从地层到地时

地层学作为基础学科,其研究跟随和服务于地球科学,得到了迅猛发展。在中国确立的10枚"金钉子"已经成为国际地层标准的重要内涵,对关键地史转折期和重大地质事件的综合年代学研究已为国际同行瞩目。在地层划分与对比中,时间(地质年代)是最基本的要素,其分辨率已在部分地区和时代达到了从百万年级至万年级精度的提升。地层学正在依据自然规律和研究的需要,构建地质学的时间单位谱,提供与人类社会接轨的时间单位和地质时间坐标。国际Earthtime(地时)计划正努力通过对不同定年方法和实验室产生的年龄数据进行校正和整合,逐步提高各种定年的技术和水平。中国定年的技术、流程等尚未统一,精度有待提高,更缺乏国际范围内的技术合作与数据资源整合。要实质性地提高国内精确定年水平,仅靠单个实验室加入国际Earthtime计划是不够的,需要整合国内力量,联合国内实验室合作进行高精度定年,促进国内同位素年代学实验室采用国际标准化实验流程和国际标样稀释剂等办法开展高精度同位素测试;更为重要的是汇集多领域地层学家开展综合研究,于是,"地时-中国"(Earthtime-CN)计划应运而生。"地时-中国"计划的目的是在中国形成一个发展和应用高分辨率地质年代表的研究平台;意义是建立与国际Earthtime组织的联系与合作,组织国内年代学和定年技术之间的联合研究,进一步提高中国高精度地质年代学和定量年代地层学研究的水平和国际影响;任务是在国际Earthtime计划中,更强调不同学科的共同运作。在协助国内同位素年代学实验室更新技术方法,开展高精度同位素定年之外,围绕环境变迁与生物演化对具体地层界线进行多方位年代学和多重地层学研究,致力于强化定年精度及其可比性。"地时-中国"计划不应是单一学科研究,也不仅限于定年技术和水平的提高。单一年代学方法难以彻底提高时间精度和解决对比问题。"地时-中国"计划将比国际Earthtime涉及领域更广泛。在同位素定年之外,更要强调生物地层、磁性地层、旋回地层、化学地层和定量地层学的联合攻关。由此构建的定年标准和工具方可使地质年龄达到前所未有的时间精度和分辨率,并可应用于地学各个领域,从而逐步完成中国与国际地层的准确对比;另外,她将紧密配合"深时"研究,赋予地质历史以多维空间,使一系列有关重大地质历史转折期、重大地质事件、古生态-古气候-古环境突变等重要科学研究具有全球整合的渠道与框架,进而为系统地球科学研究做出应有贡献。

Spatio-temporal Changes of ≥10℃ Accumulated Temperature in Northeastern China since 1961

The objective of this study was to provide reliable basis for decision making for national food security and layout and structure adjustment of grain production in the northeastern China. The data of mean daily air temperature of 1961-2009 from 106 meteorological stations in the northeastern China were chosen in this study. Using statistical methods and isoline method, the spatio-temporal changes of various decadal ≥10℃accumulated temperature and the climatic means of ≥10℃ accumulated temperature were studied in this paper. The results showed that 1） The geo- graphical distribution of ≥10℃ accumulated temperature in the northeastern China could be influenced directly by the latitude, longitude and altitude. If latitude moved one degree northward, the average decrease amplitude of the climatic means was 101.9℃ in the study area. 2） The means of decadal ≥10℃ accumulated temperature rose since the 1980s, and their increase amplitudes became larger in the 1990s and the 2010s obviously. Compared with those of the 1980s, ≥10℃ accumulated temperature increased by about 100℃ in the mountainous and plain areas in the 1990s; compared with those of the 1990s, ≥10℃ accumulated temperature increased by about 200℃ in the Hulun Buir High Plain and the Songnen Plain, and 100℃ in the Sanjiang Plain and the Liaohe Plain in the 2010s. 3） The means of the decada ≥10℃accumulated temperature for 106 meteorological stations in the northeastern China increased with the rate of 145.57℃/10yr in 1961-2009.4） The climatic means of ≥10℃ accumulated temperature increased from 1961-1990 to 1971-2000 and 1981-2009. Compared with the climatic mean of 1971-2000, that of 1981-2009 had increased by above 50℃ in most of the study area, even up to 156℃. Compared with the climatic mean of 1961-1990, that of 1981-2009 increased by above 100℃ in most parts of the study area, even up to 200℃. 5） The maximum northward shift, eastward and westward extension amplitudes of3100℃, 3300℃ and 3500℃ isolines were larger among all isolines for the climatic means of the three phases. Compared with the positions of the isolines of 1961-1990, those amplitudes of 31000C isoline of 1981-2009 were 145 km, 109 km and 64 km, respectively; those of 3300℃ isoline were 154 km, 54 km and 64 km, respectively; and the maximum northward shift of 3500℃ isoline was about 100 km.

