Planetary Boundary Layer over a Small Island as Observed by a Doppler Sodar

Observations from a new five-beam phasedarray Doppler sodar located over a small islandrevealed the development of an internal boundary layer (IBL)from the edge of a cliff in strong windcases, and the presence of systematic convective motions in unstableconditions. The top of the IBL ischaracterized by a small wind maximum trailing fromthe strong wind area at the edge of the cliff, anddevelops with distance from the edge. In the presence ofcumulus clouds, an upwardvelocity region, surrounded by downward motion, wasobserved in the subcloud layer. Anupward convective pattern of organized motion following the passage of cumulus clouds may be young thermalsrising from a height of about 100 m.     

越南红河三角洲近五千年来的几个降温事件

根据对越南红河三角洲的2个钻孔的孢粉分析结果，结合沉积特征和高精度的AMS^14C测年数据，恢复了近五千年来百年一千年尺度的气候变化，发现了3个分别开始于4530cal．aBP，2100cal．aBP和620cal．aBP的明显降温事件，其中4530cal．aBP和620cal．aBP降温事件可与全球全新世气候变冷事件中的“新冰期(Neoglacial)”和“小冰期(Little Ice Age)”相对应，可能与由北大西洋地区几个短期变冷事件的全球气候响应机制有关。3340cal．aBP以来，人类干扰性植物成分的增加，表明人类活动对自然植被的影响改造作用增强，因此，本研究中气候的降温事件不排除人类影响的因素，仍需要进一步深入研究。     

三维卫星遥感图像生成技术及其在第四纪构造地貌研究中的应用

近年来一系列中高分辨率立体成像卫星传感器相继发射成功,如法国的SPOT卫星、日本的ASTER和ALOS卫星,它们除了具有获取多光谱遥感数据的能力外,还具有立体成像的功能。随着计算机图像处理技术和卫星遥感立体成像技术的不断发展,地质体及其地形地貌的三维图像生成及其可视化技术得到了迅速发展。本研究介绍了利用ER-M apper图像处理软件提供的三维图像生成及可视化技术,将ASTER卫星遥感数据生成的数字高程模型与多光谱图像信息有机融合,生成地质体三维可视化图像,再现地质体的三维空间特征,从而从整体上直观、综合地对活动地质构造及其构造地貌特征进行可视化分析研究。本研究重点介绍了ASTER三维可视化立体遥感图像在晚第四纪活动构造和第四纪火山地貌研究中的应用,并展示了在阿尔泰山富蕴断裂带、北天山独山子背斜带、东昆仑断裂带以及长白山天池火山的研究实例。     

Spatial and temporal distribution of Fe, Ni, Cu and Pb along 140°E in the Southern Ocean during austral summer 2001/02

The distribution of dissolved (D) and acid-dissolvable (AD) Fe, Ni, Cu and Pb in the upper water column (0–300 m depth) was determined in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean (140°E meridian) during three cruises conducted between November 2001 and March 2002. For Ni and Cu, there was no significant difference in concentration between dissolved and acid-dissolvable species. DNi and DCu showed significant (P = 0.01) positive correlations with silicate, phosphate and nitrate, reflecting their strong nutrient-type behaviour. For Fe and Pb, the acid-dissolvable concentration mostly exceeded the dissolved concentration, reflecting the importance of labile particulate species for these elements. DPb decreased between January and February in the Polar Frontal Zone and in Antarctic continental shelf water. ADPb maxima occurred in the Antarctic Zone, resulting in a maximum AD/D ratio of 7. The mean DFe concentration in the surface mixed layer was 0.3 nM in the sub-Antarctic zone, 0.4 nM in the Polar Frontal Zone, 0.5 nM in the Antarctic Zone and increased southward beyond the Antarctic Divergence and towards the continent. DFe did not show a clear temporal change in its horizontal distribution, which was in contrast to the other nutrients and trace metals. ADFe substantially increased in Antarctic continental shelf water where the AD/D ratio reached 11. The following conclusions can be drawn from these data. (1) Ni and Cu exist exclusively as dissolved species and their distributions are mainly controlled by their biogeochemical cycling, similar to those of the major nutrients. (2) Pb is dominated by particulate species. The distribution of DPb is temporally and spatially variable due to a sporadic source and strong scavenging. (3) DFe is rather a minor fraction of total Fe in Antarctic continental shelf water where shelf sediments and Antarctic sea-ice appear to be strong sources for Fe. There is substantial temporal variation in the supply of Fe to the upper water column. DFe in the mixed layer of the open Southern Ocean is maintained at low concentrations throughout summer due to uptake by phytoplankton and scavenging.     

