Mean Sediment Accumulation Rates Research Articles

Age of folding in NW Lurestan arc across the Khanaqin fault by magnetostratigraphy on Aghajari growth strata, Zagros folded belt

The timing of deformation and the age of sediments in foreland basins are key information for reconstructing the tectonic history of orogenic belts. This study, utilized magnetostratigraphic techniques to determine the ages of ∼ 2.5 km-thick strata within the Zagros folded foreland basin in the flank of the NW-SE-trending Emam Hassan anticline, located above the N–S-trending Khanaqin blind basement fault. This fault separates the Lurestan arc in Iran from the Kirkuk embayment in Iraqi Kurdistan. These ages were combined with a detailed structural study to establish the timing of folding and integrate it into the regional framework of the Zagros folded belt. Magnetostratigraphic results indicate a Serravallian age at ∼ 13.4 Ma for the stratigraphic boundary between the Gachsaran Formation and the pre-growth Aghajari Formation, whereas the base of the Aghajari growth strata is Tortonian age (early Late Miocene) at ∼ 10 Ma. The mean sediment accumulation rate for the Aghajari Formation is ∼ 44 cm/kyr, with short peaks reaching up to 90 cm/kyr. Linear extrapolation of these rates proposes a younger age than ∼ 6.5 Ma (Messinian) for the base of the unconformable conglomerates of the Bakhtyari Formation. The Emam Hassan folding and related Gachsaran diapirism began ∼ 10 Ma and continued for at least 3.5 Myr until ∼ 6.5 Ma, coevally with the deposition of ∼ 1.3 km of the upper Aghajari Formation. Regional synthesis reveals that multi-detachment folding within the Lurestan arc propagates in-sequence towards the foreland. Although not the central focus of this study, our results, combined with the regional structural understanding, illustrate the potential 3-D structure at the depth of the seismogenic Khanaqin Fault, the source of the 2017 Mw 7.3 Sarpol-e Zahāb Earthquake.

Cross-basin Mo and U analysis of the Upper Mississippian Bowland Shale, UK

Abstract The Bowland sub-basin is a target for hydrocarbon exploration, but to a large extent it remains unexplored. To determine the economic potential of the Bowland sub-basin, it is important to identify the oceanographic processes involved in the deposition of the Bowland Shale Formation in the Late Mississippian ( c. 330 Ma). Palaeoceanographic processes are known to be a major control on the development of hydrocarbon source rocks. This study investigates core (Preese Hall-1 and Becconsall-1Z) materials from the Upper Bowland Shale, and makes a comparison with previously published data (outcrop Hind Clough), all from the Bowland sub-basin, Lancashire, UK. The sedimentology and geochemistry of this formation were determined via a multi-technique approach including X-ray fluorescence, sedimentology, gamma-ray spectra, X-ray diffraction and Rock-Eval pyrolysis. Key trace metal abundances and enrichment factors were used to assess sediment provenance and to determine the bottom-water redox conditions during the deposition of the Upper Bowland Shale. Our results support interpretations of contemporaneous anoxia developing in bottom waters in at least three sites in the Bowland sub-basin. In a comparison with the Fort Worth Basin (Barnett Shale, USA), the Bowland sub-basin was apparently less restricted and deposited under a much higher mean sediment accumulation rate. Knowledge from this study will improve future resource estimates of the Bowland Shale Formation, and challenge the early assumptions that the Barnett Shale is an analogue of the Bowland Shale.

Carbon and nutrient sequestration in small impoundments: a regional study with global implications

ABSTRACT The rate of sequestration of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus by lentic ecosystems informs both the global carbon budget and the remediation of eutrophication. Here we estimate carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus burial in sediments of 34 lakes in Missouri, USA, and compare them to those found in other agricultural areas as well as to global estimates. Mean sediment accumulation rates varied by orders of magnitude among study regions, with the largest values (average 6 cm yr−1) in impounded systems surrounded by intensive agriculture. Rates increased with the drainage ratio and decreased with the abundance of other surface water in the catchment (e.g., farm ponds). Average organic carbon burial differed by an order of magnitude among study regions (average 150–2100 g m−2 yr−1) with differences related to the drainage ratio and eutrophication. Organic carbon burial was strongly correlated with burial rates of nitrogen and phosphorus. Comparisons with a diversity of global data show that extremely high rates of biogeochemical burial in many Midwestern USA impoundments are likely due to the details of agricultural cropping systems, landscape configuration, and soil characteristics.

