ALBERT

Notes: Computation of the grain-size distribution of the suspended load above a sand bed must take into consideration: (1) sorting processes from the bed to the bed layer and (2) sorting between the bed layer and suspension. Grain-size distributions of the bed layers above sand beds of three different types have been computed in this work, both by the Einstein and the Gessler methods. Using these as references, suspended load distributions have been obtained in each case by the Rouse suspension equation. A new formula has also been developed in partial modification of Hunt's method for direct computation of bed load and suspended load from a bed's grain-size distribution and flow parameters.Comparison of the computed data with actual observations in laboratory flumes show that no one method is particularly superior to the others, but the present method is advantageous because it affords direct computation of the suspended load from a bed's grain-size distribution, without going through an intermediate stage (bed load). The possible sources of error in each of the methods have been discussed.

Notes: Phacotus and Coccomonas, two carbonate-secreting, non-marine, planktonic chlorophyte genera, are important sediment contributors mainly in hard water lakes. The calcite loricae of these flagellate algae exhibit characteristic features easily recognizable under the microscope, making Phacotus and Coccomonas important facies fossils for the recognition of ancient non-marine environments.The fossil record of Phacotus can be traced back to the Miocene and it is probable that further research could extend this record into pre-Tertiary periods.

Notes: Variations in the cathodoluminescent properties of carbonates are usually attributed to differing proportions of manganese (Mn2+) as the most important activator, and iron (Fe2+) as the main inhibitor of luminescence. Interactions between manganese and iron concentrations and the luminescent properties of dolomite are demonstrated by petrographic and chemical analyses of 86 samples of dolomite representing a range of depositional environments and ages (Cambrian to Cretaceous) and a wide geographical distribution (North America and Europe).Iron and manganese are positively correlated in the dolomites, with the former showing a greater range of variation. Very small amounts of manganese are sufficient to activate the luminescence and as little as 100 ppm Mn2+ is present in highly luminescing samples. The intensity of luminescence is not proportional to the manganese concentration. Iron begins to quench luminescence as its concentration reaches 10,000 ppm. Above that level, luminescence is rapidly lost and total extinction occurs among samples containing more than 15,000 ppm Fe2+, regardless of the manganese concentration.

Notes: Bahiret el Biban is a restricted lagoon in an arid climate. The general geological setting is briefly analysed, especially with respect to the relations between the water body and its evaporitic bordering areas, i.e. supratidal sabkhas.The geochemical behaviour of the lagoon waters has been studied over a 2-year period following floodings. In spite of some exchange with the open sea, there is a general tendency towards increasing salinity, calcium sulphate impoverishment and a consequent increase of the Mg/Ca ratio. Thus, unless large floodings occur, the basin waters undergo an evaporitic evolution.Sedimentation and early diagenesis are controlled largely by this geochemical pattern, but also by exchange with the open sea and by the water depth. Organic matter derived from the sea is deposited on entering this highly saline basin and locally produces sediments which could eventually become source rocks.Bahiret el Biban is a possible model which may be of considerable interest in the reconstruction of the early stages of the evolution of evaporitic basins.

Notes: In a recent paper O'Brien, Nakazawa & Tokuhashi (1980) summarized observations of clay fabric in some Pliocene and Holocene siltstones and silts. They demonstrated that clay fabric could be used, in combination with other sedimentary features, to distinguish hemipelagic sediments and turbidites.

Notes: Janke has corroborated the results of Wellendorf & Krinsley (1980) which indicated that small quartz particles are platy in nature. This is not the first time that fine, platy quartz has been described in the literature; Krinsley & Smalley (1973) believed that quartz particles became increasingly flatter with decreasing size and that a cleavage mechanism could operate below about 100μm. If Janke's work were extended to smaller sizes, perhaps this idea of increasing flatness with decreasing size would be confirmed or denied.

