Late Quaternary climatic control on erosion and weathering in the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Mekong Basin

High-resolution siliciclastic grain size and bulk mineralogy combined with clay mineralogy, rubidium, strontium, and neodymium isotopes of Core MD01-2393 collected off the Mekong River estuary in the southwestern South China Sea reveals a monsoon-controlled chemical weathering and physical erosion history during the last 190,000 yr in the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Mekong Basin. The ranges of isotopic composition are limited throughout sedimentary records: ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7206–0.7240 and ε_Nd(0) = −11.1 to −12.1. These values match well to those of Mekong River sediments and they are considered to reflect this source region. Smectites/(illite + chlorite) and smectites/kaolinite ratios are used as indices of chemical weathering rates, whereas the bulk kaolinite/quartz ratio is used as an index of physical erosion rates in the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Mekong Basin. Furthermore, the 2.5–6.5 μm/15–55 μm siliciclastic grain size population ratio represents the intensity of sediment discharge of the Mekong River and, in turn, the East Asian summer monsoon intensity. Strengthened chemical weathering corresponds to increased sediment discharge and weakened physical erosion during interglacial periods. In contrast, weakened chemical weathering associated with reduced sediment discharge and intensified physical erosion during glacial periods. Such strong glacial–interglacial correlations between chemical weathering/erosion and sediment discharge imply the monsoon-controlled weathering and erosion.     

Tracing the history of submarine hydrothermal inputs and the significance of hydrothermal hafnium for the seawater budget—a combined Pb-Hf-Nd isotope approach

Secular variations in the Pb isotopic composition of a mixed hydrogenous-hydrothermal ferromanganese crust from the Bauer Basin in the eastern Equatorial Pacific provide clear evidence for changes in hydrothermal contributions during the past 7 Myr. The nearby Galapagos Rise spreading center provided a strong hydrothermal flux prior to 6.5 Ma. After 6.5 Ma, the Pb became stepwise more radiogenic and more similar to Equatorial Pacific seawater, reflecting the westward shift of spreading to the presently active East Pacific Rise (EPR). A second, previously unrecognized enhanced hydrothermal period occurred between 4.4 and 2.9 Ma, which reflects either off-axis hydrothermal activity in the Bauer Basin or a late-stage pulse of hydrothermal Pb from the then active, but waning Galapagos Rise spreading center.Hafnium isotope time-series of the same mixed hydrogenous-hydrothermal crust show invariant values over the past 7 Myr. Hafnium isotope ratios, as well as Nd isotope ratios obtained for this crust, are identical to that of hydrogenous Equatorial Pacific deep water crusts and clearly indicate that hydrothermal Hf, similar to Nd, does not travel far from submarine vents. Therefore, we suggest that hydrothermal Hf fluxes do not contribute significantly to the global marine Hf budget.     

Linking archival and remotely sensed data for long-term environmental monitoring

The broad objective of this paper is to illustrate how archival, historical and remotely sensed data can be used to complement each other for long-term environmental monitoring. One of the major constraints confronting scientific investigation in the area of long-term environmental monitoring is lack of data at the required temporal and spatial scales. While remotely sensed data have provided dependable change detection databases since 1972, long-term changes such as those associated with typical climate scenarios often require longer time series data. The lack of data in readily accessible and usable formats for periods predating commercial satellite products has for a long time restricted the scope of environmental studies to temporally brief, synoptic overviews covering short time scales, thereby compromising our understanding of complex environmental processes. One way to improve this understanding is by cross-linking different forms of data at different temporal scales. However, most remote sensing based change research has tended to marginalize the utility of archival and historical sources in environmental monitoring. While the accuracy of data from non-instrumental records is often source-specific and varies from place to place, carefully conducted searches can yield useful information that can be effectively used to extend the temporal coverage of projects dependant on time series data. This paper is based on an ongoing project on environmental monitoring in the world's largest Ramsar site, the Okavango Delta, located on the northeastern fringes of Southern Africa's Kalahari–Namib desert in northern Botswana. With a database covering over 150 years between 1849 and 2001, the primary objectives of this paper are to: (1) outline how modern remotely sensed data (i.e., CORONA and Landsat) can be complemented by historical in situ observations (i.e., travellers’ records and archival maps) to extend temporal coverage into the historical past, (2) illustrate that different forms of declassified Cold War intelligence data (i.e., CORONA) can be constructively exploited to further scientific understanding and (3) provide a conceptual framework for collating and disseminating data at regional and international levels through electronic media.     

New strategies to detect life on Mars

If we are to find unequivocal evidence for life on Mars, we will need new ways to search for it. Jeff L Bada and the MOD team describe the innovative strategy developed for the ExoMars mission.     

The Permian-Triassic boundary event: a geochemical study of three Chinese sections

Trace elements were determined in two well-documented Chinese Permian-Triassic (P/Tr) boundary sections (Meishan and Shangsi) and in a new section (Liangfenya). Iridium concentrations range from 3 to 87 pg/g, at or below levels in common sedimentary rocks. The results contrast with previous reports of high Ir concentration in the Meishan and Shangsi sections and offer no support to suggestions of a major meteoroid impact at the end of the Permian. A notable feature in each of these widely separated P/Tr sections (500–1500 km) is the existence of 2–5 light-colored clay layers at and near the boundary. These clay layers are strongly enriched in Cs, Zr, Hf, Ta, and Th and depleted in Cr, Co, and Ir, indicating that they are altered ash, apparently from the same massive silicic volcanic eruptions. We estimate the magnitude of these eruptions to be a few thousand km³ of magma, a volume comparable to the great Toba eruption.