Post-glacial evolution of alpine environments in the western Mediterranean region: The Laguna Seca record

In an effort to understand how alpine environments from the western Mediterranean region responded to climate variations since the last glacial-interglacial transition, a detailed chronological control and sedimentological analysis, supported by magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon and C/N data, were carried out on the sedimentary record of Laguna Seca (LS). This is a latitudinal and altitudinally (2259 masl) key alpine wetland site located in the easternmost area of the Sierra Nevada, southern Iberian Peninsula, where sediments accumulated during Heinrich Stadial 1, Bølling-Allerød (B-A) and the Younger Dryas (YD) - previously unrecorded in alpine Sierra Nevada. Climate controlled sedimentation in LS and three coarse-grained and one fine-grained facies association are differentiated, which help us decipher the paleoenvironmental evolution of LS: (1) subaerial cohesionless debris flows during a paraglacial stage; (2) till or nival diamicton during a small glacier/nivation hollow stage; (3) massive mudstone by suspension settling of clays into standing water during a lacustrine stage; and (4) frost-shattering breccia deposited inside the lacustrine stage, probably during the YD, and linked to a periglacial substage. The development of a previously existing small glacial cirque during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the LS basin at an elevation between 2500 and 2300 m could be supported by the important availability of slope sediments glacially-conditioned such as debris flows, reworked by paraglacial slope processes during the first deglaciation stages, confirming previous studies of landforms in the catchment area and the LGM-Equilibrium Line Altitude estimation above 2400 masl in Sierra Nevada. Mean sediment accumulation rates in the LS sedimentary units (4.21 and 0.28 mm/yr during the paraglacial - small glacier/nivation stage and the lacustrine stage, respectively) confirm that geomorphic activity accelerated just after glaciers retreated due to a slope adjustment and high availability of glacially conditioned sediments. An abrupt change in paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic conditions occurred in LS at ∼ 15.7 cal kyr BP. This change was probably due to an increase in temperature and precipitation in the western Mediterranean region during the B-A. At LS, this resulted in significant ice-melt, forming a deep-water lake in LS with important organic matter contribution until the end of the Early Holocene (except in the YD when the lake level probably dropped), but elsewhere a general glacier recession in the Sierra Nevada and an expansion of the Mediterranean forest in the southern Iberian Peninsula. Finally, the general long-term aridification that occurred during the Middle Holocene until the present in the western Mediterranean region triggered an important environmental change transforming LS into an ephemeral wetland with an increase in aquatic productivity.

Early Paleocene Magnetostratigraphy and Revised Biostratigraphy of the Ojo Alamo Sandstone and Lower Nacimiento Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA

AbstractThe lower Paleocene Ojo Alamo Sandstone and Nacimiento Formation from the San Juan Basin (SJB) in northwestern New Mexico preserve arguably the best early Paleocene mammalian record in North America and is the type location for the Puercan (Pu) and Torrejonian (To) North American land mammal ages (NALMA). However, the lack of precise depositional age constraints for the Ojo Alamo Sandstone and lower Nacimiento Formation has hindered our understanding of the timing and pacing of mammalian community change in the SJB following the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction. Here we produced a high-resolution age model for the Ojo Alamo Sandstone and lower Nacimiento Formation combining magnetostratigraphy and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology spanning the first ∼3.5 m.y. of the Paleocene. Mean sediment accumulation rates during C29n were relatively low (<50 m/m.y.) and equalized from basin center to basin margin indicating an accommodation minimum; sediment accumulation rates approximately double (>90 m/m.y.) during C28r and are highest in the basin center and lowest on basin margin, which indicates high accommodation and an increase in basin subsidence near the C29n/C28r boundary (ca. 64.96 Ma). Puercan fossil localities were restricted to C29n, Torrejonian 1 localities to C28n, and lower Torrejonian 2 localities to C27r. Our revised age model for the SJB suggests that the first appearance of To1 mammals may have been diachronous across North America, with the Torrejonian 1 mammals first appearing in the north (Montana and North Dakota) during C29n, then in middle latitudes (Utah) in C28r, and lastly in southern North America (New Mexico) in C28n.

