Origin and evolution of Suru Valley ophiolite peridotite slice along Indus suture zone,Ladakh Himalaya,India: Implications on melt-rock interaction in a subduction-zone environment

In this paper, we present whole-rock and mineral geochemistry of serpentinized peridotites from the Suru Valley ophiolite slice Ladakh Himalaya, in an attempt to put constraints on their petrogenesis and tectonic evolution in the context of Mesozoic Neo-Tethys Ocean. On the basis of petrographic study, Suru Valley serpentinized peridotites can be identified as serpentinized harzburgites. Relative to primitive mantle these rocks have depleted major and rare earth element (REE) geochemical characteristics comparable to ocean floor mantle rocks reflecting their mantle residual nature. However, higher abundance of highly incompatible large ion lithophile elements (e.g., Rb, Ba, Th, U, Pb and Sr), reflect metasomatism in a subduction zone environment. The presence of silicate assemblage includes Mg-rich olivine (Fo_90-92) and orthopyroxene (En_91-93 Fs_6.4-8.7) of supra-subduction zone affinity. Evaluation of mineral and whole-rock geochemistry suggests that the Suru Valley ophiolitic peridotites represent residues left after moderate degrees of partial melting thereby underwent metasomatism in a supra-subduction zone environment related to north dipping intra-oceanic island arc during Cretaceous in the context of Mesozoic Neo-Tethys ocean.     

Mapping irrigated agriculture in complex landscapes using SPOT6 imagery and object-based image analysis – A case study in the Central Rift Valley,Ethiopia –

Irrigation infrastructure development for smallholder farmers in developing countries increasingly gains attention in the light of domestic food security and poverty alleviation. However, these complex landscapes with small cultivated plots pose a challenge with regard to mapping and monitoring irrigated agriculture. This study presents an object-based approach to map irrigated agriculture in an area in the Central Rift Valley in Ethiopia using SPOT6 imagery. The study is a proof-of-concept that the use of shape, texture, neighbour and location information next to spectral information is beneficial for the classification of irrigated agriculture. The underlying assumption is that the application of irrigation has a positive effect on crop growth throughout the field, following the field's borders, which is detectable in an object-based approach. The type of agricultural system was also mapped, distinguishing smallholder farming and modern large-scale agriculture. Irrigated agriculture was mapped with an overall accuracy of 94% and a kappa coefficient of 0.85. Producer's and user's accuracies were on average 90.6% and 84.2% respectively. The distinction between smallholder farming and large-scale agriculture was identified with an overall accuracy of 95% and a kappa coefficient of 0.88. The classifications were performed at the field level, since the segmentation was able to adequately delineate individual fields. The additional use of object features proved essential for the identification of cropland plots, irrigation period and type of agricultural system. This method is independent of expert knowledge on crop phenology and absolute spectral values. The proposed method is useful for the assessment of spatio-temporal dynamics of irrigated (smallholder) agriculture in complex landscapes and yields a basis for land and water managers on agricultural water use.     

Geological and geomorphological evolution of the Etna volcano NE flank and relationships between lava flow invasions and erosional processes in the Alcantara Valley (Italy)

In this paper, the interrelationships between volcanic activity and fluvial events in the Alcantara Valley are investigated. Based on the correlation between the stratigraphy of the NE flank of Mt Etna and subsurface data, the geological and geomorphological evolutions of the valley are reconstructed. New 1:10 000 scale geological mapping shows that the bulk of this sector of the volcano is made up of the Ellittico volcano lava flows, though they are widely covered by the products of the eruptive activity of the last 15 ka. The present-day morphological setting of the Alcantara Valley is the result of two main evolutionary phases initiated during the activity of the Ellittico volcano. Only one lava flow invasion of the valley floor occurred in the first phase. This phenomenon was followed by a long period of erosional processes leading to the entrenchment of the drainage pattern and the erosion of the Ellittico lava flow. About 20–25 ka ago, an important change in the frequency of the lava flow invasions into the valley occurred associated with the final stage of the Ellittico volcano activity marking the beginning of the second phase. During this phase, volcanic processes became predominant with respect to other morphogenetic processes in the Alcantara Valley. Lava flows coming from the NE flank of the Ellittico volcano caused a radical modification of the morphological setting of this area, even though only one lava flow emitted by an eruptive fissure located within the valley partially filled the riverbed. During the eruptive activity of the last 15 ka, the complete filling of the Alcantara Valley floor occurred. In particular, between 15 and 7 ka, a lava flow originated from the Mt Moio scoria cone filled the valley floor for a distance of about 9 km. Following a short period of erosion, an eruptive fissure located within the valley generated a 20–21-km-long lava flow that was channelled along the full extent of the Alcantara Valley and stretches for about 3 km offshore in the Ionian sea. In the last 7 ka, lava flows originating from the NE-Rift zone produced only temporary damming of the riverbed without any important contribution to the filling of the Alcantara Valley.     

