美国西部近8000年来树木年轮重建降雨量序列中的气候突变

1 IntroductionThe U niversity of A rizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research collected tree-ring sam ples from anum ber of long-lived trees, dating back thousands of years, from eight states in the w esternU nited States. H ughes and G raum lich (1996) pres…     

GIS-based analysis of foundation repairs and soil conditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth region,Texas

The Dallas-Fort Worth region is subject to a severe expansive soils hazard, resulting in costly damage to many thousands of residential foundations each year. A GIS is used to examine relationships between a sample of approximately 10,000 foundation repair addresses and geologic and soil conditions. The study results show that foundation repairs are concentrated in areas underlain by bedrock, surficial deposits and soils that promote high shrink–swell potentials. A linear extensibility index, designed as an index of overall shrink–swell potential explains about 48% of the variation in the prevalence of repairs. Repairs are concentrated on soils that underlay many areas of new urban growth in the DFW region, suggesting that the incidence of foundation repairs in these areas will probably increase in the future. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Sulfate transport in a Coastal Plain confining unit, New Jersey, USA

 A transient 1-D, two-pathway non-equilibrium deterministic advective dispersion model was used to examine the distribution of chloride (43–100 mg/L) and sulfate (57–894 mg/L) concentrations in the 35-m-thick section of the Lower confining unit, Atlantic Coastal Plain, New Jersey, USA. The model was used to constrain hypotheses about how pore-water chemistry changed over time. Explanations of the solute concentrations were explored by inverse and direct methods given a few known constraints, including concentrations of pore-water constituents from 12 core samples, reported simulated flow rates, and estimated hydrogeologic properties. The hypothesis that is best supported by the model results is that the distribution of chloride and sulfate concentrations in the confining unit reflect the history of the aquifer system since it was filled with seawater at the last eustatic high, about 84×10³yr BP. The model simulates fresh-water flushing of the seawater-permeated silts at a steady upward pore-water flow velocity of 8.8×10^–6 m/d, with a dispersion coefficient of 9.2×10^–7 m²/d, a dimensionless partition expression for chloride, β_Cl=0.981, and a dimensionless exchange coefficient, ω_Cl=0.31×10^–2. Sulfate concentrations were simulated over the flow path using flow and dispersion values calculated for chloride transport plus a retardation term. Parameters for sulfate transport include retardation coefficient=4.51, β_SO4=0.994, and ω_SO4=0.31×10^–2. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the model is most sensitive to flow velocity, and that fresh-water flushing of the confining unit is best simulated by having seawater concentration levels at the inflow boundary of the confining unit exponentially decrease with a concentration half-life rate of 825 yr. Received, January 1997 / Revised, April 1998, October 1998, January 1999 / Accepted, January 1999     

Local and regional differences in the chemical potential of water in amphibolite facies pelitic schists

Abstract Mineral assemblages in different samples of amphibolite facies pelitic schists collected from two separate outcrops in the Moosilauke area, NH, record differences in the chemical potential of water during metamorphism. Mineralogical, petrological, and field relations indicate that mineral assemblages at both outcrops equilibrated at 520°C and 3.5–4.0 kbar. Thermodynamic analysis of the mineral assemblages demonstrates that maximum chemical potential differences at each outcrop were of the order of 150 calories, over distances of 10–20 m.
The differences in the chemical potential of water recorded in both bed-to-bed and outcrop-to-outcrop relations are consistent with the following conclusions: (1) mineral assemblages on a specific outcrop did not equilibrate with an external reservoir of fluid of fixed composition, (2) the relatively small magnitude of the chemical potential differences suggests little or no infiltration of externally derived fluid, (3) these differences on the outcrop scale are probably related to initial compositional variations and the buffer capacity of the mineral assemblage, and (4) the different values of the chemical potential of water exhibited by the various mineral assemblages permits an understanding of the effects of variable μ_H2O for amphibolite facies pelitic schists.     

Causes of sinks near Tucson, Arizona, USA

 Land subsidence in the form of sinks has occurred on and near farmlands near Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, USA. The sinks occur in alluvial deposits along the flood plain of the Santa Cruz River, and have made farmlands dangerous and unsuitable for farming. More than 1700 sinks are confined to the flood plain of the Santa Cruz River and are grouped along two north-northwestward-trending bands that are approximately parallel to the river and other flood-plain drainages. An estimated 17,000 m³ of sediment have been removed in the formation of the sinks. Thirteen trenches were dug to depths of 4–6 m to characterize near-surface sediments in sink and nonsink areas. Sediments below about 2 m included a large percentage of dispersive clays in sink areas. Sediments in nonsink areas contain a large component of medium- to coarse-grained, moderately to well sorted sand that probably fills a paleochannel. Electromagnetic surveys support the association of silts and clays in sink areas that are highly electrically conductive relative to sand in nonsink areas. Sinks probably are caused by the near-surface process of subsurface erosion of dispersive sediments along pre-existing cracks in predominantly silt and clay sediments. The pre-existing cracks probably result from desiccation or tension that developed during periods of water-table decline and channel incision during the past 100 years or in earlier periods. Submitted, April 1997 · Revised, November 1997 · Accepted, April 1998     

中美航空客运网络层次结构和地域系统对比分析

美国民航1978年彻底市场化以来已经历30多年的发展,航空网络趋于成熟。我国民航也在经历市场化改革,机场属地化完成至今已近10年,运量快速增长、高铁建设等因素正剧烈地影响着网络演变。对比中美两国航空网络有利于判断我国航线网络和机场体系的演变趋势,对于我国民航发展具有借鉴意义。以中国大陆地区和美国本土48个州作为研究区,运用交通地理信息系统和VBA等技术,从绝对联系和首位联系两个角度,对当前中美两国航空客运网络层次结构和地域系统进行分析与对比。研究发现:中国航空客运网络已表现出一定的轴辐体系,但一级枢纽较少、客运压力过大,且航空枢纽重东南、轻中西;美国航空客运网络的轴辐体系已趋向完善,各大枢纽和重要城市之间的内部空间联系非常密切。进而,提出了一些政策性建议,以期对我国航空客运网络未来的空间发展形式和方向提供借鉴。     

