δ18O and δ13C in fossil shells of Radix sp. from the sediment succession of a dammed palaeo‐lake in the Yarlung Tsangpo valley,Tibet, China

A series of confirmed and suspected dammed palaeo‐lake sedimentary successions is scattered within the middle Yarlung Tsangpo valley in Tibet. However, the chronology, the genesis of the dam and its location, the water level of the dammed lake, the process of dam failure and the spatiotemporal relationships between the sedimentary successions remain controversial. Here, we focus on one sedimentary succession of the suspected dammed palaeo‐lake at Xigazê. We measured the grain‐size distribution, magnetic susceptibility, organic and inorganic carbon content, and δ¹³C_org and δ¹⁵N_total ratios of the sediments. In addition, we measured the δ¹⁸O_shell and δ¹³C_shell values of modern and fossil Radix sp. shells, and the δ¹⁸O_water and δ¹³C_DIC values of the ambient water with different hydrological regimes. The results indicate that the δ¹⁸O_shell values of modern Radix sp. and the δ¹⁸O_water of the ambient water body significantly depend on its hydrological status. In addition, a strong positive relationship was observed between δ¹⁸O_shell values of modern Radix sp. shells and the δ¹⁸O_water of the ambient water on the Tibetan Plateau. According to this correlation, the δ¹⁸O_water values of the palaeo‐water body are reconstructed using the δ¹⁸O_shell values of Radix sp. fossil shells in the Xigazê section. Further, based on the δ¹⁸O_shell values of fossil Radix sp., the reconstructed δ¹⁸O_water of the palaeo‐water body and the specific habitats of Radix sp., we infer that the sedimentary succession in the Xigazê broad valley was mainly formed within the backwater terminal zone of a dammed palaeo‐lake and that the elevation of the water level of the lake was approximately 3811 m a.s.l. AMS ¹⁴C dating indicates that the deposits of the dammed palaeo‐lake were formed at about 33–22 cal. ka BP. Finally, the presence of Radix sp. fossil shells within the Xigazê section suggests that Radix sp. survived the late Last Glacial Period on the Tibetan Plateau.     

Dating megafaunal extinction on the Pleistocene Darling Downs,eastern Australia: the promise and pitfalls of dating as a test of extinction hypotheses

A key to understanding Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinction dynamics is knowledge of megafaunal ecological response(s) to long-term environmental perturbations. Strategically, that requires targeting fossil deposits that accumulated during glacial and interglacial intervals both before and after human arrival, with subsequent palaeoecological models underpinned by robust and reliable chronologies. Late Pleistocene vertebrate fossil localities from the Darling Downs, eastern Australia, provide stratigraphically-intact, abundant megafaunal sequences, which allows for testing of anthropogenic versus climate change megafauna extinction hypotheses. Each stratigraphic unit at site QML796, Kings Creek Catchment, was previously shown to have had similar sampling potential, and the basal units contain both small-sized taxa (e.g., land snails, frogs, bandicoots, rodents) and megafauna. Importantly, sequential faunal horizons show stepwise decrease in taxonomic diversity with the loss of some, but not all, megafauna in the geographically-small palaeocatchment. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of our intensive, multidisciplinary dating study of the deposits (>40 dates). Dating by means of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C (targeting bone, freshwater molluscs, and charcoal) and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry U/Th (targeting teeth and freshwater molluscs) do not agree with each other and, in the case of AMS ¹⁴C dating, lack internal consistency. Scanning electron microscopy and rare earth element analyses demonstrate that the dated molluscs are diagenetically altered and contain aragonite cements that incorporated secondary young C, suggesting that such dates should be regarded as minimum ages. AMS ¹⁴C dated charcoals provide ages that occur out of stratigraphic order, and cluster in the upper chronological limits of the technique (～40–48 ka). Again, we suggest that such results should be regarded as suspicious and only minimum ages. Subsequent OSL and U/Th (teeth) dating provide complimentary results and demonstrate that the faunal sequences actually span ～120–83 ka, thus occurring beyond the AMS ¹⁴C dating window. Importantly, the dates suggest that the local decline in biological diversity was initiated ～75,000 years before the colonisation of humans on the continent. Collectively, the data are most parsimoniously consistent with a pre-human climate change model for local habitat change and megafauna extinction, but not with a nearly simultaneous extinction of megafauna as required by the human-induced blitzkrieg extinction hypothesis. This study demonstrates the problems inherent in dating deposits that lie near the chronological limits of the radiocarbon dating technique, and highlights the need to cross-check previously-dated archaeological and megafauna deposits within the timeframe of earliest human colonisation and latest megafaunal survival.     

Lateral extrusion along the Altyn Tagh Fault,Qilian Shan (NE Tibet): insight from a 3D crustal budget

The lithospheric strike‐slip Altyn Tagh Fault has accommodated hundreds of kilometres of displacement between the Qaidam and Tarim blocks since its Eocene reactivation. However, the way the deformation is accommodated in the Qilian Shan and further east remains uncertain. Based on 360 km of north‐eastward migration of the relatively rigid Qaidam block along the Altyn Tagh Fault and 3D isovolumetric balancing of the crustal deformation within the Altyn Tagh Fault–Qilian Shan system, we demonstrate that 250 ± 28 km (43.8–49.4%) of N20E directed crustal shortening and an additional ~250–370 km of eastward motion of the Qilian Shan crust must be accounted for by strike‐slip faulting in the Qilian Shan and crustal thickening in the Qinling area, as well as by extension in the adjoining North China block graben systems.     

