Warming permafrost in European mountains

Here we present the first systematic measurements of European mountain permafrost temperatures from a latitudinal transect of six boreholes extending from the Alps, through Scandinavia to Svalbard. Boreholes were drilled in bedrock to depths of at least 100 m between May 1998 and September 2000. Geothermal profiles provide evidence for regional-scale secular warming, since all are nonlinear, with near-surface warm-side temperature deviations from the deeper thermal gradient. Topographic effects lead to variability between Alpine sites. First approximation estimates, based on curvature within the borehole thermal profiles, indicate a maximum ground surface warming of +1 °C in Svalbard, considered to relate to thermal changes in the last 100 years. In addition, a 15-year time series of thermal data from the 58-m-deep Murtèl–Corvatsch permafrost borehole in Switzerland, drilled in creeping frozen ice-rich rock debris, shows an overall warming trend, but with high-amplitude interannual fluctuations that reflect early winter snow cover more strongly than air temperatures. Thus interpretation of the deeper borehole thermal histories must clearly take account of the potential effects of changing snow cover in addition to atmospheric temperatures.     

Degradation of High Mountain Ecosystems in Northern Europe

Data material of a long-term high mountain ecosystem research project was used to interpret the grazing impact of reindeers. In central Norway investigations were conducted to both, areas where reindeer grazing is excluded, and areas where intensive pasturing is present for a long period of time.The comparative analysis of grazing impact was based on similar environmental conditions. The results were transposed to northern Norway where dramatic overgrazing had been exceeding the carrying capacity. Using landscape ecological mappings, especially of vegetation and soils, the impact of reindeer grazing in different areas became obvious. Non-grazed lichen-dominated ecosystems of the snow-free locations functioned sensitively near the limit of organism survival. These localities were most influenced by grazing as they offer the winter forage to the reindeers. So, intensive grazing in central Norway led to landscape degradation by destruction of the vegetation and superinduced by soil erosion. Those features were comparable to the situation in northern Norway, where a broad-scale destruction of the environment combined with a depression of the altitudinal belts had occurred due to overgrazing. Functioning principles of intact high mountain systems were explained and used to interpret the environmental background for the understanding of degradation phenomena. Finally, the use of a new model calculating the carrying capacity of high mountain landscape was discussed.     

四川省山地类型界定与山区类型划分

山地类型的界定是科学认知山地规律的基础,对山地科学的发展有着基础性的意义。山地科学研究的出发点与落脚点,是为了促进山区区域在各方面的可持续发展,所以在山地类型界定的研究结果基础上对山区类型进行划分,是山区可持续发展的基本科学依据。采用GIS技术并结合DEM数据,对四川省的山地类型进行界定,同时对山区的类型进行划分。在山地类型界定涉及到的地形起伏度计算中,对均值变点法的应用结果进行了讨论与改进,得到地形起伏度最佳统计单元为9.92 km2。将四川省山地类型界定为丘陵、低山、中低山、中山、次高山、高山、极高山;将山区划分为纯丘陵县、半山区县、准山区县、显山区县、整山区县,并对山区发展的政策方向提出了一定的建议。     

Evaluating the utility of the EUMETSAT HSAF snow recognition product over mountainous areas of eastern Turkey

Abstract

Monitoring snow parameters (e.g. snow-cover area, snow water equivalent) is challenging work. Because of its natural physical properties, snow strongly affects the evolution of weather on a daily basis and climate on a longer time scale. In this paper, the snow recognition product generated from the MSG-SEVIRI images within the framework of the Hydrological Satellite Facility (HSAF) Project of EUMETSAT is presented. Validation of the snow recognition product H10 was done for the snow season (from 1 January to 31 March) of the water year 2009. The MOD10A1 and MOD10C2 snow products were also used in the validation studies. Ground truth of the products was obtained by using 1890 snow depth observations from 20 meteorological stations, which are mainly located in mountainous areas and are distributed across the eastern part of Turkey. The possibility of 37% cloud cover reduction was obtained by merging 15-min observations from MSG-SEVIRI as opposed to using only one daily observation from MODIS. The coarse spatial resolution of the H10 product gave higher commission errors compared to the MOD10A1 product. Snow depletion curves obtained from the HSAF snow recognition product were compared with those derived from the MODIS 8-day snow cover product. The preliminary results show that the HSAF snow recognition product, taking advantage of using high temporal frequency measurement with spectral information required for snow mapping, significantly improves the mapping of regional snow-cover extent over mountainous areas.

