Characterization of hard‐to‐differentiate dune stratification types in the Permian Coconino Sandstone (Arizona,USA)

Dune stratification types, which include grainfall, grainflow and ripple lamination, provide a record of the fine‐scale processes that deposited sediment on palaeo‐dune foresets. While these facies are relatively easy to distinguish in some cross‐bedded sandstones, for others – like the Permian Coconino Sandstone of northern and central Arizona – discrete stratification styles are hard to recognize at the bedding scale. Furthermore, few attempts have been made to classify fine‐scale processes in this sandstone, despite its renown as a classic aeolian dune deposit and Grand Canyon formation. To interpret depositional processes in the Coconino Sandstone, cross‐bed facies were characterized using a suite of sedimentary textures and structures. Bedding parameters were described at multiple scales via a combination of field and laboratory methods, including annotated outcrop photomosaics, strike and dip measurements, sandstone disaggregation and laser‐diffraction particle analysis, high‐resolution scans of thin sections, and scanning electron microscopy. Cross‐beds were observed to be laterally extensive along‐strike, with most dip angles ranging from the mid‐teens to mid‐twenties. While some cross‐bed sets are statistically coarser near their bases, others exhibit no significant vertical sorting trends. Both massive and laminated textures are visible in high‐resolution scans of thin sections, but laminae contacts are commonly indistinct, making normal and reverse grading difficult to define. Diagenetic features, such as stylolite seams and large pores, are also present in some samples and might indicate alteration of original textures like detrital clay laminae and carbonate minerals. Observed textures and sedimentary structures suggest that the cross‐beds may consist of grainflow and grainfall deposits, but these remain difficult to differentiate at outcrop and thin‐section scales. This characterization of fine‐scale processes will play a critical part in the development of depositional models for the Coconino Sandstone and elucidate interpretations for similar cross‐bedded formations.     

Unveiling buried aeolian landscapes: reconstructing a late Holocene dune environment using 3D ground-penetrating radar

Across the UK, sandy beaches and dunes protect coastal infrastructure from waves and extreme water levels during large-scale storms, while providing important habitats and recreational opportunities. Understanding their long-term evolution is vital in managing their condition in a changing climate. Recently, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) methods have grown in popularity in geomorphological applications, yielding centimetre-scale resolution images of near-surface stratigraphy and structure, thus allowing landscape evolution to be reconstructed. Additionally, abrupt changes in palaeo-environments can be visualized in three dimensions. Although often complemented by core data, GPR allows interpretations to be extended into areas with minimal ground-truth control. Nonetheless, GPR data interpretation can be non-intuitive and ambiguous, and radargrams may not initially resemble the expected subsurface geometry. Interpretation can be made yet more onerous when handling the large 3D data volumes that are facilitated with modern GPR technology. Here we describe the development of novel semi-automated GPR feature-extraction tools, based on ‘edge detection’ and ‘thresholding’ methods, which detect regions of increased GPR reflectivity which can be applied to aid in the reconstruction of a range Quaternary landscapes. Since reflectivity can be related to lithological and/or pore fluid changes, the 3D architecture of the palaeo-landscape can be reconstructed from the features extracted from a geophysical dataset. We present 500 MHz GPR data collected over a buried Holocene coastal dune system in North Wales, UK, now reclaimed for use as an airfield. Core data from the site, reaching a maximum depth 2 m, suggest rapid vertical changes from sand to silty-organic units, and GPR profiles suggest similar lateral complexity. By applying thresholding methods to GPR depth slices, these lateral complexities are effectively and automatically mapped. Furthermore, automatic extraction of the local reflection power yields a strong correlation with the depth variation of organic content, suggesting it is a cause of reflectivity contrast. GPR-interpolated analyses away from core control thus offer a powerful proxy for parameters derived from invasive core logging. The GPR data collected at Llanbedr airfield highlight a complex dune system to a depth of 2.8 m, probably deposited in several phases over ~700 years, similar to elsewhere in North Wales.     

