Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonic transition in Kuqa Depression-Tianshan, Northwest China: Evidence from sandstone detrital and geochemical records

Succeeding to multiply collisions of different blocks in Late Paleozoic[1―5], complex intracontinental structural deformation occurred in the Tianshan area during Mesozoic-Cenozoic[6―16], which controlled coeval basin-range evolution and resulted in intensive modi- fication and adjustment of the Paleozoic oil-gas reser- voirs[17―19]. The Kuqa Depression is a secendary struc- tural unit of the Tarim basin, in which Mesozoic- Ce- nozoic deposits occur in thickness of 6000―7000 m. The Kuq…     

DEFORESTATION IN NORTHEAST THAILAND, 1975–91: RESULTS OF A GENERAL STATISTICAL MODEL

Using a general statistical model, this study attempts to characterise the trend of deforestation in the northeast region (Isan) of Thailand between 1975 and 1991, a period when the kingdom had sustained high rates of economic growth and steady increases in population. Using data obtained directly from government bodies on the 17 provinces comprising this heavily deforested region, the study examines the correlations between forest area and a set of six variables: population density, agricultural area, real per capita income, accumulated irrigated area, agricultural credit levels, and distance from Bangkok, the national political and economic centre. It also considers the effect of the two logging bans instituted in 1979 and since 1989. The study found a negative correlation between forest area and population density in particular, followed in ranking by agricultural credit, per capita income, the logging bans and distance from Bangkok. Viewed together with more recent data showing that rates of deforestation in the kingdom as a whole have slowed and appear to be stabilising, these results also suggest the beginnings in the 1990s of a forest transition – from an industrial to a post‐industrial stage in forest utilisation – in Thailand.     

High-T phase transition of synthetic ANaB(LiMg)CMg5Si8O22(OH)2 amphibole: an X-ray synchrotron powder diffraction and FTIR spectroscopic study

The synthetic amphibole Na_0.95(Li_0.95Mg_1.05)Mg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ was studied in situ at high-T, using IR OH-stretching spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. At room-T the sample has P2₁ /m symmetry, as shown by the FTIR spectrum. It shows in the OH region two well-defined and intense absorptions at 3,748 and 3,712 cm⁻¹, respectively, and two minor bands at 3,667 and 3,687 cm⁻¹. The main bands are assigned to the two independent O–H groups in the primitive structure. The two minor bands evidencing the presence of small amount of vacant A-site (^A□_0.05). With increasing T, these bands shift continuously and merge into a unique absorption at high temperature. A change as a function of increasing T is revealed by the evolution of the refined unit-cell parameters, whose trend shows a transition to C2/m at about 320–330°C. The spontaneous scalar strain, fitted with a tricritical 2–6 Landau potential, gives a T _c of 325(10)°C (β parameter = 0.27). Comparison with the second-order P2₁ /m ⇔ C2/m phase transition at 255°C for synthetic amphibole ^ANa_0.8^B(Na_0.8Mg_1.2)^CMg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂ indicates that the substitution of Na with Li at the B-sites strongly affects the thermodynamic character and the T _c of the phase transition. The comparison of LNMSH amphiboles with cummingtonitic ones shows that the high-T thermodynamic behaviour is affected by A-site occupancy.     

Diagnosing snow accumulation errors in a rain‐snow transitional environment with snow board observations

Diagnosing the source of errors in snow models requires intensive observations, a flexible model framework to test competing hypotheses, and a methodology to systematically test the dominant snow processes. We present a novel process‐based approach to diagnose model errors through an example that focuses on snow accumulation processes (precipitation partitioning, new snow density, and snow compaction). Twelve years of meteorological and snow board measurements were used to identify the main source of model error on each snow accumulation day. Results show that modeled values of new snow density were outside observational uncertainties in 52% of days available for evaluation, while precipitation partitioning and compaction were in error 45% and 16% of the time, respectively. Precipitation partitioning errors mattered more for total winter accumulation during the anomalously warm winter of 2014–2015, when a higher fraction of precipitation fell within the temperature range where partition methods had the largest error. These results demonstrate how isolating individual model processes can identify the primary source(s) of model error, which helps prioritize future research.     

Upper Cretaceous marine‐continental transition (Leonese Area,NW Spain) defined from integrated outcrop and seismic stratigraphy

