Groundwater geochemistry of the Chihuahua City region in the Rio Conchos Basin (northern Mexico) and implications for water resources management

The Chihuahua City region, located in the semiarid-arid northern highlands of Mexico, has experienced intensive groundwater abstraction during the last 40 years to meet water demands in the region. A geochemical survey was carried out to investigate the evolution from baseline to modern conditions of a 130-km flow path including the El Sauz–Chihuahua–Aldama–San Diego de Alcalá regions. The research approach included the use of major chemical elements, chlorofluorocarbons and environmental isotope (¹⁸O, ²H, ¹³C and ¹⁴C) tracers. Stable isotopes indicate that groundwater evolves from the evaporation of local rainfall and surface water. Groundwater located at the lower end of the flow section is up to 6000 years old and older groundwater in the order of 9000 years BP was found in a deep well located in the upper part of the flow system, implying contribution from a neighbour basin. The background groundwater chemistry upstream of Chihuahua City results from feldspar weathering. Beyond Chihuahua City the chemical conditions are strongly modified owing to disposal of sewage from public and industrial water supplies into the Rio Chuviscar, subsequent allocation of this water to agricultural irrigation areas and direct infiltration under the river bed. As a consequence, anions like chloride and sulphate are mainly related to surface sources. Nitrate is controlled in part by sewage from public supply and industry and in part by agricultural practices. Arsenic and fluoride are related to weathering of rock formations of local mineralized ranges and subsequent enrichment of the basin-fill by magmatic processes. The results of this study have implications for groundwater management in an arid region that depends entirely on groundwater for domestic, industrial and agricultural water consumption. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Revised stratigraphy and eruption rates of Ceboruco stratovolcano and surrounding monogenetic vents (Nayarit,Mexico) from historical documents and new radiocarbon dates

More than a dozen new radiocarbon dates reconstruct the eruptive history of Ceboruco volcano. Six of these further constrain previous results for the important plinian Jala eruption, which occurred near 1060 ± 55 yr BP. A calibrated radiocarbon age of AD 990–1020 was obtained as best overlap range for all samples. Pottery fragments found directly underneath the pumice deposit indicate that this area was inhabited by human populations that witnessed the eruption. This age therefore represents an important time marker in the prehistory of this region, because an area of > 560 km2 was devastated and covered by a thickness of > 50 cm of pumice and ash fallout.     

An inflection in the rate of early mid-Holocene eustatic sea-level rise: A new sea-level curve from Singapore

This study presents a sea-level curve from 9500 to 6500 cal BP for the farfield location of Singapore, on the Sunda Shelf in southeast Asia. The curve is based on more than 50 radiocarbon dates from elevations of +1.43 m to −15.09 m representing sea-level index points in intertidal mangrove and shallow marine sediments deposited by sea-level rise accompanying deglaciation. The results indicate that mean sea level rose rapidly from around −17 m at 9500 cal BP to around −3 m by 8000 cal BP. After this time, the data suggest (but do not unequivocally prove) that the rate of sea-rise slowed for a period of 300–500 years centred on 7700 cal BP, shortly after the cessation of meltwater input to the oceans from the northern hemisphere. Renewed sea-level rise amounting to 3–5 m began around 7400 cal BP and was complete by 7000 cal BP. The existence of an inflection in the rate of sea-level rise, with a slow-down centred on 7700 cal BP, is broadly consistent with other available sea-level curves over this interval and is supported by evidence of stable shorelines and delta initiation elsewhere at this time, as well as evidence of comparatively rapid retreat of the West Antarctic ice sheet beginning around 7500 cal BP. ‘Stepped’ sea-level rise occurring shortly after 7500 cal BP and also earlier during deglaciation may have served to focus significant post-glacial episodes of human maritime/coastal dispersal, into comparatively narrow time intervals.     