Responses of Spatial-temporal Variation of Karst Ecosystem Service Values to Landscape Pattern in Northwest of Guangxi,China

The responses of spatiotemporal variation of ecosystem service values (ESVs) to landscape pattern from 1985 to 2005 in a typical Karst area of the northwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,China,were examined us-ing remote sensing and geographic information system techniques in this paper.The total ecosystem service values de-clined significantly from 1985 to 1990,and then increased slowly from 1990 to 2005,almost equaled to the 1985 level.The ecosystem service values tended to decline from the west to the east and from mountainous regions to peak-cluster depression areas in 1985,1990,2000 and 2005 respectively.During the period from 1985 to 2005,the ecosystem ser-vice values have increased in the middle and eastern parts of the study area.Landscape pattern indices,such as total area,largest patch index,contagion,aggregative index,effective mesh and proportion of like adjacencies,are significantly correlated with ecosystem service values.This suggests that ecosystem service values tend to increase with the growth of patch area and patch connectivity.However,there are negative correlations between ecosystem service values and landscape pattern indices,such as division index and patch richness.It indicates that ecosystem service values decrease with patch fragmentation and patch size shrinkage.The ecosystem conditions in the typical Karst area have been improved because of the control measures of rocky desertification.It is important to protect key landscape types,such as woodland,shrub and grassland,and to increase patch size and connectivity to avoid further fragmentation.Furthermore,it is necessary to reduce disturbances to ensure the growth of ecosystem service values and to facilitate the sustainable development in this region.

Spatio-temporal Pattern of Net Primary Productivity in Hengduan Mountains area, China： Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities

Net primary productivity(NPP), a metric used to define and identify changes in plant communities, is greatly affected by climate change, human activities and other factors. Here, we used the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach(CASA) model to estimate the NPP of plant communities in Hengduan Mountains area of China, and to explore the relationship between NPP and altitude in this region. We examined the mechanisms underlying vegetation growth responses to climate change and quantitatively assessed the effects of ecological protection measures by partitioning the contributions of climate change and human activities to NPP changes. The results demonstrated that: 1) the average total and annual NPP values over the years were 209.15 Tg C and 468.06 g C/(m2·yr), respectively. Their trend increasingly fluctuated, with spatial distribution strongly linked to altitude(i.e., lower and higher NPP in high altitude and low altitude areas, respectively) and 2400 m represented the marginal altitude for vegetation differentiation; 2) areas where climate was the main factor affecting NPP accounted for 18.2% of the total research area, whereas human activities were the primary factor influencing NPP in 81.8% of the total research area, which indicated that human activity was the main force driving changes in NPP. Areas where climatic factors(i.e., temperature and precipitation) were the main driving factors occupied 13.6%(temperature) and 6.0%(precipitation) of the total research area, respectively. Therefore, the effect of temperature on NPP changes was stronger than that of precipitation; and 3) the majority of NPP residuals from 2001 to 2014 were positive, with human activities playing an active role in determining regional vegetation growth, possibly due to the return of farmland back to forest and natural forest protection. However, this positive trend is decreasing. This clearly shows the periodical nature of ecological projects and a lack of long-term effectiveness.

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Water Vapor Content during 1961-2011 in Tianshan Mountains,China

