Rare-earth and trace elements and hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions of Cretaceous kaolinitic sediments from the Lower Benue Trough,Nigeria: provenance and paleoclimatic significance

This study evaluated the Cretaceous(Campanian–Maastrichtian) kaolinitic sediments of the Ajali/Mamu and Enugu/Nkporo Formations from the Lower Benue Trough of Nigeria. A combined method of inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry and isotope ratio mass spectrometry was used to investigate trace and rareearth element geochemistry and hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions. These data were then used to infer the sediments' provenance and paleoclimatic conditions during their deposition. The sediments contained low concentrations of most trace elements, with the exceptions of Zr(651–1352 ppm), Ba(56–157 ppm), V(38–90 ppm),and Sr(15.1–59.6 ppm). Average values of Co and Ni were1.5 and 0.7 ppm, respectively. Trace and rare earth element values were lower than corresponding values for upper continental crust and Post-Archean Australian Shale, with the exception of Zr. The samples showed only slight light rare-earth enrichment and nearly flat heavy rare-earth depletion patterns, with negative Eu and Tm anomalies,typical of felsic sources. Geochemical parameters such as La/Sc, Th/Sc, and Th/Co ratios support that the kaolinitic sediments were derived from a felsic rock source, likely deposited in an oxic environment.^(18 )O values ranged from+ 15.4 to + 21.2% for the investigated samples, consistent with a residual material derived from chemicalweathering of felsic rock and redeposited in a sedimentary basin(typical values of + 19 to + 21.2%). While in the basin, the sediments experienced extended interactions with meteoric water enriched in d D and d16 O. However,the variation in d D and d16 O values for the investigated samples is attributed to the high temperature of formation(54–91 °C). The d D and d^(18 )O values suggest that the sediments, although obtained from different localities within the Lower Benue Trough, formed under similar hot,tropical climatic conditions.     

Holocene climate change in the Central Tibetan Plateau inferred by lacustrine sediment geochemical records

Multi-proxies of lacustrine sediments, such as total carbon (TC), total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total nitrogen (TN), total sulfur (TS), hydrogen index (HI), oxygen index (OI) and stable carbon isotopic composition of organic matter (δ 13Corg), were analyzed using a 7.3 m core from Zigê Tangco. The source of the organic matter in the sediment was mainly from autochthonous phytoplankton, therefore the significances of proxies can be interpreted as that high TOC, TOC/TS, HI and δ13Corg values, low TC, TIC values corresponded to warm and wet climatic condition, and vice versa. The process of climatic development in the Zigê Tangco region was hence recovered. During the early and Mid-Holocene, the climate was warm and wet and intensive cold events occurred during the periods of 8600 to 8400 cal a BP and 7400 to 7000 cal a BP. In the second half of Holocene, the climate became cold and dry gradually. The palaeoclimatic process during Holocene in Zigê Tangco region matched well with that in Co Ngoin region which is ca 40 km to the south-east. Therefore this palaeoclimatic process represents the Holocene climatic feature in the Central Tibetan Plateau which has the same pattern in the Northern Tibetan Plateau, but the time and duration of some climatic events might be different. We can conclude that in Holocene solar insolation controlled the climatic pattern on the central Tibetan Plateau.     

Boron isotope geochemistry of Zigetang Co saline lake sediments,Tibetan Plateau

The origin of boron in boron-rich salt lakes in the Tibetan Plateau is highly controversial.In this study,we carried out a detailed study on boron geochemistry and isotope composition of lake sediments collected in Zigetang Co,central Tibet.Evaporites had high boron concentrations of 172.3–418.6 lg/g and δ~(11)B values of-8.2%to-3.3%,suggesting a non-marine origin for the saline lake.The boron isotopic fractionation factor,a,between evaporite and brackish water(a_(evaporite–brackish))decreased systematically with depth,from 0.9942 at the top of the drill core to 0.9893 at the bottom;the linear variation between α_(evaporite–brackish)and depth reflects boron isotopic fractionation associated with progressive crystallization.The positive correlation between δ~(11)B versus[B]and δ~(11)B versus depth in the evaporite phase reflects pH and boron speciation in the solution control on the adsorption of boron,and B(OH)_3 species incorporated preferentially into Mg(OH)_2 precipitation at high pH.     

