Study on Quaternary Sedimentary Environments in East China Mountains

Author: Zhu Cheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-06-01
Features: The development of science often begins with doubt, evolves into debate, and further deepens research during the process of doubt and debate, thus continuously advancing. Regarding the question of whether Quaternary glaciers existed in the middle and low mountains of eastern China, debate and exchange will undoubtedly greatly promote the progress of Quaternary glacier and environmental evolution research, as well as the improvement of theoretical levels, through the comparison and mutual reference of different viewpoints. This is a specialized work on the environmental evolution since the Quaternary in the mountainous areas and foothill plains of East China (mainly in the Lushan, Huangshan, and Tianmushan regions). The book primarily addresses one of the most debated issues in the international geological community for over half a century—the existence of Quaternary glaciers in the low-altitude mountains (below 2000 meters) of eastern China. Starting from the Quaternary sediments in these areas, which both sides of the debate agree need further research, it employs a variety of modern scientific environmental indicators, including grain size, pollen analysis, paleomagnetic dating, illite crystallinity index analysis of clay minerals, trace element and oxide analysis, scanning electron microscopy analysis of heavy mineral surface and sediment microstructure, fractal methods, and petrographic identification of source lithology differences in bedrock and sediment thin sections. From perspectives such as chronology, sedimentology, geomorphology, stratigraphy, geochemistry, neotectonics, deformed reticulated red soil, mixed sediment provenance, paleolatitude variation, and fractal research, the book proposes new insights into reconstructing and restoring the Quaternary paleoenvironment of this region.