to 6 times, attaining levels higher than 200 μm(2)cm(-3). However, under warm and relatively clean atmospheric conditions, the traffic rush hour contribution to the daily LDSA mean appeared to be lower and the contribution of new urban particle formation events (by photochemically induced nucleation) was detected. These nucleation events were calculated to increase average background LDSA concentrations by 15-35% (maximum LDSA levels=45-50 μm(2)cm(-3)). Thereby, it may be concluded that in the urban background of Barcelona road traffic is the main source increasing the aerosol surface area which can deposit on critical

Age model for a continuous, ca 250-ka Quaternary lacustrine record from Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colman, Steven M.; Kaufman, D.S.; Bright, Jordon; Heil, C.; King, J.W.; Dean, W.E.; Rosenbaum, J.G.; Forester, R.M.; Bischoff, J.L.; Perkins, Marie; McGeehin, J.P.

2006-01-01

The Quaternary sediments sampled by continuous 120-m-long drill cores from Bear Lake (Utah-Idaho) comprise one of the longest lacustrine sequences recovered from an extant lake. The cores serve as a good case study for the construction of an age model for sequences that extend beyond the range of radiocarbon dating. From a variety of potential age indicators, we selected a combination of radiocarbon ages, one magnetic excursion (correlated to a standard sequence), and a single Uranium-series age to develop an initial data set. The reliability of the excursion and U-series data require consideration of their position with respect to sediments of inferred interglacial character, but not direct correlation with other paleoclimate records. Data omitted from the age model include amino acid age estimates, which have a large amount of scatter, and tephrochronology correlations, which have relatively large uncertainties. Because the initial data set was restricted to the upper half of the BL00-1 core, we inferred additional ages by direct correlation to the independently dated paleoclimate record from Devils Hole. We developed an age model for the entire core using statistical methods that consider both the uncertainties of the original data and that of the curve-fitting process, with a combination of our initial data set and the climate correlations as control points. This age model represents our best estimate of the chronology of deposition in Bear Lake. Because the age model contains assumptions about the correlation of Bear Lake to other climate records, the model cannot be used to address some paleoclimate questions, such as phase relationships with other areas.

Controls on subglacial patterns and depositional environments in western Ireland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knight, J.

2009-12-01

In western Ireland, Late Devensian ice flow dynamics and resultant patterns of landforms and sediments reflect the interplay between internal (glaciological) forcing and external forcing by rapid climate changes centred on the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. This interplay can be best demonstrated where ice from climatically-sensitive mountain source regions flowed into surrounding lowlands, such as the Connemara region of west County Galway, western Ireland. Here, a semi-independent ice cap was present over the Twelve Bens mountains, and interacted with ice from the much larger regional ice sheet from central Ireland. Landform and sediment patterns in the flat lowland region (c. 100 km2 below 30 m asl) to the south of the Twelve Bens reflect elements of this ice interaction. In detail, landform and sediment distributions here are highly complex with marked spatial differences in patterns of sediment availability. Across much of the region, sculpted bedrock forms (whaleback and bedrock drumlin ridges, roches mountonnées, striae) reflect subglacial abrasion across the underlying igneous and metamorphic bedrock that forms a relatively flat and lake-dominated landscape. Glacigenic sediments are found only at or around ice-retreat margins, and within isolated bedrock valleys. Here, diamicton drumlins are relatively uncommon but yet must represent depositional conditions that are not reflected elsewhere in this ice sheet sector where subglacial sediments are generally absent. This paper explores the interrelationship between local and regional ice flows through their impact on spatial patterns of glacial landforms and sediments. The paper presents field data on the characteristics of bedrock forms (erosional) and diamicton drumlins (depositional). Subglacial sediments are described from drumlin outcrops at key sites around Connemara, which helps in the understanding of the evolution of the subglacial environment in response to ice interactions from different source regions.

Mineralogy of Fluvio-Lacustrine Sediments Investigated by Curiosity during the Prime Mission: Implications for Diagenesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rampe, E. B.; Morris, R. V.; Bish, D. L.; Vaniman, D. T.; Bristow, T.; Chipera, S.; Blake, D. F.; Ming, D. W.; Farmer, J.; Morrison, S. M.; Treiman, A. H.; Achilles, C.; Crisp, J.; Des Marais, D. J.; Downs, R. T.; Morookian, J. M.; Sarrazin, P.; Spanovich, N.; Yen, A.

2014-12-01

The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity investigated sedimentary rocks that were deposited in a diversity of fluvio-lacustrine settings. The entire science payload was employed to characterize the mineralogy and chemistry of the Sheepbed mudstone at Yellowknife Bay and the Windjana sandstone at the Kimberley. Data from the CheMin instrument, a transmission X-ray diffractometer, were used to determine the quantitative mineralogy of both samples. The Sheepbed mudstone contains detrital basaltic minerals, calcium sulfates, iron oxides or hydroxides, iron sulfides, trioctahedral smectite, and amorphous material. The mineral assemblage and chemical data from APXS suggest that the trioctahedral smectite and magnetite formed authigenically as a result of alteration of olivine. The apparent lack of higher-grade phyllosilicates (e.g., illite and chlorite) and the presence of anhydrite indicate diagenesis at ~50-80 ºC. The mineralogy of the Windjana sandstone is different than the Sheepbed mudstone. Windjana contains significant abundances of K-feldspar, low- and high-Ca pyroxenes, magnetite, phyllosilicates, and amorphous material. At least two distinct phyllosilicate phases exist: a 10 Å phase and a component that is expanded with a peak at ~11.8 Å. The identity of the expanded phase is currently unknown, but could be a smectite with interlayer H2O, and the 10 Å phase could be illite or collapsed smectite. Further work is necessary to characterize the phyllosilicates, but the presence of illite could suggest that Windjana experienced burial diagenesis. Candidates for the cementing agents include fine-grained phyllosilicates, Fe-oxides, and/or amorphous material. Interpretations of CheMin data from the Windjana sandstone are ongoing at the time of writing, but we will present an estimate of the composition of the amorphous material from mass balance calculations using the APXS bulk chemistry and quantitative mineralogy from CheMin.

Mineralogy of Fluvio-Lacustrine Sediments Investigated by Curiosity During the Prime Mission: Implications for Diagenesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rampe, Elizabeth B.; Morris, R. V.; Bish, D. L.; Vaniman, D. T.; Bristow, T. F.; Chipera, S. J.; Blake, D. F.; Ming, D. W.; Farmer, J. D.; Morrison, S. M.;

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mello, M.R.; Soldan, A.L.; Maxwell, J.R.

A geochemical and biological marker investigation of a variety of oils from offshore Brazil and west Africa, ranging in age from Lower Cretaceous to Tertiary, has been done, with the following aims: (1) assessing the depositional environment of source rocks, (2) correlating the reservoired oils, (3) comparing the Brazilian oils with their west African counterparts. The approach was based in stable isotope data; bulk, elemental, and hydrous pyrolysis results; and molecular studies involving quantitative geological marker investigations of alkanes using GC-MS and GC-MS-MS. The results reveal similarities between groups of oils from each side of the Atlantic and suggest anmore » origin from source rocks deposited in five types of depositional environment: lacustrine fresh water, lacustrine saline water, marine evaporitic/carbonate, restricted marine anoxic, and marine deltaic. In west Africa, the Upper Cretaceous marine anoxic succession (Cenomanian-Santonian) appears to be a major oil producer, but in Brazil it is generally immature. The Brazilian offshore oils have arisen mainly from the pre-salt sequence, whereas the African oils show a balance between origins from the pre-salt and marine sequences. The integration of the geochemical and geological data indicate that new frontiers of hydrocarbon exploration in the west African basins must consider the Tertiary reservoirs in the offshore area of Niger Delta, the reservoirs of the rift sequences in the shallow-water areas of south Gabon, Congo, and Cuanza basins, and the reservoirs from the drift sequences (post-salt) in the deep-water areas of Gabon, Congo Cabinda, and Cuanza basins.« less

Effects of the Laramide Structures on the Regional Distribution of Tight-Gas Sandstone in the Upper Mesaverde Group, Uinta Basin, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitaula, R. P.; Aschoff, J.

2013-12-01

Regional-scale sequence stratigraphic correlation, well log analysis, syntectonic unconformity mapping, isopach maps, and depositional environment maps of the upper Mesaverde Group (UMG) in Uinta basin, Utah suggest higher accommodation in northeastern part (Natural Buttes area) and local development of lacustrine facies due to increased subsidence caused by uplift of San Rafael Swell (SRS) in southern and Uinta Uplift in northern parts. Recently discovered lacustrine facies in Natural Buttes area are completely different than the dominant fluvial facies in outcrops along Book Cliffs and could have implications for significant amount of tight-gas sand production from this area. Data used for sequence stratigraphic correlation, isopach maps and depositional environmental maps include > 100 well logs, 20 stratigraphic profiles, 35 sandstone thin sections and 10 outcrop-based gamma ray profiles. Seven 4th order depositional sequences (~0.5 my duration) are identified and correlated within UMG. Correlation was constructed using a combination of fluvial facies and stacking patterns in outcrops, chert-pebble conglomerates and tidally influenced strata. These surfaces were extrapolated into subsurface by matching GR profiles. GR well logs and core log of Natural Buttes area show intervals of coarsening upward patterns suggesting possible lacustrine intervals that might contain high TOC. Locally, younger sequences are completely truncated across SRS whereas older sequences are truncated and thinned toward SRS. The cycles of truncation and thinning represent phases of SRS uplift. Thinning possibly related with the Uinta Uplift is also observed in northwestern part. Paleocurrents are consistent with interpretation of periodic segmentation and deflection of sedimentation. Regional paleocurrents are generally E-NE-directed in Sequences 1-4, and N-directed in Sequences 5-7. From isopach maps and paleocurrent direction it can be interpreted that uplift of SRS changed route of

Depositional environment of the downdip Queen City (Eocene) Sandstone, Mestena Grande Field Area, Jim Hogg and Duval Counties, Texas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCormack, J.

1994-09-01

The downdip Queen City sandstone interval in the Mestena Grande field area of the south Texas Gulf Coast basin comprises two sandstone depositional units, referred to in this paper as A Lobe and B Lobe. A total of 583 ft (179 m) of conventional core from 11 wells containing predominantly B Lobe deposits were examined macroscopically. The A Lobe is a thin (6-34 ft; 1.8-10.4 m) fine- to very fine-grained, mostly bioturbated, well-sorted sandstone. The B Lobe is composed of fine to very fine, well-sorted sandstone interbedded with siltstone and mudstone. The trace fossil assemblage of the B Lobe indicatesmore » that sediments were deposited in the cruziana ichnofacies. Trace fossils and authigenic minerals also suggest oxygen stratification during deposition. B Lobe contains five subunits, each up to 13.5 ft (4 m) net sand thickness. These units were deposited as part of a highstands systems tract during the early Lutetian Stage (lower middle Eocene). B Lobe is a primarily aggradational unit composed of storm-generated sandstone and heterolithic deposits of the lower shoreface to inner shelf environment. A Lobe is a coarsening upward unit and represents progradation of the shoreface during late highstand systems tract development. An interlobal mudstone, which separates the units, marks the transition from early to late highstand systems tract development.« less

Mapping lacustrine syn-rift reservoir distribution using spectral attributes: A case study of the Pematang Brownshale Central Sumatra Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haris, A.; Yustiawan, R.; Riyanto, A.; Ramadian, R.

2017-07-01

Pematang Brownshale is the lake sediment, which is proven as the main source rock in Malacca Strait Area. So far Brownshale is only considered as source rock, but the well data show intercalated sand layers encountered within the Pematang Brownshale, where several downhole tests proved this series as a potential hydrocarbon reservoir. Pematang formation is a syn-rift sequent deposited in Malacca Strait following the opening of central Sumatra basin during a late cretaceous to early Oligocene, which is proven as potential source rock and reservoir. The aim of the study is to identify the distribution of sandstone reservoir in Pematang Brownshale using spectral attributes. These works were carried out by integrating log data analysis and frequency maps extracted from spectral attributes Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT). All these data are used to delineate reservoir distribution in Pematang Brownshale. Based on CWT analysis the anomalies are only visible on the frequency of I5 and I0 Hz maps, which are categorized as low frequencies. Low-frequency shadow anomaly is commonly used as an indication of the presence of hydrocarbons. The distribution of these anomalies is covering an area of approximately 3840.66 acres or equal to I554.25 sq. km, where the low-frequency pattern is interpreted as a deltaic lacustrine feature. By considering the Pematang Brown Shale of Malacca Strait area as a potential reservoir, it would open new play to another basin that has similar characteristics.

Dzhezkazgan and associated sandstone copper deposits of the Chu-Sarysu basin, Central Kazakhstan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Box, Stephen E.; Seltmann, Reimar; Zientek, Michael L.; Syusyura, Boris; Creaser, Robert A.; Dolgopolova, Alla

2012-01-01

Sandstone-hosted copper (sandstone Cu) deposits occur within a 200-km reach of the northern Chu-Sarysu basin of central Kazakhstan (Dzhezkazgan and Zhaman-Aibat deposits, and the Zhilandy group of deposits). The deposits consist of Cu sulfide minerals as intergranular cement and grain replacement in 10 ore-bearing members of sandstone and conglomerate within a 600- to 1,000-m thick Pennsylvanian fluvial red-bed sequence. Copper metal content of the deposits ranges from 22 million metric tons (Mt, Dzehzkazgan) to 0.13Mt (Karashoshak in the Zhilandy group), with average grades of 0.85 to 1.7% Cu and significant values for silver (Ag) and rhenium (Re). Broader zones of iron reduction (bleaching) of sandstones and conglomerates of the red-bed sequence extend over 10 km beyond each of the deposits along E-NE-trending anticlines, which began to form in the Pennsylvanian. The bleached zones and organic residues within them are remnants of ormer petroleum fluid accumulations trapped by these anticlines. Deposit sites along these F1anticlines are localized at and adjacent to the intersections of nearly orthogonal N-NW-trending F2synclines. These structural lows served to guide the flow of dense ore brines across the petroleum-bearing anticlines, resulting in ore sulfide precipitation where the two fluids mixed. The ore brine was sourced either from the overlying Early Permian lacustrine evaporitic basin, whose depocenter occurs between the major deposits, or from underlying Upper Devonian marine evaporites. Sulfur isotopes indicate biologic reduction of sulfate but do not resolve whether the sulfate was contributed from the brine or from the petroleum fluids. New Re-Os age dates of Cu sulfides from the Dzhezkazgan deposit indicate that mineralization took place between 299 to 309 Ma near the Pennsylvanian-Permian age boundary. At the Dzhezkazgan and some Zhilandy deposits, F2fold deformation continued after ore deposition. Copper orebodies in Lower Permian

Geochemical characteristics of Holocene laminated sapropel (unit II) and underlying lacustrine unit III in the Black Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dean, Walter E.; Arthur, Michael A.

2011-01-01

eg 1 of the 1988 R/V Knorr expeditions to the Black Sea recovered 90 gravity and box cores. The longest recovery by gravity cores was about 3 meters, with an average of about 2.5 meters, recovering all of the Holocene and upper Pleistocene sections in the Black Sea. During the latest Pleistocene glaciation, sea level dropped below the 35-meters-deep Bosporus outlet sill of the Black Sea. Therefore throughout most of its history the Black Sea was a lake, and most of its sediments are lacustrine. The oldest sediments recovered (older than 8,000 calendar years) consist of massive to coarsely banded lacustrine calcareous clay designated as lithologic Unit III, generally containing less than 1 percent organic carbon (OC). The base of overlying Unit II marks the first incursion of Mediterranean seawater into the Black Sea, and the onset of bottom-water anoxia about 7,900 calendar years. Unit II contains as much as 15 percent OC in cores from the deepest part of the Black Sea (2,200 meters). The calcium carbonate (CaCO3) remains of the coccolith Emiliania huxleyi form the distinctive white laminae of overlying Unit I. The composition of Unit III and Unit II sediments are quite different, reflecting different terrigenous clastic sources and increased contributions from hydrogenous and biogenic components in anoxic Unit II sapropel. In Unit II, positive covariance between OC and three trace elements commonly concentrated in OC-rich sediments where sulfate reduction has occurred (molybdenum, nickel, and vanadium) and a nutrient (phosphorus) suggest a large marine source for these elements although nickel and vanadium also have a large terrigenous clastic source. The marine sources may be biogenic or hydrogenous. A large biogenic source is also suggested for copper and cobalt. Because abundant pyrite forms in the water column and sediments of the Black Sea, we expected to find a large hydrogenous iron component, but a strong covariance of iron with aluminum suggests that the

Middle Pleistocene infill of Hinkley Valley by Mojave River sediment and associated lake sediment: Depositional architecture and deformation by strike-slip faults

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, David; Haddon, Elizabeth; Langenheim, Victoria; Cyr, Andrew J.; Wan, Elmira; Walkup, Laura; Starratt, Scott W.

