Environmental implications of oncoids and associated sediments from the Remoredo Formation (Lower Jurassic) Mendoza, Argentina

Lower Jurassic deposits of the middle member (19 m) of the Remoredo Formation at Arroyo Montañesito, southwestern Mendoza Province (Neuquén Basin, Argentina), and its oncoids are described. Four lithofacies constitute the lacustrine deposits of the Remoredo Formation: (1) laminated green to gray calcareous shales; (2) laminated to massive dark gray mudstones; (3) massive to upward-coarsening dark gray oncolite wackestones; and (4) massive dark gray packstones with abundant macro-oncolites. According to layer configuration, two types of oncoids were recognized: (a) those having distinctly banded, well defined concentric and continuous lamination (Type I); and (b) those having a vertical arrangement of irregular and discontinuous laminae (Type I³–I). The continuous micritic laminations suggest growth during agitated conditions, and the discontinuous laminations reflect short periods of non agitation or tranquility in the water mass. The oncolites are associated with a well preserved faunal assemblage of ostracods (Darwinula sp. and possible members of the Subfamily Iliocypridinae) and some fragments of bivalves that are indicative of shallow water conditions. The facies association is a coarsening-upward sequence interpreted as the product of deposition in a shallow nearshore lacustrine environment, and a progressive infilling by pyroclastic subaereal flows.     

Palaeoenvironmental analysis of Early Pleistocene brackish marshes in the Rieti and Tiberino intrapenninic basins (Latium and Umbria, Italy) using ostracods (Crustacea)

Recent palaeontological and sedimentological studies on the Upper Pliocene–Lower Pleistocene continental deposits of the Rieti and Tiberino basins (Latium and Umbria, Italy) showed the existence of brackish marshes influenced by the Early Pleistocene Tyrrhenian sea. The micropaleontological analyses carried out on five sections cropping out in the northern sector of the Rieti Basin and on one section cropping out in the southwestern branch of the Tiberino Basin showed the repeated alternance of two ostracod assemblages. The first is characterized by a very abundant ostracod association dominated by Cyprideis torosa, typical of brackish waters; the second one is less rich in specimens and dominated by several species of freshwater Candoninae. This alternance allowed the recognition of several changes in the water salinity that could be related to many Early Pleistocene sea-level changes. Palaeosalinities were estimated for both the Tiberino and the Rieti Basin using the morphological analysis of the shell of Cyprideis torosa (ornamentation, nodosities and percentages of sieve-type pore canals). The obtained palaeosalinity values, ranging from freshwater to oligohaline, show slightly higher salinities for the Tiberino Basin, located nearer the ancient coastline, than for the Rieti Basin.     

Severe drought in the early Holocene (10,000–6800 BP) interpreted from lake sediment cores, southwestern Alberta, Canada

Six lake sediment vibracores from the foothills and mountain valleys of southwestern Alberta were analysed on the basis of AMS radiocarbon dates, tephrochronology and sediment geochemistry. From these results, the magnitude, timing and duration of the early Holocene warm period are presented. At about 10,000 BP, immediately following the Younger Dryas cold period, climate warmed dramatically, precipitation decreased and surface evaporation increased. Previous research has identified this warm interval, but new results have improved resolution of regional scale effects, specific timing and severity. Sedimentation changed from extra-basinal clastic to intra-basinal organic between 10,000 and 9400 BP. Changes in subalpine lakes from sand/silt deposition to biogenic carbonate precipitation suggest decreases in suspended sediment load caused by complete ablation of glacial sediment sources. Peat which formed in lakes of less than 4 m (present depth) indicates climate-induced lake level lowering in the foothills. Water depth and stratigraphic position of the peat suggest that regional water table levels decreased by up to 6.5 m. At Cartwright Lake, an erosional unconformity 6.5 m below the modern lake surface indicates the lake had completely dried out either during or immediately after Mazama tephra time (6800 BP).     

