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Abundant fossil and modern specimens of the bivalve Panomya collected from Hokkaido, northern Japan, belong to five extant species, including P. norvegica and P. trapezoidis (both no longer present in Japan), and P. beringiana, P. nipponica, and P. ampla for modern specimens. I examine the taxonomy lot these species around Japan and also for the extinct P. simotomensis and P. izumo from Japan and discuss the geographic history of Panomya. Panomya originated during the latest Oligocene to middle Miocene in the northeastern Gulf of Alaska. Subsequently, P. simotomensis and P. beringiana appeared in the early to late Miocene of northeastern Asia, while P. izumo and P. trapezoidis appeared in the middle to late Miocene of northeastern Asia and Alaska. Panomya nipponica, P. ampla, and P. norvegica appeared during the Plio-Pleistocene in northern Japan and Bering regions. All extant species evolved in the North Pacific: Panomya trapezoidis and P. norvegica extended their ranges to the North Atlantic in the middle Pliocene and early Pleistocene, respectively, and P. beringiana and P. ampla migrated into the Arctic Ocean in the late Pleistocene to Holocene.

To better understand the sedimentary facies of tide‐dominated deltas, a core dataset from the Ba Lai palaeochannel in the Mekong River Delta was obtained and studied. Nine sedimentary facies were identified and interpreted as representing the Late Holocene evolution of the Ba Lai palaeochannel, including its pre‐abandonment and post‐abandonment phases, as well as pre‐channel phases. The channel formed at 2.6 ka as a distributary channel connected to the deltaic network and was abruptly abandoned and rapidly infilled with sediment at 0.7 ka. The channel deposits are up to ca 11 m thick and overlie shelfal shell layers, which, in turn, overlie Mid‐Holocene and Pleistocene deposits. The active‐channel fill and mouth‐bar deposits consist of sand and mud with cyclical patterns, bidirectional lenses and abundant mud layers, suggesting deposition mainly driven by river and tidal processes. The abandoned‐channel fill consists entirely of organic‐rich mud, suggesting a predominance of tidal processes. Other sedimentary facies include tidal‐flat and marsh deposits; they mostly consist of mud and formed in shallow to subaerial areas near the channel margins or on barforms. Depending on the exact location of the core in this depositional setting, three possible stratigraphic successions and facies models are presented herein. Near channel margins, the deposits show an upward gradual change from heterolithic to mud with a well‐developed fining‐upward trend. Away from the channel margins, the deposits show an upward sharp change from heterolithic to mud due to the channel abandonment. The mouth‐bar‐area facies model shows an upward gradual change from heterolithic to heterolithic/sand to mud deposits with a coarsening‐upward to fining‐upward trend. Although differences among systems likely exist, the authors suggest that the sedimentary facies described in this study and the resulting facies models should be used to better understand tide‐dominated deltaic systems and to improve their interpretation in the geological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandy shelf sediments are important elements of clastic sedimentary systems because of their wide distribution in the geological record and their significance as hydrocarbon reservoirs. Although many studies have investigated shelf sediments influenced by waves or tidal currents, little is known about shelf sediments influenced by oceanic currents, particularly their lithofacies characteristics and stratigraphic evolution. This study investigated the stratigraphic evolution of shelf sediments off the Kujukuri strandplain facing the Pacific Ocean, which is influenced by the strong Kuroshio Current. Sediment cores were obtained from six locations on the Kujukuri shelf (34 to 124 m water depth) using a vibrocorer. The dominant lithofacies is mud‐free sand with low‐angle cross‐lamination associated with alternating beds of finer and coarser sand with cross‐lamination. These display depositional processes influenced by storm waves and the Kuroshio Current, respectively. This finding is consistent with the previously presented modern and historical observations of the Kuroshio Current and estimates of the storm‐wave base. Radiocarbon dates show that the sediment succession formed during the last transgressive and highstand stages after 13·1 ka. The depositional processes during the stages represent a transition from storm waves with abundant sediment supply to both storm waves and the Kuroshio Current with sediment starvation mainly due to its trapping in the strandplain. Comparison to other Holocene–Modern shelf systems suggests that the