The influence of pre-quaternary underlying terrain on the formation of loess landforms, i.e., the geomorphological inheritance issue, is a focus in studies of loess landforms. On the basis of multi-source information,...The influence of pre-quaternary underlying terrain on the formation of loess landforms, i.e., the geomorphological inheritance issue, is a focus in studies of loess landforms. On the basis of multi-source information, we used GIS spatial analysis methods to construct a simulated digital elevation model of a pre-quaternary paleotopographic surface in a severe soil erosion area of the Loess Plateau. To reveal the spatial relationship between underlying paleotopography and modern terrain, an XY scatter diagram, hypsometric curve, gradient and concavity of terrain profiles are used in the experiments. The experiments show that the altitude, gradient and concavity results have significant linear positive correlation between both terrains, which shows a relatively strong landform inheritance relationship, particularly in the intact and complete loess deposit areas. Despite the current surface appearing somewhat changed from the original shape of the underlying terrain under different erosion forces, we reveal that the modern terrain generally smoothes the topographic relief of underlying terrain in the loess deposition process. Our results deepen understanding of the characteristics of geomorphological inheritance in the formation and evolution of loess landforms.展开更多
Two hominid teeth recovered in Mohui cave are morphologically distinguished from Australopithecus in Af-rica, but close to Homo erectus in China. These teeth are therefore provisionally assigned to Homo erectus. The a...Two hominid teeth recovered in Mohui cave are morphologically distinguished from Australopithecus in Af-rica, but close to Homo erectus in China. These teeth are therefore provisionally assigned to Homo erectus. The associ-ated mammalian fauna include Gigantopithecus blacki, Nes-toritherium sp., Sus xiaozhu, Sus peii and Ailuropoda microta, which are typical early Pleistocene taxa in South China. The general characteristics of the Mohui faunal assemblage are similar to the Longgupo site, which is dated to 2 Ma, imply-ing a contemporaneity for the two sites. To date, compared with the discoveries in Africa, far fewer early Pleistocene hominid fossils have been recovered in Asia, and there are intensive controversies concerning their stratigraphic prove-nience and typological and temporal positions. The hominid fossils from Mohui cave, with their reliable biostratigraphic positions and distinct typological features, provide important evidence regarding the issue of early human origins and evo-lution.展开更多
Shuidonggou is one of the most important Upper Paleolithic sites in North China. Due to the presence of rich human remains,animal fossils,abundant sporopollen and unique geological sequence,it is the type site for Lat...Shuidonggou is one of the most important Upper Paleolithic sites in North China. Due to the presence of rich human remains,animal fossils,abundant sporopollen and unique geological sequence,it is the type site for Late Pleistocene to Holocene human occupation and environmental change in the Ningxia-Inner Mongolia region. Many scholars suggest that the site should be named the "Shuidong-gou Formation" of Late Pleistocene in North China. Dating results indicate that ancient human activities at the site took place 30―24 ka (Marine Isotope Stage MIS 3). The climate at that time was warmer and moister than present day,and adequate precipitation led to the formation of water pack depressions where broad-leaf trees and sparse forest vegetations,as well as herbivorous animals flourished,mak-ing the area suitable for early human hunting,gathering and survival. The Neolithic human occupation happened 9―5 ka at the site,while similar environmental conditions with MIS3 occurred. The absence of human activity record in the region during the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS2) suggests that the envi-ronment was too harsh for humans to live there.展开更多
The described stone artifacts are recovered from the 70 m-high terrace (4600 m a.s.l.) at the southeastern shore of the Siling Co on the northern Tibetan Plateau. The terrace was formed during the Interstadial period ...The described stone artifacts are recovered from the 70 m-high terrace (4600 m a.s.l.) at the southeastern shore of the Siling Co on the northern Tibetan Plateau. The terrace was formed during the Interstadial period before the LGM, ca. 40-30 ka B.P. based on paleoenvironmental research. The Paleoliths from the Siling Co provide evidence for early human occupation of the northern Tibetan Plateau. They show technological and typological affinities with the European Middle Paleolithic suggesting that the early human occupation here might relate to migratory waves during the Late Pleistocene that dispersed humans across the Old World.展开更多
The inhomogeneous and non-flat paleotopography in a depositional landform area profoundly controls the process of modern gully evolution and shapes the structure of a gully network.However,this controlling effect of p...The inhomogeneous and non-flat paleotopography in a depositional landform area profoundly controls the process of modern gully evolution and shapes the structure of a gully network.However,this controlling effect of paleotopography on modern gully evolution is mostly ignored because of the difficulties in paleotopography reconstruction.In this study,loess area in China is selected as case area for its typical depositional landform area and inhomogeneous and non-flat paleotopography during the Quaternary.The paleotopography underlying loess is considered while evaluating its controlling effects on the gully evolutionary process.On the basis of the geophysical prospecting,detailed geological information,and high-resolution digital elevation model,we reconstruct the pre-Quaternary paleotopographic surface in the case