Sediment accumulation patterns on the slopes and abyssal plain of the southern Gulf of Mexico

Here we present new results on the spatial distribution patterns of lithogenic and biogenic components and sedimentation processes in the deep-water region (966–3741 m) of the southern Gulf of Mexico (sGM). A collection of 44 cores retrieved from the continental slopes and the abyssal plain were dated with the aid of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C determinations on planktic foraminifera. We applied a mixing box model (MBM) to estimate the mixed layer age (TML), the mean sediment accumulation rate (Sm), and the mixing depth (XML) for each core. Observed ranges for these variables were Sm (3.4–17.7 cm/kyr), TML (393–6021 yr) and XML (2.4–24.3 cm). Deep-sea sediments in the study region fall into three main groups, which reflect the importance of the main sediment components, lithogenic and biogenic, and sedimentation processes at depth in the sGM. Cores clustered in Group 1 include most of the stations in the abyssal plain, show the oldest TML, relatively low Sm, and a relatively higher ratio between the carbonate and terrigenous components (mostly silt and clay). Group 2 cores were collected from stations in the transitional region, between the abyssal plain and the continental slopes, show relatively higher Sm, a younger TML and a relatively lower ratio between the carbonate and the terrigenous content than cores from G1. Group 3 cores were collected from different water depths on the continental slopes, show the highest Sm, younger TML, and the highest terrigenous content. These distinct groupings enabled us to recognize anomalous properties in certain cores, with implications on the local processes that alter their sedimentation processes at those sites. Our results highlight the importance of the terrigenous input to this basin, as one of the main controls of the burial rates with important implications on the possible fate of anthropogenic inputs and its sequestration in the deep-sea sediments of the sGM.

High-resolution magnetostratigraphy of the Upper Nacimiento Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA: Implications for basin evolution and mammalian turnover

Lower Paleocene deposits in the San Juan Basin document one of the best records of mammalian change and turnover following the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction and is the type area for the Puercan (Pu) and Torrejonian (To) North America Land Mammal age (NALMA). One of the largest mammalian turnover events in the early Paleocene occurs between the Torrejonian 2 (To2) and Torrejonian 3 (To3) NALMA interval zones. The Nacimiento Formation contains the only deposits in North America where the To2-To3 mammalian turnover can be constrained; however, the precise age and duration of the turnover is poorly understood due to the lack of a precise chronostratigraphic framework. We analyzed paleomagnetic samples, produced a 40Ar/39Ar detrital sanidine age, and developed a detailed lithostratigraphy for four sections of the upper Nacimiento Formation in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico (Kutz Canyon, Escavada Wash, Torreon West and East) to constrain the age and duration of the deposits and the To2-To3 turnover. The polarity stratigraphy for the four sections can be correlated to chrons C27r-C26r of the geomagnetic polarity time scale (GPTS). Using the local polarity stratigraphy for each section, we calculated a mean sediment accumulation rate and developed a precise age model, which allows us to determine the age of important late Torrejonian mammalian localities. Using the assigned ages, we estimate the To2-To3 turnover was relatively rapid and occurred over ∼120 kyr (−60/+50 kyr) between 62.59 and 62.47 Ma. This rapid duration of mammalian turnover suggests that it was driven by external forcing factors, such as environmental change driven by the progradation of the distributive fluvial system across the basin and/or changes in regional or global climate. Additionally, comparisons of the mean sediment accumulation rates among the sections that span from the basin margin to the basin center indicate that sediment accumulation rates equalized across the basin from the end of C27r through the start of C26r, suggesting an accommodation minimum in the basin associated with the progradation of a distributive fluvial system into the basin. This accommodation minimum also likely led to the long hiatus of deposition between the Paleocene Nacimiento Formation and the overlying Eocene San Jose Formation.

