北极阿拉斯加春季积雪中汞的时空分布及其来源分析

开展北极雪冰中汞分布特征及其来源的探究,不仅可以丰富冰冻圈汞生物地球化学循环的认识,而且对评估北极环境中汞的潜在暴露风险具有现实意义。在2017年4月至5月对美国阿拉斯加的积雪进行大范围样品采集,探讨了该区域积雪中汞的空间分布特征及其成因、汞的沉降后过程以及潜在来源分析。研究表明:积雪中汞的空间分布受大气汞亏损事件(AMDEs)及人为源的共同影响,毗邻北冰洋海岸(如巴罗)积雪中总汞(THg)浓度较高,接近人为源的山地表层雪中THg浓度较高。巴罗雪坑中THg浓度随深度增加呈下降趋势。积雪中主要阴阳离子与THg的相关性分析表明,阿拉斯加积雪中THg的空间分布可能主要受北冰洋海盐气溶胶以及人类活动的影响。     

从第三极到北极： 积雪变化研究进展

在全球气候变化背景下, 第三极和北极地区积雪是地表最活跃的自然要素之一, 其动态变化对气候环境和人类生活产生重要影响。通过回顾第三极和北极积雪研究进展, 阐述了降雪、 积雪范围、 积雪日数、 积雪深度和雪水当量在第三极和北极地区的时空分布特征和变化趋势。结果表明： 近50年, 特别是进入21世纪以来, 第三极和北极地区降雪比率均呈下降趋势; 积雪范围、 积雪日数、 积雪深度、 雪水当量总体均呈减小趋势, 融雪首日有所提前。同时就积雪变化对生态系统与气候系统的影响进行了论述, 评估了积雪的反馈作用。通过总结第三极和北极积雪变化研究进展, 凝练研究中存在的不足和未来发展趋势, 为提升积雪对气候变化及经济社会发展影响的认识提供重要科学支撑。     

北极夏季海冰表面积雪层内水分含量的时空分布

根据中国第二次北极科学考察实测雪冰温度剖面数据,用一维热传导方程描述雪层温度场,优化辨识了雪层有效热扩散系数和热源。将零热源项作为积雪层中含水和不含水雪层的边界,确定出相应含水和不含水雪层的有效热扩散系数。结合干雪、水物理参数建立雪层内含水量的评估方法并给出北极夏季雪冰温度测试期间雪层内水分含量与温度的关系以及水分变化的时空分布。     

Metabasalts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: new insights into hydrothermal systems in slow-spreading crust

An extensive suite of hydrothermally altered rocks were recovered byAlvin and dredging along the MARK [Mid-Atlantic Ridge, south of the Kane Fracture Zone (23–24°N)] where detachment faulting has provided a window into the crustal component of hydrothermal systems. Rocks of basaltic composition are altered to two assemblages with these characteristics: (i) type I: albitic plagioclase (An_02–10)+mixed-layer smectite/chlorite or chlorite±actinolite±quartz±sphene, <10% of the clinopyroxene is altered, and there is no trace metal mobility; (ii) type II: plagioclase (An_10–30)+amphibole (actinolite-magnesio-hornblende) +chlorite+sphene, >20% of the clinopyroxene is altered, and Cu and Zn are leached. The geochemical signature of these alteration types reflects the relative proportion and composition of secondary minerals, and the degree of alteration of primary phases, and does not show simple predictive relationships. Element mobilities indicate that both alteration types formed at low water/rock ratios. The MARK assemblages are typical of the greenschist and transition to the amphibolite facies, and represent two distinct, albeit overlapping, temperature regimes: type I-180 to 300°C and type II-250 to 450°C. By analogy with DSDP/ODP Hole 504B and many ophiolites, the MARK metabasalts were altered within the downwelling limb of a hydrothermal cell and type I and II samples formed in the upper and lower portions of the sheeted like complex, respectively. Episodic magmatic and hydrothermal events at slow-spreading ridges suggest that these observed mineral assemblages represent the cumulative effects of more than one hydrothermal event. Groundmass and vein assemblages in the MARK metabasalts indicate either that alteration conditions did not change during successive hydrothermal events or that these assemblages record only the highest temperature event. Lack of retrograde reactions or overprinting of lower temperature assemblages (e.g., zeolites) suggests that there is a continuum in alteration conditions while crustal segments remain in the ridge axis environment. The type II samples may be representative of thereaction zone where compositions of hydrothermal fluids actively venting at the seafloor today become fixed. This prediction necessitates interaction between hydrothermal fluids and intersertal glass and/or mafic phases, in addition to plagioclase, in order to produce the observed range in vented fluid pH.     