Based on the climate factors data and surface vapor pressure （SVP） data of 44 weather stations in Tianshan Mountains during the years 1961-2011, this paper establishes a water vapor content （WVC） estimation model according to the relationship between monthly WVC of radiosonde and corresponding SVP and analyzes the spatial and temporal variability of WVC and their causes. The results show that the WVC is linearly and negatively related to the elevation and longitude （Vertical zonality and Longitude zonality）, while it was not linearly related to the latitude. The westerly wind, geographical situation and sea level elevation composed complex surface conditions to influence the spatial distribution of WVC in the Tianshan Mountains. The Mann-Kendall （M-K） statistical test shows a significant increasing trend in the mean annual WVC in Tianshan Mountains during 1961- 2011（P 〈 0.001）, with a rate of 0.23 mm/decade, and indicates an abrupt turning point in 1985 （P.〈0.001）. Correlation analysis shows that the WVC are significantly correlated to the temperature, especially during the winter, but the summer WVC are significantly correlated to the precipitation. In addition, the North Atlantic Oscillation Index （NAOI） and the Arctic Oscillation Index （AOI） are significantly correlated to the winter WVC in the Tianshan Mountains. As a new Microwave radiometric profilers （MWRPs） instrument, the MP- 3000A provides continuous, real-time and high temporal resolution atmospheric profiles up to 10 km. In order to monitor water vapor and atmosphere profiles in Tianshan Mountains, an MP-3000A was established in Urumqi （43.8°N, 87.58°N） in May 2008. The results indicated that the MP-3oooA was applicable to this area, and the evolutionary process of water vapor and the WVC peak values of MP- 3000A were a strong signal for rainstorm and flood forecasts for Urumqi and the Tianshan Mountains.

Spatial-temporal Characteristics of Land Use Intensity of Coastal Zone in China During 2000–2010

Based on remote sensing and GIS techniques, land use maps in 2000, 2005 and 2010 in China′s coastal zone were produced, and structural raster data of land use were further generated to calculate land use intensity comprehensive index(LUICI) for analyzing land use spatial-temporal characteristics at 1 km scale. Results show that: 1) from the perspective of spatial patterns of landforms at a macro scale, there is a significant difference in land use intensity between the north and the south of China′s coastal zone. Hotspots of changes mainly concentrated in metropolitan areas, estuaries and coastal wetlands; 2) elevation is an important factor that controlling land use spatial patterns at local scale. Land use intensity is much higher within areas below the elevation of 400 m and it decreased significantly as the elevation increasing; 3) there is a significant land-ocean gradient for land use intensity, which is low in island and near-shore areas, but high in the regions that 4–30 km far away the coastline because of much intensive human activities; however, in recent decades land use intensity had been promoted significantly in low near-shore area due to extensive sea reclamations; 4) significant differences of land use intensity were also found among provincial administrative units. A rising trend of land use intensity was found in provincial-level administrative units from 2000 to 2010. To sum up, elevation, land-ocean gradient, socio-economic status and policy are all influencing factors to the spatial patterns and temporal variations of land use intensity in China′s coastal zone.

Spatio-temporal Pattern and Spatial Heterogeneity of Ecotones Based on Land Use Types of Southeastern Da Hinggan Mountains in China

Ecotones have received great attention due to its critical function in energy flux, species harbor, global carbon sequestration, and land-atmosphere interaction. This study investigated land use pattern and spatial heterogeneity of the ecotones among agricultural land, forest land, and grassland of the southeastern Da Hinggan Mountains in the northeastern China. The change of these delineated ecotones under different slopes and aridity conditions was analyzed by two landscape indices, edge density(ED) and core area percentage of landscape(CPL), to explore the inter-linkage between spatial structure of ecotones and socioeconomic development and land management. Specifically, the ecotones such as agriculture-forest(AF) ecotone, forest-grassland(FG) ecotone, and agriculture-forestgrassland(AFG) ecotone moved from the arid southeast to the humid northwest. The flat area with small slope is more edge-fragmented than the steep area since the ED decreases as the slope increases. The AF ecotone mostly found in the humid region is moving to more humid areas while the agriculture-grassland(AG) ecotone mostly found in the dry region is moving towards the drier region.

Spatio-temporal Dynamic of Quality of Life of Residents, Northeast China

Quality of life(QOL) is a hotspot issue that has attracted increasing attention from the Chinese Government and scholars, it is also a vital issue that should be addressed during the cause of ′establishing overall well-off society′. Northeast China is one of the most import old industrial bases in China, however, the industrial structure of heavy chemical industry and the development mode of ′production first, living last′ have leaded to series of social problems, which have also become a serious bottleneck to social stability and economic sustainable development. Through applying the methods of BP neural network, exploratory spatial data analysis(ESDA) and spatial regression model, this paper examines the space-time dynamics of QOL of the residents in Northeast China. We first investigate the indexes of QOL of the residents and then use ESDA methods to visualize its space-time relationship. We have found a spatial agglomeration of QOL of the residents in middle-southern Liaoning Province, central Jilin Province and Harbin-Qiqihar-Daqing area of Heilongjiang Province. Two third of the counties are low-low spatial correlation, and the correlative type of about 60% of the prefecture level areas keeps stable, indicating QOL of the residents in Northeast China shows a certain character of path dependence or spatial locked. We have also found that economic strength and development levels of service industry have positive and obvious effect on QOL of the residents, while the effect of such indexes as the social service level and the proportion of the tertiary industries are less.

