Increased thermohaline stratification as a possible cause for an ocean anoxic event in the Cretaceous period

Ocean anoxic events were periods of high carbon burial that led to drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide, lowering of bottom-water oxygen concentrations and, in many cases, significant biological extinction. Most ocean anoxic events are thought to be caused by high productivity and export of carbon from surface waters which is then preserved in organic-rich sediments, known as black shales. But the factors that triggered some of these events remain uncertain. Here we present stable isotope data from a mid-Cretaceous ocean anoxic event that occurred 112 Myr ago, and that point to increased thermohaline stratification as the probable cause. Ocean anoxic event 1b is associated with an increase in surface-water temperatures and runoff that led to decreased bottom-water formation and elevated carbon burial in the restricted basins of the western Tethys and North Atlantic. This event is in many ways similar to that which led to the more recent Plio-Pleistocene Mediterranean sapropels, but the greater geographical extent and longer duration (approximately 46 kyr) of ocean anoxic event 1b suggest that processes leading to such ocean anoxic events in the North Atlantic and western Tethys were able to act over a much larger region, and sequester far more carbon, than any of the Quaternary sapropels.     

Two new carnivores from an unusual late Tertiary forest biota in eastern North America

Late Cenozoic terrestrial fossil records of North America are biased by a predominance of mid-latitude deposits, mostly in the western half of the continent. Consequently, the biological history of eastern North America, including the eastern deciduous forest, remains largely hidden. Unfortunately, vertebrate fossil sites from this vast region are rare, and few pertain to the critically important late Tertiary period, during which intensified global climatic changes took place. Moreover, strong phylogenetic affinities between the flora of eastern North America and eastern Asia clearly demonstrate formerly contiguous connections, but disparity among shared genera (eastern Asia-eastern North America disjunction) implies significant periods of separation since at least the Miocene epoch. Lacustrine sediments deposited within a former sinkhole in the southern Appalachian Mountains provide a rare example of a late Miocene to early Pliocene terrestrial biota from a forested ecosystem. Here we show that the vertebrate remains contained within this deposit represent a unique combination of North American and Eurasian taxa. A new genus and species of the red (lesser) panda (Pristinailurus bristoli), the earliest and most primitive so far known, was recovered. Also among the fauna are a new species of Eurasian badger (Arctomeles dimolodontus) and the largest concentration of fossil tapirs ever recorded. Cladistical analyses of the two new carnivores strongly suggest immigration events that were earlier than and distinct from previous records, and that the close faunal affinities between eastern North America and eastern Asia in the late Tertiary period are consistent with the contemporaneous botanical record.     

Opening of the Tethys in southwest China and its significance to the breakup of East Gondwanaland in late Paleozoic:Evidence from SHRIMP U-Pb zircon analyses for the Garzêophiolite block

SHRIMP U-Pb zircon analyses for a gabbro sample from the Garzê ophiolite block yielded a mean²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 292 ±4 Ma, which indicated that the spreading time of the Garzê-Litang Tethys was most likely at the earliest Permian. Combined with previous studies, we suggest that the opening of the Tethys in southwest China was derived from breakup of the East Gondwanaland in the late Paleozoic.     

特提斯构造域典型构造特征及其控制因素探讨——以物理模拟成果为例

特提斯构造带的变形特征及其形成演化已成为研究的热点,其对板块构造重建和油气资源富集规律的认识具有非常重要的意义.为此,从近年来有关物理模拟技术对特提斯构造域的褶皱-冲断带变形特征的研究出发,系统归纳、总结物理模拟对特提斯构造域从西段比利牛斯山、喀尔巴阡山、阿尔卑斯山,中段的高加索和扎格罗斯山到东段的天山、库车、喜马拉雅...     

羌塘盆地侏罗纪双壳类化石组合及古环境

海相侏罗系是羌塘盆地发育最全、分布最广泛的沉积层系.作者根据详细的野外地质工作,收集了典型剖面的岩相、沉积构造和大量的化石,并借鉴、总结前人的研究成果,对该区双壳类生物地层进行较系统的、全面的分析研究,划分了五个双壳类化石组合:Camptonectes auritus-Pteroperna costatula,Eomiodon angulatus-Isognomon(Mytiloperna)bathonica,Camptonectes laminatus-Anisocardia beaumonti,Anisocardia tenera-Modiala biparta以及Gervillella aviculoides-Radulopecten fibrosus;认为该区雁石坪群的时代从巴柔期至牛津-基末里期,从而建立起生物地层格架及年代地层格架.根据沉积标志以及典型的化石组合,探讨了研究区古地理环境,并识别出滨海、潮坪、潟湖、碳酸盐台地以及碳酸盐缓坡等古沉积环境,揭示了各时期自然地理状况,对探索东特提斯地区的构造演化和双壳类的生态演变都有重要的意义.     

