New evidence for extreme and persistent terminal medieval drought in California’s Sierra Nevada

The level of Cliff Lake, a small, subalpine, moraine-dammed lake in California’s south central Sierra Nevada, was approximately 5 m lower than present for 50 years or more approximately 600 years ago, this determined by radiocarbon dating of wood recovered from a submerged tree stump found in the lake. This finding corresponds to commensurate data from throughout much of western North America, suggesting the duration and magnitude of terminal medieval megadrought was similar throughout the region. Ultimately this datum helps give credence to the perspective that though late Holocene climate in California was indeed variable, the effects of terminal Medieval megadrought was similar across both time and broad geographic expanse.     

The Sustainable Global Energy Economy: Hydrogen or Silicon?

A sustainable global silicon energy economy is proposed as a potential alternative to the hydrogen economy. This first visualization of a silicon energy economy is based on large-scale and carbon-neutral metallic silicon production from major smelters in North Africa and elsewhere, supplied by desert silica sand and electricity from extensive solar generating systems. The resulting “fuel silicon” is shipped around the world to emission-free silicon power stations for either immediate electricity generation or stockpiling. The high energy density of silicon and its stable storage make it an ideal material for maintaining national economic functioning through security of base load power supply from a renewable source. This contrasts with the present situation of fossil fuel usage with its associated global warming and geopolitical supply uncertainties. Critical technological requirements for the silicon economy are carbon-neutral silicon production and the development of efficient silicon-fired power stations capable of high-temperature rapid oxidation of fuel silicon. A call is made for the development of research effort into these specific engineering issues, and also with respect to large-scale economical solar power generation.     

基于3S技术和USLE的深圳市茜坑水库流域土壤侵蚀强度预测研究

基于RS、GPS和GIS(3S技术)的集成提出了USLE 6大因子的算法,在建立的专题地理信息数据库基础上,运用USLE对深圳市茜坑水库流域的土壤侵蚀强度进行预测和估算.结果表明:整个流域90.5%的区域土壤流失强度为中度以下,强度侵蚀以上的区域虽然仅占整个流域面积的9.5%,但是年土壤侵蚀量达到了整个流域土壤侵蚀量的49.4%.流域土壤侵蚀强度和植被覆盖情况明显相关,茜坑水库流域的东北山区部分是整个流域的严重侵蚀区.研究证明:在3S技术集成支持下,采用USLE对流域的土壤流失强度进行预测和估算的方法具有直观、方便、快捷的优点,成果能充分满足小流域水土保持工作的需要.     

Elemental (C,N, H and P) and stable isotope (δ<Superscript>15</Superscript>N and δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C) signatures in sediments from Zeekoevlei,South Africa: a record of human intervention in the lake

We used elemental carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and hydrogen ratios (C/N, N/P and H/C) with total organic carbon (TOC) and total phosphorus (TP) as well as stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) to investigate the source and depositional conditions of organic matter in sediments from Zeekoevlei, the largest freshwater lake in South Africa. Typical C/N (10–12), H/C ratios (≥1.7) and δ¹³C_organic values (−22 to −19‰) together with the increase in TOC concentration indicate elevated primary productivity in lower middle (18–22 cm) and top (0–8 cm) sections of the sediment cores. Seepage of nutrients from a nearby waste water treatment plant, rapid urbanization and heavily fertilized farming in the catchments are responsible for the increased productivity. Consistent with this, measured δ¹⁵N_organic values (∼11‰) indicate increased raw sewage input towards the top-section of the core. Although cyanobacterial blooms are evident from the low δ¹⁵N values (∼3‰) in mid-section of the core, they did not outnumber the phytoplankton population. Low N/P ratio (∼0) and high TP (100–2,200 mg l⁻¹) support cyanobacterial growth under N limited condition, and insignificant input of macrophytes towards the organic matter pool. Dredging in 1983, caused sub-aerial exposure of the suspended and surface sediments, and affected organic matter preservation in the upper mid-section (12–14 cm) of the core.     

A sedimentary record of the rise and fall of the metal industry in Bergslagen,south central Sweden

Detailed stratigraphic analyses of sediments deposited in Lake Botjärnen, a small boreal forest lake in the shield terrain of central Sweden, clearly reflect progressively increasing human impact on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems following settlement and establishment of an iron industry in the 17th century. Rising frequencies of pollen and spores from light-demanding plants provide evidence of extensive forest clearance for charcoal and timber production, which peaked in the early 20th century. An associated increase in catchment erosion is reflected by changing carbon and nitrogen elemental content and carbon–isotope composition of sediment organic matter and by increased magnetic susceptibility of the sediments. Records of air-borne pollutants (lead, zinc and sulphur) can be correlated to the development of local and regional mining and metal industry as inferred from historical accounts. Rapid recession of the iron industry led to re-forestation and recovery of the aquatic nutrient status to pre-industrial conditions over the past 100 years. The chronology of the sediment succession, which is based on ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs radionuclide data in combination with radiocarbon dating, is confirmed by historical lead pollution trends established for the region.     