Quantifying denudation and sediment–accumulation systems (open and closed lakes): basic concepts and first results

The quantitative aspects of denudation in the drainage areas and sediment accumulation in the corresponding closed or open lakes are approached using two methods: (1) from known mean rates of mechanical and chemical denudation and the ratio of the drainage/lake area, average terrigenous and potential chemical (biogenic and evaporites) sedimentation rates in the lake are determined; or (2) from known sedimentation rates the average denudation rate is found. In closed systems the total mass denuded during a certain unit of time is deposited in the lake as terrigenous, biogenic and evaporitic sediments, whereas open lake systems lose a major part of the dissolved river input derived from chemical denudation. Applying elementary equations describing these relationships and using ratios between mechanical and chemical denudation (weathering ratio) established in other regions, e.g. chemical weathering in the lake drainage can be estimated. Likewise, the knowledge of the ‘bio-index' (ratio of biogenic sediment/total dissolved mass) allows the calculation of the loss of dissolved matter through the outflow from the lake, etc. In a first step, existing data from modern lake systems are evaluated. Later, idealized lake systems in various climatic and morphotectonic zones can be simulated and the results utilized to better understand ancient lake systems. Modern Alpine lakes reflect increased mechanical denudation rates (100 to ≥300 mm/ka) in highly elevated drainage areas of the Central Alps (mainly crystalline rocks) and high chemical denudation (up to ca. 100 mm/ka) in carbonate rocks of the Northern Calcareous Alps. Mechanical denudation is significantly enhanced by glaciation, but transport of the detritus into lakes may be delayed until the time immediately after glacial retreat. Average rates of terrigenous lake sedimentation amount to 5 to ≥15 mm/a (crystalline rocks, high relief), or are ≤5 mm/a (carbonate rocks). Delta outbuilding was a main factor in the filling of many Alpine lakes. Lakes draining low-altitude, semi-arid parts along the eastern margin of the Alps (Lake Balaton in Hungary) have low sedimentation rates and reflect the influence of increased temperature and vegetation. In East Africa, the transition from the Late Pleistocene (arid) to the early Holocene (humid) and again back to somewhat drier conditions caused substantial rises in lake levels and changes from closed to open lake systems. In such cases, the calculation of denudation from accumulation rates is biassed as a result of intermittent sediment storage at the lake margins (low sedimentation rates in the lake centre during lake highstands) or redeposition of sediment during lowstands (lowstand shedding). The modern denudation rates of East African rift lake systems vary by a factor of ≥15 (Lake Tanganyika, crystalline rocks and more dense vegetation cover, total denudation rate ca. 4 mm/ka; Lake Turkana, young volcanic rocks and tephra, sparse vegetation, mechanical denudation rate ca. 60 mm/ka).     

The use of the microalga Botryococcus in the interpretation of lacustrine environments at the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition in Sweden

Ultrastructural studies of developmental stages, shapes and size of fossil microalgal Botryococcus colonies, found in the Vitabäck clays at Eriksdal in southern Sweden, have been carried out. The results of this study, by analogy with the modern alga, suggest that for these lacustrine environments short limited periods of stable, uniform climatic conditions were interspersed with longer periods of seasonal climatic changes during the deposition of the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition sediments in Sweden.     

Comparative sequence stratigraphy of low-latitude versus high-latitude lacustrine rift basins: seismic data examples from the East African and Baikal rifts

Lakes Baikal, Malawi and Tanganyika are the world's three largest rift valley lakes and are the classic modern examples of lacustrine rift basins. All the rift lakes are segmented into half-graben basins, and seismic reflection datasets reveal how this segmentation controls the filling of the rift basins through time. In the early stages of rifting, basins are fed primarily by flexural margin and axial margin drainage systems. At the climax of syn-rift sedimentation, however, when the basins are deeply subsided, almost all the margins are walled off by rift shoulder uplifts, and sediment flux into the basins is concentrated at accommodation zone and axial margin river deltas. Flexural margin unconformities are commonplace in the tropical lakes but less so in high-latitude Lake Baikal. Lake levels are extremely dynamic in the tropical lakes and in low-latitude systems in general because of the predominance of evaporation in the hydrologic cycle in those systems. Evaporation is minimized in relation to inflow in the high-latitude Lake Baikal and in most high-latitude systems, and consequently, major sequence boundaries tend to be tectonically controlled in that type of system. The acoustic stratigraphies of the tropical lakes are dominated by high-frequency and high-amplitude lake level shifts, whereas in high-latitude Lake Baikal, stratigraphic cycles are dominated by tectonism and sediment-supply variations.     

