Infrared stimulated luminescence and radiofluorescence dating of aeolian sediments from Hungary

Anomalous fading of the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signal from the polymineral fine-grain and K-feldspar fractions of aeolian sediments from Hungary has been studied. The samples in this study have previously been dated using the multiple aliquot additive dose (MAAD) protocol to measure the IRSL signal. The IRSL measurements using MAAD were conducted ～4 weeks after the irradiation, making it difficult to assess to what extent these age estimates were affected by anomalous fading. In this study, equivalent doses were obtained using the single aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) protocol. The fading rate for each sample was calculated using the different IRSL components and different parts of the decay curve. For each sample, the middle part of the decay curve always showed a lower fading rate than the initial part of the decay curve. The difference between the fading rates for different parts of the decay curve was greater for the K-feldspars than for the polymineral fine grains. Fading corrected ages were calculated by integrating both the initial and the middle part of the decay curve. These ages were compared with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from quartz, infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) ages obtained from K-feldspars and also with independent ages, provided by radiocarbon dating of shells and charcoal, and uranium-series dating of travertine.     

《香港、澳门和珠江三角洲——地理概述》书评(英文)

<正>Koon-kwai WONG(Ed·):Hong Kong,Macao and the Pearl River Delta:A Geographical Survey.Pp·386,Hong Kong(Hong Kong Educational Publishing Co.),E-mail:sales@hkep.com;2009.ISBN 978-988-200-475-7     

Carbon dioxide fluxes of soils and mosses in wet tundra of Taimyr Peninsula, Siberia: controlling factors and contribution to net system fluxes

Knowledge of the environmental controls of carbon dioxide fluxes is essential for understanding the dynamics of carbon exchange between ecosystems and atmosphere. In this study we investigated soil respiration and moss photosynthesis as well as their contribution to the net carbon dioxide flux of two different wet tundra systems. During two summers, in situ carbon dioxide fluxes were measured in a tussock tundra and in a low-centre polygonal tundra on Taimyr Peninsula, central Siberia. Measurements were carried out by means of a multichannel gas exchange system. Results show pronounced differences in soil respiration rates as related to microscale topography, mainly due to differences of soil water table and soil temperatures. Modelling of soil respiration for individual microsites revealed differences of process performance with respect to both factors. The wet microsites showed the highest potential regarding an increase of soil respiration rates in warmer and drier climate change scenarios. Another important process compensating the CO₂ release from the soil was the photosynthesis of the moss layer, assimilating as much as 51% to 98% of the daily amount of carbon dioxide released from wet tundra soils. This result demonstrates the importance of mosses in the context of tundra ecosystem processes. The magnitude of net system fluxes of the whole system at the depression of the polygonal tundra was strongly influenced by changes in soil water table. Consequently, any changes of the hydrology, as anticipated in the context of global change, would effectively alter the carbon balance of wet tundra systems.     

Very high electrical conductivity beneath the Münchberg Gneiss area in Southern Germany: implications for horizontal transport along shear planes

New magnetotelluric data from the Münchberg Gneiss complex in Southern Germany reveal a zone of extremely high electrical conductivity. 1-D modelling of the data is justified in the period range 0.01 to 10  s. At least three layers are required to explain the steepness of the apparent resistivity curves, and the best-fitting models comprise four layers with successively higher conductivities. The layers of highest conductivity at depths between 2.2 and 3.6  km correlate with pronounced bands of high seismic reflectivity (profile DEKORP 85-4N). The Münchberg complex is today widely recognized as a tectonic klippe, consisting of rocks whose metamorphic and stratigraphic order is inverted rather than overturned. The material was transported into its present position by predominantly horizontal tectonic forces along shear zones. We interpret the high conductivity and high reflectivity as remnants of this transport process.     

