Linking Tarim Basin sea retreat (west China) and Asian aridification in the late Eocene

The Tarim Basin in western China formed the easternmost margin of a shallow epicontinental sea that extended across Eurasia and was well connected to the western Tethys during the Paleogene. Climate modelling studies suggest that the westward retreat of this sea from Central Asia may have been as important as the Tibetan Plateau uplift in forcing aridification and monsoon intensification in the Asian continental interior due to the redistribution of the land‐sea thermal contrast. However, testing of this hypothesis is hindered by poor constraints on the timing and precise palaeogeographic dynamics of the retreat. Here, we present an improved integrated bio‐ and magnetostratigraphic chronological framework of the previously studied marine to continental transition in the southwest Tarim Basin along the Pamir and West Kunlun Shan, allowing us to better constrain its timing, cause and palaeoenvironmental impact. The sea retreat is assigned a latest Lutetian–earliest Bartonian age (ca. 41 Ma; correlation of the last marine sediments to calcareous nannofossil Zone CP14 and correlation of the first continental red beds to the base of magnetochron C18r). Higher up in the continental deposits, a major hiatus includes the Eocene–Oligocene transition (ca. 34 Ma). This suggests the Tarim Basin was hydrologically connected to the Tethyan marine Realm until at least the earliest Oligocene and had not yet been closed by uplift of the Pamir–Kunlun orogenic system. The westward sea retreat at ca. 41 Ma and the disconformity at the Eocene–Oligocene transition are both time‐equivalent with reported Asian aridification steps, suggesting that, consistent with climate modelling results, the sea acted as an important moisture source for the Asian continental interior.     

Das mittlere meridionale Temperaturprofil in der Troposphäre als Effekt von vertikalen und horizontalen Austauschvorgängen und Kondensationswärme

Summary A theoretical account is given for the mean meridional temperature profile in the troposphere (up to 11 km) by the aid of the theorem of turbulent heat conduction introducing the vertical and horizontal coefficients of exchange (Austausch) which show a different order of magnitude. It is necessary, however, to take into consideration the heat of condensation, liberated by condensation of the mean yearly precipitation on the earth and thereby supplied to the troposphere in the different latitudes, in order to obtain a theoretical solution capable of completely explaining the mean meridional temperature profile deduced from former observations in the free atmosphere. The mean temperature distribution on ground has been assumed to be known as it is established by the radiation balance of the ground showing the determined and wellknown zonal distribution. Furthermore, some noticeable details resulting from the theory and concerning the vertical structure of temperature in the troposphere and its state of equilibrium are derived. It is made clear how a temperature gradient <1° C/100 m comes about. Thus the mean meridional temperature profile is shown to be a determined state of equilibrium between vertical and horizontal exchange (Austausch) phenomena and processes of condensation taking place in the troposphere. These latter ones being confined to a certain layer of the lower atmosphere are of essential importance for the upper limitation of the troposphere.

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Résumé On donne une explication théorique du profil méridien moyen de température dans la troposphère (jusqu'à 11 km.) en s'appuyant sur le théorème de la conductibilité turbulente et en introduisant les coefficients d'échange turbulent dont l'ordre de grandeur n'est pas le même dans la verticale et dans l'horizontale. Il faut tenir compte de la chaleur de condensation libérée par les précipitations annuelles moyennes et qui est fournie à la troposphère aux différentes latitudes; alors seulement on arrive à une solution en accord complet avec le profil méridien de température, tel que le fournissent les observations aérologiques. On a considérée comme connue la distribution moyenne de la température au niveau du sol, celle-ci étant déterminée par le bilan radiatif du sol et présentant la répartition zonale bien connue. On expose ensuite thermique verticale de la troposphère et son équilibre, ainsi que l'établissement d'un gradient inférieur à un degré par cent mètres. Le profil méridien moyen de température apparaît alors comme le résultat d'un équilibre entre les processus d'échange turbulent verticaux et horizontaux et des phénomènes de condensation se produisant dans la troposphère. Le fait que ces derniers sont limités à une certaine couche basse de l'atmosphère est une des raisons pour lesquelles la troposphère présente une limite supérieure.