Laminated Eocene maar-lake sediments from Eckfeld (Eifel region, Germany) and their short-term periodicities

The Eocene age Eckfeld/Eifel maar lake is interesting both because of the excellently preserved fossil remains and also for the laminated sediment sequence deposited under subtropical conditions. The latitude, however, has a higher seasonal insolation difference than comparable recent environments due to the northward shift of climatic zones during the Eocene. The overall aim of this investigation was to compare sediment types and lake development of a Tertiary (subtropical) maar lake with recent maar lakes, to discuss the origin of laminations, and search for their possible periodicities. The main sediment types, which were exposed during recent paleontological excavations, are laminated oilshales, partly laminated bituminous siltstones, and graded beds (mostly turbidites), which sometimes include laminated clay tops. Some deeper parts of the profile drilled in 1980, are dominated by diatomaceous laminites. The amount of organic carbon (around 8.5%) is comparable with recent lakes with low sedimentation rates. The high C/N ratios (25–30) of the Eckfeld sediments, as well as the fact that the highest C_org values are found in the graded beds, shows the importance of terrestrial plant debris for these lake sediments. Lamination of the oil shales was caused by the complex interrelationship of clastic supply (mineral and plant detritus), autochthonous organic deposition (mainly green algae), and early diagenetic siderite formation. The darker sublaminae represent the coarser clastic (organic and inorganic) input together with the autochthonous supply from the lake (green algae), whereas the lighter sublaminae are composed of settled fine-grained, mostly siliciclastic detritus derived from the probable yearly turnover of the density stratification of the lake. The thickness of the fine siliciclastic and organo-clastic layers, the morphology and palaeogeographical situation of the maar lake, and the occurrence of algal layers, strongly suggest that the laminated sediments are varves (although there is no definitive proof of this). Thickness variations from ca. 700 oil shale laminae were measured and computed. Time series analysis yielded at least one certain period of 5.5 yr, accepting that the laminae are indeed varves. The duration of the laminated lake sequence from Eckfeld maar, as deduced from sedimentation rates of the different sediment types is ca. 82,000 yr and, thus, within the typical life time of other small maar lakes.     

Monitoring detrital input and resuspension effects on sediment trap material using mineralogy and stable isotopes (δO and δC): the case of Lake Neuchâtel (Switzerland)

Isotopic analyses on bulk carbonates are considered a useful tool for palaeoclimatic reconstruction assuming calcite precipitation occurring at oxygen isotope equilibrium with local water and detrital carbonate input being absent or insignificant. We present results from Lake Neuchâtel (western Switzerland) that demonstrate equilibrium precipitation of calcite, except during high productivity periods, and the presence of detrital and resuspended calcite. Mineralogy, geochemistry and stable isotope values of Lake Neuchâtel trap sediments and adjacent rivers suspension were studied. Mineralogy of suspended matter in the major inflowing rivers documents an important contribution of detrital carbonates, predominantly calcite with minor amounts of dolomite and ankerite. Using mineralogical data, the quantity of allochthonous calcite can be estimated by comparing the ratio ankerite + dolomite/calcite + ankerite + dolomite in the inflowing rivers and in the traps. Material taken from sediment traps shows an evolution from practically pure endogenic calcite in summer (10–20% detrital material) to higher percentages of detrital material in winter (up to 20–40%). Reflecting these mineralogical variations, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of calcite from sediment traps are more negative in summer than in winter times. Since no significant variations in isotopic composition of lake water were detected over one year, factors controlling oxygen isotopic composition of calcite in sediment traps are the precipitation temperature, and the percentage of resuspended and detrital calcite. Samples taken close to the river inflow generally have higher δ values than the others, confirming detrital influence. SEM and isotopic studies on different size fractions (<2, 2–6, 6–20, 20–60, >60 μm) of winter and summer samples allowed the recognition of resuspension and to separate new endogenic calcite from detrital calcite. Fractions>60 and <2 μm have the highest percentage of detritus. Fractions 2–6 and 6–20 μm are typical for the new endogenic calcite in summer, as given by calculations assuming isotopic equilibrium with local water. In winter such fractions show similar values than in summer, indicating resuspension. Using the isotopic composition of sediment traps material and of different size fractions, as well as the isotopic composition of lake water, the water temperature measurements and mineralogy, we re-evaluated the bulk carbonate potential for palaeoclimatic reconstruction in the presence of detrital and re-suspended calcite. This re-evaluation leads to the following conclusion: (1) the endogenic signal can be amplified by applying a particle-size separation, once the size of endogenic calcite is known from SEM study; (2) resuspended calcite does not alter the endogenic signal, but it lowers the time resolution; (3) detrital input decreases at increasing distances from the source, and it modifies the isotopic signal only when very abundant; (4) influence of detrital calcite on bulk sediment isotopic composition can be calculated.     

