Control of wind strength and frequency in the Aral Sea basin during the late Holocene

Changing content of detrital input in laminated sediments traced by XRF scanning and microfacies analyses reflect prominent variations in sedimentation processes in the Aral Sea. A high-resolution record of titanium from a core retrieved in the northwestern Large Aral Sea allows a continuous reconstruction of wind strength and frequency in western Central Asia for the past 1500 yr. During AD 450–700, AD 1210–1265, AD 1350–1750 and AD 1800–1975, detrital inputs (bearing titanium) are high, documenting an enhanced early spring atmospheric circulation associated with an increase in intensity of the Siberian High pressure system over Central Asia. In contrast, lower titanium content during AD 1750–1800 and AD 1980–1985 reflects a diminished influence of the Siberian High during early spring with a reduced atmospheric circulation. A moderate circulation characterizes the time period AD 700–1150. Unprecedented weakened atmospheric circulation over western Central Asia are inferred during ca. AD 1180–1210 and AD 1265–1310 with a considerable decrease in dust storm frequency, sedimentation rates, lamination thickness and detrital inputs (screened at 40-μm resolution). Our results are concurrent with changes in the intensity of the Siberian High during the past 1400 yr as reported in the GISP2 Ice Core from Greenland.     

Climate variability in the Aral Sea basin (Central Asia) during the late Holocene based on vegetation changes

High-resolution pollen analyses ( 50 yr) from sediment cores retrieved at Chernyshov Bay in the NW Large Aral Sea record shifts in vegetational development from subdesertic to steppe vegetation in the Aral Sea basin during the late Holocene. Using pollen data to quantify climatic parameters, we reconstruct and date for the first time significant changes in moisture conditions in Central Asia during the past 2000 yr. Cold and arid conditions prevailed between ca. AD 0 and 400, AD 900 and 1150, and AD 1500 and 1650 with the extension of xeric vegetation dominated by steppe elements. These intervals are characterized by low winter and summer mean temperatures and low mean annual precipitation (P_mm < 250 mm/yr). Conversely, the most suitable climate conditions occurred between ca. AD 400 and 900, and AD 1150 and 1450, when steppe vegetation was enriched by plants requiring moister conditions (P_mm  250–500 mm/yr) and some trees developed. Our results are fairly consistent with other late Holocene records from the eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East, showing that regional rainfall in Central Asia is predominantly controlled by the eastern Mediterranean cyclonic system when the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is in a negative phase.     

A high-resolution diatom-inferred palaeoconductivity and lake level record of the Aral Sea for the last 1600 yr

Formerly the world's fourth largest lake by area, the Aral Sea is presently undergoing extreme desiccation due to large-scale irrigation strategies implemented in the Soviet era. As part of the INTAS-funded CLIMAN project into Holocene climatic variability and the evolution of human settlement in the Aral Sea basin, fossil diatom assemblages contained within a sediment core obtained from the Aral Sea have been applied to a diatom-based inference model of conductivity (r² = 0.767, RMSEP = 0.469 log₁₀ μS cm^− 1). This has provided a high-resolution record of conductivity and lake level change over the last ca. 1600 yr. Three severe episodes of lake level regression are indicated at ca. AD 400, AD 1195–1355 and ca. AD 1780 to the present day. The first two regressions may be linked to the natural diversion of the Amu Darya away from the Aral Sea and the failure of cyclones formed in the Mediterranean to penetrate more continental regions. Human activity, however, and in particular the destruction of irrigation facilities are synchronous with these early regressions and contributed to the severity of the observed low stands.     

