河流沉积学研究热点与进展——第11届国际河流沉积学大会综述

第11届国际河流沉积学大会于2017年7月17日—21日在加拿大卡尔加里大学举行,每四年举行一次的国际河流沉积学学术会议,吸引了当今北美、欧洲、澳洲及亚洲从事河流沉积学及相关学科研究的众多知名学者参会,研究成果充分体现了当前国际河流沉积学研究取得的重要进展和发展方向。重要进展有:1)河流动力学及其变化过程研究。其中包括将今论古法论现代河流沉积过程与古老地层对比,河道—洪泛平原体系的越岸复合沉积动力学,河流动力学与变化过程研究展望,恢复河道迁移过程:新一代平面图演化模式的讨论,冲积河流和基岩河流的湍流、颗粒间作用和沉积作用;2)陆缘河流。包括河流入海处的地貌动力学与沉积学,河流补给边缘的沉积物搬运、地貌和地层特征,干旱地区河流、冲积扇体系与风的相互作用,植被生长前、无植物生长、或是植被发育区河流的沉积过程研究;3)河流沉积地层及其地下资源。包括源—汇系统,"河流相模式"是否有用的讨论,辫状河、网状河、曲流河概念的厘定等;4)河流地貌变化。包括气候改变、泥泞植被洪泛平原等对河流沉积物通量、河流模式等产生影响,河道中冲积岛屿的演化和稳定河流的蛇曲化,河流环境中沉积物生物作用等。基于上述资料分析,认为河流演化过程从定性向定量化研究,物理模拟与数值模拟技术是河流沉积学研究不可或缺的手段,应用定量建模、数学计算等方法进行精准研究,碎屑锆石U-Pb定年技术是新一代从源到汇研究的重要工具等诸多方面,是我国学者应该重视并开展研究的方向。

IHS—河流沉积学中具有划时代意义的新名词

前言 1987年,R.G.Thomas等人在《Sedimentary Geology》(《沉积地质学》)杂志53卷第122—179页发表了《倾斜非均质层——名词学,描述,解释及其意义》一文,提出了IHS(即倾斜非均质层,Inclined Heterolithic Stratification)这一新名词,并建立了一套“标准的”描述性术语,对IHS的形成过程作了详细论述,介绍了这一现象对于重建沉积环境和古地理地貌以及经济地质方面的意义。这篇文献对于点坝沉积学,几十年来的研究作了评述,对于解决河流沉积学多年来的一些混乱的名称的用法提出了一个新的思路,因此具有划时代的意义。

河流沉积学与磷的污染及治理

河流沉积学的最新进展之一是其在环境治理中的应用。本文结合国内外这方面的最新发展动态，介绍了有关磷污染问题的研究方法。依据磷污染的不同导因，从河流沉积学角度提出相应的治理措施。

从端点走向连续:河流沉积模式研究进展述评

从河道类型的划分、河床演变与河型转换、河道沉积与河流砂体的建筑结构要素、河漫滩沉积、季节性河流与分支河流体系、河流沉积相模式、河流沉积学研究技术与方法等方面对国内外河流沉积模式的研究进展进行了综述,认为近十年来河流沉积学的理论和方法都发生了重要的变化。地貌学家、沉积学家和工程师认识到河道形态是连续可变的,而不是只有4~40多个端点类型。河床的演变受河床比降、流量变幅、河岸沉积物粒度构成、气候、植被以及构造沉降速率等多方面的影响。垂向剖面分析法难以对古河流类型做出正确的判断,运用建筑结构要素分析法重建河道内大型底形的地貌形态是河型判别和河流相模式重建的正确方法。河漫滩是河流沉积事件记录最为齐全的部位,对河漫滩、天然堤和泛滥平原沉积层序的研究能够揭示更多古河流沉积过程以及古环境、古气候和古生物方面的信息。对季节性河流、受季风强烈影响地区的河流、以及不同气候带河流所发育的独特沉积构造和建筑结构要素的研究不断增加。分支河流体系的概念得到越来越多的应用,但也得到不少质疑。我国学者应当注重对现代河流地貌形态和沉积过程的观察,把河床演变学的定量方法与沉积学的观点、理论和资料相结合,利用露头、三维地震资料和探地雷达技术建立河流砂体内部建筑结构信息数据库,加强对古河流河漫滩和泛滥平原的沉积过程、特征及其控制因素的研究,加强对不同构造和气候条件下河流沉积的差异性研究,不断发展河流沉积学研究技术,加强河流沉积学实验室建设和研究队伍建设,加强国际交流与合作,使我国河流沉积学为国家经济社会发展提供更加有力和有效的支撑,为推动国际河流沉积学发展做出中国人自己的贡献。