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Mit 4 Textabbildungen.     

MINI-MACtm—A new generation dual—Band surveyor

Summary Litton Divisions presently produce both high accuracy GPS surveyors and low—cost GPS navigation sets. Aero Service'sMACROMETER ^R Interferometric Surveyors, have become the standard against which GPS surveying equipment is measured. Litton Aero Products has developed a highly digitized, low costL ₁,C/A code GPS card set. The integration of these technologies had led to the development of a low-cost, high-precision, GPS survey system which can be configured with or without a codelessL ₂ capability. TheMINI-MAC surveying system is the first member of the new generation of GPS survey systems resulting from this joint development. The system design is described in this paper, and initial survey test results using a prototypeMINI-MAC surveying system are presented.     

Ice-sheet growth and high-latitudes sea-surface temperature

The response of the LLN 2-D climate model to the insolation and CO₂ forcings during the Eemian interglacial is compared to reconstructions obtained from deep-sea cores drilled in the Norwegian Sea and in the North Atlantic. Both reconstructions and modeling results show a decrease of sea-surface temperature (SST) in the higher latitudes (70–75 °N zonal belt for the model and the Norwegian Sea for the proxy records), associated with a more moderate cooling at lower latitudes (50–55 °N and North Atlantic), at the middle of isotopic substage 5e, several millenia before the beginning of continental ice-sheet growth. Such a comparison between the simulated SST and ice volume of the Northern Hemisphere has been extended to the whole last glacial-interglacial cycle. The influence of the insolation forcing on SST and the shortcomings of the model due to its zonal character are discussed. Received: 6 July 1995/Accepted: 19 December 1995     

The generation ofK indices from digitally recorded magnetic data

TheK index was developed by Bartels and is a measure of geomagnetic activity. The important feature of this index is that it is a measure of solar activity superimposed on the regular daily variation.It is the most used estimate of activity being of particular interest to researchers in ionospheric physics and telecommunications.In response to increased availability of digital data from magnetic observatories and their demand by the scientific community it becomes desireable to check whetherK indices produced from magnetograms plotted from digital data are consistent with those handscaled from La Cour charts.This paper presents results of these comparisons and also reports on several methods tested to produce theK index directly from the digital data.Handscaled indices from digital plots are suitable for producing theK index. Computations using digital data do not reproduceK as defined by Bartels precisely but do provide an equivalent index which is satisfactory for most user and research purposes.     

Using impacts of deep-level mining to research karst hydrology—a Darcy-based approach to predict the future of dried-up dolomitic springs in the Far West Rand goldfield (South Africa). Part 2: predicting inter-compartmental flow and final groundwater tables

Some of the world’s deepest goldmines operate below dolomitic karst aquifers in the Far West Rand (FWR) goldfield, South Africa. Associated impacts include the continuous dewatering of karst aquifers for over six decades and irreversible changes of the hydrogeological setting. Affecting an area of approximately 400 km² by drawing down the water table up to 700 m, these impacts, and the large amounts of data generated in the process, are used as unique research opportunities to better understand the complex karst hydrology. The focus of this study is on predicting final water table elevations in rewatered aquifers after mining ceases taking the fact that mines hydraulically linked previously disconnected aquifers into account. While part 1 of this series develops the conceptual model, this second part utilises large sets of pertinent data to calculate actual flow rates for predicting the fate of dried up springs after mine closure. Following a Darcy-based approach first applied by Swart et al. (Environ Geol 44:751–770, 2003a) it is not only predicted that the springs will flow again but also shown that linear relationships exist between flow rates through a combined system of karst-fractured aquifers overlying the mine void and the associated hydraulic head driving them. This suggests that—at this scale—porous media-based equations can be meaningfully used to predict flow in non-porous media.