Late Devensian and Holocene landscape change in the uplands of the Isle of Man

The Late Glacial and Holocene geomorphology of the Manx uplands has received scant attention in previous researches. Solifluction deposits and terraces provide the earliest evidence for geomorphic activity after deglaciation. Fluvial incision into drift-choked valleys is correlated with the formation of the large mountain front alluvial fans that flank the Manx uplands. Formation of these alluvial fans is constrained to 15,000–10,500 cal. years BP by ¹⁴C dates on organic deposits beneath and above the alluvial fan gravels. Alluvial fan and river terraces along four valleys postdate this incision. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and ¹⁴C dating provide a tentative chronology for these landforms. The higher terraces are Late Glacial fluvial surfaces that were probably occupied by rivers into the Holocene. Incision during the Late Holocene led to the abandonment of the higher surfaces, producing a suite of younger river terraces and alluvial fan surfaces. Independent dating constrains this fluvial activity to post-Bronze Age (3500–2800 cal. years BP). Increased human activity and climatic change during the Late Holocene are possible causes for this increased geomorphic activity.     

松花江哈尔滨段河床冲积物与沙尘天气关系的讨论

笔者重点分析了哈尔滨河床冲积物的粒度组成,结合沙尘沉降物的粒度组成,论述了裸露河床冲积物对沙尘天气的影响。河床冲积物及沙尘沉降物粒度分析结果显示,裸露河床冲积物粒径大于63μm的颗粒占84%以上,而小于63μm粒径的颗粒很少,小于10μm的颗粒微乎其微;沙尘沉降物中小于63μm的粉粘颗粒含量在90%以上。对河床冲积物而言,无论是砂级别的粗颗粒物质还是粉粘级别的细颗粒物质都与沙尘沉降物的粒度无相关性,对沙尘暴物质组成没有影响或影响很小。受砂级别的粗颗粒物质扬起高度和搬运距离的限制,沙尘暴发生时,裸露河床中的冲积物颗粒不会被远距离搬运而影响到整个哈尔滨地区,真正影响整个哈尔滨地区的沙尘物质是小于63μm的粉砂级别的颗粒,特别是小于10μm的粉尘。笔者认为对哈尔滨沙尘天气产生重大影响的是含有大量细颗粒物质的城市地表土和建筑土等,这些地域是防止沙尘天气的重点治理区域。     

MOISTURE STRESS,MID-TROPOSPHERIC PRESSURE PATTERNS,AND THE FOREST/GRASSLAND TRANSITION IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL STATES

The climatic causes of the major forest/grassland ecotone in the south central United States (Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas) are still poorly understood. Grassland and forest vegetation types differ markedly in their ability to withstand water stress induced by vapor pressure deficit (VPD), the difference between saturation vapor pressure and actual vapor pressure in the atmosphere. VPD is an airmass characteristic induced by ambient temperatures higher than dewpoint temperature. Mean summer airmass movement is from the Gulf of Mexico onto the continent in the central states area, but mean VPD displays a strong gradient approximately parallel to the ecotone. A subset of days having the strongest VPD gradients across the ecotone also had a 500 mb pressure height pattern identical to the long-term mean (modal) pattern. This 500 mb pattern, with a ridge over the Rocky Mountains and a trough over the Great Lakes, induces subsidence, stability, warming, and high VPD in Great Plains airmasses. Farther east, away from the zone of maximum subsidence, VPD is much lower. The grassland region coincides with the area of highest VPD. Because of the importance of the daily configuration of mid-tropospheric windflow patterns in controlling the distribution of VPD, moisture, and precipitation, more frequent occurrence of the modal 500 mb pattern is one mechanism for the occurrence of drought.     

灌淤土壤可溶性盐分空间变异性与棉花生长关系研究

运用地统计学方法，在灌淤土壤上进行了棉田土壤可溶性盐分的空间变异规律与棉花生长关系系统研究。传统统计学分析表明土壤盐分测试数据基本符合正态分布；在一定取样间距下，土壤可溶性盐分的田间合理取样数目为27。半方差分析显示：土壤可溶性盐分具中等的水平变异性，但随着聚样深度的增加未表现出明显的垂直变异特性；随着棉花的生长发育，土壤可溶性盐分呈现出逐渐减弱的时间变异规律，采用直线或曲线拟合方程估计了可溶性盐分的半方差图及其参数，并绘制了其相应的等值线图。土壤可溶性盐分与棉花产量之间的相关分析表明：可溶性盐分含量与棉花产量之间呈显著负相关关系，且花铃期的相关性较播前显著。研究结果为提高田间试验有效性以及盐渍化土壤改良提供了科学依据与基础资料。     

玛纳斯河山麓冲积扇演变遥感研究

基于地质过程,特别是沉积地质过程的理论和方法,通过对航空相片和遥感影像的解译,结合野外考察和地貌与沉积物分析,研究玛纳斯河山麓冲积扇的演变过程,并对其形成和演变原因进行探讨。晚第四纪以来,玛纳斯河山麓冲积扇从第二排山麓到下游冲积平原,可划分为四期规模较大和三期规模较小的冲积扇;玛纳斯河山麓冲积扇的形成演变受气候、构造或气候—构造耦合作用的共同影响,具有多成因性和多层次性。     

