Weathering,erosion and sediment composition in a high‐gradient river,Calabria, Italy

Source rock lithology and immediate modifying processes, such as chemical weathering and mechanical erosion, are primary controls on fluvial sediment supply. Sand composition and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of parent rocks, soil and fluvial sand of the Savuto River watershed, Calabria (Italy), were used to evaluate the modifications of source rocks through different sections of the basin, characterized by different geomorphic processes, in a sub‐humid Mediterranean climate. The headwaters, with gentle topography, produce a coarse‐grained sediment load derived from deeply weathered gneiss, having sand of quartzofeldspathic composition, compositionally very different from in situ degraded bedrock. Maximum estimated CIA values suggest that source rock has been affected significantly by weathering, and it testifies to a climatic threshold on the destruction of the bedrock. The mid‐course has steeper slopes and a deeply incised valley; bedrock consists of mica‐schist and phyllite with a very thin regolith, which provides large cobble to very coarse sand sediments to the main channel. Slope instability, with an areal incidence of over 40 per cent, largely supplies detritus to the main channel. Sand‐sized detritus of soil and fluvial sand is lithic. Estimated CIA value testifies to a significant weathering of the bedrock too, even if in this part of the drainage basin steeper slopes allow erosion to exceed chemical weathering. The lower course has a braided pattern and sediment load is coarse to medium–fine grained. The river cuts across Palaeozoic crystalline rocks and Miocene siliciclastic deposits. Sand‐sized detritus, contributed from these rocks and homogenized by transport processes, has been found in the quartzolithic distal samples. Field and laboratory evidence indicates that landscape development was the result of extensive weathering during the last postglacial temperature maximum in the headwaters, and of mass‐failure and fluvial erosional processes in the mid‐ and low course. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of air–sea–ice interactions on an anomalous phytoplankton bloom in the Indian Ocean sector of the Antarctic Zone of the Southern Ocean during the austral summer, 2011

An anomalous phytoplankton bloom was recorded in the Indian Ocean sector of the Antarctic Zone (AZ) of the Southern Ocean (SO) during the austral summer, 2011. Possible mechanisms for the triggering of such a large bloom were analyzed with the help of in situ and satellite data. The bloom, which formed in January 2011, intensified during February and weakened by March. High surface chlorophyll (Chl) concentrations (0.76 mg m⁻³) were observed in the area of the bloom (60°S, 47°E) with a Deep Chlorophyll Maximum (DCM) of 1.15 mg m⁻³ at a depth of 40–60 m. During 2011, both the concentration and spatial extent of sea ice were high on the western side of the bloom, between 0°E and 40°E, and enhanced freshwater influx was observed in the study area as a result of melting ice. A positive Southern Annular Mode (SAM) (with a resultant northward horizontal advection) and an intense La Niña during 2010–2011 are possible reasons for the high sea-ice concentrations. The enhanced Chl a observed in the study region, which can be attributed to the phytoplankton bloom, likely resulted from the influx of nutrient-laden freshwater derived from melting sea ice.     

湘南传统村落人居环境的营建模式

以湘南地区为地理单元,在分析该地自然地理条件和历史文化环境的基础上,探索该地传统村落人居环境的选址思想和营建模式。从选址思想来看,基于安全防御、农业生产、经济营建和风水观念的考虑,湘南传统村落多选址于地域环境相对独立或封闭的丘陵坡地或台地上;从营建模式来看,湘南传统村落人居环境追求“天人合一”的哲学思想,布局遵循传统礼制,实行自主互助并秉承经济实用的原则,发展体现区位择优的生长规律。     

Tectonic and climatic controls on historical landscape modifications: The avulsion of the lower Cecina River (Tuscany, central Italy)

Integration of geomorphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology and morphotectonics in the analysis of the lower Cecina River reach, coastal Tuscany, reveals an undocumented historical channel avulsion. Geomorphological evidence and radiocarbon dating support that, from the Last Glacial Maximum until the end of the 16th century, the Cecina River flowed north of the present course and formed a well-developed cuspate delta. Two concurrent factors, active tectonics as a preparing factor and discharge regime as an activation factor, are thus inferred to have favored the avulsion of Cecina River. Fragmentary archaeological and historical records indicate that the late Holocene Cecina River plain was virtually unpopulated until the latest 16th century. This seems the main reason why high-magnitude hydrological events and prominent river channel avulsions were not reported in historical chronicles. From this perspective, geomorphological data may provide important knowledge and understanding of recent dynamics of environmental change when historical record is lacking or missing.     

