用小时降雨资料估算降雨侵蚀力的方法

降雨侵蚀力是进行土壤流失量预报的基本因子,EI₃₀是迄今得到广泛应用的定量指标,但它的计算需要降雨过程资料,使其推广应用受到很大限制。用自动气象观测提供的高精度等间隔降雨资料,代替降雨过程资料,是估算降雨侵蚀力指标的首选。国际上对此已有研究,发现有很大的地区差异性。为此,本文在水蚀严重的中国东部季风区选择5个代表站点,共456次降雨过程资料,建立了用60 min等间隔雨量资料估算次降雨侵蚀力的计算方法。研究结果表明:直接用60 min等间隔资料计算的降雨侵蚀力指标值,与用降雨过程资料计算的结果相比,降雨动能E差异较小,主要差异体现在最大30 min雨强I₃₀上,由此导致降雨侵蚀力指标EI₃₀的差异也十分明显。利用自动气象观测小时雨量资料计算降雨侵蚀力指标值,通过公式(EI₃₀)_bp=1.730(EI₃₀)₆₀转换,可以较精确地估算全国降雨侵蚀力,与用日、月和年降雨量资料的估算值相比,能够提高土壤侵蚀预报精度。     

Representative rainfall thresholds for landslides in the Nepal Himalaya

Measuring some 2400 km in length, the Himalaya accommodate millions of people in northern India and Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of other Asian nations. Every year, especially during monsoon rains, landslides and related natural events in these mountains cause tremendous damage to lives, property, infrastructure, and environment. In the context of the Himalaya, however, the rainfall thresholds for landslide initiation are not well understood. This paper describes regional aspects of rainfall thresholds for landslides in the Himalaya. Some 677 landslides occurring from 1951 to 2006 were studied to analyze rainfall thresholds. Out of the 677 landslides, however, only 193 associated with rainfall data were analyzed to yield a threshold relationship between rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, and landslide initiation. The threshold relationship fitted to the lower boundary of the field defined by landslide-triggering rainfall events is I = 73.90D^− 0.79 (I = rainfall intensity in mm h^− 1 and D = duration in hours), revealing that when the daily precipitation exceeds 144 mm, the risk of landslides on Himalayan mountain slopes is high. Normalized rainfall intensity–duration relationships and landslide initiation thresholds were established from the data after normalizing rainfall-intensity data with respect to mean annual precipitation (MAP) as an index in which N_I = 1.10D^− 0.59 (N_I = normalized intensity in h^− 1). Finally, the role of antecedent rainfall in causing landslides was also investigated by considering daily rainfall during failure and the cumulative rainfall to discover at what point antecedent rainfall plays an important role in Himalayan landslide processes. Rainfall thresholds presented in this paper are generalized so they can be used in landslide warning systems in the Nepal Himalaya.     

用雨量和雨强计算次降雨侵蚀力

降雨侵蚀力反映由降雨引起土壤侵蚀的潜在能力 ,是定量预报土壤流失的重要因子。降雨动能与最大 30min雨强的乘积EI30 是最常用的降雨侵蚀力指标 ,但计算复杂 ,且资料难以获得。本文从利用易获取的气象资料计算降雨侵蚀力出发 ,通过对全国 13个代表性小区侵蚀资料和 12个气象站降雨资料的分析 ,确定我国降雨侵蚀力指标为雨量和最大 10min雨强的乘积PI10 ,其精度与常用的侵蚀力指标EI30 相当。为方便对比分析并统一单位 ,进一步建立了指标PI10 与EI30 的转换关系 :(EI30 ) =0 1773(PI10 )。这样可充分利用覆盖全国的气象站整编资料 ,计算全国降雨侵蚀力 ,为水土保持规划服务     

