A field quantification of coastal dune perennial plants as indicators of surface stability, erosion or deposition

Dune plants both modify the wind field around them and are impacted by various stress factors, among them sand erosion and sand deposition. As coastal dunes are being either stabilized or remobilized, in response to the changes in the rates of sand and dune movement, the vegetation cover and composition are expected to vary reflecting the differences in the sedimentary conditions. In this field study 315 quadrats of 100 m², in which the perennial plant species were sampled, were analysed with respect to annual rates of sand erosion and deposition that were measured using erosion pins. A visual exploratory data analysis was introduced, based on selective filtering of samples according to their vegetation cover. This method, combined with established statistical tools, enabled the authors to uncover the inclination and indicative power of nine perennial dune plants to either a stabilized or a mobile environment, and to establish whether they are more prevalent in places undergoing sand erosion or sand burial. Two species were found to be clear indicators of a stabilized environment, Stipagrostis lanata , and Retama raetam . Of the species indicating a mobile environment, only one may be stated as a clear indicator of sand erosion: Silene succulenta , with Cyperus macrorrhizus coming close to being an indicator of a less mobile erosive environment. The best indicator species for sand burial was found to be, as expected, Ammophila arenaria , with Artemisia monosperma also indicating high rates of sand mobility especially when its relative cover is higher than 80%. Such information can be used to monitor natural processes of dune stabilization or reactivation, or to assess the success of a management plan that aims at stabilizing a dune, or at remobilizing it by removing vegetation.     

引资发展环境指标与地理信息系统的结合——中国两大外向型经济区域引资发展环境统计指标图示

招商、引资、发展是过去20年来巾国长江三角洲城市与珠江三角洲城市经济增长的一个主要策略,尤其是长、珠三角地区的经济发展上是一个主要的动力.以地理信息系统(GIS)的平台,呈现经过经济与管理实证的"引资环境"指标,就是一个相当有效的方法.文章报告<中国两大外向型经济区域引资发展环境统计指标图示集>的内容及如何进一步利用地理信息系统的想法.     

Mapping global patterns of drought risk: An empirical framework based on sub-national estimates of hazard,exposure and vulnerability

A global map of drought risk has been elaborated at the sub-national administrative level. The motivation for this study is the observation that little research and no concerted efforts have been made at the global level to provide a consistent and equitable drought risk management framework for multiple regions, population groups and economic sectors. Drought risk is assessed for the period 2000–2014 and is based on the product of three independent determinants: hazard, exposure and vulnerability. Drought hazard is derived from a non-parametric analysis of historical precipitation deficits at the 0.5°; drought exposure is based on a non-parametric aggregation of gridded indicators of population and livestock densities, crop cover and water stress; and drought vulnerability is computed as the arithmetic composite of high level factors of social, economic and infrastructural indicators, collected at both the national and sub-national levels. The performance evaluation of the proposed models underlines their statistical robustness and emphasizes an empirical resemblance between the geographic patterns of potential drought impacts and previous results presented in the literature. Our findings support the idea that drought risk is driven by an exponential growth of regional exposure, while hazard and vulnerability exhibit a weaker relationship with the geographic distribution of risk values. Drought risk is lower for remote regions, such as tundras and tropical forests, and higher for populated areas and regions extensively exploited for crop production and livestock farming, such as South-Central Asia, Southeast of South America, Central Europe and Southeast of the United States. As climate change projections foresee an increase of drought frequency and intensity for these regions, then there is an aggravated risk for global food security and potential for civil conflict in the medium- to long-term. Since most agricultural regions show high infrastructural vulnerability to drought, then regional adaptation to climate change may begin through implementing and fostering the widespread use of irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems. In this context, reduction in drought risk may also benefit from diversifying regional economies on different sectors of activity and reducing the dependence of their GDP on agriculture.     

