Dewatering of an unvegetated muddy tidal flat during exposure—Desiccation or drainage?

An unvegetated muddy tidal flat was sampled to determine the changes in surface pore water content and salinity during exposure. Local evaporation accounted for 61% of the upper intertidal surface salinity, with evaporation rates increasing salinity as high as 2.2‰ per hour. In contrast, only 37% of the decrease in pore water content was attributed to evaporative processes. This suggests that drainage (a combination of porosity and permeability) controlled the water content rather than local evaporative conditions.     

Strontium in coral aragonite: 1. Characterization of Sr coordination by extended absorption X-ray fine structure

Aragonite was analyzed from Porites lobata, Pavona gigantea, Pavona clavus, and Montastrea annularis corals by Sr K-edge extended absorption X-ray fine structure (EXAFS) and compared with aragonite, strontianite, and mechanically mixed standards. Bulk analyses were performed and data compared with equivalent micro-EXAFS analyses on small (∼400 μm³) analytical volumes with a microfocused X-ray beam. As a result of the architecture of the coral skeleton, the crystals within the microanalytical volume are not randomly oriented, and the microanalytical X-ray absorption spectra show orientational dependence. However, refinement of bulk and microanalytical data provided indistinguishable interatomic distances and thermal vibration parameters in the third shell (indicative of Sr speciation). The Sr K-edge EXAFS of all the coral samples refine, within error, to an ideally substituted Sr in aragonite, in contrast to previous studies, in which significant strontianite was reported. Some samples from that study were also analyzed here. Strontianite may be less widely distributed in corals than previously thought.     

东南极冰盖Lambert冰川流域的物质平衡研究

Lambert冰川流域是南极冰盖最大的冰流系统, 因而在整个南极冰盖的物质平衡中占有非常重要的地位. 近年来穿越该冰川流域的路线考察所获得的现场观测资料和浅冰芯研究结果显示, 该冰川东、西两侧的积累速率分布和近期变化有明显差异: 东侧积累速率较高且近几十年来呈增加趋势, 西侧积累速率较低且过去几十年为明显减小. 冰体运动速度测量和冰流通量计算表明, 该冰川东侧运动速度较快, 冰流量也较大, 说明该冰川冰量补给主要来源于东侧区域. 计算出的考察断面上游物质积累总量大于流出的冰通量约13%, 意味着该流域目前处于物质正平衡状态, 如果保持目前气候状态, 冰盖将会增厚.     

The effects of fire on rock weathering: some further considerations of laboratory experimental simulation

Fire in the natural environment is a widespread agent of geomorphological and biological change. Temperatures can exceed 1000°C. There is often a rapid rise from ambient conditions through a steep thermal gradient, promoting rock disintegration. Laboratory simulation studies have established that temperature changes which are representative of natural fires affect rock material properties, which can then be related to weathering susceptibility. This study extends previous work by more closely replicating the natural environment, (a) through the simulation of rainfall and (b) by encasing samples to reflect the exposure of a single rock face to a passing fire event. Rock samples collected on Cyprus were prepared and tested following previously reported procedures. Change in modulus of elasticity was monitored using a non-destructive ultrasonic method. The data corroborate previous work but with somewhat different degrees of change. The new results are more likely to be representative of natural conditions and real-world change. The rate of rock disintegration and effects such as case-hardening appear to be a function of rock thermal characteristics, material properties and environmental constraints such as diurnal temperature range. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2018年5月28日中国吉林松原M5.7级地震引起的液化构造*

2018年5月28日,吉林松原市宁江区毛都站镇牙木吐村发生M5.7级地震(45°16'12″N,124°42'35″E),震源深度13 km,震中位于郯庐断裂带西北侧的扶余/松原—肇东断裂带、第二松花江断裂带和扶余北断裂带交汇处。地震诱发震中距3 km范围内普遍的液化和地表裂缝,给当地居民带来严重灾害。可见液化构造以砂火山为主,其次为液化砂堆、液化砂脉和液化砂席等。液化砂火山又可分为有火山口型砂火山、无火山口型砂火山和无砂型(水)火山。地震液化伴生软沉积物变形构造有变形层理、负载构造和火焰构造、滑塌褶皱、碟状构造和包卷层理等。地震诱发液化砂火山形成过程包括液化层内超孔隙流体压力形成、上覆低渗透层破裂和水、砂喷出地表后砂涌3个阶段。液化和流化砂体在上涌过程中会注入低渗透黏土层形成各种形态的砂脉、砂席和多种类型的变形构造。垂向上地震液化结构可划分为底部松散可液化层、下部液化变形层、上部液化变形层和地表砂火山4层结构。液化层埋深2~5 m,液化层厚度2 m。松原M5.7级地震发震机制为NE-SW(35°~215°)方向挤压应力使断层活跃,推测扶余/松原—肇东断裂是主要的发震断层。松原地震液化构造研究为现代地震活动区和灾害易发区预测提供依据,为地震引发的现代软沉积物变形构造研究提供丰富的素材,兼具将今论古意义,为揭示本世纪以来郯庐断裂带北段进入了一个强断裂和地震活跃阶段提供了最新的实际资料。     

Modelling facies belt distribution in fan deltas coupling sequence stratigraphy and geostatistics: The Eocene Sant Llorenç del Munt example (Ebro foreland basin,NE Spain)

The Eocene Sant Llorenç del Munt fan-delta complex developed in the Ebro foreland basin. The stratigraphy of this succession, about 1000 m thick, has been described as made up of several transgressive–regressive composite sequences, each composed of a stack of fundamental sequences, in turn made up of a transgressive systems tract and an overlying regressive systems tract. Systems tracts are composed of several facies belts: proximal alluvial fan, distal alluvial fan, fan-delta front, carbonate platform, and fan-delta slope and prodelta.     

The transition zone chlorophyll front, a dynamic global feature defining migration and forage habitat for marine resources

Pelagic ecosystem dynamics on all temporal scales may be driven by the dynamics of very specialized oceanic habitats. One such habitat is the basin-wide chlorophyll front located at the boundary between the low chlorophyll subtropical gyres and the high chlorophyll subarctic gyres. Global satellite maps of surface chlorophyll clearly show this feature in all oceans. In the North Pacific, the front is over 8000 km long and seasonally migrates north and south about 1000 km. In the winter this front is located at about 30–35°N latitude and in the summer at about 40–45°N. It is a zone of surface convergence where cool, vertically mixed, high chlorophyll, surface water on the north side sinks beneath warm, stratified, low chlorophyll water on the south side. Satellite telemetry data on movements of loggerhead turtles and detailed fisheries data for albacore tuna show that both apex predators travel along this front as they migrate across the North Pacific. The front is easily monitored with ocean color satellite remote sensing. A change in the position of the TZCF between 1997 and 1998 appears to have altered the spatial distribution of loggerhead turtles. The position and dynamics of the front varied substantially between the 1998 El Niño and the 1999 La Niña. For example, from May to July 1999 the transition zone chlorophyll front (TZCF) remained between about 35°N and 40°N latitude showing very little meandering, whereas in 1998, during the same period, the TZCF exhibited considerable meandering and greater monthly latitudinal movement. Catch rates for albacore were considerably higher in 1998 than in 1999, and we hypothesize that a meandering TZCF creates regions of convergence, which enhances the foraging habitat for apex predators along the front.