area.Comparative analysis is conducted to reveal the modern gully evolution in relation to the paleotopography.Results show that the concave area of the paleotopography acts as the basement of the high-order modern gully evolution in the hilly-gully area,although this concave area can be covered and buried by the loess depositional process during the Quaternary.A significant controlling effect of paleotopography on high-order modern gully evolution can be observed in a depositional landform with a hilly-gully underlying topography,whereas a relatively weak controlling effect exists in a flat underlying topographical area because of the strong horizontal shift effect of gully formation process.Several low-order modern gullies also exist and limit the controlling effect of paleotopography.These results reveal a controlled high-order modern gully evolutionary process and a rather dynamic low-order modern gully evolutionary process in the hilly-gully area.These results also help us understand the variations in different modern gully evolution in relation to paleotopography and the different management schemes for soil conservation and ecological restoration during the gully evolutionary process.展开更多
A weathered deposit in South China is widespread on the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong provinces,China.This deposit consists of slightly cemented,medium-to fine-grained sands,and is characterized by its colors ...A weathered deposit in South China is widespread on the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong provinces,China.This deposit consists of slightly cemented,medium-to fine-grained sands,and is characterized by its colors of red,brown red,light reddish brown or dark yellowish orange,and is usually called "Old Red Sand".The uncertainty in its formation age has been a major obstacle to the study of this type of deposit.In this paper,optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) techniques were used to date the "Old Red Sand" sediments from Jinjiang,Fujian Province,China.The effect of the geochemical behavior of uranium and thorium in sediment during chemical weathering on estimation of annual dose was investigated.The results show that the change in annual dose due to weathering poses a major problem for the optical dating of such weathered sediments.The optical dating of these weathered deposits will produce erroneous ages if average annual dose during burial cannot be correctly estimated.For the profiles studied,the OSL dates obtained on samples from the upper part do not represent the burial age of the samples.It is highly likely that they are underestimated due mainly to the accumulated radioactive elements as a result of chemical weathering.It is concluded that changes in annual dose due to chemical weathering must be considered when dating similar sediments in South China.With a detailed analysis of the OSL dating results,the chronology of the marine terraces in this area was suggested.The lowest terrace was formed at ~3.5 ka and the second terrace was dated to ~74 ka.The age of the highest terrace may not be established accurately,but is inferred to be older than the apparent OSL date of~77 ka and so is the Paleolithic artifacts from it.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40930531, 41171320)the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2011AA120303)Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System (Grant No. 2010KF0002SA)
文摘The influence of pre-quaternary underlying terrain on the formation of loess landforms, i.e., the geomorphological inheritance issue, is a focus in studies of loess landforms. On the basis of multi-source information, we used GIS spatial analysis methods to construct a simulated digital elevation model of a pre-quaternary paleotopographic surface in a severe soil erosion area of the Loess Plateau. To reveal the spatial relationship between underlying paleotopography and modern terrain, an XY scatter diagram, hypsometric curve, gradient and concavity of terrain profiles are used in the experiments. The experiments show that the altitude, gradient and concavity results have significant linear positive correlation between both terrains, which shows a relatively strong landform inheritance relationship, particularly in the intact and complete loess deposit areas. Despite the current surface appearing somewhat changed from the original shape of the underlying terrain under different erosion forces, we reveal that the modern terrain generally smoothes the topographic relief of underlying terrain in the loess deposition process. Our results deepen understanding of the characteristics of geomorphological inheritance in the formation and evolution of loess landforms.
基金This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.40163001)the Emergency Excavation Fund from the National Culture Relics Bureau of China+1 种基金special funds of“Talents Project in the New Century”of the Guangxi Government(Grant No.2001216)the National Science Foundation,USA.
文摘Two hominid teeth recovered in Mohui cave are morphologically distinguished from Australopithecus in Af-rica, but close to Homo erectus in China. These teeth are therefore provisionally assigned to Homo erectus. The associ-ated mammalian fauna include Gigantopithecus blacki, Nes-toritherium sp., Sus xiaozhu, Sus peii and Ailuropoda microta, which are typical early Pleistocene taxa in South China. The general characteristics of the Mohui faunal assemblage are similar to the Longgupo site, which is dated to 2 Ma, imply-ing a contemporaneity for the two sites. To date, compared with the discoveries in Africa, far fewer early Pleistocene hominid fossils have been recovered in Asia, and there are intensive controversies concerning their stratigraphic prove-nience and typological and temporal positions. The hominid fossils from Mohui cave, with their reliable biostratigraphic positions and distinct typological features, provide important evidence regarding the issue of early human origins and evo-lution.