Evidence from isotopic geochemistry as an indicator of eutrophication of Meiliang Bay in Lake Taihu, China

In this paper, Lake Taihu, a large shallow freshwater lake in China, is chosen as an example of reconstruction of eutrophication through the comparison between stable isotopes from dissolved nutrients and plants and water column nutrient parameters and integration of multiple proxies in a sediment core from Meiliang Bay including TN, TP, TOC, C/N,δ15N,δ13C, etc. Differences in aquatic plant species and trophic status between East Taihu Bay and Meiliang Bay are indicated by their variations inδ13C andδ15N of aquatic plants andδ15N of NH4 . A significant influence of external nutrient inputs on Meiliang Bay is reflected in temporal changes inδ15N of NH4 and hydro-environmental parameters. The synchronous change betweenδ13C andδ15N values of sedi-mented organic matter (OM) has been attributed to elevated primary production at the beginning of eutrophication between 1950 and 1990, then recent inverse correlation between them has been caused by the uptake of 15N-enriched inorganic nitrogen by phytoplankton grown under eutrophication and subsequent OM decomposition and denitrification in surface sediments, indicating that the lake has suffered from progressive eutrophication since 1990. Based on the use of a combination of stable isotopes and elemental geochemistry, the eutrophication of Meiliang Bay in Lake Taihu could be better traced. These transitions of the lake eutrophication respectively occurring in the 1950s and 1990s have been suggested as a reflection of growing impacts of human activities, which is coincident with the instrumental data.     

Influence of aquatic plants on the hydrogen isotope composition of sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes in the Lake Qinghai region,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The hydrogen isotopic composition(δD) of leaf wax long-chain n-alkanes(C27, C29, and C31) from lacustrine sediments has been widely applied to reconstruct terrestrial paleoclimatic and paleohydrological changes. However, few studies have addressed whether the aquatic-derived n-alkanes can affect the δD values of lake sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes, which are usually regarded as a recorder of the terrestrial hydrological signals. Here we systematically investigated δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from modern aquatic plants, both near-shore and off-shore surface sediments, surrounding terrestrial plant litters, as well as river water and lake water in Lake Qinghai and its satellite lakes on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Our data showed that(i) δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from aquatic plants varied from-184‰ to-132‰ for n-C27, from-183‰ to-138‰ for n-C29, and from-189‰ to-130‰ for n-C31, respectively, with no significant differences among the three n-alkanes homologues;(ii) δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from aquatic plants were generally more positive than those from surrounding terrestrial plants, possibly because that they recorded the D-enrichment of lake water in this semi-arid region;(iii) δD values of long-chain n-alkanes from surface sediments showed significant differences among the three n-alkanes homologues, due to the larger aquatic input of n-C27 to the sedimentary lipid pool than that of n-C31, and(iv) n-C27 δD values of near-shore aquatic plants and near-shore sediments are more negative than those from off-shore as a result of lower δD values of near-shore lake water. Our findings indicate that in this region(i) the offset between sedimentary n-C27 and n-C31 δD values(ΔδDC27-C31) could potentially be used to evaluate if sedimentary long-chain n-alkanes are derived from a single source;(ii) while δD values of n-C27 may be influenced by lake water hydrological changes, sedimentary n-C31 is derived predominantly from terrestrial plants and thus its δD can serve as a relatively reliable indicator for terrestrial paleoclimatic and paleohydrological reconstructions.     

