This paper presents a detailed study on the textural and geochemical characteristics of the proglacial sediments near the edge of modern Nelson Ice Cap, Antarctica. The grain size distributions of the proglacial sedim...This paper presents a detailed study on the textural and geochemical characteristics of the proglacial sediments near the edge of modern Nelson Ice Cap, Antarctica. The grain size distributions of the proglacial sediments are characteristic of glacigenic deposits, but very different from those of aeolian and lacustrine sediments. Moreover, the grain size distributions of the proglacial sediments are fractal with a dimension of about 2.9, and the fractal dimensions can be used as another summary statistical parameter for quantifying the relative amounts of coarse and fine materials. Correlations between the absolute element abundances of the proglacial sediments are very weak due to mineral partitioning and other effects of glacial processes, but correlations between the element/Rb ratios are statistically significant. This finding indicates that element/Rb ratios can be used to reduce or eliminate the effects of glacial processes, evaluate geochemical data and determine the sediment provenance in the foreland of Antarctic glacier. Comparisons on the element concentrations among different environments suggest that the proglacial sediments are derived predominantly from local bedrocks and appear to be natural in origin. Thus these natural sediments can be used to study chemical weathering in the proglacial foreland of modern glacier.展开更多
It is well known that the Huanghe (Yellow) River ranks first in the world in sediment discharge and that the Changjiang (Yangtze) River is the third in total length and water discharge. The two rivers continuously bri...It is well known that the Huanghe (Yellow) River ranks first in the world in sediment discharge and that the Changjiang (Yangtze) River is the third in total length and water discharge. The two rivers continuously bring large amount of suspended loads to the seas, about 500×10~6 t (the Changjiang River) and 100×10~6 t (the Huanghe River) per year, which make a great contribution to the sedimentation in the shallow water areas of the展开更多
China's continental crust (CCC)has an average thickness of 47km,with the uppercontinental crust (CUCC)being 31 km and the sedimentary layer(CSL)5 km in thickness.The CCC,CUCC and CSL measure 12.437×10^17,8.00...China's continental crust (CCC)has an average thickness of 47km,with the uppercontinental crust (CUCC)being 31 km and the sedimentary layer(CSL)5 km in thickness.The CCC,CUCC and CSL measure 12.437×10^17,8.005×10^17 and 1.146×10^17 metric tons in mass,respectively.The mass ratio of the upper continental crust to the lower one is 1.8:1.The element abundances were calculated for the CCC,CUCC and CSL respectively in terms of the chemical compositions of 2246 samples of various types and some complementary trace element data.The total abundance of 13 major elements accounts for 99.6% of the CCC mass while the other minor elements only account for 0.4%.REE characteristics,the abundance ratios of element pairs and the amounts of ore-forming elements are also discussed in the present paper.展开更多
基金The work was supported by the Nationa1 Natural ScienceFoundation of China(Grant No.40231002 and 40076032)the project of Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KZCX2-303)
文摘This paper presents a detailed study on the textural and geochemical characteristics of the proglacial sediments near the edge of modern Nelson Ice Cap, Antarctica. The grain size distributions of the proglacial sediments are characteristic of glacigenic deposits, but very different from those of aeolian and lacustrine sediments. Moreover, the grain size distributions of the proglacial sediments are fractal with a dimension of about 2.9, and the fractal dimensions can be used as another summary statistical parameter for quantifying the relative amounts of coarse and fine materials. Correlations between the absolute element abundances of the proglacial sediments are very weak due to mineral partitioning and other effects of glacial processes, but correlations between the element/Rb ratios are statistically significant. This finding indicates that element/Rb ratios can be used to reduce or eliminate the effects of glacial processes, evaluate geochemical data and determine the sediment provenance in the foreland of Antarctic glacier. Comparisons on the element concentrations among different environments suggest that the proglacial sediments are derived predominantly from local bedrocks and appear to be natural in origin. Thus these natural sediments can be used to study chemical weathering in the proglacial foreland of modern glacier.
文摘It is well known that the Huanghe (Yellow) River ranks first in the world in sediment discharge and that the Changjiang (Yangtze) River is the third in total length and water discharge. The two rivers continuously bring large amount of suspended loads to the seas, about 500×10~6 t (the Changjiang River) and 100×10~6 t (the Huanghe River) per year, which make a great contribution to the sedimentation in the shallow water areas of the
文摘China's continental crust (CCC)has an average thickness of 47km,with the uppercontinental crust (CUCC)being 31 km and the sedimentary layer(CSL)5 km in thickness.The CCC,CUCC and CSL measure 12.437×10^17,8.005×10^17 and 1.146×10^17 metric tons in mass,respectively.The mass ratio of the upper continental crust to the lower one is 1.8:1.The element abundances were calculated for the CCC,CUCC and CSL respectively in terms of the chemical compositions of 2246 samples of various types and some complementary trace element data.The total abundance of 13 major elements accounts for 99.6% of the CCC mass while the other minor elements only account for 0.4%.REE characteristics,the abundance ratios of element pairs and the amounts of ore-forming elements are also discussed in the present paper.