“8.12”甘肃大暴雨特征分析

 2010年8月10～13日,甘肃省河东出现了中到大雨,局地暴雨或大暴雨,是舟曲山洪地质灾害气象应急响应开始后迎来的第一场区域性暴雨过程,对前方救灾抢险工作造成严重威胁。利用实况观测资料和NCEP再分析资料对大暴雨过程的天气特征、水汽条件、动力条件、不稳定条件等进行综合分析,并总结了暴雨过程的中尺度云团特征及雷达回波特征。结果表明：此次暴雨过程持续时间较长,但大暴雨出现时段集中,雨强大,危害性强。副高强盛,北部冷空气分裂南下,青藏高原切变线活动频繁,是本次暴雨过程的主要环流特征。500 hPa锋区和700 hPa低涡切变线是造成暴雨天气的直接影响系统。低层正涡度区、水汽辐合、上升运动、正螺旋度中心以及层结不稳定等因素为暴雨产生创造了热力、动力和能量条件。此次暴雨的触发机制是低层中尺度切变线的发展和维持、偏南暖湿气流的增强,以及低层辐合高层辐散的大气上下层抽吸作用。多个中β尺度对流云团沿700 hPa切变南侧发展东移,表明本次大暴雨过程中存在明显中小尺度系统,其中低层气旋式辐合、高层辐散流场的配置是降雨范围及强度增大的重要原因。     

Basin evolution of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Cenozoic strata in the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt: northern Neuquén Basin,Argentina

The Andean Orogen is the type‐example of an active Cordilleran style margin with a long‐lived retroarc fold‐and‐thrust belt and foreland basin. Timing of initial shortening and foreland basin development in Argentina is diachronous along‐strike, with ages varying by 20–30 Myr. The Neuquén Basin (32°S to 40°S) contains a thick sedimentary sequence ranging in age from late Triassic to Cenozoic, which preserves a record of rift, back arc and foreland basin environments. As much of the primary evidence for initial uplift has been overprinted or covered by younger shortening and volcanic activity, basin strata provide the most complete record of early mountain building. Detailed sedimentology and new maximum depositional ages obtained from detrital zircon U–Pb analyses from the Malargüe fold‐and‐thrust belt (35°S) record a facies change between the marine evaporites of the Huitrín Formation (ca. 122 Ma) and the fluvial sandstones and conglomerates of the Diamante Formation (ca. 95 Ma). A 25–30 Myr unconformity between the Huitrín and Diamante formations represents the transition from post‐rift thermal subsidence to forebulge erosion during initial flexural loading related to crustal shortening and uplift along the magmatic arc to the west by at least 97 ± 2 Ma. This change in basin style is not marked by any significant difference in provenance and detrital zircon signature. A distinct change in detrital zircons, sandstone composition and palaeocurrent direction from west‐directed to east‐directed occurs instead in the middle Diamante Formation and may reflect the Late Cretaceous transition from forebulge derived sediment in the distal foredeep to proximal foredeep material derived from the thrust belt to the west. This change in palaeoflow represents the migration of the forebulge, and therefore, of the foreland basin system between 80 and 90 Ma in the Malargüe area.     

Intra-event characteristics of extreme erosive rainfall on Mauritius

Mauritius is a volcanic island with a raised interior where extreme rainfall events dominate rainfall erosivity. Intra-event characteristics of the 120 highest erosive events at six selected locations between 2004 and 2008 were analyzed to provide the first detailed intra-storm data for a tropical island environment. On Mauritius, spatial variation is evident in the characteristics of extreme erosive rainfall recorded at the stations, with a noticeable increase in rainfall depth, duration, kinetic energy, and erosivity of extreme events with altitude. Extreme events in the raised interior (central plateau) show high variability of peak intensity over time as well as a higher percentage of events in which the greatest intensity occurs in the latter part of the event. Intra-event distribution of rainfall in the interior of the island shows that rainfall there has a higher potential to exceed infiltration rates as well as the ability to generate high peak runoff rates and cause substantial soil loss. The study suggests that even though within-event rainfall characteristics are complex, they have implications for soil erosion risk, and that, in tropical island environments, the within-storm distribution of rainfall should be incorporated in soil-loss modeling.     

