Paleotsunami Evidence in the Bahía Inglesa Coast (Atacama, Chile) Based on a Multi-Approach Analysis

The Atacama coast is located in an area with a current high risk of tsunami, and the sedimentary deposits found in the Bahía Inglesa area, in the Morro sector, clearly indicate that this was also the case in the past. Thisinvestigation analyzes a paleotsunami sedimentary deposit consisting of a block field associated with three sand lobes oriented towards land on top of a marine terrace at an altitude of 70–75 m, which originated from a tsunamigenic event occurred between interglacial periods MIS 7 (ca. 210 ± 10 ky) and MIS5e (ca.125 ± 5 ky). The deposits have been studied using a multiple approach combining geomorphological, sedimentological, biological, and geochemical criteria. The first type of criteria clearly indicate that the energy required to move the blocks and form the sand lobes could only have been generated by a tsunami. Sedimentological criteria constitute direct evidences of a marine origin due to the presence of siliceous remains from diatom species and spicules from strictly marine sponges, while geochemical criteria, such as the stable isotope signature and chemical composition, constitute evidence of a marine intrusion.

Spontaneous initiation of debris flow surges from sedimentary deposits

<p>Spontaneous initiation of debris flow surges from sedimentary deposits</p><p>Wang Baoliang<sup>1 </sup>, Li Yong<sup>2</sup>, Guo Xiaojun<sup>2</sup></p><p>1 Yellow River Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou, 450004, China</p><p>2 Key Laboratory of Mountain Hazards and Surface Process / Institute of Mountain Hazards and  Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China</p><p> </p><p>We report here that a small gully of sedimentary deposit has spontaneously produced a sequence of debris flow surges in great variety of appearances. The event occurred in a tributary gully of 0.16km<sup>2</sup>, without slope failures and rainstorms; the only triggering force was the groundwater at small discharge (0.5L/s). Individual surges originated separately from the sediment in different manners and appeared in a variety of flow regimes and material compositions(Fig.1). We’ve taken a detailed scrutiny on the whole processes, i.e., the surge sequence spontaneously occurring in the stream (Fig.2), and suggested a mechanism for the surge scenario. It is proposed that the sediment is heterogeneously composed of blocks of granular aggregates, featured by the grain size distribution (GSD). With different GSD parameters, sediment blocks have different critical condition of liquefaction or fluidization, which determines the manner of surge initiation (Fig.3). Fine grains are easily to run out with infiltration to form slurry and lubricate the substrate sediment layer, facilitating the mobility of succeeding surges; while coarse grains collapse as Coulomb failure and turn into high concentrated surges. And variation of the substrate granular structure causes on and off of the surges. In summary, it is the randomness of GSD and block of sediment that lead to the variety of surge initiation; and the initiation and motion of tributary surges provides a vivid scenario for intermittent surges in the mainstream channel.</p><p> </p>

Sustained wood burial in the Bengal Fan over the last 19 My

The Ganges–Brahmaputra (G-B) River system transports over a billion tons of sediment every year from the Himalayan Mountains to the Bay of Bengal and has built the world’s largest active sedimentary deposit, the Bengal Fan. High sedimentation rates drive exceptional organic matter preservation that represents a long-term sink for atmospheric CO2. While much attention has been paid to organic-rich fine sediments, coarse sediments have generally been overlooked as a locus of organic carbon (OC) burial. However, International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 354 recently discovered abundant woody debris (millimeter- to centimeter-sized fragments) preserved within the coarse sediment layers of turbidite beds recovered from 6 marine drill sites along a transect across the Bengal Fan (∼8°N, ∼3,700-m water depth) with recovery spanning 19 My. Analysis of bulk wood and lignin finds mostly lowland origins of wood delivered episodically. In the last 5 My, export included C4 plants, implying that coarse woody, lowland export continued after C4 grassland expansion, albeit in reduced amounts. Substantial export of coarse woody debris in the last 1 My included one wood-rich deposit (∼0.05 Ma) that encompassed coniferous wood transported from the headwaters. In coarse layers, we found on average 0.16 weight % OC, which is half the typical biospheric OC content of sediments exported by the modern G-B Rivers. Wood burial estimates are hampered by poor drilling recovery of sands. However, high-magnitude, low-frequency wood export events are shown to be a key mechanism for C burial in turbidites.