River inflow and salinity changes in the Caspian Sea during the last 5500 years

Pollen, spores and dinoflagellate cysts have been analysed on three sediment cores (1.8–1.4 m-long) taken from the south and middle basins of the Caspian Sea. A chronology available for one of the cores is based on calibrated radiocarbon dates (ca 5.5–0.8 cal. ka BP). The pollen and spores assemblages indicate fluctuations between steppe and desert. In addition there are some outstanding zones with a bias introduced by strong river inflow. The dinocyst assemblages change between slightly brackish (abundance of Pyxidinopsis psilata and Spiniferites cruciformis) and more brackish (dominance of Impagidinium caspienense) conditions. During the second part of the Holocene, important flow modifications of the Uzboy River and the Volga River as well as salinity changes of the Caspian Sea, causing sea-level fluctuations, have been reconstructed. A major change is suggested at ca 4 cal. ka BP with the end of a high level phase in the south basin. Amongst other hypotheses, this could be caused by the end of a late and abundant flow of the Uzboy River (now defunct), carrying to the Caspian Sea either meltwater from higher latitudes or water from the Amu-Daria. A similar, later clear phase of water inflow has also been observed from 2.1 to 1.7 cal. ka BP in the south basin and probably also in the north of the middle basin.     

Paleoecology of late-glacial peats from the bering land bridge, Chukchi Sea shelf region, northwestern Alaska

Insect fossils and pollen from late Pleistocene nonmarine peat layers were recovered from cores from the shelf region of the Chukchi Sea at depths of about 50 m below sea level. The peats date to 11,300−11,000 yr B.P. and provide a limiting age for the regional Pleistocene-Holocene marine transgression. The insect fossils are indicative of arctic coastal habitats like those of the Mackenzie Delta region (mean July TEMPERATURES = 10.6–14°C) suggesting that 11,000 yr ago the exposed Chukchi Sea shelf had a climate substantially warmer than modern coastal regions of the Alaskan north slope. The pollen spectra are consistent with the age assignment to the Birch Interval (14,000–9000 yr B.P.). The data suggest a meadow-like graminoid tundra with birch shrubs and some willow shrubs growing in sheltered areas.     

近500年来咸海湖泊沉积记录的环境演变

过去的五十年里,作为曾经世界第四大湖泊的咸海面积急剧萎缩,环境质量严重下降并对大部分中亚地区造成了灾难性的影响.咸海的水位下降过程虽然历时相对较短却变化显著,为了了解这一变化的详细过程,1997年从咸海北部湖盆采集了AS17孔浅钻岩芯.通过对该岩芯的矿物学、介形虫、孢粉等沉积环境指标综合分析,结果表明岩芯在矿物学特征及生物特征上的一系列显著变化,揭示了过去近500年中咸海的沉积环境经历了含盐量增加-下降-再增加三个明显的阶段,并为15世纪咸海的干旱提供了新的证据.     

Mud volcanic natural phenomena in the South Caspian Basin: geology,fluid dynamics and environmental impact

The South Caspian sedimentary basin is a unique area with thick Mesozoic-Cenozoic sediments (up to 30–32 km) characterized by an extremely high fluid generation potential. The large amount of active mud volcanoes and the volumes of their gas emissions prove the vast scale of fluid generation. Onshore and offshore mud volcanoes annually erupt more than 10⁹ cubic meters of gases consisting of CH₄ (79–98%), and a small admixture of C₂H₆, C₃H₈, C₄H₁₀, C₅H₁₂, CO₂, N, H₂S, Ar, He. Mud volcanism is closely connected to the processes occurring in the South Caspian depression, its seismicity, fluctuations of the Caspian Sea level, solar activity and hydrocarbon generation.The large accumulations of gas hydrates are confined to the bottom sediments of the Caspian Sea, mud volcanoes crater fields (interval 0–0.4 m, sea depth 480 m) and to the volcanoes body at the depth of 480–800 from the sea bottom. Resources of HC gases in hydrates saturated sediments up to a depth of 100 m and are estimated at 0.2×10¹⁵–8×10¹⁵ m³. The amount of HC gases concentrated in them is 10¹¹–10¹² m³.The Caspian Sea, being an inland closed basin is very sensitive to climatic and tectonic events expressed in sea level fluctuations. During regressive stages as a result of sea level fall and the reducing of hydrostatic pressure the decomposition of gas hydrates and the releasing of a great volume of HC gases consisting mainly of methane are observed.From the data of deep drilling, seismoacoustics, and deep seismic mud volcanic activity in the South Caspian Basin started in the Lower Miocene. Activity reached its highest intensity at the boundary between the Miocene and Pliocene and was associated with dramatic Caspian Sea level fall in the Lower Pliocene of up to 600 m, which led to the isolation of the PaleoCaspian from the Eastern ParaTethys. Catastrophic reduction of PaleoCaspian size combined with the increasing scale of mud volcanic activity caused the oversaturation and intoxication of water by methane and led to the mass extinction of mollusks, fishes and other groups of sea inhabitants. In the Upper Pliocene and Quaternary mud volcanism occurred under the conditions of a semi-closed sea periodically connected with the Pontian and Mediterranean Basins. Those stages of Caspian Sea history are characterized by the revival of the Caspian organic world.Monitoring of mud volcanoes onshore of the South Caspian demonstrated that any eruption is predicted by seismic activation in the region (South-Eastern Caucasus) and intensive fluid dynamics on the volcanoes.     