Continuous gas monitoring in the West Bohemian earthquake area,Czech Republic: First results

Two stations monitoring concentrations of carbon dioxide and radon in soil gas (Oldřišská and Novy Kostel) and one station monitoring flow of carbon dioxide at a mofette (Soos) have been operated in the area of the West Bohemian earthquake swarms. We present preliminary results obtained on the base of four-year observations. We found that data are not influenced considerably by barometric pressure. Although the CO₂ concentration varies greatly, the long-term trends at stations Oldřišská and Novy Kostel are similar, which indicates that the CO₂ flow is controlled by common geogenic processes. Also temporal trends of CO₂ and Rn concentrations in soil gas at individual stations are analogous. We found diurnal variations of both CO₂ concentration in soil gas and the CO₂ flow at mofettes due to the earth tides. A response to tides of semi-diurnal period is insignificant in CO₂ concentration and only weak in the CO₂ flow. We also examined possible pre-seismic, co-seismic and post-seismic effects of the intensive 2008 earthquake swarm on the CO₂ concentration at Oldřišská and Novy Kostel, and on the CO₂ flow at Soos. However, all potential indications were insignificant and there has not been proven any influence of the swarm on the CO₂ concentration as well as on the CO₂ flow. Nevertheless, a gradual decrease of amplitudes of diurnal variations before the swarm and the lowest amplitudes during the swarm is a noteworthy phenomenon, which might indicate the strain changes of the rock associated with earthquake swarm.     

EUREC<Superscript>4</Superscript>A: A Field Campaign to Elucidate the Couplings Between Clouds,Convection and Circulation

Trade-wind cumuli constitute the cloud type with the highest frequency of occurrence on Earth, and it has been shown that their sensitivity to changing environmental conditions will critically influence the magnitude and pace of future global warming. Research over the last decade has pointed out the importance of the interplay between clouds, convection and circulation in controling this sensitivity. Numerical models represent this interplay in diverse ways, which translates into different responses of trade-cumuli to climate perturbations. Climate models predict that the area covered by shallow cumuli at cloud base is very sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, while process models suggest the opposite. To understand and resolve this contradiction, we propose to organize a field campaign aimed at quantifying the physical properties of trade-cumuli (e.g., cloud fraction and water content) as a function of the large-scale environment. Beyond a better understanding of clouds-circulation coupling processes, the campaign will provide a reference data set that may be used as a benchmark for advancing the modelling and the satellite remote sensing of clouds and circulation. It will also be an opportunity for complementary investigations such as evaluating model convective parameterizations or studying the role of ocean mesoscale eddies in air–sea interactions and convective organization.     

Wavelet transform-based seismic facies classification and modelling: application to a geothermal target horizon in the NE German Basin

At the geothermal test site near Groß Schönebeck (NE German Basin), a new 3D seismic reflection survey was conducted to study geothermal target layers at around 4 km depth and 150°C. We present a workflow for seismic facies classification and modelling which is applied to a prospective sandstone horizon within the Rotliegend formation. Signal attributes are calculated along the horizon using the continuous Morlet wavelet transform. We use a short mother wavelet to allow for the temporal resolution of the relatively short reflection signals to be analysed. Time-frequency domain data patterns form the input of a neural network clustering using self-organizing maps. Neural model patterns are adopted during iterative learning to simulate the information inherent in the input data. After training we determine a gradient function across the self-organizing maps and apply an image processing technique called watershed segmentation. The result is a pattern clustering based on similarities in wavelet transform characteristics. Three different types of wavelet transform patterns were found for the sandstone horizon. We apply seismic waveform modelling to improve the understanding of the classification results. The modelling tests indicate that thickness variations have a much stronger influence on the wavelet transform response of the sandstone horizon compared with reasonable variations of seismic attenuation. In our interpretation, the assumed thickness variations could be a result of variable paleo-topography during deposition of predominantly fluvial sediments. A distinct seismic facies distribution is interpreted as a system of thicker paleo-channels deposited within a deepened landscape. The results provide constraints for the ongoing development of the geothermal test site.     

小凌河下游晚全新世地层与环境

作为从出山口至入海河口直线距离仅约20 km的短途河流,小凌河下游地区及相邻潮间带表层发育了砾石质冲洪积扇、曲流河道滞留相-点状砂坝-泛滥平原与洼地、贝壳砾石海滩、盐沼、开放潮坪下部与中上部等一系列沉积环境。通过沉积地层学、年代地层学及新构造等方面的综合研究,1)将中、晚全新世地层划分为7个年代地层单元,2)发现了夏-西周、元末-明初两道年龄分别约为2 050～650 BC和1 350 AD的古海岸线,3)确立了春秋、中唐-北宋初、"小冰期"结束以来3次小凌河沉积期,最有可能发育的时间进一步限定在约650～400 BC(第1期)、约700～1 000 A(D第2期)和1 850 AD以来(第3期),4)提出了NW向与NE向构造加剧小凌河下游曲流发育的假说。