2003-2010年青藏高原积雪及雪水当量的时空变化

利用MODIS逐日无云积雪产品与AMSR-E雪水当量产品进行融合, 获取了青藏高原500 m分辨率的高精度雪水当量产品, 通过研究青藏高原积雪时空动态变化特征, 分析了积雪覆盖日数、雪水当量以及总雪量的季节及年际变化. 结果表明: 青藏高原地区降雪主要集中在高海拔山区, 而高原腹地降雪较少, 降雪在空间上分布极为不均; 2003-2010年期间, 平均积雪日数呈显著减少趋势, 稳定积雪区面积在逐渐扩大, 常年积雪区面积在不断缩小. 与积雪日数时空变化相比, 雪水当量增加的区域与积雪日数增加的区域基本一致, 但喜马拉雅山脉在积雪日数减少的情况下雪水当量却在逐年增加, 表明该地区温度升高虽然导致部分常年积雪向季节性积雪过渡, 但降雪量却在增加. 总的积雪面积年际变化呈波动下降的趋势, 但趋势不显著, 且减少的比例很少. 最大积雪面积呈现波动上升后下降的趋势, 平均累积积雪总量呈明显的波动下降趋势, 年递减率为1.0×10³ m³·a^-1.     

从第三极到北极： 湖冰研究进展

在全球气候变暖背景下, 第三极和北极地区的增温尤其明显, 冰冻圈对气候变化有着更为敏感的响应。湖冰作为冰冻圈的重要组成部分, 其变化不仅是气候的指示器, 同时也通过改变能量平衡、 大气环流、 辐射平衡等影响区域气候。通过对比不同观测手段及主要模型模拟方法在湖冰研究中的优缺点及适用性, 总结了第三极和北极湖冰变化的时空特征, 结果表明：第三极和北极地区湖冰均显示初冰日推迟、 消融日提前、 封冻期缩短的趋势; 第三极和北极地区湖冰厚度呈持续减少趋势; 未来湖冰的这些变化将更加显著。第三极和北极地区湖冰的变化主要受到气温的影响, 同时也受到风速、 湖泊理化性质的限制。在系统梳理第三极和北极地区湖冰变化的基础上, 总结了湖冰研究面临的问题和挑战, 为未来湖冰研究提供科学依据。     

Seasonal and annual variation of pollen content in the snow of a Canadian high Arctic ice cap

Seasonal and annual pollen deposition over an eight-year period (1981-89) in the snow layers of the Agassiz Ice Cap, Ellesmere Island, was investigated. The annual and seasonal layers were determined from the snow stratigraphy. Thirteen to thirty-five kg were sampled for each layer. Most of the pollen grains deposited on the ice cap originate either from the high Arctic regional tundra, or from the boreal forest and low Arctic tundra over 1,000 km to the south. The regional pollen types show large variations throughout the year and the maximum concentration is normally found in the late summer-early autumn snow. The exotic types usually show less seasonal variation, although with slight maximum in the spring or summer layers. The annual regional and exotic pollen influx to the ice cap can be highly variable. These variations are tentatively related to climatic parameters.     