苏干湖盆地周缘分支河流体系的几何形态及影响因素分析

本文利用Google Earth、Global Mapper等地理信息软件和雷达数字高程数据对苏干湖盆地周缘发育的分支河流体系(Distributive Fluvial System,简称DFS)进行研究。统计了苏干湖盆地周缘DFS的坡度、扇体半径、汇水盆地面积和周长、DFS面积和周长等数据。结果表明:苏干湖盆地发育的DFS在径向剖面上表现为下凹状,横剖面上表现为上凸状,DFS上发育的河道沿顶点处往下呈现为放射状;各几何形态参数相关性分析显示扇体面积与半径表现为强的正相关,与源区面积也表现为正相关,与坡度则表现为负相关;在盆地不同部位发育的DFS其几何形态参数以及河道样式存在明显的差异,这些差异主要与DFS所处的构造位置、母岩性质、水文条件等因素有关。构造活动的强烈程度与DFS源区大小及扇体形态呈正相关性,构造活动越强烈,其扇体几何形态变化越大。母岩性质对DFS的影响主要表现在物源供给上,地表疏松、抗侵蚀风化能力差的母岩区域,DFS的沉积物供给充足,DFS半径延伸较远,扇面积也较大;水文条件通过控制不同区域水动力大小影响DFS的发育,水动力较强的区域DFS的发育规模较大。

Using Geochemistry of Rare Earth Elements to Indicate Sediment Provenance of Sand Ridges in Southwestern Yellow Sea

The Jianggang Harbour-centered radial sand ridge(RSR) is the largest sand body in the Yellow Sea. Its formation and evolution are of interest for scientists of various fields; however, the sediment provenance is uncertain. In this study, rare earth element(REE) geochemical compositions of the RSR sediments together with their potential sources are investigated to identify the provenance of the RSR sediments. The typical parameters((La/Yb)_N,(La/Sm)_N and(Gd/Yb)_N) as well as the upper continental crust-normalized patterns of REEs can only be associated with source rocks, and thus can be used as effective tracers for the origin and sources of sediments. However, the REE contents of sediments are affected by many factors, such as particle sorting and chemical weathering. Onshore RSR sediments are different in REE geochemical composition from offshore RSR sediments to some extent, suggesting that not all of the offshore RSR sediments have the same sources as the onshore RSR sediments. Meanwhile, the sediments adjacent to the northeast of Cheju Island and at Lian Island near the Lianyun Harbour were not the source of the RSR sediments due to their distinctive REE patterns, dEu,(La/Yb)_N,(Gd/Yb)_N and(La/Sm)_N. The Korean river sediments could be dispersed to the Jiangsu Coast slightly impacting the fine fractions of the RSR sediments, particularly the offshore RSR sediments. Additionally, geochemical comparisons show that the modern Yellow River was responsible for the onshore RSR sediments, whereas the sediment loads from the Yangtze River could serve as a major contributor to the RSR, particularly the offshore RSR. In addition, the offshore RSR could also be partly fed by an unknown source due to some high values of(La/Yb)_N,(La/Sm)_N and La contents differing from those of the Chinese and Korean river sediments.