Natural attenuation of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in soils due to its vertical and lateral migration

Processes of vertical and lateral migration lead to gradual reduction in contamination of catchment soil, particularly its top layer. The reduction can be considered as natural attenuation. This, in turn, results in a gradual decrease of radiocesium activity concentrations in the surface runoff and river water, in both dissolved and particulate forms. The purpose of this research is to study the dynamics of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in undisturbed soils and floodplain deposits exposed to erosion and sedimentation during floods. Combined observations of radiocesium vertical distribution in soil and sediment deposition on artificial lawn-grass mats on the Niida River floodplain allowed us to estimate both annual mean sediment accumulation rates and maximum sedimentation rates corresponding to an extreme flood event during Tropical Storm Etau, 6-11 September 2015. Dose rates were reduced considerably for floodplain sections with high sedimentation because the top soil layer with high radionuclide contamination was eroded and/or buried under cleaner fresh sediments produced mostly due to bank erosion and sediments movements. Rate constants of natural attenuation on the sites of the Takase River and floodplain of Niida River was found to be in range 0.2–0.4 year−1. For the site in the lower reach of the Niida River, collimated shield dose readings from soil surfaces slightly increased during the period of observation from February to July 2016. Generally, due to more precipitation, steeper slopes, higher temperatures and increased biological activities in soils, self-purification of radioactive contamination in Fukushima associated with vertical and lateral radionuclide migration is faster than in Chernobyl. In many cases, monitored natural attenuation along with appropriate restrictions seems to be optimal option for water remediation in Fukushima contaminated areas.

Exogenous processes and soil formation within a small river basin of Western Transbaikalia in the second half of the Holocene

We determined the sequence of formation of deposits on the first terrace above the Tarbagataika river floodplain, and a change of the sedimentation and soil-formation stages for the last 7 kyr. We reconstructed the accumulation dynamics of the sediment layer and calculated the mean sediment accumulation rates for different time intervals. The phases of intensification of erosion-accumulation and aeolian processes were recorded. The study revealed the main stratigraphic boundaries reflecting the fundamental changes of the settings of sedimentation: 7 cal. kyr BP, a change of riverbed sedimentation for floodplain sedimentation; 5.4 cal. kyr BP, intensification of erosion-accumulation processes due to climate aridization on the Atlantic-Subboreal boundary, and active input of erosion products to the floodplain; 4 cal. kyr BP, active filling of the river valley with horizontally layered polygenetic fine-grained sands and sandy loams containing intercalations of humic warps in conditions of the overlapped (built-up) floodplain with an increase in humidification in the middle of the Subboreal period and, as a consequence, an increase in the height of floods; 3.4 cal. kyr, the layer under investigation leaves the floodplain regime of sedimentation and accumulation of aeolian-deluvial deposits, and 1 cal. kyr, intensification of erosion-accumulation processes due to climatic and anthropogenic changes. We reconstructed the chronology and specific features of the pedogenesis stages which record the phases of temporal cessation of floodplain and slope sedimentation on the study territory. The results obtained are in good agreement with data on the hydraulicity of rivers, the stages of soil formation and on the manifestation of exogenous processes on the territories of Russia and Mongolia.

Influence of lake basin morphology on recent sedimentation rates based on the example of Lake Raduńskie Górne, N Poland

Abstract The study relates to the use of the 210Pb method for determining sedimentation rates, sedimentation accumulation rates and identifying post-depositional processes. The analysis was based on seven cores of recent sediments collected from different parts of Lake Raduńskie Górne, which is a typical channel lake with diverse bottom morphology. We used alpha spectrometry to determine 210Pb activities in sediment samples and a CF:CS dating model to obtain mean sediment accumulation rates. The results show significant differences between coring sites with highest values in the deepest part of the lake and lowest within the shallow and flat bottom areas. The reason for such a large diversity is the lake basin morphology, e.g. steep slopes and complex configuration of the lake bottom, most probably responsible for the post-depositional sediment replacements.