Energy partitioning over a semi‐arid shrubland in northern China

During the last decade, the widely distributed shrublands in northern China have shown significant signs of recovery from desertification, the result of widespread conservation practices. However, to support the current efforts in conservation, more knowledge is needed on surface energy partitioning and its biophysical controls. Using eddy‐covariance measurements made over a semi‐arid shrubland in northwest China in 2012, we examined how surface energy‐balance components vary on diurnal and seasonal scales, and how biophysical factors control bulk surface parameters and energy exchange. Sensible heat flux (H) exceeded latent heat flux (λE) during most of the year, resulting in an annual Bowen ratio (β, i.e. H/λE) of 2.0. λE exceeded H only in mid‐summer when frequent rainfall co‐occurred with the seasonal peak in leaf area index (LAI). Evapotranspiration reached a daily maximum of 3.3 mm day^?1, and summed to 283 mm yr^?1. The evaporative fraction (EF, i.e. λE/R_n), Priestley–Taylor coefficient (α), surface conductance (g_s) and decoupling coefficient (Ω) were all positively correlated with soil water content (SWC) and LAI. The direct enhancement of λE by high vapour pressure deficit (VPD) was buffered by a concurrent suppression of g_s. The g_s played a direct role in controlling EF and α by mediating the effects of LAI, SWC and VPD. Our results highlight the importance of adaptive plant responses to water scarcity in regulating ecosystem energy partitioning, and suggest an important role for revegetation in the reversal of desertification in semi‐arid areas. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shallow sediment deformation styles in north-western Campeche Knolls,Gulf of Mexico and their controls on the occurrence of hydrocarbon seepage

During German R/V Meteor M67/2 expedition to Campeche Knolls, southern Gulf of Mexico, a set of 2D high resolution seismic data was acquired to study the near-surface sediment structure and its relationship with hydrocarbon seepages in this salt province. The comprehensive survey covered 20 individual bathymetric highs or ridges and identified three principle structural types: Passive Type, Chaopopte Type, and Asymmetric Flap Type. The first type is the result of passive diapirism, whereas the latter two were initialized by a regional compressional event in the Miocene, but are later differently modified by salt tectonism. Chapopote Type structures appear as symmetrical domes, with uplifted coarse-grained Miocene sediments in their cores and rather thin syn-kinematic sediments covering the crests. Asymmetric Flap Type structures are also first folded as domes or ridges, but one flap later subsided together with salt evacuation, resulting in single uplifted monoclines. With the coarse-grained pre-kinematic sediments as reservoir units, both structural types can focus and accumulate hydrocarbons. The geometries of the structures suggest that hydrocarbons are accumulated in the center of the Chapopote Type structures and in the subsided flaps of the Asymmetric Flap Type structures. Hydrocarbon leakage from these thinly sealed reservoirs is regarded as the principle mechanism for the seepage in the study area, and accordingly the most seepage-prone positions are above these reservoirs. The seep locations suggested by analysis of sea-surface oil slick images of SAR satellite data are also examined in this study. These independently derived seep locations confirm the seepage-prone positions to be above the shallow buried reservoirs. This study suggest that the shallow sediment structures control the distribution of the hydrocarbon seeps of the north-western Campeche Knolls, although the hydrocarbons are sourced from the greater depth.     

L1范数与IQR统计量组合的GNSS坐标序列粗差探测算法

GNSS坐标时间序列中不可避免地含有粗差,未剔除的粗差将会导致参数估计有偏。因此,粗差探测与剔除是GNSS坐标序列分析中一项重要的数据预处理工作。针对GNSS坐标时间序列特点,提出了一种将L1范数(L1-norm)估计与四分位距统计量IQR(interquartile range)组合的移动开窗粗差探测算法,称之为L1_Mod IQR。该方法的主要思想是,首先利用L1范数估计得到较"真实"的残差,然后再对残差采用IQR统计量进行粗差探测。将L1_Mod IQR法与"3σ"法、基于最小二乘的τ检验法等粗差探测算法进行了模拟计算与对比,验证了该算法的有效性。进一步采用L1_Mod IQR算法对中国区域10个IGS站的高程时间序列进行了分析,结果表明中国区域IGS站高程序列的粗差剔除率最小为0.1%,最大为2.6%。并且以WUHN站为例与SOPAC提供的结果进行了对比,结果表明SOPAC提供的"Clean"数据仍含有大量的粗差,而L1_Mod IQR算法能够有效地剔除粗差。     

面向WebGL的矢量数据三维绘制技术

矢量数据的叠加显示能够提高三维虚拟地球的表达效果与分析能力。受限于GPU的计算精度,在三维虚拟地球中矢量数据绘制普遍存在抖动现象和深度冲突现象。对基于WebGL的矢量数据三维绘制中计算精度问题进行了分析,提出了使用CPU RTC技术和GPU RTE技术提高顶点变换的精度,使用多视锥渲染算法和深度平面技术解决深度缓存精度问题。实验证明,这几种技术和算法可以有效缓解抖动现象和深度冲突现象导致的视觉干扰,改善了各种尺度和范围的矢量数据在三维地形上的叠加显示效果。