Climate‐driven generation of a fluvial sheet sand body at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary in north‐west Wyoming (USA)

An unusually thick and laterally persistent fluvial sand body crops out at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary within the northern part of the Bighorn Basin in northwest Wyoming, USA. The generation of this ‘Boundary Sandstone’ was previously ascribed to a period of reduced subsidence; however, a new carbon isotope record presented herein shows it to be intimately correlated to the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), an extreme global warming event ca. 56 Ma. This study evaluates the impacts of the PETM on fluvial deposition in the basin by integrating sedimentological data with geochemical, palaeoichnological, and palaeobotanical proxy records. Compared to pre‐ and post‐PETM fluvial sand bodies, the Boundary Sandstone is more highly amalgamated, both vertically and laterally, but shows no changes in lithofacies associations, palaeodispersal directions, palaeoflow depths, or palaeochannel widths. At its thickest, the Boundary Sandstone resides entirely within the main body of the PETM, an ca. 113 kyr time interval when global pCO₂ levels and temperatures were at their highest, and local mean annual rainfall low, floodplains well drained and vegetation comparatively sparse. The totality of data sets imply that the Boundary Sandstone is related to the preferential removal of fine‐grained floodplain deposits by either: (i) rapid readjustments in river gradients related to documented short‐term precipitation oscillations or (ii) reductions in the cohesiveness of overbank sediments related to decreased rooting density and water table fluctuations. Hence, short‐term climate perturbations may manifest within large‐scale depositional patterns in ways ostensibly like tectonics.     

THE DEPENDENCE OF THE ANNUAL TOTAL ON THE NUMBER OF RAIN‐SPELLS AND THEIR YIELD IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Rain‐spells are a key parameter for examining the variation in rainfall amounts, especially in arid and semi‐arid areas. A rain‐spell is defined as a period of consecutive days with rainfall above a certain determined Daily Rainfall Threshold (DRT). Two different seasons or two stations may have the same average TOTAL, but different synoptic conditions are the cause for the differences in their Number of Rain‐Spells (NRS) their Rain‐Spells Yield (RSY) or both. The present study examines whether a season is drier/wetter according to its length, or whether it depends on the NRS in 41 Mediterranean stations. It analyses the relationships between dry/wet seasons and various elements of the rain‐spells. These objectives are analysed both at a basin level of the entire Mediterranean, and at a station level. The main conclusions at the basin level are that precipitation amounts are not related to the length of the seasons, and therefore, a Short or a Long season can be either Dry or Wet. The significant positive correlation between the TOTAL and the annual NRS that was found indicates that a Dry season tends to have Few rain‐spells and a Wet season tends to have Many rain‐spells. At the station level of most stations, a Dry or Wet season is caused mainly by changes in the RSY and less so by changes in the NRS. This tendency is more evident in the southern Mediterranean. Furthermore, Wet seasons are characterized by an increase in the number of Long rain‐spells (longer than three days) and mainly in the RSY of these spells. These conclusions may serve to characterize the rainfall regime under any scenario due to a climatic change.     

Testing the credibility of historical newspaper reporting of extreme climate and weather events

In recent years, newspaper research has been streamlined by digitisation and online hosting by PapersPast. This paper tests the reliability and credibility of reporting of extreme weather and climatic events through PapersPast to determine if newspaper research of past climate can be further streamlined. Searches were conducted through four early‐20th‐century Auckland newspapers, where counts of articles returned by key‐word searches for particular periods were compared against periods of known extremes. We find that blind searches have only limited potential in identifying extreme weather and climatic events and that they are no substitute for thorough analyses of documentary sources.     