Characteristics of an early Holocene climate and environment from lake sediments in Ebinur region, NW China

The characteristics of climatic environment in the early Holocene epoch were studied through analyzing environmental proxies from the sediments in the Ebinur Lake——a closed one in the arid region. The pollen assemblage and other geochemical indices showed that, the temperature was somewhat low in the period (8.0-11.5 cal kaBP) as a whole, but in the early period (11.5-10.6 cal kaBP) the temperature was higher, in company with more precipitation. In the conversion period from the early Holocene epoch to the middle Holocene epoch (8.9-8.0 cal kaBP) the climate fluctuated remarkably. Particularly the three layers of peat sediment revealed the strong instability of climate in the early Holocene epoch in the Ebinur region. All information on the development of peat and the experimental data of pollen and stable isotopes implied that, the climatic condition at 8.2, 8.6 and 10.5 cal kaBP was characterized by noticeable cold and humidness, and could be regarded as three cold and humid events in the early Holoc     

The oxygen isotopic composition of phosphate as an effective tracer for phosphate sources in Hongfeng Lake

In order to characterize the oxygen isotopic composition of internal phosphate and explore the possibility of using these data to identify phosphate sources, we measured oxygen isotopic compositions of phosphate(δ~(18)O_p) in sediment pore water in Hongfeng Lake, a typical deep-water lake in a mountainous area. These data, in combination with δ~(18)O_p in surface water samples and water column samples, were successfully used to identify phosphate sources. The δ~(18)O_p value of sediment pore water ranged from 15.2% to 15.8%, with an average value of 15.5%—the δ~(18)O_p value of internal phosphate. The δ~(18)O_p values decreased gradually through the water column from 19.4% in surface water to 16.4% in deeper water, implying that internal phosphate had more negative δ~(18)O_p values than external phosphate. This finding was substantiated by horizontal variations in δ~(18)O_p values, which decreased with increasing distance from inflowing rivers. All collected evidence suggests that external and internal phosphate have distinctly different isotopic signatures and that these signatures have not been considerably altered by biological mediation in Hongfeng Lake. Therefore, δ~(18)O_p can be used to distinguish phosphate sources. A two-endmember mixing model showed that internal phosphate had an average contribution of 40%, highlighting the influence of internal phosphorus loading on aqueous phosphate and eutrophication. This study illustrates the need to reduce the internal phosphorus load from sediment and provides guidance for nutrient management and in-lake restoration treatment in Hongfeng Lake. The data presented here are limited, but serve to highlight the great potential of δ~(18)O_p as an effective tracer for identifying phosphate sources. Systematic investigations of the oxygen isotopic compositions of external phosphate, internal phosphate, and phosphate through the water column, in combination with in-lake P biogeochemical cycle study, would be desirable in further research.     

Compound-specific δD and its hydrological and environmental implication in the lakes on the Tibetan Plateau

The hydrogen isotopic composition(δD) of n-alkanes in lacustrine sediments is widely used in palaeoenvironmental studies, but the heterogeneous origins and relative contributions of these lipids provide challenges for the interpretation of the increasing dataset as an environment and climatic proxy. We systematically investigated n-alkane δD values from 51 submerged plants(39 Potamogeton, 1 Myriophyllum, and 11 Ruppia), 13 algae(5 Chara, 3 Cladophora, and 5 Spirogyra) and 20 terrestrial plants(10 grasses and 10 shrubs) in and around 15 lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results demonstrate that δD values of C_(29) nalkane are correlated significantly with the lake water δD values both for algae(R~2=0.85, p0.01, n=9) and submerged plants(R~2=0.90, p0.01, n=25), indicating that δD values of these algae and submerged plants reflect the δD variation of lake water. We find that apparent hydrogen isotope fractionation factors between individual n-alkanes and water(εa/w) are not constant among different algae and submerged plants, as well as in a single genus under different liminological conditions, indicating that the biosynthesis or environmental conditions(e.g. salinity) may affect their δD values. The δD values of submerged plant Ruppia in the Xiligou Lake(a closed lake) are significant enriched in D than those of terrestrial grasses around the lake(one-way ANOVA,p0.01), but the algae Chara in the Keluke Lake(an open lake) display similar δD values with grasses around the lake(one-way ANOVA, p=0.8260.05), suggesting that the n-alkane δD values of the algae and submerged plants record the signal of D enrichment in lake water relative to precipitation only in closed lakes in arid and semi-arid area. For each algae and submerged plant sample, we find uniformed δD values of different chain length n-alkanes, implying that, in combination with other proxies such as Paq and Average Chain Length, the offset between the δD values of different chain length n-alkanes can help determine the source of sedimentary n-alkanes as well as inferring the hydrological characteristics of an ancient lake basin(open vs closed lake).     

