A Comparison Between GEBCO Sheet 5.17 and the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 1.0

In 1979, the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) published Sheet 5.17 in the Fifth Edition of its series of global bathymetric maps. Sheet 5.17 covered the northern polar region above 64° N, and was for long the authoritative portrayal of Arctic bathymetry. The GEBCO compilation team had access to an extremely sparse sounding database from the central Arctic Ocean, due to the difficulty of mapping in this permanently ice covered region. In the past decade, there has been a substantial increase in the database of central Arctic Ocean bathymetry, due to the declassification of sounding data collected by US and British Navy nuclear submarines, and to the capability of modern icebreakers to measure ocean depths in heavy ice conditions. From these data sets, evidence has mounted to indicate that many of the smaller (and some larger) bathymetric features of Sheet 5.17 were poorly or wrongly defined. Within the framework of the project to construct the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO), all available historic and modern data sets were compiled to create a digital bathymetric model. In this paper, we compare both generally and in detail the contents of GEBCO Sheet 5.17 and version 1.0 of IBCAO, two bathymetric portrayals that were created more than 20 years apart. The results should be helpful in the analysis and assessment of previously published studies that were based on GEBCO Sheet 5.17. Ron Macnab: Retired.     

Scaling and physiographic controls on streamflow behaviour on the Precambrian Shield, south-central Ontario

Relationships explaining streamflow behaviour in terms of drainage basin physiography greatly assist efforts to extrapolate streamflow metrics from gauged to ungauged basins in the same landscape. The Dorset Environmental Science Centre (DESC) has monitored streamflow from 22 small basins (3.4–190.5 ha) on the Precambrian Shield in south-central Ontario, in some cases since 1976. The basins exhibit regional coherence in their interannual response to precipitation; however, there is often a poor correlation between streamflow metrics from basins separated by as little as 1 km. This study assesses whether inter-basin variations in such metrics can be explained in terms of basin scale and physiography. Several characteristics (annual maximum, minimum and average flow) exhibited simple scaling with basin area, while magnitude, range and timing of annual maximum daily runoff showed scaling behaviour consistent with the Representative Elementary Area (REA) concept. This REA behaviour is partly attributed to convergence of fractional coverage of the two dominant and hydrologically-contrasting land cover types in the DESC region with increasing basin size. Three Principal Components (PCs) explained 82.4% of the variation among basin physiographic properties, and several runoff metrics (magnitude and timing of annual minimum daily runoff, mean number of days per year with 0 streamflow) exhibited significant relationships with one or more PC. Significant relationships were obtained between basin quickflow (QF) production and the PCs on a seasonal and annual basis, almost all of which were superior to simple area-based relationships. Basin physiography influenced QF generation via its control on slope runoff, water storage and hydrologic connectivity; however, this role was minimized during Spring when QF production in response to large rain-on-snow events was relatively uniform across the DESC basins. The PC-based relationships and inter-seasonal changes in their form were consistent with previous research conducted at point, slope and basin scales in the DESC region, and perceptions of key hydrological processes in these small basins may not have been as readily obtained from scaling studies using streamflow from larger basins. This process understanding provides insights into scaling behaviour beyond those derived from simple scaling and REA analyses. The physiography of the study area is representative of large portions of the Precambrian Shield, such that basin streamflow behaviour could potentially be extended across much of south-central Ontario. This would assist predictions of streamflow conditions at ungauged locations, development and testing of hydrological models for this landscape, and interpretation of inter-basin and intra-annual differences in hydrochemical behaviour on the southern Precambrian Shield.     

Geological Characteristics and Distribution of Submarine Physiographic Features in the Taiwan Region