Study on the Method of Short-Term Synthetic Earthquake Prediction in the North China Region

Based on the extraction and calculation of the short-term seismic precursory information magnitude from the 114 major precursory observations in the North China region, and together with consideration of factors such as geological structure, seismicity, crustal thickness, and in particular, the current geodynamics of the region, the authors studied the time-space evolution characteristics of the short-term earthquake precursory information magnitude and its relationship with earthquakes and proposed the index and method for the short-term synthetic prediction of earthquakes with M S≥5.0 in the North China region. The inspection through R-value shows that the method is effective to a certain extent for earthquake prediction.

Regional Evolution Features and Coordinated Development Strategies for Northeast China

Northeast China, as the most important production base of agriculture, forestry, and livestock-breeding as well as the old industrial base in the whole country, has been playin a key role in the construction and development of China＇s economy. However, after the policy of reform and open-up was taken in China. the economic development speed and efficiency ofthis area have turned to be evidently lower than those of coastal area and the national average level as well, which is so-called ＇Northeast Phenomenon＇ and ＇Neo-Northeast Phenomenon＇. In terms of those phenomena, this paper firstly reviews the spatial and temporal features of the regional evolution of this area so as to unveil the profound forming causes of ＇Northeast Phenomena＇ and ＇Neo-Northeast Phenomena＇. And then the paper makes a further exploration into the status quo of this region and its forming causes by analyzing its economy gross, industrial structure, product structure, regional eco-categories, etc. At the end of the paper, the authors put forward the basic coordinated development strategies for Northeast China. namely we can revitalize this area by means of adjustment of economic structure, regional coordination, planning urban and rural areas as a whole, institutional innovation, etc.

The Rhythm of Earthquake Activity and an Analysis on the Earthquake Tendency of the World, the Chinese Continent and North China

Based on the Morlet complex wavelet transformation,the authors put forward a kind of new method for distinguishing periods of seismic activity and quietude and a new physical thought on the time-dependent wavelet accumulation energy spectrum with periods, the time-frequency distribution of wavelet vibration period spectrum and period-specific wavelet vibration spectrum. By applying the above methods to a time series which is composed of earthquake accumulation energy per year for the world, the Chinese continent and North China, respectively, we obtained some new information about the rhythm of shallow earthquake activity. Considering the historic earthquakes and the rhythm characteristics of current strong earthquake activity, the earthquake tendency in the next years is discussed.

The Characteristics of Time Series of Strong Earthquakes in the World and the Chinese Mainland

Based on the strong earthquake catalogue, this paper discusses the characteristics of the time series of strong earthquake activities in the world, western Chinese mainland and its peripheral ＂big triangle seismic region＂, as well as the Chinese mainland. According to the analysis of the periodic features of global seismicity of M I〉 8. 0 strong events, it is found that there is significant difference in global seismicity before and after the 1960s. Statistical analysis with the Fisher method has revealed that the ＂big triangular seismic region＂ has experienced a process of M8.0 earthquake activity with a duration of over a hundred years since 1800. Further analysis shows that the global seismicity and the ＂big triangular seismic region＂ possibly has a period of a hundred-year scale, and has quasi- synchronicity to a certain extent. The shallow earthquake activity of Ms I〉 7. 0 in the Chinese mainland is obviously controlled by the seismicity in the big triangular seismic region and by global seismicity in a larger spatial-scale. In terms of the time series of these earthquakes, the seismicity shows a decadal and century-scale activity patterns.

Use of Intensity Analysis to Measure Land Use Changes from 1932 to 2005 in Zhenlai County, Northeast China