太湖：过去、现在和将来

The presence of roads, farm house foundations, wells and Liangzhu period cultural relics in the bottom of Lake Taihu attest to the fact that this shallow depression was probably dry between 4 and 5 thousand years ago. This interpretation is corroborated by the sudden disappearance of algal pigments at sediment depths carbon-14 dated at 4-5 thousand years before present.In winter, the stronger winds are predominantly from the northeast. These winds result in a powerful counterclockwise current that transports lake sediments and has altered the very shape of the lake over the last 300 years. Winds produce a complex mixing pattern in Lake Taihu with storm induced sediment deposition occurring near the lake''s center.During approximately 240 days of the year, the wind blows across Lake Taihu with sufficient force to mix it to its bottom. As a result, this polymictic lake rarely becomes anoxic and dissolved oxygen at the mud water interface is maintained at or above 4 mg·l^-1. The consequences of this high dissolved oxygen are quite impressive as high organic loading to the lake would otherwise render its bottom waters anaerobic killing many of its natural inhabitants.Because suspended solids reduce (attenuate) light penetration, the major primary production takes place in the top metre of the lake (mean Secchi Transparency-0.25 m). Suspended clays are slow to settle and wind mixing keeps fine-grained suspended solids in suspension in all but the most quiet backwaters of the lake.In the recent past about 23 000 metric tonnes of phytoplankton were produced in Lake Taihu. This large production represents only about 5% of the total influx of organic material entering the lake. In summer and fall, cyanobacteria such as Microcystis spp. and Anabaena spp. dominate most of the lake. Recently, however, mixotrophic flagellates displaced cyanobacteria as the dominant algae in parts of Lake Taihu with high bacteria and high suspended solids (e.g. Wuli and Meiliang Bay). In the future, facultative heterotrophs may come to dominate an ever larger portion of the lake waterc column.     

Sedimentary and geochemical evidence of Eocene climate change in the Xining Basin,northeastern Tibetan Plateau

The northeastern Tibetan Plateau began to grow during the Eocene and it is important to understand the climatic history of Asia during this period of so-called ‘doubthouse' conditions. However, despite major advances in the last few decades,the evolutionary history and possible mechanisms of Eocene climate change in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau remain unclear.The Xining Basin in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau contains a continuous sequence of Early to Late Eocene non-marine sediments which provides the opportunity to resolve long-term climate changes during this period. In this study, we report the results of analyses of lithofacies, sediment color and geochemistry of bulk samples collected from the Xijigou section of the Xining Basin. An abrupt lithofacies change between the Early(~52–40 Ma) and Late Eocene(~40–34 Ma) indicates a change in the depositional environment from a shallow lake to a playa lake in response to a significant climatic shift. During ~52–40 Ma,higher values of sediment redness(a*), redness/lightness(a*/L*) and higher modified Chemical Index of Weathering(CIW′)indicate a relatively warm and humid climate, while from ~40–34 Ma the lower values of a*, a*/L*and lower CIW′ imply subhumid to semi-arid climatic conditions. The paleoclimatic records indicate a long-term(~52–34 Ma) trend of decreasing chemical weathering, consistent with global climate change. An abrupt sharp excursion of the proxy records during ~42–40 Ma suggests a relatively brief warm interval, corresponding to the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum(MECO). We suggest that global cooling substantially reduced humidity in inner Asia, resulting in sub-humid to semi-arid climatic conditions after 40 Ma in the Xining Basin, which may have been responsible for the long-term trend of decreasing chemical weathering during the Eocene.     