The sea floor topography around Taiwan is characterized by the asymmetry of its shallow and flat shelves to the west and markedly deep troughs and basins to the south and east. Tectonics and sedimentation are major controls in forming the submarine physiographic features around Taiwan. Three Pliocene-Quaternary shelves are distributed north and west of Taiwan: East China Sea Shelf (passive margin shelf), the Taiwan Strait Shelf (foreland shelf), and Kaoping Shelf (island shelf) from north to south parallel to the strike of Taiwan orogen. Off northeastern Taiwan major morpho/tectonic features associated with plate subduction include E-W trending Ryukyu Trench, Yaeyama accretionary wedge, forearc basins, the Ryukyu Arcs, and the backarc basin of southern Okinawa Trough. Off eastern Taiwan lies the deep Huatung Basin on the Philippine Sea plate with a relatively flat floor, although several large submarine canyons are eroding and crossing the basin floor. Off southeastern Taiwan, the forearc region of the Luzon Arc has been deformed into five alternating N-S trending ridges and troughs during initial arc-continent collision. Among them, the submarine Hengchun Ridge is the seaward continuation of the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan. Off southwestern Taiwan, the broad Kaoping Slope is the major submarine topographic feature with several noticeable submarine canyons. The Penghu Canyon separates this slope from the South China Sea Slope to the west and merges southwards into the Manila Trench in the northern South China Sea. Although most of sea floors of the Taiwan Strait are shallower than 60?m in water depth, there are three noticeable bathymetric lows and two highs in the Taiwan Strait. There exists a close relationship between hydrography and topography in the Taiwan Strait. The circulation of currents in the Taiwan Strait is strongly influenced by seasonal monsoon and semidiurnal tides. The Penghu Channel-Yunchang Ridge can be considered a modern tidal depositional system. The Taiwan Strait shelf has two phases of development. The early phase of the rift margin has developed during Paleoocene-Miocene and it has evolved to the foreland basin in Pliocene-Quaternary time. The present shelf morphology results mainly from combined effects of foreland subsidence and modern sedimentation overprinting that of the Late Pleistocene glaciation about 15,000 years ago.     

Geological controls on the geometry of incised‐valley fills: Insights from a global dataset of late‐Quaternary examples

Incised valleys that develop due to relative sea‐level change are common features of continental shelves and coastal plains. Assessment of the factors that control the geometry of incised‐valley fills has hitherto largely relied on conceptual, experimental or numerical models, else has been grounded on case studies of individual depositional systems. Here, a database‐driven statistical analysis of 151 late‐Quaternary incised‐valley fills has been performed, the aim being to investigate the geological controls on their geometry. Results of this analysis have been interpreted with consideration of the role of different processes in determining the geometry of incised‐valley fills through their effect on the degree and rate of river incision, and on river size and mobility. The studied incised‐valley fills developed along active margins are thicker and wider, on average, than those along passive margins, suggesting that tectonic setting exerts a control on the geometry of incised‐valley fills, probably through effects on relative sea‐level change and river behaviour, and in relation to distinct characteristics of basin physiography, water discharge and modes of sediment delivery. Valley‐fill geometry is positively correlated with the associated drainage‐basin size, confirming the dominant role of water discharge. Climate is also inferred to exert a potential control on valley‐fill dimensions, possibly through modulations of temperature, peak precipitation, vegetation and permafrost, which would in turn affect water discharge, rates of sediment supply and valley‐margin stability. Shelves with slope breaks that are currently deeper than 120 m contain incised‐valley fills that are thicker and wider, on average, than those hosted on shelves with breaks shallower than 120 m. No correlation exists between valley‐fill thickness and present‐day coastal‐prism convexity, which is measured as the difference in gradient between lower coastal plains and inner shelves. These findings challenge some concepts embedded in sequence stratigraphic thinking, and have significant implications for analysis and improved understanding of ‘source to sink’ sediment route‐ways, and for attempting predictions of the occurrence and characteristics of hydrocarbon reservoirs.     

地文期-构造节律-气候旋回耦合与三峡地质灾害关系的探讨

构造-地貌-气候耦合是现代地球系统科学研究的热点之一。大量地质事实表明,构造、地貌、气候与地质灾害的发生密切相关,而三者的阶段性耦合,即地文期-构造节律-气候旋回耦合,在很大程度上决定了地质灾害在时间分布上的群发和空间上的群集。从地文期-构造节律-气候旋回的关系及耦合作用的分析入手,通过地文期、构造节律、气候旋回与地质灾害的关系论述,建立了地文期、构造节律、气候旋回与地质灾害的耦合关系模式。依据现有资料,对三峡地区滑坡的群(高)发与地文期、构造、气候的耦合关系进行了初步分析,并就如何加强这方面的研究进行了讨论。     

Progress in watershed geography in the Yangtze River Basin and the affiliated ecological security perspective in the past 20 years,China

Bibliometrics was used to statistically analyze key zones within the Yangtze River Basin(YRB) funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC) and national ministries over the past 20 years. This study determined that funds that derived from national ministries have mainly focused on issues related to environmental pollution, ecological security, technological water regulations, and river basin ecosystems, which offer a better understanding of the national requirements and the scientific knowledge of the YRB in combination with data from the NSFC. Under a background of bolstering the construction of green ecological corridors in the economic belt of the YRB, this study proposes future conceptual watershed research initiatives in this region as a study objective by reinforcing the implementation of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network(CERN) and by emphasizing the use of new technologies, new methods, and new concepts for the prospective design of frontier research under the perspective of geoscience and earth system science. This study promotes large-scale scientific field and research objectives based on big science and big data.