Paleolimnological assessment of human impacts on an urban South African lake

North End Lake is a polluted and eutrophic freshwater system located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Since the lake is expected to be used for recreational/tourist purposes by 2010, a rehabilitation program will have to be designed. For this reason, we retrieved a sediment core from the central region of the lake to decipher the effect of historical human impacts on the water body. Pre-disturbance paleolimnological inferences indicate that the lake was likely mesotrophic. After ∼1831, when sheep farming activities were undertaken in the catchment, increases in trophic state and changes in sediment composition were observed. After ∼1937, increases in trace metal levels, organic matter, spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCP) and changes in sediment composition were recorded. The system became eutrophic as indicated by the dominance of the diatom Actinocyclus normanii, a cosmopolitan species often observed in systems where water quality has been dramatically degraded. The conditions worsened after 1986 because of the construction of a storm-water retention system, which intentionally channeled storm-water runoff into the lake. Because of this, extremely high values of fecal coliforms (i.e. 2 × 10⁶ every 100 ml) have been measured in the water column. The paleolimnological information identified the sharp increase in organic content in the uppermost section of the core, and this could be correlated to the operation of the storm-water retention system. Therefore, as an immediate management measure, we suggest that the storm-water retention system should either no longer be utilized, or the storm-water runoff should be treated before disposal into the lake. In addition, an effective sewage system has to be constructed.     

人类起源研究回顾与中国古人类学展望

根据对人类起源研究的回顾和对我国人类进化概况的认识，将我国古人类学研究推向更高的境界的首要任务是找到新的比较完整的化石和有关材料，关键之举是高水平的创新研究，发现和综合考量蕴藏在其中的各种信息，因此在新的世纪，必须大力进行野外调查，发现更多人类化石和旧石器以及有关的材料，进行深入的形态学和考古学研究，还要寻求人类古生物学与分子生物学在人类起源与进化研究方面的协调，构建更加坚实的我国古人类年龄框架，适当地进行我国古环境与人类关系的研究。     

泥河湾层的研究现状和展望

泥河湾层是我国北方著名的第四纪河湖相地层,它以巨厚的沉积、丰富的哺乳动物化石和人类遗存为世人所瞩目.经过几代人近80年的努力,泥河湾层在地层学、古生物学、沉积学、古地理学和古人类学等方面的研究上都取得了丰硕的成果,被誉为我国研究程度最高的第四纪地层之一.近年来,随着第四纪学科的发展和全球变化研究的深入,加大泥河湾层研究力度,提高"泥河湾层”研究水平的呼声日趋高涨.预计在新的世纪,泥河湾层研究将成为我国第四纪工作的热点,它将对第四纪科学和全球变化研究做出重大的贡献.     

长江三峡大宁河流域3000年来的环境演变与人类活动

长江三峡大宁河流域张家湾东周-汉代古遗址的孢粉学和沉积学等分析结果表明3000年来该区环境演变与人类活动的互动影响，连续的孢粉和粒度记录证实，该区古人类活动初期处于暖湿的气候，东周-汉代时期转变为温凉略干的温带气候，东周-汉代后，该区经历了一次规模较大的大宁河洪水泛滥期，导致汉代文化层中断。此后不久，由于人类活动剧烈，自然植被严重破坏，水土流失比较严重，山洪灾害频繁，导致汉代之后该区没有连续的文化层堆积，而由于人类活动剧烈，自然植被严重破坏，水土流失比较严重，山洪灾害频繁，导致汉代之后该区没有连续的文化层堆积，而由于短暂洪水暴发引起大面积坡面片流，导致坡积物的大量堆积，汉代之后该区频繁的兴涝灾害和山洪灾害体现了人地关系的复杂性。     

Paleolimnological assessment of human impacts in Lake Blanca, SE Uruguay

Paleolimnological techniques were used to assess human impacts onLake Blanca, a small (0.6 km²), coastal fresh waterbodyin southern Uruguay, which is the drinking water source for 100,000 localresidents. We retrieved a core that extends to about 1100 ¹⁴Cyr BP. ²¹⁰Pb ages, organic mater, CO₃, totalcarbon, nutrients, fossil pigments and diatoms allowed us to establishlimnological conditions before and after cultural impacts. Soil removal(1880–1960) and intensive cattle and sheep grazing (1943–1966) ledto gully formation in the catchment. This watershed erosion resulted inincreased sedimentation rates. The aquatic system appeared to be mesotrophicwith dominance of epibenthic diatoms until 1966, at which timeeutrophication intensified with forestry activities. Increases in nutrients, aswell as blooms of planktonic diatoms, were observed. During the last decade,tourist/urban development as well as high drinking water demand caused areduction in lake area. Subsequent marked increases in rainfall led to furtherphytoplankton blooms and macrophyte proliferation.     