A hydrochemical study of the Hammam Righa geothermal waters in north-central Algeria

This study focuses on the hydrochemical characteristics of 47 water samples collected from thermal and cold springs that emerge from the Hammam Righa geothermal ?eld, located in north-central Algeria. The aquifer that feeds these springs is mainly situated in the deeply fractured Jurassic limestone and dolomite of the Zaccar Mount. Measured discharge temperatures of the cold waters range from 16.0 to 26.5 °C and the hot waters from 32.1 to 68.2 °C. All waters exhibited a near-neutral p H of 6.0–7.6. The thermal waters had a high total dissolved solids(TDS) content of up to 2527 mg/l, while the TDS for cold waters was 659.0–852.0 mg/l. Chemical analyses suggest that two main types of water exist: hot waters in the up?ow area of the Ca–Na–SO_4type(Hammam Righa) and cold waters in the recharge zone of the Ca–Na–HCO_3type(Zaccar Mount). Reservoir temperatures were estimated using silica geothermometers and?uid/mineral equilibria at 78, 92, and 95 °C for HR4, HR2,and HR1, respectively. Stable isotopic analyses of the δ~(18)O and δD composition of the waters suggest that the thermal waters of Hammam Righa are of meteoric origin. We conclude that meteoric recharge in?ltrates through the fractured dolomitic limestones of the Zaccar Mount and is conductively heated at a depth of 2.1–2.2 km. The hot waters then interact at depth with Triassic evaporites located in the hydrothermal conduit(fault), giving rise to the Ca–Na–SO_4water type. As they ascend to the surface,the thermal waters mix with shallower Mg-rich groundwater, resulting in waters that plot in the immature water?eld in the Na–K–Mg diagram. The mixing trend between cold groundwaters from the recharge zone area(Zaccar Mount) and hot waters in the up?ow area(Hammam Righa) is apparent via a chloride-enthalpy diagram that shows a mixing ratio of 22.6 \ R \ 29.2 %. We summarize these results with a geothermal conceptual model of the Hammam Righa geothermal ?eld.     

太湖14000年来古环境演化的湖泊记录

Two sediment cores, one 396 cm long from west Taihu Lake, another 246 cm long from east Taihu Lake, are interpreted from the analysis of their magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total pigments, organic carbon isotope, hydrogen index, saturated hydrocarbons, ¹⁴C dating and surficial sediment conditions. The west Taihu Lake core is the longest one studied in this lake so far, and has provided us the most complete environmental and climatic information for this lake. The results from the west Taihu lake core indicate that Taihu Lake has undergone the following stages:from ca.14 300 to 13 300 aB.P. Taihu Lake was in low lake-level, and there existed exposed features from the proxies reflecting arid paleoclimate. From ca.13 300 to 12 400 aB.P. an arid transitional stages occurred with a slightly warmer and wetter climate. From ca. 12 400 to 10 900 aB.P. a period of large climatic fluctuation occurred and from 10900-10 000 aB.P. a warm period developed with deep water and strongly reducing sediments. During ca.10 000-7 200aB.P., a cool transitional period alternating with a warm climate occurred. It was warm and wet during 7 200-5 700aB.P.; some proxies changed violently in 5 050aB.P., reflecting obvious changes in material source and a probable interruption of sedimentation. The east Taihu Lake history from ca. 6 550 to 6 450 aBP, the climate was cold and dry, and gradually turned warm and wet in ca. 6 450-6 050 aBP. It was warm and wet in ca. 6 050-5 800 aBP and had a cold tendency in 5 800-ca. 5 000 aBP. An abrupt change occurred at ca. 5 000 aBP, and the lake sediment in the uppmost part was disturbed by wave action indicating shallow water conditions.     