Long-term carbon storage and its recent loss in an estuarine Posidonia australis meadow (Albany, Western Australia)

Oyster Harbour, on the south coast of Western Australia, supports 3.6–3.9 km2 of seagrass meadows, following the loss of approximately 2.8–3.1 km2 in the 1980s. This small area of prevailing meadows hold significant carbon stores accumulated over the past 3000 years. In this study, we sampled three sediment cores from a Posidonia australis meadow and analysed organic matter (OM), organic carbon (OC) and inorganic carbon (IC) contents in bulk sediments, and δ13C signatures of OM. The OM and OC contents (mean ± SE) in the cores were 9.07 ± 0.36% and 2.24 ± 0.05%, respectively. The mean IC content was 3.16 ± 0.17%. δ13C signatures of the sedimentary OM ranged from −10.01‰ to −13.28‰. Using a Bayesian isotopic mixing model, it is estimated that 57–67% of the OM in the seagrass sediments was derived from P. australis detrital matter. The total carbon (TC) stores in 150 cm-thick seagrass sediments averaged 27.92 kg TC m−2 (10.79 kg OC m−2 and 17.13 kg IC m−2). Based on radiocarbon dating, the mean sediment accumulation rate was 0.0494 cm yr−1, which led to a long-term TC accumulation rate of 8.92 g TC m−2 yr−1 (3.45 g OC m−2 yr−1 and 5.47 g IC m−2 yr−1). Based on historical seagrass cover (3.6–6.7 km2 during the 1960s to 1980s), the estimated TC stores in 150 cm-thick seagrass sediments at Oyster Harbour would have been 101–187 Gg TC. The eutrophication-driven loss of seagrasses during the 1980s resulted in the absence of OC accumulation capacity amounting to 280–310 Mg OC (over 29 years). The loss of seagrass area could also have resulted in the release of 37–41 Gg CO2, assuming that all of the OC in shallow sediment is remineralised after meadow disturbance. These results exemplify the importance of seagrasses meadows as important carbon sinks and the potential for losses of carbon stores due to ecosystem degradation.

High‐Resolution Floating Point Time Scale (FPTS) of the Permian Capitanian Stage in South China

AbstractHere we present a magnetic susceptibility (χ) dataset from the Permian Capitanian strata exposed in the Tieqiao section, Laibin area, South China, a supplementary reference section for the Guadalupian‐Lopingian (Middle‐Upper Permian) Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). The succession consists of alternating thin‐bedded chert with micritic limestone of basinal and slope facies, with a carbonate cap indicating shallow‐water platform deposition. χ datasets, which are mostly negative (diamagnetic), suggest that the Laibin area was isolated from terrigenous sources during most of the Capitanian. A sudden increase in the χ signal just below the Guadalupian‐Lopingian (G‐L) boundary is recorded. Although regression at the terminal Capitanian might have contributed to the increase, the coincidence of the increase with the onset of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (LIP) eruptions demonstrate pronounced volcanic effects controlling χ in this part of the section. χ and thermomagnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that the dominant magnetic constituents in this study are diamagnetic calcite and chert, with subordinate paramagnetic and ferrimagnetic minerals, derived from eolian and volcanic sources, and producing the cyclicity observed in the dataset.Spectral (time‐series) analyses of χ data were performed using Multi Taper Method (MTM) and Fourier Transform (FT) analysis. Five frequencies that are consistent with Milankovitch‐band orbital forcing were compared to the dataset: eccentricity E1 and E2 (100 and 405 ka, respectively), obliquity O2 (44.10 ka), and precession P1 (17.70 ka) and P2 (20.95 ka). Interpretation of these results indicates that the duration for the Capitanian in the Tieqiao section was ∼3.85 Ma. Likewise, the mean sediment accumulation rate (SAR) for the whole Capitanian was ∼2.91 cm·ka−1. In addition, graphic comparison of the Tieqiao χ data to a floating point time scale for Upper Wordian through Capitanian time allows estimates of the duration for conodont zones identified from the section; these ranging from 26.6 ka to 2.3 Ma before extinction of individual conodont species. Therefore, timing of the onset age of Emeishan LIP eruptions is estimated to yield an age of 262.7 Ma, with placement of these eruptions at 1.4 Ma below the G‐L boundary.

Hydroacoustic and spatial analysis of sediment fluxes and accumulation rates in two Virginia reservoirs, USA.

