Identifying Source Soils in Contemporary Estuarine Sediments: A New Compound-Specific Isotope Method

A new method is proposed for the identification and apportionment of contemporary source soils contributing to estuarine sediments. The method uses compound-specific isotopic analysis of naturally occurring biomarkers (fatty acids) derived from plants to link source soils to land use within a single catchment. For identification and apportionment of source soils in the estuarine samples, the method uses the isotopic mixing model, IsoSource. The feasible proportions obtained from IsoSource are then scaled to allow for the percent organic carbon in the source soils. With this approach, the estimation of each source soil contribution to a location in the estuary is independent of any degradation of the biomarkers through microbial or biogeochemical processes. Identification relies on the evaluation of the sediment sample relative to a “library” of reference source soils from different land use within the catchment. Selection of potential sources is geographically constrained by the requirement for a natural linkage between each source soil and the sediment site sampled. A case study, using this method, mapped the distribution of three main land use source soils (pasture, native forest, and pine forest) across the river delta in a small estuary fringed with mangroves. Rather than being uniformly distributed, the results indicated that the source soil contributions varied markedly across the delta, raising concerns about the validity of taking single cores to characterize the sediments of an estuary. Coupling the source apportionment results with land use data indicated that the mean percent contribution of pine forest soil in the river delta sediments was almost three times greater than the percent land use area of pine forest in the catchment. Furthermore, isotopic signatures indicated that most of the pine forest soil came from the much smaller areas exposed to erosion by clear cut harvesting and that the soil contribution from recently harvested areas of pine forest could be as much as 20 times greater than that land use area in this catchment. This is the first method that can identify and apportion, by land use on a catchment scale, the sources of soil contributing to the sediment at a location of an estuary. The results are given as a “best estimate”, within definable limits, of the proportional contribution of each potential source soil. Information obtained using this method will allow development of management strategies to alter land use practices to reduce the sediment load to rivers, and thus, the impact on the aquatic ecosystem downstream in estuaries.     

Effects of land-use change on nutrient discharges from the Patuxent River watershed

We developed an empirical model integrating nonpoint source (NPS) runoff, point sources (PS), and reservoir management to predict watershed discharges of water, sediment, organic carbon, silicate, nitrogen, and phosphorus to the Patuxent River in Maryland. We estimated NPS discharges with linear models fit to measurements of weekly flow and 10 material concentrations from 22 study watersheds. The independent variables were the proportions of cropland and developed land, physiographic province (Coastal Plain or Piedmont), and time (week). All but one of the NPS models explained between 62% and 83% of the variability among concentration or flow measurements. Geographic factors (land cover and physiographic province) accounted for the explained variability in largely dissolved material concentrations (nitrate [NO₃], silicate [Si], and total nitrogen [TN]), but the explained variability in flow and particulates (sediment and forms of phosphorus) was more strongly related to temporal variability or its interactions with land cover and province. Average concentrations of all materials increased with cropland proportion and also with developed land (except Si), but changes in cropland produced larger concentration shifts than equivalent changes in developed land proportion. Among land cover transitions, conversions between cropland and forest-grassland cause the greatest changes in material discharges, cropland and developed land conversions are intermediate, and developed land and forest-grassland conversions have the weakest effects. Changing land cover has stronger effects on NO₃ and TN in the Piedmont than in the coastal Plain, but for all other materials, the effects of land-use change are greater in the Coastal Plain. We predicted the changes in nutrient load to the estuary under several alternate land cover configurations, including a state planning scenario that extrapolates current patterns of population growth and land development to the year 2020. In that scenario, declines in NPS discharges from reducing cropland are balanced by NPS discharge increases from developing an area almost six times larger than the lost cropland. When PS discharges are included, there are net increases in total water, total phosphorus, and TN discharges.     