Hominin and animal activities in the microstratigraphic record from Denisova Cave (Altai Mountains, Russia)

Denisova Cave in southern Siberia uniquely contains evidence of occupation by a recently discovered group of archaic hominins, the Denisovans, starting from the middle of the Middle Pleistocene. Artefacts, ancient DNA and a range of animal and plant remains have been recovered from the sedimentary deposits, along with a few fragmentary fossils of Denisovans, Neanderthals and a first-generation Neanderthal–Denisovan offspring. The deposits also contain microscopic traces of hominin and animal activities that can provide insights into the use of the cave over the last 300,000 years. Here we report the results of a micromorphological study of intact sediment blocks collected from the Pleistocene deposits in the Main and East Chambers of Denisova Cave. The presence of charcoal attests to the use of fire by hominins, but other evidence of their activities preserved in the microstratigraphic record are few. The ubiquitous occurrence of coprolites, which we attribute primarily to hyenas, indicates that the site was visited for much of its depositional history by cave-dwelling carnivores. Microscopic traces of post-depositional diagenesis, bioturbation and incipient cryoturbation are observed in only a few regions of the deposit examined here. Micromorphology can help identify areas of sedimentary deposit that are most conducive to ancient DNA preservation and could be usefully integrated with DNA analyses of sediments at archaeological sites to illuminate features of their human and environmental history that are invisible to the naked eye.

MÉTODOS CLÁSSICOS DE SEDIMENTOLOGIA APLICADOS À IDENTIFICAÇÃO DE DEPÓSITOS COSTEIROS COMO FERRAMENTA AO LICENCIAMENTO AMBIENTAL (CLASSICAL METHODS OF SEDIMENTOLOGY APPLIED TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF COASTAL DEPOSITS AS A TOOL TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSING)

RESUMO:A classificação de ambientes costeiros pode ser uma tarefa complexa. O estudo da geomorfologia na identificação de ambientes sedimentares necessita de uma validação. Não raro, feições como cordões litorâneos são confundidas com dunas. O depósito sedimentar em forma de dunas fica melhor caracterizado quando realizados estudos sedimentológicos, nos quais são observados os parâmetros granulométricos e a morfoscopia dos grãos. Neste trabalho estes métodos clássicos de sedimentologia foram aplicados aos sedimentos de testemunhos coletados na planície costeira da localidade de Mosqueiro (SE). A análise granulométrica e morfoscópica mostrou que, apesar de os sedimentos possuírem algumas características peculiares às areias de dunas, como uma granulometria fina, assimetria positiva tendendo para os finos e distribuição leptocúrtica da curva gaussiana, os sedimentos apresentam outras características como a seleção moderada e a superfície predominantemente polida que indicam que estes depósitos não foram formados exclusivamente pelo transporte eólico. O transporte misto, ora pela água, ora pelo vento, aponta para um ambiente de cordões litorâneos. Embora estes depósitos não tenham sido considerados dunas, é importante não construir na faixa de variação natural da praia para se evitar problemas com erosão costeira, bem como garantir a conservação ambiental e a segurança das pessoas e do patrimônio.Palavras-chave: Granulometria; Morfoscopia; Dunas; Cordões Litorâneos. ABSTRACT:The classification of coastal environments could be a complex task. The study of geomorphology in the identification of sedimentary environments requires validation. Often, features like beach ridges are confused with dunes. The sedimentary deposit in the form of dunes is better characterized when sedimentological studies are carried out, in which granulometric parameters and grain morphoscopy are observed. In this work, these classical methods of sedimentology were applied to the sediments of the samples collected in the coastal plain of Mosqueiro (SE). The granulometric and morphoscopic analysis showed that, although the sediments have some characteristics peculiar to the sand dunes, such as fine granulometry, positive asymmetry tending to the fines and leptokurtic distribution of the Gaussian curve, the sediments present other characteristics such as moderate selection and surface that indicate that these deposits were not formed exclusively by the wind transport. The mixed transport, sometimes by the water, or by the wind, points to an environment of coastal strings. Although these deposits have not been considered as dunes, it is important not to build on the natural range of the beach to avoid problems with coastal erosion, as well as to guarantee environmental conservation and the safety of people and property.Keywords: Granulometry; Morphoscopy; Dune; Beach Ridges.

The first Ichneumonid fossil from the Early Pleistocene of Madeira Island (Portugal)

In oceanic islands, well age-constrained deposits containing arthropod somatofossils (body fossils) are rare. However, when available, these are important for providing empirical and independent minimum ages for molecular phylogenetic dating and complementary data on taxonomy, evolution and palaeobiogeography information of the biological groups found as fossils. This is especially important for taxa that speciated within oceanic islands, many becoming single island endemics (SIE). Recently, associated with a 1.3 Ma (Calabrian) fluvial and lacustrine sedimentary deposit from Porto da Cruz in Madeira Island (Fig. 1), a wing, putatively identified as Hymenoptera, was found. Here we describe this wing fossil as belonging to Ichneumonidae, a group with ca. 30% of SIE in Madeira Island. Moreover, this is the first somatofossil of ichneumonid parasitic wasps found in Madeira Island and in Macaronesian islands (i.e. Azores, Madeira, Canaries and Cabo Verde).