Characteristics of an early Holocene climate and environment from lake sediments in Ebinur region, NW China

The characteristics of climatic environment in the early Holocene epoch were studied through analyzing environmental proxies from the sediments in the Ebinur Lake——a closed one in the arid region. The pollen assemblage and other geochemical indices showed that, the temperature was somewhat low in the period (8.0-11.5 cal kaBP) as a whole, but in the early period (11.5-10.6 cal kaBP) the temperature was higher, in company with more precipitation. In the conversion period from the early Holocene epoch to the middle Holocene epoch (8.9-8.0 cal kaBP) the climate fluctuated remarkably. Particularly the three layers of peat sediment revealed the strong instability of climate in the early Holocene epoch in the Ebinur region. All information on the development of peat and the experimental data of pollen and stable isotopes implied that, the climatic condition at 8.2, 8.6 and 10.5 cal kaBP was characterized by noticeable cold and humidness, and could be regarded as three cold and humid events in the early Holoc     

The role of ground water in arid/semiarid ecosystems, Northwest China

Ground water plays an important role in water supply and the ecology of arid to semiarid areas such as Northwest China, where the landscape is fragile due to frequent drought in the past few decades. This paper discusses the role of ground water in these ecosystems, including the effect of condensation water and water table depth on the growth of plants and degree of soil salinity. The paper also discusses the controlling process for land desertification and soil salinization in Northwest China. Water table depth is a key factor controlling the water balance, ground water flow, and salt transport in the vadose zone. The suitable water table depth for vegetation growth, which can prevent land desertification and soil salinization, is within a range of 2 to 4 m; the optimal depth is approximately 3 m. As examples, changes in ecosystems owing to water resources development in Tarim and Manas basins, Xinjiang, China, are discussed.     

Environmental records of carbon in recent lake sediments

Based on careful sampling and accurate analysis of recent sediments in Lake Chenghai, this paper discusses the staggered positive/negative correlation between organic carbon (OC) concentration and inorganic carbon (IC) concentration. The result indicates that temperature change, and its induced relative changes are the main factors affecting the relationship between IC concentration, δ¹³C of carbonate and OC concentration. When temperature and its induced photosynthesis strength change control autochthonous calcite precipitation, OC concentration is positively correlated with IC concentration and δ¹³C of carbonate. When temperature and its induced physical/chemical changes dominate, OC concentration displays negative correlation with IC concentration and δ¹³C of carbonate. IC concentration and δ¹³C of carbonate in sediments of Lake Chenghai are good proxies for climatic warm/cold changes.     

The equivalent dose of different grain size quartz fractions from lakeshore sediments in the arid region of north China

Equivalent dose (D_e) values were measured by using medium aliquots of different grain size quartz fractions of five lakeshore sediments from the arid region of north China. There are two different relationships between D_e values and grain sizes of these five samples. The first relationship is that the D_e values obtained from various grain sizes are in agreement within 1 delta errors. The second relationship is that D_e values are similar to each other for fractions between 125 and 300 μm, while the D_e value of the 63–90 μm fraction is 40～55% smaller than others. For example, the D_e values obtained for sample #3 are 20.15 ± 1.19 Gy, 19.80 ± 0.83 Gy and 20.93 ± 1.06 Gy for fractions of 90–125, 125–150 and 250–300 μm respectively, but are 10.79 ± 0.84 Gy for the 63–90 μm fraction. The second relationship can't be interpreted by previous studies of both dosimetry and heterogeneous bleaching. It is deduced for sample #2, #3 and #6 that fine particles (<90 μm) intruded after the dominant sedimentation. Comparison of OSL ages from different grain size fractions of sample #2 with a radiocarbon age from the same lithologic layer supports that fractions coarser than 125 μm yield more reliable burial ages, while the fraction finer than 90 μm yields underestimated ages for some lakeshore sediments from this arid region.     