Late Quaternary landscape history and geoarchaeology of two drainages on Black Mesa,northeastern Arizona,USA

Two approximately 5‐ to 6‐km drainage segments on Black Mesa preserve unusually complete sequences of late Quaternary alluvium and soils. Radiocarbon‐ and tree‐ring‐dated alluvial and soil stratigraphy suggests entrenched paleoarroyos were beginning to aggrade at about >24,260, 11,070, 9660, 8800, 7060, 3500, 2140, and 1870 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Using the quantity of sediment removal from post‐A.D. 1900 arroyos as analogue, at least 77–200% of total valley alluvium has been removed and replaced by younger sediments during an estimated 11 late Pleistocene and Holocene erosion epicycles. Given that most (59%) of the 150 recorded prehistoric sites in the two study areas occur on valley floors where only about 3% of surface alluvium predates Lolomai phase Basketmaker II occupation (˜1900–1600 yr B.P.), it may be inferred that pre‐Lolomai phase Basketmaker II sites which may have been located along washes have been removed or buried by fluvial erosion. Identification of five buried hearths in alluvial sections, including White Dog and Lolomai phase Basketmaker II sites (dating about 3500 and 1870 ¹⁴C yr B.P., respectively) and one possible Early Archaic site, supports this conclusion. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Characteristics of Non—Point Source Pollution in the Watershed of Miyun Reservoir,Beijing,China

Nitrogen and phosphorus are the major nutrients to cause eutrophication to degrade water quality of the Miyun Reservoir,a very important drinking water source of Bijing,China,and they are mainly from non-point sources.The watershed in Miyun County was selected as the study region with a totoal area of 1400km^2.Four typical monitoring catchments and two experimental units were used to monitor the precipitation,runoff,sediment yield and pollutant loading related to various land uses in the meantime.The results show that the total nutrient loss amounts of TN and TP are 898.07t/a,and 40.70t/a,respectively,in which nutrients N and P carried by runoff are 91.3% and 77.3%,respectively.There is relatively heavier soil eroson in the northern mountain area whereas the main nutrient loss occurs near the northeast edge of the reservoir.Different land uses would influence the loss amounts of non-point source pollutants.The amount of nutrient loss from the agricultural land per unit is highest,that from forestry comes next that from grassland is lowest.However,due to the variability of land use areas,agricultural land contributes a lot to TP and forestry lands to TN.     

利用两种指纹因子判别小流域泥沙来源

为精确识别黄土高原丘陵沟壑区典型小流域泥沙来源,分析了流域内“源-汇”地区土壤的理化性质及生物标志物（正构烷烃）作为潜在指纹识别因子,并建立了复合指纹模型。结果显示:单独的土壤理化指纹及正构烷烃均不能有效识别泥沙来源;土壤理化指纹和正构烷烃分别在林地、农地及沟道的辨别上显示出其局限性。多元化的复合指纹（碳优势指数CPI、Ca、TP、C₂₀、C₂₉、Fe）则能辨别90.5%的泥沙来源。模型结果显示沟道是该流域泥沙的主要来源,占60.8%,其次为农地占20.7%,林地占11.3%,草地占7.2%。研究表明,结合生物标志物的复合指纹法能更精确地反映泥沙来源,适用于各泥沙源头的地质条件差异较小的流域,对黄土高原小流域水土流失治理具有指导意义。     

Land cover change dynamics mapping and predictions using EO data and a GIS-cellular automata model: the case of Al-Baha region,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The present study designed to monitor and predict land cover change (LCC) in addition to characterizing LCC and its dynamics over Al-Baha region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, by utilizing remote sensing and GIS-cellular automata model (Markov-CA). Moreover, to determine the effect of rainwater storage reservoirs as a driver to the expansion of irrigated cropland. Eight Landsat 5/7 TM/ETM images from 1975 to 2010 were analyzed and ultimately utilized in categorizing LC. The LC maps classified into four main classes: bare soil, sparsely vegetated, forest and shrub land, and irrigated cropland. The quantification of LCC for the analyzed categories showed that bare soil and sparsely vegetated was the largest classes throughout the study period, followed by forest, shrubland, and irrigated cropland. The processes of LCC in the study area were not constant, and varied from one class to another. There were two stages in bare soil change, an increase stage (1975–1995) and decline stage (1995–2010), and the construction of 25 rainwater-harvesting dams in the region was the turning point in bare soil change. The greatest increase was observed in irrigated cropland after 1995 in the expense of the other three categories as an effect of extensive rainwater harvesting practices. Losses were evident in forest and shrubland and sparsely vegetated land during the first stage (1975–1995) with 5.4 and 25.6 % of total area in 1995, while in 1975, they covered more than 13.8 and 32.7 % of total area. During the second stage (1995–2010), forest and shrubland witnessed a significant increase from 1569.17 km² in 1975 to 1840.87 km² in 2010. Irrigated cropland underwent the greatest growth (from 422.766 km² in 1975 to 1819.931 km² in 2010) during the entire study period, and this agriculture expansion reached its zenith in the 2000s. Markov-CA simulation in 2050 predicts a continuing upward trend in irrigated cropland and forest and shrubland areas, as well as a downward trend in bare soil and sparsely vegetated areas; the spatial distribution prediction indicates that irrigated cropland will expand around reservoirs and the mountain areas. The validation result showed that the model successfully identified the state of land cover in 2010 with 97 % agreement between the actual and projected cover. The output of this study would be useful for decision makers and LC/land use planners in Saudi Arabia and similar arid regions.     