基金the Major Basic Research Projects (Grant No. 2006CB806400) of MST of Chinathe National Natural Science Foundation of China-General Program (Grant No. 40472016)
文摘Shuidonggou is one of the most important Upper Paleolithic sites in North China. Due to the presence of rich human remains,animal fossils,abundant sporopollen and unique geological sequence,it is the type site for Late Pleistocene to Holocene human occupation and environmental change in the Ningxia-Inner Mongolia region. Many scholars suggest that the site should be named the "Shuidong-gou Formation" of Late Pleistocene in North China. Dating results indicate that ancient human activities at the site took place 30―24 ka (Marine Isotope Stage MIS 3). The climate at that time was warmer and moister than present day,and adequate precipitation led to the formation of water pack depressions where broad-leaf trees and sparse forest vegetations,as well as herbivorous animals flourished,mak-ing the area suitable for early human hunting,gathering and survival. The Neolithic human occupation happened 9―5 ka at the site,while similar environmental conditions with MIS3 occurred. The absence of human activity record in the region during the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS2) suggests that the envi-ronment was too harsh for humans to live there.
基金the RGC project "Ice age Tibetans and their living environment", HKSRA Government
文摘The described stone artifacts are recovered from the 70 m-high terrace (4600 m a.s.l.) at the southeastern shore of the Siling Co on the northern Tibetan Plateau. The terrace was formed during the Interstadial period before the LGM, ca. 40-30 ka B.P. based on paleoenvironmental research. The Paleoliths from the Siling Co provide evidence for early human occupation of the northern Tibetan Plateau. They show technological and typological affinities with the European Middle Paleolithic suggesting that the early human occupation here might relate to migratory waves during the Late Pleistocene that dispersed humans across the Old World.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41601411,41671389,41571383&41271438)AProject Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions-PAPD(Grant No.164320H101)
文摘The inhomogeneous and non-flat paleotopography in a depositional landform area profoundly controls the process of modern gully evolution and shapes the structure of a gully network.However,this controlling effect of paleotopography on modern gully evolution is mostly ignored because of the difficulties in paleotopography reconstruction.In this study,loess area in China is selected as case area for its typical depositional landform area and inhomogeneous and non-flat paleotopography during the Quaternary.The paleotopography underlying loess is considered while evaluating its controlling effects on the gully evolutionary process.On the basis of the geophysical prospecting,detailed geological information,and high-resolution digital elevation model,we reconstruct the pre-Quaternary paleotopographic surface in the case area.Comparative analysis is conducted to reveal the modern gully evolution in relation to the paleotopography.Results show that the concave area of the paleotopography acts as the basement of the high-order modern gully evolution in the hilly-gully area,although this concave area can be covered and buried by the loess depositional process during the Quaternary.A significant controlling effect of paleotopography on high-order modern gully evolution can be observed in a depositional landform with a hilly-gully underlying topography,whereas a relatively weak controlling effect exists in a flat underlying topographical area because of the strong horizontal shift effect of gully formation process.Several low-order modern gullies also exist and limit the controlling effect of paleotopography.These results reveal a controlled high-order modern gully evolutionary process and a rather dynamic low-order modern gully evolutionary process in the hilly-gully area.These results also help us understand the variations in different modern gully evolution in relation to paleotopography and the different management schemes for soil conservation and ecological restoration during the gully evolutionary process.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40471010 and 49925307)
文摘A weathered deposit in South China is widespread on the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong provinces,China.This deposit consists of slightly cemented,medium-to fine-grained sands,and is characterized by its colors of red,brown red,light reddish brown or dark yellowish orange,and is usually called "Old Red Sand".The uncertainty in its formation age has been a major obstacle to the study of this type of deposit.In this paper,optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) techniques were used to date the "Old Red Sand" sediments from Jinjiang,Fujian Province,China.The effect of the geochemical behavior of uranium and thorium in sediment during chemical weathering on estimation of annual dose was investigated.The results show that the change in annual dose due to weathering poses a major problem for the optical dating of such weathered sediments.The optical dating of these weathered deposits will produce erroneous ages if average annual dose during burial cannot be correctly estimated.For the profiles studied,the OSL dates obtained on samples from the upper part do not represent the burial age of the samples.It is highly likely that they are underestimated due mainly to the accumulated radioactive elements as a result of chemical weathering.It is concluded that changes in annual dose due to chemical weathering must be considered when dating similar sediments in South China.With a detailed analysis of the OSL dating results,the chronology of the marine terraces in this area was suggested.The lowest terrace was formed at ~3.5 ka and the second terrace was dated to ~74 ka.The age of the highest terrace may not be established accurately,but is inferred to be older than the apparent OSL date of~77 ka and so is the Paleolithic artifacts from it.