Role of carotenoids in lake sediments for reconstructing trophic history during the late Quaternary

Cultural eutrophication of lakes occurring over the last 100 years is well known. Less well known is the eutrophication of lakes in earlier, late Quaternary time due to human and other causes. The recent and earlier trophic changes are documented in the sedimentary record by several groups of parameters. Among the most revealing of these are the diverse carotenoid pigments that originate from phytoplankton, photosynthetic bacteria, and other biota. The interpretation of the carotenoids in ancient sediments is facilitated by the study of carotenoids in recent sediments from lakes with relevant limnological and historical information. I support these contentions with evidence from several Swiss lakes, with emphasis on the late Quaternary development of Pfaffikersee and Soppensee.This is the eighth of a series of papers to be published by this journal that was presented in the paleolimnology sessions organized by R. B. Davis and H. Löffler for the XIIth Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), which took place in Ottawa, Canada in August 1987. Drs. Davis and Löffler are serving as guest editors of this series.     

The PIRLA project (Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification): an introduction to the synthesis of the project

Collected sets of papers synthesizing data derived from the PIRLA project (Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification) will appear in coming issues of the Journal of Paleolimnology. This paper is designed to highlight these forthcoming papers, review the development and objectives of PIRLA, and acknowledge the many who have supported PIRLA in so many crucial ways.This is the first of a series of papers to be published by this journal which is a contribution of the Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification (PIRLA) project. Drs. D.F. Charles and D.R. Whitehead are guest editors for this series.     

Pollen‐ and diatom based environmental history since the Last Glacial Maximum from the Andean core Fúquene‐7, Colombia

The late Pleistocene–Holocene ecological and limnological history of Lake Fúquene (2580 m a.s.l.), in the Colombian Andes, is reconstructed on the basis of diatom, pollen and sediment analyses of the upper 7 m of the core Fúquene‐7. Time control is provided by 11 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C dates ranging from 19 670 ± 240 to 6040 ± 60 yr BP. In this paper we present the evolution of the lake and its surroundings. Glacial times were cold and dry, lake‐levels were low and the area was surrounded by paramo and subparamo vegetation. Late‐glacial conditions were warm and humid. The El Abra Stadial, a Younger Dryas equivalent, is reflected by a gap in the sedimentary record, a consequence of the cessation of deposition owing to a drop in lake‐level. The early Holocene was warm and humid; at this time the lake reached its maximum extension and was surrounded by Andean forest. The onset of the drier climate prevailing today took place in the middle Holocene, a process that is reflected earlier in the diatom and sediment records than in the pollen records. In the late Holocene human activity reduced the forest and transformed the landscape. Climate patterns from the Late‐glacial and throughout the Holocene, as represented in our record, are similar to other records from Colombia and northern South America (the Caribbean, Venezuela and Panama) and suggest that the changes in lake‐level were the result of precipitation variations driven by latitudinal shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐resolution record of environmental changes and tephrochronological markers of the Last Glacial–Holocene transition at Lake Lautrey (Jura,France)

This paper presents the results of a multiproxy investigation including volume magnetic susceptibility (κ), mineral and pollen analyses of Late Glacial sediments from Lake Lautrey (Jura, France). Small‐scale lithological variations have been identified with high stratigraphic resolution in order to establish lithostratigraphic correlations between cores. κ measurements, combined with mineralogical analyses, provide information on past sedimentary processes. This combined approach reflects major changes in terrestrial habitats and soil processes which may relate to the climatic events characterising the Late Glacial climatic warming and cooling phases. During warm intervals, the record indicates increased lake productivity via carbonate precipitation and decreased input of detrital material. In contrast, cooler intervals show reduced lake productivity, catchment area instability and increased detrital inputs. Several short interruptions in reforestation and in soil stabilisation can be identified and linked with abrupt colder events occurring through the Bølling. A general trend of warming is recorded from the coldest part of the Younger Dryas. Three tephra layers were also detected. The mineral composition analyses show that the upper tephra layer corresponds to the Laacher See eruption (Eifel, Germany) while the lower ones may relate to the volcanic activity of the Chaîne des Puys (Massif Central, France) around 13 000 cal. yr BP. These two events, recognised for the first time outside the Massif Central region, may provide additional chronostratigraphic markers for the Late Glacial sedimentary records of the Jura mountains and northern Alps. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

冻土斜坡模型试验相似分析

南水北调工程、青藏铁路建设工程等一系列工程的实施,将进一步影响和加剧青藏高原多年冻土区斜坡稳定性问题,冻土区边坡开挖及斜坡稳定性是工程活动中必须解决的问题之一,冻土斜坡稳定性研究在国内尚属空白。通过相似模型试验对高原多年冻土区斜坡在自然和人类活动影响下的失稳机制和活动规律进行分析,是开展研究的重要手段。根据相似理论第一定律,对冻土斜坡模型试验进行了相似分析,应用积分类比法推导并建立了冻土斜坡模型试验的相似指标和相似判据,得出在用原状土作模型介质时,6个相似常数减少为2个相似常数,即cτ和cl。模型与原型的时间比例尺是由几何比例尺决定的,即cτ=c2l,仅有一个相似参数为自变量,另一个为因变量。据此对青藏高原多年冻土区青藏公路沿线K3035处冻土斜坡进行了相似模型设计和冻融模型试验。模型再现了K3035处7°斜坡在4个冻融循环条件下,坡体中部(水平、垂向)4#位移伸张计质点位移曲线随时间的变化特征。实验表明,斜坡土体中部在第一次冻融循环中已有滑动迹象,随着滑坎进一步后退和靠近观测基准点,必然出现一次较大的位移,直至周边土体出现滑塌为止。模型试验结果与现场观测资料相比较是令人满意的。     

