Evaluating patterns of temporal glacier changes in Greater Himalayan Range,Jammu & Kashmir,India

To account for the variable response of the Himalayan glaciers towards climatic warming during the recent past, an attempt has been made in the present study to evaluate the changes in glacier area and shift in glacier snout position of selected glaciers in a part of the Greater Himalayan Range (GHR), Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), India. Multi-temporal satellite images of different years viz. 1975, 1989, 1992, 2001 and 2007 were used for mapping the boundaries of glaciers. Among the three observation periods (1975–1989/1992, 1989/1992–2001 and 2001–2007), during 1989/1992–2001 the majority of the glaciers exhibited considerable decrease in area. In contrast during 2001–2007, some glaciers exhibited increase in area indicating comparatively cooler climatic conditions as compared to the previous period. With reference to snout retreat, all the glaciers had a fluctuating trend of retreat during the observation periods although the retreat rate was higher during 1989/1992–2001 in some glaciers.     

Late summer glacial meltwater contributions to Bull Lake Creek stream flow and water quality,Wind River Range,Wyoming, USA

ABSTRACT

The Wind River Range in Wyoming contains more glacial ice than any other location within the USA’s Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Bull Lake Creek watershed in the southeast portion of the range contains five major (0.6–1.5 km²) glaciers along with numerous smaller glaciers that contribute to the Wind River. Field measurements were made of discharge from the Knife Point and Bull Lake Glaciers to determine the contribution of glacial meltwater to the river system. Water samples were collected and analyzed for stable isotopes, major ions, nutrients, and selected trace elements. Meltwater from the two glaciers contributed 13.9% to Bull Lake Creek streamflow (site BL-3), with all glaciers within the Bull Lake Creek watershed estimated to be contributing 55.6% to the streamflow of Bull Lake Creek (United States Geological Survey gage) during the August 2015 study period. Hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope analysis indicated as much as 80% of late summer discharge in the upper Bull Lake Creek watershed was attributed to glacial meltwater. This study also found that nutrients (NO₃ – NO_2, total P) from glacial meltwater can be a significant source of nutrient loading to Bull Lake Creek.     

Rocky Substrate and the Lower Treeline Ecotone of Yellowstone's Northern Range

Lower treeline ecotones are influenced by several processes, including fire, grazing, and climatic variables, but rocky substrate is an under-recognized factor affecting their patterns and dynamics. On the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park, we hypothesized that north-facing slopes and riparian zones would explain the distribution of most forested areas, but that rocky substrate would explain a substantial additional portion of the lower treeline, and that advancement of conifers into grassland has occurred along rocky substrate. We used GIS software and change detection analysis to assess the spatial distribution and change of the forest with respect to north-facing slopes, riparian areas, and rocky substrate. As in other lower treeline studies, we found that north-facing slopes and riparian zones contained the majority of forested land (63%). However, areas with rocky substrate accounted for more forested area than north-facing slopes and riparian zones combined (67.4%), including 28% of forest that was not explained by the first two variables. Change detection analysis between 1954 and 2006 revealed that conifer advancement was insignificant but the number of forested patches increased and the mean size of patches decreased. These results suggest a more fragmented lower treeline environment that may indicate forest advancement in small patches. Field surveys revealed that rocky substrate did not provide conifers with protection from browsing ungulates or fire, yet conifers preferentially established on rocky areas. Our landscape analysis suggests that weathered rock increases soil coarseness in a landscape dominated by fine glacial till, which improves conditions for seedling establishment by reducing competition with grasses and shrubs sufficiently to overcome the negative influence of dry, nutrient-poor microsites in a moisture-stressed environment.     

Surface and subsurface water contributions to streamflow from a mesoscale watershed in complex mountain terrain

An understanding of surface and subsurface water contributions to streamflow is essential for accurate predictions of water supply from mountain watersheds that often serve as water towers for downstream communities. As such, this study used the end‐member mixing analysis technique to investigate source water contributions and hydrologic flow paths of the 264 km² Boulder Creek Watershed, which drains the Colorado Front Range, USA. Four conservative hydrochemical tracers were used to describe this watershed as a 3 end‐member system, and tracer concentration reconstruction suggested that the application of end‐member mixing analysis was robust. On average from 2009 to 2011, snowmelt and rainwater from the subalpine zone and groundwater sampled from the upper montane zone contributed 54%, 22%, and 24% of the annual streamflow, respectively. These values demonstrate increased rainwater and decreased snow water contributions to streamflow relative to area‐weighted mean values derived from previous work at the headwater scale. Young water (2.3 ± 0.8 months) fractions of streamflow decreased from 18–22% in the alpine catchment to 8–10% in the lower elevation catchments and the watershed outlet with implications for subsurface storage and hydrological connectivity. These results contribute to a process‐based understanding of the seasonal source water composition of a mesoscale watershed that can be used to extrapolate headwater streamflow generation predictions to larger spatial scales.     

