(U‐Th)/He zircon dating of Chesapeake Bay distal impact ejecta from ODP site 1073

Single crystal (U‐Th)/He dating has been undertaken on 21 detrital zircon grains extracted from a core sample from Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) site 1073, which is located ~390 km northeast of the center of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure. Optical and electron imaging in combination with energy dispersive X‐ray microanalysis (EDS) of zircon grains from this late Eocene sediment shows clear evidence of shock metamorphism in some zircon grains, which suggests that these shocked zircon crystals are distal ejecta from the formation of the ~40 km diameter Chesapeake Bay impact structure. (U‐Th/He) dates for zircon crystals from this sediment range from 33.49 ± 0.94 to 305.1 ± 8.6 Ma (2σ), implying crystal‐to‐crystal variability in the degree of impact‐related resetting of (U‐Th)/He systematics and a range of different possible sources. The two youngest zircon grains yield an inverse‐variance weighted mean (U‐Th)/He age of 33.99 ± 0.71 Ma (2σ uncertainties n = 2; mean square weighted deviation = 2.6; probability [P] = 11%), which is interpreted to be the (U‐Th)/He age of formation of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure. This age is in agreement with K/Ar, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar, and fission track dates for tektites from the North American strewn field, which have been interpreted as associated with the Chesapeake Bay impact event.     

MEASURING AND MODELLING OF SOIL WATER DYNAMICS AND RUNOFF GENERATION IN AN AGRICULTURAL LOESSIAL HILLSLOPE

Surface runoff may be generated when the rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity, or when the soil profile is saturated with water. Indications exist that both types of overland flow may occur in hilly agricultural loess regions. Here, for a loessial hillslope under maize in the southern part of The Netherlands, it was shown, with pressure head and runoff measurements, that Hortonian overland flow occurs during typical summer rain events. Surface runoff was initiated after saturation of the top 5–10 cm of the soil. Deeper in the soil, unsaturated conditions prevailed while runoff took place. Peak runoff discharges at the outlet of the subcatchment occurred a few minutes after peak rainfall intensities were measured. It appeared that SWMS_2D, a two-dimensional water flow model, was capable in simulating observed pressure head changes and runoff. Simulated potential runoff for the transect studied was higher by a magnitude of three than the measured areal average. This indicates effects of surface ponding, and the probable location of this particular transect in a region with high runoff production.     

阿尔金断裂带对青藏高原北部生长、隆升的制约

大量的同位素年代学证据表明(古)阿尔金断裂带可能形成于三叠纪,后又经历了侏罗纪、白垩纪的强烈左旋走滑活动,自印度板块与欧亚大陆碰撞后阿尔金断裂再次活动。主要的走滑活动发生在:(1)245~220Ma;(2)180~140Ma;(3)120~100Ma;(4)90~80Ma;(5)60~45Ma;(6)渐新世至中新世;(7)上新世至更新世以及(8)全新世。沿阿尔金断裂带,伴随左旋走滑活动形成一系列的逆冲断裂和正断裂,反映走滑过程中伴随隆升作用的存在,并且形成自北向南包括祁连山、大雪山、党河南山、柴北缘山、祁漫塔格山和昆仑山,表明阿尔金断裂带制约着青藏高原北部的生长和隆升。阿尔金断裂带东、西两端的白垩纪和新生代火山活动是断裂走滑活动的响应。     

KALMOD,a stochastic-deterministic model for simulating groundwater flow with Kalman filtering

Abstract

This paper presents the program KALMOD which has been developed to enable the execution of the integration of the Kalman filtering and the numerical groundwater flow model MODFLOW on microcomputers. The program can be applied to quantify and reduce the uncertainty of the groundwater flow model, and to analyse and design groundwater monitoring networks. KALMOD consists of a preprocessor, a processor and a postprocessor. The preprocessor acts as an interface between the user and the processor. The processor manipulates the measurement processes and carries out the filtering tasks. The filtering algorithm is implemented so that it is relatively efficient with respect to computer memory and execution time. The postprocessor was designed to present the model results in graphics. The program is suitable for small scale problems and for educational purposes.     

The Late-Glacial infill of three lake successions in The Netherlands: Regional vegetational history in relation to NW European vegetational developments

Pollen analyses of three Late Weichselian Late-Glacial lake sediment successions provided a basis for the construction of pollen assemblage zones for The Netherlands. Special attention is paid to the behaviours of Populus in the Alleröd boreal forest. Some aspects of the autecology of Juniperus and Hippohaë and the dynamics of birch and pine forests are discussed in the light of the observed succession. The Late-Glacial vegetational succession in The Netherlands is compared with data published for neighbouring NW European countries. It is concluded that differences in precipitation (snow cover) along a west-east transect to a great extent determined the inferred differences in vegetational development.     

GENERALISATION ET OPTIMALISATION DE LA METHODE DES DIFFERENCES FINIES POUR LA MODELISATION EN MAGNETO-TELLURIQUE (MT)*

After a brief discussion of MT modeling methods, we expose a particular application of finite elements that may be assimilated to a finite-difference method. The resulting linear equations obtained are similar to the transmission network equations for two-dimensional media. The introduction of resistivity discontinuities is more rigorous than in the usual finite-difference development. The consequence is an improved accuracy. We also present some conclusions about various problems encountered in modeling, such as the choice of network boundary conditions, linear system resolution and the final derivation of apparent resistivity. Application of successive over-relaxation is discussed and we detail rules for mesh design that control result accuracy and iterative convergence.     

U-series Isotope Data on Lau Basin Glasses: the Role of Subduction-related Fluids during Melt Generation in Back-arc Basins

New thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-series disequilibriumdata are presented for 24 basaltic to dacitic glasses from activespreading centres in the back-arc Lau Basin (SW Pacific), togetherwith additional inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometrytrace element analyses and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data.Valu Fa Ridge samples, adjacent to the arc front, have highU/Th and (²³⁰Th/²³⁸U) <1, implying a recent (<<350ka) addition of a U-rich slab-derived fluid. The Valu Fa datacan be combined with existing ²³⁰Th–²³⁸U data for theCentral Tonga arc to infer a fluid addition event at