Internal geometry of a thrust sheet,eastern Proterozoic belt,Godavari Valley,South India

A small thrust sheet, named Pedda Gutta thrust sheet, consisting of calcareous to cherty argillites and cherts, and juxtaposed against tidal-intertidal cross-bedded quartzites and stromatolitic and sileceous limestone in the eastern Proterozoic belt, Godavari Valley, exhibits structures comparable in style to those of the external zone of a fold-thrust mountain belt. A wide spectrum of periodic and aperiodic mesoscopic folds varying from upright ones with rounded hinges and attenuated limbs, through noncylindrical kinks to whalebacks and sheath-like forms have developed within the small volume of the thrust sheet, the preserved thickness of which is of the order of 50 metres (comparable in scale to cleavage duplexes). Cleavage development is also heterogeneous across the width of the sheet. Displacement transfer from faults to folds and vice-versa is a common feature. On the basis of the distribution of the mesoscopic structures of varying style within the sheet and localization of fault rocks, three slices (wedges) have been recognized, each bounded on the east by a thrust which is steep at the current erosion level but interpreted to be of listric form making the thrust network comparable in architecture, though not in scale, to a hinterland (west) dipping imbricate fan.     

元谋干热河谷强侵蚀区土桥发育特征与演化过程

元谋干热河谷区的土桥地貌是当地常见的一种潜蚀地貌,是区域地貌的重要组成部分。元谋土桥是造成当地水土流失的重要原因之一,研究其形态特征及演化过程对于认识区域地貌演化及生态地质环境的治理具有重要的现实意义。2009―2013年,通过多次对土桥形态特征、分布区域的地形地貌的现场测定,对土层进行了分析。结果表明：1）元谋土桥大部分分布于冲沟中上游的沟底,少部分分布于冲沟边缘的峭壁下,有连续出现,也有单独出现;2）土桥发育的土层具有层间差异性,即桥洞所在土层较其顶部土层抗崩解性弱,易受侵蚀;3）地层构造节理及冲沟坡度的变化等因素对土桥的形成具有一定的影响作用;4）元谋土桥的形态、结构与一般天生桥或人工桥梁具有相同的桥体结构,形态规模一般都不大;5）演化过程遵循一般事物的发展规律,分为萌芽期、年轻期、成熟期、消亡期４个阶段;6）元谋土桥与陷穴、冲沟等地貌具有一定的耦合关系。     

Isotopic evolution and climate paleorecords: modeling boundary effects in groundwater-dominated lakes

We used an isotopic mass-balance model to examine how the hydrogeologic setting of lakes influences isotopic response of evaporating lake water to idealized hydroclimatic changes. The model uses a monthly water and isotope balance approach with simplified water-column structure and groundwater exchanges. The framework for comparative simulations is provided by lakes in a region of the Northern Rocky Mountains that display high interlake geochemical variability, thought to be controlled by groundwater hydraulics. Our analysis highlights several isotopic effects of flow between aquifers and lakes, leading to possible divergence of isotopic paleorecords formed under a common climate. Amplitude of isotopic variation resulting from simulated climate forcing was greatly damped when high groundwater fluxes and/or low lake volume resulted in low lake fluid residence time. Differing precipitation and evaporation scenarios that are equivalent in annual fluid balance (P−E) resulted in different isotopic signatures, interpreted as a result of evaporation kinetics. Concentrating low-δ groundwater inflow during spring months raised springtime lake δ values, a counterintuitive result of coincidence between times of high groundwater inflow and the evaporation season. Transient effects of reduced fluid balance caused excursions opposite in sign from eventual steady-state isotopic shifts resulting from enhanced groundwater inflow dominance. Lags in response between climate forcing and isotopic signals were shortened by high groundwater fluxes and resulting short lake residence times. Groundwater-lake exchange exerts control over patterns of lake isotopic response to evaporation through effects on lake residence time, inflow composition, and seasonal timing of inflow and outflow. Sediments from groundwater-linked lakes, often used for paleoenvironmental analysis, should be expected to reflect isotopic complexities of the type shown here. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