Watershed sediment fluxes and reservoir sediment accumulation rates were analyzed in two contrasting reservoir systems in central and western Virginia. Lake Pelham, located in the Piedmont geologic province, is a human-impacted reservoir with a watershed dominated by agricultural, residential and industrial land uses. Conversely, Lake Moomaw has a largely undeveloped watershed characterized by very steep slopes and forested land use located in the Valley and Ridge province. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and sediment delivery ratios (SDRs) were used to estimate soil losses in the two watersheds. Bathymetric and sediment accumulation surveys of the two reservoirs were also conducted using a multi-frequency hydroacoustic surveying system. The RUSLE/SDR erosion model estimates 2150kgha(-1)year(-1) for Lake Pelham and 2720kgha(-1)year(-1) for Lake Moomaw, a 410 and 13% increase from assumed pristine (100% forested) land use for the respective basins. Mean sediment accumulation rates of 1.51 and 0.60cmyear(-1) were estimated from the hydroacoustic survey of Lake Pelham and Lake Moomaw, respectively. Overall, Lake Moomaw has relatively low sediment accumulation rates; however, the reservoir is vulnerable to increases in sediment fluxes with further human development due to the steep slopes and highly erodible colluvial soils that characterize the basin. Higher erosion and sediment accumulation rates in Lake Pelham are most likely reflecting the impact of human development on sedimentation processes, where the loss of vegetal buffers and increase in impervious surfaces exacerbates both the surficial soil losses as well as intrinsic stream sediment production leading to the current annual reservoir capacity loss of 0.4%.

Magnetostratigraphy of drill-core SG-1b in the western Qaidam Basin (NE Tibetan Plateau) and tectonic implications

The Qaidam Basin is an ideal archive to study long-term climate and erosion histories at the NE Tibetan Plateau. We present a magnetostratigraphic study of the 723 m deep drill-core SG-1b of lacustrine sediments at the Jianshan anticline in the western Qaidam Basin. The polarity sequence shows 18 normal and 19 reverse polarity zones which can be readily correlated with chrons C1n-C3Br of the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale 2004 (GPTS 2004), dating the core at about 7.3–1.6 Ma. The resulting mean sediment accumulation rate (SAR) between polarity boundaries ranges from 6.5 to 30.4 cm ka−1. High SARs occur within the intervals of >7.3–6.0, 5.2–4.2 and 3.6–2.6 Ma indicating three episodic phases of higher erosion. From the derived variation of SARs and previous results, we conclude that growth strata at the Jianshan anticline started to develop at ∼1.6 Ma by limb rotation. All this we relate to pulse tectonic uplift of the NE Tibetan Plateau and fault-propagation-folding in the Qaidam Basin.

A 23 Myr magnetostratigraphic time framework for Site 1148, ODP Leg 184 in South China Sea and its geological implications

The Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 184 recovered a continuous sedimentary sequence since Miocene at Site 1148 in the northern South China Sea (SCS), which provided a unique record for better understanding the tectonic, environmental and climatic evolution of the SCS. In this study, we report a detailed paleomagnetic study on 881 discrete samples from the upper 460 m cores of Hole 1148A through stepwise alternating field demagnetization (AF) or thermal demagnetization (TD). Rock magnetic results from isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition, temperature dependence magnetic susceptibility (κ-T) and hysteresis loop parameters of representative samples indicate that the main magnetic mineral is low coercivity pseudo-single domain magnetite. The characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) with moderate downward or upward inclinations was identified after removing a low-stability drilling-induced remanence with steep downward inclinations. A new 23 Myr magnetostratigraphic time framework was established by correlating the magnetic polarity sequence to the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale 2012 (GPTS 2012; Ogg, 2012) in combination with biostratigraphic data. The mean sediment accumulation rates for lithostratigraphic Units V and IV, Unit III and lower Unit II, upper Unit II, Unit IB and Unit IA are calculated as ∼20.8 m/Myr, ∼15–17 m/Myr, 24.18 m/Myr, 17.07 m/Myr and 49.01 m/Myr, respectively.