Sediment source identification and residence times in the Maroochy River estuary,southeast Queensland,Australia

Identification of sediment sources and associated nutrients and contaminants is crucial to the ecological management of aquatic systems. A combination of geochemical and radionuclide tracing techniques and geostatistical modelling have been used to determine the primary source areas of fine sediment delivered to the Maroochy River estuary. The application of radionuclide (¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb) techniques indicate that approximately 70% of the sediment in the Maroochy River estuary originates from subsoil erosion. An average of 60% of sediment in the lower estuary originates from soils developed on the Landsborough Sandstone, with 35% coming from soils developed on granitoids. In the mid-Maroochy River estuary major contributions of fine sediment come from soils developed on Landsborough Sandstone (38%) and granitoids (36%). Estimated sediment residence times in the Maroochy River estuary are generally less than 30 years, however, one sample site near the estuary mouth had an estimated residence time of at least 30 years. This indicates that sediment accumulation rates in mangroves along the estuary margins are relatively low. Results from this study will be used by catchment managers to better target remedial action to reduce fine sediment delivery to the Maroochy River estuary.     

基于遥感与GIS的中国城镇用地扩展特征

利用中国1990—2000年土地利用矢量数据和自然区划图,将中国分为6级城镇用地区。第一级城镇用地分类包括辽东胶东山地丘陵、华北平原、鲁中山地丘陵、淮河及长江中下游平原、粤桂闽丘陵平原、华北山地丘陵。这些地区城镇用地比重高,城镇扩展速度快,城镇扩展面积占全国城镇扩展面积的71．47％,城镇扩展造成耕地面积减少占全国的69．88％;其中华北平原占全国的24．54％,淮河及长江中下游占20．15％。城镇扩展占用的主要是耕地资源,占其扩展面积的78．96％;其次农村居民点用地占10．2％,林地占4．48％,草地占2．6％,水体占1．56％,独立工矿用地占1．43％,未利用地占0．77％。城镇居民点用地扩展占用大量的耕地资源,从而造成耕地资源的大量减少,威胁中国的粮食安全。     

Modeling impacts of sediment delivery ratio and land management on adsorbed non-point source nitrogen and phosphorus load in a mountainous basin of the Three Gorges reservoir area, China

Agricultural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution at the Three Gorges reservoir area in China has been increasingly recognized as a threat to aquatic environment in recent years due to the serious eutrophication problem. Adsorbed NPS pollution is one of the major forms of NPS pollution in mountainous regions, the essential of the adsorbed NPS pollution is soil loss. Thus, simple, highly sensitive and continuous methods are required to simulate and quantify sediments yield at watershed scales. It is imperative to construct an integrated model to estimate the sediment yield and adsorbed NPS pollution load. According to the characteristics of climate, hydrology, topography, geology, geomorphology and land use types in Three Gorges reservoir area, a GIS-based dynamic-integrated-distributed model of annual adsorbed NPS load was presented in view of impacts of the rainfall intensity, sediment delivery ratio (SDR) and land management, where the temporally dynamic-continuous model of annual sediment yield was established by modifying the revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), and the spatially integrated-distributed model of annual adsorbed NPS load was then developed via the correlation between sediment yield and adsorbed NPS load. Furthermore, a case study of the Jialing River basin in China was applied to validate the integrated model, the dynamic-distributed coupling among GIS technology, sediment yield model, and adsorbed NPS load model was achieved successfully. The simulation results demonstrate the following: (1) runoff and sediment are influenced greatly by rainfall intensity, SDR and vegetation cover; rainfall and land management show high sensitivities to the integrated model; the average annual adsorbed TN and TP pollution loads from 2006 to 2010 decreased by 76 and 74 % compared with the previous treatment (1990), respectively. (2) Spatio-temporal variations of adsorbed NPS nitrogen and phosphorus load are mainly related to different land use types and the background level of nutriments in topsoil; different land use types have different contribution rates; the largest contribution rates of adsorbed total nitrogen (TN, 58.9 %) and total phosphorus (TP, 53 %) loads are both from the dryland cropland. (3) The identification of critical source areas can help to implement the prevention and control measures aiming at the reduction of water environmental pollution. These results will provide useful and valuable information for decision makers and planners to take sustainable land use management and soil conservation measures for the control of sediment pollution in the Three Gorges reservoir area. The application of this model in the catchment shows that the integrated model may be used as a major tool to assess sediment yield risks and adsorbed NPS pollution load at mountainous watersheds.     