南极洲泥盆系概况及其与中国泥盆系之比较

南极洲的泥盆系主要分布于横贯南极山脉的麦克默多和俄亥俄岭－埃尔斯沃思山等两个沉积盆地中。前一个盆地的泥盆系代表从海岸泻湖－河流三角洲到近岸冲积平原的层序；后一个盆地的彭萨科拉山的泥盆系较厚，从非海相冲积扇－冲积平原－浅海相，最后又恢复到非海相沉积环境，但在俄亥俄岭却沉积了厚度不大的浅海相地层，含Ｍａｌｖｉｎｏｋａｆｒｉｃ生物地理大区的海相双壳类、腹足类、三叶虫、竹节石和鱼类等化石。除了上述两个沉积盆地外，在罗斯海两边却出露了火山岩，说明该地当时处于俯冲带附近的火山弧中。中国华南的曲靖型和西北的祁连山型泥盆系也属于滨海相和非海相沉积，它们与南极洲的泥盆系可资比较，但两者的生物地理区系并不相同     

Effective timescales of coupling within fluvial systems

This paper presents a review of the coupling concept in fluvial geomorphology, based mainly on previously published work. Coupling mechanisms link the components of the fluvial system, controlling sediment transport down the system and the propagation of the effects of base-level change up the system. They can be viewed at several scales: at the local scale involving within-hillslope coupling, hillslope-to-channel coupling, and within-channels, tributary junction and reach-to-reach coupling. At larger scales, coupling can be considered as zonal coupling, between major zones of the system or as regional coupling, relating to complete drainage basins. These trends are illustrated particularly by the examples of hillslope-to-channel coupling in the Howgill Fells, northwest England, badland systems in southeast Spain, alluvial fans in Spain, USA and UAE, and base-level-induced dissection of Neogene sedimentary basins in southeast Spain. As the spatial scales increase, so do the timescales involved. Effective temporal scales relate to magnitude and frequency characteristics, recovery time and propagation time, the relative importance changing with the spatial scale. For downsystem coupling at the local scale, the first two are important, with propagation time increasing in importance in larger systems, especially in those involving upsystem coupling related to base-level change. The effective timescales range from the individual event, with a return period of decades, through decadal to century timescales for downsystem coupling, to tens to hundreds of thousands of years for the basinwide response to base-level change. The effective timescales influence the relative importance of factors controlling landform development.     

Factors influencing the presence or absence of tributary-junction fans in the Iberian Range, Spain

This paper analyses the factors which influence the presence or absence of tributary-junction fans in the Iberian Range, northern Spain. Two valleys were selected, both characterised by wide variations in lithology, altitude, land use and plant cover. Two groups of factors were studied: those related to the internal characteristics of the drainage basins, which particularly control sediment generation; and those related to the characteristics of the depositional area which control accommodation space and main river power. Among the internal factors, the development of alluvial fans was related to: (i) the capacity of the basin to yield large volumes of sediment, (ii) the occurrence of intense human pressure until recent times, a good indicator of sediment yield, and (iii) the capacity of the basin to quickly increase discharge during rainstorms (discharge density and torrentiality). It is suggested that the areas that were intensively cultivated in the past, and have therefore been affected by intense erosion, have played a decisive role on the development of alluvial fans. This would imply that many of these alluvial fans have a relatively recent origin, perhaps related to the beginning of a widespread deforestation. The basins without alluvial fans are characterised by relatively steep hillslope gradients (that is, slopes that never were subjected to historical cultivation), low drainage densities and dense forest and shrub cover, mostly coinciding with high altitude basins composed of quartzite and shale bedrocks. Regarding the external factors, the shape, size and longitudinal gradient of the main river to which the fans are tributary are the most relevant conditioning factors determining the development of alluvial fans.     

Luminescence chronology of river adjustment and incision of Quaternary sediments in the alluvial plain of the Sabarmati River, north Gujarat, India

River adjustment and incision in the Sabarmati basin, Gujarat, India have been examined at a site near Mahudi. Towards this, the morphostratigraphy and depositional chronometry of the middle alluvial plains were investigated. The upper fluvial sequence, along with the overlying aeolian sand and riverbed scroll plains, provide clues to the evolution of the present Sabarmati River. Sedimentological analyses of the upper fluvial sequence indicate its deposition by a meandering river system during what is believed to be a persistent wetter phase. Luminescence chronology bracketed this sequence to between 54 and 30 ka, which corresponds to Oxygen Isotope Stage-3, during which the SW monsoon was enhanced. The overlying aeolian sand has been dated to 12 ka, indicating that dune accretion occurred simultaneously with the strengthening of the SW monsoon during the Early Holocene. Adjustment of the Sabarmati along a N–S transect is placed around 12 ka and the incision is bracketed between 12 and 4.5 ka. River adjustment could have been tectonic; however, the incision was facilitated by the availability of continuous flow in the river caused by the SW monsoon. The basin experienced two tectonic events at about 3 and 0.3 ka, as demonstrated by the morphology of the scroll plains.