A new interpretation of terraces in the Taranto Gulf: the role of extensional faulting

The Taranto Gulf of southern Italy provides an excellent case where it is possible to document the importance of normal faults in displacing terraced deposits. The study area is located at the front of the southern Apennines, that is a fold-and-thrust belt developed following the closure of the Mesozoic Tethys Ocean, and the deformation of the Adriatic passive margin during Tertiary and Quaternary times. The outer, eastern parts of the belt were structured in Quaternary, i.e. up to Middle Pleistocene times.The front of the chain is partially sealed by Pliocene–Pleistocene foredeep deposits, which represent the infill of the Bradanic Trough. The upper portion of the middle Pleistocene succession consists of marine sands and conglomerates that in the previous literature have been arranged in several orders of terraces. Analysis of aerial photographs and geomorphological mapping has shown the occurrence of prominent geomorphic lineaments, which appear to control the local drainage pattern. Some of these structures coincide with the map trace of normal faults that produce vertical offsets of the marine terrace surfaces in the order of ca. 10 m each. Many of the fault escarpments reduce their elevation and terminate laterally. In other cases fault escarpments are laterally continuous and can be traced for up to 3–4 km. Scarp height is between 2 and 10 m. Their mean trend ranges from NNE–SSW to ENE–WSW and defines an arcuate pattern that mimics the present coastline.An accurate geomorphological, sedimentological and stratigraphic analysis has been carried out in a selected area of the Bradanic Trough (Pisticci transect) to investigate in detail the relationships between normal faults and the development of the terraces. This analysis allowed us to recognise five facies associations related to the upper and lower beachface and to the neritic clays which represent the substratum of the terraces. More importantly, we observed that all the terraced deposits in the Pisticci transect could be referred to a single sedimentary body displaced by faults. The terraced deposits are related to an event of beach progradation, of Middle Pleistocene age, which has been documented in other areas of the Italian peninsula. These results outline an intimate relationship between the arcuate trend of the recognised fault set and the present coastline pattern. The development of the normal faults can be related to large-scale gravitational processes developed after the general tilting towards the SE of the Bradanic Trough.     

Subsurface influence on SST in the tropical Indian Ocean: structure and interannual variability

Interannual variations of subsurface influence on SST in the Indian Ocean show strong seasonality. The subsurface influence on SST confines to the southern Indian Ocean (SIO) in boreal winter and spring; it is observed on both sides of the equator in boreal summer and fall. Interannual long Rossby waves are at the heart of this influence, and contribute significantly to the coupled climate variability in the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO). Principal forcing mechanism for the generation of these interannual waves in the Indian Ocean and the relative influence of two dominant interannual signals in the tropics, namely El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), are also discussed. Two distinct regions dominated by either of the above climate signals are identified. IOD dominates the forcing of the off-equatorial Rossby waves, north of 10°S, and the forcing comes mainly from the anomalous Ekman pumping associated with the IOD. However, after the demise of IOD activity by December, Rossby waves are dominantly forced by ENSO, particularly south of 10°S.It is found that the subsurface feedback in the northern flank of the southern Indian Ocean ridge region (north of 10°S) significantly influences the central east African rainfall in boreal fall. The Indian Ocean coupled process further holds considerable capability of predicting the east African rainfall by one season ahead. Decadal modulation of the subsurface influence is also noticed during the study period. The subsurface influence north of 10°S coherently varies with the IOD, while it varies coherently with the ENSO south of this latitude.     

南半球中高纬度区域不同类型云的辐射特性

利用CloudSat的2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR云分类产品和2B-FLXHR-LIDAR辐射产品4 a（2007-2010年）的数据,定量分析了单层云（高云、中云、低云）和3种双层云（如:高云与中云共存、高云与低云共存以及中云与低云共存）在南半球中高纬度（40°-65°S）的云量、云辐射强迫和云辐射加热率。其中云辐射加热率定义为有云时的大气加热率廓线与晴空大气加热率廓线的差值。结果表明:研究区域盛行单层低云和单层中云,其云量分别为44.1%和10.3%。并且,中云重叠低云在双层云中云量也是最大（8.7%）。不同类型云的云量也显著影响着其云辐射强迫。单层低云在大气层顶、地表以及大气中的净云辐射强迫分别是-64.8、-56.5和-8.4 W/m2,其绝对值大于其他类型云。虽然单层的中云在大气层顶和地表的净辐射强迫也为负值,但其在大气中的净云辐射强迫为正值（2.3 W/m2）。最后,讨论了不同类型云对大气中辐射能量垂直分布的影响。所有类型云的短波（或长波）云辐射加热率都随高度升高表现为由负值转为正值（或由正值转为负值）。对于大部分云,其净云辐射加热率主要由长波云辐射加热率决定。这些研究结果旨在为模式中云重叠参数化方案在区域的适用性评估及改进提供观测依据。