Progress in isotope paleohydrology using lake sediment cellulose

Recent advances in sample preparation techniques and mass spectrometry have fostered more routine oxygen isotope analysis of aquatic cellulose in lake sediment cores, a proxy for lake water oxygen isotope history. These methodological developments have significantly increased the feasibility of incorporating this approach into high-resolution, multi-site, and multi-proxy studies, which are frequently necessary to answer complex hydrological, hydroecological and hydroclimatic questions requiring a paleoenvironmental perspective. Direct translation of lake sediment aquatic cellulose oxygen isotope composition into lake water oxygen isotope composition offers appreciable opportunity for quantitative paleohydrological reconstructions, as evidenced by studies conducted over the past 15 years that span Holocene and pre-historical timescales.     

Late Quaternary paleoenvironments of an ephemeral wetland in North Dakota,USA: relative interactions of ground-water hydrology and climate change

This study of fossils (pollen, plant macrofossils, stomata and fish) and sediments (lithostratigraphy and geochemistry) from the Wendel site in North Dakota, USA, emphasizes the importance of considering ground-water hydrology when deciphering paleoclimate signals from lakes in postglacial landscapes. The Wendel site was a paleolake from about 11,500 ¹⁴C yr BP to 11,100 ¹⁴C yr BP. Afterwards, the lake-level lowered until it became a prairie marsh by 9,300 ¹⁴C yr BP and finally, at 8,500 ¹⁴C yr BP, an ephemeral wetland as it is today. Meanwhile, the vegetation changed from a white spruce parkland (11,500 to 10,500 ¹⁴C yr BP) to deciduous parkland, followed by grassland at 9,300 ¹⁴C yr BP. The pattern and timing of these aquatic and terrestrial changes are similar to coeval kettle lake records from adjacent uplands, providing a regional aridity signal. However, two local sources of ground water were identified from the fossil and geochemical data, which mediated atmospheric inputs to the Wendel basin. First, the paleolake received water from the melting of stagnant ice buried under local till for about 900 years after glacier recession. Later, Holocene droughts probably caused the lower-elevation Wendel site to capture the ground water of up-gradient lakes.     

Spatial Analysis Techniques as Successful Mineral-Potential Mapping Tools for Orogenic Gold Deposits in the Northern Fennoscandian Shield,Finland

Geoscientific Information Systems (GIS) provide tools to quantitatively analyze and integrate spatially referenced information from geological, geophysical, and geochemical surveys for decision-making processes. Excellent coverage of well-documented, precise and good quality data enables testing of variable exploration models in an efficient and cost effective way with GIS tools. Digital geoscientific data from the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) are being used widely as spatial evidence in exploration targeting, that is ranking areas based on their exploration importance. In the last few years, spatial analysis techniques including weights-of-evidence, logistic regression, and fuzzy logic, have been increasingly used in GTK’s mineral exploration and geological mapping projects. Special emphasis has been put into the exploration for gold because of the excellent data coverage within the prospective volcanic belts and because of the increased activity in gold exploration in Finland during recent years. In this paper, we describe some successful case histories of using the weights-of-evidence method for the Au-potential mapping. These projects have shown that, by using spatial modeling techniques, exploration targets can be generated by quantitatively analyzing extensive amounts of data from various sources and to rank these target areas based on their exploration potential.     

地理过程的时间性 ——关于地理教学中"点、线、面"问题的再认识

地理过程是地理学的重要概念,它是塑造地理景观格局的重要机制。作为地理过程的重要特征,时间性是厘清地理过程概念、把握地理过程走向的关键。地理过程的时间性包括作为某一地理过程在特定时间存在的特定状态的时间截面,由多个时间截面联结而成的时间脉络,以及在同一时间截面上由不同地理过程相互交织而成的时间叠置等三个方面。认识地理过程的时间性,是地理综合思维动态发展必不可少的内容。     

1990-2019年贡嘎山地区典型冰川表碛覆盖变化及其空间差异

表碛覆盖型冰川是中国西部较为常见的冰川类型。表碛层存在于大气—冰川冰界面,强烈影响大气圈与冰冻圈之间的热交换。表碛厚度的空间异质性可极大地改变冰川的消融率和物质平衡过程,进而影响冰川径流过程和下游水资源。基于Landsat TM/TIRS数据,运用能量平衡方程反演了贡嘎山地区冰川表碛厚度,研究了贡嘎山地区冰川在1990—2019年间表碛覆盖范围及厚度变化情况,同时对比了东西坡差异。结果表明：① 贡嘎山地区冰川表碛扩张总面积达43.824 km²。其中,海螺沟冰川扩张2.606 km²、磨子沟冰川1.959 km²、燕子沟冰川1.243 km²、大贡巴冰川0.896 km²、小贡巴冰川0.509 km²、南门关沟冰川2.264 km²,年均扩张率分别为3.2%、11.1%、1.5%、0.9%、1.0%和6.5%;② 海螺沟冰川、磨子沟冰川、燕子沟冰川、大贡巴冰川、小贡巴冰川、南门关沟冰川表碛平均增厚分别为5.2 cm、3.1 cm、3.7 cm、6.8 cm、7.3 cm和13.1 cm;③ 西坡冰川表碛覆盖度高,表碛覆盖年均扩张率低,冰川末端退缩量小;东坡冰川表碛覆盖年均扩张率高,但表碛覆盖度总体低于西坡,冰川末端退缩量大。