Reservoirs of the Lower Pliocene Productive Series at the Western Flank of the South Caspian Basin

Based on the study of geophysical log diagrams and outcrops of the Lower Pliocene productive series at the western flank of the South Caspian Basin, paleofacies settings of their accumulation are interpreted. Twenty high-frequency cycles of sealevel fluctuation in the Paleocaspian Sea are identified within the major productive Kirmaki, Suprakirmaki sandy, Suprakirmaki clayey, Hiatus, and Balakhany formations. Such short-term fluctuations of the Caspian Sea level in the Early Pliocene played a crucial role in the variation of sedimentation conditions and the formation of structures of productive series (PS) reservoirs.__________Translated from Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, No. 3, 2005, pp. 307–320.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Aliyeva.     

Surface water and aerosol spatiotemporal dynamics and influence mechanisms over drylands

Under the background of global warming and excessive human activities, much surface water in drylands is experiencing rapid degradation or shrinkage in recent years. The shrinkage of surface water, especially the degradation of lakes and their adjacent wetlands in drylands, may lead to the emergence of new salt dust storm hotspots, which causes greater danger. In this paper, based on high spatial resolution global surface water (GSW) and multiangle implementation of atmospheric correction (MAIAC) AOD data, we systematically analyze the dynamic characteristics of surface water and aerosols in typical drylands (Central Asia, CA) between 2000 and 2018. Simultaneously, combined with auxiliary environment variables, we explore the driving mechanisms of surface water on the regional salt/sand aerosols on different spatial scales. The results show that the seasonal surface water features an increasing trend, especially a more dramatic increase after 2015, and the permanent surface water indicates an overall decrease, with nearly 54.367 % at risk of receding and drying up. In typical lakes (Aral Sea and Ebinur Lake), the interannual change feature of the surface water area (WA) is that a continuous decrease during the study period occurs in Aral Sea area, yet a significant improvement has occurred in Ebinur Lake after 2015, and the degradation of Ebinur Lake takes place later and its recovery earlier than Aral Sea. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) in CA shows obvious seasonal variation, with the largest in spring (0.192 ± 0173), next in summer (0.169 ± 0.106), and the smallest in autumn (0.123 ± 0.065). The interannual variation of AOD exhibits an increase from 2000 to 2018 in CA, with high AOD areas mainly concentrated in the Taklamakan Desert and some lake beds resulting from lake degradation, including Aral Sea and Ebinur Lake. The AOD holds a similar trend between Aral Sea and Ebinur Lake on an interannual scale. And the AOD over Ebinur Lake is lower than that over Aral Sea in magnitude and lags behind in reaching the peak compared with Aral Sea. The WA change can significantly affect aerosol variation directly or indirectly on the aerosol load or mode size, but there are obvious differences in the driving mechanisms, acting paths, and influence magnitude of WA on aerosols on different spatial scales. In addition, the increase of WA can significantly directly suppress the increase of Ångström exponent (AE), and the effects of WA on AOD are realized majorly by an indirect approach. From the typical lake perspective, the effects of WA on aerosol in Aral Sea are achieved via an indirect path; and the decrease of WA can indirectly promote the AOD rise, and directly stimulate the AE growth in Ebinur Lake.     