Environmental change recorded in sediments from the Marmes rockshelter archaeological site, southeastern Washington state, USA

The Marmes Rockshelter archaeological site in southeastern Washington state contains a > 11 kyr stratigraphic record that was excavated in the 1960s but only recently analyzed in detail. We present the results of physical, chemical, and isotopic analyses of archived Marmes sediments from rockshelter, hillslope, and floodplain locations. Multiple lines of evidence including éboulis production, soil chemistry, and δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O signatures in soil organic matter and calcium carbonate suggest that relatively cool, moist conditions 10,600 to 9700 ¹⁴C yr BP were followed by relatively warm and dry conditions as early as 9000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Warm and dry conditions extended to the late Holocene, followed by a return to cooler and moister climate. The limited range of δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values in Marmes paleosols suggests that the magnitude of moisture and temperature shifts was locally buffered in the lower Snake River Canyon but adequate to generate significant changes in sedimentation and soil formation, possibly due to nonlinear geological and pedological processes. These buffered canyon environments were well suited for establishing residential bases associated with foraging and logistical collecting strategies and may have minimized the influence of climate changes in food resource abundance.     

The geotechnical effects of long human habitation (2000< years): Earthquake induced landslide hazard in the city of Zefat, northern Israel

This work studies the effects of long human habitation on site geotechnical conditions. It is focused on the city of Zefat that is located on the borders of the Dead Sea Transform in northern Israel. The city of Zefat, suffered severe damage and loss of life in historical earthquakes, as a consequence of earthquake induced landslides (EILS). In this work we evaluate the current EILS hazard for the city of Zefat using a GIS-based regional Newmark analysis, with calibration of the calculated Newmark displacement (representing EILS hazard) using maps of field evidence and historical documents testifying to slope instability that occurred in historical earthquakes.

We found that the core city of Zefat is built on a layered anthropogenic material, few meters deep which, was deposited as a result of more than 2000 years of human habitation. The anthropogenic material is mechanically weak, susceptible to slope failure and to amplification of seismic-shaking. It is responsible for the city's devastation in historical earthquakes and it is the source for the current high seismic hazard as well.

Our model shows that earthquakes of magnitudes (M_w) 5, 6 and 7 at distances of up to 10 km, 50 km and more than 100 km, respectively, are likely to induce landslides in the core city of Zefat. The current engineering status of the city is poor, and as a consequence severe damage and loss of life are expected in future earthquakes due to EILS, unless major engineering efforts are made. Cities in the Eastern Mediterranean with comparable long habitation histories (e.g., Jerusalem, Tiberias, Nablus, Amman) are expected to have similar geotechnical problems in their old sections and are advised to take appropriate engineering steps to reduce damage and loss of life in future earthquakes.

Evaluation of historical earthquake magnitudes based on reported local-damage may, however, lead to overestimated magnitudes where the damaged sites are built on anthropogenic talus (a common setting in the vicinity of the Dead Sea Transform).     

Establishing the time of initial human occupation of Liang Bua, western Flores, Indonesia

Liang Bua, a limestone cave in western Flores, has an archaeological and faunal sequence known to span the last 95 ka and is the type-site for a small-bodied hominid species, Homo floresiensis. This paper describes the geomorphic history of this significant site, and presents numerical ages for key events as determined by thermoluminescence dating of sediments (using a dual-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol) and uranium-series dating of flowstones. Our age estimates indicate that Liang Bua existed as a subterranean chamber by 400 ka ago. It was subsequently exposed by the incision of the Wae Racang River, which invaded the cave around 190 ka and deposited an upward-fining sequence of water-rolled boulders and cobbles. The latter conglomerate was partially reworked around 130 ka ago and was capped by flowstones at 100 ka. The conglomerate also contains stone artefacts, which implies that the occupation of the surrounding area is at least as old as the time of emplacement of the conglomerate. After 190 ka, a complex sequence of erosion and deposition led to the accumulation of at least 11 m of sediment in the front chamber of the cave, which proved suitable for hominid occupation. Such geochronological and geomorphological information is extremely valuable for interpreting the archaeological record at Liang Bua and its wider significance.     

论华北地区河口衰亡

河口衰亡是指河口空间形态、河口作用过程及河口功能的衰亡。河口衰亡的主导诱因是人类对河流所实施的水利工程活动。河口衰亡将引起海岸侵蚀、河口淤积、河口环境退化等一系列问题。     

论矿产勘查工作中的哲学思维

本文从找矿哲学的理论基础出发,论述了矿产勘查的成功不仅仅取决于先进的地学理论和勘查技术方法,更应重视人在矿产勘查工作中的哲学思维,辩证地研究解决地质工作中不断出现的新问题。敢于突破专家定论,从而使地质科学不断的向前发展,提高矿产勘查的成功率。