Plant studies in Himachal Pradesh,Western Himalaya: a systematic review

Owing to a predicted rise in temperature, increase in precipitation and the escalating anthropogenic stresses, the Himalayan ecosystems are the most threatened non-polar regions of the world. In the past, there have been racing extinctions and range shifts of several life forms in this region, particularly of the plant species. Therefore, consistent qualitative and quantitative records on botanical baseline data on a regular basis are indispensable. The current communication attempts to provide a detailed account on the current state of knowledge and research gaps in floristic studies of Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalaya. Based on an extensive review of more than 140 studies in the form of scientific peer reviewed literature on floristics, medicinal and aromatic plants(MAPs), rare, endangered, threatened and endemic species and ethno-botany, it is revealed that the number of floristic studies in Himachal Pradesh have surged in the past years but studies pertaining to the lower plants remain meagre. Unfortunately, the remote valleys including micro-watersheds lying in the coldarid regions are relatively less studied in terms of available growing stock and population status of MAPs. Depleting traditional ethno-botanical knowledge has been the major concern and, many threatened MAPs need to be accessed globally following IUCN standards. Thus, documentation of the conservation status of key MAPs, setting aside conservation areas around viable populations of threatened species, developing germplasm banks of the priority MAPs and monitoring the impacts of climate change has been suggested.     

Late Miocene increasing exhumation rates in the eastern part of the Alps – implications from low temperature thermochronology

A new set of apatite fission‐track and apatite (U–Th)/He data reveals a hitherto undated late Miocene exhumation pulse in the eastern part of the Eastern Alps. While distinct parts of the study area, including the Seckauer Tauern, have been at near surface conditions (<100 °C) since the Eocene, the neighbouring Niedere Tauern experienced enhanced cooling and exhumation in the middle Miocene and again at the late Miocene/Pliocene boundary. Middle Miocene exhumation is interpreted as a result of tectonic escape and convergence that operated simultaneously during lateral extrusion of the Eastern Alps. As the higher late Miocene/Pliocene exhumation rates are restricted to a single tectonic block, namely the Niedere Tauern, we infer a tectonic trigger that is probably related to a change in the external stress field that affected the Alps during this time.     

Acigöl rhyolite field,Central Anatolia (part 1): high-resolution dating of eruption episodes and zircon growth rates

Protracted pre-eruptive zircon residence is frequently detected in continental rhyolites and can conflict with thermal models, indicating briefer magma cooling durations if scaled to erupted volumes. Here, we present combined U-Th and (U-Th)/He zircon ages from the Acigöl rhyolite field (Central Anatolia, Turkey), which is part of a Quaternary bimodal volcanic complex. Unlike other geochronometers, this approach dates crystallization and eruption on the same crystals, allowing for internal consistency testing. Despite the overall longevity of Acigöl rhyolite volcanism and systematic trends of progressive depletion in compatible trace elements and decreasing zircon saturation temperatures, we find that zircon crystallized in two brief pulses corresponding to eruptions in the eastern and western part of the field during Middle and Late Pleistocene times, respectively. For Late Pleistocene zircon, resolvable differences exist between interior (average: 30.7 ± 0.9 ka; 1σ error) and rim (21.9 ± 1.3 ka) crystallization ages. These translate into radial crystal growth rates of ~10^?13 to 10^?14 cm/s, broadly consistent with those constrained by diffusion experiments. Rim crystallization and (U-Th)/He eruption ages (24.2 ± 0.4 ka) overlap within uncertainty. Evidence for brief zircon residence at Acigöl contrasts with many other rhyolite fields, suggesting that protracted zircon crystallization in, or recycling from, long-lived crystal mushes is not ubiquitous in continental silicic magma systems. Instead, the span of pre-eruptive zircon ages is consistent with autochthonous crystallization in individual small-volume magma batches that originated from basaltic precursors.     