基于自组织映射的长江中下游夏季天气分型及其降水特征

利用欧洲中心1979—2015年夏季6—8月ERA-Interim逐日再分析资料和国家气候中心CN05.1格点化降水观测数据集,引入基于自组织映射SOM(Self-Organizing Maps)方法进行长江中下游地区夏季海平面气压空间距平场的客观分型,得到该地区25种地面天气型及其系统演变特征,发现天气型的稳定、转移与天气系统强弱有关。高低压系统越强,天气型停滞频率越高,天气型越稳定;反之,天气型越不稳定。基于SOM天气型转移概率,发现三条与局地降水联系的系统演变路径,其中1号路径暖空气势力强盛,副高北上,推动锋面北抬,产生江北降水型,多发生在7月;路径2反映冷空气势力强盛推动锋面南下的天气过程,产生沿江降水型,该天气型在6、7月均易发生;路径3表现为台风移动变化对长江下游江南地区降水的影响,为江南降水型,且集中在8月。通过引入SOM方法对逐日天气尺度环流进行分型,从气候态上捕捉与降水有关的天气系统的移动变化特征,体现SOM方法在模拟天气系统演变的优势。     

南天山西段南缘断裂构造特征及对乌什凹陷发育的控制

乌什凹陷位于南天山西段以南,新生代受南天山崛起的陆内造山作用制约,与库车坳陷有相同的成盆动力学背景。因乌什凹陷南有温宿凸起阻挡了挤压应力的传播,东与库车坳陷间有北西向的构造变换带(西秋里塔格构造带)所隔,新生代变形与库车地区有不同的特征。以吉迪克组的泥岩层为滑脱面,乌什凹陷的中-新生界可分为上、下两个构造层,总体看上构造层以背冲构造为特征,下构造层则发育基底卷入的对冲构造。乌什凹陷的这一变形特征还与新生代挤压应力场自东向西迁移和走滑作用吸收了部分冲断变形有关,反映了南天山新生代构造对海西-印支期碰撞构造的继承性。文章简述了南天山造山带的构造演化,介绍了乌什凹陷周缘的主要断裂的特征,恢复了乌什凹陷中-新生代的演化并与库车坳陷进行了对比。在此基础上探讨了乌什凹陷的成盆动力学机制,分析了乌什凹陷与南天山造山带的耦合演化,指出该区的油气勘探应以三叠系为主要目的层。     

横向沙丘背风侧沙粒风蚀起动的风洞模拟

通过风洞实验,探讨了横向沙丘背风侧“二次流”的沉积学和形态-动力学意义。在不同迎风坡坡度的横向沙丘模型背风侧,我们观测了不同位置沙粒的起动风速以及在临界状态下沙粒的运动特征。结果表明,沙丘背风侧的颗粒起动风速不仅与其距沙丘顶部的距离有关,也与沙丘迎风坡坡度有密切关系。根据沙丘背风侧颗粒运动特征,可以将其划分为向后运动区域、晃动或摆动区域以及向前运动区域,产生这一现象的原因是在沙丘背风坡气流分离、反向涡和气流重新辐合共同作用的结果。在所有的观测结果中,迎风坡坡度为15°的沙丘具有最大的沙粒起动风速和最远的气流重新辐合距离,其原因尚需进一步研究。     

Year aridity index patterns in northwest China and the relationship to summer North Atlantic sea surface temperature