An object-based image analysis approach to assess irrigation-water consumption from MODIS products in Ethiopia

Efficient water-resource management is essential with regard to food security, growing populations and climate change. This is especially important for low- and middle-income (LMC) countries where food is often locally produced by traditional smallholder farming. Detailed knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of irrigation-water consumption provides valuable information to anticipate local food shortages and water scarcity as a result of climate variability. Yet, adequate techniques to quantify irrigation-water consumption at field level over large areas are lacking. Irrigation estimates generally have a coarse resolution making them inadequate for field-level assessments.This study developed a remote-sensing-based approach to quantify spatio-temporal patterns of irrigation-water consumption at field level using the MODIS evapotranspiration product (MOD16A2) and existing land-use maps on the spatio-temporal distribution of irrigated agriculture. Object-based image analysis was used to establish local evapotranspiration differences between irrigated and rainfed fields on a monthly basis, which are the irrigation-water consumption rates of the irrigated fields. This novel method was applied to a study area in the Central Rift Valley in Ethiopia where smallholder farming is dominant and only a few large-scale farms are present. Comparison with irrigation-water-consumption values of a local irrigation scheme showed that the monthly temporal dynamics were captured quite well, but lower values were calculated compared to the scheme's field data. Comparison with two validated remote-sensing based studies in Africa showed good agreement as irrigation-water-consumption estimates were in the same order of magnitude. Irrigation-water consumption follows the temporal rainfall pattern, i.e. irrigation practices intensify with increased water availability. Surface water is commonly used for irrigation in the study area.Our study shows that smallholder practices have a lower irrigation-water consumption compared to modern large-scale farms by approximately a factor 3. Irrigation-water consumption in the area is considerable, especially during the dry season. On average 32 % of excess water (precipitation – evapotranspiration) is consumed for irrigation. For smallholder irrigation and large-scale irrigation specifically this is 28 % and 63 % respectively.The object-based approach presented here is an operational mapping method for field-level irrigation-water-consumption over large areas. MOD16A2 is a global open-source readily-available evapotranspiration product used here although an evapotranspiration product with a higher spatial resolution might be preferred. Our approach can provide irrigation-water-consumption estimates over large areas in data-poor regions, which will increase the understanding of spatio-temporal patterns of smallholder irrigation and provide information to optimize water use.     

北阿尔金巴什考供盆地南缘花岗杂岩体特征及锆石SHRIMP定年

北阿尔金巴什考供盆地南缘花岗杂岩体呈近东西向分布,长约49公里,出露面积约90平方公里,与围岩之间为明显的侵入接触关系,接触界线为不规则的渡状、锯齿状。围岩为前寒武纪砂岩、片岩、泥岩及凝灰质砂岩。该杂岩体主要由巨斑花岗岩、红色花岗岩、灰白色似斑状花岗岩和粉红色似斑状花岗岩组成。杂岩体的主元素含量变化不大,SiO2为65．14％- 75．66％,全碱含量为7．49-8．96％,K2O／Na2O比值为1．12-2．68,岩石的里特曼指数平均为2．34,CIPW标准矿物计算均出现刚玉(AC)(平均为1．78),说明岩石铝过饱和;杂岩体的稀土总量变化于89．44×10-6-335．28×10-6之间,不同岩石类型均有负铕异常,且从巨斑花岗岩→灰白色似斑状花岗岩→红色似斑状花岗岩→红色花岗岩,负铕异常越来越明显,表现在Eu／ Eu+值由0．65→0．51→0．48→0．30。在微量元素蛛网图上,所有样品的微量元素丰度均高于原始地幔值,并具有相似的配分模式,即在Ba、Nb、Sr、P、Ti处呈明显的低谷,显示出S型花岗岩的特征。锆石SHRIMP U-Pb定年得出,巨斑花岗岩、红色中细粒花岗岩、灰白色和粉红色似斑状花岗岩的年龄分别为474．3±6．8Ma、446．6±5．2Ma、434．5±3．8Ma和431．1±3．8Ma。结合区域地质特征,我们认为,该杂岩体形成于同碰撞-碰撞后的构造环境。