Combined U/Pb and (U–Th)/He geochronometry of basalt maars in Western Carpathians: implications for age of intraplate volcanism and origin of zircon metasomatism

The age of intraplate volcanism in northern Pannonian Basin of Carpathians is revisited using a combination of zircon U/Pb, zircon (U–Th)/He and apatite (U–Th)/He dating techniques, complemented by electron microprobe (EMP) characterisation of dated minerals. A total of six maar structures and diatremes in the South-Slovakian Volcanic Field (SSVF) were dated and the obtained new ages yielded the following key findings: Two isolated maars in SE part indirectly dated by geomorphologic constraints to Late Pleistocene are actually of Pliocene (2.8 ± 0.2 Ma) and Late Miocene (5.5 ± 0.6 Ma) ages. In contrast, two maars in NW part of the study area are of Late Pliocene age (4.1 ± 0.4 and 5.2–5.4 Ma), younger than the Late Miocene age (~6.5 Ma) inferred previously from K/Ar data on the proximal basaltic lava flows. These maars therefore belong to the second volcanic phase that was previously identified only in SE part of the SSVF. In the light of the new geochronologic data, it seems likely that the Pliocene phreatomagmatic eruptions may have occurred along extension-related, NW- and NE-trending orthogonal faults. EMP analyses and imaging revealed an extensive syn- and post-growth metasomatic replacement by dissolution-reprecipitation in the majority of zircons. Abundant silicate melt inclusions in porous metasomatised parts of the zircons are diagnostic of magmatic rather than hydrothermal metasomatism. Consistent ages of the metasomatised and non-metasomatised zones do not indicate disturbance of the U–Pb system during the metasomatism. Enrichment in U and Th loss in the metasomatised zircons are diagnostic of an increasing oxygen fugacity triggered by degassing of the volatile residual melt during the final stages of alkali basalt fractionation. Rare zircon-to-baddeleyite transformation was probably connected with lowered silica activity in carbonated basaltic magmas in south-eastern part of the study area.     

A history of violence: magma incubation,timing and tephra distribution of the Los Chocoyos supereruption (Atitlán Caldera,Guatemala)

The climactic Los Chocoyos (LCY) eruption from Atitlán caldera (Guatemala) is a key chronostratigraphic marker for the Quaternary period given the extensive distribution of its deposits that reached both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Despite LCY tephra being an important marker horizon, a radioisotopic age for this eruption has remained elusive. Using zircon (U–Th)/He geochronology, we present the first radioisotopically determined eruption age for the LCY of 75 ± 2 ka. Additionally, the youngest zircon crystallization ²³⁸U–²³⁰Th rim ages in their respective samples constrain eruption age maxima for two other tephra units that erupted from Atitlán caldera, W-Fall (130 ⁺¹⁶/₋₁₄ ka) and I-Fall eruptions (56 ^+8.2/_−7.7 ka), which under- and overlie LCY tephra, respectively. Moreover, rim and interior zircon dating and glass chemistry suggest that before eruption silicic magma was stored for >80 kyr, with magma accumulation peaking within ca. 35 kyr before the LCY eruption during which the system may have developed into a vertically zoned magma chamber. Based on an updated distribution of LCY pyroclastic deposits, a new conservatively estimated volume of ~1220 ± 150 km³ is obtained (volcanic explosivity index VEI > 8), which confirms the LCY eruption as the first-ever recognized supereruption in Central America.     

Age constraints on faulting and fault reactivation: a multi-chronological approach

Movement within the Earth’s upper crust is commonly accommodated by faults or shear zones, ranging in scale from micro-displacements to regional tectonic lineaments. Since faults are active on different time scales and can be repeatedly reactivated, their displacement chronology is difficult to reconstruct. This study represents a multi-geochronological approach to unravel the evolution of an intracontinental fault zone locality along the Danube Fault, central Europe. At the investigated fault locality, ancient motion has produced a cataclastic deformation zone in which the cataclastic material was subjected to hydrothermal alteration and K-feldspar was almost completely replaced by illite and other phyllosilicates. Five different geochronological techniques (zircon Pb-evaporation, K–Ar and Rb–Sr illite, apatite fission track and fluorite (U-Th)/He) have been applied to explore the temporal fault activity. The upper time limit for initiation of faulting is constrained by the crystallization age of the primary rock type (known as “Kristallgranit”) at 325 ± 7 Ma, whereas the K–Ar and Rb–Sr ages of two illite fractions <2 μm (266–255 Ma) are interpreted to date fluid infiltration events during the final stage of the cataclastic deformation period. During this time, the “Kristallgranit” was already at or near the Earth’s surface as indicated by the sedimentary record and thermal modelling results of apatite fission track data. (U–Th)/He thermochronology of two single fluorite grains from a fluorite–quartz vein within the fault zone yield Cretaceous ages that clearly postdate their Late-Variscan mineralization age. We propose that later reactivation of the fault caused loss of helium in the fluorites. This assertion is supported by geological evidence, i.e. offsets of Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments along the fault and apatite fission track thermal modelling results are consistent with the prevalence of elevated temperatures (50–80°C) in the fault zone during the Cretaceous.     