A preliminary study of thermally enhanced magnetic fabric in the Tertiary sediments from the Qaidam basin,NW China

Summary A preliminary observation has been made of the magnetic fabric in 14 specimens of undeformed sediment which exhibit repeatable principal orientation in undemagnetized state as well as after some steps of thermal demagnetization. They were chosen from 2000 specimens of the Tertiary formations of inland fluvio-lacustrine facies in the Qaidam basin, NW China. It was found that no large changes in magnetic fabric occur after stepwise thermal demagnetization up to 300°C, but some significant changes take place after treatment at higher temperature (500° up to 750°C). It is shown that the orientations of the 3 principal axes remain unchanged after each demagnetization step, whereas the differences between the principal values (L=K1–K2 and F=K2–K3) are greatly enhanced after high temperatures have been applied. The enhancement of L and F with no change in principal orientations facilitates the determination of the principal orientations. In our case one may easily measure the thermally enhanced magnetic lineation to estimate the palaeocurrent direction.Presented at 2nd conference on New Trends in Geomagnetism, Bechyn Castle, Czechoslovakia, September 24–29, 1990.     

Vegetation succession prevents dry lake beds from becoming dust sources in the semi‐arid steppe region of China

East Asian dust storms have become increasingly intense over the last two decades, and the arid inland regions of northern China have been recognized as the main dust source areas. Numerous lakes in this region have recently become desiccated, leaving large areas of bare ground prone to becoming potential dust sources. Vegetation cover characteristics and vegetation succession following lake desiccation remain unclear. Here we chose eight inland dry lakes, one outflow lake and one river on the southeast edge of the Inner Mongolian Plateau to investigate vegetation patterns along transects from lake bed to lake shore, and determine the relationships between vegetation patterns and environmental factors. The results show that dry lake bed soils do indeed have high contents of fine particles. Also, soil salt content is the most critical control on vegetation succession on desiccated lake beds, and vegetation is unlikely to colonize areas with soil salt content ≥5%. Soil texture additionally influenced vegetation patterns by affecting soil salt content. The likely vegetation succession on dry like beds is Nitraria tangutorum community > Suaeda corniculata and Suaeda glauca communities > Achnatherum splendens and Elymus sibiricus communities, and finally Carex duriuscula community as the probable climax. When vegetation is at the later stages of succession, for example with Achnatherum splendens communities, Elymus sibiricus communities and Carex duriuscula communities, soil may be protected from wind erosion because of their high vegetation cover and high proportion of perennials. We suggest grazing should be avoided around lake shores, especially in Achnatherum splendens communities, because high vegetation cover and biomass not only protect soil from erosion, but also promote the deposition of fine particles blown from upwind regions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

蓝藻水华衰亡对沉积物碳库有机碳组分的影响

湖泊沉积物碳库作为湖泊生态系统的重要组成部分,对湖泊碳循环起重要作用,而蓝藻水华衰亡过程对湖泊碳库稳定性影响研究较少本研究采集太湖蓝藻、湖水、沉积物样品,建立蓝藻水沉积物室内模拟实验系统,分析蓝藻水华衰亡过程中沉积物碳库易氧化有机碳(EOC)、惰性有机碳(ROC)、微生物量碳(MBC)、轻组有机碳(LFOC)和重组有机碳(HFOC)的变化规律,探究蓝藻水华衰亡过程对湖泊碳库稳定性的影响结果表明,蓝藻水华衰亡前期(1～9天),ROC缓慢下降,EOC和LFOC快速下降,MBC有所增加;衰亡中期(10～45天),沉积物TOC和ROC含量升高;衰亡末期(46～63天),HFOC和ROC等稳定有机碳进入一个从缓慢分解逐渐趋于稳定的阶段周期性的蓝藻水华暴发、衰亡和湖泊稳定性有机碳的日渐累积,最终会对沉积物碳库有机碳组分及其稳定造成显著影响.     

富营养化湖泊沉积物有机质矿化过程中碳、氮、磷的迁移特征

采用室内培养的方法,以富营养化湖泊太湖为例,研究了沉积物有机质矿化过程中碳、氮、磷的迁移特征.结果表明,在沉积物中的有机质矿化过程中,碳以溶解性无机碳释放至水中,同时以CH4和CO2形式释放至大气中,培养结束时,CH4和CO2累积排放含量分别为1492.21和498.96 mg/g(dw),其中CH4占气态碳的89.16%(以C质量计);此外,大量的氮、磷营养盐释放至上覆水体,水中总氮、总磷和铵态氮的最高浓度分别是初始浓度的62.16、28.16和139.45倍,而硝态氮浓度在整个培养过程中逐渐下降,培养末期浓度是初期的0.21倍;厌氧条件下,沉积物有机质的矿化,不仅可以生成大量的CH4、CO2气体,还能够促使沉积物中铵态氮和磷的释放;而沉积物有机质矿化释放的碳、氮、磷营养元素又能加剧湖泊富营养化程度,促进湖泊水体的初级生产力,从而增加湖泊沉积物有机质输入.这样的循环方式可能是湖泊富营养化自维持的重要机制之一.     