Late glacial and early Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes in Geneva Bay (Lake Geneva, Switzerland)

Detailed interdisciplinary investigations demonstrate that Geneva Bay (Lake Geneva) sediments clearly record important palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes occurred during the Late glacial and early Holocene. Sediments are in fact differentiated by changes in texture, mineralogical and geochemical composition. Distal turbidite and glacial rhythmite deposition associated with wind-transported sediment supply dominate during the Oldest Dryas. These were replaced during the Allerød by detrital settling of sediment from turbid water and by endogenic calcite precipitation. The Younger Dryas climate reversal (for the first time in Lake Geneva well documented by a pollen record) was characterized by an increase in detrital supply owing to increased run-off from the bay slopes surrounding and within the catchment area, caused by thinning of vegetation cover. A brief pause in endogenic precipitation related to decreased productivity also occurs at this time. Endogenic carbonate sedimentation abruptly resumed at the start of the Preboreal biozone in response to the rapid global climatic warming. In the middle Preboreal, renewed detrital sedimentation is interpreted as the sedimentological response to increased erosion in high-altitude regions of the catchment area, caused by a minor early Holocene cooling phase (Preboreal oscillation), and interrupts the trend towards increasing endogenic calcite precipitation. Favourable limnic conditions are reached during the late Preboreal, when diatom–calcite rhythmites begin to form. Stable isotope analysis (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C) in bulk carbonate highlight the transition from clastic-dominated to endogenic-dominated sedimentation. Endogenic calcite deposition continues during the Boreal biozone, occasionally interrupted by local high-energy sedimentary processes (wave-induced erosion and reworking of littoral deposits) enhanced by progressive lake-level lowering. During the Older Atlantic biozone, sedimentation was mainly dominated by low-energy deposition, creating enhanced conditions for the development of benthic fauna. We will discuss the factors that make Geneva Bay an important site for recording the Late glacial–Holocene climate and environmental changes. The comparison with other Swiss Plateau lacustrine systems allowed us to emphasize the role played by the particular geographical and morphological setting of the site investigated and links with climate-sensitive regions in the catchment area.     

Evidence for Late Glacial and Holocene environmental changes from subfossil assemblages in sediments of Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Ostracod and diatom assemblages, mollusc remains, plus pollen and sediment stratigraphy from three cores taken at sites 40, 80 and 135 m deep in Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, show distinct changes since deglaciation. Shifts are interpreted in terms both of climatic change and major changes in the catchment input caused by the Aar River entering or bypassing Lake Neuchâtel. Three palaeoenvironmental phases are recognized: (1) the Late Glacial, with the inflow of the river before 10,000 yr B.P.; (2) the early to mid-Holocene, with temporary bypassing of the river between 10,000 and 4850 yr B.P.; and (3) the mid- to late Holocene, without river input after approx. 4850 yr B.P. During periods with river input, rhythmites were deposited. Ostracods indicate a well oxygenated hypolimnion, suggesting deep ventilation enhanced by the river inflow. The diatom assemblage indicates eutrophic to mesotrophic conditions and is dominated by generally well preserved periphytic species. The high number of unidentifiable pollen suggests oxidation during transport in the river. During periods without river input, a massive calcareous silt with abundant authigenic calcite was deposited, diatoms indicate a change to mesotrophic and oligotrophic conditions, and decreased sedimentation rates and higher alkalinity enhanced the dissolution of diatoms. Terrestrial and littoral molluscs as well as periphytic diatoms indicate erosion of the shore when the lake level rose or fell with onset or offset of the river inflow. Before 12,600 yr B.P., the patchy vegetation cover led to intensive soil erosion and high sedimentation rates. The lake was still frozen during the winter months. After approx. 12,600 yr B.P. the sediment changed from clastic rhythmites to thinly bedded, non-glacial rhythmites, the vegetation cover became denser, the abundance of ostracods increased, and molluscs started to colonize the profundal zone of the lake. The Younger Dryas (approx. 10,700–10,000 yr B.P.) displays maximum abundance of ostracods, indicating deep ventilation. The transition to the Holocene is characterized by a change in the ostracod assemblage and the river bypassed the lake between approximately 10,000 and 8900 yr B.P. When the river reentered the lake after approximately 8900 yr B.P., a new ostracod species appeared. After two short periods of river bypassing between approximately 7200 and 6950 yr B.P., diatoms indicate a higher trophic level about 6000–5000 yr B.P. associated with higher erosion rates and increased nutrient input due to Neolithic agricultural activities. After approximately 4850 yr B.P. the river bypassed the lake again and the trophic level decreased. In contrast to the early to mid-Holocene periods of decreased oxygen supply, the mid- to late Holocene is characterized by deep ventilation. This is attributed to the northward retreat of the polarfront and enhanced westerlies consequent to decreased insolation after 6000 yr B.P. The change of the river flow pattern correlates with glacier oscillations and may suggest a climatic control. The final cessation of the inflow is attributed to diversion of the river consequent to isostatic uplift and late Neolithic clearance activity.     