地质内、外力作用形成的堰塞湖

该文简要介绍了地震堰塞湖、火山堰塞湖、冰碛堰塞湖的形成原因及特点。     

1995-2015年全球不同气候带典型冰川补给型湖泊动态变化

基于1995年、2005年和2015年3期Landsat影像数据,利用遥感和地理信息系统技术,分析全球不同气候带典型冰川补给型湖泊面积、数量及其对气候变化的响应。结果表明:①1995-2015年全球典型冰川补给型湖泊面积增加了2.32%,数量减少了2.26%,其中以小型湖泊（< 1 km2）和大型湖泊（>50 km2）面积变化最为剧烈,中型湖泊（1~50 km2）面积则相对稳定,1995-2005年冰川补给型湖泊面积与数量的变化速率相比2005-2015年较快。②1995-2015年热带、亚热带、温带冰川补给型湖泊面积与数量均在增加,其中以热带冰川补给型湖泊变化最为剧烈,其面积上升了20.62%,数量上升了25.32%,亚寒带与寒带冰川补给型湖泊面积与数量均减少,其中以寒带冰川补给型湖泊变化最为明显,其面积减少了11.3%,数量下降了18.97%。可为全球典型冰川补给型湖泊的变化及其影响因素的后续研究提供依据和参考。     

Progress in Numerical Simulation of Long-Term Impact of Thermokarst Lakes on Permafrost Thermal Regime

Thermokarst lakes are a major heat source for the adjacent permafrost and a significant source of atmospheric methane. These lakes have important impacts on the physical, chemical, biological, geomorphological and hydrological processes occurring in the ground under and around thermokarst lakes, and seriously affect the local environment and the stability of the structures constructed in permafrost regions. Numerical simulation methods provide an effective method for quantitative analysis of the long-term impact of thermokarst lakes and their evolution on permafrost surrounding the lakes, and have deepened our knowledge about the impact of thermokarst lakes immensely. Summarizing the research progresses in numerical simulation of long-term impact of thermokarst lakes on thermal regime of surrounding permafrost has an important guiding function to improve mathematical models and develop more effective models. In this study, the components, functions, advantages and defects of several typical mathematical models having developed over the past ten years or so were reviewed, such as the heat conduction model with phase change, thaw slumping model, the coupled lake-permafrost model, thaw lake expansion model combining thermal processes with mass wasting and thaw-driven subsidence, the coupled heat conduction and moisture migration model, and the moving mesh method based thermokarst lake dynamic evolution model. Several issues deserving to be paid further attention in the future researches were proposed, including creating more effective models, determining the more realistic initial condition, lucubrating thermal and physical parameters of the typical soils, consider the impact of lake water replenishment, quantitative analysis of the thermal effect of supra-permafrost water flow around the thermokarst lakes, creating the coupled governing equation of heat conduction with phase change and convective heat transfer, embed ding the effect of climate warming in the model, numerical investigation of the long-term influence of thermokarst lake drainage on the environment change in permafrost regions, analyzing the long-term joint impact of multiple lakes on adjacent permafrost, simulating the near-shore talik development process and feature beneath shallow water in expanding thermokarst lakes, and continuing to do the systemic and comprehensive field measurements.     

The tempo-spatial characteristics and forming mechanism of Lithium-rich brines in China

With the technological development of exploitation and separation, the primary sources of lithium have gradually changed from ore to brine, which has become the main raw material, accounting for more than 80% of the total production. Resources of lithium-bearing brine are abundant in China. This paper has summarized the spatial and temporal distribution, characteristics, and formation mechanism of the lithium-rich brine in China, aiming to provide a comprehensive set of guidelines for future lithium exploitation from brines. Lithium-rich brines usually exist in modern saline lakes and deep underground sedimentary rocks as subsurface brines. The metallogenic epoch of China’s lithium-rich brine spans from the Triassic to the Quaternary, and these brines exhibit obvious regional distribution characteristics. Modern lithium-rich saline lakes are predominately located in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In comparison, the subsurface lithium-rich brines are mainly distributed in the sedimentary basins of Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangxi provinces and so on in south Block of China, and some are in the western part of the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai province in northwestern China. Lithium-rich saline lakes are belonging to chloride-enriched, sulfate-enriched, and carbonate-enriched, while the deep lithium-rich brines are mainly chloride-enriched in classification. On the whole, the value of Mg/Li in deep brine is generally lower than that of brine in saline lakes. The genesis of lithium-rich brines in China is not uniform, generally there are two processes, which are respectively suitable for salt lakes and deep brine.