Promoting a coupled human and natural systems approach to addressing conservation in complex mountainous landscapes of Central Asia

Global climate change, nonpoint source pollution, watershed and wildlife habitat destruction, and unsustainable development are damaging the natural world, threatening the socio-cultural integrity of communities, and jeopardizing the livelihood security of peoples worldwide. Despite the past 50 years of progress in addressing environmental damage in the United States and elsewhere, intractable problems have arisen that to date have eluded successful technological or policy responses. Solutions have been sought by recognizing that these problems are very complex and demand interdisciplinary approaches that require building effective partnerships among relevant academic institutions, governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private business, as well as levering various disciplines and traditional knowledge systems. Such thinking has evolved to now consider humans to be an integral part of nature, which is captured in the idea of the ‘human ecosystem’, where biophysical, socioeconomic, and cultural systems interact via a complex set of organizational, spatial, and temporal ‘couplings’. Within such a context, environmental problems can be viewed as coupled human and natural systems, which afford unique and novel approaches to their solutions. This paper discusses the development of the coupled systems approach as a scientific methodology, reviews its key characteristics and principles, provides an example of how it has been applied to assess conservation issues in alpine areas of Northwest Yunnan Province, China, and recommends how this scientific approach might be further developed for use in mountainous landscape regions of Central Asia and elsewhere.     

Mesozoic origins and antecedents of Australia's Eastern Highlands

Australia's Eastern Highlands are a conspicuous manifestation of a tectonic regime that has been previously shown to go back at least 65 Ma. This review of the Mesozoic stratigraphy of eastern Australia gives evidence of a very different regime before 95 Ma, related to the presence of a plate boundary close to the present east coast of the continent.

During the prior regime, cratonic sedimentation in eastern Australia was dominated by labile sediment from an andesitic orogen coincident with the coast north of Brisbane during the Cretaceous, and further offshore in the Jurassic. Whereas the plate boundary north of Brisbane appears to have been simply convergent, that south to Bass Strait may have experienced prolonged oblique‐slip, manifested in the Jurassic by alkaline volcanism within the SE Highlands terrain.

Following a Cenomanian (95–90 Ma) phase of transition, during which the eastern Australian plate boundary may have resembled that margining western North America at present, the plate boundary migrated away from mainland Australia, as is evidenced by the subsequent dominance of quartzose sedimentation on the craton, and the fission‐track and palaeomagnetic evidence of rapidly falling geotherms in the Late Cretaceous. The Eastern Highlands were initiated around 90 Ma ago, and the crestline subsequently migrated west from an initial location at the present coastline.

The geography and history of the Eastern Highlands are inconsistent with concepts of continental margin development based on analogues outside the Pacific realm. The Highlands are an intrinsic element of a continent formerly fronting the Pacific Ocean, but now abutting a back‐arc basin.     

Pediments of Asia

Pediments representing gently sloping denudation plains widespread in different climatic and morphotectonic regions of Asia are described with consideration of their main formation features and the role of pedimentation in the development of planation surfaces. The general classification proposed for these morphostructures, including false pediments, takes into consideration their morphological features and position in the landscape structure.     

Large transcurrent faults in Southeast Asia with special reference to Indonesia

Recent geological studies in areas west of the Pacific Ocean byAllen, Krause, Visser, andHermes have revealed the existence of large transcurrent faults in the Taiwan-Philippine region and in the area between the Celebes and East New Guinea. Physiographic evidence from the Philippines, bathymetric and geological data from New Guinea demonstrate that the sense of movement along these faults is sinistral. Another sinistral transcurrent fault has recently been described byBurton from Malaya.The Sumatran fault-system which shows clearly a right-handed lateral sense of displacement could be observed along the 500 kilometer long Ulu-Aer fault in North Sumatra and along another fault-zone situated between Lake Dibaruh in Central Sumatra and Lake Ranau in South Sumatra covering a length of more than 500 kilometers. Although the Island of Java is mostly covered by young volcanic material, it is still possible to detect smaller transcurrent faults possessing a strike more or less parallel to the island. The Fossa Sarasina in Central Celebes displaying smoothness of curvature over literally hundreds of kilometers could also be interpreted as being a sinistral transcurrent fault. Another dextral transcurrent fault of about 100 km length has been postulated in the Gorontalo area, northern Celebes.Two groups of transcurrent faults could be discerned in Southeast Asia viz a group trending more or less northwest-southeast and another one striking approximately east-west.The data presented in this paper tend to supportVening Meinesz theory that the Indonesian Archipelago is being protruded southeastward. The major block movements are taking place along the Philippine and Sumatran fault-zone, while differential movements within this block seem to occur along the Fossa Sarasina and the Gorontalo fault-zone.The approximately east-west trending sinistral transcurrent faults might be associated with the eastward drift of the Australian continent and the westward convection flow originated from the East Pacific Rise as envisaged byWilson.