Density inhomogeneities, isostasy and flexural rigidity of the lithosphere in the Transcaspian region

The 3-D lithospheric-density model for the southeastern part of the Caspian Sea and the Transcaspian area, practically coinciding with the territory of the Turkmen Republic, has been constructed based on geophysical data and in accordance with the principle of isostasy. From the model selected the anomalous density of the subcrustal layer between the Moho discontinuity and the 100-km depth level is found to be — 100 kg/m³ under the Tien-Shan, − 50 kg/m³ under the Kopet-Dag mountain area, + 80 kg/m³ under the central region of the South Caspian basin, −50 kg/m³ under the eastern part of the basin, known as the West Turkmenian depression, and + 45 kg/m³ under the Murgab depression.

Significant disturbances of the local isostasy are determined both in the northern and central areas of the South Caspian basin and also in the area of the Kara-Bogaz swell of the Turan platform and for the Kopet-Dag foredeep. indicating a high level of stresses in the lithosphere. The shape of the Turan plate determined by the seismic profiling is accounted for by elastic deformation resulting from the forces acting on the southern edge of the plate in the area of the Turan plate-Kopet-Dag collision. The elastic thickness of the Turan plate is estimated as 25 ± 5 km. The results obtained seem to confirm the idea that the decomposition of the Turan plate has taken place in the zone of the plates interaction and the decomposed material is situated under the Kopet-Dag ridge.

We propose that the Kara-Bogaz swell is supported by the mantle material upwelling whereas the subsidence of the adjacent part of the South Caspian basin may be due to the downgoing mantle flow i.e., a small convection cell is suggested in that area.     

Plate tectonic evolution of the southern margin of Eurasia in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic

Thirteen time interval maps were constructed, which depict the Triassic to Neogene plate tectonic configuration, paleogeography and general lithofacies of the southern margin of Eurasia. The aim of this paper is to provide an outline of the geodynamic evolution and position of the major tectonic elements of the area within a global framework. The Hercynian Orogeny was completed by the collision of Gondwana and Laurussia, whereas the Tethys Ocean formed the embayment between the Eurasian and Gondwanian branches of Pangea. During Late Triassic–Early Jurassic times, several microplates were sutured to the Eurasian margin, closing the Paleotethys Ocean. A Jurassic–Cretaceous north-dipping subduction boundary was developed along this new continental margin south of the Pontides, Transcaucasus and Iranian plates. The subduction zone trench-pulling effect caused rifting, creating the back-arc basin of the Greater Caucasus–proto South Caspian Sea, which achieved its maximum width during the Late Cretaceous. In the western Tethys, separation of Eurasia from Gondwana resulted in the formation of the Ligurian–Penninic–Pieniny–Magura Ocean (Alpine Tethys) as an extension of Middle Atlantic system and a part of the Pangean breakup tectonic system. During Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous times, the Outer Carpathian rift developed. The opening of the western Black Sea occurred by rifting and drifting of the western–central Pontides away from the Moesian and Scythian platforms of Eurasia during the Early Cretaceous–Cenomanian. The latest Cretaceous–Paleogene was the time of the closure of the Ligurian–Pieniny Ocean. Adria–Alcapa terranes continued their northward movement during Eocene–Early Miocene times. Their oblique collision with the North European plate led to the development of the accretionary wedge of the Outer Carpathians and its foreland basin. The formation of the West Carpathian thrusts was completed by the Miocene. The thrust front was still propagating eastwards in the eastern Carpathians.During the Late Cretaceous, the Lesser Caucasus, Sanandaj–Sirjan and Makran plates were sutured to the Iranian–Afghanistan plates in the Caucasus–Caspian Sea area. A north-dipping subduction zone jumped during Paleogene to the Scythian–Turan Platform. The Shatski terrane moved northward, closing the Greater Caucasus Basin and opening the eastern Black Sea. The South Caspian underwent reorganization during Oligocene–Neogene times. The southwestern part of the South Caspian Basin was reopened, while the northwestern part was gradually reduced in size. The collision of India and the Lut plate with Eurasia caused the deformation of Central Asia and created a system of NW–SE wrench faults. The remnants of Jurassic–Cretaceous back-arc systems, oceanic and attenuated crust, as well as Tertiary oceanic and attenuated crust were locked between adjacent continental plates and orogenic systems.     