Aim to linking the variability of drought in northwest China to the oceanic influence of North Atlantic SSTs at the background of global warming and at the regional climate change shifting stages, year aridity index variations in northwest China and summer North Atlantic sea surface temperature （SST） variations are examined for the 44 a period of 1961-2004 using singular value decomposition （SVD） analysis. Results show that the SST anomalies （SSTA）in the North Atlantic in summer reflected three basic models. The first SVD mode of SST pattern shows a dipole - like variation with the positive center located at southwest and negative center at northeast of extratropical North Atlantic. And it strongly relates to the positive trend in AI variation in northwest China. The second coupled modes display the coherent positive anomalies in extratropical North Atlantic SST and the marked opposite trend of AI variability between north and south of Xinjiang. In addition, the lag correlation analysis of the first mode of SSTA and geopotential heights at 500 hPa variations also shows that the indication of the former influencing the latter configuration, which result in higher air temperature and less precipitation when the SSTA in the North Atlantic Ocean in summer motivated Eurasian circulation of EA pattern, further to influence the wet - dry variations in northwest China by the ocean-to - atmosphere forcing.     

Temporal and cross-shelf distribution of ichthyoplankton in the central Cantabrian Sea

Environmental variables have been measured and sampling for ichthyoplankton has been conducted monthly, since April 2001, at three stations, located at the inner (1), middle (2) and outer (3) shelf of the central Cantabrian Sea. This paper presents the results of the study of the ichthyoplankton collected from July 2001 to June 2004. Fish larvae from 99 species, belonging to 37 families, were identified. Families with higher number of species were Gadidae, Sparidae and Labridae. The larval fish assemblage was dominated by pelagic fish species, with Sardina pilchardus, as the most abundant. There was a pronounced spring peak in larval abundance, dominated by S. pilchardus. A smaller peak, dominated by S. pilchardus and Micromesistius poutassou, was recorded in late winter at Stns 2 and 3. This pattern was evident for the three-year study. Results also indicate that this study was limited to the coastal larval fish assemblage inhabiting the central Cantabrian Sea shelf. This assemblage was temporally structured into other three assemblages: winter, late winter–spring and summer–autumn. Temperature was apparently a key factor in larval fish assemblage succession. In a scenario of global warming, this study constitutes a basis to evaluating the ongoing changes in the pelagic coastal ecosystem of the central Cantabrian Sea.     

Temporal and spatial changes of dunes in the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary,China

The response of subaqueous dunes to the variation of riverine sediment supply in an estuary is rarely reported. Five sets of field measurements of bed sediments and topography were made in the Changjiang estuary, China during dry and flood seasons for the past 9 years. Results show that dunes were mainly three-dimensional (3D) during flood seasons and two-dimensional (2D) dunes during dry seasons. Dunes were also much larger in flood seasons. Dunes mainly occurred within the main channels of the estuary although they extended 11.7 km seaward of their normal extent in the South Channel during dry seasons from 2002 to 2006. This extension of the dune field is likely due to a sharp decline of sediment discharge caused by large reservoirs such as Three Gorges.     

New patterns of urban development in China

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黑河上游山地土壤容重分布特征及影响因素

土壤容重不仅可用作计算土壤持水力和导水性,也是估算土壤养分和碳储量的重要变量。野外测定土壤容重一般费时费力,特别是在地形复杂的山区,因此山地土壤容重在国内外大多数清查数据库中缺失。本文以黑河上游山地为例,基于野外调查的124个土壤剖面,研究了山地土壤容重的空间分布特征及影响因素。结果表明:黑河上游山地0~10 cm和0~60 cm土壤容重分别为0.91±0.02 g·cm^-3 和1.04±0.01 g·cm^-3;不同植被类型下,高山寒漠容重最大,山地森林最小。随着土壤深度的增加,容重呈幂函数递增;随着土壤有机质含量的增加,容重呈指数递减。区域上,黑河上游从西北到东南,容重呈递减趋势,从高海拔到低海拔,容重呈先减小后增大趋势。主成分分析(PCA)和一般线性模型(GLM)表明,与土壤容重相关的环境因子中,海拔是影响土壤表层容重的第一主成分,土壤有机质含量是第二主成分,黏粒含量和大于2.0 mm砾石含量分别为第三、四主成分。第一、二、三、四主成分分别解释土壤容重空间变异的24.00%、29.40%、0.01%、6.20%。