Freshening of the Intermediate Waters in the Northern South China Sea over the PastSix Decades

The properties of salinity in the South China Sea (SCS), a significant marginal sea connecting the Pacific andIndian Oceans, are greatly influenced by the transport of fresh water flux between the two oceans. However, the long-termchanges in the intermediate water in the SCS have not been thoroughly studied due to limited data, particularly in relationto its thermodynamic variations. This study utilized reanalysis data products to identify a 60-year trend of freshening in theintermediate waters of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), accompanied by an expansion of low-salinity water. Thestudy also constructed salinity budget terms, including advection and entrainment processes, and conducted an analysis ofthe salinity budget to understand the impacts of external and internal dynamic processes on the freshening trend of theintermediate water in the NSCS. The analysis revealed that the freshening in the northwest Pacific Ocean and theintensification of intrusion through the Luzon Strait at intermediate levels are the primary drivers of the salinity changes inthe NSCS. Additionally, a weakened trend in the intensity of vertical entrainment also contributes to the freshening in theNSCS. This study offers new insights into the understanding of regional deep sea changes in response to variations in boththermodynamics and oceanic dynamic processes.     

Far beyond the Gulf: the implications of warfare for Asian labour migration

The implications of the Gulf War are assessed for the countries in Asia that send labor migrants to the Middle East. "This paper seeks to examine the effects of...the loss of remittances (and related issues, including return migration), primarily in terms of the long-term implications of the War for the future of contract labour migration in the Asian region...."     

The seismic hazard assessment of the Dead Sea rift, Jordan

The Dead Sea fault system and its branching faults represent one of the most tectonically active regions in the Middle East. The aim of this study is to highlight the degree of hazards related to the earthquake activities associated with the Dead Sea rift, in terms of speculating the possible future earthquakes. The present investigation mainly is based on available data and vertical crustal modeling of Jordan and the Dead Sea model for the Dead Sea basin with particular emphasis of the recent earthquake activities, which occurred on December 31st, 2003 (Mc = 3.7), February 11th, 2004 (strongest Mc = 4.9 R), and March 15th, 2004 (Mc = 4). The present research examines the location of the strong events and correlates them with the various tectonic elements in the area. The source mechanism of the main shock and the aftershock events is also examined. The analyses were based on the available short period seismogram data, which was recorded at the Natural Resources Authority of Jordan, Seismological Observatory. The seismic energy appears to have migrated from the south to the north during the period from December 31st up to March 12th, where the released seismic energy showed a migration character to the southern block of the eastern side of the Dead Sea, which led the seismic event to occur on March 15th.     

A pronounced dry event recorded around 4.2 ka in brine sediments from the northern Red Sea

Partly laminated sediments were sampled from the brine-filled, anoxic Shaban Deep basin in the northern Red Sea. At about 4200 cal yr BP more than two millennia of anoxic sedimentation is replaced by a sub-oxic facies strongly suggesting the episodic absence of the brine. At the same time stable oxygen isotopes from surface dwelling foraminifera show a sharp increase (within less than 100 yr) pointing to a strong positive salinity anomaly at the sea surface. This major evaporation event significantly enhanced the renewal of deep water and the subsequent ventilation of the small Shaban Deep basin. The timing and strength of the reconstructed environmental changes around 4200 cal yr BP suggest that this event is the regional expression of a major drought event, which is widely observed in the neighboring regions, and which strongly affected Middle East agricultural civilizations.     

Post-mid-Cretaceous eastern North Sea evolution inferred from 3D thermo-mechanical modelling

The Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic evolution of the eastern North Sea region is investigated by 3D thermo-mechanical modelling. The model quantifies the integrated effects on basin evolution of large-scale lithospheric processes, rheology, strength heterogeneities, tectonics, eustasy, sedimentation and erosion.

The evolution of the area is influenced by a number of factors: (1) thermal subsidence centred in the central North Sea providing accommodation space for thick sediment deposits; (2) 250-m eustatic fall from the Late Cretaceous to present, which causes exhumation of the North Sea Basin margins; (3) varying sediment supply; (4) isostatic adjustments following erosion and sedimentation; (5) Late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic Alpine compressional phases causing tectonic inversion of the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone (STZ) and other weak zones.

