Rate of strike-slip motion on the Amanos Fault (Karasu Valley, southern Turkey) constrained by K–Ar dating and geochemical analysis of Quaternary basalts

The left-lateral Amanos Fault follows a 200-km-long and up to 2-km-high escarpment that bounds the eastern margin of the Amanos mountain range and the western margin of the Karasu Valley in southern Turkey, just east of the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. Regional kinematic models have reached diverse conclusions as to the role of this fault in accommodating relative motion between either the African and Arabian, Turkish and African, or Turkish and Arabian plates. Local studies have tried to estimate its slip rate by K–Ar dating Quaternary basalts that erupted within the Amanos Mountains, flowed across it into the Karasu Valley, and have since become offset. However, these studies have yielded a wide range of results, ranging from 0.3 to 15 mm a⁻¹, which do not allow the overall role and significance of this fault in accommodating crustal deformation to be determined. We have used the Cassignol K–Ar method to date nine Quaternary basalt samples from the vicinity of the southern part of the Amanos Fault. These basalts exhibit a diverse chemistry, which we interpret as a consequence varying degrees of partial melting of their source combined with variable crustal contamination. This dating allows us to constrain the Quaternary slip rate on the Amanos fault to 1.0 to 1.6 mm a⁻¹. The dramatic discrepancies between past estimates of this slip rate are partly due to technical difficulties in K–Ar dating of young basalts by isotope dilution. In addition, previous studies at the key locality of Hacılar have unwittingly dated different, chemically distinct, flow units of different ages that are juxtaposed. This low slip rate indicates that, at present, the Amanos Fault takes up a small proportion of the relative motion between the African and Arabian plates, which is transferred southward to the Dead Sea Fault Zone. It also provides strong evidence against the long-standing view that its slip continues offshore to the southwest along a hypothetical left-lateral fault zone located south of Cyprus.     

Analyzing CO2 emissions mitigation by technology improvement in Central and Eastern Europe

As a legacy of the centrally planned economy, the economies in transition of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have a unique potential to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through the improvement in their high energy intensities. Since much of this `low-hanging fruit' in energy-efficiency improvements can be highly cost-effective, many developed countries facing difficulties in meeting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets domestically are eager to find such opportunities in the CEE region. Therefore, studies analysing the potentials and costs of carbon dioxide reduction through technology improvement in the region have come into the limelight. While there are a few excellent studies in the region aimed at analysing climate change abatement potentials, they all embark on different assumptions, methodologies and boundary conditions. It is hence difficult, if not impossible, to compare and analyse the results of these studies across different authors, countries or time horizons. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to place four leading studies on GHG mitigation through technology improvement from the CEE region into an internationally comparable framework. Four studies were selected from three countries, Poland, Hungary and Estonia, which are all the results of major national and international efforts to assess costs and potentials of GHG reduction. The paper places their assumptions, methods and final results into a framework which enables policy-makers and project designers to compare these across geographical and technological boundaries. Since other studies from around the globe have been analysed in this framework in the literature, this paper provides a vehicle for the findings of these four studies to be compared to others worldwide. In addition, the paper highlights a few areas where similar studies to be completed in the future in the region may be enhanced by incorporating features used in GHG mitigation research in other parts of the world. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Historic Dead Sea Level Fluctuations Calibrated with Geological and Archaeological Evidence

The Dead Sea, the Holocene terminal lake of the Jordan River catchment, has fluctuated during its history in response to climatic change. Biblical records, calibrated by radiocarbon-dated geological and archaeological evidence, reinforce and add detail to the chronology of the lake-level fluctuations. There are three historically documented phases of the Dead Sea in the Biblical record: low lake levels ca. 2000–1500 B.C.E. (before common era); high lake levels ca. 1500–1200 B.C.E.; and low lake levels between ca. 1000 and 700 B.C.E. The Biblical evidence indicates that during the dry periods the southern basin of the Dead Sea was completely dry, a fact that was not clear from the geological and archaeological data alone.     

