Fluvial or aeolian? Unravelling the origin of the silty clayey sediment cover of terraces in the Hanzhong Basin (Qinling Mountains, central China)

This study is focused on a silty clayey sedimentary sequence on a terrace in the intramontane Hanzhong Basin, located in the Qinling Mountains (QLM), central China. Traditionally, the QLM are considered to have blocked dust transport from northwest to southeast China. However, in recent years, geo-archaeological studies have documented loess...

Better molecular preservation of organic matter in an oxic than in a sulfidic depositional environment: Evidence from Thalassiphora pelagica (Dinoflagellata, Eocene) cysts

Anoxic sediments, as compared to oxic settings, encompass a much higher proportion of relatively labile and thus more reactive organic matter, naturally giving rise to structural changes of the organic molecules themselves, as well as cross-linking between them (e.g., through reactive sulfur species). Both processes transform the original...

River flooding and landscape changes impact ecological conditions of a scour hole lake in the Rhine-Meuse delta, The Netherlands

A 400-year sediment record from an 18 m deep scour hole lake (Haarsteegse Wiel) near the Meuse River in the Netherlands was investigated for past changes in water quality, flooding frequency and landscape change using geophysical, geochemical and micropaleontological information. The results are highly significant for determining long-term...

Optical dating of fluvio-deltaic clastic lake-fill sediments - A feasibility study in the Holocene Rhine delta (western Netherlands)

We test the applicability of quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating on clastic lake sediments to investigate whether this dating method can be applied to study the timing and rate of deposition in Holocene fluvio-deltaic lakes. Our study concerns the filling of a lake by the Angstel-Vecht system, part of the Rhine delta in the...

Biogenic silica microfossils in sediments of the Permian - Carboniferous Unayzah Formation, Saudi Arabia

Biogenic silica particles (BSPs) have been discovered in sediments of the Permian - Carboniferous Unayzah Formation of Saudi Arabia. The BSPs are extracted from sediments that are generally barren of macro- or microfossils. BSPs have been found in the Basal Khuff Clastics (BKC), and the Unayzah A, B, and C members, that were sampled in six...

Characterization of the reactivity of riverine heterogeneous sediments using a facies-based approach; the Rhine-Meuse delta (The Netherlands)

Large groundwater resources are found in densely populated lowland areas, which consist often of young unconsolidated and reduced sediments. When anthropogenic activities lead to oxygenation of the aquifer, breakdown of the main reduced fractions, i.e. sedimentary organic matter (SOM) and pyrite, could lead to severe groundwater deterioration...

Luminescence dating of Netherland's sediments

Over the last decades luminescence dating techniques have been developed that allow earth scientists to determine the time of deposition of sediments. In this contribution we revity: 1) the development of the methodology, 2) tests of the reliability of luminescence dating on Netherlands' sediments; and 3) geological applications of the method in...

The geometry and stratigraphic position of the Maassluis Formation (western Netherlands and southeastern North Sea)

The geometry and depositional history of the Maassluis Formation is described from an East-West oriented transect located in the west-central Netherlands and P- and Q-blocks in the Dutch offshore area. The Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Maassluis Formation was deposited under near coastal marine conditions. Two distinct facies are...