Paleocurrent and fabric analyses of the imbricated fluvial gravel deposits in Huangshui Valley, the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Gravel deposits on fluvial terraces contain a wealth of information about the paleofluvial system. In this study, flow direction and provenance were determined by systematic counts of more than 2000 clasts of imbricated gravel deposits in the Xining Region, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. These gravel deposits range in age from the modern Huangshui riverbed to Miocene-aged deposits overlain by eolian sediments. Our major objectives were not only to collect first-hand field data on the fluvial gravel sediments of the Xining Region, but also to the reconstruct the evolution of the fluvial system. These data may offer valuable information about uplift of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau during the late Cenozoic era. Reconstructed flow directions of the higher and lower gravel deposits imply that the river underwent a flow reversal of approximately 130–180°. In addition, the lithological compositions in the higher gravel deposits differ significantly from the lower terraces, suggesting that the source areas changed at the same time. Eolian stratigraphy overlying the gravel deposits and paleomagnetic age determination indicate that this change occurred sometime between 1.55 Ma and 1.2 Ma. We suggest that tectonic activity could explain the dramatic changes in flow direction and lithological composition during this time period. Therefore, this study provides a new scenario of fluvial response to tectonic uplift: a reversal of flow direction. In addition, field observation and statistical analyses reveal a strong relationship between rock type, size and roundness of clasts.     

罗布泊东阿奇克谷地雅丹地貌与库姆塔格沙漠形成的关系

阿奇克谷地位于罗布泊洼地之东, 93°E以西, 东西长约150km, 南北宽20~30km。为新生代北山与阿尔金山之间的地堑凹地的一部分, 与东面河西走廊的地堑凹地相通。根据出露的雅丹地层河湖相沉积样品所作的ESR测年(2272~10094kaBP)和本区的地质地貌特征可将阿奇克谷地演化与库姆塔格沙漠的发育史归纳为4个时期。①早更新世至中更新世罗布泊古湖扩大时期, 东部湖湾宽约50~60km, 向东延伸至93°15′E或更东; ②中更新世晚期山地上升与古湖湾退缩消失时期, 距今30万年前左右, 青藏高原强烈隆升, 阻挡了海洋水汽的进入, 亚洲内陆加速变干, 由于阿尔金山的左旋向东滑动, 在北面古湖区地层发生了与阿尔山斜交的羽毛状断裂谷群, 并因东北向的断裂上升与东西向的河西地堑谷地斜交, 阻断了疏勒河水不再向西流入罗布泊, 使东部湖湾向西退缩并逐步消失; ③中更新世晚期至晚更新世初, 暴雨径流与强烈的风蚀作用时期, 阿奇克谷地北部的洪积湖相沉积台地支沟口形成雅丹土丘群, 谷地南面库姆塔格沙漠北面羽毛状断裂谷群形成雅丹垄脊和风蚀谷, 谷地中央呈现出季节性的盐碱沼泽和零星雅丹土丘; ④晚更新世末至全新世库姆塔格沙漠扩大, 向北埋没了羽毛状断裂谷(风蚀谷)和雅丹垄脊, 形成了世界上独特的羽毛状沙丘。     

MAVIS–an upper crustal seismic refraction experiment in the Midland Valley of Scotland

The results of the Midland Valley Investigation by Seismology (MAVIS) are described. The experiment consists of three refraction profiles of between 80 and 100 km length across the Upper Palaeozoic basins of the Scottish Midland Valley.
Three refractors are recognized, thus defining four upper crustal layers. The top two layers are interpreted as Carboniferous plus Upper Old Red Sandstone, and Lower Old Red Sandstone plus Lower Palaeozoic. The structure of the refractor, an unconformity, separating the two layers mirrors surface structure. Deeper refractors, associated with Midland Valley crystalline basement, show no correlation with surface structure. The MAVIS survey allows the refinement of earlier gross interpretation of upper crustal structure in the Midland Valley, but confirms the existence of anomalously shallow (6.4 km s^–1) basement, and shows, in conjunction with results of previous work, that a large area of the central and southern Midland Valley is characterized by one velocity signature, probably indicative of a single terrane.     