Spatial and temporal variations in sediment accumulation and their impacts on coral communities in the Sanya Coral Reef Reserve, Hainan, China

This study investigated the spatial and temporal variations of sediment accumulation and their impacts on coral communities in four sites at two or three depths (3m, 6m and 9m) at the Sanya Coral Reef Reserve by deploying sediment traps on the sea floor during 2007–2009. Rainfall and typhoon events, which appeared to control sediment accumulation in the sea floor of the coral reef, were positively correlated with total sediment and sand-sized (i.e. 63–2000µm) sediment accumulation. Sediment accumulation rate significantly decreased with the distance far away from the coast in Sanya. The mean sediment accumulation rates in Ximaozhou, Luhuitou and Xiaodonghai during 2007 to 2009 were close to 20mgcm−2d−1, and they were significantly higher than that in Yalongwan, probably as a result of terrestrial soil erosion caused by strong coast human activities (e.g. coastal construction, dredging and hillside clearing). Correlation analysis revealed that silt-clay-sized sediment accumulation rate was highly negatively correlated with total live coral cover and coral cover in some taxa, such as Montipora and branching Porites. whereas, Diploastrea heliopora was positively correlated with silt-clay-sized sediment accumulation. Correlation analysis also suggested that silt-clay-sized sediment accumulation had a higher efficiency in predicting the spatial variation of total live coral cover in Sanya than did the total sediment accumulation. Based on this investigation, we conclude that high rates of sediment accumulation pose a severe threat to the Sanya Coral Reef Reserve, highlighting the importance of integrated watershed management practices in the Sanya Coral Reef Reserve.

Nannofossil biostratigraphy, strontium and carbon isotope stratigraphy, cyclostratigraphy and an astronomically calibrated duration of the Late Campanian Radotruncana calcarata Zone

A section from the southern (Austro-Alpine Northern Calcareous Alps) margin of the Penninic Ocean in the NW Tethys realm of Late Campanian age is investigated stratigraphically. Plankton foraminifer and nannofossil biostratigraphy designate the presence of the Globotruncana ventricosa Zone and the Radotruncana (Globotruncanita) calcarata Zone, and standard nannofossil zones CC21–UC15cTP and CC22ab–UC15deTP. The combination of carbon isotope stratigraphy, strontium isotopes, and cyclostratigraphy allows a detailed chronostratigraphic correlation. Periodicity was obtained by power spectral analysis, sinusoidal regression, and Morlet wavelets. The duration of the calcarata Total Range Zone is calculated by orbital cyclicity expressed in thickness data of limestone–marl rhythmites and stable carbon isotope data. Precessional, obliquity, and short and long eccentricity cycles are identified and give an extent of c. 806kyr for the zone. Mean sediment accumulation rates are as low as 1.99cm/kyr and correspond well to sediment accumulation rates in similar settings. We further discuss chronostratigraphic implications of our data.

One century sedimentary record of Hg and Pb pollution in the Sagua estuary (Cuba) derived from 210Pb and 137Cs chronology

The vertical distribution of Hg and Pb were determined in a sediment core collected from the Sagua estuary (North Cuba) that receives input from the Sagua river, one of the most polluted rivers discharging into the Cuban coastal environment. Depth profiles of metal concentrations were converted to time-based profiles using the 210Pb dating method and confirmed with the 137Cs fallout peak. The mean mass accumulation rate was estimated to be 0.17 ± 0.04 g cm −2 y −1 (mean sediment accumulation rate 0.52 ± 0.13 cm y −1) and the core bottom was estimated to date back about 130 years. The historical sedimentary record showed a strong enrichment of mercury concentrations in the past decades, caused by the incomplete treatment of industrial wastes from a chlor-alkali plant with mercury-cell technology in the Sagua river basin. Lead fluxes to sediments showed a gradual increase from the 1920s to present, which agrees with a population increase in Sagua la Grande City. Fluxes of both metals have increased the past 25 years, with values reaching a maximum of 0.5 and 3.9 μg cm −2 y −1 for Hg and Pb, respectively.