Sensitivity of the Northern Hemisphere climate system to extreme changes in Holocene Arctic sea ice

The extent of seasonal and perennial sea ice changed dramatically through the Late Quaternary and these changes influenced both the ocean and atmosphere by controlling the exchange of energy, moisture and gases between them, and by altering the planetary albedo. Reconstructing the changing patterns of sea ice distribution in the recent past remains one of the outstanding challenges to the paleo-community. To evaluate the importance of these reconstructions we performed sensitivity tests using NCAR's Community Climate Model (CCM3), and a series of prescribed sea ice extents designed to capture the full range of Arctic sea ice variability under interglacial (Holocene) and full glacial (Last Glacial Maximum) boundary conditions. Our simulations indicate that surface temperatures and sea level pressures in winter (DJF) are most sensitive to changes in sea ice, and that these changes are propagated over the surrounding land masses in the North Atlantic, but that equivalent changes in sea ice produce smaller corresponding changes in temperature or sea level pressure in the North Pacific region. A comparison between CLIMAP (Map Chart Series MC-36, Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 1981) and a more realistic assessment of LGM sea ice yields dramatic changes in winter temperatures and precipitation patterns across Eurasia. These differences, forced only by changed sea ice conditions, reinforce the need to develop accurate maps of past sea ice to correctly simulate Late Quaternary environments. Such reconstructions also will be essential to validate the next generation of sea ice models.     

北极大气中典型持久性有机污染物对海冰变化的响应

近年来,北极变暖速度几乎是全球平均速度的两倍,海冰加速消融被认为会使沉积的持久性有机污染物（POPs）重新释放进入大气。本文利用近30年的大气POPs浓度数据和北极海冰数据,比较了有机氯农药（OCPs）和多氯联苯（PCBs）在北极Alert、Zeppelin、Stórhöfði和Pallas这4个站点的变率,结合互相关分析,探讨POPs对海冰变化的响应。结果发现,在周围多为浮冰区的Zeppelin站点,OCPs（特别是HCB和α-HCH）在2009年后与海冰变化显著负相关,而在其他站点显著性较低或无显著相关性。PCBs在Stórhöfði和Pallas站点,超前海冰变化,可能与长距离输送和土壤的二次释放有关,而在Zeppelin站点出现了和DDTs类似的滞后海冰变化的现象。本研究表明,不同类型的POPs对海冰变化的时空响应不同,海冰消融不一定导致大气POPs浓度增大。

     

The East Variscan Shear Zone: new insights into its role in the Late Carboniferous collision in southern Europe

A comparison of the petro-tectonic features recorded in the Variscan Massifs scattered throughout the Alps, the Corsica-Sardinia-Maures-Tanneron Massif, the Calabria-Peloritani Arc, and the Northern Apennines, has allowed us to propose that they belonged to the same geodynamic realm until Late Carboniferous time. In the interval 330–300 Ma, the development of a regional dextral strike–slip shear zone, the East Variscan Shear Zone (EVSZ), affected all the massifs, leading to their spatial separation. The EVSZ developed, together with numerous regional shear zones, under a transpressional tectonic regime deriving from the Late Carboniferous collision between Gondwana, peri-Gondwana microcontinents (Armorica and Avalonia), and Laurussia plates. The EVSZ evidently played a key role in the evolution of the subsequent Alpine and Apenninic cycles, acting as a pre-existing tectonic barrier. Our proposed geodynamic reconstruction does not reflect the acquisition of new data, but is based on the analysis and review of the recent geological literature.     

A new lead mine in the northern Pennines

Plans by Durham County Council, owners of the Killhope Lead Mining Centre in Weardale, to open parts of the oroginal underground workings of Park Level Mine to visitors were frustrated when exploration of the mine revealed the seriously collapsed state of the workings. This disappointment has now been turned to advantage by the building of a new, 'artificial', specially constructed mine on the site, planned to be geologically consistent with the original mine. The new mine was recently officially opened by Tony Blair MP.     

