A review of aridity and groundwater

Surface hydrological studies are seen as inadequate in hyperarid and arid areas to provide reliable estimates of recharge. In most such areas surface discharges are not present so that assessments of groundwater resources are dependent upon ground interpretation and denied the flow control found in assessments elsewhere. Groundwater models show that gradients are sustained by long-term dewatering and very small amounts of modern indirect recharge. Recharge indications are well within the error of a hydrological balance. Discharges appear equally small. The development of groundwater in arid areas frequently faces problems of salination due to recycling of irrigation water and rising groundwater heads. Abstraction is often inadequately managed so that uncontrolled mining of groundwater occurs. The advantage that groundwater has, however, is that it offers staged development and staged appraisal.     

Modelling the non‐linear hydrological behaviour of a small Mediterranean forested catchment

A progressive perceptual understanding approach was used to identify a model structure able to represent the non‐linear behaviour of the hydrological cycle in a small intermittent Mediterranean stream. The initial lumped model structure consisting of a series of four connected water tanks (LU3) progressed to a model with five tanks (LU4), and finally to a semidistributed model structure (SD4) in which spatial variability of the evapotranspiration according to the vegetation cover and to the local aspect was considered. In the final model structure, which gave the best fit (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency index = 0·78), an additional tank representing the riparian zone was included (SD4‐R). Results showed that the abrupt changes of the riparian water table during summer and the formation of a perched water table during the transition from dry to wet conditions were the main mechanisms leading to the non‐linear hydrological behaviour. The transpiration process from the saturated zone and the spatial variability of evapotranspiration resulted in key factors successfully representing the annual water balance. The spatial and temporal validations carried out for each of the four model structures considered in this study supported the hypothesis adopted during the calibration process. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Probabilistic aspects of micropaleontologic assemblage zones

A micropaleontologic assemblage zone is defined by occurrence of some characteristic species among many coeval species. When number of assemblage-defining species and total number of species observed are designated as Aand N,respectively, the ratio, A/N,is strongly dependent on duration of the assemblage. Theoretical consideration on the basis of a micropaleontologic cohort model shows that, when origination rate and extinction rate of species are obtained, the most reasonable ratio (A/N) and duration of the assemblage can be determined. The probabilistic model described in this paper provides a theoretical relation between the ratio and the duration. Inaccuracy in correlating micropaleontologic data to certain assemblage zones established can not be avoided because of many natural sorting and artificial biases. Ambiguity arising when data with a small number of characteristic species are correlated with a certain assemblage is numerically estimated.     

Ecological controls on biogeochemical lfuxes in the western Antarctic Peninsula studied with an inverse foodweb model

Sea ice in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region is both highly variable and rapidly changing. In the Palmer Station region, the ice season duration has decreased by 92 d since 1978. The sea-ice...     

The PISA grammar decodes diverse human–environment approaches

Human–environment interactions are studied by several groups of scholars who have elaborated different approaches to describe, analyze, and explain these interactions, and eventually propose paths for management. The SETER project (Socio-Ecological Theories and Empirical Research) analyzed and compared how “flag-holders” of distinct school of thought in human–environment scholarship approached a number of empirical problems of environmental management. This paper presents the findings from this experiment by concentrating on how representatives of four schools of thought approached one of these case studies: the plant health crisis in greenhouse tomato production in south of France. Our analysis suggests that these approaches share a common conceptual vocabulary composed of four explanatory elements of change (Power, Incentives, System and Adaptation-PISA). We argue that what distinguishes these schools from one another is the syntax—the “rules” by which researchers in each of the sub-disciplines tend to organize the components of this shared conceptual vocabulary. In other words, the schools under scrutiny are differentiated not so much by what they speak of, but rather in what order, or hierarchy, do they tend to rank the importance and/or the sequence of each of these concepts in human–environment explanations. The results of our experiment support the view that communication and cooperation across the diverse human–environment traditions is possible and productive. At the same time, however, we argue that it is the distinctiveness of the claims yielded by these different schools of thought that augment our collective understanding of complex socio-ecological problems. Attempts to integrate these perspectives in one unitary approach would undermine the intellectual wealth necessary to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.     

Lopingian mixed floras from Linxi Formation in Soron area,Inner Mongolia

A lot of well-preserved plants from the Linxi Formation are collected in the Soron area,Inner Mongolia,consisting of 34 species of 16 genera. They are Late Permian in age. The flora is characterized by a lot of Angaran plants,such as Paracalamites,Comia,Rhachiphyllum,Iniopteris,Rufloria,etc. Some Cathaysian elements,such as Lobatannularia lingulata,L. multifolia,Fascipteris Cathaysiantus,F. densata,Taeniopteris szei,Cladophlebis liulinensis and C. permica,are also mixed within the present flora. This indicates that the Soron of Inner Mongolia was located in the sector between the Angaran and Cathysian floristic provinces in Lopingian. It is beneficial for depicting the location and the evolution of the Solenker--Xar Moron suture zone in the phytogeographic view. The transmigration of tropical and subtropical Cathaysian plants to the north indicates that the Paleoasian Ocean was closed during the late Permian along the suture zone.     

碳酸盐化橄榄岩的电性研究

为进一步探讨上地幔的高导层成因,了解碳酸盐在上地幔电性方面的作用并估算上地幔高导层的碳酸盐含量,本文对不同碳酸盐含量的橄榄岩及玄武岩样品在2~3 GPa、300~1300℃的条件下进行了电性实验研究.研究初步发现:碳酸盐熔体显著增强橄榄岩、玄武岩样品的导电能力;单纯用含硅酸盐熔体的橄榄岩或单纯用含水橄榄岩可能难以解释上地幔某些区域的异常高导现象;同样,单纯用碳酸盐化的橄榄岩可能也难以解释上地幔某些区域的高导现象;上地幔的高导区很可能是碳酸盐熔体、硅酸盐熔体及水的共存区域.     

生态需水的理论内涵探讨

从生态系统水分循环的角度,较系统地探讨了生态需水的理论内涵,对生态系统水资源配置中相关且容易混淆的概念加以辨析,并分析了它们之间的相互关系.研究认为:生态缺水是生态系统水资源配置最直接的依据,而生态需水、生态储水的计算评价则是确定生态缺水的基础.通常,生态系统的水资源配置,必须在区域生态调查的基础上,结合社会经济发展状况,提出生态目标,然后进行生态需水估算、生态储水评价、生态缺水评估,并通过生态用水的可行性分析,最终确定生态保护和建设的水资源配置方案.     

西秦岭北缘断裂带西端晚第四纪活动特征及其西延问题

西秦岭北缘断裂是青藏高原东北缘的一条以左旋走滑运动为主的大型活动断裂。 通过卫片解译和野外地质调查, 认为断裂西端活动性仍很强烈, 并发现切龙沟一带全新世活动特征明显。 结果表明, 全新世以来西秦岭北缘断裂西端至少有2次古地震事件, 说明断裂经过土房村以后活动并没有停止, 而是继续向西延伸, 最后终止于甘加盆地。