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Zusammenfassung Rezente geologische Studien vonAllen, Krause, Visser undHermes im Westteil des Pazifischen Ozeans haben die Existenz von großen transversalen Horizontalverschiebungen im Taiwan-Philippinen-Gebiet und in dem Gebiet zwischen Celebes und Ost-Neuguinea bewiesen. Physiographische Erscheinungen von den Philippinen, bathymetrische und geologische Daten von Neuguinea zeigen, daß eine linksgerichtete Bewegung dem Bruch entlang erfolgt. Eine weitere linksgerichtete Horizontalverschiebung ist neuerdings vonBurton aus Malaya beschrieben.Das Bruchsystem von Sumatra, das deutlich eine rechtsseitige Versetzungsrichtung zeigt, kann man entlang dem 500 Kilometer langen Ulu-Aer-Bruch in Nord-Sumatra beobachten und entlang einer anderen Bruchzone zwischen dem Dibaruh-See in Zentral-Sumatra und dem Ranau-See in Süd-Sumatra, die eine Länge von mehr als 500 Kilometern bedecken.Obwohl die Insel Java zum größten Teil mit jungem vulkanischen Material bedeckt ist, ist es möglich, kleinere transversale Brüche zu entdecken, die mehr oder weniger parallel zur Längsrichtung der Insel verlaufen. Die Fossa Sarasina innerhalb von Zentral-Celebes zeigt eine gleichmäßige Rundung über Hunderte von Kilometern und kann ebenfalls als eine linkstransversale Horizontalverschiebung interpretiert werden.Eine andere, rechtstransversale Verschiebung von ungefähr 100 Kilometern Länge wird im Gorontalo-Gebiet von Nord-Celebes vermutet.Zwei Gruppen von transversalen Horizontalverschiebungen kann man in Südost-Asien unterscheiden: eine Gruppe mit einer Streichrichtung etwa Nordwest-Südost und eine zweite Gruppe mit Ost— West-Streichen. Die Daten in dieser Arbeit unterstützen die Theorie vonVening Meinesz, daß der Indonesische Archipel in südöstlicher Richtung vorgeschoben ist.Die Hauptblockbewegungen finden entlang der Philippinen- und Sumatra-Bruchzone statt, während differenzielle Bewegungen innerhalb dieses Blockes entlang der Fossa Sarrasina- und Gorontalo-Bruchzone aufzutreten scheinen.Die etwa Ost— West streichenden linkstransversalen Horizontalverschiebungen sind möglicherweise mit der westwärts gerichteten Konvektionsströmung (nachWilson) verbunden, die ihren Ursprung in der Ost-Pazifik-Schwelle hat.

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Résumé Des études géologiques récentes parAllen, Krause, Visser etHermes ont démontré l'existence de grandes failles transversales de décrochement dans la région Taiwan-Philippines et dans la région entre le Célèbes et la Nouvelle Guinée de l'Est. Les évidences géographiques dans les Philippines et des donnés bathymétriques et géologiques de la Nouvelle Guinée ont démontré que la direction du mouvement le long de ces failles de décrochement est gauche. Une autre faille de décrochement gauche a été décrite parBurton à Malaya.Le système des failles de décrochements de Sumatra qui indique clairement une direction de déplacement latérale vers la droite a été observé le long de la faille d'Ulu-Aer dans le Nord de Sumatra, sur une longueur de 500 kilomètres et également le long d'une autre zone de failles située entre Lac Dibaruh dans le Sumatra central et Lac Ranau dans le Sud de Sumatra sur une longueur de plus de 500 kilomètres. Bien que l'île de Java soit couverte pour la plus grande partie de matériel volcanique récent, il est encore possible de découvrir des failles de décrochement plus petites dont la direction est plus ou moins parallèle à l'élongation de l'île. La Fossa Sarasina dans Celebes Central qui présente une courbure régulière sur des centaines de kilomètres peut être aussi interprêtée comme une faille de décrochement gauche. Une autre faille de décrochement droite a été supposée sur une longueur de 100 kilomètres environ dans la région de Gorontalo au Nord de Celebes.On peut distinguer deux groupes de failles de décrochement dans l'Asie du Sud-Est; un groupe de direction plus ou moins Nord-Ouest-Sud-Est et un autre de direction à peu près Est-Ouest.Les données présentées dans cette étude indiquent que l'Archipel indonésien a été poussé dans la direction Sud-Ouest ce qui s'accorde avec la théorie deVening Meinesz. Les mouvements importants des blocs ont lieu le long de la zone générale des failles des Philippines et de Sumatra tandis que des mouvements différentiels à l'intérieur de ce bloc semblent se présenter le long de la Fossa Sarasina et de la zone des failles de décrochement de Gorontalo.La direction approximativement Est— Ouest du mouvement des failles de décrochement gauches peut être mise en rapport avec le déplacement vers l'Est du continent australien et avec le courant de convection vers l'Ouest qui d'après M.Wilson est lié à l'élévation océanique du Pacifique Oriental.

