Holocene environments and climate in the Mongolian Altai reconstructed from the Hoton-Nur pollen and diatom records: a step towards better understanding climate dynamics in Central Asia

This study presents the results of the palynological and diatom analyses of the sediment core recovered in Hoton-Nur Lake (48°37′18″N, 88°20′45″E, 2083 m) in 2004. Quantitative reconstruction of the Holocene vegetation and climate dynamics in the semiarid Mongolian Altai suggests that boreal woodland replaced the primarily open landscape of northwestern Mongolia at about 10 kyr BP (1 kyr = 1000 cal yr) in response to a noticeable increase in precipitation from 200–250 mm/yr to 450–550 mm/yr. A decline of the forest vegetation and a return to a predominance of open vegetation types occurred after 5 kyr BP when precipitation sums decreased to 250–300 mm/yr. Prior to 11.5 kyr BP diatom concentrations are relatively low and the lake is dominated by planktonic Cyclotella and small Fragilariaceae, suggesting the existence of a relatively deep and oligotrophic/mesotrophic lake. The great abundance of Staurosirella pinnata from the beginning of the record until 10.7 kyr BP might imply intensified erosion processes in the catchment and this is fully consistent with the presence of scarce and dry vegetation and the generally arid climate during this period. From about 10.7 kyr BP, more planktonic diatom taxa appeared and increased in abundance, indicating that the lake became more productive as diatom concentration increased. This change correlates well with the development of boreal woodland in the catchment. Decrease in precipitation and changes in the vegetation towards steppe are reflected by the rapid increase in Aulacoseira distans from about 5 kyr BP. The Holocene pollen and diatom records do not indicate soil and vegetation cover disturbances by the anthropogenic activities, implying that the main transformations of the regional vegetation occurred as a result of the natural climate change. Our reconstruction is in agreement with the paleomonsoon records from China, demonstrating an abrupt strengthening of the summer monsoon at 12 kyr BP and an associated increase in precipitation and in lake levels between 11 and 8 kyr BP, followed by the stepwise attenuation of the monsoon circulation and climate aridization towards the modern level. The records from the neighboring areas of Kazakhstan and Russia, situated west and north of Hoton-Nur, demonstrate spatially and temporally different Holocene vegetation and climate histories, indicating that the Altai Mountains as a climate boundary are of pivotal importance for the Holocene environmental and, possibly, habitation history of Central Asia.     

Chondritic micrometeorites from the Transantarctic Mountains

Abstract– On the basis of morphological and petrographic characteristics, eight “giant” unmelted micrometeorites in the 300–1100 μm size range were selected from the Transantarctic Mountain micrometeorite collection, Victoria Land, Antarctica. Mineralogical and geochemical data obtained by means of scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalyses, and synchrotron X‐ray diffraction allow their classification as chondritic micrometeorites. The large size of the micrometeorites increases considerably the amount of mineralogical and geochemical information compared to micrometeorites in smaller size fractions, therefore allowing a better definition of their parent material. A large variety of material is observed: five micrometeorites are related to unequilibrated and equilibrated ordinary chondrite, one to CV chondrite, one to CM chondrite, and one to CI chondrite parent materials. Besides reporting the first occurrence of a CV‐like micrometeorite, our study shows that the abundance of chondritic material supports observations from recent studies on cosmic spherules that a large part of the micrometeorite flux in this size range is of asteroidal origin.     

A longer-term perspective on soil moisture,groundwater and stream flow response to the 2018 drought in an experimental catchment in the Scottish Highlands

