Paleomagnetic results from Late Carboniferous to Early Permian rocks in the northern Qiangtang terrane,Tibet, China,and their tectonic implications

Results of a systematic paleomagnetic study are reported based on Late Carboniferous to Early Permian sedimentary rocks on the north slope of the Tanggula Mountains,in the northern Qiangtang terrane(NQT),Tibet,China.Data revealed that magnetic minerals in limestone samples from the Zarigen Formation(CP^z)are primarily composed of magnetite,while those in sandstone samples from the Nuoribagaribao Formation(Pnr)are dominated by hematite alone,or hematite and magnetite in combination.Progressive thermal,or alternating field,demagnetization allowed us to isolate a stable high temperature component(HTC)in 127 specimens from 16 sites which successfully passed the conglomerate test,consistent with primary remnance.The tilt-corrected mean direction for Late Carboniferous to Early Permian rocks in the northern Qiangtang terrane is D_s=30.2°,I_s=-40.9°,k_s=269.0,a_(95)=2.3°,N=16,which yields a corresponding paleomagnetic pole at 25.7°N,241.5°E(dp/dm=2.8°/1.7°),and a paleolatitude of 23.4°S.Our results,together with previously reported paleomagnetic data,indicate that:(1)the NQT in Tibet,China,was located at a low latitude in the southern hemisphere,and may have belonged to the northern margin of Gondwana during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian;(2)the Paleo-Tethys Ocean was large during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian,and(3)the NQT subsequently moved rapidly northwards,perhaps related to the fact that the Paleo-Tethys Ocean was rapidly contracting from the Late Permian to Late Triassic while the Bangong Lake-Nujiang Ocean,the northern branch of the Neo-Tethys Ocean,expanded rapidly during this time.     

Hydrological characteristics of vegetated river flows: a laboratory flume study

Abstract

Laboratory flume experiments were undertaken to measure the vertical profiles of mean flow velocity for three different flow discharges and four different stem densities of Hydrilla verticillata. The data were used to calculate three parameters, namely Manning's roughness coefficient, the Reynolds number and the Froude number. In addition, empirical equations were obtained for the vertical distribution of measured flow velocity within the transitional zone and above the plant canopy. The results show that: (a) the vertical distribution of measured flow velocity exhibits three zone profiles; (b) Manning's roughness coefficient decreases with increasing depth-averaged flow velocity; (c) the relationship between Manning's roughness coefficient and the depth-averaged flow velocity is within the smooth left inverse curve; (d) Manning's roughness coefficient significantly changes with increasing density of Hydrilla; (e) the Froude number is independent of the density of Hydrilla; and (f) both the Reynolds number and the Froude number increase with increasing depth-averaged flow velocity.

Citation Shi, J.Z., Li, Y.-H., Hughes, J.M.R., and Zhao, M., 2013. Hydrological characteristics of vegetated river flows: a laboratory flume study. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (5), 1047–1058.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz     

Six new chrysophycean stomatocysts ornamented with reticulum from the Great Xing’an Mountains, China

Six new chrysophycean stomatocysts ornamented with reticulum were illustrated based on SEM observation. They were described following the guidelines of the International Statospore Working Group (ISWG). All samples were collected from the Great Xing’an Mountains, China. Their taxonomic characteristics and habitats were described to provide new information on the biodiversity of chrysophycean stomatocysts. As is common with many morphotypes, their biological affinities remain unknown.     

Tracing infiltration and recharge using stable isotope in Taihang Mt., North China

The groundwater in headwater region is an important recharge source for the adjacent mountain-front plain. In order to reveal the relationship among precipitation, soil water and groundwater, from June to September in 2004, stable isotopes (deuterium and oxygen-18) in precipitation and soil waters at the depths of 10, 20, 30, 50, 70, 90, and 110 cm were analyzed at two sites covered by black locust (Robinia Pseudoacia L.) (Site A) and grass predominated by Themeda triandra (T. japonica (Willd.) Tanaka) and Bothriochloa ischaemum (B. ischaemum (L.) Keng) (Site B) in an experimental catchment at Taihang Mt., North China, respectively. The δ¹⁸O of precipitation in daily rain events shows large variations (−13.3 to −4.3‰) with a mean of 8.1‰. The δ¹⁸O and δ D of soil waters along profiles in two sites suggest that the influence of canopy cover was just up to 10 cm in top soil water. The soil water moved over the zero flux plane at 70 cm in-depth is expected to escape the evaporative effect at the end of September in both sites. The results show that the stable isotope, instead of tritium as tradition, can be used to trace the soil water behaviors based on the movement of isotopic peak along the vertical profiles in this semi-arid and semi-humid mountainous region. The infiltration depths of soil water in Taihang Mt. are 12 and 10 mm/day from June to September in 2004 in Site A and Site B, respectively. Tracing by stable isotope, recharge fluxes of soil water to local groundwater are of 3.8 and 3.2 mm/day in Site A and Site B, respectively. The results provide desirable information for assessment of local groundwater resources. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Trapped Xe and I-Xe ages in aqueously altered CV3 meteorites