Spatial distribution and comparative evaluation of phosphorus release rate in benthic sediments of an estuary dam

A series of experiments and simulations were performed to ascertain the rate at which phosphorus is released using a water quality model in Saemangeum Lake, an artificially constructed lake located in an estuary. The general inflow of seawater once a day contributed to the formation of a halocline in the lake water, which caused variation in the vertical concentration of dissolved oxygen. The halocline was mainly observed in the deep downstream regions of Saemangeum Lake that are close to the op...     

Clay minerals in the late Quaternary sediment of Tulare Lake,California: Implications for climate change,weathering, and erosion processes

The clay mineralogy of Tulare Lake sediment was examined to investigate hydroclimatic and environmental changes in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains (SNM) since the most recent glacial maximum. Evolution of clay mineral assemblages elucidates significant changes in weathering, erosion, and hydroclimatic condition in the catchment. During the last glacial period (24.4–15.1 cal ka BP), low illite content implies less physical erosion of the granitic batholith rocks and a cold and arid environment in the southern SNM. Abrupt increases of illite content at 21.8–20.8 and 17.6 cal ka BP resulted from the glacier advances to the ablation zone and illite-rich glacier flour was transported down to the lake. The gradual increase of smectite induced by progressive depletion of illite-rich glacier flour from 17.6 cal ka BP toward the end of this period indicates climate was beginning to get warm and wet. From 11.9 to 5.3 cal ka BP, two warm and wet periods (10.7–9.4 and 8.2–5.2 cal ka BP) were characterized by high smectite/illite content ratios and low illite crystallinity values, suggesting intensive rainfall precipitation and more physical erosion in the highland and lowland catchment as well as more smectite formation in the terrace soils. Since the last glacial period, physical erosion, in comparison to the chemical weathering, was the dominant process responding to the hydroclimatic change in the Tulare Lake catchment. Moderate to weak chemical weathering was signified by the mostly low illite chemical weathering index of the core sediments. Such results suggest that vegetation cover in the southern SNM was low and limited.     

The discovery of annually laminated sediments (varves) from shallow Sugan Lake in inland arid China and their paleoclimatic significance

Detailed examination of sedimentary cores retrieved from Sugan Lake in the northern Qaidam Basin of northwest China’s Tibetan Plateau reveal that fine laminated beddings form in the sediments where water depth exceeds 3 m. Seasonal surface sediments trapped at the bottom of the lake suggest that sediments deposited during summer and autumn are mainly light colored monohydrocalcites, while those deposited in winter are dark organic matter, indicating that varve layers form under modern limnological conditions. Continuous varve sediments comprising four types have accumulated in the upper 5.5 m of Core SG03I from the center of the lake. All types exhibit clear seasonality indicative of annual deposition. Varve counts correspondence with 210Pb dates on recent sediments in the upper core suggest the continuous varves of the upper 5.5 m of the core formed in the late Holocene (2670 a BP). The Sugan Lake varve sequence is the first demonstration of annually laminated sediments re-ported in arid western China.     

Multi-proxy evidence of environmental change related to collapse of the Liangzhu Culture in the Yangtze Delta,China

The Liangzhu Culture(5300–4300 cal. a BP) has been regarded as the culmination of the Neolithic Age in the Yangtze Delta and as an archaic state. However, the reason behind the collapse of the Liangzhu Culture remains controversial.Some scholars attributed it to social conflicts or foreign invasions, while others suggested that environmental deterioration, such as cold episodes, inundation and palaeo-typhoon events, disrupted the civilization. Notably, the yellowish silty sediments widely overlying the Liangzhu group sites have been presumed to be one of the vital clues to resolving these issues. The process and cause of their formation are key to understanding the decline in the Liangzhu Culture. In this study, two typical profiles composed of the Liangzhu cultural layer and yellowish silty sediments were collected in Liangzhu Ancient City. Multiple proxies, including pollen, phytoliths and diatoms, along with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating and synthesized geochemical evidence from different sediments, were applied to reconstruct ecological and hydrological changes and discuss their linkage to cultural collapse. The regional ecology was typical freshwater wetlands during 4800–4400 cal. a BP,which facilitated rice farming and large-scale architectural engineering in Liangzhu Ancient City. Evidence from microfossils and dating of the yellowish silty sediments indicated that Liangzhu Ancient City was significantly affected by seawater after abandonment during 4300–3400 cal. a BP. Furthermore, geochemical evidence, including trace element and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions, suggested that the primary provenance of the yellowish silt was a mixture of sediments from the Qiantang River,East China Sea, Yangtze River and Yellow River, which had been transported to Liangzhu Ancient City by the Yellow Sea Coastal Current and a marine transgression. Therefore, based on evidence from archaeological sites and numerical simulation in the Yangtze Delta, it was supposed that the short-term accelerated relative sea-level rise at approximately 4400 cal. a BP caused a marine transgression around Taihu Lake, formed a large range of yellowish silty sediments, destroyed rice farming production,and ultimately led to the collapse of the Liangzhu Culture.     