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— . , . , 500 , . , , , , . Fossa Sarasina , , Gorontalo . — Vening-Meineszz ' , SE. , , Fossa Sarasina Gorontalo.

     

Damage to buildings and structures due to recent devastating wind hazards in East Asia

Extreme wind events such as typhoons and tornadoes can cause devastating damage to structures and huge losses to human societies. This paper introduces recent devastating wind-related disasters in East Asia, including disasters in Japan, the Philippines and China, from 2013 to 2016. In particular, it describes several post-disaster investigations including those on Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 in the Philippines; typhoon Mujigae and two typhoon-associated tornadoes in October, 2015, in Guangdong, China; and a tornado in June, 2016 in Yancheng, China. Meteorological features, damage details and failure mechanisms of structures, factors related to damage generation and spread, scales to evaluate storms, estimations of tornado wind speeds and so on are discussed, with the aim of mitigating future wind-related disasters and to create safer and sustainable societies. Lessons derived from aerodynamic effects, cladding and component performances, debris impacts, building arrangements, fatigue effects, construction methods, etc. together with suggestions for wind-resistant design of buildings are given.     

Loess of Central Asia

Loess deposits are widespread within the piedmont and intramontane depressions of Central Asia. They cover piedmont plains, river terraces, ridge slopes and watersheds. Loess is a significant component in the piedmonts of Tien Shan, eastern Fergana depression, the Afgan-Tajik depression, piedmonts of Kopetdag, Badchyz and Karabil Hills north of Parapamiz, in the Kashmir valley, on the Potwar Plateau and in the Peshawar Basin.     

Evolution of sedimentary basins from Mesozoic times in Australia's continental slope and shelf

Three basic tectonic styles are described from structural trends and sedimentary sequences within sedimentary basins in the Australian continental slope and shelf. These tectonic styles are related to sea-floor spreading events and plate-tectonic movements within the adjacent ocean floor. The same tectonic styles occur within sedimentary basins of different ages; Mesozoic and early Tertiary basins contain rift valley sequences and late Cainozoic basins contain geosynclinal sedimentary suites.Northwestern, western and southern continental margins reflect spreading events explained by an Atlantic-type model in which there are rift-valley sedimentary sequences. The oldest rift valleys in the northwest and the youngest rifts in the south formed ahead of Gondwanaland break-up. After sea-floor spreading commenced, the rate of continental margin collapse varied from place to place. The eastern and northeastern slopes and shelves border marginal seas and do not contain recognizable rift-valley sequences, except for tensional splays (triple junctions) in the Tasman Sea. Short-lived spreading within marginal seas started in the Late Cretaceous in the south and in the Paleocene in the northeast. The tectonism of the northern margin is mainly recorded on land in Timor, Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea, where, in the Neogene to Holocene, the Australian continent collided with the Asian Plate at the Banda Arc and the sub-plates of the western Pacific at the Louisiade and Bismarck Arcs.     