Rainfall partitioning by desert shrubs in arid regions

We measured the rainfall partitioning among throughfall, stemflow, and interception by desert shrubs in an arid region of China, and analyzed the influence of rainfall and canopy characteristics on this partitioning and its ecohydrological effects. The percent-ages of total rainfall accounted for by throughfall, stemflow, and interception ranged from 78.85±2.78 percent to 86.29±5.07 per-cent, from 5.50±3.73 percent to 8.47±4.19 percent, and from 7.54±2.36 percent to 15.95±4.70 percent, respectively, for the four shrubs in our study (Haloxylon ammodendron, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Tamarix ramosissima, and Nitraria sphaerocarpa). Rain-fall was significantly linearly correlated with throughfall, stemflow, and interception (P < 0.0001). The throughfall, stemflow, and interception percentages were logarithmically related to total rainfall (P < 0.01), but were quadratically related to the maximum 1-hour rainfall intensity (P < 0.01). The throughfall and stemflow percentages increased significantly with increasing values of the rainfall characteristics, whereas the interception percentage generally decreased (except for average wind speed, air temperature, and canopy evaporation). Regression analysis suggested that the stemflow percentage increased significantly with increasing crown length, number of branches, and branch angle (R2 = 0.92, P < 0.001). The interception percentage increased significantly with increasing LAI (leaf area index) and crown length, but decreased with increasing branch angle (R2 = 0.96, P < 0.001). The mean funnelling percentages for the four shrubs ranged from 30.27±4.86 percent to 164.37±6.41 percent of the bulk precipitation. Much of the precipitation was funnelled toward the basal area of the stem, confirming that shrub stemflow conserved in deep soil layers may be an available moisture source to support plant survival and growth under arid conditions.     

RAINFALL CHANGE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR BELG HARVEST IN SOUTH WOLLO, ETHIOPIA

Most farmers in the Ethiopian highlands depend on rain‐fed agriculture. Some areas have the favourable situation of having two rainy seasons, Belg (February‐May) and the long rainy season Kiremt (June‐October), which is the case in some parts of South Wollo. Tef (Eragrostis tef) is the staple crop that farmers prefer to grow and the 90‐day variety is suitable for growing during the short rainy season. One out of eight Ethiopians lives in tef potential areas which have Belg rainfall. The aim in this study is to analyse rainfall variation in South Wollo, in particular the area east of the small town of Hayk, and to study its effect on the ability to grow tef during the Belg season. Results from interviews showed that a more difficult farming situation had emerged during the past 40 years, largely due to deterioration of physical resources such as rainfall. Rainfall is analysed by comparing daily rainfall data from four stations in two periods, 1963 to 1982 and 1984 to 2003, for changes in totals, seasonal distribution and variability. Coefficient of variance, rainy days, rainfall intensity and dry spells were analysed. Results from this study show that there have been minor rainfall changes but greater rainfall variability. During fieldwork key informants were asked if they were able to harvest tef during the past nine years, a period that has been used in a model of rainfall influence on tef cultivation during the Belg season. In both 20–year periods, farmers were able to grow tef every second year. In spite of a greater variability in rainfall the farmers proved their knowledge and flexibility and were able to harvest tef in the same number of years during both periods.     

热带气旋降水模拟研究进展

中国是遭受热带气旋灾害最为严重的国家之一,准确的降水模拟对于开展热带气旋灾害风险评估有重要意义。本文从热带气旋灾害风险评估的视角,将降水模拟分为基于极值理论的降水极值模拟、基于站点的降水时空模拟和基于热带气旋路径的降水事件模拟3大类;根据风险评估对降水模拟的需求,从模型构建、发展及其特点等方面对3类模型进行分析评述;进而提出面向风险评估的热带气旋降水模拟,应兼顾降水模拟的一般性和热带气旋暴雨模拟的特殊性,平衡处理降水模拟结果的准确性、统计量的可靠性和计算量问题。以极值理论对降水极值模拟为基础,充分发挥降水时空模拟在处理长时间降水序列中的优势,并加强热带气旋降水的理论研究,进一步完善热带气旋降水事件的模拟模型。     

Biological and Geochemical Record of Anthropogenic Impacts in Recent Sediments from Lake Pupuke, Auckland City, New Zealand