Potential evapotranspiration and its attribution over the past 50 years in the arid region of Northwest China

Evaporation paradox and its attribution have become a hot research topic in hydrology in recent years. This study estimates the potential evapotranspiration (ET₀) using modified Penman–Monteith method and analyzes the corresponding trend attribution based on the long‐term meteorological data collected at 81 ground‐based meteorological stations in Northwestern arid region of China during the period 1958–2010. The analysis results show: (1) The ET₀ has exhibited an obvious decreasing trend until the early 1990s; however, the downward trend has been reversed to an upward trend after then. (2) Decrease in diurnal temperature range (DTR) and wind speed (WS) may lead to the decrease of ET₀ during 1956–1993. The change of dominant factors in the ET₀ trend has differences after the early 1990s; observed increase in WS is the primary factor contributing to the reversion of ET₀. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quartz OSL and K-feldspar pIRIR dating of a loess/paleosol sequence from arid central Asia,Tianshan Mountains,NW China

Loess deposits surrounding the high mountainous regions of arid central Asia (ACA) play an important role in understanding environmental changes in Eurasia on orbital and sub-orbital time scales. However, problems with dating loess in ACA have limited the interpretation of climatic and environmental data, especially Holocene data. We selected a typical loess/paleosol sequence (LJW10) on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains in ACA consisting of 280 cm of loess with multiple paleosols formed in the upper 170 cm of the section. We applied quartz OSL dating to coarse-grained (63–90 μm) fractions, and newly developed K-feldspar pIRIR dating protocols to both coarse-grained and medium-grained (38–63 μm) fractions of the samples from LJW10 section. Internal checks of the quartz OSL dating indicate that the single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol on large aliquots (5 mm) is appropriate for equivalent dose (D_e) determinations and that the quartz ages of the loess samples are likely to be reliable. Luminescence characteristics and internal checks of the pIRIR dating indicate the pIRIR signal at a 170 °C stimulation temperature with a 200 °C preheat can be used for both coarse-grained and medium-grained D_e determinations. Anomalous fading tests for the pIRIR 170 °C signal indicate the pIRIR signals are stable and the anomalous fading of the pIRIR 170 °C signal can be ignored. Sunlight bleaching tests of the loess indicate the residual dose for the pIRIR 170 °C signal can also be ignored as it corresponds to only ∼9 years for the medium-grained K-feldspar and ∼85 years for the coarse-grained K-feldspar. The pIRIR ages of five medium-grained and coarse-grained K-feldspar samples are consistent with coarse-grained quartz OSL ages, and both the medium-grained and coarse-grained ages increase uniformly with depth, indicating these pIRIR ages are reliable. Based on the coarse-grained quartz OSL ages, and on coarse-grained and medium-grained K-feldspar pIRIR ages, an age-depth model for the paleosol-loess sequence was established by using a Bacon age-depth model. This model suggests eolian loess deposition began by at least ∼16 ka ago and that paleosol development on these eolian loess deposits began ∼5.5 ka, continuing to the present, with periods of high effective moisture at 5.5–4.9, 4.6–4.1, and 3.4–3.1 ka. This sequence suggests overall relative aridity during the early Holocene and an increase in effective moisture beginning ∼5.5 ka during the mid-late Holocene in ACA.     

Responses of water erosion to rainfall extremes and vegetation types in a loess semiarid hilly area,NW China