Sediment recycling and indication of weathering proxies

As a result of recycling, the mineralogical and chemical compositions of riverine sediments may reflect the combined effects of the present-day weathering regime as well as previous weathering and diagenetic alteration history. River sediments can be interpreted as a mixture of non-weathered bedrock—of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary origin—and solids formed by the modern weathering system. The correlation between the weathering proxies chemical index of alteration and weathering index of Parker offers an approach to distinguish fine suspended particles, coarse bedload sediments, and recycled sediments under the influence of quartz dilution. Recycling of cation-depleted source rocks formed during past geological weathering episodes may have great impacts on the weathering indices of sediments from the Changjiang(Yangzte) and Zhuoshui Rivers. Special caution is required when using chemical weathering indices to investigate the intensity of chemical weathering registered in fluvial sediments. To minimize the effect of hydrodynamic sorting or sediment recycling, we suggest that the fine sediments(e.g.suspended particles and ﹤2 lm fractions of bedload sediments) in rivers better reflect the average of weatheredcrust in catchments and the terrigenous end-member in marginal seas.

Holocene delta evolution and sequence stratigraphy of the Pearl River Delta in South China

We analyzed the sedimentary characteristics and chronostratigraphy of the Pearl River Delta in South China, and discussed the Holocene stratigraphic characteristics and the filling process since the Holocene, based on 90 boreholes. Our results showed that the maximum transgressive surface of the Pearl River Delta was located in the soft marine silt horizons, whereas it was shown as an erosion surface in areas with tidal scour. From bottom to top, Holocene sedimentary sequences were fluvial facies, floodplain-estuary facies, and estuary-delta facies in the paleo-valley, while the paleo-interfluve sequences were described as littoral facies, estuary facies, and delta facies. Vertical accumulation sequences of Holocene sediments were shown primarily as positive tapering-shaped sequences with no typical foreset, topset, or other sedimentary sequences of the Gilbert Delta. The paleo-Pearl River estuary had different evolution models in the highstand systems tract (HST) compared with other large deltas worldwide, in that it is dominated by a unique and complex geomorphologic boundary, and that it is a multi-sourced delta compounded by the independent and parallel development of fluvial sedimentary bodies with different scales. A huge estuary was formed in the present Pearl River Delta area when the post-glacial transgression reached maximum at about 6 ka BP. The estuary was divided into two parts by obstruction of a series of islands, an upper part composed of the semi-enclosed inner paleo-bay connected to rivers and a lower part consisting of the outer paleo-bay connected to the ocean. Both of these areas were interlinked by only a few narrows, in which the fluvial sediments are accumulated primarily in the inner paleo-bay. During 6-2 ka BP, the sedimentation in various regions of the inner paleo-bay occurred simultaneously with independent development under the remodeling and transformation effect of complex boundaries on river and ocean dynamics. After 2 ka BP, the evolution of the delta is no longer a simple natural process, but rather a common remodeling process accomplished by nature and humans.

Effects of submerged sheet pile vanes on mobile river beds

Submerged vanes are low-height flow-training structures emerging from the riverbed with a suitable angle of attack to the incoming flow. These structures redirect the stream flow and modify erosion and depositional rates in the bottom and in the banks of a river as a result of the secondary currents generated by their installation. For this reason they have many applica- tions in river hydraulics for controlling river bed morphology. An experimental investigation is carried out to compare the effi- ciency of sheet-piling vanes versus thin plane ones in controlling sediment redistribution in the channel bed. In particular, exper- imental tests were carried out within a straight water channel, in conditions of bed load motion. The morphology of the river bed both in the area close to the structure and in the far field was examined at different angles of attack of the vane to the incoming flow and at different values of the submergence parameter, which is the ratio between the height of the water above the structure and the water level. The experimental results show that both the shape of the vanes as well as the angle of attack affect their per- formance in terms of the effects on the bed morphology, especially for greater submergence parameters. Specifically, plane and sheet-piling vanes produce comparable remodelings of the channel bed in the downstream region, but when the attack angle is increased, the thin plane vane causes deeper scour holes close to the structure. This last effect is probably due to the increased erosive capacity of the horseshoe vortex associated with the plane vane, while the uneven surface of the sheet-piling vane miti- gates the erosive strength of that vortex.