近10年中国耕地资源时空变化特征

利用80年代末与90年代末期遥感图像解译得到的中国土地利用矢量图,分析了近10年来全国耕地资源的动态变化及空间特征,利用土地利用转移矩阵的方法分析了中国耕地资源的来源、去向及其空间分布特征。研究表明,城乡建设用地扩张、生态退耕是耕地资源减少的主要原因,城镇扩张造成耕地减少最大的依次是江苏、山东、河南、河北、广东、北京、浙江、四川、广西、上海;农村居民点扩张造成耕地减少最大的依次是江苏、河北、安徽、山东、广东、新疆、河南。退耕还林主要集中在浙江、东北、西南、内蒙古、广东等地区,退耕还草主要分布在内蒙古及宁夏地区。广东、湖北、江苏、山东由于农业结构调整,部分耕地被转变为库塘。新开垦耕地资源主要来源于草地、林地,毁林开荒主要发生在东北及内蒙古东部地区,开垦草地主要发生在内蒙古、黑龙江和新疆地区。中国耕地资源的动态变化表现为沿海地区耕地资源的减少及东北、西北地区耕地资源开垦,耕地开垦的结果是对西北及东北的生态环境造成破坏。     

The prehistoric and preindustrial deforestation of Europe

Humans have transformed Europe's landscapes since the establishment of the first agricultural societies in the mid-Holocene. The most important anthropogenic alteration of the natural environment was the clearing of forests to establish cropland and pasture, and the exploitation of forests for fuel wood and construction materials. While the archaeological and paleoecological record documents the time history of anthropogenic deforestation at numerous individual sites, to study the effect that prehistoric and preindustrial deforestation had on continental-scale carbon and water cycles we require spatially explicit maps of changing forest cover through time. Previous attempts to map preindustrial anthropogenic land use and land cover change addressed only the recent past, or relied on simplistic extrapolations of present day land use patterns to past conditions. In this study we created a very high resolution, annually resolved time series of anthropogenic deforestation in Europe over the past three millennia by 1) digitizing and synthesizing a database of population history for Europe and surrounding areas, 2) developing a model to simulate anthropogenic deforestation based on population density that handles technological progress, and 3) applying the database and model to a gridded dataset of land suitability for agriculture and pasture to simulate spatial and temporal trends in anthropogenic deforestation. Our model results provide reasonable estimations of deforestation in Europe when compared to historical accounts. We simulate extensive European deforestation at 1000 BC, implying that past attempts to quantify anthropogenic perturbation of the Holocene carbon cycle may have greatly underestimated early human impact on the climate system.     

Effects of watershed and estuarine characteristics on the abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay subestuaries