Towards a Validation of Scintillometer Measurements: The LITFASS-2009 Experiment

Scintillometry has been increasingly used over the last decade for the experimental determination of area-averaged turbulent fluxes at a horizontal scale of a few kilometres. Nevertheless, a number of assumptions in the scintillometer data processing and interpretation still call for a thorough evaluation, in particular over heterogeneous terrain. Moreover, a validation of the path-averaged structure parameters derived from scintillometer data (and forming the basis for the flux calculations) by independent measurements is still missing. To achieve this, the LITFASS-2009 field campaign has been performed around the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg ?C Richard-A?mann-Observatory of the German Meteorological Service (DWD) in July 2009. The experiment combined tower-based in-situ turbulence measurements, field-scale laser scintillometers, long-range optical (large-aperture) and microwave scintillometers, and airborne turbulence measurements using an automatically operating unmanned aircraft. The paper describes the project design and strategy, and discusses first results. Daytime near-surface values of the temperature structure parameter, ${C_{T}^{2}}$ , over different types of farmland differ by more than one order of magnitude in their dependence on the type and status of the vegetation. Considerable spatial variability in ${C_{T}^{2}}$ was also found along the flight legs at heights between 50 and 100?m. However, it appeared difficult to separate the effects of heterogeneity from the temporal variability of the turbulence fields. Aircraft measurements and scintillometer data agreed in magnitude with respect to the temporal variation of the path-averaged ${C_{T}^{2}}$ values during the diurnal cycle. The decrease of ${C_{T}^{2}}$ with height found from the scintillometer measurements close to the surface and at 43?m under daytime convective conditions corresponds to free-convection scaling, whereas the aircraft measurements at 54 and 83?m suggest a different behaviour.     

Combined climatic and geological forcings on the spatio-temporal variability of piezometric levels in the chalk aquifer of Upper Normandy (France) at pluridecennal scale

The temporal variability of water-level fluctuations in the chalk aquifer of Upper Normandy, France is constrained by natural climate fluctuations and is closely linked to the regional geological patterns. The chalk plateaus are covered with 5–50 m thick semi-permeable surficial formations; the thickness of the underlying chalk aquifer varies from 50 to 300 m. The relationship among climate oscillations, piezometric levels, and geologic structure were investigated by correlation, Fourier spectral, and continuous wavelet analyses of selected piezometric time-series data. Analysis focused on two piezometers located on the uplifted side of a major fault and two piezometers on the downthrown side. After generalization to other piezometers in the region, it was deduced that, in the downthrown compartments, a substantial aquifer and surficial formations thickness would imply a strong attenuation of annual variability, while multi-year variability is clearly expressed. Conversely, in the uplifted compartments, a thin layer of surficial formations and small thickness of the chalk authorizes strong variations on the annual mode with respect to the contribution of long-term climatic oscillations (multi-year variability). The results then demonstrated—and proposed a spatial determination of—the differential influence of geological patterns on the filtering of climate-induced oscillations in piezometric variability.     

Remote sensing of spectral signatures of tropospheric aerosols

With the launch of the German Aerospace Agency's (DLR) Modular Opto-electronic Scanner (MOS) sensor on board the Indian Remote Sensing satellite (IRS-P3) launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in March 1996, 13 channel multi-spectral data in the range of 408 to 1010 nm at high radiometric resolution, precision, and with narrow spectral bands have been available for a variety of land, atmospheric and oceanic studies. We found that these data are best for validation of radiative transfer model and the corresponding code developed by one of the authors at Space Applications Centre, and called ATMRAD (abbreviated for ATMospheric RADiation). Once this model/code is validated, it can be used for retrieving information on tropospheric aerosols over ocean or land. This paper deals with two clear objectives, viz.,