Diagenetic history and porosity evolution of Upper Carboniferous sandstones from the Spring Valley #1 well, Maritimes Basin, Canada–implications for reservoir development

Eighty-two core samples were collected from the Spring Valley #1 well which penetrates the Upper Carboniferous strata in the Late Devonian–Early Permian Maritimes Basin. The strata consist of alternating sandstones and mudstones deposited in a continental environment. The objective of this study is to characterize the relationship of sandstone porosity with depth, and to investigate the diagenetic processes related to the porosity evolution. Porosity values estimated from point counting range from 0% to 27.8%, but are mostly between 5% and 20%. Except samples that are significantly cemented by calcite, porosity values clearly decrease with depth. Two phases of calcite cement were distinguished based on Cathodoluminescence, with the early phase being largely dissolved and preserved as minor relicts in the later phase. Feldspar dissolution was extensive and contributed significantly to the development of secondary porosity. Quartz cementation was widespread and increased with depth. Fluid inclusions recorded in calcite and quartz cements indicate that interstitial fluids in the upper part of the stratigraphic column were dominated by waters with salinity lower than that of seawater, the middle part was first dominated by low-salinity waters, then invaded by brines, and the lower part was dominated by brines. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions generally increase with depth and suggest a paleogeothermal gradient of 25 °C/km, which is broadly consistent with that indicated by vitrinite reflectance data. An erosion of 1.1–2.4 (mean 1.75) km of strata is inferred to have taken place above the stratigraphic column. δ¹⁸O values of calcite cements (mainly from the late phase) decrease with depth, implying increasing temperatures of formation, as also suggested by fluid-inclusion data. δ¹³C values of calcite cements range from −13.4‰ to −5.7‰, suggesting that organic matter was an important carbon source for calcite cements. A comparison of the porosity data with a theoretical compaction curve indicates that the upper and middle parts of the stratigraphic column show higher-than-normal porosity values, which are related to significant calcite and feldspar dissolution. Meteoric incursion and carboxylic acids generated from organic maturation were probably responsible for the abundant dissolution events.     

Using multivariate statistical analysis of groundwater major cation and trace element concentrations to evaluate groundwater flow in a regional aquifer

Groundwater samples were collected from 11 springs in Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada and seven springs from Death Valley National Park in eastern California. Concentrations of the major cations (Ca, Mg, Na and K) and 45 trace elements were determined in these groundwater samples. The resultant data were subjected to evaluation via the multivariate statistical technique principal components analysis (PCA), to investigate the chemical relationships between the Ash Meadows and Death Valley spring waters, to evaluate whether the results of the PCA support those of previous hydrogeological and isotopic studies and to determine if PCA can be used to help delineate potential groundwater flow patterns based on the chemical compositions of groundwaters. The results of the PCA indicated that groundwaters from the regional Paleozoic carbonate aquifers (all of the Ash Meadows springs and four springs from the Furnace Creek region of Death Valley) exhibited strong statistical associations, whereas other Death Valley groundwaters were chemically different. The results of the PCA support earlier studies, where potentiometric head levels, δ¹⁸O and δD, geological relationships and rare earth element data were used to evaluate groundwater flow, which suggest groundwater flows from Ash Meadows to the Furnace Creek springs in Death Valley. The PCA suggests that Furnace Creek groundwaters are moderately concentrated Ash Meadows groundwater, reflecting longer aquifer residence times for the Furnace Creek groundwaters. Moreover, PCA indicates that groundwater may flow from springs in the region surrounding Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park, to a spring discharging on the valley floor. The study indicates that PCA may provide rapid and relatively cost‐effective methods to assess possible groundwater flow regimes in systems that have not been previously investigated. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Study of the Extended-range Forecast for the Low Frequency Temperature and High Temperature Weather over the Lower Reaches of Yangtze River Valley in Summer

Based on the observational data, the variations of Intraseasonal Oscillation (ISO) of the daily temperatures and its relationships to the high temperature in summer over the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley (LYRV) were studied for the period of 1979-2011. It is found that the daily temperatures over LYRV in May-August was mainly of periodic oscillations of 1525, 3060 and 6070 days, and the interannual variation of the intensity of its 3060-day oscillation had a strongly positive correlation with the number of days with daily highest temperature over 35 ℃ in July-August. Low frequency components of daily temperature in the LYRV, and the principal components of the Eastern Asian 850 hPa low frequency temperature, over a time period ranging from 1979 to 2000, were used to establish the Extended Complex Autoregressive model (ECAR) on an extended-range forecast of the 3060-day low frequency temperature over the LYRV. A 11-year independent real-time extended-range forecast was conducted on the extended-range forecast of low frequency component of the temperature over the LYRV in May-August, for the period ranging from 2001 to 2011. These experimental results show that this ECAR model, which is based on a data-driven model, has a good forecast skill at the lead time of approximately 23 days, with a forecast ability superior to the traditional autoregressive (AR) model. Hence, the development and variation of the leading 3060-day modes for the Eastern Asian 850 hPa low frequency temperatures and temporal evolutions of their relationships to low frequency components of the temperature over the LYRV in summer are very helpful in predicting the persistent high temperature over the LYRV at a 20 to 25 days lead.     

