Changes in potential evapotranspiration and surface runoff in 1981–2010 and the driving factors in Upper Heihe River Basin in Northwest China

Changes in potential evapotranspiration and surface runoff can have profound implications for hydrological processes in arid and semiarid regions. In this study, we investigated the response of hydrological processes to climate change in Upper Heihe River Basin in Northwest China for the period from 1981 to 2010. We used agronomic, climatic and hydrological data to drive the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model for changes in potential evapotranspiration (ET₀) and surface runoff and the driving factors in the study area. The results showed that increasing autumn temperature increased snow melt, resulting in increased surface runoff, especially in September and October. The spatial distribution of annual runoff was different from that of seasonal runoff, with the highest runoff in Yeniugou River, followed by Babaohe River and then the tributaries in the northern of the basin. There was no evaporation paradox at annual and seasonal time scales, and annual ET₀ was driven mainly by wind speed. ET₀ was driven by relative humidity in spring, sunshine hour duration in autumn and both sunshine hour duration and relative humility in summer. Surface runoff was controlled by temperature in spring and winter and by precipitation in summer (flood season). Although surface runoff increased in autumn with increasing temperature, it depended on rainfall in September and on temperature in October and November. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Development of large‐scale seismites in Upper Cretaceous fluvial sandstones in a fault‐proximal setting

Large‐scale soft‐sediment deformation structures occur within fluvial sandstone bodies of the Upper Cretaceous Wahweap Formation in the Kaiparowits basin, southern Utah, USA. These structures represent an exceptional example of metre‐scale fault‐proximal, seismogenic load structures in nearly homogenous sandstones. The load structures consist of two types: large‐scale load casts and wedge‐shaped load structures. Large‐scale load casts penetrate up to 4·5 m into the underlying sandstone bed. Wedge‐shaped load structures include metre‐scale, parallel, sub‐vertical features and decimetre‐scale features along the periphery of the large‐scale load casts or other wedge‐shaped load structures. Wedge‐shaped load structures contain well‐developed, medial cataclastic shear deformation bands. All load structures contain pervasive well‐defined millimetre‐thick to centimetre‐thick internal laminae, oriented parallel to the outside form of the load structures and asymptotic to deformation bands. Both types of load structures formed because of an inverted density profile, earthquake‐triggered liquefaction and growth of irregularities (a Rayleigh–Taylor instability) on the sandstone–sandstone erosional contact. The internal laminae and deformation bands formed during deformation and clearly demonstrate polyphase deformation, recording a transition from liquefied to hydroplastic to brittle modes of deformation. Decimetre‐scale wedge‐shaped load structures on the edge of the large‐scale load casts probably formed towards the end of a seismic event after the sediment dewatered and increased the frictional contact of grains enough to impart strength to the sands. Metre‐scale wedge‐shaped load structures were created as the tips of downward foundering sediments were driven into fractures, which widened incrementally with seismic pulsation. With each widening of the fracture, gravity and a suction effect would draw additional sediment into the fracture. Superimposed laminae indicate a secondary syndeformational origin for internal laminae, probably by flow‐generated shearing and vibrofluidization mechanisms. Large‐scale and wedge‐shaped load structures, polyphase deformation and secondary laminae may characterize soft‐sediment deformation in certain fault‐proximal settings.     

The Molí del Baró-1 site,a diverse fossil assemblage from the uppermost Maastrichtian of the southern Pyrenees (north-eastern Iberia)

The Molí del Baró-1 site (north-eastern Iberia) has yielded one of the richest fossil assemblages of the continental upper Maastrichtian from western Europe. It includes abundant plant (charophytes, sporomorphs, angiosperm leaves, seeds and logs), invertebrate (mollusc shells, partial insect exoskeletons and eggs) and vertebrate (teeth, bones, eggshells) fossils. The fossil assemblage is composed of both parautochthonous and allochthonous remains that mostly deposited in a pool formed at the edge of a meandering river. Plant megafossil evidence suggest that at least three angiosperm species (a willow-like dicot, palms and a likely typhacean monocot) formed the plant community growing in this fluvial environment. Tooth remains indicate that crocodylomorphs were diverse (including atoposaurids, ziphosuchians and eusuchians) which together with small theropod dinosaurs likely consumed prey carcasses or scavenged near the depositional setting. Prismatoolithid eggshells also suggest the presence of nearby nesting area of theropods. On the other hand, hadrosauroids apparently dominated phytophagous faunas including lambeosaurines as well as more basal forms. The taxonomic composition of the Molí del Baró-1 site matches the expected for the timespan and environment and represents a relevant locality to know the diversity of the latest Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems in south western Europe.     