2018-01-01

Hinkley Valley in the Mojave Desert, near Barstow about 140 km northeast of Los Angeles and midway between Victorville Valley and the Lake Manix basin, contains a thick sedimentary sequence delivered by the Mojave River. Our study of sediment cores drilled in the valley indicates that Hinkley Valley was probably a closed playa basin with stream inflow from four directions prior to Mojave River inflow. The Mojave River deposited thick and laterally extensive clastic wedges originating from the southern valley that rapidly filled much of Hinkley Valley. Sedimentary facies representing braided stream, wetland, delta, and lacustrine depositional environments all are found in the basin fill; in some places, the sequence is greater than 74 m (245 ft) thick. The sediment is dated in part by the presence of the ~631 ka Lava Creek B ash bed low in the section, and thus represents sediment deposition after Victorville basin was overtopped by sediment and before the Manix basin began to be filled. Evidently, upstream Victorville basin filled with sediment by about 650 ka, causing the ancestral Mojave River to spill to the Harper and Hinkley basins, and later to Manix basin.Initial river sediment overran wetland deposits in many places in southern Hinkley Valley, indicating a rapidly encroaching river system. These sediments were succeeded by a widespread lake (“blue” clay) that includes the Lava Creek B ash bed. Above the lake sediment lies a thick section of interlayered stream sediment, delta and nearshore lake sediment, mudflat and/or playa sediment, and minor lake sediment. This stratigraphic architecture is found throughout the valley, and positions of lake sediment layers indicate a successive northward progression in the closed basin. A thin overlapping sequence at the north end of the valley contains evidence for a younger late Pleistocene lake episode. This late lake episode, and bracketing braided stream deposits of the Mojave River, indicate that the river

Abundance and δ13C values of fatty acids in lacustrine surface sediments: Relationships with in-lake methane concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stötter, Tabea; Bastviken, David; Bodelier, Paul L. E.; van Hardenbroek, Maarten; Rinta, Päivi; Schilder, Jos; Schubert, Carsten J.; Heiri, Oliver

2018-07-01

relationships were observed when sediments from near-shore and deep-water oxic environments (rs = 0.57 to 0.62) and those from anoxic deep-water environment (rs = 0.55 to 0.65) were examined separately. Our results confirm that robust relationships exist between in-lake CH4 concentrations and 13C-depleted groups of FAs in the examined sediments, agreeing with earlier suggestions that the availability of MOB-derived, 13C-depleted organic matter for aquatic invertebrates increases with increasing methane concentrations. However, we also show that these relationships are complex, with different relationships observed for oxic and anoxic sediments and highest values measured in sediments deposited in oxic environments overlain with relatively methane-rich water. Furthermore, although all three 13C-depleted FA groups identified in our survey are known to be produced by MOB, they also receive contributions by other organism groups, and this will have influenced their distribution in our dataset.

Past Holocene detritism quantification and modeling from lacustrine archives in order to deconvoluate human-climate interactions on natural ecosystem over long time-scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonneau, Anaëlle; Chapron, Emmanuel; Di Giovanni, Christian; Galop, Didier; Darboux, Frédéric

2014-05-01

Water budget is one of the main challenges to paleoclimate researchers in relation to present-day global warming and its consequences for human societies. Associated soil degradation and erosion are thereby becoming a major concern in many parts of the world and more particularly in the Alps. Moreover, humans are considered as geomorphologic agents since few thousand years and it is now recognized that such an impact on natural ecosystem profoundly modified soils properties as well as aquatic ecosystems dynamics over long-term periods. The quantification of such inference over long time-scale is therefore essential to establish new policies to reduce mechanic soil erosion, which is one of the dominant processes in Europe, and anticipate the potential consequences of future climate change on hydric erosion. The mechanical erosion of continental surfaces results from climatic forcing, but can be amplified by the anthropogenic one. We therefore suggest that quantifying and modelling soil erosion processes within comparable Holocene lacustrine archives, allows to estimate and date which and when past human activities have had an impact on soil fluxes over the last 10000 years. Based on the present-day geomorphology of the surrounding watershed and the evolution of the vegetation cover during the Holocene, we develop an interdisciplinary approach combining quantitative organic petrography (i.e. optical characterization and quantification of soil particles within lake sediments) with high-resolution seismic profiling, age-depth models on lacustrine sediment cores and soil erosional susceptibility modeling, in order to estimate the annual volume of soil eroded over the last 10000 years, and in fine to quantify the volume of human-induced soil erosion during the Holocene period. This method is applied to close but contrasted mountainous lacustrine environments from the western French Alps: lakes Blanc Huez and Paladru, sensitive to same climatic influences but where past

A radon progeny deposition model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rielage, Keith; Elliott, Steven R; Hime, Andrew

2010-12-01

The next generation low-background detectors operating underground aim for unprecedented low levels of radioactive backgrounds. Although the radioactive decays of airborne radon (particularly {sup 222}Rn) and its subsequent progeny present in an experiment are potential backgrounds, also problematic is the deposition of radon progeny on detector materials. Exposure to radon at any stage of assembly of an experiment can result in surface contamination by progeny supported by the long half life (22 y) of {sup 210}Pb on sensitive locations of a detector. An understanding of the potential surface contamination from deposition will enable requirements of radon-reduced air and clean roommore » environments for the assembly of low background experiments. It is known that there are a number of environmental factors that govern the deposition of progeny onto surfaces. However, existing models have not explored the impact of some environmental factors important for low background experiments. A test stand has been constructed to deposit radon progeny on various surfaces under a controlled environment in order to develop a deposition model. Results from this test stand and the resulting deposition model are presented.« less

Organic geochemical characteristics and paleoclimate conditions of the Miocene coals at the Çan-Durali (Çanakkale)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoş-Çebi, Fatma

2017-05-01

In this study, n-alkane and isoprenoid, saturated and aromatic biomarker distributions of Miocene coals in the Çan (Çanakkale) region, were studied to investigate organic geochemical characteristics, depositional environment, and hydrocarbon potential of these coals. Çan formation (Middle Miocene) unconformably overlies the basement Çan volcanites (Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene). This formation is composed of lignite, clayey lignite, and ligniferous clayey levels of various thicknesses interlayering with clay and tuffite. The formation represents sediments of small lacustrine basins that are isolated by faults that are formed contemporaneously with Early-Middle Eocene volcanism. Coaliferous units are overlain by lower agglomerate levels. The Rock Eval analyses show that the average TOC (Total Organic Carbon) content of the coal is 53.71% and the average HI (Hydrogen Index) value is 180.5 mgHC/gTOC. OI (Oxygen Index) values (avg. 22.33 mgCO2/gTOC) show that the depositional environment of peat deposits is suboxic. According to HI-Tmax, S2-TOC classification diagrams and Pr/n-C17vs. Ph/n-C18 diagram, the organic matter is composed of Type II and Type III kerogen mixing and represents a transitional environment. In gas chromatograms, n-alkanes with high, mostly odd-numbered carbons are dominant and they are associated with a slight algal contribution. CPI22-30 (Carbon Preference Index) and TARHC (Terrigenous/Aquatic Ratio) values indicate a dominance of high-carbon numbered n-alkanes, indicating the presence of terrestrial organic matter. Paq (aquatic plant n-alkane proxy) values (0.2; 0.3) indicate a climate with relatively wet conditions or low precipitation, the presence of emergent macrophyteses, and the scarcity of hydrophilic plants. Pwax (vascular plant n-alkane proxy) ratio (0.8; 0.7) shows moderately wet conditions and a relatively low water level. The TOC, ACL (n-alkane average chain length), Qwood/grass, Qwood/plant, and Qgrass/plant values indicate the

Understanding the History of a Diverse Inverted Landscape: Summary and Plan for Finishing the 1:500k Geologic Map of Aeolis Dorsa, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, R. E.; Burr, D. M.; Peel, S. E.; Borden, R. M.; Boyd, A. S.

2018-06-01

The Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars, consists of highlands and transitional units of the late Noachian, and aeolian/volcaniclastic deposits interleaved with fluvial and lacustrine deposits formed during the Hesperian and Amazonian periods.

Permian depositional history, Leach Mountains, northeastern Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martindale, S.G.

1993-04-01

The 4,000 m thick Permian sequence in the Leach Mountains consists of carbonate rock, chert, terrigenous clastic rock and phosphatic rock. These rocks, in ascending order, comprise the Third Fork Fm., Badger Gulch Fm., Trapper Creek Fm., Grandeur Fm., Meade Peak Phosphatic Shale Tongue of the Phosphoria Fm., Murdock Mountain Fm. and Gerster Limestone. This sequence disconformably overlain by Triassic strata. Initial Permian deposition, represented by the late Wolfcampian to early Leonardian Third Fork Fm., was on a slope, at a water depth of about 50 m. Subsequently, a shallowing trend occurred during the early Leonardian to late Leonardian withmore » deposition of the Badger Gulch, Trapper Creek and Grandeur Fms. The Trapper Creek and Grandeur Fms. were deposited on the shelf, in very shallow subtidal to supratidal environments. The shelf persisted through the remainder of the Permian. In the late leonardian, the Meade Peak Tongue was deposited in very shallow subtidal and intertidal environments. A supratidal environment was re-established in latest Leonardian( ) to early Guadalupian with deposition of the lower Murdock Mountain Fm. The upper Murdock Mountain Fm. was deposited in very shallow subtidal to supratidal environments. Later during the early Guadalupian, intertidal to shallow subtidal deposition of the Gerster Limestone occurred. Angular phosphatic pebbles that were derived from phosphatic strata at the top of the Gerster Limestone are contained in the Triassic basal conglomerate. These pebbles indicate that the last Permian event was probably emergence and erosion of the top of the Gerster Limestone.« less

Insights from the metagenome of an acid salt lake: the role of biology in an extreme depositional environment.

PubMed

Johnson, Sarah Stewart; Chevrette, Marc Gerard; Ehlmann, Bethany L; Benison, Kathleen Counter

2015-01-01

The extremely acidic brine lakes of the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia are home to some of the most biologically challenging waters on Earth. In this study, we employed metagenomic shotgun sequencing to generate a microbial profile of the depositional environment associated with the sulfur-rich sediments of one such lake. Of the 1.5 M high-quality reads generated, 0.25 M were mapped to protein features, which in turn provide new insights into the metabolic function of this community. In particular, 45 diverse genes associated with sulfur metabolism were identified, the majority of which were linked to either the conversion of sulfate to adenylylsulfate and the subsequent production of sulfide from sulfite or the oxidation of sulfide, elemental sulfur, and thiosulfate via the sulfur oxidation (Sox) system. This is the first metagenomic study of an acidic, hypersaline depositional environment, and we present evidence for a surprisingly high level of microbial diversity. Our findings also illuminate the possibility that we may be meaningfully underestimating the effects of biology on the chemistry of these sulfur-rich sediments, thereby influencing our understanding of past geobiological conditions that may have been present on Earth as well as early Mars.

Insights from the Metagenome of an Acid Salt Lake: The Role of Biology in an Extreme Depositional Environment

PubMed Central

Johnson, Sarah Stewart; Chevrette, Marc Gerard; Ehlmann, Bethany L.; Benison, Kathleen Counter

2015-01-01

The extremely acidic brine lakes of the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia are home to some of the most biologically challenging waters on Earth. In this study, we employed metagenomic shotgun sequencing to generate a microbial profile of the depositional environment associated with the sulfur-rich sediments of one such lake. Of the 1.5 M high-quality reads generated, 0.25 M were mapped to protein features, which in turn provide new insights into the metabolic function of this community. In particular, 45 diverse genes associated with sulfur metabolism were identified, the majority of which were linked to either the conversion of sulfate to adenylylsulfate and the subsequent production of sulfide from sulfite or the oxidation of sulfide, elemental sulfur, and thiosulfate via the sulfur oxidation (Sox) system. This is the first metagenomic study of an acidic, hypersaline depositional environment, and we present evidence for a surprisingly high level of microbial diversity. Our findings also illuminate the possibility that we may be meaningfully underestimating the effects of biology on the chemistry of these sulfur-rich sediments, thereby influencing our understanding of past geobiological conditions that may have been present on Earth as well as early Mars. PMID:25923206

Relationships between sedimentation, depositional environments, and coal quality: upper Potomac coalfield, West Virginia and Maryland

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jake, T.R.

1987-09-01

Evaluations were made of sedimentation patterns and depositional environments from approximately 450 core logs and 225 surface exposures in the Upper Potomac coalfield. The relationships between the clastic depositional facies and the distribution and quality of the Bakerstown and upper Freeport coals were also investigated. Data from 61 Bakerstown and 35 upper Freeport coal samples from selected cores indicate a change from uniform coal quality to highly variable coal quality when moving from related interchannel and bay-fill facies to channel, channel-fill, levee, and crevasse-splay facies. Areas of uniform coal quality range from 20-26% ash and 55-62% fixed carbon (weight percent,more » dry basis), whereas areas of highly variable coal quality range from 26-54% ash and 33-55% fixed carbon. The channel and related facies represent areas where increased fresh water was introduced into the topogenous swamp system, causing increased microbial degradation and the concentration of authigenic minerals within the peat material. These conditions, combined with the introduction of detrital minerals, resulted in areas of lower quality coal.« less

Pleistocene lake outburst floods and fan formation along the eastern Sierra Nevada, California: implications for the interpretation of intermontane lacustrine records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benn, Douglas I.; Owen, Lewis A.; Finkel, Robert C.; Clemmens, Samuel

2006-11-01

Variations in the rock flour fraction in intermontane lacustrine sediments have the potential to provide more complete records of glacier fluctuations than moraine sequences, which are subject to erosional censoring. Construction of glacial chronologies from such records relies on the assumption that rock flour concentration is a simple function of glacier extent. However, other factors may influence the delivery of glacigenic sediments to intermontane lakes, including paraglacial adjustment of slope and fluvial systems to deglaciation, variations in precipitation and snowmelt, and lake outburst floods. We have investigated the processes and chronology of sediment transport on the Tuttle and Lone Pine alluvial fans in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California, USA, to elucidate the links between former glacier systems located upstream and the long sedimentary record from Owens Lake located downstream. Aggradation of both fans reflects sedimentation by three contrasting process regimes: (1) high magnitude, catastrophic floods, (2) fluvial or glacifluvial river systems, and (3) debris flows and other slope processes. Flood deposits are represented by multiple boulder beds exposed in section, and extensive networks of large palaeochannels and boulder deposits on both fan surfaces. Palaeohydrological analysis implies peak discharges in the order of 10 3-10 4 m 3 s -1, most probably as the result of catastrophic drainage of ice-, moraine-, and landslide-dammed lakes. Cosmogenic radionuclide surface exposure dating shows that at least three flood events are represented on each fan, at 9-13, 16-18 and 32-44 ka (Tuttle Fan); and at ˜23-32, ˜80-86 ka, and a poorly constrained older event (Lone Pine Fan). Gravels and sands exposed in both fans represent fluvial and/or glacifluvial sediment transport from the Sierra Nevada into Owens Valley, and show that river systems incised and reworked older sediment stored in the fans. We argue that millennial-scale peaks in rock flour

Tectono-sedimentary analysis using the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility: a study of the terrestrial and freshwater Neogene of the Orava Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Łoziński, Maciej; Ziółkowski, Piotr; Wysocka, Anna

2017-10-01

The Orava Basin is an intramontane depression filled with presumably fine-grained sediments deposited in river, floodplain, swamp and lake settings. The basin infilling constitutes a crucial record of the neoalpine evolution of the Inner/Outer Carpathian boundary area since the Neogene, when the Jurassic-Paleogene basement became consolidated, uplifted and eroded. The combination of sedimentological and structural studies with anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) measurements provided an effective tool for recognition of terrestrial environments and deformations of the basin infilling. The lithofacies-oriented sampling and statistical approach to the large dataset of AMS specimens were utilized to define 12 AMS facies based on anisotropy degree (P) and shape (T). The AMS facies allowed a distinction of sedimentary facies ambiguous for classical methods, especially floodplain and lacustrine sediments, as well as revealing their various vulnerabilities to tectonic modification of AMS. A spatial analysis of facies showed that tuffites along with lacustrine and swamp deposits were generally restricted to marginal and southern parts of the basin. Significant deformations were noticed at basin margins and within two intrabasinal tectonic zones, which indicated the tectonic activity of the Pieniny Klippen Belt after the Middle Miocene. The large southern area of the basin recorded consistent N-NE trending compression during basin inversion. This regional tectonic rearrangement resulted in a partial removal of the southernmost basin deposits and shaped the basin's present-day extent.

Quartz OSL Dating of the loess deposit in the eastern Tibetan Plateau and its environment implications since the Last Glaciation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, S.; Cheng, T.; Liu, W.; Fang, X.

2017-12-01

Loess deposit is widespread in the Chuanxi Plateau, the eastern Tibetan Plateau, which is a critical archive for understanding the aeolian process, the evolution of the westerly and the environment changes on the Plateau. Previous studies have shown its aeolian origin, and mainly transported by wind from the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. However, the aeolian processes of the loess and its environment implications are not well understood mainly due to lack of detailed age controls. We carry out a combined quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating (AMS 14-C) for the loess deposits in Garzê and Jinchuan. The results indicate that the quartz OSL dating can provide reliable age controls for the loess-paleosol sequences from the Chuanxi Plateau, showing the potential of OSL to date loess in the high altitude region. The results indicate that the OSL ages are in agreement with the observed stratigraphy in the field. The constructed OSL and AMS 14-C chronology of the Garzê loess reveals that the widespread loess in Ganzi Region deposited since the Last Glacial. The dust accumulation is rapid during marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 and 2, and a relative low accumulation rate in the Holocene, which may related with the desertification processes of the inner Tibetan Plateau.

Sterols of a contemporary lacustrine sediment. [in English postglacial lake

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaskell, S. J.; Eglinton, G.

1976-01-01

Results are reported for detailed sterol analyses of several depths (corresponding to between zero and about 150 yr in age) in a contemporary lacustrine sediment from a freshwater lake of postglacial origin in England. Delta 5-, delta 22-, and delta 5,22-sterols are identified along with 5 alpha- and 5 beta-stanols as well as a C26 stanol with a C7 side chain. Solvent extraction yields carbon number distributions for the 5 alpha- and 5 beta-stanol sediment constituents that parallel the corresponding delta 5-sterol distributions. The amounts of 5 alpha-stanols are found to exceed those of 5 beta-stanols in the sediment, and variations in the ratio of 5 alpha- to 5 beta-stanol between sediment samples from similar depths are shown to suggest an inhomogeneity of the sediment. It is found that the sterol composition of sediment cores varies markedly with depth, reflecting both the effects of a sterol hydrogenation process and a changing input to the sediment. It is concluded that C29 sterols, of probable higher-plant origin, predominate at lower sediment depths while C27 sterols, possibly derived from autochthonous sources, are more abundant in the surface sediment.

Depositional environments and tectonic significance of the Wajid Sandstone of southern Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dabbagh, Mohamed E.; Rogers, John J. W.