Citation Surer, S. and Akyurek, Z., 2012. Evaluating the utility of the EUMETSAT HSAF snow recognition product over mountainous areas of eastern Turkey. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (8), 1–11.     

低丘缓坡荒滩等未利用地开发利用宜建适宜性评价--以山东青州市为例

以青州市为例,对低丘缓坡荒滩等未利用地开发利用宜建进行适宜性评价,选取自然、社会、生态等因素的指标作为参评因子,确定标准值及权重,得出4种评价结果：最适宜建设、适宜建设、基本适宜和不适宜。     

“山水林田湖草沙生命共同体”理念下的科尔沁沙地生态治理

“山水林田湖草沙生命共同体”理念为沙地生态环境治理指明了新方向,但是在沙区开展什么研究却是新课题。本文基于生态建设面临的挑战,从山水林田湖草沙一体化治理的角度,探析了科尔沁沙地生态治理的研究方向及应重点关注的问题。     

Environmental change and water management in the Pyrenees: Facts and future perspectives for Mediterranean mountains

This paper analyses the effect of environmental changes observed in the 20th century on hydrology and water management in the southern Pyrenees, in terms of land use and climate. Moreover, a projected water-resource scenario for the 21st century is presented and discussed. Our results demonstrate that changes in precipitation, temperature, and snow accumulation, together with an increase in vegetation density in headwater regions, have led to a marked reduction in water availability in the region. Water resource managers have introduced major changes to dam operations to meet increasing water demand for irrigation purposes in lowland areas. Climatic and land-cover scenarios for the next century indicate that the sustainability of the equilibrium between available resources and water demand will be seriously threatened. These changes predicted for the Pyrenees may be representative of the changes that will occur within many other Mediterranean mountain sectors with similar climatic and socio-economic conditions.     

祁连-龙首山元古宙大火成岩省与金川型铜镍矿关系探讨

祁连-龙首山地区发育多处镁铁-超镁铁质岩体,其成矿表现及与金川矿床所代表的大规模岩浆事件的关系尚不清晰。本次研究通过区域地质建造对比、详细剖面刻画,岩石学、地球化学辅助,厘定了祁连-龙首山地区镁铁-超镁铁质岩体年代学格架与含矿性评价,初步表明金川超大型岩浆铜镍硫化物矿床是新元古代大规模岩浆事件的产物,可能与诺迪尼亚超大陆的裂解所导致的大火成岩省有关。在其外围,发育有多期镁铁-超镁铁质岩体,尽管南祁连化隆地区所发现的镁铁-超镁铁质岩体与金川铜镍矿为非同期的产物,但也表明是一期比较重要的岩浆铜镍矿成矿事件,对于拓展区域找矿实现找矿突破具有重要作用。     

湖南省山区范围划分初探

山地和山区范围的界定是山区数据库建设和数字山地战略实施的基础。该文在GIS空间分析和数理统计分析技术的支持下,选取高程、道路密度、林草地比例、耕地比例、人口密度和GDP 6个因子,通过构建基于栅格单元的边缘生长模型,计算非山地的栅格单元被划分为山区的概率,并设定一个阈值以区分山区和非山区,在湖南省山地范围的基础上探讨其山区范围的划分。计算得到湖南省山区面积占总面积的64.52%,相对于山地面积增长了43.47%,且将原本孤立的山地连接成片,山区更具连续性和完整性。     

中国县级以上行政边界的特征及其变动趋势

行政边界是行政区划的基本要素之一,是国家依法实施有效行政管理的空间基础和重要依据.本研究采用空间分析、基于格网的多元回归分析等方法,对中国县级以上行政边界的特征及其变动趋势进行了研究.结果表明:当前中国仍基本遵循着山川形便与犬牙相入的政区划界原则,总体呈现出行政级别越高,受山川形便的影响越明显,海拔越低,受犬牙相入的影...