Assessment of soil erosion in a tropical mountain river basin of the southern Western Ghats,India using RUSLE and GIS

Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE) model coupled with transport limited sediment delivery(TLSD) function was used to predict the longtime average annual soil loss, and to identify the critical erosion-/deposition-prone areas in a tropical mountain river basin, viz., Muthirapuzha River Basin(MRB; area=271.75 km~2), in the southern Western Ghats, India. Mean gross soil erosion in MRB is 14.36 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1), whereas mean net soil erosion(i.e., gross erosion-deposition) is only 3.60 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1)(i.e., roughly 25% of the gross erosion). Majority of the basin area(~86%) experiences only slight erosion(5 t ha~(-1) yr~(-1)), and nearly 3% of the area functions as depositional environment for the eroded sediments(e.g., the terraces of stream reaches, the gentle plains as well as the foot slopes of the plateau scarps and the terrain with concordant summits). Although mean gross soil erosion rates in the natural vegetation belts are relatively higher, compared to agriculture, settlement/built-up areas and tea plantation, the sediment transport efficiency in agricultural areas and tea plantation is significantly high,reflecting the role of human activities on accelerated soil erosion. In MRB, on a mean basis, 0.42 t of soil organic carbon(SOC) content is being eroded per hectare annually, and SOC loss from the 4th order subbasins shows considerable differences, mainly due to the spatial variability in the gross soil erosion rates among the sub-basins. The quantitative results, on soil erosion and deposition, modelled using RUSLE and TLSD, are expected to be beneficial while formulating comprehensive land management strategies for reducing the extent of soil degradation in tropical mountain river basins.     

泸西小江流域岩溶水有效开发模式

为了指导岩溶水资源的有效开发和为岩溶石山地区石漠化综合治理提供技术支持,选择典型性突出的泸西小江流域开展示范研究。研究结果认为,由于岩溶生态地质环境条件差异,主要的岩溶水源地类型和岩溶水的赋存特征及开发技术条件也不同。为此,依据流域不同的生态地质环境分区,选择具有典型意义的岩溶水源地利用核磁共振、地质雷达等新技术进行勘查及其开发实验和示范,共设计建设了9项不同技术方案的岩溶水开发示范工程,总结出了适合不同岩溶生态地质环境及其水源地类型的岩溶地下水勘查及开发技术方案和岩溶盆地流域岩溶水有效开发模式。      

Late Holocene estuarine–inner shelf interactions; is there evidence of an estuarine retreat path for Tampa Bay, Florida?

The purpose of this study was to determine if and how a large, modern estuarine system, situated in the middle of an ancient carbonate platform, has affected its adjacent inner shelf both in the past during the last, post-glacial sea-level rise and during the present. An additional purpose was to determine if and how this inner shelf seaward of a major estuary differed from the inner shelves located just to the north and south but seaward of barrier-island shorelines. Through side-scan sonar mosaicking, bathymetric studies, and ground-truthing using surface grab samples as well as diver observations, two large submarine sand plains were mapped – one being the modern ebb-tidal delta and the other interpreted to be a relict ebb-tidal delta formed earlier in the Holocene. The most seaward portion of the inner shelf studied consists of a field of lobate, bathymetrically elevated, fine-sand accumulations, which were interpreted to be sediment-starved 3D dunes surrounded by small 2D dunes composed of coarse molluscan shell gravel. Additionally, exposed limestone hardbottoms supporting living benthic communities were found as well. This modern shelf sedimentary environment is situated on a large, buried shelf valley, which extends eastward beneath the modern Tampa Bay estuary. These observations plus the absence of an incised shelf valley having surficial bathymetric expression, and the absence of sand bodies normally associated with back-tracking estuarine systems indicate that there was no cross-shelf estuarine retreat path formed during the last rise in sea level. Instead, the modern Tampa Bay formed within a mid-platform, low-relief depression, which was flooded by rising marine waters late in the Holocene. With continued sea-level rise in the late Holocene, this early embayment was translated eastward or landward to its present position, whereby a larger ebb-tidal delta prograded out onto the inner shelf. Extensive linear sand ridges, common to the inner shelves to the north and south, did not form in this shelf province because it was a low-energy, open embayment lacking the wave climate and nearshore zone necessary to create such sand bodies. The distribution of bedforms on the inner shelf and the absence of seaward-oriented 2D dunes on the modern ebb-tidal delta indicate that the modern estuarine system has had little effect on its adjacent inner shelf.     