The upper Quaternary sedimentary sequence at the Rieti Basin (central Italy): a record of sedimentation response to climatic changes

Lithostratigraphy, chronology and depositional environments of sixteen Holocene alluvial fill sediment cores from the southern part of the Conca of Rieti (central Italy) was established by sedimentological, palaeontological and ¹⁴C analyses. The study area experienced a lacustrine (or palustrine) conditions and the water level was effectively controlled by a natural damming of the valley due to intermitted travertine deposition at Le Marmore site. Apart from cores S10, S13, S14 and S8 which, at their bottom, cored sediments referable to ?Upper Pliocene and Middle Pleistocene which are not the object of this paper, as a rule the drilled sediments can be referred, bottom to top, to the following four episodes: interval a, corresponding to freshwater lacustrine/palustrine environment affected by alluvial fan progradations from the edges of the valley and active by ?Middle/?Late Pleistocene to early Holocene; in this interval, several hiatuses are supposed but are not evidenced by the bad state of preservation of the sediment cores; interval b, from 361 to 371–376 m a.s.l., recording a decrease of the water level, bracketed between the ¹⁴C ages of 6000 and 2700 yr B.P., which produced the formation of distinct shallow ponds/bogs, rich in aquatic vegetation; interval c, from 381 to 384 m a.s.l., indicating a further rise of the water level, recorded by sediments containing abundant molluscs and ostracods; interval d, the upper part of the cores, records an almost continuous drying up the area as shown by abundant hydrophilic land molluscs; and interval e, the top of all sediment cores, representing the present-day soil. It has been found that the water level fluctuations occurring in the ancient Conca are chronologically consistent with the postglacial climate pattern. It is further noticed that the episodes of water highstand correspond to the Boreal–Atlantic and Subatlantic climatic ameliorations, respectively, and that the water level dropped during the global cooling episodes recurred from ca. 6000 to 2100 yr B.P. The resulting palaeoenvironmental history agrees with that previously reported for the northern reach of the Conca of Rieti, thus suggesting a common setting for the whole area.     

Palaeolimnological investigations in Poland based on Cladocera (Crustacea)

The results of subfossil Cladocera analysis obtained from deposits of 26 lakes throughout Poland have been presented. For years throughout Poland a broad range of palaeolimnological studies have been conducted. Their aim is to discover the historical development of water basins and climatic changes in the course of the last 13,000 years and also to investigate the gradual influence of man on the ecosystem with particular emphasis on the last few decades. The hitherto obtained results of palaeolimnological studies, including the results of Cladocera analysis, have yielded information about the development of lakes and provided the basis for plans of certain reservoirs and their basins. Over the past years, analysis of subfossil Cladocera has become one of the leading palaeolimnological methods. The results of detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of Cladocera remains from sediments of 15 lakes allowed for a reconstruction of the lakes' development. The littoral and limnetic regions, changing trophy, from oligotrophy to advanced eutrophication, changes in pH and fluctuation of water levels, as well as changes resulting from settlement — from Mesolithic and Neolithic through Medieval times until the present — have been reconstructed. For individual lakes, phases of Cladocera development and periods of eutrophication were indicated which partially correlated with certain pollen zones as well as periods of human impact and geochemical effects.     