Watershed land use can affect submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) by elevating nutrient and sediment loading to estuaries. We analyzed the effects of watershed use and estuarine characteristics on the spatial variation of SAV abundance among 101 shallow subestuaries of Chesapeake Bay during 1984–2003. Areas of these subestuaries range from 0.1 to 101 km², and their associated local watershed areas range from 6 to 1664 km². Watershed land cover ranges from 6% to 81% forest, 1% to 64% cropland, 2% to 38% grassland, and 0.3% to 89% developed land. Landscape analyses were applied to develop a number of subestuary metrics (such as subestuary area, mouth width, elongation ratio, fractal dimension of shoreline, and the ratio of local watershed area to subestuary area) and watershed metrics (such as watershed area). Using mapped data from aerial SAV surveys, we calculated SAV coverage for each subestuary in each year during 1984–2003 as a proportion of potential SAV habitat (the area < 2 m deep). The variation in SAV abundance among subestuaries was strongly linked with subestuary and watershed characteristics. A regression tree model indicated that 60% of the variance in SAV abundance could be explained by subestuary fractal dimension, mean tidal range, local watershed dominant land cover, watershed to subestuary area ratio, and mean wave height. Similar explanatory powers were found in wet and dry years, but different independent variables were used. Repeated measures ANOVA with multiple-mean comparison showed that SAV abundance declined with the dominant watershed land cover in the order: forested, mixed-undisturbed, or mixed-developed > mixed-agricultural > agricultural > developed. Change-point analyses indicated strong threshold responses of SAV abundance to point source total nitrogen and phosphorus inputs, the ratio of local watershed area to subestuary area, and septic system density in the local watershed.     

Using combined AHP–genetic algorithm in artificial groundwater recharge site selection of Gareh Bygone Plain,Iran

Flood spreading is one of the suitable strategies to control and benefit from floods which in turn improve the groundwater recharge, makes soil more fertile, and increases nutrients in soil. It is also a method for reusing sediment, which is usually wasted. Thus, selection of suitable areas for flood spreading and directing the flood water into permeable formations are amongst the most effective strategies in flood spreading projects. Having combined analytic hierarchy process (AHP) of multi-criteria decision analysis and genetic algorithm (GA) of artificial intelligence approaches, this paper addresses the problem of finding the most suitable area location for flood spreading operation in the Gareh Bygone Plain of Iran. To this end, the nine effective geodata layers including slope, alluvium thickness, geology, morphology, electrical conductivity, land use, drainage density, aquifer transmissivity, and elevation were prepared in geographic information system environment. This stage was followed by elimination of the exclusionary areas for flood spreading while determining the potentially suitable ones. Having closely examined the potentially suitable areas using the proposed methodology, the land suitability map for flood spreading was produced. The AHP and GA were used for ranking all the alternatives and weighting the criteria involved, respectively. The results of the study showed that most suitable areas for the artificial groundwater recharge are located in Quaternary Qft ₂ and Qsf geologic units and in morphological units of pediment and Alluvial fans with slopes not exceeding 2 %. Finally, further evidence for the acceptable efficiency of the integrated AHP–GA method in locating most suitable flood spreading areas have been provided by such significant spatial coincidence between the produced map and the control areas located near Kowsar research station, where the earlier flood spreading projects were successfully performed.     

青木关岩溶槽谷流域不同土地利用类型土壤可蚀性分析

基于土壤实地采样和理化性质测试分析,采用EPIC模型K值计算方法,分析青木关岩溶槽谷流域的土壤理化性质、土壤可蚀性及其影响因子。结果发现:（1）青木关岩溶槽谷流域表层土壤（0~10 cm）可蚀性K值介于0.037 1~0.060 5之间,均值为0.048 5,中值为0.047 5,变异系数为10.71%,偏度和峰度值小于1;（2）表土机械组成中以粉粒含量为主,土壤质地属于粉壤土;有机质含量在13.98~52.24 g.kg-1之间,均值为29.20 g.kg-1;表土可蚀性K值与砂粒含量、有机碳含量呈极显著负相关,与粉粒含量呈极显著正相关,与黏粒含量呈负相关;（3）不同土地利用类型下的表土可蚀性K值以裸土地最大,为0.058 3,耕地次之,为0.053 4,其次为园地、荒草地和竹林,分别为0.048 3、0.047 8和0.046 9,针阔叶混交林最小,为0.0427,分别存在显著差异（P＜0.05）,变异系数介于2.7%～6.1%之间;受人类活动影响强烈的裸土地和耕地是本地区主要的泥沙策源地,恢复植被能有效提高土壤抗蚀能力;（4）不同土地利用类型土壤剖面K值均值为耕地（0.056 3）显著大于荒草地（0.051 6）与林地（0.048 1）（P＜0.05）,荒草地与林地K值间差异性不显著;K值剖面分布一致表现为0~35 cm相对较小且变化较大,土下35~60 cm随着深度的增加而增大。      

Nutrient flux in a landscape: Effects of coastal land use and terrestrial community mosaic on nutrient transport to coastal waters