Age of the MGS5 segment of the Milanggouwan stratigraphical section and evolution of the desert environment on a kiloyear scale during the Last Interglacial in China's Salawusu River Valley: Evidence from Rb and Sr contents and ratios

The MGS5 segment of the Milanggouwan stratigraphical section in China's Salawusu River Valley records 8.5 sedimentary cycles consisting of dune sands alternating with fluviolacustrine facies or/and paleosols. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the distribution of Rb and Sr within the segment and paleoecological evidence (fossils), it appears that the observed sedimentation cycles mainly resulted from fluctuations between dry-cold and warm-humid climates, which indicates that the MGS5 segment experienced at least eight cold-dry and nine warm-humid climatic fluctuations. Of these, 12 cold–warm climate fluctuations correspond to DO20–DO25 and stadia 21–26 recorded by the NGRIP ice cores. Another five cold–warm climatic fluctuations that occurred during MGS5e correspond to five substages (5e1–5e5) recorded by the GRIP ice cores from Greenland. This kind of high-frequency climatic fluctuation on a kiloyear scale was mainly subject to variations in the strength of the East Asian winter and summer monsoons.     

长江中下游成矿带矿产勘查-科研工作回顾和展望

长江中下游成矿带是我国勘查-研究程度相当高的成矿带之一,地质勘查和相关研究工作可以追溯到二十世纪初。本文简要对成矿带自二十世纪初至今的勘查-科研工作成果进行了概括性回顾和综述。中华人民共和国成立后成矿带勘查研究工作总体上可以分为三个阶段:(1)第一阶段:点上起步、由点到面;(2)第二阶段:区域展开、重点突破;(3)第三阶段:立体调查、深部找矿。近年来,长江中下游成矿带的地质找矿和科学研究均取得了重要进展,主要集中在以下几方面:(1)控矿构造格架(包括大地构造,后期还尝试引入了动力学背景的探讨);(2)成岩成矿作用的时代;(3)成矿系列(系统)及其演化;(4)成矿规律;(5)深部找矿。包括本专辑(代序)20余篇文章在内的近年来的找矿新发现、新突破以及对成矿的新认识,深化了成矿带成矿理论研究,指示成矿带特别是深部"第二找矿空间"具有很好的成矿潜力,同时也揭示了成矿带值得关注和仍有待进一步研究的科学问题。     

伊犁河谷2001-2014年地表温度时空分异特征

地表温度是地表能量平衡、区域和全球尺度地表物理过程的一个重要因子。为了辨析中国西北干旱区“天山湿岛”——伊犁河谷的地表温度时空分异,采用趋势分析法和空间数据统计法,探讨了2001-2014年不同土地利用/覆盖类型下地表温度时空变化规律,分析地表温度的时空分异特征及原因。结果表明：（1） MODIS LST产品的精度（平均R²=0.90）能够满足伊犁河谷地表温度时空变化分析的要求;（2）空间上,地表温度呈现出中部高四周低的变化趋势,高温区面积约占总面积的41%,低温区面积约占总面积的23%;时间上,伊犁河谷平均地表温度的年际波动较大,以2013年、2006年、2007年和2008年尤为突出;地表温度的年内变化呈现出单峰型分布,地表温度高值集中在3-8月,最高值出现在7月;（3）不同土地利用/覆盖类型下年均地表温度分布的总体特征为建设用地最高,稀疏草地、旱地等次之,冰川/积雪最低;（4）伊犁河谷地表温度变化趋势呈严重减少、基本不变和轻微增加区域面积分别占5%、37%和26%,以基本不变和轻微增加为主。伊犁河谷地表温度时空变化不仅受大尺度气候变化影响,还受土地类型差异影响,两者共同构成了不同地理区域及景观的温场格局,绿色植被对地表温度时空分布具有重要的调节作用。