A Late Triassic lake system in East Greenland: facies, depositional cycles and palaeoclimate

The Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of the Jameson Land Basin in East Greenland contains a well-exposed succession, 200–300 m thick, of lake deposits. The Malmros Klint Member, 100–130 m thick, is composed of cyclically bedded intraformational conglomerates, red siltstones and fine-grained sandstones and disrupted dolomitic sediments (paleosols). The cyclicity is composite with cycles having mean thicknesses of (25), 5.9 and 1.6 m. The overlying Carlsberg Fjord beds of the Ørsted Dal Member, 80–115 m thick, are composed of structureless red mudstones rhythmically broken by thin greyish siltstones. This unit also has a composite cyclicity with cycles having mean thicknesses of 5.0 and 1.0 m. The uppermost Tait Bjerg Beds of the Ørsted Dal Member, 50–65 m thick, can be divided into two units. A lower unit is composed of cyclically bedded intraformational conglomerates or thin sandstones, red mudstones, greenish mudstones and yellowish marlstones. An upper unit is composed of relatively simple cycles of grey mudstones and yellowish marlstones. Recognized cycles have mean thicknesses of 5.6 and 1.6 m. The lake deposits contain evidence of seasonal, orbital and long-term climatic change. Seasonal change is documented by numerous desiccation surfaces especially in the Malmros Klint Member and Carlsberg Fjord beds, orbital change is suggested by the composite cyclicity, and long-term climatic change is indicated by the systematic upwards change in sedimentary characteristics of the lake deposits. The sedimentary features of the Malmros Klint Member suggest lacustrine deposition in a dry climate that fluctuated between desert and steppe conditions, the Carlsberg Fjord beds probably record lacustrine lake deposition in a rather constant dry (steppe) climate, while the Tait Bjerg Beds record lake sedimentation in a climate that fluctuated between dry (steppe) and warm moist temperate. In the Tait Bjerg Beds the upward change in cycle characteristics indicates a shift towards more humid conditions. Climatic deductions from sedimentary facies are in good agreement with climate maps of Laurasia, as simulated by numerical climate models. Palaeomagnetic data indicate a northward drift of East Greenland of about 10° from ca. 25°N to ca. 35°N in the Middle to Late Triassic. The Fleming Fjord Formation which represents ca. 5 m.y. of the Late Triassic interval was deposited during latitudinal drift of 1–2°. It is possible that the observed long-term upward shift in climatic indicators within the formation can be ascribed to plate drift, but southward shift of climatic belts could also have been of importance.     

The laminated sediments of Loch Ness, Scotland: Preliminary report on the construction of a chronology of sedimentation and its potential use in assessing Holocene climatic variability

Two sediment cores, ca. 6 m long, have been recovered from the north basin of Loch Ness, Scotland. Each consists of ca. 4.5 m of laminated gyttja, terminating in a basal grey, unlaminated clay. A suite of three ¹⁴C AMS dates have been obtained, and place the base of the gyttja at ca. 9500 yr B.P. Investigations into the structure, composition and formation of the laminae are in progress. Analysis by Backscatter Scanning Electron Microscopy (BSEM) has demonstrated that they consist of couplets comprising dark, clay-rich sediments thought to be deposited from spring to autumn, and pale, silt-rich layers believed to represent sedimentation through winter. The laminae are thus thought to record incidence and intensity of streamflow into the Loch over the past nine millennia, and thus illustrate environmental change over the region for most of the Holocene. X-ray densitometry has been utilised in order to count the laminations and test the hypothesis that they are varves. It has, however, proved difficult to obtain a continuous sequence of countable laminations, although it has been possible to construct a fragmented, floating chronology which indicates that the hypothesis may be correct. Examination of lamination thickness reveals that although the average rate of sedimentation throughout the time periods studied seems to have remained fairly constant, significant variations have occurred. As Loch Ness is located on the northwest oceanic fringe of Europe, any climatic signal which the laminations contain will be closely related to even larger scale events over and within the North Atlantic Ocean, which is a major controller of global climate. Preliminary statistical investigation of sequences of laminae is being carried out in order to search for periodicity of sedimentation which may then be related to appropriate climatic indices.     

Magnetostratigraphy and sedimentologically derived geochronology of the Quaternary lacustrine deposits of a 3000 m thick sequence in the central Qaidam basin, western China