Coevolution of hydrology and topography on a basalt landscape in the Oregon Cascade Range,USA

Young basalt terrains offer an exceptional opportunity to study landscape and hydrologic evolution through time, since the age of the landscape itself can be determined by dating lava flows. These constructional terrains are also highly permeable, allowing one to examine timescales and process of geomorphic evolution as they relate to the partitioning of hydrologic flowpaths between surface and sub‐surface flow. The western slopes of the Cascade Range in Oregon, USA are composed of a thick sequence of lava flows ranging from Holocene to Oligocene in age, and the landscape receives abundant precipitation of between 2000 and 3500 mm per year. On Holocene and late Pleistocene lava landscapes, groundwater systems transmit most of the recharge to large springs (≥0·85 m³ s^?1) with very steady hydrographs. In watersheds >1 million years old, springs are absent, and well‐developed drainage networks fed by shallow subsurface stormflow produce flashy hydrographs. Drainage density slowly increases with time in this basalt landscape, requiring a million years to double in density. Progressive hillslope steepening and fluvial incision also occur on this timescale. Springs and groundwater‐fed streams transport little sediment and hence are largely ineffective in incising river valleys, so fluvial landscape dissection appears to occur only after springs are replaced by shallow subsurface stormflow as the dominant streamflow generation mechanism. It is proposed that landscape evolution in basalt terrains is constrained by the time required for permeability to be reduced sufficiently for surface flow to replace groundwater flow. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大兴安岭焰山、高山火山——一种新的火山喷发型式

在野外地质资料基础上,利用火山形态学方法,探讨了大兴安岭焰山、高山火山的喷发型式。结果表明,大兴安岭哈拉哈河-绰尔河火山群中的焰山和高山火山不同于斯通博利式喷发形成的火山,其早期爆破喷发的火山碎屑形成火山渣锥、空降火山碎屑席和小型火山碎屑流,晚期溢出大量熔岩。两火山具有较高大的锥体(标高200～300m以上),在结构上,松散火山砾、火山弹等构成下部的降落锥,熔结集块岩构成上部的溅落锥。由火山砾和火山灰组成的空降火山碎屑席分布在火山锥体周围。两火山溢出的熔岩经历了从结壳熔岩→翻花石→渣状熔岩的演变。根据喷发产物可推断焰山和高山火山具有以下喷发特征:爆破喷发形成持续的喷发柱→斯通博利式喷发→熔岩喷泉喷溢,其中以持续时间较长的喷发柱区别于典型的斯通博利式喷发。类似焰山、高山火山的喷发特征,在龙岗第四纪火山群、镜泊湖全新世火山群中也都有个例,这是中国大陆火山作用中一种新的喷发型式。     

新一代GRACE重力卫星反演地球重力场的预期精度

基于低低卫卫跟踪模式,本文主要探讨利用动力学法融合精密轨道数据和星间测距或距离变率数据求解地球重力场的基本原理与方法,该方法既可对两颗低低跟踪卫星的初始状态误差进行有效校正,也可充分利用低轨卫星轨道所包含的低频重力场信息.为探讨适合我国国情的低低跟踪模式下的重力卫星指标,本文以不同星载设备精度指标的组合进行模拟计算,模拟结果显示:(1)把GRACE卫星的星间距离变率指标提高一个量级,其余指标保持与GRACE卫星设计指标一致时,可使地球重力场的精度获得同量级的提高;(2)若星间距离变率为1.0×10^-8 m·s^-1,轨道高度为300 km,加速度计精度为3.0×10^-10 m·s^-2,轨道精度为0.03 m, 星间距离100 km,与利用GRACE的设计指标反演出的重力场精度相比,可提高约121倍,并建议我国未来低低跟踪重力卫星计划参考此指标.     

大兴安岭南端红山子盆地流纹岩的成因:元素和Sr-Nd-Pb同位素制约

红山子晚侏罗世早期火山盆地位于西拉木伦河-长春缝合带以南、康宝-围场-赤峰-开原断裂带以北的辽源地块,其中赋存铀钼矿床的流纹岩为肉红色流纹岩和灰白色流纹岩。为了查明流纹岩的物质来源和形成的构造背景,本文分析了流纹岩的主量元素、微量元素、稀土元素和Sr-Nd-Pb同位素组成。分析结果显示：流纹岩具有高SiO₂、K₂O和Fe₂O₃/FeO值,低Al₂O₃、CaO和MgO的特征,肉红色流纹岩比灰白色流纹岩的SiO₂含量略低、（K₂O+Na₂O）含量高和Fe₂O₃/FeO值略高;肉红色流纹岩和灰白色流纹岩均有较高的稀土含量,明显富集轻稀土,显著亏损铕;高场强元素Nb、Ta、Zr、Hf、Ce、Y、Ga和大离子亲石元素Rb、Th、U的含量较高,但大离子亲石元素Ba、Sr的含量低且变化较大,具有A₁型流纹岩、低Sr-Ba流纹岩和板内拉张构造流纹岩的微量元素特征;具有较小的（⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr）_i、较高的ε_Nd（t）、较年轻的T_DM2和较低的（²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb）_i、（²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb）_i、（²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb）_i,指示流纹岩是源于EMⅠ富集地幔的中元古代年轻下地壳部分熔融的产物,并在岩浆过程中经历了结晶分异。肉红色流纹岩和灰白色流纹岩的差异可能与年轻下地壳物质的成分差异有关。     

大兴安岭北段伸展构造

本文对大兴安岭北段额尔古纳七卡地区发育的大型区域伸展滑脱构造开展了详细的研究,并系统地总结讨论了大兴安岭地区伸展构造及其与大兴安岭隆升的成因联系。查明七卡伸展构造带总体走向NE,滑脱面倾向NW,变形为具有减薄特征的简单剪切应变,发育SL构造岩,运动指向标志J显示向NW的伸展滑脱。结合区域上嫩江科洛伸展构造、嘎啦山伸展构造和磋岗伸展构造的对比研究表明,大兴安岭地区的伸展构造应该是区域伸展作用的产物,形成时间为早白垩世。随着大规模区域伸展作用,大兴安岭地区发生强烈的岩浆底侵,导致大兴安岭快速隆升,从而使其形成东侧向SE和西侧向NW方向滑脱的伸展构造。