Trend and extreme occurrence of precipitation in a mid‐latitude Eurasian steppe watershed at various time scales

The confounding effects of step change invalidate the stationarity assumption of commonly used trend analysis methods such as the Mann–Kendall test technique, so previous studies have failed to explain inconsistencies between detected trends and observed large precipitation anomalies. The objectives of this study were to (1) formulate a trend analysis approach that considers nonstationarity due to step changes, (2) use this approach to detect trends and extreme occurrences of precipitation in a mid‐latitude Eurasian steppe watershed in North China, and (3) examine how runoff responds to precipitation trends in the study watershed. Our results indicate that annual precipitation underwent a marginal step jump around 1995. The significant annual downward trend after 1994 was primarily due to a decrease in summer rainfall; other seasons exhibited no significant precipitation trends. At a monthly scale, July rainfall after 1994 exhibited a significant downward trend, whereas precipitation in other months had no trend. The percentage of wet days also underwent a step jump around 1994 following a significant decreasing trend, although the precipitation intensity exhibited neither a step change nor any significant trend. However, both low‐frequency and high‐frequency precipitation events in the study watershed occurred more often after than before 1994; probably as either a result or an indicator of climate change. In response to these precipitation changes, the study watershed had distinctly different precipitation‐runoff relationships for observed annual precipitations of less than 300 mm, between 300 and 400 mm, and greater than 400 mm. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Suspended sediment and total dissolved solid yield patterns at the headwaters of Urumqi River,northwestern China: a comparison between glacial and non‐glacial catchments

In order to understand the differences in the suspended sediment and total dissolved solid (TDS) yield patterns between the glacial and non‐glacial catchments at the headwaters of Urumqi River, northwestern China, water samples were collected from a glacier catchment and an empty cirque catchment within the region, during three melting seasons from 2006 to 2008. These samples were analyzed to estimate suspended sediment and TDS concentrations, fluxes and erosion rates in the two adjoining catchments. There were remarked differences in suspended sediment and TDS yield patterns between the two catchments. Suspended sediment concentrations were controlled mainly by the sediment source, whereas TDS concentrations were primarily related to the hydrologic interaction with soil minerals. Generally, the glacial catchment had much higher suspended sediment and TDS yields, together with higher denudation rates, than the non‐glacial catchment. Overall, glacial catchment was mainly dominated by physical denudation process, whereas the non‐glacial catchment was jointly influenced by physical and chemical denudation processes. The observed differences in material delivery patterns were mainly controlled by the runoff source and the glacial processes. The melting periods of glacier and snow were typically the most important time for the suspended sediment and TDS yields. Meanwhile, episodic precipitation events could generate disproportionately large yields. Subglacial hydrology dynamics, glaciers pluck and grind processes could affect erodibility, and the large quantities of dust stored on the glacier surface provided additional sources for suspended sediment transport in the glacial catchment. These mechanisms imply that, in response to climate change, the catchment behaviour will be modified significantly in this region, in terms of material flux. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preservation of Re‐Os isotope signatures in pyrite throughout low‐T,high‐P eclogite facies metamorphism

Pyrite in LT–HP eclogites from the western Tianshan orogenic belt yields a Re‐Os age of 378.1 ± 8.9 Ma, which is 30–70 Ma older than ages previously obtained for the same rocks using the Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, Ar–Ar, U–Pb, and Lu–Hf isotope systems. The Tianshan LT–HP eclogite experienced temperatures of up to ~570 °C combined with pressures of up to 2.1 GPa during metamorphism. These conditions are below the transition of pyrite to pyrrhotite, which defines both pyrite stability and possibly its closure temperature for Re‐Os. Pyrite can preserve Re‐Os signatures through eclogite facies peak metamorphic conditions, and thus allow determination of the formation age of pyrite in the protolith.     

Constitutive modelling of fine-grained gassy soil: A composite approach

Fine-grained marine sediments containing large undissolved gas bubbles are widely distributed around the world. Presence of the bubbles could degrade the undrained shear strength (s_u ) of the soil, when the gas pressure u_g is relatively high as compared with the effective stress in the saturated soil matrix. Meanwhile, the addition of bubbles may also increase s_u when the difference between u_g and pore water pressure u_w becomes smaller than the water entry value, causing partial water drainage from the saturated matrix into the bubbles (bubble flooding) during globally undrained shearing. A new constitutive model for describing the two competing effects on the stress-strain relationship of fine-grained gassy soil is proposed within the framework of critical state soil mechanics. The gassy soil is considered as a three-phase composite material with compressible cavities, which allows water entry from the saturated matrix. Bubble flooding is modelled by introducing an additional positive volumetric strain increment of the saturated clay matrix, which is dependent on the difference between pore gas and pore water pressure based on experimental observations. A modified hardening law based on that of the modified Cam clay model is employed, which in conjunction with the expression for bubble flooding, can describe both the detrimental and beneficial effects of gas bubbles on soil strength and plastic hardening in shear. Only two extra parameters in addition to those in the modified Cam clay model are used. It is shown that the key features of the stress-strain relationship of three fine-grained gassy soils can be reproduced satisfactorily.     