Small sized charophyte gyrogonites in the Maastrichtian of Coll de Nargó, Eastern Pyrenees: An adaptation to temporary floodplain ponds

Charophytes bearing small sized fructifications dominated in fluviatile floodplain facies (red beds) from the Maastrichtian of Coll de Nargó and neighbouring basins in the southern Pyrenees (Catalonia, Spain). These charophytes mainly belong to the genus Microchara and are often disregarded in biostratigraphic studies, which focus their attention instead on facies from permanent lakes that are richer in species which usually bear fructifications with a larger size range. However, small sized gyrogonites are also significant for biostratigraphic purposes and even include some of the index species for Maastrichtian biozones in Europe. Indeed, the charophyte assemblages from the Maastrichtian of Coll de Nargó belong to the Microchara punctata biozone, recently calibrated to the middle-upper Maastrichtian.Floodplain ponds from the Maastrichtian red beds of Coll de Nargó (Lower Red Unit) were extremely shallow, received considerable terrigenous influx and were frequently exposed, probably resulting in turbid, warm waters with high light availability. These conditions could explain the almost exclusive occurrence of charophytes with small fructifications in the Lower Red Unit. The available data, mainly based on oospores from extant species, indicate that the small size observed in gyrogonites from temporary ponds may represent an adaptation to environmental stress. Fossil species with small gyrogonites of Microchara cristata, M. punctata and Microchara nana would thus develop massively in stressed shallow ponds on fluvial floodplains. To contrast these hypotheses, we compared our results to those of four well-known case studies with similar sedimentological contexts, ranging from the Lower Cretaceous to the upper Eocene–lower Oligocene. Gyrogonite size patterns were similar in all cases, possibly suggesting that characeans display a long history of adaptation to shallow, temporary and turbid floodplain ponds by means of producing a high number of small gyrogonites, probably representing short life cycles and opportunistic strategies.     

上扬子会泽地区早三叠世飞仙关组砂岩物源特征:来自重矿物铬尖晶石和碎屑锆石的限定

上扬子会泽地区早三叠世飞仙关组主要为河流相的紫红色砂岩,物源主要来自于西部和西北部。碎屑重矿物组合表明物源主要来自于岩浆岩,且重矿物中发现大量碎屑铬尖晶石和锆石。本文运用电子探针微区成分分析和碎屑锆石U-Pb测年方法,对上扬子早三叠世飞仙关组砂岩中铬尖晶石和碎屑锆石进行分析。铬尖晶石电子探针化学成分分析显示,其具有高铬、低Fe~(3+)和高TiO_2含量的特征,源岩分析指示这些铬尖晶石来源于与洋岛/板内、岛弧以及大火成岩省相关的火成岩。同时,碎屑锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄测定表明,飞仙关组的物源主要来自于248~272Ma和715~997Ma的岩浆岩。铬尖晶石和碎屑锆石综合分析表明,248~272Ma的物源岩石具有大火成岩省玄武岩特征,主要为峨眉山玄武岩及同期基性侵入岩;715~997M的物源为洋岛/板内玄武岩类,主要为研究区周缘与新元古代苏雄组及其同期的岩浆岩;铬尖晶石指示的岛弧性质物源则可能源自1000~1100Ma的岩浆岩。同时,碎屑锆石还指示古元古代和早寒武世发育岩浆作用,且存在古老的新太古代结晶基底。这些资料为上扬子地区构造演化提供了沉积学的证据。     

青藏高原和亚洲夏季风动力学研究的新进展

亚洲夏季风环流受海陆和伊朗高原—青藏高原大地形的热力作用调控.亚洲季风所释放的巨大潜热又对大气环流形成反馈.这种相互反馈过程十分复杂,揭示其物理过程对理解气候变化格局的形成和变化以及提高天气预报及气候预测的准确率十分重要.夏季北半球副热带对流层上层环流的主要特征是存在庞大的南亚高压(SAH)以及强大的对流层上层温度暖中心(UTTM).本文介绍了温度—加热垂直梯度(T-Q_Z)理论的发展,并用以揭示SAH和UTTM的形成机制.指出沿副热带欧亚大陆东部的季风对流潜热加热及其中西部的表面感热加热和高层长波辐射冷却是导致SAH和UTTM在南亚上空发展的原因.文中还介绍了Gill模型用于上部对流层研究的局限性及解决的办法.     