Eclogites in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau and their geodynamic implications

Eclogites have been recently reported in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau, including in the central Qiangtang metamorphic belt, in the Basu metamorphic massif of the eastern Bangong-Nujiang suture zone, and at Songdo and Pengco in the eastern Lhasa terrane. Some typical ultrahigh-pressure （UHP） metamorphic phenomena, e.g., garnet exsolution from clinopyroxene, were documented in the Basu and Pengco eclogites. The UHP metamorphism in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau marked by these eclogites generally took place in the Early Mesozoic. Along with exhumation of these eclogites, （post-） collision-related magmatism extensively occurred around the central Qiangtang belt, the eastern Bangong-Nujiang suture zone, and the eastern Lhasa terrane. The occurrence of these Early Mesozoic eclogites manifests an out-of-sequence evolution of the Tethys, and they could be a product of diachronous collision between the eastern Qiangtang terrane and the irregular continental margin of the united western Qiangtang-Lhasa plate, along the linked eastern Bangong-Nujiang-central Qiangtang zone. The collision-related magmatic rocks could have been originated from lithospheric thickening, melting, or detachment due to the collision. The presence of UHP metamorphic rocks in central Qiangtang and Basu implies likely continental deep-subduction, and the denudation of these two metamorphic zones could have served as the source of the Triassic turbidites in the Songpan-Garze complex and the Jurassic turbidites in the western Bangong-Nujiang zone, respectively. However, studies of the eclogites in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau just began, and many principal aspects still remain to be explored, such as their distributions, typical lithologies and minerals, temperature-pressure conditions, timing of formation and exhumation, protoliths and tectonic setting, and relationship with the evolution of the Tethys and large-scale basins in Tibet.     

Carbon isotope negative excursions across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary interval in the Tibetan Himalayas

Fossils from sections at Germig in the Tibetan Himalayas allow the establishment of ammonoid assemblages ranging from uppermost Triassic to basal Jurassic. The carbon isotope profile from these sections shows a majority of positive values in the Rhaetian, and negative values within the Hettangian intervals. Pronounced negative excursions between the Triassic and Jurassic boundary corresponds to the end-Triassic extinction. A stepwise pattern of the end-Triassic extinction is demonstrated by the bivalves and ammonoids. However, the warm episode persisting throughout from late Triassic to basal Hettangian in the Tibetan Himalayas, indicated by subtropic and tropic forms remains to be interpreted.     

Carbon isotope negative excursions across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary interval in the Tibetan Himalayas

Fossils from sections at Germig in the Tibetan Himalayas allow the establishment of ammonoid assemblages ranging from uppermost Triassic to basal Jurassic. The carbon isotope profile from these sections shows a majority of positive values in the Rhaetian, and negative values within the Hettangian intervals. Pronounced negative excursions between the Triassic and Jurassic boundary corresponds to the end-Triassic extinction. A stepwise pattern of the end-Triassic extinction is demonstrated by the bivalves and ammonoids. However, the warm episode persisting throughout from late Triassic to basal Hettangian in the Tibetan Himalayas, indicated by subtropic and tropic forms remains to be interpreted.     

When the American sea sturgeon swam east

The two species of Atlantic sea sturgeon on either shore of the North Atlantic, Acipenser sturio in Europe and A. oxyrinchus in North America, probably diverged with the closure of the Tethys Sea and the onset of the North Atlantic Gyre 15-20 million years ago, and contact between them was then presumably precluded by geographic distance. Here we present genetic, morphological and archaeological evidence indicating that the North American sturgeon colonized the Baltic during the Middle Ages and replaced the native sturgeon there, before recently becoming extinct itself in Europe as a result of human activities. In addition to representing a unique transatlantic colonization event by a fish that swims upriver to spawn, our findings have important implications for projects aimed at restocking Baltic waters with the European sturgeon.     