Testing solar forcing of pervasive Holocene climate cycles

The temporal and spatial extent of Holocene climate change is an area of considerable uncertainty, with solar forcing recently proposed to be the origin of cycles identified in the North Atlantic region. To address these issues we have developed an annually resolved record of changes in Irish bog tree populations over the last 7468 years which, together with radiocarbon‐dated bog and lake‐edge populations, extend the dataset back to ～9000 yr ago. The Irish trees underpin the internationally accepted radiocarbon calibration curve, used to derive a proxy of solar activity, and allow us to test solar forcing of Holocene climate change. Tree populations and age structures provide unambiguous evidence of major shifts in Holocene surface moisture, with a dominant cyclicity of 800 yr, similar to marine cycles in the North Atlantic, indicating significant changes in the latitude and intensity of zonal atmospheric circulation across the region. The cycles, however, are not coherent with changes in solar activity (both being on the same absolute timescale), indicating that Holocene North Atlantic climate variability at the millennial and centennial scale is not driven by a linear response to changes in solar activity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wisconsinan Late-glacial environmental change in southern New England: A regional synthesis

A synthesis of vegetational and climatic history during the Wisconsinan Late-glacial (13-9 ka BP) is presented for the southern New England region. The interpretations are based on a number of pollen-stratigraphical investigations supported by plant macrofossil data. Chronology is based partly on AMS dates of plant macrofossils. Reference is made briefly to the controversial nature of the evidence for deglaciation in the region. A curve representing mean July temperature changes in the region during the period 13-9 ka BP is provided.     

Dating of two thermokarst lakes in Beiluhe Basin,Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Most of the thermokarst lakes are spread appreciably in Beiluhe Basin,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China,where ice-rich permafrost exists.Two typical thermokarst lakes with differing area and depth were examined to ascertain their age.We obtained lake-bottom samples of 50 cm length from lake BLH-A and 25 cm length from lake BLH-B.Environmental 137 Cs and 210 Pb and radiocarbon age dating techniques were applied to the 50 cm and 25 cm samples,respectively.The results indicate that the initiation of BLH-A is about 800-900 a B.P.,and approximately 1,450±30 a B.P.to 2,230±30 a B.P.for BLH-B.These results will provide scientific bases for sedimentological study and thermokarst activity in Beiluhe Basin.     

树轮长年表在全球变化相关领域中的应用研究进展-以14C曲线校正、环境考古和地质灾害事件定年为例

近几十年树轮年代学得到了迅速发展,现已成功建立了大量长度逾千年的树轮长年表。本文评述树轮长年表在全球变化相关研究领域中的应用。树轮长年表可为¹⁴C定年提供校准曲线,从而将样本的¹⁴C年龄转化为日历年龄,提高了¹⁴C测年的精度;也可为环境考古如古木建筑及墓葬等提供定年服务,确定古木构建筑的建造年代;树轮长年表在地质灾害事件定年方面也发挥了重要作用。然而,树轮长年表在上述研究领域的应用也存在不足,最新的国际¹⁴C会议公布的¹⁴C校正曲线中能够准确定年的树轮校正部分仅为过去12 410年,目前尚无法提供更长时间尺度的树轮校正曲线。在对木构建筑进行定年时受到古木样本量不足的限制等。因此,为了更好地发挥树轮长年表的应用潜力,应不断发掘与延长现有树轮宽度长年表,同时建立长年表的C、O同位素序列,以期为长年表的应用不断做出贡献。     

Constraining flow paths of saline groundwater at basin margins using hydrochemistry and environmental isotopes: Lake Cooper,Murray Basin,Australia

Solutes in saline groundwater (total dissolved solids up to 37 000 mg/L) in the Lake Cooper region in the southern margin of the Riverine Province of the Murray Basin are derived by evapotranspiration of rainfall with minor silicate, carbonate and halite dissolution. The distribution of hydraulic heads, salinity, percentage modern carbon (pmc) contents, and Cl/Br ratios imply that the groundwater system is complex with vertical flow superimposed on lateral flow away from the basin margins. Similarities in major ion composition, stable (O, H, and C) isotope, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios between groundwater from the shallower Shepparton Formation and the deeper Calivil – Renmark aquifer also imply that these aquifers are hydraulically interconnected. Groundwater in the deeper Calivil – Renmark aquifer in the Lake Cooper region has residence times of up to 25 000 years, implying that pre-land-clearing recharge rates were <1 mm/y. As in other regions of the Murray Basin, the low recharge rates account for the occurrence of high-salinity groundwater. Shallow (<20 m) groundwater yields exclusively modern ¹⁴C ages and shows a greater influence of evaporation over transpiration. Both these observations reflect the rise of the regional water-table following land clearing over the last 200 years and a subsequent increase in recharge to 10 – 20 mm/y. The rise of the regional water-table also has increased vertical and horizontal hydraulic gradients that may ultimately lead to the export of salt from the Lake Cooper embayment into the adjacent fresher groundwater resources.     