Synoptic features associated with dust transition processes from North Africa to Asia

Aerosol index data from the total ozone mapping spectrometer satellite and reanalysis data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction and the National Center for Atmospheric Research are useful in the study of synoptic properties of the dust storms that carry dust from North Africa to Asia during the spring season for the period 1979 to 2006. In this study, we analyzed the synoptic properties of dust cases that pass through the transition zone between North Africa and Asia. We identified the dust cases to study by looking, inside transition zone, at events with an aerosol index greater than 2. We then divided the identified cases, depending on the spread and strength of the dust inside the transition zone, into seven categories ranging from weak events to moderate events to violent events. We found the common synoptic characteristics in all these categories as follows: The high pressure belt located over northern Africa allows the low pressure belt located over the South African Sahara to move northward; a pressure gradient between these two atmospheric systems directs from south to north; an increase in the pressure gradient leads to increased in both of the event’s dust and the amount of dust moves to North Africa from the Sahara; an additional pressure gradient between the western Azores high pressure system and the low pressure system located over the Arabian Peninsula directs from west to east; the stronger the pressure gradient, the greater the amount of dust in the event and moving a large amount of dust from Northeast Africa to Asia. To verify that these characteristics capture the essence of dust events from North Africa to Asia, we checked if they were also common to two additional extremes categories and two extremes events. The results confirmed the continued existence of these common characteristics.     

Rational approach to anisotropy of sand

The paper presents a constitutive model for the three-dimensional deformation–strength behaviour of inherently anisotropic sand. Based on non-linear tensorial functions, the model is developed without recourse to the concepts in plasticity theory such as yield surface and plastic potential. Benefited from the fact that no decomposition of strain into elastic and plastic parts is assumed, a unified treatment of anisotropic behaviour of deformation and strength is achieved. Anisotropy is characterized by a vector normal to the bedding plane. The extension of the constitutive model is furnished by incorporating the vector under consideration of the principle of objectivity and the condition of material symmetry. Distinct features of the model are its elegant formulation and its simple structure involving few material parameters. Model performance and comparison with experiments show that the model is capable of capturing the salient behaviour of anisotropic sand. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Statistical approach to earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility

Susceptibility analysis for predicting earthquake-induced landslides has most frequently been done using deterministic methods; multivariate statistical methods have not previously been applied. In this study, however, we introduce a statistical methodology that uses the intensity of earthquake shaking as a landslide triggering factor. This methodology is applied in a study of shallow earthquake-induced landslides in central western Taiwan. The results show that we can accurately interpret landslide distribution in the study area and predict the occurrence of landslides in neighboring regions. This susceptibility model is capable of predicting shallow landslides induced during an earthquake scenario with similar range of ground shaking, without requiring the use of geotechnical, groundwater or failure depth data.     

地质统计学方法在地下水水位估值中应用

对于许多区域水资源或水环境问题,地下水水流模拟往往要采用数值方法,需给出每个节点上初始水位值,以反映流场的初始状态。另外,地下水水位动态长期监测分析,需由观测点水位估计任一点的水位。文中阐述了地下水水位估值的地质统计学方法－泛克立格法原理,以河南省焦作市修武段地下水数值模拟分析区为例,分析了用一次、二次漂移的泛克立格方法模拟地下水初始流场的估值情况和对真实流场特征的反映情况。指出在进行区域地下水位     

壳幔成矿学初探

壳幔成矿学是联结深部地质学与区域成矿学的重要桥梁,将成矿作用与深部过程联系起来,进行壳幔成矿学研究,已成为当今区域成矿学的一种重要发展趋势,壳幔成矿学研究的核心内容是大陆壳幔多层圈相互作用与成矿关系,而壳幔成矿学研究的主要技术支撑是“岩石探针”分析,壳幔成矿学研究应选择若干典型区域,采用演化历史分析与作用过程鉴别结合的思路,对岩包体及其寄生主岩和有关矿床进行深入研究,以查明区域壳幔相互作用事件幕与     

A physical statistical approach to erosion

Erosion is a complex process consisting of many components such as surface runoff, impact of raindrops, wind forces, soil and rock mechanics, etc. Trying to integrate all these processes into a physical model seems to be hopeless. In order to understand the variety of natural shapes and patterns produced by erosion we present an integrated statistical approach. Our model is based on simple physical constraints for the separation of amalgamated particles (abrasion) and for the movement of loose particles (denudation) and on the laws of statistics. After some simplifications, we obtain a nonlinear system of partial differential equations which is solved using finite volume techniques. The model is suitable for the formation of different types of rill systems and the episodic behaviour of erosion processes, a kind of self-organized criticality. Besides effects of inhomogeneities, e.g. the formation of terraces can be investigated.