木薯淀粉对栉孔扇贝闭壳肌凝胶特性的改善作用

为了解决扇贝产品单一,精深加工比例低的问题,以栉孔扇贝闭壳肌为研究对象,对其营养成分进行了测定,并研究了不同添加量的木薯淀粉对扇贝肉糜凝胶强度、质构特性、持水性、白度、蛋白组成及微观结构的影响。结果表明,栉孔扇贝闭壳肌中水分、粗蛋白、粗脂肪和灰分质量分数分别为82.15%、16.23%、2.05%和1.24%,除色氨酸外,16种水解氨基酸的总量为13.204%。随着木薯淀粉添加量的增加,扇贝闭壳肌肉糜的凝胶强度、持水性、硬度和咀嚼度呈现先升高后降低的趋势,但对其弹性、黏聚性和白度没有显著性影响。电泳图谱结果表明,添加质量分数为1%的木薯淀粉,贝糜凝胶蛋白中肌球蛋白重链的条带最窄,说明淀粉可促进贝糜蛋白的交联;光学显微镜和扫描电镜结果表明,木薯淀粉添加量为1%或2%时,贝糜凝胶的网络结构更为致密,孔洞更小。本研究表明,栉孔扇贝是一种高蛋白的水产资源,可用来生产贝肉糜凝胶,且1%的木薯淀粉添加量对贝糜凝胶品质具有较好的改善作用。希望本研究能为扇贝精深加工提供一定的理论依据。     

Geology and palaeontology of the Late Miocene Middle Awash valley, Afar rift, Ethiopia.

The Middle Awash study area of Ethiopia's Afar rift has yielded abundant vertebrate fossils (approximately 10,000), including several hominid taxa. The study area contains a long sedimentary record spanning Late Miocene (5.3-11.2 Myr ago) to Holocene times. Exposed in a unique tectonic and volcanic transition zone between the main Ethiopian rift (MER) and the Afar rift, sediments along the western Afar rift margin in the Middle Awash provide a unique window on the Late Miocene of Ethiopia. These deposits have now yielded the earliest hominids, described in an accompanying paper and dated here to between 5.54 and 5.77 Myr. These geological and palaeobiological data from the Middle Awash provide fresh perspectives on hominid origins and early evolution. Here we show that these earliest hominids derive from relatively wet and wooded environments that were modulated by tectonic, volcanic, climatic and geomorphic processes. A similar wooded habitat also has been suggested for the 6.0 Myr hominoid fossils recently recovered from Lukeino, Kenya. These findings require fundamental reassessment of models that invoke a significant role for global climatic change and/or savannah habitat in the origin of hominids.     

试论梁启超对西方近代地理学在中国传播的贡献

阐述在清末民初西风东渐日益强劲的背景下,维新派的代表人物梁启超在推介西方近代地理学关于人地关系、地理环境决定论等方面的贡献和影响,同时指出梁启超也是最早正确评价徐霞客其人其事的一位学者。这都是中国地理学史上的大事,但为已有的中国地理学史所不载,应对梁启超的以上贡献给予充分肯定和公正评价。     

三叠纪幻龙研究进展及存在的问题

随着欧洲及中国华南三叠纪地层中具有头后骨骼的幻龙属新材料的发现, 幻龙属的研究近年取得新进展。通过分析前人对幻龙属内各物种的分类学沿革、地层发生顺序及古地理分布的研究, 认为幻龙最早出现于安尼期早期, 在安尼期晚期至拉丁期早期达到繁盛期, 在卡尼期早期绝灭。结合幻龙属的分支谱系分析, 认为其可能的迁移路线为: 在欧洲, 由荷兰迁移至德国和以色列。关于幻龙最早出现于西特提斯还是东特提斯, 目前尚无定论。     

Evidence for cultivar adoption and emerging complexity during the mid-Holocene in the La Plata basin

Multidisciplinary investigations at the Los Ajos archaeological mound complex in the wetlands of southeastern Uruguay challenge the traditional view that the La Plata basin was inhabited by simple groups of hunters and gatherers for much of the pre-Hispanic era. Here we report new archaeological, palaeoecological and botanical data indicating that during an increasingly drier mid-Holocene, at around 4,190 radiocarbon (14C) years before present (bp), Los Ajos became a permanent circular plaza village, and its inhabitants adopted the earliest cultivars known in southern South America. The architectural plan of Los Ajos during the following Ceramic Mound Period (around 3,000-500 14C yr bp) is similar to, but earlier than, settlement patterns demonstrated in Amazonia, revealing a new and independent architectural tradition for South America.     