The Qaidam basin is a large basin in western China where the thickness of Quaternary deposits has a range of 2000–3000 m at its subsiding depocentre. This study investigated the chronology of the Quaternary deposits, including palaeomagnetics, biostratigraphic correlation, rates of sediment accumulation, seismic reflection surveys and electrical property correlations. The results give a full interpretation of ages for the sequence from bottom to top. The oldest sequence age was defined by the first appearance of Microlimnocythere sinensis Huang, and was placed in the Gauss Epoch, estimated at approximately 3 Ma by extrapolation of accumulation rates. The M/G boundary occurs at the base of the third fossil zone of Ostracoda (the first appearance of Qinghaicypris crassa Huang), or at the marker layer K₁₀ of the electrical log in the Sebei anticline area, considered here to be 2.48 Ma. The Olduvai event in the fifth fossil zone, spanning electrical layers K₄ and K₃ in the Sebei area, occurs at reflection layer T₀⁻¹ of seismic stratigraphy which could be stratigraphically correlated in the whole basin. The boundary of Early/Middle Pleistocene such as the Brunhes and Matsuyama (B/M) boundary, falls within the eighth fossil zone and coincides with electrical marker K₀¹. Two boundaries corresponding to Middle/Late Pleistocene and Pleistocene/Holocene occur at the bases of the 11th and 12th biozones respectively, neither of which can be correlated with seismic stratigraphy and electrical logs in the basin due to the lack of widely distributed lacustrine deposits since the Middle Pleistocene. The ages of the boundaries can be tested by deposition rates of different facies derived from the varves and synchronous deposits. As a result, geochronological sequences of subsurface stratigraphy could be established within a basin-wide area on the synchronology of seismic reflectors and correlations of electrical logs as well as biozones.     

Lacustrine sedimentation in the diapir-controlled Miocene Bicorb Basin, eastern Spain

The Miocene Bicorb Basin is a small elongated basin developed by normal faulting of a thick Jurassic–Cretaceous carbonate succession and subsequent diapirism of Upper Triassic mudstones and evaporites. The basin fill comprises a sequence over 650 m thick formed by two units. The lower, alluvial unit consists of a complex alternation of conglomerates, sandstones, mudstones, and minor lacustrine limestones. The upper unit comprises marginal alluvial and lacustrine deposits in which seven lacustrine facies associations have been distinguished. The inner lacustrine deposits comprise mudstones and carbonates with minor evaporitic deposits. At the northeast and southwest basin edges, alluvial inputs led to the development of delta and fan-delta environments where sandstone and conglomerate deposits dominate. The latter stages of the lake evolution are represented by an expansive thick limestone sequence which close to the NW fault-bounded margin pass laterally to breccias. The hierarchical arrangement of the upper unit shows five different orders of sequences. The first-order sequence defines a major vertical trend of lake expansion whereas three second-order sequences are linked to major flooding-expansion episodes. All these sequences are related to the tectonic evolution of the diapir. Metre-scale, third- and fourth-order sequences and fifth-order sequences, which consist of finely laminated rhythmite deposits probably record climatically forced processes. The diapir–graben system evolution and the climatic variations have exerted major controls on the sequential arrangement and evolution of the lacustrine system. Both factors have also strongly influenced the changes in the gastropod assemblages.     

The syn-volcanic Naajaat lake, Paleocene of West Greenland

The Naajaat lake in the Nuussuaq Basin on Disko and Nuussuaq formed in a geological setting between cratonic crystalline Precambrian rocks overlain by Cretaceous sediments and an actively forming Paleocene volcanic province. The lacustrine deposits, shales as well as hyaloclastite breccias, accumulated in low-lying areas inundated by fresh water and sealed off from marine transgressions by a broad subaerial volcanic terrain. Foreset-bedded hyaloclastite breccias demonstrate water depths of up to 450 m, and the area of the lake was 2500 km² at its maximum extent. The lake probably existed for less than 0.5 million years. The lake received clay and silt from two provenance areas. Quartz contents of more than 25% in the majority of the sediment samples indicate that large amounts of material were continuously supplied to the lake from the crystalline terrain, whereas the volcanic terrain supplied smectite and mixed-layer minerals to the lake. High kaolinite contents stem from the crystalline or both provenance areas. The shales are characterized by high TOC (up to 11%), lack of pyrite, presence of terrestrial spores and pollen and lack of marine dinoflagellates. The lacustrine sediments rest on an erosional unconformity and its correlative conformity. The unconformity developed during the latest Cretaceous and Early Paleocene. Five stages are recognized in the geological development of the lake. Stages 1–4 are characterized by accumulation of hyaloclastite breccias, rise in lake level, and eventual transgression of subaerial terrains. The rises in lake level were caused by stemming of fluvial run-off behind the aggrading volcanic pile. Stage 5 corresponds to cessation of volcanic activity, a stable lake level, and progradation of clastic sediments, resulting in infilling of the lake. During the lacustrine transgression only sediment in suspension was transported into the central parts of the lake.     