东昆仑花石峡北部上二叠统格曲组源区特征:来自碎屑组成和岩石地球化学的证据

东昆仑南缘上二叠统（乐平统）格曲组为一套由砾岩、砂岩和钙质泥岩构成的扇三角洲-浅海碳酸盐台地相沉积组合,记录了东昆仑造山带海西-印支过渡期构造演化过程,是解析该构造演化过程的理想对象。通过分析花石峡北坦地克借地区格曲组碎屑岩的碎屑组成与主量、微量和稀土元素特征,探讨了其物源区属性。结果显示,砂岩类型为长石砂岩和岩屑长石砂岩,石英、长石和岩屑平均含量分别为50.9%、36.8%、12.4%,长石以钾长石为主,岩屑和砾石成分复杂。砂岩的SiO₂、Al₂O₃、TiO₂、TFe₂O₃、MgO、K₂O和Na₂O平均百分含量分别为62.06%、13.26%、0.44%、4.53%、3.02%、2.42%和3.18%;微量元素比值Th/Sc和Th/U较高,平均为1.06和7.71;稀土元素总量∑REE平均120.43×10-6,LREE/HREE和（La/Yb）_N均值分别为9.34和12,轻稀土相对富集,δEu平均为0.96,Eu异常不明显,REE特征与大陆岛弧背景区杂砂岩相似,与东昆仑地体加里东期俯冲-碰撞型火山弧花岗岩具有亲缘性。碎屑组分和主量、微量元素特征与判别图解揭示,格曲组砂岩物源区为海西旋回早期从东昆仑地体裂离的东昆南微地块,源岩以花岗岩为主,变质岩、沉积岩和酸性-基性火山岩较少,其中花岗岩形成构造背景为加里东期的大陆岛弧。结合区域地质和前人研究成果,认为格曲组为前陆盆地系统的隆后盆地沉积。     

西秦岭上白垩统红层空间分布及其对青藏高原东北缘隆升的地质约束

通过对西秦岭上白垩统红层地层基本沉积特征的研究和空间高程分布的定量化分析,讨论了西秦岭晚白垩世时期可能的构造地貌状态及西秦岭新生代以来地壳隆升的空间变化规律。取得如下认识:1根据西秦岭上白垩统底部洪积-冲积砾岩层之上普遍存在一套厚度不等的具有风成砂岩特征的红色中细粒砂岩和上部出现以泥岩、泥质粉砂岩为主的湖相沉积,结合现今多分布在不同水系分水岭之上,以及西秦岭中部宕昌-岷县-临潭断裂带两侧上白垩统红层地层顶面高程和底部角度不整合面高程没有显著差异分析,认为西秦岭无论在晚白垩之前经历了何种构造过程,晚白垩世具有整体稳定的泛沙漠-湖盆的古构造地貌状态,且断裂带不具备控制上白垩统沉积的构造边界性质;2现今离散型分布在西秦岭的上白垩统沉积地层反映的原型盆地不是孤立的、受区域断裂控制的山间盆地,而是统一的泛沙漠-内陆湖盆,现今的离散型分布是新生代以来地壳不均匀隆升和侵蚀的结果;3西秦岭上白垩统底部的角度不整合面产状,虽然由于后期构造变动呈非完全水平状态,但总体产状平缓。从大区域尺度分析,可以近似看做原始近水平的古地貌面。通过对该角度不整合面高程信息提取和模拟分析,结果表明,其高程分布具有从南西到北东、从北西到南东逐渐降低,穿越区域断裂带没有显著梯度变化,指示了西秦岭新生代以来的隆升具有整体性和隆升幅度呈连续梯度变化的特征。这可能指示了西秦岭新生代以来的地壳隆升机制主要不是上地壳挤压逆冲缩短,而是在印度板块-欧亚板块碰撞汇聚的动力学背景下,下地壳或上地幔自西南向北东连续流变逐渐增厚,造成了青藏高原东北缘呈向北东突出的弧形扩展隆升。     

Rotation Center and Horizontal Bearing Capacity of the Bucket Foundation in Soft Ground

In the last 20 years, the bucket foundation has been developed as a new type of offshore platform structure. Because of its short period of application to engineering practices, the theoretical decision on the rotation center and horizontal bearing capacity of the bucket foundation has yet to be agreed. A limit analysis method is used to determine the updated rotation center position and horizontal bearing capacity to evaluate the failure mechanisms of the bucket foundations. The results are compared with numerical simulation and experiments, and also with other theoretical methods. The proposed method can satisfactorily consider the engineering conditions and the result is accurate in determining the rotation center and horizontal bearing capacity.