Rainfall extremes (RE) become more variable and stochastic in the context of climate change, increasing uncertainties and risks of water erosion in the real world. Vegetation also plays a key role in soil erosion dynamics. Responses of water erosion to RE and vegetation, however, remain unclear. In this article, on the basis of the data measured on 15 plots (area: 10 m × 10 m and 10 m × 5 m) and the definition of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on rainfall extremes, 158 natural rainfall events from 1986 to 2005 were analysed, and rain depth and maximal 30‐min intensity (MI₃₀) were used to define RE. Then, water erosion process under RE and five vegetation types (spring wheat, alfalfa, sea buckthorn, Chinese pine, and wheatgrass) were studied in a key loess semiarid hilly area, NW China. The following findings were made: (1) The minimal thresholds of depth and MI₃₀ for defining RE were determined as 40·11 mm and 0·55 mm/min, respectively. Among the studied rainfall events, there were four events with both the variables exceeding the thresholds (REI), five events with depths exceeding 40·11 mm (REII), and four events with MI₃₀ exceeding 0·55 mm/min (REIII). Therefore, not only extreme rainstorm, but also events with lower intensities and long durations were considered as RE. Moreover, RE occurred mostly in July and August, with a probability of 46 and 31%, respectively. (2) Extreme events, especially REI, in general caused severer soil‐water loss. Mean extreme runoff and erosion rates were 2·68 and 53·15 times of mean ordinary rates, respectively. The effect of each event on water erosion, however, becomes uncertain as a result of the variations of RE and vegetation. (3) The buffering capacities of vegetation on RE were generally in the order of sea buckthorn > wheatgrass > Chinese pine > alfalfa > spring wheat. In particular, sea buckthorn reduced runoff and erosion effectively after 3–4 years of plantation. Therefore, to fight against water erosion shrubs like sea buckthorn are strongly recommended as pioneer species in such areas. On the contrary, steep cultivation (spring wheat on slopes), however, should be avoided, because of its high sensitivities to RE. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

26Al/10Be ratios reveal the source of river sediments in the Kimberley,NW Australia

We use cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al in both bedrock and fluvial sediments to investigate controls on erosion rates and sediment supply to river basins at the regional scale in the Kimberley, NW Australia. The area is characterised by lithologically controlled morphologies such as cuestas, isolated mesas and extensive plateaus made of slightly dipping, extensively jointed sandstones. All sampled bedrock surfaces at plateau tops, ridgelines, and in the broader floodplain of major rivers over the region show similar slow lowering rates between 0.17 and 4.88 m.Myr^-1, with a mean value of 1.0 ± 0.6 m.Myr^-1 (n=15), whilst two bedrock samples collected directly within river-beds record rates that are one to two orders of magnitude higher (14.4 ± 1.5 and 20.9 ± 2.5 m.Myr^-1, respectively). Bedrock ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios are all compatible with simple, continuous sub-aerial exposure histories. Modern river sediment yield lower ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al concentrations, apparent ¹⁰Be basin-wide denudation rates ranging between 1.8 and 7.7 m.Myr^-1, with a median value of 2.6 m.Myr^-1, more than double the magnitude of bedrock erosion rates. ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios of the sediment samples are lower than those obtained for bedrock samples. We propose that these depleted ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios can largely be explained by the supply of sediment to river basins from the slab fragmentation and chemical weathering of channel gorge walls and plateau escarpments that result in diluting the cosmogenic nuclide concentration in river sediments measured at the basin outlets. The results of a mass-balance model suggest that ~60–90% of river sediment in the Kimberley results from the breakdown and chemical weathering of retreating vertical sandstone rock-walls in contrast to sediment generated by bedrock weathering and erosion on the plateau tops. This study emphasises the value of analysing two or more isotopes in basin-scale studies using cosmogenic nuclides, especially in slowly eroding post-orogenic settings. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of oasis breeze circulation in the arid region of the Northwestern China

In this paper, the process of oasis-desert circulation (ODC) is simulated by MM5V3.5 model through designing an ideal oasis-desert scheme and assuming that initial atmosphere is at rest (V = 0). The findings showed that the key of forming special oasis boundary structure is the difference of energy and water between oasis and desert. The evaporation of oasis surface consumes heat energy, and the low temperature of oasis causes an oasis breeze circulation (OBC), which drives an ODC with a downdraft over the oasis and an updraft over the desert. Later, the cold, dry and stable boundary over oasis is gradually formed, on the contrary,the atmospheric boundary over desert on the edge of oasis is hot, humid and unstable and its height is about 600 hPa. The updraft over the desert forms a wet ring that acts as a vertical wall weakening the low-level moisture exchange between the oasis and desert. The downdraft of OBC increases the atmospheric stability that reduces the oasis evaporation. The low-level outflow from the oasis (into the desert) prevents the dry, hot air flowing from the desert into the oasis.Thus an oasis self-preservation mechanism may be formed due to OBC. The horizontal area influenced by oasis is twice as oasis area and the vertical range is four times as oasis. The ODC is strong in the daytime and reaches the strongest at 17:00, and the influenced area is the largest at 20:00.     