sandy shelf successions are strongly influenced by oceanic currents under conditions of limited riverine input and open coastal geometry. The resultant sand‐dominated succession is characterized by reversal of the proximal to distal grain‐size trend compared to the fining for most other recognized wave/storm‐dominated shelf successions. This is because of seaward increase in the influence of the Kuroshio Current. Thus, shelf deposits are naturally complex, and these may be further complicated by the additional influence of oceanic currents above the usual wave‐dominated and tide‐dominated end members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study documents lowering of the surf zone (i.e. the upper shoreface) leading to intra-shoreface erosion, following two rapid relative sea-level falls along a tectonically uplifted coast during the Holocene, and the characteristics of the resultant prograding shoreface deposits. These findings are based on high-resolution analysis and radiocarbon dating of three new drill cores obtained from the Kujukuri strand plain, Pacific coast of eastern Japan, combined with previously published borehole data and information on modern shoreline profile adjustments. A shallowing-upward sandy succession composed of lower and upper shoreface facies, foreshore and backshore facies was recognized in the drill cores. Two rapid falls in relative sea-level at 2·3 to 2·6 and 1·8 to 2·0 ka are recorded by downstepping of the base of the foreshore facies, and farther seawards by the lowering of an erosional boundary between the upper and lower shoreface facies. Superimposed bed profiles of an adjacent modern beach define an envelope, the base of which reflects shore-normal migration of longshore bars and troughs. The base of the envelope represents an erosional surface that divides the surface mobile layer above from preserved deposits beneath. The surface is concave upwards and steeper than the mean beach profile, and exhibits a flat platform approximately at the lower limit of the upper shoreface equating to the storm surf zone. The seaward transition of this surface, rather than the mean equilibrium profile, controls the metre-scale to decimetre-scale internal structure of the Kujukuri shoreface deposits. Depositional models for sea-level fall based on an exponential equilibrium profile do not adequately account for the presence and migration of longshore bars and troughs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluvial to marine transition zone (FMTZ) is the area of coastal rivers in which sedimentation is controlled by the interaction of fluvial and marine processes. This study examines the FMTZ of the Mekong River delta, along a total channel length of ~660 km. Methods consist of collection and analysis of channel bed sediment samples, measurements of channel morphological parameters, and recognition of mangrove, molluscan, and diatom species. The process regime, salinity, morphological, and sedimentary trends recognized were used to define two main tracts for this FMTZ: an upstream, fluvial-dominated tract and a downstream, tide-dominated tract. In more detail, they allow the identification of four subzones, from upstream to downstream: 1) fluvial-dominated, tide-affected; 2) fluvial-dominated, tide-influenced; 3) tide-dominated, fluvial-influenced; and 4) tide-dominated, fluvial-affected. Tide-induced water-level changes affect the entire study area and extend into Cambodia. Measured salinity intrusion extends ~15 km upstream of the river mouth during wet season, and ~50 km during dry season. Brackish water species of mangroves, mollusks, and diatoms, however, occur landward of these limits, suggesting that highly diluted brackish water may reach ~160 km upstream of the river mouth during the dry season. In the fluvial-dominated tract, channels are sinuous and show a seaward-deepening trend, whereas width is relatively constant. In the tide-dominated tract, channels are straight, and show seaward-widening and seaward-shallowing trends. Natural levees are present in the fluvial-dominated, tide-affected subzone, but are replaced by mangroves elsewhere along the FMTZ. In the fluvial-dominated tract, mud content is low, sand grain size fines seaward, and gravelly sand and sand are the dominant facies. In the tide-dominated tract, mud content is high, sand grain size is constant, recycled sand is common, and tidal rhythmites are the dominant facies. Mud pebbles are common in sediments throughout a large part of the FMTZ. These trends characterizing the FMTZ of the Mekong River delta seem to be present in other systems and likely represent a general FMTZ pattern. Nonetheless, minor differences may be observed between different types of systems, or because of differences in local conditions. The comprehensive description of trends and their mutual