The Wajid Sandstone, of probable Early Paleozoic age, rests disconformably on crystalline rocks of the southern part of the Arabian shield. Scattered outcrops extend over an area about 450 km north-south and 300 km east-west. The southern part of the formation, near the Yemen border, consists of fluvial sandstones and very minor siltstones and silty shales. The fluvial origin is demonstrated by the presence of fining-upward cycles, channels, trough cross bedding, and absence of all organic traces. The northern part of the outcrop area consists of internally homogeneous, tabular cross-bedded, horizontally bedded sandstones apparently formed in a shallow marine environment. These marine rocks contain trace fossils broadly similar to Skolithos. Abundant cross bedding in both facies of the Wajid indicates a northward transport direction, toward what is now the center of the Arabian shield. The southern part of the Arabian shield, which was cratonized about 500 to 600 Ma ago (Pan-African age), was apparently still a depositional area receiving sediments from a southern source in Early Paleozoic time. Other, older, shields also show a tendency to be areas of deposition shortly after their apparent age of stabilization, becoming sources of clastic sediments only after several hundreds of millions of years. The conversion from basin to uplifted source may indicate a prolonged process of shield maturation after initial stabilization.

Subglacial hydrothermal alteration minerals in Jökulhlaup deposits of Southern Iceland, with implications for detecting past or present habitable environments on Mars.

PubMed

Warner, Nicholas H; Farmer, Jack D

2010-06-01

Jökulhlaups are terrestrial catastrophic outfloods, often triggered by subglacial volcanic eruptions. Similar volcano-ice interactions were likely important on Mars where magma/lava may have interacted with the planet's cryosphere to produce catastrophic floods. As a potential analogue to sediments deposited during martian floods, the Holocene sandurs of Iceland are dominated by basaltic clasts derived from the subglacial environment and deposited during jökulhlaups. Palagonite tuffs and breccias, present within the deposits, represent the primary alteration lithology. The surface abundance of palagonite on the sandurs is 1-20%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of palagonite breccias confirms a mineral assemblage of zeolites, smectites, low-quartz, and kaolinite. Oriented powder X-ray diffractograms (< 2 microm fraction) for palagonite breccia clasts and coatings reveal randomly ordered smectite, mixed layer smectite/illite, zeolites, and quartz. Visible light-near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) lab spectroscopic data of the same palagonite samples show H2O/OH(-) absorptions associated with clays and zeolites. SWIR spectra derived from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) images of the sandurs reveal Al-OH(-) and Si-OH(-) absorption features. The identified alteration mineral assemblage is consistent with low temperature (100-140 degrees C) hydrothermal alteration of basaltic material within the subglacial environment. These results suggest that potential martian analog sites that contain a similar suite of hydrated minerals may be indicative of past hydrothermal activity and locations where past habitable environments for microbial life may be found.

Stratigraphic evidence for the role of lake spillover in the inception of the lower Colorado River in southern Nevada and western Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

House, P.K.; Pearthree, P.A.; Perkins, M.E.

2008-01-01

Late Miocene and early Pliocene sediments exposed along the lower Colorado River near Laughlin, Nevada, contain evidence that establishment of this reach of the river after 5.6 Ma involved flooding from lake spillover through a bedrock divide between Cottonwood Valley to the north and Mohave Valley to the south. Lacustrine marls interfingered with and conformably overlying a sequence of post-5.6 Ma finegrained valley-fill deposits record an early phase of intermittent lacustrine inundation restricted to Cottonwood Valley. Limestone, mud, sand, and minor gravel of the Bouse Formation were subsequently deposited above an unconformity. At the north end of Mohave Valley, a coarse-grained, lithologically distinct fluvial conglomerate separates subaerial, locally derived fan deposits from subaqueous deposits of the Bouse Formation. We interpret this key unit as evidence for overtopping and catastrophic breaching of the paleodivide immediately before deep lacustrine inundation of both valleys. Exposures in both valleys reveal a substantial erosional unconformity that records drainage of the lake and predates the arrival of sediment of the through-going Colorado River. Subsequent river aggradation culminated in the Pliocene between 4.1 and 3.3 Ma. The stratigraphic associations and timing of this drainage transition are consistent with geochemical evidence linking lacustrine conditions to the early Colorado River, the timings of drainage integration and canyon incision on the Colorado Plateau, the arrival of Colorado River sand at its terminus in the Salton Trough, and a downstream-directed mode of river integration common in areas of crustal extension. ?? 2008 The Geological Society of America.

Flood, Seismic or Volcanic Deposits? New Insights from X-Ray Computed Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Daele, M. E.; Moernaut, J.; Vermassen, F.; Llurba, M.; Praet, N.; Strupler, M. M.; Anselmetti, F.; Cnudde, V.; Haeussler, P. J.; Pino, M.; Urrutia, R.; De Batist, M. A. O.

2014-12-01

Event deposits, such as e.g. turbidites incorporated in marine or lacustrine sediment sequences, may be caused by a wide range of possible triggering processes: failure of underwater slopes - either spontaneous or in response to earthquake shaking, hyperpycnal flows and floods, volcanic processes, etc. Determining the exact triggering process remains, however, a major challenge. Especially when studying the event deposits on sediment cores, which typically have diameters of only a few cm, only a small spatial window is available to analyze diagnostic textural and facies characteristics. We have performed X-ray CT scans on sediment cores from Chilean, Alaskan and Swiss lakes. Even when using relatively low-resolution CT scans (0.6 mm voxel size), many sedimentary structures and fabrics that are not visible by eye, are revealed. For example, the CT scans allow to distinguish tephra layers that are deposited by fall-out, from those that reached the basin by river transport or mud flows and from tephra layers that have been reworked and re-deposited by turbidity currents. The 3D data generated by the CT scans also allow to examine relative orientations of sedimentary structures (e.g. convolute lamination) and fabrics (e.g. imbricated mud clasts), which can be used to reconstruct flow directions. Such relative flow directions allow to determine whether a deposit (e.g. a turbidite) had one or several source areas, the latter being typical for seismically triggered turbidites. When the sediment core can be oriented (e.g. using geomagnetic properties), absolute flow directions can be reconstructed. X-ray CT scanning, at different resolution, is thus becoming an increasingly important tool for discriminating the exact origin of EDs, as it can help determining whether e.g. an ash layer was deposited as fall out from an ash cloud or fluvially washed into the lake, or whether a turbidite was triggered by an earthquake or a flood.

Late Holocene monsoon climate as evidenced by proxy records from a lacustrine sediment sequence in western Guangdong, South China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Wei; Cao, jiayuan; Xue, Jibin; Ouyang, Jun; Tang, Xiaohong; Yin, Huanling; Liao, Congyun; Long, Kun

2014-02-01

The study of a 300-cm-thick exposed lacustrine sediment section in the Hedong village in Zhaoqing area which is located in sub-tropical west Guangdong Province in South China, demonstrates that the lacustrine sedimentary sequence possibly contains evidence for exploring variation of Asian monsoon climate. Multi-proxy records, including the humification intensity, total organic carbon, and grain size fractions, reveal a general trend towards dry and cold conditions in the late Holocene that this is because of a decrease in solar insolation on an orbital scale. Three intensified Asian summer monsoon (ASM) intervals (˜3300-3000 cal yr BP, ˜2600-1600 cal yr BP, and ˜900-600 cal yr BP), and three weakened ASM intervals (˜4000-3300 cal yr BP, ˜3000-2600 cal yr BP, and ˜1600-900 cal yr BP) are identified. Our humification record (HDcal) shows a good correlation on multi-centennial scale with the tree ring Δ14C record, a proxy of solar activity. A spectral analysis of HDcal reveals four significant cycles, i.e., ˜1250 yr, 300 yr, 110 yr, and 70 yr, and most of these cycles are related to the solar activity. Our findings indicate that solar output and oceanic-atmospheric circulation probably have influenced the late Holocene climate variability in the study region.

Transparent and semitransparent conducting film deposition by reactive-environment, hollow cathode sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delahoy, A. E.; Guo, S. Y.

2005-07-01

Highly transparent and conductive In2O3 and ZnO films containing different doping elements such as Ti, Mo, Zr, Nb, Ta, W (for In2O3), and B (for ZnO) have been prepared by reactive-environment, hollow cathode sputtering (RE-HCS). The use of Nb and W as effective dopants is reported for the first time. Metallic targets were used exclusively, and the dopant concentration was easily controlled using a second sputtering power supply. As a result of the cathode and gas flow geometry, the sputtering is conducted in metal mode, and the target and doping materials are free from oxidation during the deposition process. Film resistivities achieved with the various dopants are reported. For In2O3:Mo (IMO), a resistivity of 1.6×10-4Ω cm and a mobility of 80 cm2/Vs were achieved for Mo concentrations in the range 0.5-5.0% as measured by inductively coupled plasma (ICP). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicates Mo with a +6 valence state and that the film is stoichiometric. For In2O3:Ti (ITiO), a superior optical transmission is achieved relative to IMO, while carrier mobility and conductivity were similar. Remarkably, semitransparent films of InN:O having sheet resistances of 9.5 Ω/square have also been prepared. ZnO:B films deposited by RE-HCS exhibit superior optical properties relative to ZnO:Al, and when applied as a window layer to CIGS solar cells yield higher quantum efficiencies.

Stratigraphy and depositional environments of the upper Pleistocene Chemehuevi Formation along the lower Colorado River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Malmon, Daniel V.; Howard, Keith A.; House, P. Kyle; Lundstrom, Scott C.; Pearthree, Philip A.; Sarna-Wojcicki, Andrei M.; Wan, Elmira; Wahl, David B.

2011-01-01

The Chemehuevi Formation forms a conspicuous, widespread, and correlative set of nonmarine sediments lining the valleys of the Colorado River and several of its larger tributaries in the Basin and Range geologic province. These sediments have been examined by geologists since J. S. Newberry visited the region in 1857 and are widely cited in the geologic literature; however their origin remains unresolved and their stratigraphic context has been confused by inconsistent nomenclature and by conflicting interpretations of their origin. This is one of the most prominent stratigraphic units along the river below the Grand Canyon, and the formation records an important event or set of events in the history of the Colorado River. Here we summarize what is known about these deposits throughout their range, present new stratigraphic, sedimentologic, topographic, and tephrochronologic data, and formally define them as a lithostratigraphic unit. The Chemehuevi Formation consists primarily of a bluff-forming mud facies, consisting of gypsum-bearing, horizontally bedded sand, silt, and clay, and a slope-forming sand facies containing poorly bedded, well sorted, quartz rich sand and scattered gravel. The sedimentary characteristics and fossil assemblages of the two facies types suggest that they were deposited in flood plain and channel environments, respectively. In addition to these two primary facies, we identify three other mappable facies in the formation: a thick-bedded rhythmite facies, now drowned by Lake Mead; a valley-margin facies containing abundant locally derived sediment; and several tributary facies consisting of mixed fluvial and lacustrine deposits in the lower parts of major tributary valleys. Observations from the subsurface and at outcrops near the elevation of the modern flood plain suggest that the formation also contains a regional basal gravel member. Surveys of numerous outcrops using high-precision GPS demonstrate that although the sand facies commonly

Mohawk Lake or Mohawk meadow Sedimentary facies and stratigraphy of Quaternary deposits in Mohawk Valley, upper Middle Fork of the Feather River, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yount, J.C.; Harwood, D.S.; Bradbury, J.P.

1993-04-01

Mohawk Valley (MV) contain thick, well-exposed sections of Quaternary basin-fill sediments, with abundant interbedded tephra and a diverse assemblage of sedimentary facies. The eastern arm of MV, extending from Clio to Portola, contains as much as 100 m of trough cross-bedded cobble to pebble gravel and planar and trough cross-bedded coarse and medium sand, interpreted as braided stream deposits. Sections exposed in the western arm of MV consist in their lower parts of massive organic-rich silt and clay interbedded with blocky to fissile peat beds up to 1 m thick. Diatom assemblages are dominated by benthic species indicating fresh marshmore » environments with very shallow water depths of one meter or less. Proglacial lacustrine deposits of limited lateral extent are present within the outwash complexes as evidenced by varved fine sand and silt couplets, poorly sorted quartz-rich silt beds containing dropstones, and contorted beds of diamict grading laterally into slump blocks surrounded by wood-bearing silt and silty sand. The Rockland Ash (400 ka) is a prominent marker in the middle or lower part of many sections throughout MV, indicating that at least half of the basin-fill sequence is Late Quaternary in age. A log buried in diamict slumped into a proglacial lake lying approximately 3 km downstream from the Tioga Stage ice termini in Jamison and Gray Eagle Creeks yields an age of 18,715 [+-]235 C[sup 14] years BP. Previous interpretations of MV deposits originating in a large, deep lake with water depths in excess of 150 m are untenable given the sedimentary facies and diatom floras that dominate the valley. Unexhumed valleys such as Sierra Valley to the east and Long Valley to the northwest which contain large meadows traversed by braided streams are probably good analogs for the conditions that existed during the accumulation of the Mohawk Valley deposits.« less

Geology and radiometric dating of Quaternary monogenetic volcanism in the western Zacapu lacustrine basin (Michoacán, México): implications for archeology and future hazard evaluations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes-Guzmán, Nanci; Siebe, Claus; Chevrel, Magdalena Oryaëlle; Guilbaud, Marie-Noëlle; Salinas, Sergio; Layer, Paul

2018-02-01

The Zacapu lacustrine basin is located in the north-central part of the Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field (MGVF), which constitutes the west-central segment of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Geological mapping of a 395 km2 quadrangle encompassing the western margin of the basin, 40Ar/39Ar and 14C radiometric dating, whole-rock chemical and petrographic analyses of volcanic products provide information on the stratigraphy, erupted volumes, age, and composition of the volcanoes. Although volcanism in the MGVF initiated since at least 5 Ma ago, rocks in the western Zacapu lacustrine basin are all younger than 2.1 Ma. A total of 47 volcanoes were identified and include 19 viscous lava flows ( 40 vol.%), 17 scoria cones with associated lava flows ( 36 vol.%), seven lava shields ( 15 vol.%), three domes ( 6 vol.%), and one maar ( 2 vol.%). Erupted products are dominantly andesites with 42 km3 ( 86 vol.%) followed by 4 km3 of dacite ( 8 vol.%), 1.4 km3 of basaltic trachy-andesite ( 3 vol.%), 1 km3 of basaltic andesite ( 2 vol.%), and 0.14 km3 of rhyolite ( 0.3 vol.%). Eruptive centers are commonly aligned ENE-WSW following the direction of the regional Cuitzeo Fault System. Over time, the high frequency of eruptions and consequent accumulation of lavas and pyroclastic materials pushed the lake's shore stepwise toward the southeast. Eruptions appear to have clustered through time. One cluster occurred during the Late Pleistocene between 27,000 and 21,300 BC when four volcanoes erupted. A second cluster formed during the Late Holocene, between 1500 BC and AD 900, when four closely spaced monogenetic vents erupted forming thick viscous `a'a to blocky flows on the margin of the lacustrine flats. For still poorly understood reasons, these apparently inhospitable lava flows were attractive to human settlement and eventually became one of the most densely populated heartlands of the pre-Hispanic Tarascan civilization. With an average eruption recurrence interval of 900

Volcano-ice interaction as a microbial habitat on Earth and Mars.

PubMed

Cousins, Claire R; Crawford, Ian A

2011-09-01

Volcano-ice interaction has been a widespread geological process on Earth that continues to occur to the present day. The interaction between volcanic activity and ice can generate substantial quantities of liquid water, together with steep thermal and geochemical gradients typical of hydrothermal systems. Environments available for microbial colonization within glaciovolcanic systems are wide-ranging and include the basaltic lava edifice, subglacial caldera meltwater lakes, glacier caves, and subsurface hydrothermal systems. There is widespread evidence of putative volcano-ice interaction on Mars throughout its history and at a range of latitudes. Therefore, it is possible that life on Mars may have exploited these habitats, much in the same way as has been observed on Earth. The sedimentary and mineralogical deposits resulting from volcano-ice interaction have the potential to preserve evidence of any indigenous microbial populations. These include jökulhlaup (subglacial outflow) sedimentary deposits, hydrothermal mineral deposits, basaltic lava flows, and subglacial lacustrine deposits. Here, we briefly review the evidence for volcano-ice interactions on Mars and discuss the geomicrobiology of volcano-ice habitats on Earth. In addition, we explore the potential for the detection of these environments on Mars and any biosignatures these deposits may contain.

Re-Os geochronology and Os isotope fingerprinting of petroleum sourced from a Type I lacustrine kerogen: Insights from the natural Green River petroleum system in the Uinta Basin and hydrous pyrolysis experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cumming, Vivien M.; Selby, David; Lillis, Paul G.; Lewan, Michael D.

2014-08-01

Rhenium-osmium (Re-Os) geochronology of marine petroleum systems has allowed the determination of the depositional age of source rocks as well as the timing of petroleum generation. In addition, Os isotopes have been applied as a fingerprinting tool to correlate oil to its source unit. To date, only classic marine petroleum systems have been studied. Here we present Re-Os geochronology and Os isotope fingerprinting of different petroleum phases (oils, tar sands and gilsonite) derived from the lacustrine Green River petroleum system in the Uinta Basin, USA. In addition we use an experimental approach, hydrous pyrolysis experiments, to compare to the Re-Os data of naturally generated petroleum in order to further understand the mechanisms of Re and Os transfer to petroleum. The Re-Os geochronology of petroleum from the lacustrine Green River petroleum system (19 ± 14 Ma - all petroleum phases) broadly agrees with previous petroleum generation basin models (∼25 Ma) suggesting that Re-Os geochronology of variable petroleum phases derived from lacustrine Type I kerogen has similar systematics to Type II kerogen (e.g., Selby and Creaser, 2005a,b; Finlay et al., 2010). However, the large uncertainties (over 100% in some cases) produced for the petroleum Re-Os geochronology are a result of multiple generation events occurring through a ∼3000-m thick source unit that creates a mixture of initial Os isotope compositions in the produced petroleum phases. The 187Os/188Os values for the petroleum and source rocks at the time of oil generation vary from 1.4 to 1.9, with the mode at ∼1.6. Oil-to-source correlation using Os isotopes is consistent with previous correlation studies in the Green River petroleum system, and illustrates the potential utility of Os isotopes to characterize the spatial variations within a petroleum system. Hydrous pyrolysis experiments on the Green River Formation source rocks show that Re and Os transfer are mimicking the natural system. This

Re-Os geochronology and Os isotope fingerprinting of petroleum sourced from a Type I lacustrine kerogen: insights from the natural Green River petroleum system in the Uinta Basin and hydrous pyrolysis experiments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cumming, Vivien M.; Selby, David; Lillis, Paul G.; Lewan, Michael D.