咸海演化的关键问题及其对经济、社会和生态价值的重要启示

本文回顾了Aral Sea(咸海)海平面变化的最新认识,以供社会和经济项目决策者使用。我们提出了咸海生态标准的新认识:由于1960年之前当时的人类活动已经引起了湖泊萎缩,咸海在1960年之前是小到中型湖泊,而不是大型湖泊。对咸海认识的改变可能会使许多基于极端情景的昂贵计划变得更加现实。同时,基于地质、考古、历史和水文研究中所获得的多重数据的综合分析,本次结果认为咸海在过去的2万年内经历了多次突然的海侵和海退。然而,除了现代的原因外,引起这些变化的原因的认识仍然不完整,需要进行专门的调查研究。在这篇论文中,我们针对水位变化、气候变化与咸海盆地来自锡尔河和阿姆河供水变化相结合的研究方法进行了讨论。     

咸海流域水文水资源演变与咸海生态危机出路分析

中亚的咸海问题已成为全球性的生态和社会问题,研究咸海流域水文水资源、经济社会发展演变与气候变化,对深入理解中亚地区咸海危机形成机理、未来发展趋势、探讨咸海生态危机出路具有重要意义,对类似区域跨界河流和我国西北干旱区水资源开发利用具有重要借鉴意义. 介绍了中亚五国咸海流域的水资源及其开发利用情况,重点分析了中亚五国咸海流域农业灌溉的发展演变、近80a来咸海流域气候变化趋势与主要河流水文演变情势及咸海水文特征演变. 结果表明,咸海生态危机完全是由人类自导并日益严重的水资源-生态-环境与社会危机,短期内难以遏制,长期来看也无法逆转. 结合咸海危机生态环境效应,讨论了3个跨流域调水方案拯救咸海的利弊与前景,探讨了立足于流域本身拯救咸海的综合治理措施. 最后,提出了咸海危机经验教训对我国内陆河水资源开发利用的若干启示.     

Recent changes in Soviet water management: turnabout of the “Project of the Century”

Review of the history of Soviet water management indicates that the recently abolished N to S river transfer program would only be marginally helpful in hydroenergy production, river navigation, estuarine fishery, and stabilization of water levels in the Caspian and Aral seas, but would be significantly harmful to the ecology of the N parts of the USSR. Widely criticized mismanagement of coutrywide irrigation will only be exacerbated by water deversions. After Gorbachov's ascension, Soviet water management reached a pivotal point. Further expansion of water-wasteful irrigation will be drastically curtailed. A new comprehensive land reclamation programm will be initiated in order to boost farm production without additional interbasin water transfers. This program will basically consist of complex measures of forestation and land cultivations, soul erosion prevention, improvement of water delivery systems to the cropland, strict water rationing during irrigation, water conservation by efficient treatment, and reuse of collected drainage water. It is not yet clear how the Soviet planners intend to alleviate water shortages in Central Asia and prevent the shrinkage of the Aral Sea.Research for this Paper was completed under a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center and prepared for presentation at a colloquium, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Smithsonian, April 14, 1987. This paper cannot be copied without the consent and permission of the author.     