Stable isotope paleohydrology and chemostratigraphy of the Albian Wayan Formation from the wedge-top depozone,North American Western Interior Basin

Understanding of the role of atmospheric moisture and heat transport in the climate system of the Cretaceous greenhouse world represents a major challenge in Earth system science.Stable isotopic paleohydrologic data from mid-Cretaceous paleosols in North America,from paleoequatorial to paleoArctic latitudes,have been used to constrain the oxygen isotope mass balance of the Albian hydrologic cycle.Over the range from 40°-50°N paleolatitude,sideritic paleosols predominate,indicating paleoenvironments with positive precipitation-evaporation(P-E)balances.Local exceptions occur on leeward side of the Sevier Orogen,where calcic paleosols in the wedge-top depozone record paleoenvironments with negative P-E balances in the orographic rain shadow.Stratigraphic sections in the Wayan Formation of Idaho(WF)were sampled from the wedge-top depozone.The units consist of stacked m-scale mudstone paleosols separated by m-scale sandstone-siltstone beds.Sections were sampled for organic carbon isotope profiles,and B-horizons from 6 well-developed paleosols were sampled for detrital zircons to determine maximum depositional ages.The first of these from the WF has produced a U-Pb concordia age of 101.0±1.1 Ma.This same WF section has produced a stratigraphic trend of upwardly decreasingδ~(13)C values ranging from-24‰upwards to-27‰VPDB,suggesting correlation to the late Albian C15 C-isotope segment.Pedogenic carbonates from the WF principally consist of micritic calcite,with carbon-oxygen isotope values that array along meteoric calcite lines(MCLs)withδ~(18)O values that range from-9.47‰up to-8.39‰VPDB.At approximately 42°N paleolatitude,these MCL values produce calculated paleoprecipitation values of-8.12‰to-7.04‰VSMOW,a range that is consistent with the estimates produced from other proxies at the same paleolatitudes across North America.These results indicate that despite the orographic rain shadow effect,the processes of meridional atmospheric moisture transport in this locale were similar to those in more humid mid-latitude paleoenvironments elsewhere in the continent.     

Variation characteristics of heavy metals and nutrients in the core sediments of Taihu Lake and their pollution history

The sedimentary environment change, trophic evolution and heavy metals pollution history of the northern Taihu Lake in the last 100 years are studied according to the sedimentary geo-chemical proxies of the core sediments, such as grain size, nutrients, heavy metals, diatom, etc. The nutrients in the sediments depended mainly on the lake internal circulation and the heavy metals were from natural geogenic sources before the 1920s, which were not influenced by human activities generally, and grain size was one of the key factors influencing heavy metals content in the sediments. The alternation of manner and strength of human activities in Taihu Lake catchment before and after the 1920s made the lake sediments coarser, and hence heavy metals and TP content decreased contrasted with that before the 1920s. TP content in sediments and water increased from the 1950s to late 1970s due to anthropogenic pollutants discharge, and the lake belonging to mesotrophic state. TN and TOC content and C/N ratio increased due to the increasing external pollutants into Taihu Lake by human activities, TP content also increased obviously in water and sediments, and the diatom association was dominated by eutrophic species since the late 1970s, indicating the eutrophication state of Taihu Lake in this period. Meanwhile the increasing in heavy metals content, such as Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, and their proportion of valid fractions in the sediments indicates that they all result from human pollutants since the late 1970s. The heavy metals in the surface sediments have certain potential biological toxicity due to the higher SEM/AVS ratio.     

