Outburst flood hazard: Case studies from the Tien-Shan Mountains, Kyrgyzstan

More than 2000 of mountain lakes covering more than 0.1 ha exist in a territory of Kyrgyzstan. Nearly 20% of them are dangerous because of instability of lake dams, frequent overflows and melting of buried ice inside the moraine dams. According to the Kyrgyz lake inventory, 328 lakes are at risk of outburst and 12 lakes are considered as actually dangerous. Since 1952 more than 70 disastrous cases of lake outbursts have occurred. The majority of the endangered lakes belong to one of the three genetic types: morainic-glacier, supraglacial and lake dammed by landslides and debris flows. Petrov, Adygine and Koltor lakes were selected and studied in the Tien-Shan Mountains as case studies of the most frequent genetic types of hazardous lakes. Observations were focused on the morphology of the lake basin and the surrounding relief, outflow pattern and processes controlling the development of lake. For the hazard assessment, evolution of glaciers and lakes was reconstructed using historical reports, aerial photographs and satellite images.     

Exposed Sunda Shelf During the Glacial Times: An Important Component of the Terrestrial Carbon Reservoir?

The glacial-interglacial carbon cycle is a complex scientific issue of the earth system. Although many progresses have been made, it is still far from being solved. Among others, an important limiting factor is the great uncertainty in the carbon stock in the terrestrial carbon reservoir. The present Sunda Islands are one of the three tropical forest areas with most abundant terrestrial carbon biomass and contribute greatly to the global terrestrial carbon reservoir. During the glacial low stands, the adjacent Sunda Shelf was exposed and led to a doubled land area. The scenario of terrestrial vegetation, which is not well understood, on the exposed land is probably a key factor to the global carbon cycle. Thus, a comprehensive paleoclimate and paleoecology study for the area is appealed, which may provide key data to quantitative analysis and modelling of the global glacial-interglacial carbon cycles.     

Landscape evolution and origin of Lake Fúquene (Colombia): Tectonics, erosion and sedimentation processes during the Pleistocene

The Basin of Ubaté–Chichinquirá (5°28′N, 73°45′ W, c. 2580 m altitude) includes the Fúquene Valley and is located in the central part of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. Rocks and sediments were folded and faulted during the Miocene, uplifted during the (late) Pliocene, and affected by glaciers during the Pleistocene. Successive glacial and interglacial periods left significant marks in the landscape which were used to reconstruct six stages in the development of the landscape along a relative chronology. During early Pleistocene episode 1 glaciers formed U-shape valleys. Evidence of the impact of ice sheets has been found as far downslope as ca. 2900 m elevation. During episode 2 moraines developed which were cut by the present San José River. During episode 3 abundant sediment was produced by glacial erosion. It accentuated the sculpturing of hard rock and deepening of the drainage basin. The ancestral Ubaté–Suarez River constituted a dynamic erosive system that gave rise to deep V-shaped valleys and progressively formed a set of intricate valleys with a high sediment production. Finally, intense glacial and fluvio-glacial erosion led to a geomorphological system with high energy levels and intensive sediment transport leading to wide valleys. During episode 4 the Ubaté–Suarez River eroded and deepened its valley until it captured the old El Hato–San José Valley. It caused intense erosion of the moraine and the fluvio-glacial gravels. Deep V-shaped valleys stabilized in the high areas of the main drainage system and these valleys form the present-day fluvial sub-basins. During episode 5 the deep valley in the northern part of the Basin of Ubaté–Chichinquirá developed. During middle Pleistocene episode 6 colluvial sediments formed the Saboya dam and a lake was formed in the river valley of which the present Lake Fúquene is only a small remnant. Lithological changes indicate fluctuating water levels and Lake Fúquene must have expanded periodically up to an area 5 to 10 times the present-day surface.     

腾格里沙漠南缘末次冰盛期以来沙漠演化与气候变化

位于现代季风区边缘的沙漠黄土边界带,具有高度的不稳定性,末次冰盛期以来历经多次北进南退移动和暖湿、冷干变化。依据对腾格里沙漠南缘白岩沟剖面的黄土古土壤风成砂序列的年代测定,建立了腾格里沙漠南缘末次冰盛期以来沙漠演化的时间序列,并结合剖面各地层的粒度分析、色度分析和CaCO3分析结果,认为末次冰盛期该区主要经历了两次沙漠强烈扩张、两次退缩以及一次小幅度扩张的阶段。而全球变化所导致的东亚冬、夏季风变化是沙漠正、逆过程演变的主要驱动因子。     

Elemental δ13C at Allen's Cave,Nullarbor Plain,Australia: assessing post‐depositional disturbance and reconstructing past environments

The degree to which post‐depositional disturbance can be assessed in archaeological sequences is critical for the development of robust chronologies for such deposits. A common approach is the identification of conjoined artefacts distributed through the sequence as a measure of disturbance following deposition, although this method is relatively labour intensive and does not provide a continuous record of disturbance through the entire sequence. Here we present δ¹³C values for different size fractions (<125 and >125 µm) of chemically resistant charcoal distributed through a sedimentary profile at Allen's Cave, South Australia. The curves generated from both size fractions parallel one another, indicating minimal disturbance through the entire profile and providing greater confidence in the luminescence and radiocarbon chronologies reported previously for the site. In addition, the elemental δ¹³C values provide an indication of greater aridity (compared with present) persisting in this area from ca. 45 to 12 ka, consistent with other proxy records. The onset of the Holocene is marked by a shift to wetter conditions, probably as a result of post‐glacial marine transgression and closer proximity to the coastline. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Allt Odhar and Dalcharn: Two pre-Late Devensian/Late Weichselian sites in northern Scotland

The lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of two sites (Allt Odhar and Dalcharn) in north-central Scotland are described, where pollen spectra of temperate affinity have been obtained from organic deposits that underlie till. The pollen record from Allt Odhar, in association with evidence from plant macrofossils and Coleoptera, shows the expansion of birch woodland and its eventual replacement by open grassland under a climatic regime slightly cooler than that prevailing in the northern highlands of Scotland at the present day. The organic sediments accumulated during an Early Devensian interstadial episode, which has been dated by the uranium series disequilibrium method to ca. 106 ka BP. Evidence for one and possibly two Devensian glaciations may be preserved at the site. The pollen record from Dalcharn, by contrast, reflects the middle and later stages of an interglacial cycle with the transition from pine forest to grassland. The overlying till sequence contains evidence of at least two separate glacial episodes. The age of the warm stage cannot be established precisely on present evidence, but there are indications that it may predate the last (Ipswichian) interglacial. These are the first sites from the mainland of Scotland to provide evidence of wooded conditions during interstadial and interglacial episodes of the Middle/Late Pleistocene.     

Stratigraphy and thermoluminescence dating of Late Glacial cover sand in Denmark

In western Jutland deposits with a texture and structure similar to Dutch cover sands have been found. Investigations have been carried out on the lithology and the lithostratigraphic sequences. Pollen analysis is used for biostratigraphic correlation, and ages have been obtained by the radiocarbon method as well as by thermoluminescence techniques using both quartz and eldspar. The five sites are presented separately and the data are integrated into a general stratigraphic outline of the Late Glacial cover-sand sequence in Jutland. During the latest part of the Upper Pleniglacial and the earliest Late Glacial, older cover-sand type was deposited. Locally this sediment was also deposited during the later parts of the Late Glacial. Younger cover-sand type was deposited primarily during the Early Dryas and Late Dryas, but some sand of this type was also laid down during the Allerød and the earliest Holocene. The palaeobotanical records are discontinuous, but plant growth was probably present throughout the Late Glacial; only during the Altered did the deposition of sand decrease long enough to allow a relatively stable vegetational development. The investigation shows that the sequence of events in Jutland is similar to the Dutch record.     

A simple and inexpensive turbidity meter for the estimation of suspended sediment concentrations

The relatively high cost of commercially available turbidity meters has inhibited detailed and intensive research on spatiotemporal patterns of suspended sediment transport. We describe here the electronic and physical design of an inexpensive turbidity sensor which is easy to construct, simple to interface with portable millivolt meters, dataloggers, computers, or chart recorders, consumes exceptionally small currents, and is robust and reliable. the very low individual cost allows a large number of sensors to be distributed throughout the water body of interest to facilitate turbidity mapping. Turbidity profilers to detect vertical or lateral turbidity changes in rivers, lakes, estuaries, or near-shore zones are also shown to be feasible. Test data are presented from a highly turbid glacial river in southern Iceland.     

Detection of rapid climate change in Last Glacial fluvial successions in The Netherlands

Climate change during the Last Glacial is considered as a major forcing factor of fluvial system changes. A continuous succession of fluvial sediments, reflecting adaptations to climate change from the Weichselian Middle Pleniglacial (oxygen isotope stage 3) onwards, occurs in lowland river basins in the Netherlands.A comparison of the Pleniglacial and Late Glacial fluvial record in the Netherlands shows that climatic oscillations of similar magnitude did not produce changes in the fluvial sedimentary system of equal magnitude. The Late Glacial fluvial system proves to be highly sensitive to climate change. By contrast, many of the rapid climate changes that have occurred during oxygen isotope stage 3, according to the Greenland ice core record, are not detectable in the fluvial sediments. This can be explained by differences in the impact of the climate variations on drainage basin vegetation. During the Late Glacial, the tree line repeatedly shifted through the Netherlands, whereas the area remained within the tundra zone during the Middle Pleniglacial. Precipitation variations and permafrost aggradation and degradation have played a secondary role.The Weichselian fluvial succession in the Netherlands demonstrates that detection of a change in the fluvial sedimentary system and relating this change to climate change is subject to methodological limitations. The climatic significance of changes in the fluvial record should be carefully evaluated, as well as their chronology. The possibility that climate did not influence the fluvial system should always be considered as a null hypothesis in studies on fluvial successions.     

Palaeolimnology of Lake Zeribar, Iran, and its climatic implications

Lake Zeribar sediments covering the time period of the last 25,000 years were examined for the contents of seeds, fruits, Characeae, diatoms, and molluscs. Reconstructions of the variations in the lake water level, salinity, and trophy suggest a sequence of climatic changes. Three pronounced stages of low and varying lake-water level occurred ca. 17,700–15,400, 12,600–12,000, and 10,000–6000 cal yr BP. Some water-level changes were correlated with variations in salinity. The most pronounced increase of salinity occurred 17,700–15,700 and 12,600–12,000 cal yr BP, and less distinct ones occurred about 6400–5900 and 2500 cal yr BP. Diatom assemblages indicated a strong increase of lake trophy ca. 20,200 cal yr BP. Between 6000 and 5000 cal yr BP diatoms characteristic of eutrophy increased in core 63J, and at about 3200 cal yr BP a distinct increase in mesotrophic forms occurred in core 70B. The changes in the occurrence of various organisms indicate increased temperatures about 21,000 cal yr BP, between 15,400 and 12,600, about 12,000, and about 11,700 cal yr BP. The reduced occurrence or disappearance of some of them suggest temperature decreases about 17,700–15,400 and 12,600–12,000 cal yr BP.