The driving forces behind the Caspian Sea mean water level oscillations

Closed basins such as the Caspian Sea rapidly respond to variations in atmospheric and geological events. This study has been conducted to deduce the role of natural and anthropogenic influences on the Caspian Sea mean water level fluctuations for the period of 1998–2005. It is recognized that climate is the primary mechanism of the Caspian Sea mean water level variations based on the relatively small differences of the Caspian Sea hydrologic budget residuals and the Caspian Sea mean water level fluctuations. This is further supported by the similarity in water-level variations of the Caspian Sea with those of Lake Van and Lake Urmia. On the other hand, the Caspian Sea needed to lose some of its water to attain water balance equilibrium in 2000 and 2001. The year 2000 showed anomalous seismic activity particularly in the southwestern part of the Caspian Sea. Two significant earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.8 and 6.5 M_w occurred on November 25, 2000. The focal mechanisms of these earthquakes and numerous aftershocks indicated normal faulting and, therefore, caused the Caspian Sea lake level to decline in 2000. The contribution of submarine mud volcano eruptions to the Caspian Sea lake level could be insignificant based on the comparison of water budget residuals and the mean water level variations. Neither crustal deformation (based on the GPS measurements) nor the offshore oil and natural gas production activities in the Caspian Sea are responsible for noticeable changes to the level of the Caspian Sea.     

Investigations on Aral Sea Regressions from Mirabilite Deposits and Remote Sensing

Remote sensing techniques including radar (Topex/Poseidon, Jason-1 and Envisat) and laser altimetry (Icesat), and moderate resolution spectro-radiometer (MODIS) images, are used to estimated current level and surface extent time variations of the Aral Sea. During the Holocene several phases of regression occurred, leading to desiccation of the Aral Sea. During the last 50 years, Aral Sea has drastically shrunk due to intense use of river’s water for irrigation purposes. It is currently separated into four distinct water bodies, namely, the Small Aral in the North, the Tchebas Bay in the North West, and the South West and the South East basins. The Kulandy strait connected the SW and SE basins until very recent times. These basins are now almost separated and salinity becomes very high (140–180 g/l) in the Eastern part. Rubanov discovered past deposits of mirabilite in the years 1970–1980. We investigate the significance of these deposits in the light of current evolution of the four water bodies that constitute the heritage of Aral Sea contemporary desiccation. Using remote sensing techniques, we have attempted to calculate the water balance of south Aral Sea during the last 3 years. We conclude in strong probability that the Kulandy strait carries water most of the time from the Eastern Basin to the Western Basin. We have demonstrated that it should have been the same process in the past to explain the Mirabilite deposit, but unfortunately, due to recent artificial water monitoring of the Aral Sea (dam in the Berg’s strait, new reservoirs in the Amu Darya’s delta), it is impossible to make definitive conclusion from actual Aral Sea water balance.     

Dust deposition in the Aral Sea: implications for changes in atmospheric circulation in central Asia during the past 2000 years

We investigated mineral aerosol (dust) deposition in the Aral Sea with intention to understand the variability of dust in central Asia and its implications for atmospheric circulation change in the late Holocene. Using an 11.12-m sediment core of the lake, we calculated bulk sediment fluxes at high time-resolution and analyzed grain-size distributions of detrital sediments. A refined age-depth model was established by combined methods of radiocarbon dating and archeological evidence. Besides, a principal component analysis (PCA) of grain-size fractions and elements (Fe, Ti, K, Ca, Sr) was used to assess the potential processes controlling detrital inputs. The results suggest that two processes are mainly relevant for the clastic input as the medium silt fractions and Ti, Fe and K are positively correlated with Component 1 (C1), and the fine size fractions (<6 μm) are positively correlated with Component 2 (C2). Taking the results of the PCA, geological backgrounds, clastic input processes into account, we propose that the medium silt fractions and, in particular, the grain-size fraction ratio (6–32 μm/2–6 μm), can serve as indicators of the variability of airborne dust in the Aral Sea region. On the contrary, the fine size fractions appear to be contributed mainly by the sheetwash processes. The bulk sediment deposition fluxes were extremely high during the Little Ice Age (LIA; AD 1400–1780), which may be related to the increased dust deposition. As indicated by the variations of grain-size ratio and Ti, the history of dust deposition in central Asia can be divided into five distinct periods, with a remarkably low deposition during AD 1–350, a moderately high value from AD 350–720, a return to relatively low level between AD 720 and AD 1400 (including the Medieval Warm Period (MWP, AD 755–1070)), an exceptionally high deposition from AD 1400 to 1940s and an abnormally low value since 1940s. The temporal variations in the dust deposition are consistent with the changes in the Siberian High (SH) and mean atmospheric temperature of the northern hemisphere during the past 2000 years, with low/high annual temperature anomalies corresponding to high/low dust supplies in the Aral Sea sediments, respectively. The variations in the fine size fraction also show a broadly similarity to a lacustrine δ¹⁸O record in Turkey (Jones et al., 2006), implying that there was less moisture entering western central Asia from the Mediterranean during the LIA than during the MWP.     