The earliest dromaeosaurid theropod from South America

The evolutionary history of Maniraptora, the clade of carnivorous dinosaurs that includes birds and the sickle-clawed Dromaeosauridae, has hitherto been largely restricted to Late Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits on northern continents. The stunning Early Cretaceous diversity of maniraptorans from Liaoning, China, coupled with a longevity implied by derived Late Jurassic forms such as Archaeopteryx, pushes the origins of maniraptoran lineages back to Pangaean times and engenders the possibility that such lineages existed in Gondwana. A few intriguing, but incomplete, maniraptoran specimens have been reported from South America, Africa and Madagascar. Their affinities remain contested, however, and they have been interpreted as biogeographic anomalies relative to other faunal components of these land-masses. Here we describe a near-complete, small dromaeosaurid that is both the most complete and the earliest member of the Maniraptora from South America, and which provides new evidence for a unique Gondwanan lineage of Dromaeosauridae with an origin predating the separation between northern and southern landmasses.     

Cacao usage by the earliest Maya civilization

The Maya archaeological site at Colha in northern Belize, Central America, has yielded several spouted ceramic vessels that contain residues from the preparation of food and beverages. Here we analyse dry residue samples by using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to atmospheric-pressure chemical-ionization mass spectrometry, and show that chocolate (Theobroma cacao) was consumed by the Preclassic Maya as early as 600 bc, pushing back the earliest chemical evidence of cacao use by some 1,000 years. Our application of this new and highly sensitive analytical technique could be extended to the identification of other ancient foods and beverages.     

广西二叠纪的沉积与矿产概要

广西二叠纪沉积岩石类型有碳酸盐岩、碎屑岩、铁铝质岩、硅质岩及火山碎屑沉积岩等５种类型。古生物计有１９个门类，５５３属，１３２带（组合），１３１３种。沉积海域分属陆地－陆缘滨岸相、陆缘碳酸盐台地或碳酸盐缓坡相、弧立碳酸盐台地相、台地边缘相、台缘斜坡－浅水盆地相和半深水－深水盆地相等不同的沉积环境。其沉积古地理格局严格受岗瓦纳板块南移、碎裂和特提斯海的扩张影响，可分为石炭纪泛大陆晚期发展阶段（马平晚期     

1812年英美战争的历史考察

1812年的英美战争即第二次独立战争是美国历史上一次有重大历史意义的战争,它从1812年起至1815年《根特和约》的缔结以美国的胜利而结束。它改变了美国自殖民地时期形成的重商主义传统,开始了国家的工业化进程;它进一步凝聚了美国的民心,使国家更为团结;战争的结果也推动了国家军事实力的增长,为美国的西部扩展与在南美的影响的扩大提供了实力保证;它改变了与英国关系紧绷的状态,从而避免了美国与英国可能的正面冲突,为美国的崛起提供了良好的外部环境。     

美国思想政治教育探究与借鉴

美国思想政治教育以其"润物细无声"的方式隐含、渗透于美国社会的方方面面.作为一种比较重要的西方思想政治教育模式,美国的思想政治教育无疑是值得研究的.本文通过对美国思想政治教育发展现状的分析,总结出美国思想政治教育的特征,并提出了借鉴美国思想政治教育的几点建议.     

New light shed on the oldest insect

Insects are the most diverse lineage of all life in numbers of species, and ecologically they dominate terrestrial ecosystems. However, how and when this immense radiation of animals originated is unclear. Only a few fossils provide insight into the earliest stages of insect evolution, and among them are specimens in chert from Rhynie, Scotland's Old Red Sandstone (Pragian; about 396-407 million years ago), which is only slightly younger than formations harbouring the earliest terrestrial faunas. The most well-known animal from Rhynie is the springtail Rhyniella praecursor (Entognatha; Collembola), long considered to be the oldest hexapod. For true insects (Ectognatha), the oldest records are two apparent wingless insects from later in the Devonian period of North America. Here we show, however, that a fragmentary fossil from Rhynie, Rhyniognatha hirsti, is not only the earliest true insect but may be relatively derived within basal Ectognatha. In fact, Rhyniognatha has derived characters shared with winged insects, suggesting that the origin of wings may have been earlier than previously believed. Regardless, Rhyniognatha indicates that insects originated in the Silurian period and were members of some of the earliest terrestrial faunas.