云南腾冲地块北部空树河组一个菱铁矿结核中的C、O同位素变化特征

空树河组是滇西腾冲地块北部的石碳－二叠纪冈瓦纳相沉积。菱铁矿结核见于该组顶部的黑色泥岩中。将一个结核通过中心切开，在切面上由中心向边缘用牙钻等间隔提取10个样品。同位素测试结果显示，δ^13C自中心向边缘逐渐由－8．09％减为－16．12％，最外一个样例外（－15．39‰），而δ^18O自中心向边缘逐渐由－10．64‰增加为0‰左右。δ^13C的变化情况表明，菱铁矿结核可能形成于硫酸盐还原带。在解释δ^18o的变化情况时，推测在结核开始生长时可能有δ^18O亏损的大气降水掺入，随着埋藏深度的逐渐加大，孔隙水的O同位素逐渐趋近正常海水的值（0‰）。     

Study on Paleoenvironment since Late Glacial Eooch in Lanzhou Area, China

The Hongzuisi Section in Lanzhou area is used to infer the paleoclimate since the late glacial epoch. Through combined analysis of organic carbon isotope and CaCO3 content, paleoenvironment evolution of Hongzuisi Section since the late glacial epoch is discussed. There were changes in both drymoist and warm-cold. Especially the climate changes can be compared with synchronous sections of other areas, which provides useful information for our future forecast.     

近20年海南岛森林生态系统碳储量变化

热带森林在碳循环研究中有重要作用。根据目前森林碳储量的计算方法和海南森林资源二类调查数据 ,估算了不同时段的碳储量 ,并分析其动态变化特点。结果表明 :海南森林碳储量从 1979年的 30 4 5TgC增加到 1998年的 37 74TgC ,年均增加 0 36 4 5TgC ,增长率为1 19% ,是全国平均增长率的 2 5倍 ;海南森林在碳循环中起不断增强的碳汇作用 ;森林碳密度呈加速减少趋势 ,储碳潜力将很大 ;随着海南全面禁止采伐和封育等林业措施的实施 ,森林面积扩大 ,林龄结构改善 ,储碳能力将进一步提高 ,海南森林在全国或全球碳循环中的作用和社会价值与意义将日渐突出。通过对碳储量计算不确定性的分析和讨论 ,提出应加强对森林群落各层次生物量的实测与实地监测研究 ,统一计算方法 ,以提高碳储量计算的精度     

Floodplain–river ecosystems: lateral connections and the implications of human interference

Floodplains are ecotones that form a transition between aquatic and terrestrial environments. These important ecosystems can be described as dynamic spatial mosaics in which water plays an important role in connecting various patches on the floodplain surface. Hydrological connections facilitate the exchange of carbon and nutrients between the river channel and the floodplain and therefore influence the productivity of the entire river system. This paper examines the influence of hydrological connections on the potential exchange of dissolved organic carbon between a large Australian floodplain to a river channel, and the effects of land and water developments on these exchanges. The paper proposes that an understanding of floodplain ecosystems requires an interdisciplinary approach—a recognition of the importance of the three disciplines hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. Large-scale water-resources and floodplain development has significantly altered the spatial and temporal patterns of hydrological characteristics in the Lower Balonne floodplain, Australia. The magnitude, frequency and duration of flooding events have all been reduced. The construction of levees and water storages has also reduced the reactive floodplain surface area. The presented data show the impacts of these changes on the potential supply of dissolved organic carbon from the floodplain surface during periods of inundation. Annual reductions of up to 1293 tonnes of dissolved organic carbon supply were noted and reductions were especially significant for floods with an average recurrence interval of 2 years or less. Some small flood events no longer facilitate the potential supply of dissolved organic carbon from the floodplain to the river channel because of water-resources and floodplain developments.     

油气化探中甲烷碳同位素应用、存在问题与对策研究

阐述了在地表油气化探实践当中甲烷碳同位素对地表土壤烃气成因判别的有效性，但有时也会遇到判断错误的情况。通过对应用实例的分析，指出因忽略了土壤中异常甲烷是一种混合成因甲烷，从而导致判断失误。为全面解决这一问题，提出了同时选送数量相当的背景土壤样品和异常样品进行甲烷同位素测定，然后通过教学方法计算出真实反映来源于油气藏中的甲烷的碳同位素值的对策方案。     

Geochemical Characteristics of Gold Polymetallic Deposits as Exemplified by the Laozuoshan Deposit,Heilong jiang,China

From the studies of ore deposit geologic settings,sulfur isotopes,lead isotopes,carbon isotopes and oxygen isotopes,fluid inclusions and petrochemistry in this paper,the authors have drawn a conclusion that the ore-forming hydrothermal solutions are the high-temperature magmatic hydrothermal solutions for the gold ore deposit,and at the same time,the involvemety of crustal materials can not be ruled out .It is the first time that the authors have proposed that the Laozuoshan gold-ploymetallic ore deposit in Heilongjiang Province was formed in the calc-alkaline series environment at the margin of an active continent.