2014-01-01

Rhenium–osmium (Re–Os) geochronology of marine petroleum systems has allowed the determination of the depositional age of source rocks as well as the timing of petroleum generation. In addition, Os isotopes have been applied as a fingerprinting tool to correlate oil to its source unit. To date, only classic marine petroleum systems have been studied. Here we present Re–Os geochronology and Os isotope fingerprinting of different petroleum phases (oils, tar sands and gilsonite) derived from the lacustrine Green River petroleum system in the Uinta Basin, USA. In addition we use an experimental approach, hydrous pyrolysis experiments, to compare to the Re–Os data of naturally generated petroleum in order to further understand the mechanisms of Re and Os transfer to petroleum. The Re–Os geochronology of petroleum from the lacustrine Green River petroleum system (19 ± 14 Ma – all petroleum phases) broadly agrees with previous petroleum generation basin models (∼25 Ma) suggesting that Re–Os geochronology of variable petroleum phases derived from lacustrine Type I kerogen has similar systematics to Type II kerogen (e.g., Selby and Creaser, 2005a, Selby and Creaser, 2005b and Finlay et al., 2010). However, the large uncertainties (over 100% in some cases) produced for the petroleum Re–Os geochronology are a result of multiple generation events occurring through a ∼3000-m thick source unit that creates a mixture of initial Os isotope compositions in the produced petroleum phases. The 187Os/188Os values for the petroleum and source rocks at the time of oil generation vary from 1.4 to 1.9, with the mode at ∼1.6. Oil-to-source correlation using Os isotopes is consistent with previous correlation studies in the Green River petroleum system, and illustrates the potential utility of Os isotopes to characterize the spatial variations within a petroleum system. Hydrous pyrolysis experiments on the Green River Formation source rocks show that Re and Os transfer

Megafans as Hydrous Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkinson, M. Justin; Miller, R. McG.; Allen, C. C.; Kreslavsky, M. H.; Eckardt, F.

2009-01-01

The mesoscale sedimentary environment known as the megafan, is a low-angle, partial cone of fluvial sediment generated where a river enters an unconfined basin where it begins the process of avulsing over wide areas. In shifting to different positions, the river lays down a partial cone of sediment and establishes a characteristic radial pattern of paleo courses. The apparent paucity of sedimentary bodies obviously tied to martian outflow channels may also relate to the difficulty of recognition due to their sheer size and featurelessness. However, the existence of megafans on Mars is being examined now that their ubiquity and characteristics on Earth are better understood. Accordingly we suggest two likely candidates on Mars: Maja Valles fluvial cone and Amazonis Planitia fluvial sedimentary bodies. Two cryptic examples from Amazonis Planitia may be important for understanding subsurface hydrous accumulation. For at least some of its history, discharges from Mangala Valles likely resulted in megafans. Distances from the end of Mangala Valles to the northern (low) margin of the planitia are very large, a fact that has suggested that fluvial emplacement was unlikely. However, the megafan model shows that long megafan radii are indeed feasible. It has been suggested further that discharge from Labou Vallis (8.5S 154.5W) must have led to fluvial sedimentation in the planitia. We suggest that during locally non-lacustrine/ocean phases, this sedimentation would have occurred in the form of megafans. However, the megafan model shows that long megafan radii are indeed feasible. It has been suggested further that discharge from Labou Vallis (8.5S 154.5W) must have led to fluvial sedimentation in the planitia. We suggest that during locally non-lacustrine/ocean phases, this sedimentation would have occurred in the form of megafans. Megafans emanating from Marte, Mangala and Labou valles have probably contributed to hydrous near-subsurface environments--in their distal

Microbial lime-mud production and its relation to climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yates, K.K.; Robbins, L.L.; Gerhard, L.C.; Harrison, W.E.; Hanson, B.M.B.

2001-01-01

Microbial calcification has been identified as a significant source of carbonate sediment production in modern marine and lacustrine environments around the globe. This process has been linked to the production of modern whitings and large, micritic carbonate deposits throughout the geologic record. Furthermore, carbonate deposits believed to be the result of cyanobacterial and microalgal calcification suggest that the potential exists for long-term preservation of microbial precipitates and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). Recent research has advanced our understanding of the microbial-calcification mechanism as a photosynthetically driven process. However, little is known of the effects of this process on inorganic carbon cycling or of the effects of changing climate on microbial-calcification mechanisms.Laboratory experiments on microbial cellular physiology demonstrate that cyanobacteria and green algae can utilize different carbon species for metabolism and calcification. Cyanobacterial calcification relies on bicarbonate (HCO3–)utilization while green algae use primarily CO2. Therefore, depending on which carbonate species (HCO3– or CO2) dominates in the ocean or lacustrine environments (a condition ultimately linked to atmospheric partial pressure PCO2), the origin of lime-mud production by cyanobacteria and/or algae may fluctuate through geologic time. Trends of cyanobacteria versus algal dominance in the rock record corroborate this conclusion. These results suggest that relative species abundances of calcareous cyanobacteria and algae in the Phanerozoic may serve as potential proxies for assessing paleoclimatic conditions, including fluctuations in atmospheric PCO2.

40Ar/39Ar Temporal Constraints on Eocene Uplift, Subsidence, and Paleohydrology in the Laramide Foreland, Western U. S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. E.; Carroll, A. R.; Singer, B. S.

2004-12-01

Due to their sensitivity to relatively subtle changes in regional drainage patterns, Eocene lake deposits of the Green River Formation offer a unique and richly detailed record of landscape modification caused by orogenic processes in the broken foreland of the western U. S. Recently obtained 40Ar/39Ar age determinations for 22 interbedded tephras provide excellent temporal resolution of this record, and enable inter-basin correlations at an unprecedented level of precision (approaching 2σ uncertainties of ± k.y.). Green River Formation strata span an interval of ~8 m.y., beginning and ending with freshwater fluvial-lacustrine deposits. Two episodes of regional basin closure and evaporite deposition, each lasting ˜1-2 m.y., coincide with evidence for active Laramide faulting at basin margins and increased rates of sediment accumulation. Evaporite deposition therefore appears to have been principally caused by enhanced uplift of basin sills rather than increased aridity. Regional stratigraphic relations, facies types, and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology permit deduction of the following paleodrainage history: 1) > ˜51.3 Ma: Fluvial-lacustrine deposition occurred in greater Green River, Piceance Creek and Uinta basins. The onset of lacustrine deposition is not well-dated due to a paucity of tephras. 2) ˜51.3-49.7 Ma: The greater Green River and Piceance Creek basins both became terminal sinks that received overflow from neighboring freshwater basins. Coarse clastic basin-marginal alluvial strata, cross-cutting fault relations, and pronounced differential subsidence in both basins indicate active uplift of the Uinta Mountains and surrounding ranges. 3) ˜49.7-49.1 Ma: Lake Gosiute expanded in extent, coincident with an influx of water and sediment derived from volcanic centers to the north. Episodic overflow over the eastern Uinta uplift flushed dissolved solutes southward, freshening Lake Gosiute while evaporite deposition continued in Lake Uinta. 4) ˜49.1-48.4 Ma

Soft-sediment deformation structures in the late Miocene Şelmo Formation around Adıyaman area, Southeastern Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koç Taşgın, Calibe; Orhan, Hükmü; Türkmen, İbrahim; Aksoy, Ercan

2011-04-01

The Şelmo Formation was deposited in the basins associated with the Southeastern Anatolian Thrust Belt and East Anatolian Fault Zone in SE Turkey. These structures developed as a result of compressional stresses created by the movement of the Arabian plate to the north and the Eurasian plate to the west from early Miocene to late Pliocene. The outcrops of the Şelmo Formation in the Adýyaman area (SE Turkey) comprise braided river deposits (lower alluvial unit) at the base, lacustrine and deltaic deposits in the middle (lacustrine unit) and low sinuousity river and alluvial deposits at the top (upper alluvial unit). Soft-sediment deformation structures were developed in sandstone, siltstone and marl of the deltaic and lacustrine unit of the Şelmo Formation. These are slumps, recumbent folds, load casts, ball-and-pillow structures, flame structures, neptunian dykes, chaotically associated structures and synsedimentary faults. The tectonic setting of the basin, the lateral extent of the soft-sediment deformation structures over tens of kilometers, their similarities to deformation structures interpreted as being induced seismically in other regions worldwide or in a laboratory setting, and being confined by undeformed layers suggest that the main trigger system was related to seismic activity in the area.

Sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposit model: Chapter M in Mineral deposit model for resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayes, Timothy S.; Cox, Dennis P.; Bliss, James D.; Piatak, Nadine M.; Seal, Robert R.

2015-01-01

This report contains a descriptive model of sediment-hosted stratabound copper (SSC) deposits that supersedes the model of Cox and others (2003). This model is for use in assessments of mineral resource potential. SSC deposits are the second most important sources of copper in the world behind porphyry copper deposits. Around 20 percent of the copper in the world is produced from this class of deposits. They are also the most important sources of cobalt in the world, and they are fourth among classes of ore deposits in production of silver. SSC deposits are the basis of the economies of three countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Poland, and Zambia. This report provides a description of the key features of SSC deposits; it identifies their tectonic-sedimentary environments; it illustrates geochemical, geophysical, and geoenvironmental characteristics of SSC deposits; it reviews and evaluates hypotheses on how these deposits formed; it presents exploration and assessment guides; and it lists some gaps in our knowledge about the SSC deposits. A summary follows that provides overviews of many subjects concerning SSC deposits.

Highly Seasonal and Perennial Fluvial Facies: Implications for Climatic Control on the Douglas Creek and Parachute Creek Members, Green River Formation, Southeastern Uinta Basin, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gall, Ryan D.

The early to middle Eocene Green River Formation consists of continental strata deposited in Laramide ponded basins in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. This study (1) documents fluvial and lacustrine strata from the Douglas Creek and Parachute Creek Members of the middle Green River Formation, southeastern Uinta Basin, Utah, and (2) uses new interpretations of the link between climate and fluvial sedimentary expression to interpret the terrestrial evolution of early Eocene climate. The stratigraphy was analyzed via outcrops along a 10 km transect in Main Canyon on the Tavaputs Plateau, and is divided into three distinct, stratigraphically separated depositional settings: (1) the lowermost Interval 1 is dominated by amalgamated sandstone channels that contain 70-100% upper flow regime sedimentary structures. The channels are interpreted to represent fluvial deposits controlled by a highly seasonal climate, where most deposition was limited to seasonal flooding events. (2) Interval 2 is dominated by alternating siliciclastic and carbonate lacustrine deposits, interpreted as local pulsed fluvial siliciclastic input into shallow Lake Uinta, and periods of fluvial quiescence represented by littoral carbonate deposition. (3) The uppermost Interval 3 is dominated by erosively-based, trough cross bedded sandstone channels interbedded with littoral lacustrine and deltaic deposits. The Interval 3 sandstone channels are interpreted as perennial fluvial deposits with relatively little variation in annual discharge, akin to modern humid-temperate fluvial systems. The stratigraphic transition from seasonally-controlled (Interval 1) to perennial (Interval 3) fluvial deposits is interpreted to represent a fundamental shift in Eocene climate, from the peak hyperthermal regime of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) to a more stable post-EECO climate.

Influence of depositional environment in fossil teeth: a micro-XRF and XAFS study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zougrou, I. M.; Katsikini, M.; Pinakidou, F.; Papadopoulou, L.; Tsoukala, E.; Paloura, E. C.

2014-04-01

The formation of metal-rich phases during the fossilization of vertebrate fossil teeth, recovered from various deposition environments in northern Greece, is studied by means of synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF) as well as Fe and Mn K edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. XRF line-scans from the samples' cross-sections revealed different contamination paths for Mn and Fe. The two-dimensional XRF maps illustrate the spatial distribution of P, Ca, Mn and Fe as well as the precipitation of Fe-rich phases in cementum, dentin and dentinal tubules. Goethite, lepidocrocite and ferrihydrite were detected in the samples' cross-section by means of Fe K edge EXAFS spectroscopy. Moreover the Fe and Mn K edge EXAFS revealed the presence of vivianite and birnessite (MnO2) on the external surface of two samples.

Human Impact on Biogeochemical Cycles and Deposition Dynamics in Karstic Lakes: El Tobar Lake Record (Central Iberian Range, Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barreiro-Lostres, F.; Moreno-Caballud, A.; Giralt, S.; Hillman, A. L.; Brown, E. T.; Abbott, M. B.; Valero-Garces, B. L.

2014-12-01

Karstic lakes in the Iberian Range (Central Spain) provide a unique opportunity to test the human impact in the watersheds and the aquatic environments during historical times. We reconstruct the depositional evolution and the changes in biogeochemical cycles of El Tobar karstic lake, evaluating the response and the resilience of this Mediterranean ecosystem to both anthropogenic impacts and climate forcing during the last 1000 years. Lake El Tobar (40°32'N, 3°56'W; 1200 m a.s.l.; see Figure), 16 ha surface area, 20 m max. depth and permanent meromictic conditions, has a relatively large watershed (1080 ha). Five 8 m long sediment cores and short gravity cores where recovered, imaged, logged with a Geotek, described and sampled for geochemical analyses (elemental TOC, TIC, TN, TS), XRF scanner and ICP-MS, and dated (137Cs and 10 14C assays). The record is a combination of: i) laminated dark silts with terrestrial remains and diatoms and ii) massive to banded light silts (mm to cm -thick layers) interpreted as flood deposits. Sediments, TOC, and Br/Ti and Sr/Ca ratios identify four periods of increased sediment delivery occurred about 1500, 1800, 1850 and 1900 AD, coinciding with large land uses changes of regional relevance such as land clearing and increased population. Two main hydrological changes are clearly recorded in El Tobar sequence. The first one, marked by a sharp decrease in Mg, Ca and Si concentrations, took place about 1200 AD, and during a period of increasing lake level, which shifted from shallower to deeper facies and from carbonatic to clastic and organic-rich deposition. This change was likely related to increased water availability synchronous to the transition from the Medieval Climate Anomaly to the Little Ice Age. The second one was a canal construction in 1967 AD when a nearby reservoir provided fresh water influx to the lake, and resulted in stronger meromictic conditions in the system after canal construction, which is marked by lower

Middle Jurassic continental biota and paleolandscape in the Dubinino locality (Sharypovo area, Krasnoyarsk krai)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivantsov, S. V.; Bystritskaya, L. I.; Krasnolutskii, S. A.; Lyalyuk, K. P.; Frolov, A. O.; Alekseev, A. S.

2016-09-01

On the basis of the lithological-facies analysis, it was established that deposits of the Upper Itat Subformation, comprising the Dubinino locality of the Middle Jurassic flora and insects (Sharypovo district, Krasnoyarsk krai), accumulated in alluvial and lacustrine and, to a lesser extent, floodplain environments (floodplain and alluvial fan facies). The occurrence of remains of insects, macroremains of flora, spores, and pollen allowed us to make a paleoreconstruction of an area with a strongly dissected relief: continental fresh-water reservoir (lake) with varying degree of overflow, surrounded by hills covered with gymnospermous and ginkgo forests.

Earthquake imprints on a lacustrine deltaic system: the Kürk Delta along the East Anatolian Fault (Turkey)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubert-Ferrari, Aurélia; El-Ouahabi, Meriam; Garcia-Moreno, David; Avsar, Ulas; Altinok, Sevgi; Schmidt, Sabine; Cagatay, Namik

2016-04-01

Delta contains a sedimentary record primarily indicative of water level changes, but particularly sensitive to earthquake shaking, which results generally in soft-sediment-deformation structures. The Kürk Delta adjacent to a major strike-slip fault displays this type of deformation (Hempton and Dewey, 1983) as well as other types of earthquake fingerprints that are specifically investigated. This lacustrine delta stands at the south-western extremity of the Hazar Lake and is bound by the East Anatolian Fault (EAF), which generated earthquakes of magnitude 7 in eastern Turkey. Water level changes and earthquake shaking affecting the Kurk Delta have been reevaluated combining geophysical data (seismic-reflection profiles and side-scan sonar), remote sensing images, historical data, onland outcrops and offshore coring. The history of water level changes provides a temporal framework regarding the sedimentological record. In addition to the commonly soft-sediment-deformation previously documented, the onland outcrops reveal a record of deformation (faults and clastic dykes) linked to large earthquake-induced liquefactions. The recurrent liquefaction structures can be used to obtain a paleoseismological record. Five event horizons were identified that could be linked to historical earthquakes occurring in the last 1000 years along the EAF. Sedimentary cores sampling the most recent subaqueous sedimentation revealed the occurrence of another type of earthquake fingerprint. Based on radionuclide dating (137Cs and 210Pb), two major sedimentary events were attributed to the 1874-1875 earthquake sequence along the EAF. Their sedimentological characteristics were inferred based X-ray imagery, XRD, LOI, grain-size distribution, geophysical measurements. The events are interpreted to be hyperpycnal deposits linked to post-seismic sediment reworking of earthquake-triggered landslides. A time constraint regarding this sediment remobilization process could be achieved thanks to

From lakes to sand seas: a record of early Mars climate change explored in northern Gale crater, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, S.; Banham, S.; Rubin, D. M.; Watkins, J. A.; Edgett, K. S.; Sumner, D. Y.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Lewis, K. W.; Edgar, L. A.; Stack, K.; Day, M.; Lapôtre, M. G. A.; Bell, J. F., III; Ewing, R. C.; Stein, N.; Rivera-Hernandez, F.; Vasavada, A. R.

