An assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation for the Torres Strait Islands, Australia

Adaptive practices are taking place in a range of sectors and regions in Australia in response to existing climate impacts, and in anticipation of future unavoidable impacts. For a rich economy such as Australia’s, the majority of human systems have considerable adaptive capacity. However, the impacts on human systems at the intra-nation level are not homogenous due to their differing levels of exposure, sensitivity and capacity to adapt to climate change. Despite past resilience to changing climates, many Indigenous communities located in remote areas are currently identified as highly vulnerable to climate impacts due to their high level of exposure and sensitivity, but low capacity to adapt. In particular, communities located on low-lying islands have particular vulnerability to sea level rise and increasingly intense storm surges caused by more extreme weather. Several Torres Strait Island community leaders have been increasingly concerned about these issues, and the ongoing risks to these communities’ health and well-being posed by direct and indirect climate impacts. A government agency is beginning to develop short-term and long-term adaptation plans for the region. This work, however, is being developed without adequate scientific assessment of likely ‘climate changed futures.’ This is because the role that anthropogenic climate change has played, or will play, on extreme weather events for this region is not currently clear. This paper draws together regional climate data to enable a more accurate assessment of the islands’ exposure to climate impacts. Understanding the level of exposure and uncertainty around specific impacts is vital to gauge the nature of these islands’ vulnerability, in so doing, to inform decisions about how best to develop anticipatory adaptation strategies over various time horizons, and to address islanders’ concerns about the likely resilience and viability of their communities in the longer term.     

江西会昌密坑山岩体的地球化学及其成因类型的新认识

密坑山岩体是南岭地区与锡成矿密切相关的典型岩体,侵入于上侏罗统鸡笼嶂组流纹质凝灰熔岩及火山碎屑岩中,为一破火山中央岩株侵入体,其主体岩性为钾长花岗岩, Rb Sr全岩等时线年龄为 (124.5± 0.7) Ma.地球化学方面,该岩体具有富 Si、偏碱性、富 K、 Al弱过饱和、 Rb/Sr及 Rb/Ba比值高、 Eu负异常显著、富 Ga、 Ga/Al比值大 (4.14～ 6.77)、富高场强元素 (如 Nb和 Zr)等特点.地质地球化学特征及产出构造背景的综合分析表明,该岩体不是典型的 S型花岗岩,而应属铝质 A型花岗岩.岩体的ε Nd(t)值偏高 (- 3.56～- 5.13),二阶段 Nd模式年龄偏低 (1 207～ 1 326 Ma),反映成岩过程中有地幔组分的参与,属壳幔混源花岗岩.二元混合模拟计算显示成岩过程中地幔物质的混入比例为 53.1%～ 60.0% ,较高含量地幔组分参与成岩过程无疑指示幔源组分对成矿具有重要贡献,这一认识对于进一步揭示南岭地区稀有多金属矿床的成矿机理具有重要意义.