Traceurs sédimentaires des variations du niveau marin et de la mousson sud-est asiatique depuis 450 ka en mer de Chine du Sud

In order to reconstruct the past variations of the Southeast Asian monsoon intensity and estimate the sedimentary system reactivity to climatic changes in Southeast Asia over the last 450 kyr, mineralogical and sedimentological analyses have been performed on the terrigenous fraction of the South China Sea sediment. End-member modelling coupled with grain size data discriminates three end-members that determine the nature and intensity of the main sediment transport vectors. Low sea-level stands are characterized by sediment reworking that allows transportation of a coarse end-member (20–40 μm) to the deep-basin. By contrast, the other end-members (4–6 μm; 9–13 μm) are controlled by the shoreline position (sea level) and/or by changes of the rivers capacity transport (monsoon). Finally, aeolian input to the northern margin of the South China Sea can be considered negligible compared to the massive fluvial input and the reworking of the sediments.     

中亚各国在咸海流域水资源问题上的冲突与合作

咸海流域是中亚社会发展进程中水资源供需矛盾和生态环境问题表现最为突出的区域,已严重妨碍了经济发展和社会稳定,甚至严重影响到中亚国家间的关系. 在解决咸海问题上,中亚各国虽然都表现出了极度忧虑和希望合作解决共同问题的诚意,签订了一系列的多边和双边合作协议,付诸了较多的行动;发达国家和国际组织也多方介入,大力援助、积极斡旋,但仍未从根本上缓解咸海危机. 深入分析介绍了咸海流域的水资源及开发利用情况、中亚各国在咸海流域水资源问题上的冲突以及开展的一系列合作,探讨了咸海危机的潜在水冲突,提出了合理利用水资源,实现流域一体化管理,化解咸海危机的对策措施.     

Holocene paleoenvironmental implications of diatom and organic carbon records from the southeastern Kara Sea (Siberian Margin)

Diatom assemblages and organic carbon records from two sediment cores located within an estuarian bay of the inner Kara Sea trace changes in Yenisei River runoff and postglacial depositional environments. Paleosalinity and sea-ice reconstructions are based on modern relationships of local diatom assemblages and summer surface-water salinity. Approximately 15,500 cal yr B.P., rivers and bogs characterized the study area. When sea level reached the 38- to 40-m paleo-isobath approximately 9300 cal yr B.P., the coring site was flooded. From 9300–9100 cal yr B.P., estuarine conditions occurred proximal to the depocenter of fluvially derived material, and salinity was <7–8. Paleosalinity increased to 11–13 by 7500 cal yr B.P., following postglacial sea-level rise and the southward shift of the Siberian coast. Sharp decreases in diatom accumulation rates, total sediment, and organic carbon also occurred, suggesting the presence of brackish conditions and greater distance between the coast and study site. Maximum paleosalinity (up to 13) was recorded between 7500 and 6000 cal yr B.P., which was likely caused by the enhanced penetration of Atlantic waters to the Kara Sea. Stepwise decreases to modern salinity levels happened over the last 6000 cal yr.