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Blum, Michael D.; Törnqvist, Torbjörn E.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00008.xpmid: N/A
Fluvial landforms and deposits provide one of the most readily studied Quaternary continental records, and alluvial strata represent an important component in most ancient continental interior and continental margin successions. Moreover, studies of the long‐term dynamics of fluvial systems and their responses to external or ‘allogenic' controls, can play important roles in research concerning both global change and sequence‐stratigraphy, as well as in studies of the dynamic interactions between tectonic activity and surface processes. These themes were energized in the final decades of the twentieth century, and may become increasingly important in the first decades of this millennium.
Burns, Stephen J.; Mckenzie, Judith A.; Vasconcelos, Crisogono
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00004.xpmid: N/A
Based on present knowledge of the purely chemical controls on the kinetics of massive dolomite formation, the abundance and distribution of dolomite throughout the Phanerozoic remains an enigma, sometimes referred to as the ‘dolomite problem'. Comparing dolomite abundance to secular variation in seawater chemistry indicates that some changes in seawater chemistry are more likely to have resulted from extensive dolomitization rather than to have caused it. The recently formulated microbial dolomite model provides the opportunity to view the geological history of dolomite formation from a new perspective. A biogeochemical approach to the ‘dolomite problem' reveals a plausible connection between Phanerozoic geochemical cycles and dolomite formation. In particular, periods of more extensive dolomitization broadly correlate with diverse indicators of decreased oxygen levels in the atmosphere and oceans. Lowered oxygen levels would have fostered a more active community of anaerobic microbes, including sulphate‐reducing bacteria, which in turn could have led to more extensive dolomitization of marine carbonates.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.047s1062.xpmid: N/A
The literature on the structure and behaviour of gravity currents is reviewed, with emphasis on some recent studies, and with particular attention to turbidity currents, though reference is also made to comparable behaviour in pyroclastic flows. Questions of definition are discussed, in particular the distinction between dense currents, which may deposit en masse, and more dilute currents. High‐density dispersions may exist as a discrete, independently moving layer beneath a more dilute flow, as the basal part of a continuous density distribution or possibly as a transient depositional layer. Existing theory appears inadequate to explain the behaviour of some high‐density dispersions. Surge‐type currents are contrasted with quasi‐steady currents, which may be generated by a variety of mechanisms including direct feed by rivers in flood. Such fluvially generated currents provide one means of generating currents with reversing buoyancy. Geologically significant turbidity currents are impractical for direct study owing to their large scale and (often) destructive nature. Small‐scale laboratory currents offer a wealth of insights into turbidity current behaviour. This paper summarizes recent experimental studies that focus on the physical structure of gravity currents, with emphasis on the velocity and turbulence structure, the vertical density distribution and the stability of stratification. Preliminary quantification of the turbulence structure (including controls on turbulent entrainment, turbulent kinetic energy, Reynolds stresses and turbulence production) has been facilitated by recent technological developments that have allowed the measurement of instantaneous fluctuations in both velocity and concentration. Laboratory models, however, generally involve substantial simplification, and require compromises in some parameters to achieve adequate scaling of the parameters of most interest. Mathematical modelling also provides important insights into turbidity current behaviour. We discuss various approaches to modelling, ranging from simple hydraulic equations to systems of partial differential equations that explicitly treat conservation of momentum, fluid and sediment mass, and turbulent kinetic energy. The application for which the model is designed (i.e. to calculate mean head velocity or to create an instantaneous two‐dimensional contour plot of downstream velocity in a current) determines the complexity of the mathematical model required. The behaviour of suspension currents around topography is complex and depends upon the relative height of the topography, and upon the density and velocity structure of the current. Many interactions with topography are well described by the internal Froude number, Fri. Both reflection and deflection of currents may occur on the upstream side of topography, depending upon Fri. On the downstream side of topography, flow separation, lee waves or hydraulic jumps may occur.
Morad, S.; Ketzer, J. M.; De Ros, L. F.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00007.xpmid: N/A
The spatial and temporal distribution of diagenetic alterations in siliciclastic sequences is controlled by a complex array of interrelated parameters that prevail during eodiagenesis, mesodiagenesis and telodiagenesis. The spatial distribution of near‐surface eogenetic alteration is controlled by depositional facies, climate, detrital composition and relative changes in sea‐level. The most important eogenetic alterations in continental sediments include silicate dissolution and the formation of kaolinite, smectite, calcrete and dolocrete. In marine and transitional sediments, eogenetic alterations include the precipitation of carbonate, opal, microquartz, Fe‐silicates (glaucony, berthierine and nontronite), sulphides and zeolite. The eogenetic evolution of marine and transitional sediments can probably be developed within a predictable sequence stratigraphic context. Mesodiagenesis is strongly influenced by the induced eogenetic alterations, as well as by temperature, pressure and the composition of basinal brines. The residence time of sedimentary sequences under certain burial conditions is of key importance in determining the timing, extent and patterns of diagenetic modifications induced. The most important mesogenetic alterations include feldspar albitization, illitization and chloritization of smectite and kaolinite, dickitization of kaolinite, chemical compaction as well as quartz and carbonate cementation. Various aspects of deep‐burial mesodiagenesis are still poorly understood, such as: (i) whether reactions are accomplished by active fluid flow or by diffusion; (ii) the pattern and extent of mass transfer between mudrocks and sandstones; (iii) the role of hydrocarbon emplacement on sandstone diagenesis; and (iv) the importance and origin of fluids involved in the formation of secondary inter‐ and intragranular porosity during mesodiagenesis. Uplift and incursion of meteoric waters induce telogenetic alterations that include kaolinitization and carbonate‐cement dissolution down to depths of tens to a few hundred metres below the surface.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00006.xpmid: N/A
Quantitative modelling of the filling of sedimentary basins was begun in earnest in the 1960s. Dozens of themes and variations have been proposed since then, and have yielded an abundance of idealized stratigraphic patterns as functions of both imposed changes and basin properties. Post‐plate‐tectonic modelling began with ‘rigid‐lid' models, which show the stratigraphic signature of subsidence variation. This work introduced the connection between stratigraphy and the rheology of the lithosphere. Rigid‐lid models are the simplest type of geometric model, in which the sediment surface is assigned prescribed geometries, usually corresponding to different depositional environments. These can reproduce many aspects of overall stratal geometry but are formally restricted to relatively long timescales, for which quasi‐steady surface topography can be assumed. So‐called dynamic models attempt to represent the morphodynamics of the sediment surface by abstracting and averaging short‐term transport processes. Most of the dynamic models proposed to date can be seen as special cases of a single general morpho‐dynamic equation.