Long-term interdisciplinary studies of the Rhode River estuary and its watershed in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain of North America have measured fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus fractions through the hydrologically-linked ecosystems of this landscape. These ecosystems are upland forest, cropland, and pasture; streamside riparian forests; floodplain swamps; tidal brackish marshes and mudflats; and an estuarine embayment. Croplands discharged far more nitrogen per hectare in runoff than did forests and pastures. However, riparian deciduous hardwood forest bordering the cropland removed over 80 percent of the nitrate and total phosphorus in overland flows and about 85 percent of the nitrate in shallow groundwater drainage from cropland. Nevertheless, nutrient discharges from riparian forests downslope from croplands still exceeded discharges from pastures and other forests. The atomic ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus discharged from the watersheds into the estuary was about 9 for total nutrients and 6 for inorganic nutrient fractions. Such a low N:P ratio would promote nitrogen rather than phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton growth in the estuary. Estuarine tidal marshes trapped particulate nutrients and released dissolved nutrients. Subtidal mudflats in the upper estuary trapped particulate P, released dissolved phosphate, and consumed nitrate. This resulted in a decrease in the ratio of dissolved inorganic N:P in the estuary. However, the upper estuary was a major sink for total phosphorus due to sediment accretion in the subtidal area. Bulk precipitation accounted for 31 percent of the total nongaseous nitrogen influx to the landscape, while farming accounted for 69 percent. Forty-six percent of the total non-gaseous nitrogen influx was removed as farm products, 53 percent either accumulated in the watershed or was lost in gaseous forms, and 1 percent entered the Rhode River. Of the total phosphorus influx to the landscape, 7 percent was from bulk precipitation and 93 percent was from farming. Forty-five percent of the total phosphorus influx was removed as farm products, 48 percent accumulated in the watershed, and 7 percent entered the Rhode River. These nitrogen and phosphorus discharges into the Rhode River, although a small fraction of total loadings to the watershed, were large enough to cause seriously overenriched conditions in the upper estuary.     

The Late Quaternary Skagerrak and its depositional environment

The Skagerrak is a key region for our understanding of the Late Quaternary history of the East North Sea, of the entire Baltic basin and of the adjacent Scandinavian land areas. The depositional history of the postglacial Skagerrak began after the ice margin withdrew from Jutland to close to the modern Norwegian coast around 14 ka B.P. to 13 ka B.P. The Skagerrak was immediately filled by marine waters from the Norwegian Sea, but retained a fjord-like shape until approximately 10.2 ka B.P., when a connection opened across central Sweden to the Baltic Ice Lake. This seaway closed around 9 ka B.P., but a new seaway to the Baltic basin opened subsequently (probably close to 8.5 ka B.P.) through the Danish Belts. At about 10 ka B.P. the Skagerrak 'fjord' also started to change shape due to the flooding of the large former land area under the modern North Sea. Paleo-geography and -bathymetry of these changes can now be quantified in great detail. The young Quaternary sediments of the Skagerrak consist of fine-grained clays with minor amounts of silty and sandy material and are mostly of terrigenous origin, whereas biogenic components in general make up only a minor proportion of the bulk sediment. Prior to 10 ka B.P. a major portion of these deposits originated from the Fennoscandian regions N and E of the Skagerrak, while ice-rafting contributed coarse terrigenous components to the usually fine-grained sediments and while it was filled by brackish surface and cold polar bottom waters. At approximately 10 ka B.P., more temperate waters started to fill the Skagerrak and a good portion of the sediment seems to have originated from areas to the South. The Norwegian Coastal Current can only be documented for the past 7 ka; subtle changes of the pelagic and benthic environments could also be documented for later intervals.     