湖泊沉积物中S、C及其比值的环境意义

本文以浅淡水湖固城湖和微咸水湖岱海为例,研究沉积物中有面碳,总硫和其比值（OC／TS）的垂向分布规律及其沉积环境（沉积时期的气候冷暖及干湿变化等）,古盐度及环境污染等方面的意义,固城湖沉积物的氧化还原交界面（5cm深处）上硫高碳低,OC／TS突然变小,岱海在高水位年代OC／TS增高,低水位年则降低,分别属于冷湿和冷干气候条件下的沉积特征,论证了OC／TS指标从海洋沉积研究移植到湖泊沉积研究的可用性及其应用前景。     

Simulation of oasis breeze circulation in the arid region of the Northwestern China

In this paper, the process of oasis-desert circulation (ODC) is simulated by MM5V3.5 model through designing an ideal oasis-desert scheme and assuming that initial atmosphere is at rest (V= 0). The findings showed that the key of forming special oasis boundary structure is the difference of energy and water between oasis and desert. The evaporation of oasis surface consumes heat energy, and the low temperature of oasis causes an oasis breeze circulation (OBC), which drives an ODC with a downdraft over the oasis and an updraft over the desert. Later, the cold, dry and stable boundary over oasis is gradually formed, on the contrary, the atmospheric boundary over desert on the edge of oasis is hot, humid and unstable and its height is about 600 hPa. The updraft over the desert forms a wet ring that acts as a vertical wall weakening the low-level moisture exchange between the oasis and desert. The downdraft of OBC increases the atmospheric stability that reduces the oasis evaporation. The low-level outflow from the oasis (into the desert) prevents the dry, hot air flowing from the desert into the oasis. Thus an oasis self-preservation mechanism may be formed due to OBC. The horizontal area influenced by oasis is twice as oasis area and the vertical range is four times as oasis. The ODC is strong in the daytime and reaches the strongest at 17:00, and the influenced area is the largest at 20:00.     

Bulk transfer coefficients of the atmospheric momentum and sensible heat over desert and Gobi in arid climate region of Northwest China

By utilizing the data of the intensive observation period (May-June, 2000) of Dunhuang land-surface process field experiment that belongs to "Land-atmosphere Interactive Field Experiment over Arid Region of Northwest China", the bulk momentum transfer coefficient Cd and bulk sensible heat transfer coefficient Ch between surface and atmosphere over desert and Gobi in the arid region are determined according to three different methods. The result shows that, though these bulk transfer coefficients are different, they are in the same order. Especially, the means of Cd and Ch are close. Moreover, through analyzing the wind direction, the interference of the building near the observational station with the data is eliminated. From this, the relation between the bulk transfer coefficients and the bulk Richardson number and the range of the typical values of the bulk transfer coefficients over desert and Gobi in the typical arid region are obtained.     

古湖岸堤沉积物石英光释光测年研究:以中国东北兴凯湖为例

古湖岸堤是湖面波动的地貌证据,可以用来重建古湖泊演化.古湖岸堤沉积物的准确测年是应用此地貌学证据重建湖泊演化的关键.以我国兴凯湖最低一级湖岸堤——大湖岗为研究对象,采用石英小片技术,应用单片再生剂量法(SAR)对大湖岗2个不同位置的剖面风成砂质沉积物(共13个样品)进行了光释光(OSL)测年.样品石英组分的光释光衰减曲线特征表明,样品的释光信号以快组分为主,预热坪和实验室剂量恢复实验结果表明,SAR法可以用来测量兴凯湖古湖岸堤样品的等效剂量.通过分析样品等效剂量分布情况和比较3种年龄模型(平均值模型、中值模型和最小值模型),认为大湖岗湖滨砂质沉积物在沉积埋藏前石英光释光信号晒退完全,获得的OSL年龄是可信的.年代结果表明,大湖岗采自不同位置的2个剖面的年代范围一致,且各个剖面中所有年代均随地层顺序变化;另外,2个样品的OSL年龄与同层位的炭屑样品的14C年代结果在误差范围内一致,进一步表明OSL测年技术可以获得可靠的兴凯湖岸堤沉积物的年龄.尽管与前人使用热释光(TL)测年方法研究大湖岗形成年代有较大差别,本文认为兴凯湖最低一级古湖岸堤——大湖岗形成于距今约1.24-0.50 ka.     