Three decades of landslide activity in western Nepal: new insights into trends and climate drivers

In recent decades, landslide disasters in the Himalayas, as in other mountain regions, are widely reported to have increased. While some studies have suggested a link to increasing heavy rainfall under a warmer climate, others pointed to anthropogenic influences on slope stability, and increasing exposure of people and assets located in harm’s way. A lack of sufficiently high-resolution regional landslide inventories, both spatially and temporally, has prevented any robust consensus so far. Focusing on Far-Western Nepal, we draw on remote sensing techniques to create a regional inventory of 26,350 single landslide events, of which 8778 date to the period 1992–2018. These events serve as a basis for the analyses of landslide frequency relationships and trends in relation to precipitation and temperature datasets. Results show a strong correlation between the annual number of shallow landslides and the accumulated monsoon precipitation (r = 0.74). Furthermore, warm and dry monsoons followed by especially rainy monsoons produce the highest incidence of shallow landslides (r = 0.77). However, we find strong spatial variability in the strength of these relationships, which is linked to recent demographic development in the region. This highlights the role of anthropogenic drivers, and in particular road cutting and land-use change, in amplifying the seasonal monsoon influence on slope stability. In parallel, the absence of any long-term trends in landslide activity, despite widely reported increase in landslide disasters, points strongly to increasing exposure of people and infrastructure as the main driver of landslide disasters in this region of Nepal. By contrast, no climate change signal is evident from the data.

     

Field experiments yield new insights into gas exchange and excess air formation in natural porous media

Gas exchange between seepage water and soil air within the unsaturated and quasi-saturated zones is fundamentally different from gas exchange between water and gas across a free boundary layer, e.g., in lakes or rivers. In addition to the atmospheric equilibrium fraction, most groundwater samples contain an excess of dissolved atmospheric gases which is called “excess air”. Excess air in groundwater is not only of crucial importance for the interpretation of gaseous environmental tracer data, but also for other aspects of groundwater hydrology, e.g., for oxygen availability in bio-remediation and in connection with changes in transport dynamics caused by the presence of entrapped air bubbles. Whereas atmospheric solubility equilibrium is controlled mainly by local soil temperature, the excess air component is characterized by the (hydrostatic) pressure acting on entrapped air bubbles within the quasi-saturated zone. Here we present the results of preliminary field experiments in which we investigated gas exchange and excess air formation in natural porous media. The experimental data suggest that the formation of excess air depends significantly on soil properties and on infiltration mechanisms. Excess air was produced by the partial dissolution of entrapped air bubbles during a sprinkling experiment in fine-grained sediments, whereas similar experiments conducted in coarse sand and gravel did not lead to the formation of excess air in the infiltrating water. Furthermore, the experiments revealed that the noble gas temperatures determined from noble gases dissolved in seepage water at different depths are identical to the corresponding in situ soil temperatures. This finding is important for all applications of noble gases as a paleotemperature indicator in groundwater since these applications are always based on the assumption that the noble gas temperature is identical to the (past) soil temperature.     

北疆积雪中溶解性砷和汞的空间分布特征及来源分析

为了解北疆积雪中砷(As)和汞(Hg)的空间分布特征及来源,基于2018年1月在北疆地区58个采样点采集的积雪样品,采用原子荧光光谱法测定积雪中溶解性砷和汞的含量,用反距离加权插值法分析空间分布特征,并利用后向轨迹模型探讨了其来源.结果表明:积雪中溶解性砷和汞的浓度分别在0.21～2.69μg?L-1和5.32～64....     