中国北极航线港口界定

随着北冰洋夏季冰层的逐渐消融,北极航线有望全线通航。北极航线的通航将促进东亚与欧洲、北美地区的贸易往来,从而降低传统航线的地位及作用,为我国战略资源采购提供新的通道;同时也将在一定程度上改变北极航线沿线及其延长线上港口的地位及布局,但不同港口受此影响不尽相同,只有部分港口可能因为北极航线的利用实现地位提升。在假定北极航线全线开通的基础上提出北极航线港口概念,以港口所在城市的进出口贸易总额为基本界定指标,以航程缩短程度、航线密度、港口外贸箱吞吐量和港口油气吞吐能力作为竞争性界定指标进行综合评价,筛选出符合标准的中国北极航线港口,为中国利用北极航线和未来沿海港口布局提供借鉴及参考。     

冈底斯中段达居复式花岗岩体成因:锆石U-Pb年代学、元素地球化学与Hf同位素制约

本文报道了冈底斯中段达居复式岩体的锆石U-Pb年龄与Hf同位素组成,以及全岩元素地球化学组成,据此探讨了岩浆的形成机制与演化过程,进而全面揭示了岩体的成因。根据岩性和岩相特征,达居复式岩体可区分为昌那和桑嘎两个单元,前者岩性主要为花岗闪长岩,岩体内含丰富的闪长质包体;后者岩性主要为中细粒二长花岗岩,岩性总体较均匀。锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年结果表明,昌那单元花岗闪长岩和其中的闪长质包体具有一致的成岩年龄,分别为52.7±0.7Ma和52.3±0.6Ma,桑嘎单元二长花岗岩的成岩年龄为45.3±0.7Ma。地球化学组成上,二单元岩石均具有亚碱、准铝的特征,碱铝指数(AKI值)多低于0.9,铝饱和指数(A/NKC值)均小于1.0,属于准铝质钙碱性I型花岗岩。它们均富集轻稀土和大离子亲石元素(如Rb,Pb),亏损高场强元素(如Nb,Ta,Ti),具有弧型岩浆岩的地球化学组成特征。与昌那单元岩石相比,桑嘎单元岩石富硅、富碱,具有较高的Rb/Sr、Rb/Ba比值,并表现出较显著的Eu负异常,指示其经历了较高程度的分异演化。昌那单元花岗闪长岩和其中的闪长质包体具有一致亏损的Hf同位素组成,二者的ε_(Hf)(t)值分别为+4.6~+11.5和+5.0~+11.1,桑嘎单元总体也具有亏损的Hf同位素组成,但其ε_(Hf)(t)值具有较大的变化范围(-0.5~+14.7)。综合分析表明,昌那单元岩石应为底侵的亏损地幔岩浆与其诱发初生地壳熔融产生的岩浆经混合作用形成,桑嘎单元岩石为这一混源岩浆经进一步分异演化后侵位结晶的产物,且成岩过程中极可能有古老的印度地壳物质参与。     

甘肃银硐梁锑矿床地质特征及控矿因素分析

近些年来,在西秦岭锑成矿带中发现了中型规模的甘肃银硐梁锑矿床。通过论述该锑矿床的地质特征,分析并讨论该矿床的控矿因素及找矿标志。结果表明: 该锑矿床主要赋存于三叠纪官亭群中部建造层第二岩性段、钙质硅化石英砂岩夹泥质粉砂岩的断层破碎带和层间破碎带中; 锑矿化明显受地层和断裂破碎带控制,为成矿提供成矿物质、热液条件和赋存空间,较早形成的NW向断裂是导矿构造,较晚形成的NE向次级断裂是赋矿构造; 成矿物质主要来源于地层,成矿热动力主要来源于构造运动,成矿作用以热液充填为主; 银硐梁锑矿床属于低温热液裂隙充填型层控矿床。     

A Reliable Method for Determining the Oxidation State of Manganese at the Microscale in Mn Oxides via Raman Spectroscopy