Analyzing spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and land cover over time is widely recognized as important to better understand and provide solutions for social, economic, and environmental problems, especially in ecologically fragile region. In this paper, a case study was taken in Zhenlai County, which is a part of farming-pastoral ecotone of Northeast China. This study seeks to use multi-temporal satellite images and other data from various sources to analyze spatiotemporal changes from 1932 to 2005, and applied a quantitative methodology named intensity analysis in the time scale of decades at three levels: time interval, category, and transition. The findings of the case study are as follows: 1) the interval level of intensity analysis revealed that the annual rate of overall change was relatively fast in 1932–1954 and 1954–1976 time intervals. 2) The category level showed that arable land experienced less intensively gains and losses if the overall change was to have been distributed uniformly across the landscape while the gains and losses of forest land, grassland, water, settlement, wetland and other unused land were not consistent and stationary across the four time intervals. 3) The transition level illustrated that arable land expanded at the expense of grassland before 2000 while it gained intensively from wetland from 2000 to 2005. Settlement targets arable land and avoids grassland, water, wetland and other unused land. Besides, the loss of grassland was intensively targeted by arable land, forest land and wetland in the study period while the loss of wetland was targeted by water except for the time interval of 1976–2000. 4) During the early reclamation period, land use change of the study area was mainly affected by the policy, institutional and political factors, followed by the natural disasters.

Spatial and Temporal Variations of Daily Ranges of the Geomagnetic Vertical Component in the Chinese Mainland

In this paper, we use the daily ranges of the vertical magnetic intensity of approximately 76 geomagnetic stations from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010 to analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics of Z ranges. The results are summarized as follows: (1) Temporally, we use regressive analysis and FFT analysis to analyze the data. The results show that the Z component daily ranges of all stations have an obvious cyclical variation, the computed Fourier spectra of all data sets have clearly resolved the required periodicities in the data, in the form of distinct peaks at days 365, 183, 22, and 73, and the power spectra of day 365 is the highest in all periods. (2) In terms of spatial variation, the daily ranges show nonlinear variation with latitude in China. The results show the existence of a point of inflexion (maximal value point) nearby at about 25°N, the daily ranges of Z rise from 15°~25°N and have a good linear decrease variation along with 25°~50°N. (3) Compared with the spatial and temporal variations of Z daily ranges with the Sq current inversion, we found that the spatial and temporal characteristics of Z ranges are decided mainly by the spatio-temporal evolution of the Sq current system. (4) If the latitudes of the maximum amplitudes of variation of the vertical component in the geomagnetic quiet days are roughly taken as the latitudes corresponding to the foci of Sq overhead current system, we can see that these latitudes of foci become higher in summer, are lowest in winter and highest during Equinoxes, displaying conspicuous monthly and daily variations. For two successive geomagnetic quiet days, the latitudes of foci may vary ten degrees.

The Financing Situation and Suggestion of the Construction of Indemnificatory Housing in the Background of Land Finance Transformation

In recent years, the Chinese government has taken lots of measures to expand domestic demand and promote economic growth in response to the financial crisis. Accelerating the construction of indemnificatory housing is one of the most important measures. In order to solve the problem of the insufficient supply of the indemnificatory housing, the government speed up the construction of indemnificatory housing and constantly expand the scale of the construction. With the increase of indemnificatory housing, the problem of construction fund is increasingly highlighted. Large-scale construction of indemnificatory housing in the short term results in large funds pressure. Indemnificatory housing fund has several notable features, it requires a large demand for money and the capital turnover time is quite long. Also, its poor liquidity makes it difficult to get your money out at any time. In this article, the present situation and existing problems of indemnificatory housing are analyzed, the countermeasures and suggestions are put forward combining the capital sources of indemnificatory housing, so as to provide reference for indemnificatory housing financing.

Five Steps to Cultivate Volvariella volvacea

Volvariella volvacea is a popular variety because of its distinct flavor, pleasant taste, higher protein content and shorter cropping duration compared with other cultivated mushrooms. It is also the most expensive mushroom in artificial mushrooms.With the development of economy and the industrialization of edible fungi, more and more straw mushroom has been cultivated in northern China, and southern mushroom is moving to northern areas. In this study, based on many years of cultivation experience, the high yield cultivating techniques of V. volvacea was summarized. V. volvacea cultivation consists of five steps, i.e.,composting, pasteurization, spawning, pining and harvesting.

Where Are Potential Regions for the Reallocation of Wheat in the Context of Chinese Land Fallow and Food Security Policies? Findings from Spatio-temporal Changes in Area and Production Between 1990 and 2014

One of the aims of the recently initiated land fallow policy is to encourage winter wheat abandonment in order to recover the groundwater environment of the North China Plain (NCP);although this also threatens a national secure supply of this crop,as the NCP is the major wheat producing area in China.It is therefore necessary to consider regional wheat reallocation in order to meet the twin challenges of production and water conservation.An evaluation of spatiotemporal changes in wheat area and production across China in recent years may shed light on the regions that have the potential for reallocation;such trends are analyzed in this study using agricultural statistical data.Three over-arching principles are proposed that reallocation must be naturally suitable,economically feasible,and socially acceptable,and together with the result of the spatiotemporal analysis,two continuous areas are recommended as potentially suitable for wheat reallocation-alongside the Huai River and the cold region of northeastern China.We also present strategies to improve wheat yields as well as policies for farmers,aiming to encourage the reallocation of wheat to the regions highlighted in this study.