New insights into the origin of perylene in geological samples

The origin of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) perylene in sediments and petroleum has been a matter of continued debate. Reported to occur in Phanerozoic organic matter (OM), fossil crinoids and tropical termite mounds, its mechanism of formation remains unclear. While a combustion source can be excluded, structural similarities to perylene quinone-like components present in e.g. fungi, plants, crinoids and insects, potentially suggest a product-precursor relationship. Here, we report perylene concentrations, ¹³C/¹²C, and D/H ratios from a Holocene sediment profile from the Qingpu trench, Yangtze Delta region, China. Perylene concentrations differ from those of pyrogenic PAHs, and rise to prominence in a stratigraphic interval that was dominated by woody vegetation as determined by palynology including fungal spores. In this zone, perylene concentrations exhibit an inverse relationship to the lignin marker guaiacol, D/H ratios between −284‰ and −317‰, similar to the methoxy groups in lignin, as well as co-variation with spores from wood-degrading fungi. ¹³C/¹²C of perylene differs from that of land plant wax alkanes and falls in the fractionation range expected for saprophytic fungi that utilise lignin, which is isotopically lighter than cellulose and whole wood. During progressive lignin degradation, the relative carbon isotopic ratio of the perylene decreases. We therefore hypothesise a relationship of perylene to the activity of wood-degrading fungi. To support our hypothesis, we analysed a wide range of Phanerozoic sediments and oils, and found perylene to generally be present in subordinate amounts before the evolutionary rise of vascular plants, and to be generally absent from marine-sourced oils, few exceptions being attributed perhaps to a contribution of marine and/or terrestrial-derived fungi, anoxia (especially under marine conditions) and/or contamination of core material by fungi. A series of low-molecular-weight aromatic quinones bearing the perylene-backbone were detected in Devonian and Cretaceous sediments, potentially representing precursor components to perylene.     

Regional variations in atmospheric deposition and sources of anthropogenic lead in lake sediments across the Canadian Arctic

Stable Pb isotope profiles in dated lake sediment cores were used to gauge the relative amounts and possible sources of anthropogenic Pb deposited from the atmosphere in different regions of the Canadian Arctic. A distinct north-south difference was found. In four High Arctic lakes (i.e., north of 66°N) in this study, recent Pb isotopic shifts or concentration increases attributable to anthropogenic Pb were negligible. The maximum possible contribution from anthropogenic Pb was 0 to 19% of acid-leachable Pb in the 1980s or 1990s. In contrast, two lakes in the Hudson Bay region displayed significantly lower Pb isotope ratios and threefold to fivefold increases of Pb concentrations in modern sediments, corresponding to anthropogenic Pb inputs of at least 72 to 91% of leachable Pb. Eurasian urban and industrial Pb is known to dominate the High Arctic atmosphere. A possible explanation for its negligible influence on northern lake sediments is that atmospheric Pb deposition at northern latitudes is reduced compared with southern regions and is small compared to local geological inputs. ²¹⁰Pb deposition declines with increasing latitude, apparently because of declining precipitation rates; stable Pb deposition may be similarly affected. Meteorological considerations and variations in the post-1900 Pb isotopic trajectories indicated that the predominant anthropogenic Pb source region in NW Hudson Bay was Eurasia, while in SE Hudson Bay, it was Canada and the United States, with a minor Eurasian component.     

Shallow impact: Isotopic insights into crustal contributions to the Sudbury impact melt sheet

The largest known terrestrial impact melt sheet occurs within the 1850 Ma Sudbury Structure, Ontario. In order to evaluate the relative contributions of different target lithologies to the melt sheet, we have investigated the Pb isotope compositions of feldspar separates from early-formed quartz diorite magmas within Offset Dykes from around the impact structure. The samples define a linear array on plots of age-corrected ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb versus ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb. Samples from Offset Dykes hosted by the Huronian Supergroup (South Range) have a range of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb₁₈₅₀ from 15.424 to 17.255 and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb₁₈₅₀ from 15.390 to 15.801, whilst those hosted by Archean gneisses of the Superior Province (North Range) cluster around ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb₁₈₅₀ ≈ 14.8 and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb₁₈₅₀ ≈ 15.1. These values can be approximated by binary mixing between the two major groups of target lithologies. A mix of 60-70% of Superior Province gneisses with 30-40% of Huronian metasedimentary material closely matches the Pb isotope compositions of North Range Offset Dyke samples, whereas in the South Range the required Huronian component is up to ca. 80%.These mixing proportions are consistent with Sr, Nd and Os isotope and trace element constraints. A third minor component, either locally-exposed Paleoproterozoic mafic rocks or the lower crust is also required. However, the isotopic, trace element and Ni-Cu-platinum group element characteristics of the melt sheet can be accommodated without the involvement of an average lower crustal or meteoritic component.A major contribution of Huronian supracrustal material, which had a pre-impact thickness of up to 12 km, is required to explain the chemical characteristics of the impact melts, which also have a strong upper crustal affinity (e.g. Eu/Sm = 0.22, Rb/Sr = 0.2-0.35). As such, a shallower level of melting is apparent than that predicted by many previous impact models for the Sudbury event. This can be accommodated by considering approach trajectories for the impactor oblique to the Earth’s surface. In addition, the isotopic and trace element variability identified indicates that the melt sheet was heterogeneous at an early stage, and may not have been completely homogenised during crater formation. Our findings have significant implications for the nature of the Sudbury impact event, the evolution of the melt sheet and the crustal sources of metals contained in Sudbury’s world class Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide ores.     