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00003.xpmid: N/A
Deposits produced by microbial growth and metabolism have been important components of carbonate sediments since the Archaean. Geologically best known in seas and lakes, microbial carbonates are also important at the present day in fluviatile, spring, cave and soil environments. The principal organisms involved are bacteria, particularly cyanobacteria, small algae and fungi, that participate in the growth of microbial biofilms and mats. Grain‐trapping is locally important, but the key process is precipitation, producing reefal accumulations of calcified microbes and enhancing mat accretion and preservation. Various metabolic processes, such as photosynthetic uptake of CO2 and/or HCO3– by cyanobacteria, and ammonification, denitrification and sulphate reduction by other bacteria, can increase alkalinity and stimulate carbonate precipitation. Extracellular polymeric substances, widely produced by microbes for attachment and protection, are important in providing nucleation sites and facilitating sediment trapping.
Schreiber, B. Charlotte; Tabakh, Mohamed El
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00002.xpmid: N/A
The depositional settings for primary and early diagenetic evaporite deposits generally fall into three categories: marginal (mixed shallow‐subaqueous and subaerial), shallow and deep subaqueous. These three environmental groupings hold for both marine and nonmarine settings, although the details of continental evaporites may be far more complex than in most marine‐fed water bodies. The primary evaporite morphologies from many continental (playa), hypersaline marine and marine‐marginal depositional settings are reasonably well understood, because of the numerous detailed studies of recent, Holocene and Cenozoic deposits that serve as models for sedimentary interpretation. The sedimentological features that develop in deeper water settings are inferred, based on examination of unaltered Cenozoic deposits. Each environmental setting develops characteristic depositional features and patterns, and one facies grades into the next. Because there may be significant physiochemical changes in water composition during deposition as well as sudden change(s) in both water depth and basinal circulation, description and interpretation of evaporative rocks should not be based on mineralogy alone, but on the distinct sedimentary characteristics of each part of a deposit. In cases where sediments still reflect their primary mineralogy and morphology, most of the environments can now be recognized; however, geochemical studies are commonly required to determine the source(s) of the original water. The determinative geochemical techniques that presently serve as a support to sedimentologic study include studies of fluid inclusions, bromine content of chloride salts, and the stable isotopes of strontium, sulphur, carbon and oxygen. Only after these and perhaps other chemical analyses are considered can the full depositional history of a region be reasonably unravelled.
Weaver, Philip P. E.; Wynn, Russell B.; Kenyon, Neil H.; Evans, Jeremy
doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.0470s1239.xpmid: N/A
The north‐east Atlantic continental margin displays a wide range of sediment transport systems with both along‐slope and down‐slope processes. Off most of the north‐west African margin, south of 26°N, upwelling produces elevated accumulation rates, although there is little fluvial input. This area is subject to infrequent but large‐scale mass movements, giving rise to debris flows and turbidity currents. The turbidity currents traverse the slope and deposit thick layers on the abyssal plains, while debris flows deposit on the continental slope and rise. From the Atlas Mountains northwards to 56°N, the margin is less prone to mass movements, but is cut by a large number of canyons, which also funnel turbidity currents to the abyssal plains. The presence of a lithospheric plate boundary off SW Iberia is believed to have led to high rates of sediment transport to the deep sea. Even larger quantities of coarse sediments have fed the canyons and abyssal plains in the Bay of Biscay as a result of drainage from melting icecaps. Bottom currents have built sediment waves off the African and Iberian margins, and created erosional furrows south of the Canaries. The Mediterranean outflow is a particularly strong bottom current near the Straits of Gibraltar, depositing sand waves and mud waves in the Gulf of Cadiz. North of 56°N, the margin is heavily influenced by glacial and glaciomarine processes active during glacial times, which built glacial trough‐mouth fans, such as the North Sea Fan, and left iceberg scour marks on the upper slope and shelf. Over a long period, especially during interglacials, this part of the margin has been greatly affected by along‐slope currents, with less effect by turbidity currents than on the lower latitude margins. Large‐scale mass movements are again a prominent feature, particularly off Norway and the Faeroes. Some of these mass movements have occurred during the Holocene, although high glacial sedimentation rates may have contributed to the instability.
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