2017-12-01

While traversing the northern flank of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity encountered a decametre-thick sandstone unit unconformably overlying the lacustrine Murray formation. This sandstone contains cross-bed sets on the order of 1 m thick, composed of uniform mm-thick laminations of uniform thickness, and lacks silt- or mud-grade sediments. Cross sets are separated by sub-horizontal bounding surfaces which extend for tens of metres across outcrops. Dip-azimuths of cross-laminations are predominantly toward the north-east, which is oblique to the north-west slope of the unconformity on which the sandstone accumulated. This sandstone was designated the Stimson formation after Mt. Stimson, where it was delineated from the Murray formation. Textural analysis of this sandstone revealed a bi-modal sorting with well-rounded grains, typical of particles transported by aeolian processes. Stacked cross-bedded sets, representing the migration of aeolian dune-scale bedforms, combined with the absence of finer-grained facies characteristic of interdune deposits, suggest that the Stimson accumulated by aerodynamic processes and that the depositional surface was devoid of moisture which could have attracted dust to form interdune deposits. Reconstruction of this "dry" dune-field based on architectural measurements suggest that cross sets were emplaced by the migration of dunes with minimum heights of 10m, that were spaced 160 m apart. The dune field covered an area of 30-45 km2, and was confined to the break-in-slope at the base of Aeolis Mons. Cross-set dips suggest that the palaeowind drove these dunes toward the north east, oblique to the slope of the unconformity on which these sandstones accumulated. Construction of a dry dune field in Gale crater required an environment of extreme aridity with absence of water at the surface and within the shallow sub-surface. This is in stark contrast to the lacustrine environment in which the underlying

Continuous in situ monitoring of sediment deposition in shallow benthic environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whinney, James; Jones, Ross; Duckworth, Alan; Ridd, Peter

2017-06-01

Sedimentation is considered the most widespread contemporary, human-induced perturbation on reefs, and yet if the problems associated with its estimation using sediment traps are recognized, there have been few reliable measurements made over time frames relevant to the local organisms. This study describes the design, calibration and testing of an in situ optical backscatter sediment deposition sensor capable of measuring sedimentation over intervals of a few hours. The instrument has been reconfigured from an earlier version to include 15 measurement points instead of one, and to have a more rugose measuring surface with a microtopography similar to a coral. Laboratory tests of the instrument with different sediment types, colours, particle sizes and under different flow regimes gave similar accumulation estimates to SedPods, but lower estimates than sediment traps. At higher flow rates (9-17 cm s-1), the deposition sensor and SedPods gave estimates >10× lower than trap accumulation rates. The instrument was deployed for 39 d in a highly turbid inshore area in the Great Barrier Reef. Sediment deposition varied by several orders of magnitude, occurring in either a relatively uniform (constant) pattern or a pulsed pattern characterized by short-term (4-6 h) periods of `enhanced' deposition, occurring daily or twice daily and modulated by the tidal phase. For the whole deployment, which included several very high wind events and suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) >100 mg L-1, deposition rates averaged 19 ± 16 mg cm-2 d-1. For the first half of the deployment, where SSCs varied from <1 to 28 mg L-1 which is more typical for the study area, the deposition rate averaged only 8 ± 5 mg cm-2 d-1. The capacity to measure sedimentation rates over a few hours is discussed in terms of examining the risk from sediment deposition associated with catchment run-off, natural wind/wave events and dredging activities.

Geochemical control on the reduction of U(VI) to mononuclear U(IV) species in lacustrine sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stetten, L.; Mangeret, A.; Brest, J.; Seder-Colomina, M.; Le Pape, P.; Ikogou, M.; Zeyen, N.; Thouvenot, A.; Julien, A.; Alcalde, G.; Reyss, J. L.; Bombled, B.; Rabouille, C.; Olivi, L.; Proux, O.; Cazala, C.; Morin, G.

2018-02-01

Contaminated systems in which uranium (U) concentrations slightly exceed the geochemical background are of particular interest to identify natural processes governing U trapping and accumulation in Earth's surface environments. For this purpose, we examined the role of early diagenesis on the evolution of U speciation and mobility in sediments from an artificial lake located downstream from a former mining site. Sediment and pore water chemistry together with U and Fe solid state speciation were analyzed in sediment cores sampled down to 50 cm depth at four locations in the lake. These organic-rich sediments (∼12% organic C) exhibited U concentrations in the 40-80 mg kg-1 range. The sediment columns were anoxic 2-3 mm below the sediment-water interface and pore waters pH was circumneutral. Pore water chemistry profiles showed that organic carbon mineralization was associated with Fe and Mn reduction and was correlated with a decrease in dissolved U concentration with depth. Immobilization of U in the sediment was correlated with the reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) at depth, as shown by U LIII-edge XANES spectroscopic analysis. XANES and EXAFS spectroscopy at the Fe K-edge showed the reduction of structural Fe(III) to Fe(II) in phyllosilicate minerals with depth, coincident with U(VI) to U(IV) reduction. Thermodynamic modeling suggests that Fe(II) could act as a major reducing agent for U(VI) during early diagenesis of these sediments, leading to complete U reduction below ∼30 cm depth. Shell-by-shell and Cauchy-Wavelet analysis of U LIII-EXAFS spectra indicates that U(VI) and U(IV) are mainly present as mononuclear species bound to C, P or Si ligands. Chemical extractions confirmed that ∼60-80% of U was present as non-crystalline species, which emphasizes that such species should be considered when evaluating the fate of U in lacustrine environments and the efficiency of sediment remediation strategies.

Cobalt—Styles of deposits and the search for primary deposits

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hitzman, Murray W.; Bookstrom, Arthur A.; Slack, John F.; Zientek, Michael L.

2017-11-30

Cobalt (Co) is a potentially critical mineral. The vast majority of cobalt is a byproduct of copper and (or) nickel production. Cobalt is increasingly used in magnets and rechargeable batteries. More than 50 percent of primary cobalt production is from the Central African Copperbelt. The Central African Copperbelt is the only sedimentary rock-hosted stratiform copper district that contains significant cobalt. Its presence may indicate significant mafic-ultramafic rocks in the local basement. The balance of primary cobalt production is from magmatic nickel-copper and nickel laterite deposits. Cobalt is present in several carbonate-hosted lead-zinc and copper districts. It is also variably present in Besshi-type volcanogenic massive sulfide and siliciclastic sedimentary rock-hosted deposits in back arc and rift environments associated with mafic-ultramafic rocks. Metasedimentary cobalt-copper-gold deposits (such as Blackbird, Idaho), iron oxide-copper-gold deposits, and the five-element vein deposits (such as Cobalt, Ontario) contain different amounts of cobalt. None of these deposit types show direct links to mafic-ultramafic rocks; the deposits may result from crustal-scale hydrothermal systems capable of leaching and transporting cobalt from great depths. Hydrothermal deposits associated with ultramafic rocks, typified by the Bou Azzer district of Morocco, represent another type of primary cobalt deposit.In the United States, exploration for cobalt deposits may focus on magmatic nickel-copper deposits in the Archean and Proterozoic rocks of the Midwest and the east coast (Pennsylvania) and younger mafic rocks in southeastern and southern Alaska; also, possibly basement rocks in southeastern Missouri. Other potential exploration targets include—The Belt-Purcell basin of British Columbia (Canada), Idaho, Montana, and Washington for different styles of sedimentary rock-hosted cobalt deposits;Besshi-type VMS deposits, such as the Greens Creek (Alaska) deposit and

Geochemistry of Precambrian carbonates: 3-shelf seas and non-marine environments of the Archean

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Veizer, J.; Clayton, R.N.; Hinton, R.W.

1990-10-01

A comprehensive whole-rock study of mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic attributes of Archean carbonates suggests that their lithologies and facies have been controlled by tectonic setting. In the first two papers of this series they have shown that the dominant lithology of sedimentary carbonates in greenstone belt settings is limestone. In this paper the authors suggest that the Archean shelf sequences are mostly dolostone, and the contemporaneous lacustrine playa lakes are characterized by limestone facies. The present study is of the shelf environments of the Archean, represented by the Pongola Supergroup of South Africa and the Hamersley Group of Australia. Themore » lacustrine playa examples have been sampled from the Ventersdorp Supergroup of South Africa and the Fortescue Group of Australia. Geological, trace element, and oxygen isotope considerations of the shelf carbonates suggest that their original mineralogy may have been aragonite and that the Pongola dolostones probably represent a direct dolomitization product of this precursor. In contrast, the stabilization of the Hamersley carbonates may have involved an additional step of transformation of a metastable precursor into limestone prior to dolomitization.« less

The application of Caesium-137 and Plutonium-239+240 measurements to investigate floodplain deposition in a semi-arid, low-fallout environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amos, K. J.; Croke, J. C.; Timmers, H.; Owens, P. N.

2009-04-01

Floodplains comprise geomorphologically important sources and sinks for sediments and associated pollutants, yet the sedimentology of large dryland floodplains is not well understood. Processes occurring on such floodplains are often difficult to observe, and techniques used to investigate smaller perennial floodplains are often not practical in these environments. This study assesses the utility of Cs-137 inventory and depth-profile techniques for determining relative amounts of floodplain sedimentation in the Fitzroy River, north-eastern Australia; a 143 000 km2 semi-arid river system. Caesium-137 inventories were calculated for floodplain and reference location bulk soil cores collected from four sites. Depth profiles of Cs-137 concentration from each floodplain site and a reference location were recorded. The areal density of Cs-137 at reference locations ranged from 13-978 Bq m-2 (0-1367 Bq m-2 at the 95% confidence interval), and the mean value ± 2(standard error of the mean) was 436±264 Bq m-2, similar to published data from other southern hemisphere locations. Floodplain inventories ranged from 68-1142 Bq m-2 (0-1692 Bq m-2 at the 95% confidence interval), essentially falling within the range of reference inventory values, thus preventing calculation of erosion or deposition. Depth-profiles of Cs-137 concentration indicate erosion at one site and over 66 cm of deposition at another since 1954. Analysis of 239+240Pu concentrations in a depositional core substantiated the interpretation made from Cs-137 data, and depict a more tightly constrained peak in concentration. Average annual deposition rates range from 0-15 mm. The similarity between floodplain and reference bulk inventories does not necessarily indicate a lack of erosion or deposition, due to low Cs-137 fallout in the region and associated high measurement uncertainties, and a likely influence of gully and bank eroded sediments with no or limited adsorbed Cs-137. In this low-fallout environment

Sedimentary processes and depositional environments of the Horn River Shale in British Columbia, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Seok-Hoon; Koh, Chang-Seong; Joe, Young-Jin; Woo, Ju-Hwan; Lee, Hyun-Suk

2017-04-01

The Horn River Basin in the northeastern British Columbia, Canada, is one of the largest unconventional gas accumulations in North America. It consists mainly of Devonian shales (Horn River Formation) and is stratigraphically divided into three members, the Muskwa, Otterpark and Evie in descending order. This study focuses on sedimentary processes and depositional environments of the Horn River shale based on sedimentary facies analysis aided by well-log mineralogy (ECS) and total organic carbon (TOC) data. The shale formation consists dominantly of siliceous minerals (quartz, feldspar and mica) and subordinate clay mineral and carbonate materials, and TOC ranging from 1.0 to 7.6%. Based on sedimentary structures and micro texture, three sedimentary facies were classified: homogeneous mudstone (HM), indistinctly laminated mudstone (ILM), and planar laminated mudstone (PLM). Integrated interpretation of the sedimentary facies, lithology and TOC suggests that depositional environment of the Horn River shale was an anoxic quiescent basin plain and base-of-slope off carbonate platform or reef. In this deeper marine setting, organic-rich facies HM and ILM, dominant in the Muskwa (the upper part of the Horn River Formation) and Evie (the lower part of the Horn River Formation) members, may have been emplaced by pelagic to hemipelagic sedimentation on the anoxic sea floor with infrequent effects of low-density gravity flows (turbidity currents or nepheloid flows). In the other hand, facies PLM typifying the Otterpark Member (the middle part of the Horn River Formation) suggests more frequent inflow of bottom-hugging turbidity currents punctuating the hemipelagic settling of the background sedimentation process. The stratigraphic change of sedimentary facies and TOC content in the Horn River Formation is most appropriately interpreted to have been caused by the relative sea-level change, that is, lower TOC and frequent signal of turbidity current during the sea

Depositional environments of some Pleistocene coastal terrace deposits, southwestern Oregon - case history of progradational beach and dune sequence.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hunter, R.E.

1980-01-01

These deposits comprise a basal gravelly unit and 3 overlying sandy units, each with mud beds, a paleosol, or the modern soil in its uppermost part. The gravelly unit is interpreted as a progradational deposit. The main parts of the sandy units are made up of 1) a crossbedded sand facies, the dominant structure in which is medium-scale crossbedding (interpreted as the product of small eolian dunes), and 2) an irregularly bedded sand facies, which is locally pebbly and is dominated by scour-and-fill structures, interpreted as deposits of interdune ephemeral streams, ephemeral ponds, and wet to dry subaerial flats. The mud beds and paleosols represent times of temporary stabilization of the dune field.- from Author

Stratigraphy and depositional environments of Jurassic Gypsum Spring and Sundance Formations, Sheep Mountain anticline area, Big Horn County, Wyoming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doyle, A.B.

1986-08-01

The Sheep Mountain anticlinal complex between Lovell and Greybull, Wyoming, in the Bighorn basin provides exposure suitable for three-dimensional stratigraphic studies of Mesozoic rocks. The lower unit of the Gypsum Spring Formation is interbedded shale and gypsum. The middle unit is a cyclic sequence of variegated shales, mudstones, and wackestones. The upper unit is red shale. The contact between the underlying Upper Triassic Chugwater Group and the Gypsum Spring Formation is unconformable, as evidenced by an erosional surface. The Sundance Formation is divided into Sundance A and Sundance B, based on fossil data. Sundance A is predominantly green shale withmore » some limestone-shale interbeds. Sundance B lithology is similar to Sundance A with belemnoid guards. Toward the top of Sundance B are beds of glauconitic sandstones that grade upward into fossiliferous limestone. The contact between the Gypsum Spring, Sundance, and Morrison Formations appears to be gradational. The Western Interior sedimentary basin experienced four major transgressions during the Jurassic, resulting in the deposition of the Gypsum Spring and Sundance. Gypsum Spring deposition was influenced by paleohighs, specifically the Belt Island and Sheridan arch, and a warm, arid climate with rare storms. The lower Gypsum Spring unit was deposited in a restricted basin, with the middle and upper units reflecting subsequent deepening and freshening of the Jurassic sea. Most of the Sundance Formation was deposited in a relatively quiet, open-marine environment. Individual units represent shoaling conditions during minor regressions. Storms cut channels into sand bars, which were filled with coquinoid deposits.« less

Understanding Cu release into environment from Kure massive sulfide ore deposits, Kastamonu, NW Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demirel, Cansu; Sonmez, Seref; Balci, Nurgul

2014-05-01

Covering a wide range on the earth's crust, oxidation of metal sulfide minerals have vital environmental impacts on the aquatic environment, causing one of the major environmental problems known as acid mine drainage (AMD). Located in the Kastamonu province of the Western Black Sea region, Kure district is one of the major copper mining sites in Turkey. Mining activities in the area heads back to ancient times, such that operation is thought to be started with the Roman Empire. Currently, only the underground mining tunnels of Bakibaba and Asikoy are being operated. Thus, mining heaps and ores of those pyritic deposits have been exposed to the oxidative conditions for so long. As a result of weathering processes of past and recent heaps of the Kure volcanic massive sulfide deposits in addition to the main ore mineral (chalcopyrite), significant amount of metals, especially Cu, are being released into the environment creating undesirable environmental conditions. In order to elucidate Cu release mechanisms from Kure pyritic ore deposits and mining wastes, field and laboratory approaches were used. Surface water and sediment samples from the streams around the mining and waste sites were collected. Groundwater samples from the active underground mining site were also collected. Physical parameters (pH, Eh, T°C, and EC) of water samples were determined in situ and in the laboratory using probes (WTW pH 3110, WTW Multi 9310 and CRISON CM 35). Metal and ion concentrations of the water samples were analysed using ICP-MS and DR 2800 spectrophotometer, respectively. High Cu, Co, Zn and Fe concentrations were determined in the water samples with pH values ranging from 2.9- 4. Cu concentrions ranges from 345 ppm to 36 ppm in the water samples. Consistent with the water samples, high Cu, Fe, Zn and Co were also determined in the sediment samples. Laboratory chalcopyrite oxidation experiments under the conditions representing the field site were set up as biological and

Organic petrology and geochemistry of mudrocks from the lacustrine Lucaogou Formation, Santanghu Basin, northwest China: Application to lake basin evolution

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hackley, Paul C.; Fishman, Neil; Wu, Tao; Baugher, Gregory

2016-01-01

Exploration for tight oil in the frontier Santanghu Basin of northwest China has resulted in recent commercial discoveries sourced from the lacustrine Upper Permian Lucaogou Formation, already considered a “world class source rock” in the Junggar Basin to the west. Here we apply an integrated analytical program to carbonate-dominated mudrocks from the Lucaogou Formation in Santanghu Basin to document the nature of organic matter (OM) in the context of an evolving lake system. The organic-rich samples (TOC 2.8–11.4 wt%; n = 10) were widely spaced from an ~ 200 m cored section, interpreted from textural and mineralogical evidence to document transition from a lower under-filled to an overlying balanced-filled lake. Organic matter is dominated by moderate to strongly fluorescent amorphous material with Type I geochemical signature (HI values 510–755; n = 10) occurring in a continuum from lamellar stringers, 10–20 μm thick, some ≥ 1 mm in length (possible microbial mat; preserved only in lower under-filled section) to finely-disseminated amorphous groundmass intimately intermixed with mineral matrix. Biomarkers for methanotrophs and photosynthetic cyanobacteria indicate a complex microbial consortium. A unicellular prasinophyte green alga(?), similar to Tasmanites in marine rocks, is present as discrete flattened discs 50–100 μm in diameter. Type III OM including vitrinite (some fluorescent) and inertinite also is abundant. Solid bitumen, indicating local kerogen conversion, fills voids and occurs throughout the cored section. Vitrinite reflectance values are 0.47–0.58%, consistent with strong OM fluorescence but may be “suppressed”. Other proxies, e.g., biomarker parameters, indicate the Lucaogou Formation is in the early oil window at this location. On average, slightly more amorphous OM and telalginite are present in the lower section, consistent with a shallow, stratified, saline environment with low sediment dilution. More

Empirical quantification of lacustrine groundwater discharge - different methods and their limitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meinikmann, K.; Nützmann, G.; Lewandowski, J.