The drought of summer 2018, which affected much of Northern Europe, resulted in low river flows, biodiversity loss and threats to water supplies. In some regions, like the Scottish Highlands, the summer drought followed two consecutive, anomalously dry, winter periods. Here, we examine how the drought, and its antecedent conditions, affected soil moisture, groundwater storage, and low flows in the Bruntland Burn; a sub-catchment of the Girnock Burn long-term observatory in the Scottish Cairngorm Mountains. Fifty years of rainfall-runoff observations and long-term modelling studies in the Girnock provided unique contextualisation of this extreme event in relation to more usual summer storage dynamics. Whilst summer precipitation in 2018 was only 63% of the long-term mean, soil moisture storage across much of the catchment were less than half of their summer average and seasonal groundwater levels were 0.5 m lower than normal. Hydrometric and isotopic observations showed that ~100 mm of river flows during the summer (May-Sept) were sustained almost entirely by groundwater drainage, representing ~30% of evapotranspiration that occurred over the same period. A key reason that the summer drought was so severe was because the preceding two winters were also dry and failed to adequately replenish catchment soil moisture and groundwater stores. As a result, the drought had the biggest catchment storage deficits for over a decade, and likely since 1975–1976. Despite this, recovery was rapid in autumn/winter 2018, with soil and groundwater stores returning to normal winter values, along with stream flows. The study emphasizes how long-term data from experimental sites are key to understanding the non-linear flux-storage interactions in catchments and the “memory effects” that govern the evolution of, and recovery from, droughts. This is invaluable both in terms of (a) giving insights into hydrological behaviours that will become more common water resource management problems in the future under climate change and (b) providing extreme data to challenge hydrological models.     

Hydrological modelling for assessing spatio-temporal groundwater recharge variations in the water-stressed Amathole Water Supply System,Eastern Cape,South Africa

To increase the resilience of regional water supply systems in South Africa in the face of anticipated climatic changes and a constant increase in water demand, water supply sources require diversification. Many water-stressed metropolitan regions in South Africa depend largely on surface water to cover their water demand. While climatic and river discharge data is widely available in these regions, information on groundwater resources – which could support supply source diversification – is scarce. Groundwater recharge is a key parameter that is used to estimate groundwater amounts that can be sustainably exploited at a sub-watershed level. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a reliable hydrological modelling routine that enables the assessment of regional spatio-temporal variations of groundwater recharge to discern the most promising areas for groundwater development. Accordingly, we present a semi-distributed hydrological modelling approach that incorporates water balance routines coupled with baseflow modelling techniques to yield spatio-temporal variations of groundwater recharge on a regional level. The approach is demonstrated for the actively managed catchment areas of the Amathole Water Supply System situated in a semi-arid part of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. In the investigated study area, annual groundwater recharge exhibits a high spatio-temporal heterogeneity and is estimated to vary between ~0.5% and 8% of annual rainfall. Despite some uncertainties induced by limited data availability, calibration and validation of the model were found to be satisfactory and yielded model results similar to (point) data of annual groundwater recharge reported in earlier studies. Our approach is therefore found to derive crucial information for efficiently targeting more detailed groundwater exploration studies and could work as a blueprint for orientating groundwater potential exploration in similar environments.     

A multi‐storage groundwater concept for the SWAT model to emphasize nonlinear groundwater dynamics in lowland catchments

Hydrological models are useful tools to analyze present and future conditions of water quantity and quality. The integrated modelling of water and nutrients needs an adequate representation of the different discharge components. In common with many lowlands, groundwater contribution to the discharge in the North German lowlands is a key factor for a reasonable representation of the water balance, especially in low flow periods. Several studies revealed that the widely used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model performs poorly for low flow periods. This paper deals with the extension of the groundwater module of the SWAT model to enhance low flow representation. The current two‐storage concept of SWAT was further developed to a three‐storage concept. This was realized due to modification of the groundwater module by splitting the active groundwater storage into a fast and a slow contributing aquifer. The results of this study show that the groundwater module with three storages leads to a good prediction of the overall discharge especially for the recession limbs and the low flow periods. The improved performance is reflected in the signature measures for the mid‐segment (percent bias ?2.4% vs ?15.9%) and the low segment (percent bias 14.8% vs 46.8%) of the flow duration curve. The three‐storage groundwater module is more process oriented than the original version due to the introduction of a fast and a slow groundwater flow component. The three‐storage version includes a modular approach, because groundwater storages can be activated or deactivated independently for subbasin and hydrological response unit level. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene hydrological variability of Lake Ladoga,northwest Russia,as inferred from diatom oxygen isotopes