丹江口水库土壤-底积物镉生态地球化学风险评价

湖北省十堰—丹江口地区多目标地球化学调查由中国地质科学院地球物理地球化学勘查研究所2013—2015年组织实施,旨在查明测区元素地球化学分布和分配特征,开展国土资源环境评价与基础地质研究,为国家及地方经济社会科学可持续发展提供基础资料。调查发现了丹江口水库底积物及沿汉江土壤镉富集现象。为保护丹江口水源地及南水北调水质安全,系统研究了丹江口库区不同生态区土壤、底积物中镉含量特点,计算了镉含量背景值和富集因子,为水库镉污染防治和生态修复提供了依据。镉生态地球化学风险评价显示,调查的样点中,100%消落区土壤、100%汉江底积物,99.45%深层土壤和92.41%的表层土壤属于农用地镉污染风险低土壤。水库底积物样点中低、中、高潜在生态风险比例分别占15.52%、20.69%、63.79%。分析了土壤和底积物中镉含量与pH值、Corg、常量元素含量的关系;建议通过切断上游污染源,防止水土流失,防治土壤酸化,开展生态修复等措施来防治库区底积物的镉污染、降低其生态风险。     

Character of gold mineralization in the late Cenozoic alluvium of the Bauntov area (Vitim highland, Transbaikal region)

Study of gold potential of the Late Cenozoic alluvium in the Bauntov area is based on the Taloi basin and Sivo sector (China River basin). Primary placer-forming gold is mainly represented by endogenous varieties. In contrast to alluvium of streams in the Taloi basin, Middle-Upper Quaternary alluvium of the Sivo sector (China River basin) is enriched in fine and tiny gold (smaller than 0.25 mm). The paper presents data testifying to a low Au content in the silt fraction of slimes from boreholes drilled in the Cenozoic alluvium (alluvium-deluvium) from transverse valleys in the Taloi basin and, hence, to an significant manifestation of the chemogenic concentration of this metal therein. Issue of the existence of specific conditions favorable for the formation of hydrogenic gold in the northern high-latitude zones requires further studies. The results show that lithochemical gold aureoles have an important prospecting significance. They also suggest the practical significance of accumulations of fine and tiny gold in the syn-stratal alluvium and alluvium-deluvium of large ore placer areas.     

Nitrous oxide emissions from different land use patterns in a typical karst region, Southwest China

Fluxes of nitrous oxide (N2O) from different land use patterns (matured forest, secondary forest, grassland and cropland) in a subtropical karst region of Guizhou Province, Southwest China, were measured for one year with a closed static chamber technique and by gas chromatography. The results showed that soil under different land uses was a source of atmospheric N2O. The cropland was a source with relatively high N2O as compared to forest and grassland, but no significant differences were observed. N2O emissions from soils varied with land use change and fertilizer application. There were two peaks of N2O flux occurred following the combination of two obvious precipitation and fertilizer events in the cultivated land. Converting from the matured forest to secondary forest tended to increase annual emissions of N2O (from 1.40 to 1.65 kg N ha -1 a -1 ), while changing land use from secondary forest to scattered grassland tended to decrease annual emissions of N2O slightly (from 1.65 to 1.45 kg N ha -1 a -1 ). Our range of cumulative annual N2O emission across different land uses (1.40-1.91 kg N ha -1 a -1 ) in a karst region is in general agreement with previously published data in a non-karst region. However, in the maize field, N2O emission factor (EF) was 0.34% for fertilizer application, which is about 71.2% lower than the IPCC default value. It is suggested that current IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) EF methodology could overestimate N2O emission from the karstic cropland. Anyway, the N2O emission from cropland in the karst region would contribute significantly to the global N2O budget, so reducing fertilization frequency during the crop growing season could lead to a decrease in N2O emission in the whole year.     

Flood hazard and damage assessment in the Ebro Delta (NW Mediterranean) to relative sea level rise

The impact of relative sea-level rise (RSLR), damage to and possible responses in the Ebro Delta (NW Mediterranean) has been analyzed. Impact was determined by delineating delta areas prone to flooding under different RSLR scenarios. The surface areas of the different habitats were then quantified for flooding impact and affected ecosystems were assessed. The obtained results enabled us to characterize the Ebro Delta as a coastal environment that is highly sensitive to changes in sea level, with affected flooded areas likely to range between about 45 and 60 % for different RSLR scenarios, from which about 26 % would be inundated by subsidence only. In absolute terms, the habitat most likely to be affected by flooding was cropland. In relative terms, the most affected habitats were those typical of the lowest areas: saltwater wetlands, riparian buffer and areas of saline vegetation. Under present deltaic evolution with no sediment supply, adaptation is considered a plausible option for managing the Ebro delta under a RSLR scenario. This implies permitting surface area losses or land use changes in the lower parts of the delta, where natural values will be reinforced, and concentrating agriculture in the higher parts of the deltaic plain.