relationships along the FMTZ presented herein provides critical information that can form the basis of a general conceptual model and can help to better understand these complex zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Godavari delta in India is a major wave dominated delta of a tropical monsoon-fed river with one of the largest sediment deliveries in the world. While several earlier studies revealed the nature of landforms and progradation style of the delta plain during the Holocene, the present study attempts to reconstruct the depositional environment of the Godavari delta through the analysis of core sediment and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating from three locations. The sediment core obtained from a 27.06m deep borehole at Vilasavilli (VV) supported by 13 14C dates revealed the complete succession of the Holocene deposits unconformably overlying Pleistocene sediments. Textural analysis indicates the lower upward-fining and upper upward-coarsening units in the Holocene succession. Total organic carbon (TOC)/total nitrogen (TN) ratios of >20; high content of TOC around 1.5–2.5%; and black to very dark colored sediment throughout the muddy part of the Holocene succession indicated a predominance of terrigenous material. The VV core and two other cores (DRP and SDG) with 14 14C dates indicated the thickness of the Holocene sediments in the Godavari delta plain is in the order of ~20–50m, unconformably resting on a seaward sloping Pleistocene basement. Sediment facies and sediment accumulation of the three cores show the evolution of the Godavari delta. A transgressive phase is recognized as an upward-fining succession in the VV core, 8.4–8.0cal ky BP, followed by a low accumulation period, 8.0–6.3cal ky BP including the Holocene maximum transgression in the Godavari delta. After 6.3cal ky BP, areas of high accumulation rates have changed laterally between the central part (VV site) and southwestern part (DRP and SDG sites), may be controlled by the location of river-mouths. Further analysis coupled with 11 more 14C dates compiled from earlier works indicated that the strandplain of the Godavari delta prograded seaward in three stages, and that the rate of progradation accelerated during the past ~3 ky, particularly in the last millennium. However, pronounced shoreline erosion led to a net negative growth of the delta during the recent decades due to sediment retention by upstream dams. Although this study provided insights into the sedimentation patterns and rate of seaward progradation of the Godavari delta, further studies on three-dimensional volume analysis of the deltaic sediments are necessary to estimate the overall rates of past sediment discharge and the Holocene growth of the Godavari delta. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We investigated oxygen isotope and Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in shells of a commercially cultured freshwater pearl mussel (Hyriopsis sp., Unionidae) and ambient water. The first-order fluctuations of oxygen isotope ratios of the outer shell layer along the maximum growth axis recorded the mussels'' annual growth from 2002 to 2007. Clear annual Sr/Ca cycles suggest that Sr was incorporated into the shells at a high rate during warm seasons. All three examined shells showed a clear decrease in annual average Sr/Ca with age. Inter- and intra-annual trends suggest that Sr incorporation was higher during periods of faster growth. The Ba concentration and the Ba/Ca ratio of ambient water showed neither an annual periodicity nor a seasonal trend. In contrast to the findings of an inorganic aragonite precipitation experiment, Ba/Ca was positively correlated with ambient temperature. In addition, Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios were positively correlated with each other. These results suggest that not thermodynamic equilibrium partitioning but the shell growth rate controls Ba incorporation into Hyriopsis shells. The Mg/Ca profiles of the three shells suggest that complex factors control the incorporation of Mg into shell aragonite. Water temperature and annual growth rates did not significantly influence Mg incorporation, and substantial interspecimen differences suggested that physicochemical factors do not exert any systematic control on Mg/Ca ratios in Hyriopsis. Instead, the Mg content of shell aragonite might reflect biological contamination with organic material or adsorption phenomena during crystal precipitation rather than regulated substitution into the aragonite crystal lattice. Our results suggest that trace element profiles in aragonitic bivalve shells could be interpreted as the result of strong biological controls over-riding environmental influences on trace element incorporation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]