This article presents a new comprehensive assessment of the Holocene hydrological variability of Lake Ladoga, northwest Russia. The reconstruction is based on oxygen isotopes of lacustrine diatom silica (δ¹⁸O_diatom) preserved in sediment core Co 1309, and is complemented by a diatom assemblage analysis and a survey of modern isotope hydrology. The data indicate that Lake Ladoga has existed as a freshwater reservoir since at least 10.8 cal. ka BP. The δ¹⁸O_diatom values range from +29.8 to +35.0‰, and relatively higher δ¹⁸O_diatom values around +34.7‰ between c. 7.1 and 5.7 cal. ka BP are considered to reflect the Holocene Thermal Maximum. A continuous depletion in δ¹⁸O_diatom since c. 6.1 cal. ka BP accelerates after c. 4 cal. ka BP, indicating Middle to Late Holocene cooling that culminates during the interval 0.8–0.2 cal. ka BP, corresponding to the Little Ice Age. Lake‐level rises result in lower δ¹⁸O_diatom values, whereas lower lake levels cause higher δ¹⁸O_diatom values. The diatom isotope record gives an indication for a rather early opening of the Neva River outflow at c. 4.4–4.0 cal. ka BP. Generally, overall high δ¹⁸O_diatom values around +33.5‰ characterize a persistent evaporative lake system throughout the Holocene. As the Lake Ladoga δ¹⁸O_diatom record is roughly in line with the 60°N summer insolation, a linkage to broader‐scale climate change is likely.     

Foundations of cable car towers upon alpine glaciers

This paper presents a design approach for strip footings upon glacier ice. Safety against ultimate limit state is proved by the geotechnical slip-line field solution by Prandtl. Glacier ice at 0°C can be modelled as purely cohesive material. Statistical evaluation of uniaxial compression tests with high strain rate revealed a mean value of the cohesion of 600 kPa and a characteristic value c _k = 355 kPa (5% fractile). With a coefficient of variation V _c = 0.3, the partial safety factor turns out to be γ _c = 1.9. An approximate solution for estimating the creep settlement rate is presented to check the serviceability limit state: with the width b of the strip foundation, p the foundation pressure and for ice at 0°C. Experiences on Stubai glacier with grate shaped footings showed that creep settlements occurring per year due to maximum foundation pressures 250 kPa did not influence the operation and the maintenance of the cable cars.     

Himalayan inverted metamorphism constrained by oxygen isotope thermometry

Inverted metamorphic field gradients are preserved in two amphibolite facies metapelitic sequences forming the crystalline core zone of the Himalayan orogen in the Sutlej valley (NW India). In the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (HHCS), metamorphic conditions increase upwards from the staurolite zone at the base, through the kyanite-in and sillimanite-in isograds, finally to reach partial melting conditions at the top. The structurally lower Lesser Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (LHCS) shows a gradual superposition of garnet-in, staurolite-in and kyanite + sillimanite-in isograds. Although phase equilibria constraints imply inverted temperature field gradients in both units, garnet-biotite (GARB) rim thermometry indicates final equilibration at a nearly uniform temperature around T ≈ 600 °C across these sequences. The P-T path and garnet zoning data show that this apparent lack of thermal field gradient is mainly the consequence of a resetting of the GARB equilibria during cooling. In order to constrain peak temperature conditions, 20 samples along the studied section have been analysed for oxygen isotope thermometry. The isotopic fractionations recorded by quartz-garnet and quartz-aluminosilicate mineral pairs indicate temperatures consistent with phase equilibria and P-T path constraints for metamorphic peak conditions. Together with barometry results, based on net transfer continuous reactions, the oxygen isotope thermometry indicates peak conditions characterized by: (1) a temperature increase from T ≈ 570 to 750 °C at a nearly constant pressure around P ≈ 800 MPa, from the base to the top of the HHCS unit; (2) a temperature increase from T ≈ 610 to 700 °C and a pressure decrease from P ≈ 900 to 700 MPa, from the base to the top of the LHCS metapelites. Oxygen isotope thermometry thus provides the first quantitative data demonstrating that the Himalayan inverted metamorphism can be associated with a complete inversion of the thermal field gradient across the crystalline core zone of this orogen. Received: 1 April 1999 / Accepted: 12 July 1999