Frozen sediment cores from Lake Pupuke in Auckland City, New Zealand, contain a high resolution decadal to annual scale record of changing lake paleoenvironments and geochemistry that reflects changing landuse and hydrology in the catchment over the past c. 190 years. A reliable chronology is available from AMS ¹⁴C and ²¹⁰Pb dating of the sediments, with the timing of the older part of the record supported by the first appearance of pollen of introduced Pinus and Plantago lanceolata associated with European settlement of Auckland in the early 1840s. Diatom stratigraphy, sediment elemental and carbon isotope geochemistry reflect changes in sediment sources and lake conditions commensurate with European development of the Lake Pupuke catchment, in particular enhanced algal productivity controlled by the influx of nutrients after c. 1920 AD. Attempts to prevent nuisance algal blooms in 1933, 1934 and 1939 using CuSO₄ addition produced Cu spikes in the sediment that allowed confirmation of the accuracy of the ²¹⁰Pb chronology. Hence, the elemental and isotopic composition of the Lake Pupuke sediments reflect the timing of significant anthropogenic activities, rather than climatic variations, that have occurred within the watershed over the past c. 190 years. The comparison of records of land use change in the catchment with the multi-proxy record of changes in the sediments usually allowed unambiguous identification of the signatures of change and their causes.     

Late Cretaceous‐Palaeogene stratigraphic and basin evolution in the Zhepure Mountain of southern Tibet: implications for the timing of India‐Asia initial collision

This article presents combined stratigraphic, sedimentological, subsidence and provenance data for the Cretaceous–Palaeogene succession from the Zhepure Mountain of southern Tibet. This region records the northernmost sedimentation of the Tethyan passive margin of India, and this time interval represents the transition into continental collision with Asia. The uppermost Cretaceous Zhepure Shanpo and Jidula formations record the transition from pelagic into upper slope to delta‐plain environments. The Palaeocene–lower Eocene Zongpu Formation records a carbonate ramp that is overlain by the deep‐water Enba Formation (lower Eocene). The upper part of the Enba Formation records shallowing into a storm‐influenced, outer shelf environment. Detrital zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic data indicate that the terrigenous strata of the Enba Formation were sourced from the Lhasa terrane. Unconformably overlying the Enba Formation is the Zhaguo Formation comprising fluvial deposits with evidence of recycling from the underlying successions. Backstripped subsidence analysis indicates shallowing during latest Cretaceous‐earliest Palaeocene time (Zhepure Shanpo and Jidula formations) driven by basement uplift, followed by stability (Zongpu Formation) until early Eocene time (Enba Formation) when accelerated subsidence occurred. The provenance, subsidence and stratigraphy suggest that the Enba and Zhaguo formations record foredeep and wedge‐top sedimentation respectively within the early Himalayan foreland basin. The underlying Zongpu Formation is interpreted to record the accumulation of a carbonate ramp at the margin of a submarine forebulge. The precursor tectonic uplift during latest Cretaceous time could either record surface uplift over a mantle plume related to the Réunion hotspot, or an early signal of lithospheric flexure related to oceanic subduction, continental collision or ophiolite obduction. The results indicate that the collision of India with Asia occurred before late Danian (ca. 62 Ma) time.     

Estimating rainfall erosivity by incorporating seasonal variations in parameters into the Richardson model

Rainfall erosivity is an important climatic factor for predicting soil loss. Through the application of high-resolution pluviograph data at 5 stations in Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China, we analyzed the performance of a modified Richardson model that incorporated the seasonal variations in parameters α and β. The results showed that (1) moderate to high seasonality was presented in the distribution of erosive rainfall, and the seasonality of rainfall erosivity was even stronger; (2) seasonal variations were demonstrated in both parameters α and β of the Richardson model; and (3) incorporating and coordinating the seasonality of parameters α and β greatly improved the predictions at the monthly scale. This newly modified model is therefore highly recommended when monthly rainfall erosivity is required, such as, in planning soil and water conservation practices and calculating the cover-management factor in the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE).     