Recent insights into the dissolved and particulate fluxes from the Himalayan tributaries to the Ganga River

The Ganga River plays a major role in the transfer of materials from the Indian sub-continent to the Bay of Bengal, both in dissolved and particulate forms. To understand the present elemental dynamics of the Ganga River system, it is important to assess the hydrogeochemical contribution of its tributaries. In this paper, we present an updated database on dissolved and particulate fluxes and denudation rates of the Himalayan tributaries of the Ganga River (Ramganga, Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi). Dissolved trace element concentrations, their fluxes and suspended sediment-associated elemental fluxes of the Himalayan tributaries have been reported for the first time. Total dissolved flux of the Ramganga, Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi was estimated as 4, 19.1, 10.3 and 8.8 million tons year^?1 accounting for ~?5.7, ~?27.3, ~?14.7 and ~?12.6%, respectively, of the total annual dissolved load carried by the Ganga River. The total particulate flux of the Ramganga, Ghaghara, Gandak and Kosi was computed as 8.2, 81.6, 30.9 and 19.5 million tons year^?1, respectively. Compared to earlier studies, we have found a significant increase in the total dissolved flux and chemical denudation rate of the studied tributaries. The estimated particulate fluxes were found to be low in comparison to the previous studies. We suggest that a significant increase in the dissolved fluxes and a decrease in the particulate fluxes are an indication of the increasing anthropogenic disturbances in the catchment of these tributaries.     

Sedimentary processes in the Selvage sediment-wave field, NE Atlantic: new insights into the formation of sediment waves by turbidity currents

An integrated geophysical and sedimentological investigation of the Selvage sediment-wave field has revealed that the sediment waves are formed beneath unconfined turbidity currents. The sediment waves occur on the lower continental rise and display wavelengths of up to 1 km and wave heights of up to 6 m. Wave sediments consist of interbedded turbidites and pelagic/hemipelagic marls and oozes. Nannofossil-based dating of the sediments indicates a bulk sedimentation rate of 2·4 cm 1000 years^–1, and the waves are migrating upslope at a rate of 0·28 m 1000 years^–1. Sediment provenance studies reveal that the turbidity currents maintaining the waves are largely sourced from volcanic islands to the south. Investigation of existing models for sediment-wave formation leads to the conclusion that the Selvage sediment waves form as giant antidunes. Simple numerical modelling reveals that turbidity currents crossing the wave field have internal Froude numbers of 0·5–1·9, which is very close to the antidune existence limits. Depositional flow velocities range from <6 to 125 cm^–1. There is a rapid increase in wavelength and flow thickness in the upper 10 km of the wave field, which is unexpected, as the slope angle remains relatively constant. This anomaly is possibly linked to a topographic obstacle just upslope of the sediment waves. Flows passing over the obstacle may undergo a hydraulic jump at its boundary, leading to an increase in flow thickness. In the lower 15 km of the wave field, flow thickness decreases downslope by 60%, which is comparable with results obtained for other unconfined turbidity currents undergoing flow expansion.