2015-03-01

Groundwater discharge into lakes (lacustrine groundwater discharge, LGD) can be an important driver of lake eutrophication. Its quantification is difficult for several reasons, and thus often neglected in water and nutrient budgets of lakes. In the present case several methods were applied to determine the expansion of the subsurface catchment, to reveal areas of main LGD and to identify the variability of LGD intensity. Size and shape of the subsurface catchment served as a prerequisite in order to calculate long-term groundwater recharge and thus the overall amount of LGD. Isotopic composition of near-shore groundwater was investigated to validate the quality of catchment delineation in near-shore areas. Heat as a natural tracer for groundwater-surface water interactions was used to find spatial variations of LGD intensity. Via an analytical solution of the heat transport equation, LGD rates were calculated from temperature profiles of the lake bed. The method has some uncertainties, as can be found from the results of two measurement campaigns in different years. The present study reveals that a combination of several different methods is required for a reliable identification and quantification of LGD and groundwater-borne nutrient loads.

Friction and Wear of Ion-Beam-Deposited Diamondlike Carbon on Chemical-Vapor-Deposited, Fine-Grain Diamond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miyoshi, Kazuhisa; Wu, Richard L. C.; Lanter, William C.

1996-01-01

Friction and wear behavior of ion-beam-deposited diamondlike carbon (DLC) films coated on chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD), fine-grain diamond coatings were examined in ultrahigh vacuum, dry nitrogen, and humid air environments. The DLC films were produced by the direct impact of an ion beam (composed of a 3:17 mixture of Ar and CH4) at ion energies of 1500 and 700 eV and an RF power of 99 W. Sliding friction experiments were conducted with hemispherical CVD diamond pins sliding on four different carbon-base coating systems: DLC films on CVD diamond; DLC films on silicon; as-deposited, fine-grain CVD diamond; and carbon-ion-implanted, fine-grain CVD diamond on silicon. Results indicate that in ultrahigh vacuum the ion-beam-deposited DLC films on fine-grain CVD diamond (similar to the ion-implanted CVD diamond) greatly decrease both the friction and wear of fine-grain CVD diamond films and provide solid lubrication. In dry nitrogen and in humid air, ion-beam-deposited DLC films on fine-grain CVD diamond films also had a low steady-state coefficient of friction and a low wear rate. These tribological performance benefits, coupled with a wider range of coating thicknesses, led to longer endurance life and improved wear resistance for the DLC deposited on fine-grain CVD diamond in comparison to the ion-implanted diamond films. Thus, DLC deposited on fine-grain CVD diamond films can be an effective wear-resistant, lubricating coating regardless of environment.

Fluvial depositional environment evolving into deltaic setting with marine influences in the buntsandstein of northern vosges (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gall, Jean-Claude

The Buntsandstein in the Northern Vosges (France) originates mainly in an inland braidplain fluvial environment which passes in the upper part of the sequence into deltaic milieu in the coastal plain along the border of the sea, with the continental environment finally being drowned with the transgression of the shallow sea. The fluvial sedimentation is characterized by the presence of two facies throughout the Buntsandstein : channel facies and overbank plain facies. The channel facies comprises sandy and conglomeratic deposits forming within active streams by strong currents, whereas the overbank plain facies is built up of silty-clayey sandstones or silt/clay originating in stagnant water in abandoned watercourses, ponds, pools and puddles. The significance of particularly the floodplain sediments is subjected to considerable changes throughout the Buntsandstein sequence. There are all stages of transition between overbank plain deposits being only preserved in ghost-like facies as reworked clasts due to effective secondary removal of primarily occasionally formed suspension fines, and an abundance of autochthonous floodplain sediments in the depositional record resulting from favourable conditions of primary origin and secondary preservation. Reworked ventifacts within fluvial channel sediments testify to subordinate aeolian influences in the alluvial plain, with reasonable reworking, however, having removed all in situ traces of wind activity. Declining aridity of palaeoclimate towards the top is indicated by the appearance of violet horizon palaeosols in the Zone-Limite-Violette and the Couches intermédiaires being accompanied by Bröckelbank carbonate breccias originating from concentration of reworked fragments of pedogenic carbonate nodules. Biogenic traces are in the lower part of the sequence mainly present as Planolites burrows in the finer-grained sediments. Palaeosalinities as revealed from boron contents indicate progressively increasing

Bitumen II from the Paleoproterozoic Here’s Your Chance Pb/Zn/Ag deposit: Implications for the analysis of depositional environment and thermal maturity of hydrothermally-altered sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holman, Alex I.; Grice, Kliti; Jaraula, Caroline M. B.; Schimmelmann, Arndt

2014-08-01

The formation of sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) Pb/Zn deposits is linked to ocean euxinia, but recent evidence suggests that ferruginous conditions may have dominated the deep ocean during the Middle Proterozoic, a maximum period for SEDEX distribution. Biomarkers of sulfate-reducing and sulfide-oxidising bacteria are valuable indicators of euxinic conditions in such settings. Organic matter (OM) from SEDEX deposits is often affected by alteration and/or migration, but OM entrapped within the kerogen/mineral matrix (Bitumen II) may be less affected than the freely-extractable OM (Bitumen I). We analysed Bitumen II from the Paleoproterozoic Here’s Your Chance (HYC) Pb/Zn/Ag deposit to find evidence of euxinic conditions in the depositional environment. n-Alkane distributions in Bitumen II are markedly distinct from previously-reported Bitumen I. Bitumen II contains long-chain n-alkanes (up to C36 or C38) and a strong even-over-odd distribution in a number of samples, which are 4‰ to 7‰ depleted in 13C compared to n-alkanes in Bitumen I and verified as indigenous by comparison with δ13C of isolated kerogen. These features are interpreted as evidence of sulfate-reducing and sulfide-oxidising bacteria, confirming that HYC was deposited under euxinic conditions. Bitumen II has the potential to reveal information from OM that is degraded and/or overprinted in Bitumen I. Commonly-used methylphenanthrene maturity ratios give conflicting information as to the relative maturity of Bitumens I and II. Bitumen I contains a far higher proportion of methylated phenanthrenes than Bitumen II. As Bitumen II is sequestered within the kerogen/mineral matrix it may have restricted access to the ‘methyl pool’ of organic compounds that can donate methyl groups to aromatic hydrocarbons. Parameters that include both phenanthrene and methylphenanthrenes do not appear suitable to compare the maturity of Bitumens I and II; hence there is no clear evidence that Bitumen II is of

Late Holocene stratigraphy of the Tetimpa archaeological sites, northeast flank of Popocatepetl volcano, central Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Panfil, M.S.; Gardner, T.W.; Hirth, K.G.

1999-01-01

Late Holocene (240 km2 on the east side of the volcano with >25 cm of tephra. Lavas from eruptive sequence I dammed drainage in the lowland area near the town of San Nicolas and caused local upstream deposition of as much as 30 m of lacustrine silts, clays, and sands. These lacustrine deposits record an eruptive hiatus for the Tetimpa area of about 750 14C yr: between ca. 2100 and ca. 1350 yr B.P., no major tephras were deposited in the Tetimpa area. In upland areas, this time period is represented by an unconformity and by Entisols formed in the top of pumice deposits and lavas from eruptive sequence I. Artifacts, agricultural furrows, and dwellings record human reoccupation of this surface. At the end of this hiatus, several lahars were deposited above the lacustrine sequence and locally above the Entisol in upland positions adjacent to streams. Between ca. 1350 and ca. 1200 yr B.P., tephras from eruptive sequence II buried these paleosols, occupation sites, lacustrine sediments, and lahars. Andesitic (~62% SiO2) pumice lapilli deposits in the Tetimpa area record three pumice-fall eruptions directed northeast and east of the crater. The first and smallest of these (maximum Tetimpa area thickness = 12 cm; >52 km2 covered by >25 cm) took place at ca. 1350 yr B.P. and was accompanied by pyroclastic surge events preserved in the Tetimpa area by charcoal, sand waves, and cross-stratified sand-sized tephra. At ca. 1200 yr B.P., the products of two Plinian-style events and additional pyroclastic surges reached the Tetimpa area. The largest of these tephra-fall events covered the Tetimpa area with 0.5-1 m of tephra and blanketed an area of >230 km2 with a thickness of >25 cm. The Tetimpa record confirms two of the four periods of explosive volcanism recognized by studies conducted around Popocatepetl in the past 30 yr. Eruptive sequence I corresponds to the explosive period between 2100 and 2500 yr B.P., and eruptive sequence II corresponds to the period between 900 and

Depositional environments and controls of Juncal Formation, southern San Rafael Mountains, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thompson, T.J.

1987-05-01

The lower to middle Eocene Juncal Formation, north of the Santa Ynez fault in easternmost Santa Barbara County, represents the onset of marine sedimentation following an approximately 20-m.y. hiatus. The Juncal paraconformably overlies the upper Campanian Unnamed sandstone and is gradationally overlain by the middle Eocene Matilija Formation. Access to the Juncal exposures of this area was considerably enhanced by the Wheeler fire of July 1985. Facies analysis of both the vertical and lateral exposures of the Juncal Formation (approx. 1400 m thick) indicate that the Juncal represents coalescing outer-fan depositional lobes. This interpretation is based on the lateral continuitymore » of sandstone beds, presence of thickening-upward cycles, and high-concentration sediment gravity flows, bathyal fauna, and regional associations. Local channelization (to 10 m deep) represents the extension of a mid-fan channel over its associated depositional lobe. Outcrops are subparallel to depositional strike in the eastern part of the study area and form a broad syncline in the western part. Together, these exposures allow documentation of the depositional lobes vertically, laterally, and longitudinally. Outer-fan deposits of the Juncal Formation are part of a progradational basin-filling episode. The Juncal grades upward into the outer- to mid-fan depositions of the lower Matilija Formation. The upper Matilija Formation shoals upward into deltaic facies. This regressive sedimentary sequence was probably initiated by the major sea level fall which occurred near the early/middle Eocene boundary and coincides with the onset of fan sedimentation elsewhere along the California margin. Within the study area, depositional lobe activity was probably governed by either minor fluctuations in relative sea level or channel switching up-system.« less

Diagenetic variation at the lamina scale in lacustrine organic-rich shales: Implications for hydrocarbon migration and accumulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Chao; Cao, Yingchang; Liu, Keyu; Jiang, Zaixing; Wu, Jing; Hao, Fang

2018-05-01

Lacustrine carbonate-rich shales are well developed within the Mesozoic-Cenozoic strata of the Bohai Bay Basin (BBB) of eastern China and across southeast Asia. Developing an understanding of the diagenesis of these shales is essential to research on mass balance, diagenetic fluid transport and exchange, and organic-inorganic interactions in black shales. This study investigates the origin and distribution of authigenic minerals and their diagenetic characteristics, processes, and pathways at the scale of lacustrine laminae within the Es4s-Es3x shale sequence of the BBB. The research presented in this study is based on thin sections, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and SEM-catholuminescence (CL) observations of well core samples combined with the use of X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and carbon and oxygen isotope analyses performed using a laser microprobe mass spectrometer. The dominant lithofacies within the Es4s-Es3x sequence are a laminated calcareous shale (LCS-1) and a laminated clay shale (LCS-2). The results of this study show that calcite recrystallization1 is the overarching diagenetic process affecting the LCS-1, related to acid generation from organic matter (OM) thermal evolution. This evolutionary transition is the key factor driving the diagenesis of this lithofacies, while the transformation of clay minerals is the main diagenetic attribute of the LCS-2. Diagenetic differences occur within different laminae and at variable locations within the same lamina level, controlled by variations in mineral composition and the properties of laminae interfaces. The diagenetic fluid migration scale is vertical and responses (dissolution and replacement) are limited to individual laminae, between zero and 100 μm in width. In contrast, the dominant migration pathway for diagenetic fluid is lateral, along the abrupt interfaces between laminae boundaries, which leads to the vertical

A contribution to regional stratigraphic correlations of the Afro-Brazilian depression - The Dom João Stage (Brotas Group and equivalent units - Late Jurassic) in Northeastern Brazilian sedimentary basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuchle, Juliano; Scherer, Claiton Marlon dos Santos; Born, Christian Correa; Alvarenga, Renata dos Santos; Adegas, Felipe

2011-04-01

The Dom João Stage comprises an interval with variable thickness between 100 and 1200 m, composed of fluvial, eolian and lacustrine deposits of Late Jurassic age, based mainly on the lacustrine ostracod fauna (although the top deposits may extend into the Early Cretaceous). These deposits comprise the so-called Afro-Brazilian Depression, initially characterized as containing the Brotas Group of the Recôncavo Basin (which includes the Aliança and the Sergi Formations) and subsequently extended into the Tucano, Jatobá, Camamu, Almada, Sergipe, Alagoas and Araripe Basins in northeastern Brazil, encompassing the study area of this paper. The large occurrence area of the Dom João Stage gives rise to discussions about the depositional connectivity between the basins, and the real extension of sedimentation. In the first studies of this stratigraphic interval, the Dom João Stage was strictly associated with the rift phase, as an initial stage (decades of 1960-70), but subsequent analyses considered the Dom João as an intracratonic basin or pre-rift phase - without any relation to the active mechanics of a tectonic syn-rift phase (decades of 1980-2000). The present work developed an evolutionary stratigraphic and tectonic model, based on the characterization of depositional sequences, internal flooding surfaces, depositional systems arrangement and paleoflow directions. Several outcrops on the onshore basins were used to build composite sections of each basin, comprising facies, architectural elements, depositional systems, stratigraphic and lithostratigraphic frameworks, and paleocurrents. In addition to that, over a hundred onshore and offshore exploration wells were used (only 21 of which are showed) to map the depositional sequences and generate correlation sections. These show the characteristics and relations of the Dom João Stage in each studied basin, and they were also extended to the Gabon Basin. The results indicate that there were two main phases during

Flashy Water and Sediment Delivery to Fluvial Megafan andFan Delta Systems on Opposing Shorelines of an Early Eocene Lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, E. R.; Plink-Bjorklund, P.

2015-12-01

Flashy delivery of water and sediment had distinct effects on the process of deposition in coeval fluvial megafan and fan delta deposits on opposing shorelines of a paleolake that occupied the Uinta Basin throughout the Eocene. The Tertiary Uinta Basin was an asymmetric continental interior basin with a steep northern margin, adjacent to the block uplift controlling basin subsidence, and a low gradient southern margin. A ~140 km wide fluvial megafan with catchments as far as ~750 km away occupied the southern margin of the lacustrine basin. Within this megafan system, fluvial deposits contain within-channel continental bioturbation and paleosol development on bar accretion surfaces that are evidence of prolonged periods of groundwater flow or channel abandonment. These are punctuated by channel fills exhibiting a suite of both high-deposition rate and upper flow regime sedimentary structures that were deposited by very rapid suspension-fallout during seasonal to episodic river flooding events. A series of small (~8 km wide) and proximally sourced fan deltas fed sediment into the steeper northern margin of the lacustrine basin. 35-50% of the deposits in the delta plain environment of these fan deltas are very sandy debris flows with as low as 5% clay and silt sized material. Detrital zircon geochronology shows that these fan deltas were tapping catchments where mostly unconsolidated Cretaceous sedimentary cover and thick Jurassic eolianites were being eroded. A combination of flashy precipitation, arid climate, catchments mantled by abundant loose sand-sized colluvium, and steep depositional gradients promoted generation of abundant very sandy (5-10% clay and silt sized material) debris flows. In this way, the Wasatch and Green River Formations in the Uinta Basin, Utah, U.S.A. gives us two very different examples of how routing flashy water and sediment delivery (associated with pulses of hyperthermal climate change during the Early Eocene) through different

The influence of production conditions, starting material and deposition environment on charcoal alteration in a tropical biome.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ascough, Philippa; Bird, Michael; Meredith, Will; Large, David; Snape, Colin; Manion, Corinne

2014-05-01

Natural and anthropogenic burning events are a key link in the global carbon cycle, substantially influencing atmospheric CO2 levels, and consuming c.8700 teragrams yr-1 of dry biomass [1,2,3]. An important result of this process is charcoal, when lignocellulosic structures in biomass (e.g. wood) are converted to aromatic domains with high chemical stability. Charcoal is therefore not readily re-oxidized to CO2, with estimates of 5-7 ky for the half-life of charcoal carbon in soils [3,4]. Charcoal's high carbon content coupled with high environmental resistance has led to the concept of biochar as a valuable means of global carbon sequestration, capable of carbon offsets comparable to annual anthropogenic fuel emissions [5,6,7]. Charcoal is not, however, an environmentally inert substance, and at least some components of charcoal are susceptible to alteration in depositional environments. Despite the importance of charcoal in global carbon cycling, the mechanisms by which charcoal is altered in the environment remain, as yet, poorly understood. This fact limits our ability to properly incorporate both natural environmental charcoal and biochar into global carbon budgets. This study aimed to improve understanding of charcoal alteration in the environment by examining the influence of production conditions, starting material and deposition environment on the physical and chemical characteristics of charcoal at a field site in the Daintree rainforest. These factors have been identified as critical in determining the dynamics of charcoal in depositional environments [8,9] and climatic conditions at the field site (in Tropical Queensland, Australia) are likely to result in extensive alteration of charcoal. Charcoal from wood (Nothofagus spp.), algae (Enteromorpha spp.), and sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) biomass was produced at temperatures over 300-500°C and exposed to conditions of varying pH and vegetation cover. The effect of these variables on charcoal chemistry

Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition at Two Sites in an Arid Environment of Central Asia.