Permian exhumation of the Montagne Noire core complex recorded in the Graissessac‐Lodève Basin,France

The paleogeographic reconstruction of the Variscan Mountains during late Carboniferous‐Permian post‐orogenic extension remains poorly understood, owing to the subsequent erosion and/or burial of most associated sedimentary basins during the Mesozoic. The Graissessac‐Lodève Basin (southern France) preserves a thick and exceptionally complete record of continental sedimentation spanning late Carboniferous through late Permian time. This section records the localized tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of southern France in the context of the low‐latitude Variscan Belt of Western Europe. This study presents new detrital zircon and framework mineralogy data that address the provenance of siliciclastic strata exposed in the basin. The ages and compositions of units that constitute the Montagne Noire metamorphic core complex (west of the basin) dictate the detrital zircon age populations and sandstone compositions in Permian strata, recording rapid exhumation and unroofing of the Montagne Noire dome. Cambrian‐Archean zircons and metamorphic lithic‐rich compositions record derivation from recycled detritus of the earliest Paleozoic sedimentary cover and Neoproterozoic‐early Cambrian metasedimentary Schistes X, which formerly covered the Montagne Noire dome. Ordovician zircons and subarkosic framework compositions indicate erosion of orthogneiss units that formed a large part of the dome. The youngest zircon population (320–285 Ma) reflects derivation from late Carboniferous‐early Permian granite units in the axial zone of the Montagne Noire. This population appears first in the early Permian, persists throughout the Permian section and is accompanied by sandstone compositions dominated by feldspar, polycrystalline quartz and metamorphic lithic fragments. The most recent migmatization, magmatism and deformation occurred ca. 298 ± 2 Ma, at ca. 17 km depth (based on peak metamorphic conditions). Accordingly, these new provenance data, together with zircon fission‐track thermochronology, demonstrate that exhumation of the Montagne Noire core complex was rapid (1–17 mm year⁻¹) and early (300–285 Ma), reflecting deep‐seated uplift in the southern Massif Central during post‐orogenic extension.     

A Geo‐spatial study for analysing temporal responses of NDVI to rainfall

Climate change has become a serious concern worldwide owing to its multifaceted impact upon the physical as well as socio‐economic environment (IPCC, 2013). Vulnerability to climate change is much higher in the developing countries like India, where the economy is mainly agro‐based and productivity from the agricultural sector is dependent upon summer monsoon rainfall. Hence, assessing the quantitative relationship between vegetation patterns and climatic influence has become an increasingly important study conducted on regional and global scales. As vegetation cover plays a key role in conserving the natural environment, studying the spatio‐temporal trend of vegetation is crucial in identifying changes in the natural environment. We analysed the spatial responses of SPOT‐VGT NDVI to TRMM based rainfall during a sixteen year period (1998–2013) in the Bundelkhand region of Central India. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) has proven to be a strong indicator of global vegetation productivity. Among climatic factors, rainfall robustly influences both spatial and temporal outline of NDVI. In this study, we used linear regression for analysing the statistical relationship among NDVI and rainfall and their trends. The study reveals a varying pattern of vegetation dynamics in response to rainfall over the area.     

中国短历时和长历时暴雨对总暴雨贡献的空间差异性研究（1961-2015）

采用1961-2015年659站日值降水数据,以持续1d和持续2d及以上暴雨作为短和长历时暴雨标准,分析不同历时暴雨变化趋势,结果表明,中国总降雨、总暴雨和短历时暴雨从东南沿海向西北内陆依次呈“增-减-增”的分布特征,且整体以增加趋势的站点占主导,而长历时暴雨则呈现出“增-减”的分布特征,且整体以减少趋势的站点占主导,并且检测出中国自东北向西南存在一条变干带。同时中国总暴雨对总降雨、长历时暴雨对总暴雨的贡献呈现出“东南高-西北低”的分布特征,而短历时暴雨对总暴雨的贡献呈现出“东南低-西北高”的分布特征。中国总暴雨对总降雨、短历时暴雨对总暴雨贡献的变化趋势呈现出“增-增减镶嵌-增”的分布特征,且以增加趋势的站点占主导,而长历时暴雨在东部沿海地区呈现出增减镶嵌的趋势,而西北内陆地区呈略微减少趋势,且以减少趋势的站点占主导,也检测出自东北向西南存在一条气候过渡带并与上述变干带基本重合。     