Sediment supply from the Betic–Rif orogen to basins through Neogene

We present a quantification of total and partial (divided by time slices) sedimentary volumes in the Neogene basins of the Betic–Rif orogen. These basins include the Alboran Sea, the intramontane basins, the Guadalquivir and Rharb foreland basins and the Atlantic Margin of the Gibraltar Arc. The total volume of Neogene sediments deposited in these basins is ~ 209,000 km 3 and is equally distributed between the internal (Alboran Basin and intramontane basins) and the external basins (foreland basins and Atlantic Margin). The largest volumes are recorded by the Alboran Basin (89,600 km 3) and the Atlantic Margin (81,600 km 3). The Guadalquivir and Rharb basins amount 14,000 km 3 and 14,550 km 3, respectively whereas the intramontane basins record 9235 km 3. Calculated mean sediment accumulation rates for the early–middle Miocene show an outstanding asymmetry between the Alboran basin (0.24 mm/yr) and the foreland basins (0.06–0.07 mm/yr) and the Atlantic Margin (0.03 mm/yr). During the late Miocene, sedimentation rates range between 0.17 and 0.18 mm/yr recorded in the Alboran Basin and 0.04 mm/yr in the intramontane basins. In the Pliocene–Quaternary, the highest sedimentation rates are recorded in the Atlantic Margin reaching 0.22 mm/yr. Sedimentary contribution shows similar values for the inner and outer basins with a generalized increase from late Miocene to present (from 3500 to 6500 km 3/My). Interestingly, the Alboran Basin records the maximum sedimentary contribution during the late Miocene (5500 km 3/My), whereas the Atlantic Margin does during the Pliocene–Quaternary (6600 km 3/My). The spatial and time variability of the sediment supply from the Betic–Rif orogen to basins is closely related to the morphotectonic evolution of the region. The high sedimentation rates obtained in the Alboran Basin during the early–middle Miocene are related to active extensional tectonics, which produced narrow and deep basins in its western domain. The highest sedimentary contribution in this basin, as well as in the foreland and intramontane basins, is recorded during the late Miocene due to the uplift of wide areas of the Betics and Rif chains. The analysis of the sedimentary supply also evidences strong relationships with the post-Tortonian crustal thickening and coeval topographic amplification that occurred in the central Betics and Rif with the concomitant evolution of the drainage network showing the fluvial capture of some internal basins by rivers draining to the Atlantic Ocean (the ancestral Guadalquivir).

A coherent middle Pliocene magnetostratigraphy, Wanganui Basin, New Zealand

We document magnetostratigraphies for three river sections (Turakina, Ran‐gitikei, Wanganui) in Wanganui Basin and interpret them as corresponding to the Upper Gilbert, the Gauss and lower Matuyama Chrons of the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale, in agreement with foraminiferal biostratigraphic datums. The Gauss‐Gilbert transition (3.58 Ma) is located in both the Turakina and Wanganui River sections, while the Gauss‐Matuyama transition (2.58 Ma) is located in all three sections, as are the lower and upper boundaries of the Mammoth (3.33–3.22 Ma) and Kaena (3.11–3.04 Ma) Subchrons. Our interpretations are based in part on the re‐analysis of existing datasets and in part on the acquisition and analysis of new data, particularly for the Wanganui River section. The palaeomagnetic dates of these six horizons provide the only numerical age control for a thick (up to 2000 m) mudstone succession (Tangahoe Mudstone) that accumulated chiefly in upper bathyal and outer neritic palaeoenvironments. In the Wanganui River section the mean sediment accumulation rate is estimated to have been about 1.8 m/k.y., in the Turakina section it was about 1.5 m/k.y., and in the Rangitikei section, the mean rate from the beginning of the Mammoth Subchron to the Hautawa Shellbed was about 1.1 m/k.y. The high rates may be associated with the progradation of slope clinoforms northward through the basin. This new palaeomagnetic timescale allows revised correlations to be made between cyclothems in the Rangitikei River section and the global Oxygen Isotope Stages (OIS) as represented in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 846. The 16 depositional sequences between the end of the Mammoth Subchron and the Gauss‐Matuyama Boundary are correlated with OIS MG2 to 100. The cyclothems average 39 k.y. in duration in our age model, which is close to the 41 k.y. duration of the orbital obliquity cycles. We support the arguments advanced recently in defence of the need for local New Zealand stages as a means of classifying New Zealand sedimentary successions, and strongly oppose the proposal to move stage boundaries to selected geomagnetic polarity transitions. The primary magnetisation of New Zealand mudstone is frequently overprinted with secondary components of diagenetic origin, and hence it is often difficult to obtain reliable magnetostratigraphic records. We suggest specific approaches, analytical methods, and criteria to help ensure robustness and coherency in the palaeomagnetic identification of chron boundaries in typical New Zealand Cenozoic mudstone successions.