Tectonic and volcanic controls on Early Jurassic rift-valley lake deposition during emplacement of Karoo flood basalts, southern Namibia

The Karoo Igneous Province of southern Africa is one of the classic Mesozoic flood basalt provinces of the world. In the case of the early Jurassic Kalkrand Formation of Namibia the succession comprises three major flood basalt units that are separated by two stratigraphically important fluvio-lacustrine interlayers. These horizons preserve a record of the complex interplay between sedimentation, effusion of Karoo flood basalts and extensional tectonics that predated and accompanied the break-up of Gondwanaland. Both sediment layers start with the dominantly local derivation of weathered and eroded lava debris, followed by the emplacement of subaqueous mass flows and subsequent deposition of chemical sediments. The latter are characterised by interbedded stromatolitic carbonates, grass-like structured gypsum, and plane-bedded sandstones and mudstones containing euhedral displacive gypsum crystals that grew in the subsurface as well as rosettes which nucleated on the sediment surface. The central parts of the lacustrine units are overlain by thin deltaic sandstones showing bottomset, foreset, and topset layering and, finally, braided fluvial, trough cross-bedded sandstones. Evidence of subsidence synchronous with the formation of lake bodies can be explained by two principal mechanisms. The first acted in localised areas only and is reflected by the development of small, centrally subsiding basins. From the repeated occurrence of onlapping geometries within such a pool, a multiphase history of sagging is deduced, being most likely related to periodic magma withdrawal and reduction in magmatic pressures in subsurface lava feeders beneath the basin floor. Abundant syn-subsident fracture features at lava–sediment contacts, such as sediment-, hydrothermal calcite-, and sometimes basic lava-filled fissure systems indicate the pronounced interaction between the underlying volcanics and these small areas of pronounced subsidence. Fluids passing through the volcanic pile exhaled into the lake, giving it the characteristics of alkaline lake systems described from more recent flood basalt areas associated with the modern African Rift System. On the regional scale, however, northerly trending extensional fault systems controlled half-graben basin geometries and both facies and thickness variations across faults indicate that tectonism operated contemporaneously with volcanism and lacustrine sedimentation. The analysis of faults and associated structures, such as regularly aligned sediment-filled fissures, sets of micro-faults, folds and basaltic dykes constrains the extensional opening direction for the Karoo graben structures in this area that heralded the opening of the South Atlantic and thus provides a basis to discuss the extensional history of the Namibian coastal margin within the regional tectonic framework.     

Surface analytical techniques applied to calcite: evidence of solid-state diffusion and implications for isotope methods

Surface analytical techniques have become common tools for physicists and materials scientists for making direct observations at the molecular scale but they can also provide Earth Scientists with new information about mineral/fluid interfaces. High resolution surface analysis compliments our traditional methods for analysing the bulk of solids and solutions which can give us, for example, a more complete picture of the geochemical processes that affect the mineral grains in sediments. Stable isotope methods have become widely used for dating and palaeoclimate studies but they rely on the assumption of a closed system. Artifacts resulting from carbonate mineral recrystallization can be avoided by careful sampling but ion by ion replacement can significantly alter the composition of a solid without leaving visible traces. Calcite has long been known to take up substituting ions into its atomic structure. Recent evidence gained from surface analysis shows Cd²⁺ and Zn²⁺, that had been adsorbed or precipitated on calcite surfaces, moves into calcite at the rate of nanometers per month, apparently by solid-state diffusion. No fractures that could serve as conduits from surface to bulk have ever been observed at the micrometer to nanometer scale on the single crystals used for these experiments. Mixing within the top few surface layers by reprecipitation during exposure to the humidity in air can account for some incorporation, but the evidence collected so far does not explain the exchange of position for ions beyond about ten calcite monolayers. With similar rates of movement, other trace components, such as K⁺, Na⁺, Cl^- and F^-, have been observed to move out of bulk calcite and to accumulate in discrete crystallites on surfaces exposed to air. Such mobility may be particular to these near-perfect, Iceland spar crystals and the ions investigated, but if O and C also move into and out of bulk calcite at similar rates, the integrity of isotope ratios from carbonate minerals, even from non-diagenetic environments, may be questionable.     

Contribution to the lithostratigraphy and history of Lake Ladoga

New geological data from Lake Ladoga are presented and an interpretation of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene history of the lake is given. The deglaciation of the southern part of the lake and an origin of the first ice margin Lake Ladoga took place at ca. 14,000 yr B.P.