Surface deformation related to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake,and mountain building of the Longmen Shan,eastern Tibetan Plateau

The 12 May 2008 M_s 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, China, was one of largest continental thrusting events worldwide. Based on interpretations of post-earthquake high-resolution remote sensing images and field surveys, we investigated the geometry, geomorphology, and kinematics of co-seismic surface ruptures, as well as seismic and geologic hazards along the Longmen Shan fold-and-thrust belt. Our results indicate that the Wenchuan earthquake occurred along the NE–SW-trending Yingxiu–Beichuan and Guanxian–Anxian faults in the Longmen Shan fold-and-thrust belt. The main surface rupture zones along the Yingxiu–Beichuan and Guanxian–Anxian fault zones are approximately 235 and 72 km in length, respectively. These sub-parallel ruptures may merge at depth. The Yingxiu–Donghekou surface rupture zone can be divided into four segments separated by discontinuities that appear as step-overs or bends in map view. Surface deformation is characterized by oblique reverse faulting with a maximum vertical displacement of approximately 10 m in areas around Beichuan County. Earthquake-related disasters (e.g., landslides) are linearly distributed along the surface rupture zones and associated river valleys.The Wenchuan earthquake provides new insights into the nature of mountain building within the Longmen Shan, eastern Tibetan Plateau. The total crustal shortening accommodated by this great earthquake was as much as 8.5 m, with a maximum vertical uplift of approximately 10 m. The present results suggest that ongoing mountain building of the Longmen Shan is driven mainly by crustal shortening and uplift related to repeated large seismic events such as the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Furthermore, rapid erosion within the Longmen Shan fold-and-thrust belt occurs along deep valleys and rupture zones following the occurrence of large-scale landslides triggered by earthquakes. Consequently, we suggest that crustal shortening related to repeated great seismic events, together with isostatic rebound induced by rapid erosion-related unloading, is a key component of the geodynamics that drive ongoing mountain building on the eastern Tibetan Plateau.     

Proposal for an International Molybdenum Isotope Measurement Standard and Data Representation

Molybdenum isotopes are increasingly widely applied in Earth Sciences. They are primarily used to investigate the oxygenation of Earth's ocean and atmosphere. However, more and more fields of application are being developed, such as magmatic and hydrothermal processes, planetary sciences or the tracking of environmental pollution. Here, we present a proposal for a unifying presentation of Mo isotope ratios in the studies of mass‐dependent isotope fractionation. We suggest that the δ^98/95Mo of the NIST SRM 3134 be defined as +0.25‰. The rationale is that the vast majority of published data are presented relative to reference materials that are similar, but not identical, and that are all slightly lighter than NIST SRM 3134. Our proposed data presentation allows a direct first‐order comparison of almost all old data with future work while referring to an international measurement standard. In particular, canonical δ^98/95Mo values such as +2.3‰ for seawater and ?0.7‰ for marine Fe–Mn precipitates can be kept for discussion. As recent publications show that the ocean molybdenum isotope signature is homogeneous, the IAPSO ocean water standard or any other open ocean water sample is suggested as a secondary measurement standard, with a defined δ^98/95Mo value of +2.34 ± 0.10‰ (2s).     