A large carbon pool in lake sediments over the arid/semiarid region,NW China

Carbon burial in lake sediments is an important component of the global carbon cycle. However, little is known about the magnitude of carbon sequestered in lake sediments over the arid/semiarid region of China(ASAC).In this study, we estimate both organic and inorganic carbon burial since *AD 1800 based on nine lakes in ASAC,and discuss the most plausible factors controlling carbon burial. Our estimates show that the annual organic carbon burial rate(OCBR) ranges from 5.3 to 129.8 g cm-2year-1(weighted mean of 49.9 g cm-2year-1), leading to a standing stock of 1.1–24.0 kg cm-2(weighted mean of 8.6 kg cm-2)and a regional sum of *108 Tg organic carbon sequestered since *AD 1800. The annual inorganic carbon burial rate(ICBR) ranges from 11.4 to 124.0 g cm-2year-1(weighted mean of 48.3 g cm-2year-1), which is slightly lower than OCBR. The inorganic carbon standing stock ranges from2.4 to 26.0 kg cm-2(weighted mean of 8.1 kg cm-2),resulting in a sum of *101 Tg regional inorganic carbon burial since *AD 1800, which is slightly lower than the organic carbon sequestration. OCBR in ASAC shows a continuously increasing trend since *AD 1950, which is possibly due to the high autochthonous and allochthonous primary production and subsequently high sedimentation rate in the lakes. This increasing carbon burial is possibly related to both climatic changes and enhanced anthropogenic activities, such as land use change, deforestation, and eutrophication in the lake. Furthermore, OCBR and ICBR are expected to continuously increase under the scenario of increasing precipitation and runoff and enhanced anthropogenic activities.The results of this research show that the buried carbon in lake sediments of the ASAC region constitutes a significant and large carbon pool, which should be considered and integrated into the global carbon cycle.     

Chronology and petrogenesis of the Hejiazhuang granitoid pluton and its constraints on the Early Triassic tectonic evolution of the South Qinling Belt

The Hejiazhuang pluton is located in the South Qinling Tectonic Belt(SQTB)in the north side of the Mianxian-Lueyang Suture Zone,and consists dominantly of granodiorites.LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating and Lu-Hf isotopic analyses reveal that these granodiorites of the Hejiazhaung pluton emplaced at~248 Ma,and show a large variation in zirconεHf(t)values from4.8 to 8.8.These granodiorite samples are attributed to high-K to mid-K calc-alkaline series,and characterized by high SiO2(66.6%–70.0%),Al2O3(15.04%–16.10%)and Na2O(3.74%–4.33%)concentrations,with high Mg#(54.2–61.7).All samples have high Sr(627–751 ppm),Cr(55–373 ppm)and Ni(17.2–182 ppm),but low Y(5.42–8.41 ppm)and Yb(0.59–0.74 ppm)concentrations with high Sr/Y ratios(84.90–120.66).They also display highly fractionated REE patterns with(La/Yb)N ratios of 18.9–34.0 and positive Eu anomalies(δEu=1.10–2.22)in the chondrite-normalized REE patterns.In the primitive mantle normalized spidergrams,these samples exhibit enrichment in LILEs but depletion in Nb,Ta,P and Ti.These geochemical features indicate that the granodioritic magma of the Hejiazhuang pluton was derived from the partial melting of hybrid sources comprising the subducted oceanic slab and sediments,and the melts were polluted by the mantle wedge materials during their ascent.The emplacement ages and petrogenesis of the Hejiazhuang pluton prove that the initial subduction of the Mianlue oceanic crust occurred at~248 Ma ago,and the SQTB was still under subduction tectonic setting in the Early Triassic.