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.     

Dynamics of the eco-environmental quality in response to land use changes in rapidly urbanizing areas: A case study of Wuhan,China from 2000 to 2018

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The dramatic land use changes that occur in rapidly urbanized areas are important inducement to changes in the eco-environmental quality. Investigating urban land...     

Application of a square wave potentiometry technique for electroreductive sulfur removal from a thiophenic model fuel

Thiophene-containing solutions were electroreductively desulfurized by a dynamic method. Initially, cyclic voltammetry was utilized to study thiophene electroadsorption from aqueous solution onto a platinum electrode surface and also to investigate the thiophene electroreductive behavior. Then, the solution was desulfurized via a square wave potentiometry method. The objective of this study was to find the optimal conditions. In this regard, the best adsorption potential, electroreduction potential, and square wave frequency were found to be ?0.54 V, ?0.95 V, and 1 Hz, respectively. Finally, a model fuel (containing 294 part per millions thiophene) was desulfurized by the square wave potentiometry method. Gas chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to examine the feed and product solutions. Gas chromatographic measurements revealed that sulfur content decreased to 55 part per millions. Based on the acquired results, electroreductive desulfurization could be designated as an efficient superseded for the commercial hydrodesulfurization process. However, more studies must perform to overcome technical limitations of electroreductive desulfurization technique and to guarantee its reliability.     

Heat capacity,compressibility and thermal expansion coefficient of ilmenite-type MgGeO3

The accuracy of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) on a heat capacity measurement was evaluated using MgO. The result indicated that the deviation of the result in comparison to literature values was less than 0.4% at temperatures above 300 K and 2.1% below this temperature. Since this experiment proved the reliability of DSC, heat capacity, compressibility, and thermal expansion of ilmenite-type MgGeO₃ were measured by means of DSC, a diamond anvil high pressure device, and a high-temperature X-ray camera, respectively. The heat capacity was approximated by C _p = a + b·T + c·T ^?2 at high temperatures and by the Debye function at low temperatures. The compressibility was well-represented by the Murnaghan-Birch equation of 2nd order. The thermal expansion coefficient was constant up to 1073 K.     

Spatial distribution of solar flares in 23rd solar cycle

H-alpha flares accompanied by the X-radiation f ?? 10^?6 wm^?2 in power are examined; 2331 flares were registered during the first half of the 23rd solar cycle (1997?C2000). The specific power of the X-radiation of the flares monotonically doubles from the minimum to the maximum of the sunspot. An increase in the number of flares in each solar rotation is nonmonotonic and disproportional to the relative number of sunspots. Several longitudinal intervals with increased flare activity can be distinguished in the entire time interval of five to ten rotations. The longitudinal distributions of flares and boundaries of the sector structures of a large-scale magnetic field differ considerably. This confirms the existence of two types of zero lines; the first type is determined by active regions, and the second one is determined by large-scale structures with weak magnetic fields. The flares concentrate near Hale??s zero lines of the first type.     

Halite oolites and ripples in the Dead Sea, Israel

Clastic features in recent halite deposits are observed along the beaches of an artificially dammed part of the Dead Sea. These features include halite oolites (termed halolites in this paper) and ripples. Halite precipitates initially either at the brine surface or on the floor. It is suggested that moderate increase of wave agitation shifts the balance towards brine-surface crystallization, and keeps the growing halite grains in constant motion. In this way rippled structures are formed. A further increase of wave energy leads to the growth of coated halite grains. The accumulation of the various halite grains along the beach, to form soft rippled floor and oolitic beach ridge is brought about during shoreward winds. During calm periods the bulk of the halite crystallizes directly on the floor. It develops into a hard crust which assumes the morphology of the substrate, including the ripple forms.     

THINNED POLISHED SECTION OF COAL,A NEW TECHNIQUE IN COAL PETROGRAPHY

Opinions often differ among coal petrographers as to the relative ad-vantages of the thin sections and the polished sections.In reality both of themare useful and they should be used simultaneously in order to get a clear and     

高分五号全谱段光谱成像仪地表温度与发射率反演

地表温度在全球能量平衡和气候变化研究中具有重要意义。中国新一代高分辨率卫星高分五号卫星(GF-5)搭载的全谱段成像光谱仪有4个40 m空间分辨率的热红外波段,可以提供高空间分辨率的地表温度信息。本文提出了适用于全谱段成像光谱仪的温度与发射率分离TES(Temperature and Emissivity Separation)算法同时反演地表温度和发射率,为了提高大气校正精度,算法加入了水汽缩放WVS(Water Vapor Scaling)大气校正方法。首先利用Seebor V5.0全球大气廓线库构建模拟数据对算法精度进行了评价;然后利用张掖地区11景ASTER影像作为替代数据和同步的地面实测数据对算法精度进行了验证。模拟数据结果表明加入WVS方法后TES算法反演地表温度的RMSE由2.59 K降低到1.54 K,4个波段地表发射率的RMSE分别从0.122、0.12、0.102和0.037降低到0.042、0.04、0.028和0.026;地表验证结果表明本文算法反演的地表温度与站点实测值具有更好的一致性,平均Bias由1.08 K降低到0.47 K,RMSE由2.17 K降低到1.7 K;反演的各波段地表发射率与地面实测结果误差均小于1%。因此,本文提出的温度与发射率分离算法具有较高精度,可以利用GF-5数据获取高精度高空间分辨率的地表温度和发射率数据,服务于其他相关研究。