Distribution and stoichiometry of Al,Mn, Fe,Co, Ni,Cu, Zn,Cd, and Pb in seawater around the Juan de Fuca Ridge

A central theme of the ongoing GEOTRACES program is to improve the understanding of processes occurring at ocean interfaces with continents, sediments, and ocean crust. In this context, we studied the distributions of Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb around the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR) in total dissolvable (td), dissolved (d), and labile particulate (lp) fractions, which represent a fraction in unfiltered samples, filtered samples through an AcroPak capsule filter, and the difference between td and d, respectively. Al and Fe were dominated by lp-species, while Ni, Zn, and Cd were dominated by d-species with undetectable amounts of lp-species. Major findings in this study are as follows: (1) The continental margin (CM) provided large sources of Al, Mn, Fe, and Co from the surface to ~2000 m in depth. The supply from CM caused high surface concentrations of dMn and dCo, a subsurface (100–300 m depth) maximum of dCo, and intermediate (500–2000 m depth) maxima of lpAl and lpFe. The supply of dFe from CM was ~10 times that from the high-temperature hydrothermal activity at station BD21, which is located at ~3 km from the Middle Valley venting site and ~ 200 km from Vancouver Island. (2) DPb was maximum at the top layer of North Pacific Intermediate Water, probably owing to isopycnal transport of anthropogenic Pb via advection of subducted surface waters. Although dCo and dPb had different sources in the upper water, they showed a strong linearity below 300 m (r ² = 0.95, n = 38), indicating concurrent scavenging. (3) A high-temperature hydrothermal plume occurred at a depth of 2300 m at BD21, accounting for maxima of dAl, dMn, dFe, lpCu, and lpPb and a minimum of dCu. (4) Strong bottom maxima of lpAl, lpMn, lpFe, lpCo, and lpPb occurred above the abyssal plain at the western foot of the JdFR, indicating resuspension of sediments. However, bottom maxima of d-species were apparent only for dAl and dCu.     

Lithological and palynological evidence of late Quaternary depositional environments in the subaqueous Yangtze delta, China

AMS ¹⁴C ages of post-glacial core sediments from the subaqueous Yangtze delta, along with sedimentary structures and distributions of grain size, pollen spores, and dinoflagellate cysts, show an estuarine depositional system from 13 to 8.4 cal ka BP and a deltaic system from 5.9 cal ka BP to the present. The estuarine system consists of intertidal to subtidal flat, estuarine, and estuarine-front facies, characterized by sand–mud couplets and a high sedimentation rate. The deltaic system includes nearshore shelf and prodelta mud featured by lower sedimentation rate, markedly fewer coastal wetland herbaceous pollens, and more dinoflagellate cysts. We explain the extremely high sedimentation rate during 9.2–8.4 cal ka BP at the study site as a result of rapid sea-level rise, high sediment load due to the unstable monsoonal climate, and subaqueous decrease of elevation from inner to outer estuary. A depositional hiatus occurred during 8.2–5.9 cal ka BP, the transition from estuarine to deltaic system, caused possibly by a shortage of sediment supply resulting from delta initiation in paleo-incised Yangtze valley and strong tidal or storm-related reworking in offshore areas. The subsequent development of deltaic system at the study site indicates accelerated progradation of Yangtze delta post-5.9 cal ka BP.     

Observations of Coherent Turbulence Structures in the Near-Neutral Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Turbulence structures of high Reynolds number flow in the near-neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) are investigated based on observations at Shionomisaki and Shigaraki, Japan. A Doppler sodar measured the vertical profiles of winds in the ABL. Using the integral wavelet transform for the time series of surface wind data, the pattern of a descending high-speed structure with large vertical extent (from the surface to more than 200-m level) is depicted from the Doppler sodar data. Essentially this structure is a specific type of coherent structure that has been previously shown in experiments on turbulent boundary-layer flows. Large-scale high-speed structures in the ABL are extracted using a long time scale (240 s) for the wavelet transform. The non-dimensional interval of time between structures is evaluated as 3.0–6.2 in most cases. These structures make a large contribution to downward momentum transfer in the surface layer. Quadrant analyses of the turbulent motion measured by the sonic anemometer (20-m height) suggest that the sweep motion (high-speed downward motion) plays a substantial role in the downward momentum transfer. In general, the contribution of sweep motions to the momentum flux is nearly equal to that of ejection motions (low-speed upward motions). This contribution of sweep motions is related to the large-scale high-speed structures.