PubMed

Li, Kaihui; Liu, Xuejun; Song, Wei; Chang, Yunhua; Hu, Yukun; Tian, Changyan

2013-01-01

Arid areas play a significant role in the global nitrogen cycle. Dry and wet deposition of inorganic nitrogen (N) species were monitored at one urban (SDS) and one suburban (TFS) site at Urumqi in a semi-arid region of central Asia. Atmospheric concentrations of NH3, NO2, HNO3, particulate ammonium and nitrate (pNH4 (+) and pNO3 (-)) concentrations and NH4-N and NO3-N concentrations in precipitation showed large monthly variations and averaged 7.1, 26.6, 2.4, 6.6, 2.7 µg N m(-3) and 1.3, 1.0 mg N L(-1) at both SDS and TFS. Nitrogen dry deposition fluxes were 40.7 and 36.0 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) while wet deposition of N fluxes were 6.0 and 8.8 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) at SDS and TFS, respectively. Total N deposition averaged 45.8 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1)at both sites. Our results indicate that N dry deposition has been a major part of total N deposition (83.8% on average) in an arid region of central Asia. Such high N deposition implies heavy environmental pollution and an important nutrient resource in arid regions.

Microorganisms and heavy metals associated with atmospheric deposition in a congested urban environment of a developing country: Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Weerasundara, Lakshika; Amarasekara, R W K; Magana-Arachchi, D N; Ziyath, Abdul M; Karunaratne, D G G P; Goonetilleke, Ashantha; Vithanage, Meththika

2017-04-15

The presence of bacteria and heavy metals in atmospheric deposition were investigated in Kandy, Sri Lanka, which is a typical city in the developing world with significant traffic congestion. Atmospheric deposition samples were analyzed for Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb which are heavy metals common to urban environments. Al and Fe were found in high concentrations due to the presence of natural sources, but may also be re-suspended by vehicular traffic. Relatively high concentrations of toxic metals such as Cr and Pb in dissolved form were also found. High Zn loads can be attributed to vehicular emissions and the wide use of Zn coated roofing materials. The metal loads in wet deposition showed higher concentrations compared to dry deposition. The metal concentrations among the different sampling sites significantly differ from each other depending on the traffic conditions. Industrial activities are not significant in Kandy City. Consequently, the traffic exerts high influence on heavy metal loadings. As part of the bacterial investigations, nine species of culturable bacteria, namely; Sphingomonas sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas monteilii, Klebsiella pneumonia, Ochrobactrum intermedium, Leclercia adecarboxylata, Exiguobacterium sp., Bacillus pumilus and Kocuria kristinae, which are opportunistic pathogens, were identified. This is the first time Pseudomonas monteilii and Ochrobactrum intermedium has been reported from a country in Asia. The culturable fraction constituted ~0.01 to 10%. Pigmented bacteria and endospore forming bacteria were copious in the atmospheric depositions due to their capability to withstand harsh environmental conditions. The presence of pathogenic bacteria and heavy metals creates potential human and ecosystem health risk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evidence for sub-lacustrine volcanic activity in Lake Bolsena (central Italy) revealed by high resolution seismic data sets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindhorst, Katja; Krastel, Sebastian; Wagner, Bernd; Schuerer, Anke

2017-06-01

The Bolsena caldera that formed between 0.6 and 0.2 Ma has a well preserved structural rim, which makes it an ideal site to study the tectonic and volcanic evolution of calderas. However, the main area is covered by a 150 m deep lake which makes it rather difficult to investigate the subsurface structure directly. To overcome this problem new high resolution hydro-acoustic surveys using a multichannel reflection seismic system and a sediment echo-sounder system were conducted in September 2012. As space was limited we used a rowing boat towed by a rubber boat to handle a 36 m long and 24 channel streamer to receive seismic reflections produced using a Mini GI-Gun (0.25 l). The subsurface structure of Lake Bolsena was imaged up to a sediment depth of 190 m, which is estimated to have filled over a period of 333 kyrs. However, massive pyroclastic flow deposits found in the deeper parts of the basin indicate an initial infill of volcanic deposits from two adjacent younger calderas, the Latera (W) and Montefiascone (SE) calderas. Our data suggest that the caldera has a long history of active volcanism, because the lacustrine sediments show post-sedimentary influences of geothermal fluids. We mapped several mound structures at various stratigraphic depths. Two volcanic structures outcrop at the modern lake surface implying recent activity. One of these structures is hardly covered by sediments and has a crater-like feature in its summit. The other structure shows a pockmark-like depression on top. Another observable feature is a partially sediment filled crater located in the western part of the lake which further implies the existence of a magma chamber located beneath the Bolsena caldera. Since the late Pleistocene and Holocene, the sedimentation was mainly hemipelagic evidenced by a sediment drape of up to 10 m thick sediment drape on the uppermost sediments. Beneath the drape we found evidence for a distal tephra layer likely related to an explosive eruption from

Origin and depositional environment of clastic deposits in the Hilo drill hole, Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beeson, M.H.; Clague, D.A.; Lockwood, J.P.

1996-01-01

Volcaniclastic units cored at depths of about 87, 164, 178, 226, and 246 m below sea level and carbonate units located between depths of 27 and 53 m below sea level in the Hilo drill core were found to be deposited at or near sea level. Four of these units are hydroclastic deposits, formed when subaerially erupted Mauna Loa lava flows entered the ocean and fragmented to produce quenched, glassy fragments during hydrovolcanic explosions. Ash units 24 and 26, at 178 m depth, accumulated at sea level in a freshwater bog. They contain pyroxenes crystallized from tholeiitic magma that we infer erupted explosively at the summit of Kilauea volcano. Two carbon-rich layers from these ashes have a weighted average radiocarbon age of 38.6 ?? 0.9 ka; the ashes probably correlate with the oldest and thickest part of the Pahala ash. Ash unit 44, at the transition from Mauna Kea to Mauna Loa lava flows, was probably nearly 3.2 m thick and is inferred to be equivalent to the lower thick part of the composite Homelani ash mapped in Hilo and on the flanks of Mauna Kea. The age of this part of Homelani ash is between 128 ?? 33 and 200 ?? 10 ka; it may have erupted subglacially during the Pohakuloa glacial maxima on Mauna Kea. Beach sand units 12 and 22 were derived from nearby Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea lava flows. The middle of beach sand unit 38 was derived mainly from lava erupted near the distal end of the subaerial east rift zone of Kilauea volcano; these sands were transported about 33 km northwest to Hilo Bay by prevailing longshore currents. Combined age, depth, and sea level markers in the core allow us to determine that lava flow recurrence intervals averaged one flow every 4 kyr during the past 86 kyr and one flow every 16 kyr between 86 and 200 ka at the drill site and that major explosive eruptions that deposit thick ash in Hilo have occurred only twice in the last 400 kyr. These recurrence intervals support the moderate lava flow hazard zonation (zone 3) for coastal Hilo

Lacustrine turbidites as a tool for quantitative earthquake reconstruction: New evidence for a variable rupture mode in south central Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moernaut, Jasper; Daele, Maarten Van; Heirman, Katrien; Fontijn, Karen; Strasser, Michael; Pino, Mario; Urrutia, Roberto; De Batist, Marc

2014-03-01

Understanding the long-term earthquake recurrence pattern at subduction zones requires continuous paleoseismic records with excellent temporal and spatial resolution and stable threshold conditions. South central Chilean lakes are typically characterized by laminated sediments providing a quasi-annual resolution. Our sedimentary data show that lacustrine turbidite sequences accurately reflect the historical record of large interplate earthquakes (among others the 2010 and 1960 events). Furthermore, we found that a turbidite's spatial extent and thickness are a function of the local seismic intensity and can be used for reconstructing paleo-intensities. Consequently, our multilake turbidite record aids in pinpointing magnitudes, rupture locations, and extent of past subduction earthquakes in south central Chile. Comparison of the lacustrine turbidite records with historical reports, a paleotsunami/subsidence record, and a marine megaturbidite record demonstrates that the Valdivia Segment is characterized by a variable rupture mode over the last 900 years including (i) full ruptures (Mw ~9.5: 1960, 1575, 1319 ± 9, 1127 ± 44), (ii) ruptures covering half of the Valdivia Segment (Mw ~9: 1837), and (iii) partial ruptures of much smaller coseismic slip and extent (Mw ~7.5-8: 1737, 1466 ± 4). Also, distant or smaller local earthquakes can leave a specific sedimentary imprint which may resolve subtle differences in seismic intensity values. For instance, the 2010 event at the Maule Segment produced higher seismic intensities toward southeastern localities compared to previous megathrust ruptures of similar size and extent near Concepción.

Interstratified arkosic and volcanic rocks of the Miocene Spanish Canyon Formation, Alvord Mountain area, California: descriptions and interpretations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buesch, David C.

2014-01-01

The Spanish Canyon Foundation in the Alvord Mountain area, California, varies from about 50 to 120 m thick and records the interstratification of arkosic sandstone and conglomerate with tuffaceous deposits and lava flows. In the lower third of the formation, arkosic sandstone and conglomerate are interstratified with tuffaceous deposits. Some tuffs might have been deposited as primary, nonwelded to partially welded ignimbrites or fallout tephra. Many of the tuffaceous deposits represent redeposited material that formed tuffaceous sandstone, and many of these deposits contain arkosic grains that represent mixing of different source matieral. Arkosic sandstone, and especially conglomerate (some with maximum clast lengths up to 1 m), represent intermittent incursions of coarser plutoniclastic fan deposits into other finer grained and mostly volcaniclastic basin deposits. After deposition of the 18.78 Ma Peach Spring Tuff, the amount of tuffaceous material decreased. The upper two-thirds of the formation has arkosic sandstone and conglomerate interstratified with two olivine basalt lave flows. locally, conglomerate clasts in this part of the section have maximum lengths up to 1 m. Many tuffaceous and arkosic sandstone beds of the Spanish Canyon Formation have tabular to broad (low-relief) lenticular geometry, and locally, some arkosic conglomerate fills channels as much as 1.5 m deep. These bedforms are consistent with deposition in medial to distal alluvial-fan or fluvial environments; some finer-grained deposits might have formed in lacustrine environments.

Atmospheric wet deposition of trace elements to a suburban environment, Reston, Virginia, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conko, Kathryn M.; Rice, Karen C.; Kennedy, Margaret M.

2004-01-01

Wet deposition from a suburban area in Reston, Virginia was collected during 1998 and analyzed to assess the anion and trace-element concentrations and depositions. Suburban Reston, approximately 26 km west of Washington, DC, is densely populated and heavily developed. Wet deposition was collected bi-weekly in an automated collector using trace-element clean sampling and analytical techniques. The annual volume-weighted concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb were similar to those previously reported for a remote site on Catoctin Mt., Maryland (70 km northwest), which indicated a regional signal for these elements. The concentrations and depositions of Cu and Zn at the suburban site were nearly double those at remote sites because of the influence of local vehicular traffic. The 1998 average annual wet deposition (μg m−2 yr−1) was calculated for Al (52,000), As (94), Cd (54), Cr (160), Cu (700), Fe (23,000), Mn (2000), Ni (240), Pb (440), V (430), and Zn (4100). The average annual wet deposition (meq m−2 yr−1) was calculated for H+ (74), Cl− (8.5), NO3− (33), and SO42− (70). Analysis of digested total trace-element concentrations in a subset of samples showed that the refractory elements in suburban precipitation comprised a larger portion of the total deposition of trace elements than in remote areas.

Environmental magnetism of intertrapean Deccan deposits: unravelling local paleoenvironmental during Phase 1 and 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Font, Eric; Adatte, Thierry; Ponte, Jorge; Fantasia, Alicia; Mirão, José; Samant, Bandana; Mohabey, Dhananjay; Florindo, Fabio

2014-05-01

The Deccan phase 2 is a crucial period caracterized by the rapid eruptions of huge volume of continental flood basalts correlated in age to the mass extinction of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary. However, local to global paleonvironmental changes during the Deccan Phase 2 are still baddly known. Here we provide new environmental magnetic data coupled to scanning electron microscopy of intertrapean deposits from the Deccan Volcanic Province (India) in order to unravel local paleoenvironmental conditions during periods of volcanic quiescence in the aftermath of the Deccan Phase 1 and Phase 2. Our results show that the magnetic mineralogy of these lacustrine and fluvial sediments is composed by several populations of iron oxides and sulphur, with a large range of grain size, probably resulting from different source of magnetic carriers (aeolian, detrital and bio-chemical). The number of magnetic phases identified using unmixing Isothermal Remanence Magnetic techniques is significantly higher (2 to 4) in the Podgavan section equivalent to Phase 2 than in the other studied sections, interpreted to result from higher weathering rates (acidity) by correlation with index of chemical alteration. Detailed scanning electron microscopy analysis of the Podgavan section reveal a complex mineralogy constituted by detrital magnetite, spherical and framboidal magnetite, microsphere of silicon, pyrrhotite, sylvite, manganese oxides and sporangiospores. A peculiar interval observed in the middle part of the Podgavan section, and corresponding to a thin interval of organic-rich clay capped by a thin oxidized level of reddish clays, show the presence of calcite needles and very fine hematite pigment. Hematite pigment are systematically associated to voids and form structures comparable to the blueberry hematite formed on mars. The abrupt transition from organic-rich levels (reducing conditions) to red hematitic clays (oxidation) suggests drastic and abrupt paleoenvironmental changes

Relationship between peat geochemistry and depositional environments, Cranberry Island, Maine

USGS Publications Warehouse

Raymond, R.; Cameron, C.C.; Cohen, A.D.

1987-01-01

The Heath, Great Cranberry Island, Maine, offers a unique locality for studying lateral and vertical relationships between radically different peat types within 1 km2. The majority of The Heath is a Sphagnum moss-dominated raised bog. Surrounding the raised bog is a swamp/marsh complex containing grass, sedge, Sphagnum moss, alder, tamarack, and skunk cabbage. Swamp/ marsh-deposited peat occurs both around the margins of The Heath and under Sphagnum-dominated peat, which was deposited within the raised bog. A third peat type, dominated by herbaceous aquatics, is present underlying the swamp/marsh-dominated peat but is not present as a dominant botanical community of The Heath. The three peat types have major differences in petrographic characteristics, ash contents, and associated minerals. Sulfur contents range from a low of 0.19 wt.% (dry) within the raised bog to a high of 4.44 wt% (dry) near the west end of The Heath, where swamp/marsh peat occurring directly behind a storm beach berm has been influenced by marine waters. The presence of major geochemical variations within a 1-km2 peat deposit suggests the need for in-depth characterization of potential peat resources prior to use. ?? 1987.

Terrestrial responses of low-latitude Asia to the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition revealed by integrated chronostratigraphy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y. X.; Jiao, W. J.; Liu, Z. H.; Jin, J. H.; Wang, D. H.; He, Y. X.; Quan, C.

2016-02-01

The Paleogene sedimentary records from southern China hold important clues to the impacts of the Cenozoic climate changes on low latitudes. However, although there are extensive Paleogene terrestrial archives and some contain abundant fossils in this region, few are accurately dated or have a temporal resolution adequate to decipher climate changes. Here, we present a detailed stratigraphic and paleomagnetic study of a fossiliferous late Paleogene succession in the Maoming Basin, Guangdong Province. The succession consists of oil shale of the Youganwo Formation (Fm) in the lower part and the overlying sandstone-dominated Huangniuling Fm in the upper part. Fossil records indicate that the age of the succession possibly spans the late Eocene to the Oligocene. Both the Youganwo Fm and the overlying Huangniuling Fm exhibit striking sedimentary rhythms, and spectral analysis of the depth series of magnetic susceptibility of the Youganwo Fm reveals dominant sedimentary cycles at orbital frequency bands. The transition from the Youganwo oil shale to the overlying Huangniuling sandstones is conformable and represents a major depositional environmental change from a lacustrine to a deltaic environment. Integrating the magnetostratigraphic, lithologic, and fossil data allows establishing a substantially refined chronostratigraphic framework that places the major depositional environmental change at 33.88 Ma, coinciding with the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition (EOT) at ˜ 33.7 to ˜ 33.9 Ma. We suggest that the transition from a lacustrine to deltaic environment in the Maoming Basin represents terrestrial responses to the EOT and indicates prevailing drying conditions in low-latitude regions during the global cooling at EOT.

Facies distribution, depositional environment, and petrophysical features of the Sharawra Formation, Old Qusaiba Village, Central Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbas, Muhammad Asif; Kaminski, Michael; Umran Dogan, A.

2016-04-01

moderate-scale transgressive episodes, while the thin shale interbeds in the middle and upper part of the Sharawra Formation represent small-scale transgressions. Overall, the Sharawra Formation contains a series of repetitive transgressive and regressive events and has been interpreted as a pro-deltaic deposit in previous studies. In the present study, the lowermost sandstone thickly bedded facies lie within the transition zone environment. The siltstone facies and the horizontally stratified facies show a middle shore face environment. The middle shore face environment is present locally. The bioturbation in the uppermost facies is indicative of the upper shore face environment. The porosity values do not vary much, as the average porosity for the sandstone facies is about 15%, for the siltstones it ranges about 7%. The permeability is variable throughout the formation, the values range from 50 to 300 md. Although sandstone has a good porosity and permeability, the siltstone facies exhibit poor petrophysical characteristics. In terms of reservoir characterization, the mineralogical mature, moderately well sorted top most sandstone facies, with appreciable porosity and permeability can be considered as a potential reservoir rock. This study has provided a base for future quantitative studies in this important formation in the area.

Distinct effects of Cr bulk doping and surface deposition on the chemical environment and electronic structure of the topological insulator Bi2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yilmaz, Turgut; Hines, William; Sun, Fu-Chang; Pletikosić, Ivo; Budnick, Joseph; Valla, Tonica; Sinkovic, Boris

2017-06-01

In this report, it is shown that Cr doped into the bulk and Cr deposited on the surface of Bi2Se3 films produced by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have strikingly different effects on both the electronic structure and chemical environment. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) shows that Cr doped into the bulk opens a surface state energy gap which can be seen at room temperature; much higher than the measured ferromagnetic transition temperature of ≈10 K. On the other hand, similar ARPES measurements show that the surface states remain gapless down to 15 K for films with Cr surface deposition. In addition, core-level photoemission spectroscopy of the Bi 5d, Se 3d, and Cr 3p core levels show distinct differences in the chemical environment for the two methods of Cr introduction. Surface deposition of Cr results in the formation of shoulders on the lower binding energy side for the Bi 5d peaks and two distinct Cr 3p peaks indicative of two Cr sites. These striking differences suggests an interesting possibility that better control of doping at only near surface region may offer a path to quantum anomalous Hall states at higher temperatures than reported in the literature.