Notes: The ridge and swale topography of the Middle Atlantic Bight is best developed on the Delaware-Maryland inner shelf. Here sand ridges can be seen in all stages of formation. Several aspects of the ridge field are pertinent to the problem of ridge genesis. The first is ridge morphology. There is a systematic morphologic change from shoreface ridges through nearshore ridges to offshore ridges, which reflects the changing hydraulic regime. As successively more seaward ridges are examined, maximum side slope decreases, the ratio of maximum seaward slope to maximum landward slope decreases, and the cross-sectional area increases. These changes in ridge morphology with depth and distance from shore appear to be equivalent to the morphologic changes experienced by a single ridge during the course of the Holocene transgression.A second aspect is the change in bottom sediment characteristics that accompanies these large-scale morphologic changes. Megaripples, sand waves and mud lenses appear in the troughs between nearshore and offshore ridges. These changes indicate that the storm flows which maintain ridges are less frequently experienced in the deeper sector, and that the role of high-frequency wave surge becomes less important relative to the role of the mean flow component in shaping the sea-floor.A third aspect is the systematic relationship of grain size to topography. Grain size is 90° out of phase with topography, so that the coarsest sand lies between the axis of the landward trough and the ridge crest, while the finest sand lies between the ridge crest and the axis of the seaward trough. This relationship is characteristic of large-scale bedforms.Finally, flow was measured and transport calculated on the same ridge during a one-month period (November 1976). Threshold was exceeded only during storm events. Mean transport was southerly and a little seaward with respect to both the ridge crest and the shoreline. These flow measurements are in conformity with the pattern of smaller bedforms. A 43-year time series of bathymetric change for this ridge reveals a systematic pattern of landward flank erosion, seaward flank deposition, and seaward crest migration.Sand ridges are considered the consequence of constructive feedback between an initial topography and the resulting distribution of bottom shear stress. The relationship between grain size and topography supports this model, but does not account directly for the oblique angle of the ridge with respect to the coastline. This feature may be due to a more rapid alongshore migration rate of the inshore edge of the ridge than the offshore edge, and the relationship between this migration rate, and the rate of shoreface retreat.

Notes: The Nolichucky Formation (0–300 m thick) formed on the Cambrian pericratonic shelf in a shallow intrashelf basin bordered along strike and toward the regional shelf edge by shallow water carbonates and by nearshore clastics toward the craton. Lateral facies changes from shallow basinal rocks to peritidal carbonates suggest that the intrashelf basin was bordered by a gently sloping carbonate ramp.Peritidal facies of the regional shelf are cyclic, upward-shallowing stromatolitic carbonates. These grade toward the intrashelf basin into shallow ramp, cross-bedded, ooid and oncolitic, intraclast grain-stones that pass downslope into deeper ramp, subwave base, ribbon carbonates and thin limestone conglomerate. Ribbon limestones are layers and lenses of trilobite packstone, parallel and wave-ripple-laminated, quartzose calcisiltite, and lime mudstone arranged in storm-generated, fining upward sequences (1–5 cm thick) that may be burrowed. Shallow basin facies are storm generated, upward coarsening and upward fining sequences of green, calcareous shale with open marine biota; parallel to hummocky laminated calcareous siltstone; and intraformational flat pebble conglomerate. There are also rare debris-flow paraconglomerate (10–60 cm thick) and shaly packstone/wackestone with trace fossils, glauconite horizons and erosional surfaces/hardgrounds. A 15-m thick tongue of cyclic carbonates within the shale package contains subtidal digitate algal bioherms which developed during a period of shoaling in the basin.Understanding the Nolichucky facies within a ramp to intrashelf basin model provides a framework for understanding similar facies which are widely distributed in the Lower Palaeozoic elsewhere. The study demonstrates the widespread effects of storm processes on pericratonic shelf sedimentation. Finally, recognition of shallow basins located on pericratonic shelves is important because such basins influence the distribution of facies and reservoir rocks, whose trends may be unrelated to regional shelf-edge trends.