Constraining provenance,thickness and erosion of nappes using low‐temperature thermochronology: the Northland Allochthon,New Zealand

The Northland Allochthon, an assemblage of Cretaceous–Oligocene sedimentary rocks, was emplaced during the Late Oligocene–earliest Miocene, onto the in situ Mesozoic and early Cenozoic rocks (predominantly Late Eocene–earliest Miocene) in northwestern New Zealand. Using low‐temperature thermochronology, we investigate the sedimentary provenance, burial and erosion histories of the rocks from both the hanging and footwalls of the allochthon. In central Northland (Parua Bay), both the overlying allochthon and underlying Early Miocene autochthon yield detrital zircon and partially reset apatite fission‐track ages that were sourced from the local Jurassic terrane and perhaps Late Cretaceous volcanics; the autochthon contains, additionally, material sourced from Oligocene volcanics. Thermal history modelling indicates that the lower part of the allochthon together with the autochthon was heated to ca. 55–100°C during the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene, most likely due to the burial beneath the overlying nappe sequences. From the Mesozoic basement exposed in eastern Northland, we obtained zircon fission‐track ages tightly bracketed between 153 and 149 Ma; the apatite fission‐track ages on the other hand, generally young towards the northwest, from 129 to 20.9 Ma. Basement thermochronological ages are inverted to simulate the emplacement and later erosion of the Northland Allochthon, using a thermo‐kinematic model coupled with an inversion algorithm. The results suggest that during the Late Oligocene, the nappes in eastern Northland ranged from ca. 4–6‐km thick in the north to zero in the Auckland region (over a distance >200 km). Following the allochthon emplacement, eastern Northland was uplifted and unroofed during the Early Miocene for a period of ca. 1–6 Myr at the rate of 0.1–0.8 km/Myr, leading to rapid erosion of the nappes. Since Middle Miocene, the basement uplift ceased and the erosion of the nappes and the region as a whole slowed down (ca. 0–0.2 km/Myr), implying a decay in the tectonic activity in this region.     

Event sedimentation in low‐latitude deep‐water carbonate basins,Anegada passage,northeast Caribbean

The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow‐water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the internal deformation of deposited material. Event layers in the Virgin Islands and Whiting basins are predominantly thin and discontinuous, containing varying amounts of reef‐ and slope‐derived material. Three turbidites/sandy intervals in the upper 2 m of sediment in the eastern Virgin Islands Basin were deposited between ca. 2000 and 13 600 years ago, but do not extend across the basin. In the central and western Virgin Islands Basin, a structureless clay‐rich interval is interpreted to be a unifite. Within the Whiting Basin, several discontinuous turbidites and other sand‐rich intervals are primarily deposited in base of slope fans. The youngest of these turbidites is ca. 2600 years old. Sediment accumulation in these basins is low (<0.1 mm year^?1) for basin adjacent to carbonate platform, possibly due to limited sediment input during highstand sea‐level conditions, sediment trapping and/or cohesive basin walls. We find no evidence of recent sediment transport (turbidites or debris flows) or sediment deformation that can be attributed to the ca. M7.2 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake whose epicentre was located on the north wall of the Virgin Islands Basin or to recent hurricanes that have impacted the region. The lack of significant appreciable pebble or greater size carbonate material in any of the available cores suggests that submarine landslide and basin‐wide blocky debris flows have not been a significant mechanism of basin margin modification in the last several thousand years. Thus, basins such as those described here may be poor recorders of past natural hazards, but may provide a long‐term record of past oceanographic conditions in ocean passages.