近40年山西省初终霜日的变化特征

利用山西省境内分布较为均匀的52 个地面气象站1970-2009 年的霜日观测资料,采用线性倾向估计法、累积滤波器法结合非参数统计检验方法分析了初终霜日的基本特征及其变化趋势;利用M-K法分析了霜日的突变特征。结果表明：初霜日、终霜日的出现以及无霜期的长短与地理因素密切相关,随着纬度逐渐偏北、海拔逐渐升高,初霜日提前、终霜日推后、无霜期缩短。从全省平均情况看,初霜日呈现显著的推后趋势,无霜期呈现显著的延长趋势,而终霜日的变化则以波动为主,线性变化趋势不显著。从突变检测情况看,初霜日、终霜日和无霜期在40 年间均存在一次明显突变,初霜日的突变点出现在2000 年,终霜日和无霜期的突变点出现在1997 年。从变化趋势的空间分布看,初霜日显著推后的区域大片集中在晋中东部、吕梁北部和忻州西部,以及分散在运城南部、临汾西北部和大同南部。终霜日显著提前的区域位于晋中东部山区、吕梁山东部和忻州西部。无霜期显著延长的区域位于西北部黄河沿岸、省境中东部和运城南段。变化趋势为初霜日提前、终霜日推后和无霜期缩短的区域未通过显著性检验。     

Late Pleistocene-Holocene Paleoclimatic History of the Southern Kerala Basin, Southwest India

The South Kerala Sedimentary Basin (SKSB) constitutes one of the most significant landward extensions of the southwest offshore sedimentary basins of India, and is situated between 8^o45^' and 10^o15^' N latitudes. With a maximum width of about 20 km and incorporating a 700 m thick sedimentary succession ranging in age from Early Miocene to Holocene, this belt lies almost entirely under water or alluvium-covered coastal plains. In this study, we use two continuously cored bore holes at Eruva (7.25m deep) and Muthukulam (3m deep) separated by a distance of about 7km to investigate the depositional environment as well as paleo ecology of the depocentre and climatic aspects during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Results from C¹⁴ dating of shell fragments from Eruva (depth zone: 2.10–6.64m) yielded ages in the range of 36.2 to 42.5 kyBP corresponding to the late Pleistocene. Wood fragments in the Muthukulam core sample (depth zone: 1.27–3.00m) gave C¹⁴ ages in the range of 3.7 to 7.2 kyBP indicating a Holocene history. The lower half of the Eruva bore hole indicates a marginal marine environment with an abundant supply of terrestrial carbonaceous debris probably corresponding to a period of abnormally high rainfall recorded in many parts of the globe covered by the Asian summer monsoon. The sediments in the upper part of this bore hole indicate a continuation of this environment but with much less input of terrestrial organic carbon. The lower part of the bore hole from this locality, corresponding to the Holocene transgression, is similar to the lower part of Eruva bore hole in the case of TOC. Deposition took place in water bodies with considerable marine influence but receiving high amounts of terrestrial plant debris-mostly in the form of finely divided particles mixed with mud. This transgressive sequence was also deposited during a time when the Asian summer monsoon was abnormally high in intensity as indicated by many examples in India, Africa, Madagascar and elsewhere. It is significant that during the deposition of this part, the sea level was probably the same as present or higher suggesting possible lowering of the stream velocities and resultant deposition of only muddy sediments laden with terrestrial organic material along the coast. The upper part of the section shows a progressively reduced rainfall pattern culminating in a period of very low precipitation with the development of a paleosol, which is traceable all over the SKSB where Late Holocene sediments are available. This period also witnessed aeolian activity modifying the sand ridges in the ridge-runnel systems formed by the Holocene regression.