Twenty-two dark inclusions (DIs) from Allende (18), Leoville (2), Vigarano (1) and Efremovka (1) were studied by the I-Xe method. All except two of these DIs (Vigarano 2226 and Leoville LV2) produce well-defined isochrons, and precise I-Xe ages. The Allende DIs formed a tight group about 1.6 Ma older than Shallowater (4.566 ± 0.002 Ga), about 5 Ma older than four previously studied Allende CAIs. Most of the dark inclusions require trapped Xe with less ¹²⁹Xe (or more ¹²⁸Xe) than conventional planetary Xe (well restricted in composition by Q-Xe or OC-Xe). Studies of an irradiated/unirradiated DI pair from Allende demonstrate that the ¹²⁸Xe/¹³²Xe ratio in trapped is normal planetary, so that a ¹²⁹Xe/¹³²Xe ratio below planetary seems to be required. Yet, this is not possible given constraints on ¹²⁹Xe evolution in the early solar system. Trends among all of the Allende DIs suggest that an intimate mixture of partially decayed iodine and Xe formed a pseudo trapped Xe component enriched in both ¹²⁹Xe and ¹²⁷I, and subsequently in ¹²⁸Xe after n-capture during reactor irradiation. Enrichment in radiogenic ¹²⁹Xe, but with a ¹²⁹Xe/¹²⁷I ratio less than that observed in the iodine host phase, places closure of this trapped mixture ≥13 Ma after precipitation of the major iodine-bearing phase. Because the I-Xe isochron is a mixing line between iodine-derived and trapped Xe (pseudo or not), I-Xe ages, given by the slope of this mixing line, are not compromised by the presence of pseudo trapped Xe, and the precision of the I-Xe ages is given by the statistics of the line fit.     

PGE distribution in deformed lherzolites of the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia)

The results of the first study of the PGE distribution in deformed lherzolites of the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia) are presented here. The complex character of evolution of the PGE composition in the Deformed lherzolites is assumed to be the result of silicate metasomatism. At the first stage, growth in the amount of clinopyroxene and garnet in the rock is accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of the compatible PGE (Os, Ir). During the final stage, the rock is enriched with incompatible PGE (Pt, Pd) and Re possible due to precipitation of submicron-sized particles of sulfides in the interstitial space of these mantle rocks.     

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) estimations from the site of the Eastern Anatolia Observatory<Superscript>∗</Superscript> (DAG), a new astronomical observatory in Turkey

We present preliminary statistics on the precipitable water vapor (PWV) content over the Karakaya Hills in Erzurum city, where the largest optical and near-infrared astronomical telescope in Turkey will be operated. Since the observatory will observe in the near-infrared (NIR), it is intended to perform PWV measurements of the atmosphere above the site by using signal delays in Global Positioning System (GPS) communication. The analysis of the GPS data recorded on the summit for almost one year shows that the atmosphere over the site of the observatory, which has an altitude of 3170 m, has favorable conditions for NIR observations. From GPS measurements, we report that the site had an average PWV of 3.2 mm and a median PWV of 2.7 mm between October 6, 2016, and June 15, 2017. We also present the time dependency of the PWV content and the correlations between the amount of PWV and the other meteorological records gathered from radiosonde flights and ground-based measurements.     

Biodegradation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Enteromorpha</Emphasis> polysaccharides by intestinal micro-community from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Siganus oramin</Emphasis>

Micro-communities are supposed to have more potential functions of biodegradation of polysaccharides than single strain; however, the intestinal micro-communities involved in the biodegradation of Enteromorpha polysaccharides (EP) were seldom reported. In order to obtain the EP-degrading micro-community, the intestines of Siganus oramin was obtained to isolate the micro-communities, which were enriched by 0.3% of EP as the sole carbon source. A stable micro-community with EP degradative capability was achieved after seven generations of subculture, named H1. Results showed that H1 was able to degrade 75% of EP within 24 hours, and the activity of EP lyases reached 500 U mL^?1 in 32 hours. With denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis, ten bacteria closely related to Marinomonas pontica, Microbacterium sp., Leucobacter chironomi, Cyclobacterium sp., Algoriphagus winogradskyi, Pseudoalteromonas sp. and Vibrio sp. were determined. Furthermore, compared with the DGGE bands sequence and the clone library analysis, the dominant bacteria of the EP-biodegrading micro- community were Pseudoalteromonas sp. and Vibrio sp., with the respective proportion of 38% and 46%, and they should play an important role in EP degradation together with other degrading bacteria in the micro-community H1.     

Antarctic sea-ice relationships with indices of the atmospheric circulation of the Southern Hemisphere

A link between the Antarctic sea-ice extent and low-frequency atmospheric variations, particularly ENSO, has been suggested by recent modeling and empirical studies. This question is examined here using a high-resolution (by week, by region) data base of Antarctic sea-ice extent for the 1973–1982 period. Although of relatively short duration by Northern Hemisphere standards, such a data base offers an opportunity rare in Southern Hemisphere climate studies. The seaice variations are examined in the context of longer-term indices of the large-scale atmospheric circulation. These are a Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and an index of sea-level pressure (SLP) wavenumber one in the Southern Hemisphere extratropics. The indices are updated through 1982, and their associations with regional-scale pressure indices in the Australia-New Zealand sector are also examined. The 1973–1982 period is anomalous when compared with the period 1951–1972. Correlation analysis of the monthly sea ice and circulation index values reveals that much of the apparent link between the ice and the SOI suggested in previous studies arises from autocorrelations present in both data sets and the strong annual cycle of sea-ice extent. Removing these effects from the data and re-running the correlations reveals that most of the resulting significant associations between the ice and one or other of the circulation indices can probably be explained on the basis of chance. In order to reconcile these findings with previous studies that show some strong ice-circulation interactions on regional scales, only those months in which significant correlations occur between both largescale circulation indices and the sea ice are examined further. These occur preferentially in the Ross and Weddell sectors, which constitute the regions contributing most to the variability of Antarctic sea ice. The analysis suggests that the sea-ice-extent changes lag the SOI by several months but may precede changes in extratropical SLP wavenumber one. Confirmation of these tentative regional ice extent-circulation teleconnections necessarily awaits the forward extension of the high-resolution sea-ice data base beyond the 10 years available here.This paper is based on material presented at the Conference on Mechanisms of Interannual and Longer-Term Climatic Variations held at the University of Melbourne, Australia: December 8–12, 1986.