Manganese oxides are important geomaterials, widespread in terrestrial and Martian environments. Characterisation of the oxidation state of Mn is a central issue in science; this task has been addressed up to the present by X‐ray spectroscopy or diffraction techniques. The former, however, requires access to synchrotron facilities, while the latter does not provide crystal‐chemical information at the local scale. In this work, we compare a large set of Raman data from well‐characterised samples, already published by the same authors of this paper or as found in the literature. We show a clear correlation between the oxidation state of Mn and the wavenumber of peculiar bands; octahedrally co‐ordinated Mn²⁺ is recognised by a band around 530 cm^?1, Mn³⁺ by a band around 580 cm^?1 and Mn⁴⁺ by a band around 630 cm^?1, while tetrahedrally co‐ordinated Mn²⁺ is recognisable by a band around 650 cm^?1. Strongly distorted Mn³⁺ octahedra are indicated by the appearance of Jahn–Teller modes. Our method allows a reliable, easily accessible tool to characterise the oxidation states of Mn in oxides, also suitable for microscale mapping. It provides a robust analytical basis for the use of these minerals as redox indicators in geology/geochemistry, in exoplanetary research or for monitoring technological processes.     

Using selected pharmaceutical compounds as indicators for surface water and groundwater interaction in the hyporheic zone of a low permeability riverbank

This study investigates the applicability of selected pharmaceutical compounds (e.g. sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, ibuprofen) as anthropogenic indicators for the interaction of surface water and groundwater in the hyporheic zone of an alluvial stream. Differences in transport behaviour and the resulting distribution of the pharmaceuticals in the riverine groundwater were evaluated. The investigated field site in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Europe is represented by low permeable sediments and confined aquifer conditions. Water samples from single‐screen and multilevel observation wells installed in the riverbank at the field site were taken and analysed for selected pharmaceuticals and major ions for a period of 6 months. Surface water and groundwater levels were recorded to detect effluent and influent aquifer conditions. Nearly all pharmaceuticals that were detected in the stream were also found in the riverine groundwater. However, concentrations were significantly lower in groundwater than in surface water. A classification into mobile and sorbing/degradable pharmaceuticals based on their transport relevant properties was made and verified by the field data. Gradients with depth for some of these pharmaceuticals were documented and a more detailed understanding of the system stream/riverbank was obtained. It was demonstrated that the selected pharmaceutical compounds can be used as anthropogenic indicators at the investigated field site. However, not all compounds seem to be suitable indicators as their transport behaviour is not fully understood. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural architecture and a new tectonic perspective of Ovda Regio, Venus

The structural architecture of the Ovda Regio, Venus, derived from regional and detailed structural mapping of several key segments, reveals a new tectonic perspective, for the first time that varies from most of the existing tectonic models. The interpreted structural features include folds of different styles and scales, mega shear zones, ribbon structures, and other kinematic indicators. While concentric folding is predominant in the western Ovda, the eastern Ovda is characterized by shear folding. Two mega shear zones are recognised: dextral NW-SE trending GMSZ and a complimentary sinistral NE-SW trending KKSZ. Two tectonic stages are identified in a coherent and continuous strain history involving initial N-S compression that gave rise to regional east-west folding providing the fundamental tectonic architecture of a mountain fold-thrust belt. Ribbon structures in a broad radial pattern were developed contemporaneously with this folding. The second tectonic stage saw the development of a conjugate pair of mega shear zones and a range of kinematic indicators, consistent with continued N-S compression and the pre-existing fold pattern was modified resulting in the development of new fold structures, particularly in the eastern Ovda. The structural characteristics of Ovda Regio are analogous to those of Himalaya-Tibet collision front and also the Precambrian mobile belts of southern India.     

Benthic indicators: analysis of the threshold values of ecological quality classifications for transitional waters

The effect of the modifications of the threshold values generally adopted for the five EcoQ (Ecological Quality) classes recognized by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) for the most used benthic indicators and diversity indicators (AMBI, BENTIX, BOPA, BQI, H', ITI and M-AMBI) were studied to test whether it is possible to obtain the same or similar ecological classifications for transitional waters using these different indicators, and determine whether the current classifications can be improved. The analysis included: (i) the use of indicator equations, (ii) the use of reference indicators, and (iii) the use of indicator distribution laws. These investigations demonstrated that it was impossible to obtain an exact intercalibration of the ecological classifications with the selected indicators. However, some propositions to improve the actual classification were suggested.