Distinct effects of Cr bulk doping and surface deposition on the chemical environment and electronic structure of the topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yilmaz, Turgut; Hines, William; Sun, Fu-Chang

In this report, it is shown that Cr doped into the bulk and Cr deposited on the surface of Bi2Se3 films produced by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have strikingly different effects on both the electronic structure and chemical environment. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) shows that Cr doped into the bulk opens a surface state energy gap which can be seen at room temperature; much higher than the measured ferromagnetic transition temperature of ≈ 10 K. On the other hand, similar ARPES measurements show that the surface states remain gapless down to 15 K for films with Cr surface deposition.more » In addition, core-level photoemission spectroscopy of the Bi 5d, Se 3d, and Cr 3p core levels show distinct differences in the chemical environment for the two methods of Cr introduction. Surface deposition of Cr results in the formation of shoulders on the lower binding energy side for the Bi 5d peaks and two distinct Cr 3p peaks indicative of two Cr sites. These striking differences suggests an interesting possibility that better control of doping at only near surface region may offer a path to quantum anomalous Hall states at higher temperatures than reported in the literature.« less

Distinct effects of Cr bulk doping and surface deposition on the chemical environment and electronic structure of the topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3

DOE PAGES

Yilmaz, Turgut; Hines, William; Sun, Fu-Chang; ...

2017-02-21

In this report, it is shown that Cr doped into the bulk and Cr deposited on the surface of Bi2Se3 films produced by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have strikingly different effects on both the electronic structure and chemical environment. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) shows that Cr doped into the bulk opens a surface state energy gap which can be seen at room temperature; much higher than the measured ferromagnetic transition temperature of ≈ 10 K. On the other hand, similar ARPES measurements show that the surface states remain gapless down to 15 K for films with Cr surface deposition.more » In addition, core-level photoemission spectroscopy of the Bi 5d, Se 3d, and Cr 3p core levels show distinct differences in the chemical environment for the two methods of Cr introduction. Surface deposition of Cr results in the formation of shoulders on the lower binding energy side for the Bi 5d peaks and two distinct Cr 3p peaks indicative of two Cr sites. These striking differences suggests an interesting possibility that better control of doping at only near surface region may offer a path to quantum anomalous Hall states at higher temperatures than reported in the literature.« less

First Report of Microfaunal Remains from Lignitic Sequences of Bhavnagar Lignite Mine (khadsaliya Formation), Gujarat, India: Implication to Depositional Environments and Age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurya, A. S.

2016-12-01

FIRST REPORT OF MICROFAUNAL REMAINS FROM LIGNITIC SEQUENCES OF BHAVNAGAR LIGNITE MINE (KHADSALIYA FORMATION), GUJARAT, INDIA: IMPLICATION TO DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS AND AGEABHAYANAND SINGH MAURYA1*, SANJAY KUMAR VERMA1, PRAGYA PANDEY11Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee Moderately preserved fish otoliths, fish vertebra, bivalves, pteropods, ostracods and foraminifereral remains were recovered from the grey to greenish-grey clays of Khadsaliya Formation, Bhavnagar Lignite Mine (western India) and quantitatively analyzed to understand the depositional environment. The bio-facies assemblage is diverse and dominated by fauna Fishes, Bivalve, Pteropods and with rare occurrences of Ostracoda and Foraminifera. Fish fauna includes otoliths represented by Ambassidarum, Apogonidarum, Percoideorum and Gobiidarum vastani, out of which Gobiidarum vastani is possibly representing Ypresian (early Eocene). The Globanomalina ovalis a smaller planktic foraminifer is known to be a very short ranged species corresponds to Planktic Foranimiferal Zone 5 to 6 (P5-P6) i.e late Thanetian to early Yepresian. Presence of both fresh water (Lepisosteus, Osteoglossidae), fresh water (Cypridopsis) ostracods and shallow marine fauna (Enchodus, Egertonia and Stephanodus) of fish vertebra; (Cardita) bivalve, , marine water (Globanomalina, Eggrella, Pyrulinoides) foraminifer suggests that Bhavnagar lignite mine have an assemblage of admixed fauna and rocks of Khaldsiya formation at Bhavnagar Lignite mine deposited under marine transgressive-regressive cycles. Some of the microfauna from Bhavnagar lignite mine show close affinities with microfaunal assemblages of the Vastan lignite mine of Gujarat, India which is stated to be of Ypresian (early Eocene).

Quantification of Gaseous Elemental Mercury Dry Deposition to Environmental Surfaces using Mercury Stable Isotopes in a Controlled Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rutter, A. P.; Schauer, J. J.; Shafer, M. M.; Olson, M.; Robinson, M.; Vanderveer, P.; Creswell, J. E.; Parman, A.; Mallek, J.; Gorski, P.

2009-12-01

Andrew P. Rutter (1) * *, James J, Schauer (1,2) *, Martin M. Shafer(1,2), Michael R. Olson (1), Michael Robinson (1), Peter Vanderveer (3), Joel Creswell (1), Justin L. Mallek (1), Andrew M. Parman (1) (1) Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program, 660 N. Park St, Madison, WI 53705. (2) Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, 2601 Agriculture Drive, Madison, WI 53718. (3) Biotron, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2115 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706 * Correspond author(jjschauer@wisc.edu) * *Presenting author (aprutter@wisc.edu) Abstract Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) is the predominant component of atmospheric mercury outside of arctic depletion events, and locations where anthropogenic point sources are not influencing atmospheric concentrations. GEM constitutes greater than 99% of the mercury mass in most rural and remote locations. While dry and wet deposition of atmospheric mercury is thought to be dominated by oxidized mercury (a.k.a. reactive mercury), only small GEM uptake to environmental surfaces could impact the input of mercury to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Dry deposition and subsequent re-emission of gaseous elemental mercury is a pathway from the atmosphere that remains only partially understood from a mechanistic perspective. In order to properly model GEM dry deposition and re-emission an understanding of its dependence on irradiance, temperature, and relative humidity must be measured and parameterized for a broad spectrum of environmental surfaces colocated with surrogate deposition surfaces used to make field based dry deposition measurements. Measurements of isotopically enriched GEM dry deposition were made with a variety of environmental surfaces in a controlled environment room at the University of Wisconsin Biotron. The experimental set up allowed dry deposition components which are not easily separated in the field to be decoupled. We were able to isolate surface transfer processes from variabilities caused by

Geochemistry and depositional environments of Paleocene-Eocene phosphorites: Metlaoui Group, Tunisia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garnit, Hechmi; Bouhlel, Salah; Jarvis, Ian

2017-10-01

The Late Paleocene-Early Eocene phosphorites of the Metlaoui Group in Tunisia are a world-class phosphate resource. We review the characteristics of phosphorites deposited in three areas: the Northern Basins; Eastern Basins; and Gafsa-Metlaoui Basin. Comprehensive new bulk rock elemental data are presented, together with complementary mineralogical and mineral chemical results. Carbonate fluorapatite (francolite) constitutes the dominant mineral phase in the deposits. Phosphorite samples are enriched in Cd, Sr, U, rare-earth elements and Y, together with environmentally diagnostic trace elements that provide detrital (Cr, Zr), productivity (Cu, Ni, Zn) and redox (Mo, V) proxies. Suboxic bottom-water conditions predominated, with suboxic to anoxic porewaters accompanying francolite precipitation. Phosphorite deposition occurred under increasingly arid climate conditions, accompanying global Paleocene-Eocene warming. The Northern Basins show the strongest Tethys Ocean influence, with surface seawater rare-earth element signatures consistently developed in the phosphorites. Bed-scale compositional variation indicates relatively unstable environmental conditions and episodes of sediment redeposition, with varying detrital supply and a relatively wet local climate. Glauconitic facies in the Northern Basins and the more isolated evaporite-associated phosphorites in the dryer Eastern Basins display the greatest diagenetic influences. The phosphorite - organic-rich marl - diatom-bearing porcelanite facies association in the Gafsa-Metlaoui Basin represents the classic coastal upwelling trinity. Modified Tethyan waters occurred within the Basin during phosphorite deposition, with decreasing marine productivity from NW to SE evidenced by systematically falling enrichment factors for Cu, Ni, Cd and Zn in the phosphorites. Productivity declined in concert with increasing basin isolation during the deposition of the commercial phosphorite beds in the latest Paleocene to earliest

A nomogram for interpreting slope stability of fine-grained deposits in modern and ancient-marine environments.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Booth, J.S.; Sangrey, D.A.; Fugate, J.K.

1985-01-01

This nomogram was designed to aid in interpreting the causes of mass movement in modern and ancient settings, to provide a basis for evaluating and predicting slope stability under given conditions and to further the understanding of the relationships among the several key factors that control slope stability. Design of the nomogram is based on effective stress and combines consolidation theory as applicable to depositional environments with the infinite-slope model of slope-stability analysis. If infinite-slope conditions are assumed to exist, the effective overburden stress can be used to derive a factor of safety against static slope failure by using the angle of internal friction and the slope angle. -from Authors

Sedimentology and paleoecology of an Eocene Oligocene alluvial lacustrine arid system, Southern Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beraldi-Campesi, Hugo; Cevallos-Ferriz, Sergio R. S.; Centeno-García, Elena; Arenas-Abad, Concepción; Fernández, Luis Pedro

2006-10-01

A depositional model of the Eocene-Oligocene Coatzingo Formation in Tepexi de Rodríguez (Puebla, Mexico) is proposed, based on facies analysis of one of the best-preserved sections, the Axamilpa Section. The sedimentary evolution is interpreted as the retrogradation of an alluvial system, followed by the progressive expansion of an alkaline lake system, with deltaic, palustrine, and evaporitic environments. The analysis suggests a change towards more arid conditions with time. Fossils from this region, such as fossil tracks of artiodactyls, aquatic birds and cat-like mammals, suggest that these animals traversed the area, ostracods populated the lake waters, and plants grew on incipient soils and riparian environments many times throughout the history of the basin. The inferred habitat for some fossil plants coincides with the sedimentological interpretation of an arid to semiarid climate for that epoch. This combined sedimentological-paleontological study of the Axamilpa Section provides an environmental context in which fossils can be placed and brings into attention important biotic episodes, like bird and camelid migrations or the origin of endemic but extinct plants in this area.

Reconstruction of the Palaeo-environment of the Alluvial Deposits in the Eastern Free State, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, M. Y.

2009-04-01

Small alluvial fan systems have formed off the hillslopes of the remnant Karoo koppies at Heelbo in the Eastern Free State, South Africa. The landform geometry is a result of complex relationships between climate, lithology, structure and vegetation. This research area, which includes a large mammal mass death site, potentially contains a wealth of palaeo-environmental and specifically palaeoclimatic information. Palaeo-environmental information and proxy records on past climates in southern Africa has traditionally been obtained from a variety of techniques including stable isotope analysis of speleothems, pollen , faunal analyses at archeological sites, animal remains and crater-lake sediments (see references below). However, little information exists in the scientific literature on the use of palaeosols for defining the depositional palaeoenvironments in southern Africa. The aim of this research is to attempt to address the lack of palaeo-environmental information by extracting palaeoclimatic information from the sedimentary processes and the palaeosols at the Heelbo farm that have been extensively exposed through gullying. The sedimentary fans in the area have experienced climatically controlled histories of erosion, sedimentation and pedogenesis. Extreme sedimentation is assumed to have occurred during relatively arid climatic intervals, when decreased vegetation cover provided little surface protection. In contrast pedogenesis occurs during humid intervals when vegetation cover is restored, the land stabilizes and the uppermost gravely sands weather to form soils. A combined approach of both radiocarbon- and luminescence -dating may provide a detailed chronology of these successive hillslope events in order to relate hillslope instability to climatic forcing factors. Preliminary results indicate that at least 3 depositional events are recorded within the large mammal mass death site, which have been confirmed by the radiocarbon dates of 3,610 ±110 in the top

Recently Deglaciated High-Altitude Soils of the Himalaya: Diverse Environments, Heterogenous Bacterial Communities and Long-Range Dust Inputs from the Upper Troposphere

PubMed Central

Stres, Blaz; Sul, Woo Jun; Murovec, Bostjan; Tiedje, James M.

2013-01-01

Background The Himalaya with its altitude and geographical position forms a barrier to atmospheric transport, which produces much aqueous-particle monsoon precipitation and makes it the largest continuous ice-covered area outside polar regions. There is a paucity of data on high-altitude microbial communities, their native environments and responses to environmental-spatial variables relative to seasonal and deglaciation events. Methodology/Principal Findings Soils were sampled along altitude transects from 5000 m to 6000 m to determine environmental, spatial and seasonal factors structuring bacterial communities characterized by 16 S rRNA gene deep sequencing. Dust traps and fresh-snow samples were used to assess dust abundance and viability, community structure and abundance of dust associated microbial communities. Significantly different habitats among the altitude-transect samples corresponded to both phylogenetically distant and closely-related communities at distances as short as 50 m showing high community spatial divergence. High within-group variability that was related to an order of magnitude higher dust deposition obscured seasonal and temporal rearrangements in microbial communities. Although dust particle and associated cell deposition rates were highly correlated, seasonal dust communities of bacteria were distinct and differed significantly from recipient soil communities. Analysis of closest relatives to dust OTUs, HYSPLIT back-calculation of airmass trajectories and small dust particle size (4–12 µm) suggested that the deposited dust and microbes came from distant continental, lacustrine and marine sources, e.g. Sahara, India, Caspian Sea and Tibetan plateau. Cyanobacteria represented less than 0.5% of microbial communities suggesting that the microbial communities benefitted from (co)deposited carbon which was reflected in the psychrotolerant nature of dust-particle associated bacteria. Conclusions/Significance The spatial, environmental and

A deposit model for Mississippi Valley-Type lead-zinc ores: Chapter A in Mineral deposit models for resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leach, David L.; Taylor, Ryan D.; Fey, David L.; Diehl, Sharon F.; Saltus, Richard W.

2010-01-01

This report also describes the geoenvironmental characteristic of MVT deposits. The response of MVT ores in the supergene environment is buffered by their placement in carbonate host rocks which commonly results in near-neutral associated drainage water. The geoenvironmental features and anthropogenic mining effects presented in this report illustrates this important environmental aspect of MVT deposits which separates them from other deposit types (especially coal, VHMS, Cu-porphyry, SEDEX, acid-sulfate polymetallic vein).

Depositional environments, sequence stratigraphy, and trap configuration of lower Wolfcampian clastics along eastern edge of Midland basin, west Texas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stewart, N.R.; Reuter, S.G.

1989-03-01

The Lower Permian (lower Wolfcampian) along the eastern edge of the Midland basin, west Texas, is characterized by ramp-type shelf margins. During eustatic lowstand, nearshore sedimentation shifted drastically to the west into a basinal setting below the Pennsylvanian (Canyon) shelf margin. Core descriptions demonstrate that lowstand systems tract (LST) and transgressive systems tract (TST) siliciclastics were deposited in deltaic and coastal-plain environments. Prodelta, delta-front, and stream-mouth bar facies are associated with the LST. Coastal-plain and distributary channels are preserved in the TST. The sequence stratigraphic framework indicates type 1 sequence boundaries at 287 Ma, 282 Ma, and 280 Ma inmore » the lower Wolfcampian clastics. This lower Wolfcampian package of sedimentary rocks overlies the Pennsylvanian and is capped by the 279-Ma middle Wolfcampian unconformity. All three sequence boundaries and associated systems tract deposits exhibit a prograding stacking pattern within the sequence stratigraphic framework. Basinally restricted prograding LST deltaic rocks are overlain by backstepping TST deltaics and highstand systems tract (HST) outer marine shales. Production in lower Wolfcampian clastic fields is associated with fine-grained quartzarenites up to 45 ft thick which were deposited in stream-mouth bars. Delta-front and prodelta low-permeability shales encase the reservoir facies, forming lateral permeability barriers. HST outer marine shales deposited over the stream-mouth-bar sandstones act as a top seal, creating a stratigraphic trap and providing source for the high-BTU gas and oil produced from these basinally restricted LST deltaics.« less

Copper Deposits in Sedimentary and Volcanogenic Rocks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tourtelot, Elizabeth B.; Vine, James David

1976-01-01

Copper deposits occur in sedimentary and volcanogenic rocks within a wide variety of geologic environments where there may be little or no evidence of hydrothermal alteration. Some deposits may be hypogene and have a deep-seated source for the ore fluids, but because of rapid cooling and dilution during syngenetic deposition on the ocean floor, the resulting deposits are not associated with hydrothermal alteration. Many of these deposits are formed at or near major tectonic features on the Earth's crust, including plate boundaries, rift valleys, and island arcs. The resulting ore bodies may be stratabound and either massive or disseminated. Other deposits form in rocks deposited in shallow-marine, deltaic, and nonmarine environments by the movement and reaction of interstratal brines whose metal content is derived from buried sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Some of the world's largest copper deposits were probably formed in this manner. This process we regard as diagenetic, but some would regard it as syngenetic, if the ore metals are derived from disseminated metal in the host-rock sequence, and others would regard the process as epigenetic, if there is demonstrable evidence of ore cutting across bedding. Because the oxidation associated with diagenetic red beds releases copper to ground-water solutions, red rocks and copper deposits are commonly associated. However, the ultimate size, shape, and mineral zoning of a deposit result from local conditions at the site of deposition - a logjam in fluvial channel sandstone may result in an irregular tabular body of limited size; a petroleum-water interface in an oil pool may result in a copper deposit limited by the size and shape of the petroleum reservoir; a persistent thin bed of black shale may result in a copper deposit the size and shape of that single bed. The process of supergene enrichment has been largely overlooked in descriptions of copper deposits in sedimentary rocks. However, supergene processes may be

Neogene vegetation and past climate change in the Thakkhola-Mustang Graben (central Nepal).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)