Multi‐temporal scale changes of streamflow and sediment load in a loess hilly watershed of China

Global climate change and diverse human activities have resulted in distinct temporal–spatial variability of watershed hydrological regimes, especially in water‐limited areas. This study presented a comprehensive investigation of streamflow and sediment load changes on multi‐temporal scales (annual, flood season, monthly and daily scales) during 1952–2011 in the Yanhe watershed, Loess Plateau. The results indicated that the decreasing trend of precipitation and increasing trend of potential evapotranspiration and aridity index were not significant. Significant decreasing trends (p < 0.01) were detected for both the annual and flood season streamflow, sediment load, sediment concentration and sediment coefficient. The runoff coefficient exhibited a significantly negative trend (p < 0.01) on the flood season scale, whereas the decreasing trend on the annual scale was not significant. The streamflow and sediment load during July–August contributed 46.7% and 86.2% to the annual total, respectively. The maximum daily streamflow and sediment load had the median occurrence date of July 31, and they accounted for 9.7% and 29.2% of the annual total, respectively. All of these monthly and daily hydrological characteristics exhibited remarkable decreasing trends (p < 0.01). However, the contribution of the maximum daily streamflow to the annual total progressively decreased (?0.07% year^?1), while that of maximum daily sediment load increased over the last 60 years (0.08% year^?1). The transfer of sloping cropland for afforestation and construction of check‐dams represented the dominant causes of streamflow and sediment load reductions, which also made the sediment grain finer. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内蒙古敖汉旗七家金矿闪长玢岩锆石U-Pb年代学、地球化学及地质意义

内蒙古敖汉旗七家金矿构造位置上处于兴蒙造山带与华北克拉通北缘的结合部位, 靠近兴蒙造山带一侧, 是近年来新发现的石英脉型金矿床.区内岩脉以闪长玢岩为主, 且与石英脉型矿体空间关系密切.根据岩脉与矿体的穿插关系, 将其分为成矿前闪长玢岩和成矿后闪长玢岩.LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年代学表明, 成矿前闪长玢岩加权平均年龄为166.3±3.4 Ma, 成矿后闪长玢岩加权平均年龄为128.6±4.5 Ma, 与区域上两期构造-岩浆活动时间(分别为160 Ma左右和128 Ma左右)近似吻合.主量元素特征显示: 二者均属于准铝质, 高钾钙碱性系列; 微量元素特征显示: 二者均富集轻稀土元素、大离子亲石元素(Rb、K)和活泼的不相容元素(U、Pb), 相对亏损重稀土元素和高场强元素(Nb、Ta、Ti), 反映出岩浆来源具壳源特征.主微量元素特征均显示出二者具有岛弧岩浆岩的地球化学属性.另外, 成矿后闪长玢岩有较高的Nb/Ta(18.66~20.27)和Zr/Hf(37.16~39.23)比值, 暗示其岩浆来源具明显的幔源特征.岩石地球化学特征表明, 成矿前闪长玢岩可能起源于太平洋板块俯冲导致的下地壳部分熔融岩浆; 成矿后闪长玢岩可能起源于俯冲流体交代的地幔楔熔融岩浆, 并在其演化侵位过程中伴有地壳物质的混染.结合闪长玢岩成岩时代、岩石成因及区域构造演化, 反映出七家金矿的形成与太平洋板块的西向俯冲密切相关, 矿床在地壳由挤压增厚向伸展减薄的转换过程中形成.     

新元古代扬子—华夏陆块拼合带：来自华南重磁异常的启示

扬子和华夏两大陆块是构成华南大陆的最基本单元, 但它们的拼合带位置（尤其是西延位置）是人们长期争论的焦点。本文以国家专项“深部探测技术与实验研究”探测得到的深反射地震剖面以及华南大陆的地质资料为约束, 对重、 磁异常作地壳构造融合解译, 追踪扬子—华夏陆块拼合带。由于华南大陆广泛发育具有剩磁多期、 多类的火山—侵入岩, 本文将磁异常换算为受剩磁影响小的解析信号作构造解译, 减小剩磁造成的地质解释偏差。研究认为, 扬子与华夏两陆块的拼合带东界为鹰潭—萍乡—衡阳—贺州—北海一线, 而西界为宜昌—张家界—铜仁—都匀—百色一线, 鹰潭以东和以北的拼合带位置因为受大规模岩浆岩的干扰而不清。     

西藏拿若铜(金)矿床隐爆角砾岩流体包裹体研究

隐爆角砾岩是西藏拿若矿床的重要组成部分,赋存厚大的铜矿体。笔者将隐爆角砾岩中流体分成两个主要期次,并对这两期流体开展包裹体研究。通过包裹体岩相学和显微测温认为:角砾中的石英(早期)包裹体形状均匀呈椭圆形,大小主要在2~5μm;胶结物中石英(晚期)包裹体形状可见椭圆状、长条状和近方形,大小主要在2~7μm。早期流体的包裹体可分为两个阶段,均一温度分别为早阶段280~368℃和晚阶段208~305℃,盐度分布为(4.65~12.73)%Na Cleq。晚期流体的包裹体同样可分为两个阶段,其均一温度分别为早阶段309~588℃和晚阶段232~335℃,盐度变化为(3.55~12.51)%Na Cleq,两个阶段的流体分别属于高温、中低盐度和中高温、中低盐度流体。L-V型包裹体激光拉曼分析显示:包裹体中气泡成分主要为气态H2O和少量CO2。拿若矿床至少经历两次隐爆作用,由晚期沸腾热液引起,并未成矿。成矿作用发生于隐爆角砾岩形成之后。