The Upper Cretaceous succession of the Leonese Area (NW Spain) comprises mixed clastic and carbonate sediments. This succession is divided into two lithostratigraphic units, the Voznuevo Member and the Boñar Formation, which represent fluvial, shoreface, intertidal, subtidal and open‐shelf sedimentary environments. Regional seismic interpretation and sequence stratigraphic analysis have allowed the study of lateral and vertical changes in the sedimentary record and the definition of third‐order levels of stratigraphic cyclicity. On the basis of these data, the succession can be divided into two second‐order depositional sequences (DS‐1 and DS‐2), incorporating three system tracts in a lowstand to transgressive to highstand system tract succession (LST–TST–HST). These sequences are composed of fluvial systems at the base with palaeocurrents that flowed westward and south‐westward. The upper part of DS‐1 (Late Albian–Middle Turonian) shows evidence of intertidal to subtidal and offshore deposits. DS‐2 (Late Turonian–Campanian) comprises intertidal to subtidal, tidal flat, shallow marine and lacustrine deposits and interbedded fluvial deposits. Two regressive–transgressive cycles occurred in the area related to eustatic controls. The evolution of the basin can be explained by base‐level changes and associated shifts in depositional trends of successive retrogradational episodes. By using isobath and isopach maps, the main palaeogeographic features of DS‐1 and DS‐2 were constrained, namely coastline positions, the existence and orientation of corridors through which fluvial networks were channelled and the location of the main depocentres of the basin. Sedimentation on the Upper Cretaceous marine platform was mainly controlled by (i) oscillations of sea level and (ii) the orientation of Mesozoic faults, which induced sedimentation along depocentres. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2000～2015年会理县地表覆盖变化监测

以LandSat多时相影像为数据源,采用基于规则的面向对象分类方法,监测会理县2000～ 2015年地表覆盖变化.结合1∶50 000 DEM数据,分析了会理县地表覆盖构成与转移、变化动态度及潜在退耕地情况.监测分析结论能为会理县加强空间管制、促进土地资源集约利用、指导生态文明建设等提供决策信息支撑.     

Scaling the Anthropocene: How the stories we tell matter

Ongoing debates in the Earth, planetary, and social sciences examine the merits and implications of traces in the stratigraphic record that would indicate that humans are now one of the ‘great forces of nature’. Candidates for key marker horizons in such a stratal section include noted changes in carbon and nitrogen concentrations, plastics, radionuclides, and metals. Candidates for determining calendar age, include the tipping point in land cover from wildlands to agriculture and the first nuclear detonation. Here we offer a critical review of recent literature contributing to delineating an Anthropogenic stratum, by exploring their interpretation as initiating, sustaining, or indeed ending an Anthropocene epoch. We also offer a reflection on the layer not representing a new period, any more than, for instance, iridium marks a ‘meteoritic’ epoch between the Cretaceous and Palaeogene. We examine temporal scales for their accord with geological methods of definition and delineation, and for the opportunities and constraints each presents for understanding and responding to transformations in the Earth system. Our thesis is that increasingly fortified stances on the ‘right’ definition of the Anthropocene epoch follow traditions of linear and authoritarian historical accounts, and prevent discovering epistemes of human-environment interactions that are open for coexistence. The co-existence of many key transitions will sustain ongoing and fruitful deliberations over human-environment interactions that the Anthropocene proposal has initiated, promoting research that can work with the many scales, discourses, and narratives of environmental change.     

Landscape pattern and transition under natural and anthropogenic disturbance in an arid region of northwestern China

There is a pressing need to determine the relationships between driving variables and landscape transformations. Human activities shape landscapes and turn them into complex assemblages of highly diverse structures. Other factors, including climate and topography, also play significant roles in landscape transitions, and identifying the interactions among the variables is critical to environmental management. This study analyzed the configurations and spatial-temporal processes of landscape changes from 1998 to 2011 under different anthropogenic disturbances, identified the main variables that determine the landscape patterns and transitions, and quantified the relationships between pairs of driver sets. Landsat images of Baicheng and Tekes from 1998, 2006 and 2011 were used to classify landscapes by supervised classification. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and variation partitioning were performed to identify the main driving forces and to quantify the unique, shared, and total explained variation of the sets of variables. The results indicate that the proportions of otherwise identical landscapes in Baicheng and Tekes were very different. The area of the grassland in Tekes was much larger than that of the cropland; however, the differences between the grassland and cropland in Baicheng were not as pronounced. Much of the grassland in Tekes was located in an area that was near residents, whereas most of the grassland in Baicheng was far from residents. The slope, elevation, annual precipitation, annual temperature, and distance to the nearest resident were strong driving forces influencing the patterns and transitions of the landscapes. The results of the variation partitioning indicated complex interrelationships among all of the pairs of driver sets. All of the variable sets had significant explanatory roles, most of which had both unique and shared variations with the others. The results of this study can assist policy makers and planners in implementing sustainable landscape management and effective protection strategies.     

中国北方三流域河流—沙漠过渡带地表沉积物化学元素空间差异分析

通过对克里雅河、毛布拉格孔兑以及西拉木伦河三流域的河流-沙漠过渡带地表沉积物的7种常量氧化物以及15种微量元素进行因子分析,结果显示:三个流域之间或不同河段因子分析提取的公因子均可以概括为较稳定的铁锰矿物、较不稳定的长石类和方解石（白云石）类等硅酸盐矿物以及稳定的稀土元素和重矿物等类别;河流间因子分析结果表明,自西向东三个流域沿河地表沉积物的化学元素富集与迁移程度呈递增趋势,化学风化程度增强;流域内因子分析结果表明,自上游至下游,样点化学组成均愈变复杂,不同河段或不同河岸沉积物化学元素空间分布规律与其物源、地貌格局以及水分条件等因素有关;自河床至阶地,不同地貌单元地表沉积物化学元素呈相异的递变规律,这与在距离河道远近不同,物源、动力因素的分配不同有关。