Scale and timing of Rare Earth Element redistribution in the Taconian foreland of New England

Clastic sedimentary rocks, deposited on eastern North America in response to the Taconian Orogeny, commonly have Sm/Nd isotope relationships indicating substantial isotope disturbance near or subsequent to the time of sedimentation that may be associated with severe depletion in light rare earth elements (LREE). Affected units [Normanskill Formation (Austin Glen and Pawlet Members), Frankfort Formation and Perry Mountain Formation] are widely separated both geographically (western New York to western Maine) and stratigraphically (Middle Ordovician to Silurian). A model is proposed for the most likely explanation of the observed REE and Sm/Nd isotope relationships involving a two‐stage process. In the first stage, REE are redistributed on a mineralogical scale (dissolution/precipitation on a sample scale) often with the involvement of REE‐enriched trace phases such as apatite and monazite. This stage typically takes place during diagenesis but may also take place later during metamorphism and/or recent weathering, and results in isotope re‐equilibration on a sample scale. The second stage occurs when one or more of these phases is redissolved and REE are transported on large advective scales. Where LREE‐enriched phases are involved, this gives rise to LREE depletion in whole rocks. The timing of this second stage cannot be constrained from Sm/Nd isotope data and may take place at any time subsequent to the isotope re‐equilibration. Such complex histories of REE redistribution may result in serious errors in estimating Nd model ages but not in estimating the Nd isotope composition at the age of sedimentation. Thus, Sm/Nd ratios even of unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks have to be carefully evaluated before the calculation of depleted mantle model ages for the provenance.     

Water quality modeling of the Cahaba River,Alabama

The Cahaba River, a sixth-order stream, tributary to the Mobile-Alabama River, is one of the few free-flowing rivers in Alabama. The Cahaba River lies in north-central Alabama and its watershed includes a variety of land uses from forested and agricultural to urban. Water quantity and quality modeling of the Cahaba River using several modules of the hydrologic simulation program FORTRAN (HSPF) and the nonpoint source model (NPSM) using the GIS-based BASINS package showed good agreement with measured flow data for low- and high-flow years but poor agreement with total nitrogen concentrations in the water column. Disparities between modeling and measured water quality data are attributed to the limited point source data available for nitrogen inputs to the stream and the lack of nitrogen-transformation process modeling with the NPSM. Future simulations should include use of models with detailed nitrogen transformation modules.     

Micro- and macronutrients in the southeastern Bering Sea: Insight into iron-replete and iron-depleted regimes

Surface transects and vertical profiles of macronutrients, dissolved iron (D-Fe), and dissolved manganese (D-Mn) were investigated during August 2003 in the southeastern Bering Sea. We observed iron-limited, HNLC surface waters in the deep basin of the Bering Sea (15-20 μmol/kg nitrate, ∼0.07 nmol/kg D-Fe, and ?1.0 nmol/kg D-Mn); nitrate-limited, iron-replete surface waters over the shelf (<0.1 μmol/kg nitrate, 0.5-4 nmol/kg D-Fe, and 2-33 nmol/kg D-Mn); and high biomass at the shelf break (“Green Belt”), where diatoms appeared to have been stressed by low D-Fe concentrations (<0.3 nmol/kg). Sources of nitrate and iron to the Green Belt were investigated. A mixture of Aleutian North Slope Current water (with elevated, but non-sufficient iron concentrations relative to its high nitrate concentrations) and surface waters from the vicinity of the Bering Canyon (with lower nitrate concentrations, but similar dissolved iron concentrations) was carried along the shelf break by the Bering Slope Current. This water mixture provided macro- and micronutrients at the southern end of the shelf break. The oceanic domain supplied additional macronutrients to Green Belt waters, while the bottom layer of the outer shelf domain supplied additional macro- and micronutrients through enhanced vertical mixing at the shelf break. Surface waters near the Pribilof Islands, where the highest surface D-Fe concentrations were observed (∼5-6 nmol/kg), represent a potential source of additional iron to Green Belt waters. During summer, the subsurface water of the middle shelf domain is a potential source of nitrate to the nitrate depleted waters of the shelf. In this subsurface cool pool, we observed evidence of substantial denitrification with lower than expected nitrate concentrations.     

生态地理区域系统的比较研究

生态地理区域系统通过对代表自然界宏观生态系统的生物和非生物要素地理相关性的比较研究和综合分析,按照自然界的地理地带分异规律,划分或合并而形成不同等级的区域系统。用中国的研究与国外同类研究的比较,可以拓宽这一领域的思路,便于在这一领域与国外的学者使用相似的科学语言进行学术交流,使中国这一领域的研究走向世界。本文从生态地理区域系统的发展过程、等级单位、指标体系与表达方法,区域划分等方面将中国有代表性的生态地理区域系统与国外同类研究进行比较,认为中外的研究有许多共同之处,如目标、研究内容和服务对象与环境、生态、全球变化等联系在一起,其中与美国R. Bailey所划分的美国、北美和全球生态地理区域更为接近,在等级系统、指标体系、表达方式到划分结果有近似之处。地域的差异,指标使用的不同,制图过程和表达方式的差异造成了区域划分的差别,似可以通过野外实地生态类型的辨识来加以修订。