渤海南部表层沉积的相特征

通过海上调查及实验室分析,查明渤海南部表层沉积物在结构类型、矿物组合、生物组分及沉积构造等相特征方面具有明显的分区性。渤海南部存在五种沉积相:黄河水下三角洲相、陆架盆地相、海湾相、潮流浅滩相及古滨岸相。黄河水下三角洲相从河口延至水深15—20米处,沉积速率很高,沉积物富含碎屑云母及CaCo_3。陆架盆地相的沉积为粉砂质粘土,具有生物扰动构造。     

新疆巴喀勒萨依地区含铜砂岩及其铜矿床特征

近年来在新疆巴喀勒萨依地区发现一套含少量火山碎屑岩的含铜砂岩地层,由于该地层位于近东西向的断裂夹块中,其含矿层位的确定就成了难题。在该地层中发现了一些腕足类、珊瑚、腹足类、植物化石,经中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所鉴定,时代属晚石炭世晚期。介绍了巴喀勒萨依地区晚石炭世伊什基里克组含铜砂岩剖面及铜矿特征,并获得铜资源量19 797 t,银铜资源量371 t,提出了该区铜、银富集在红色含铜砂岩中有机质聚集处的新观点。     

Development of ST:REAM: a reach‐based stream power balance approach for predicting alluvial river channel adjustment

River channel sediment dynamics are important in integrated catchment management because changes in channel morphology resulting from sediment transfer have important implications for many river functions. However, application of existing approaches that account for catchment‐scale sediment dynamics has been limited, largely due to the difficulty in obtaining data necessary to support them. It is within this context that this study develops a new, reach‐based, stream power balance approach for predicting river channel adjustment. The new approach, named ST:REAM (sediment transport: reach equilibrium assessment method), is based upon calculations of unit bed area stream power (ω) derived from remotely sensed slope, width and discharge datasets. ST:REAM applies a zonation algorithm to values of ω that are spaced every 50 m along the catchment network in order to divide the branches of the network up into relatively homogenous reaches. ST:REAM then compares each reach's ω value with the ω of its upstream neighbour in order to predict whether or not the reach is likely to be either erosion dominated or deposition dominated. The paper describes the application of ST:REAM to the River Taff in South Wales, UK. This test study demonstrated that ST:REAM can be rapidly applied using remotely sensed data that are available across many river catchments and that ST:REAM correctly predicted the status of 87.5% of sites within the Taff catchment that field observations had defined as being either erosion or deposition dominated. However, there are currently a number of factors that limit the usefulness of ST:REAM, including inconsistent performance and the need for additional, resource intensive, data to be collected to both calibrate the model and aid interpretation of its results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative evaluation of the rainfall influence on streamflow in an inland mountainous river basin within Central Asia

Stable isotopes of water have been widely used in understanding the hydrological functions of alpine inland catchments. This study identifies dominant runoff generation mechanisms based on isotopic data (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) of 487 rainwater and river-water samples from three tributaries in the Tarim River Basin in China for the period May–September 2013. The isotope hydrograph separation results provide a comprehensive overview of the rainfall influence on hydrological processes. Stream water and groundwater have varied responses to different intensities of rainfall events. Only a small proportion of rainfall is directly transported to the stream during such events. An inconsistent temporal trend of event water contribution is observed in the three catchments. The average fractional contributions of rainfall for the Tizinafu, Kumalak and Huangshuigou rivers are 10.3% (±1.1%), 9.7% (±2.9%) and 8.7% (±2.4%), respectively.     

二连盆地白音查干凹陷早白垩世腾格尔组沉积特征及物源探讨

根据岩芯、录测井、地震以及其它分析化验资料,对白音查于凹陷早白垩世腾格尔组的沉积特征、沉积相类型及其分布规律进行了详细研究.结果表明,腾格尔组发育扇三角洲、辫状河三角洲、湖泊和浊积扇4种沉积相类型,扇三角洲分布在北部陡坡带,辫状河三角洲分布在南部缓坡带,从盆地边缘到盆地中心,沉积相由扇三角洲、辫状河三角洲沉积逐渐转变为半深湖-深湖沉积,在三角洲侧翼发育滨-浅湖相沉积,在三角洲前缘、前三角洲以及半深湖中发育浊积扇沉积,整体呈东西洼凸相问、南北隆凹成带的格局,这种沉积格局受盆地周边断层和古地形控制.利用岩石组分和重矿物成分进行物源分析,认为白音查干凹陷沉积物丰要来自凹陷北部的巴音宝力格降起和凹陷南部的赛呼都格凸起方向,并具有多期次、阵发性、近物源的特点,母岩岩性主要为沉积岩,其次为岩浆岩,见少量变质岩.     

浅层地震剖面揭示固原市清水河东侧断裂特征

为查明清水河东侧断裂的产状、性质及其浅部构造特征,跨断裂开展高分辨率的浅层地震探测,获得高信噪比的浅层地震反射叠加剖面。根据浅层地震剖面结果并结合该区域地质资料,对该断裂的浅部构造特征进行分析和讨论。结果表明,清水河东侧断裂为一条走向近SN、倾向E的逆断层,其浅部为由2~3条断层组成的“Y”字形构造,并错断埋深约10~30 m的第四系沉积层,属第四纪以来的隐伏活动断裂。