The stress field and the lateral variations in lithospheric strength control lithospheric deformation under compression. The lithosphere is relatively weak in areas where Moho is deep and the upper mantle warm and weak. In these areas the lithosphere is thickened during compression producing surface uplift and erosion (e.g., at the Ringkøbing–Fyn High and in the southern part of Sweden). Observed late Cretaceous–early Cenozoic shallow water depths at the Ringkøbing–Fyn High as well as Cenozoic surface uplift in southern Sweden (the South Swedish Dome (SSD)) are explained by this mechanism.

The STZ is a prominent crustal structural weakness zone. Under compression, this zone is inverted and its surface uplifted and eroded. Contemporaneously, marginal depositional troughs develop. Post-compressional relaxation causes a regional uplift of this zone.

The model predicts sediment distributions and paleo-water depths in accordance with observations. Sediment truncation and exhumation at the North Sea Basin margins are explained by fall in global sea level, isostatic adjustments to exhumation, and uplift of the inverted STZ. This underlines the importance of the mechanisms dealt with in this paper for the evolution of intra-cratonic sedimentary basins.     

Reconstruction of the climate in the Tianmu Mountain area, Zhejiang Province, in the last 160 years by ? 13C sequence of tree ring α-cellulose

Based on cross-dating tree rings from the Tianmu Mountain, Zhejiang Province, the tree rings α-cellulose δ 13C time series was measured. By spectrum analysis, the variation of tree-ring δ13C sequence shows a quasi periodicity of 4.4 years, which is coincident with the standard cycle of El Nino. After removing the long-term decrease trend of the δ13C variation related to atmospheric CO2 concentration, the response of the δ13C to climate elements was analyzed using meteorology data from a nearby weather station. The results suggest that there is a distinct relativity between high-frequency variation of tree ring δ 13C series and seasonal climate parameters, e.g. Temperature and precipitation, with a significant time-lag effect. In addition, the high frequency also reflects the strength change of the East Asian Monsoon. The multiple regression method was employed to reconstruct the historical climate, and to analyze the climate change and trend in the last 160 years in the northern Zhejiang Province.     

Dynamic processes of a simple linear dune—a study in the Taklimakan Sand Sea, China

Samples of dune sands, surveys of the morphology and field measurements of wind velocity and direction of a simple linear dune in Taklimakan Sand Sea show that the airflow and sand flux vary with the change of wind direction on the dune surface. Decrease of the airflow stress on the lee flank does not result in much decrease of the sand flux because of the low threshold shear velocities and the airflow conditions. There are no significant relations between the sand flux on the lee flank and the angle of incidence of the airflow. The low threshold shear velocities and the maintenance of the sand flux at the lee flank are the main mechanisms keeping the linear shape of the dunes. Measurements of the sand flux shows that it reaches a maximum on the crest of the dune. The grain size of the transported sands has some differences compared to that of the dune surface. The sands transported are finer than that on the dune surface, but better sorted under the influence of the medium to low wind activity. The field experiment results exhibit that it is possible for the dunes to be shaped as linear dunes during the processes of accumulation and elongation.     

Attenuation of shear-waves in the back-arc region of the Hellenic arc for frequencies from 0.6 to 16 Hz

Q_β for shear-waves is determined for the inner part of the Hellenic arc, the back-arc area, as a function of frequency in the range 0.6–16 Hz. We used 314 digital records from 32 earthquakes with magnitudes (M_w) ranging from 3.9 to 5.1. Epicentral distances ranged from 65 to 515 km. The data were obtained in 1997 during a 6-month operation of a digital portable network in Greece. The Q_β estimates were made for five frequency bands centred at 0.8, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0 and 12.0 Hz and the Q_β values obtained were 47, 79, 143, 271 and 553, respectively. The results show that Q_β for S-waves increases with frequency taking the form Q_β=55f ^0.91 (or Q_β⁻¹0.018f^−0.91). The high attenuation and the strong frequency dependence found, which is close to the frequency dependence of coda Q for Greece, are characteristic of an area with high seismicity, rapid extension, and in agreement with other similar studies in Greece.