Relative importance of dust inputs and aquatic biological production as sources of lake sediments in an oligotrophic lake in a semi‐arid area

The dustfall (DF) and mass sedimentation rate (MSR) in Lake Alchichica, Central Mexico, were studied from June 2006 to June 2008. DF ranged between 0·11–0·93 g m^?2 d^?1 in the warm and rainy season and 0·54–1·21 g m^?2 d^?1 in the cold and dry season. MSR varied from 0·52–2·40 g m^?2 d^?1 in the stratification season to 1·14–5·07 g m^?2 d^?1 in the circulation season. The timing of the highest fluxes of DF and MSR is most likely a product of several factors coinciding during the cold and dry season: (a) availability of dust sources and the presence of strong winds (>7·5 m s^?1) in the DF case, and (b) the circulation period of the lake and the availability of nutrients in the MSR case. As expected, the DF in Alchichica was high and similar to that found in other arid and semi‐arid areas. However, the MSR was higher than that reported for other oligotrophic lakes. Particles captured in the aerial traps consisted mainly of detrital minerals; in contrast, particles found in the water traps were mostly biogenic and, to a lesser extent, detrital minerals. The MSR was one to seven times higher than the DF. In spite of the oligotrophic status of Lake Alchichica, the large size of the settled phytoplankton (autochthonous, waterborne) is what leads to the high MSR, which surpasses the DF (allochthonous, airborne) derived from whirlwinds originating in easily eroded terrains that are characteristic of arid/semi‐arid areas. Our results indicate that caution must be taken in considering that the DF amount measured through DF collectors located at the lake shore does actually represent the DF entering into the lake. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation and data assimilation of the water-energy cycle over semiarid northeastern China

The default fractional vegetation cover and terrain height were replaced by the estimated fractional vegetation cover, which was calculated by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) of Earth Observing System Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(EOS-MODIS) and the Digital Elevation Model of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission(SRTM) system. The near-surface meteorological elements over northeastern China were assimilated into the three-dimensional variational data assimilation system(3DVar) module in the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF) model. The structure and daily variations of air temperature, humidity, wind and energy fields over northeastern China were simulated using the WRF model. Four groups of numerical experiments were performed, and the simulation results were analyzed of latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and their relationships with changes in the surface energy flux due to soil moisture and precipitation over different surfaces. The simulations were compared with observations of the stations Tongyu, Naiman, Jinzhou, and Miyun from June to August, 2009. The results showed that the WRF model achieves high-quality simulations of the diurnal characteristics of the surface layer temperature, wind direction, net radiation, sensible heat flux, and latent heat flux over semiarid northeastern China in the summer. The simulated near-surface temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed were improved in the data assimilation case(Case 2) compared with control case(Case 1). The simulated sensible heat fluxes and surface heat fluxes were improved by the land surface parameterization case(Case 3) and the combined case(Case 4). The simulated temporal variations in soil moisture over the northeastern arid areas agree well with observations in Case 4, but the simulated precipitation should be improved in the WRF model. This study could improve the land surface parameters by utilizing remote sensing data and could further improve atmospheric elements with a data assimilation system. This work provides an effective attempt at combining multi-source data with different spatial and temporal scales into numerical simulations. The assimilation datasets generated by this work can be applied to research on climate change and environmental monitoring of arid lands, as well as research on the formation and stability of climate over semiarid areas.     

Rare earth elements in sediments of the Vigo Ria,NW Iberian Peninsula

The abundance and distribution of rare earth elements (REE) and their signatures in the Vigo Ria were studied from 50 samples of surface sediments and related to the geological formation in its watershed. The total amount of REE in the Ria is heterogeneous. It ranges from 220 mg kg⁻¹ in the southern middle Ria margin in the vicinity of the Galiñeiro geological shore complex, which contains REE-enriched minerals, to 2 mg kg⁻¹ near the Ria mouth due to dilution with high levels of carbonated biogenic particles (31% of Ca). Rare earth elements of the Ria sediments are considerably enriched in light-REE relative to heavy-REE (a LREE/HREE ratio of 9.7±1.6) and also show a slightly negative Eu-anomaly. Low European shale normalised REE patterns were distinguished in the innermost sediments of Vigo Ria, but were not correlated with Al. This suggests a minor contribution of REE from upstream freshwater inputs to the sediments in the middle Vigo Ria zone. Normalised REE ratios in the middle Ria imply that fine particles enriched in REE may be exported from the Ria to shelf mud patches and REE can be useful as sediment tracers of Ria input on the shelf.