Modeling the spatio-temporal changes in land uses and its impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China over 2000–2050

Land use and its dynamics have attracted considerable scientific attention for their significant ecological and socioeconomic implications.Many studies have investigated the past changes in land use,but efforts exploring the potential changes in land use and implications under future scenarios are still lacking.Here we simulate the future land use changes and their impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China(NEC) over the period of 2000–2050 using the CLUE–S(Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent) model under the scenarios of ecological security(ESS),food security(FSS) and comprehensive development(CDS).The model was validated against remote sensing data in 2005.Overall,the accuracy of the CLUE–S model was evaluated at 82.5%.Obtained results show that future cropland changes mainly occur in the Songnen Plain and the Liaohe Plain,forest and grassland changes are concentrated in the southern Lesser Khingan Mountains and the western Changbai Mountains,while the Sanjiang Plain will witness major changes of the wetlands.Our results also show that even though CDS is defined based on the goals of the regional development plan,the ecological service value(ESV) under CDS is RMB 2656.18 billion in 2050.The ESV of CDS is lower compared with the other scenarios.Thus,CDS is not an optimum scenario for eco-environmental protection,especially for the wetlands,which should be given higher priority for future development.The issue of coordination is also critical in future development.The results can help to assist structural adjustments for agriculture and to guide policy interventions in NEC.

Soil moisture drought detection and multi-temporal variability across China

Soil moisture droughts can trigger abnormal changes of material and energy cycles in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system,leading to important effects on local ecosystem,weather,and climate.Drought detection and understanding benefit disaster alleviation,as well as weather and climate predictions based on the understanding the land-atmosphere interactions.We thus simulated soil moisture using land surface model CLM3.5 driven with observed climate in China,and corrected wet bias in soil moisture simulations via introducing soil porosity parameter into soil water parameterization scheme.Then we defined soil moisture drought to quantify spatiotemporal variability of droughts.Over the period from 1951 to 2008,40%of months(to the sum of 12×58)underwent droughts,with the average area of 54.6%of total land area of China's Mainland.The annual monthly drought numbers presented a significant decrease in arid regions,but a significant increase in semi-arid and semi-humid regions,a decrease in humid regions but not significant.The Mainland as a whole experienced an increasing drought trend,with77.3%of areal ratio of decrease to increase.The monthly droughts in winter were the strongest but the weakest in summer,impacting 54.3%and 8.4%total area of the Mainland,respectively.The drought lasting three months or more occurred mainly in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions,with probability>51.7%,even>77.6%,whereas those lasting 6 and 12 months or more impacted mainly across arid and semi-arid regions.

Tracking shallow marine red beds through geological time as exemplified by the lower Telychian (Silurian) in the Upper Yangtze Region,South China

Marine red beds occur frequently in China through geological time.Despite their complex environments,the red beds are found in three depositional settings:1) oceanic,deep water,as in the Upper Cretaceous of southern Tibet;2) outer shelf,deeper water,as in the Lower-Middle Ordovician of South China;and 3) inner shelf,shallow water,as in the Silurian and Triassic in South China.The Silurian marine red beds are recurrent in the lower Telychian,upper Telychian,and upper Ludlow.This paper is to document the marine nature of the lower Telychian red beds (LRBs) in the Upper Yangtze Region and to discuss the spatial and temporal distribution of the LRBs and their depositional environments.The LRBs are best developed on the north side of the Cathaysian Oldland,which can be interpreted as the source area.It is inferred that they were deposited during a marine regression,characterized by the lack of upwelling,low nutrition and organic productivity with a decrease of biodiversity and a high rate of sedimentation.The iron-rich sediments may have been transported by rivers on the oldland into the Upper Yangtze Sea,as rates of deposition were rapid enough to counteract normal reducing effect around sediment-water interface.The LRBs are different from the off-shore,deeper water red beds of lower Telychian in Avalonia and Baltica and further from the oceanic,deep water red beds of Upper Cretaceous in southern Tibet chiefly in palaeogeographic settings,biotic assemblages and marine environments.