Science and the desertification debate

Desertification is an environmental issue that has major environmental and social dimensions, and which has been controversial in a number of respects. The recent UN Convention on Desertification and Drought places considerable emphasis on the social dimensions of the problem and the role local peoples and NGOs have to play in tackling it. When desertification first became regarded as a major issue in the 1970s, science was seen to have a major role in understanding and solving the problem, but in some circles has been regarded as failing to contribute usefully. This paper explores the nature of scientific contributions, why science may have been seen to fail to serve the needs of policy-makers, and why scientific findings may have been misinterpreted in broader circles dealing with the issue. It concludes by identifying areas where science has still a valuable role to play in an issue that is now perhaps regarded as more political and social than scientific.     

山西省土地荒漠化特征

从土地荒漠化的概念出发,对山西省土地荒漠化的现状及特征进行了分析,指出土地荒漠化是目前困扰山西社会经济可持续发展的一个重要的生态环境问题,并提出了土地荒漠化的防治举措。     

Stratigraphy of the upper cretaceous and lower tertiary strata in the Tethyan Himalayas of Tibet (Tingri area,China)

The 1500-m-thick marine strata of the Tethys Himalaya of the Zhepure Mountain (Tingri, Tibet) comprise the Upper Albian to Eocene and represent the sedimentary development of the passive northern continental margin of the Indian plate. Investigations of foraminifera have led to a detailed biozonation which is compared with the west Tethyan record. Five stratigraphic units can be distinguished: The Gamba group (Upper Albian - Lower Santonian) represents the development from a basin and slope to an outer-shelf environment. In the following Zhepure Shanbei formation (Lower Santonian - Middle Maastrichtian), outer-shelf deposits continue. Pebbles in the top layers point to beginning redeposition on a continental slope. Intensified redeposition continues within the Zhepure Shanpo formation (Middle Maastrichtian - Lower Paleocene). The series is capped by sandstones of the Jidula formation (Danian) deposited from a seaward prograding delta plain. The overall succession of these units represents a sea-level high at the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary followed, from the Turonian to Danian, by an overall shallowing-upward megasequence. This is followed by a final transgression — regression cycle during the Paleocene and Eocene, documented in the Zhepure Shan formation (?Upper Danian - Lutetian) and by Upper Eocene continental deposits. The section represents the narrowing and closure of the Tethys as a result of the convergence between northward-drifting India and Eurasia. The plate collision started in the Lower Maastrichtian and caused rapid changes in sedimentation patterns affected by tectonic subsidence and uplift. Stronger subsidence and deposition took place from the Middle Maastrichtian to the Lower Paleocene. The final closure of remnant Tethys in the Tingri area took place in the Lutetian.     

黔中三叠纪地层研究新进展

通过对黔中地区区域地质调查，在二叠系—三叠系过渡层中发现了一系列的韵律层，并通过岩性岩相、矿物学、地球化学和地层古生物学研究，认为过渡层中韵律层是远源火山碎屑重力流沉积产物，并据古生物、沉积学、地层学研究将过渡层归属于三叠系。原安顺组下部“大汪段”之上、下发现大量牙形刺化石，根据岩性及古生物特征，将“大汪段”归入大冶组。黔中—黔南中三叠统陆源碎屑体系的物源来自江南古陆；菊石、双壳类化石层是浊流作用形成的事件沉积层。     

A model for grain-size sorting over tidal sand ridges

A model was developed and analyzed to quantify the effect of graded sediment on the formation of tidal sand ridges. Field data reveal coarse (fine) sediment at the crests (in the troughs), but often phase shifts between the mean grain-size distribution and the bottom topography occur. Following earlier work, this study is based on a linear stability analysis of a basic state with respect to small bottom perturbations. The basic state describes an alongshore tidal current on a coastal shelf. Sediment is transported as bed load and dynamic hiding effects are accounted for. A one-layer model for the bed evolution is used and two grain size classes (fine and coarse sand) are considered. Results indicate an increase in growth and migration rates of tidal sand ridges for a bimodal mixture, whilst the wavelength of the ridges remains unchanged. A symmetrical externally forced tidal current results in a grain-size distribution which is in phase with the ridges. Incorporation of an additional external M₄ tidal constituent or a steady current results in a phase shift between the grain-size distribution and ridge topography. These results show a general agreement with observations. The physical mechanism responsible for the observed grain-size distribution over the ridges is also discussed.Responsible Editor: Jens Kappenberg     

鄂尔多斯盆地中生代晚期以来大地热流的变化及其对生态环境格局和演变的影响

鄂尔多斯盆地的西北部、东北部和南部三个区域现今大地热流平均值分别为56．3、67．3和65．3mW／m^2，对应的生态环境格局也有明显的差异。研究表明，大地热流每增加4～5mW／m^2可使年均地表温度升高约l℃，使最低月均地表温度升高2。C以上。鄂尔多斯盆地东北部的平均大地热流比西北部高出11mW／m^2，东北部年均地表温度可能比西北部高出2～3℃，其最低月均地表温度可能比西北部高出4～6℃。西北部的大地热流平均值已经低于维持地表生态系统延续所需大地热流的临界值(57mW／m^2)，其自然生态系统整体上已经处于脆弱境地；东北部和南部的大地热流均大于57mW／m^2，自然生态系统均尚较稳健。东北部的沙漠化可能是风沙侵入的结果，其生态应该是可以恢复的。整个西北部作为一个整体看，72万年以前大地热流就已衰减到临界值以下，区域生态系统渐趋脆弱，开始整体上向荒漠化演变。     

Holocene hydrographical changes of the eastern Laptev Sea (Siberian Arctic) recorded in δO profiles of bivalve shells

Oxygen isotope profiles along the growth axis of fossil bivalve shells of Macoma calcarea were established to reconstruct hydrographical changes in the eastern Laptev Sea since 8400 cal yr B.P.. The variability of the oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O) in the individual records is mainly attributed to variations in the salinity of bottom waters in the Laptev Sea with a modern ratio of 0.50‰/salinity. The high-resolution δ¹⁸O profiles exhibit distinct and annual cycles from which the seasonal and annual salinity variations at the investigated site can be reconstructed. Based on the modern analogue approach oxygen isotope profiles of radiocarbon-dated bivalve shells from a sediment core located northeast of the Lena Delta provide seasonal and subdecadal insights into past hydrological conditions and their relation to the Holocene transgressional history of the Laptev Sea shelf. Under the assumption that the modern relationship between δ¹⁸O_w and salinity has been constant throughout the time, the δ¹⁸O of an 8400-cal-yr-old bivalves would suggest that bottom-water salinity was reduced and the temperature was slightly warmer, both suggesting a stronger mixture of riverine water to the bottom water. Reconstruction of the inundation history of the Laptev Sea shelf indicates local sea level ∼27 m below present at this time and a closer proximity of the site to the coastline and the Lena River mouth. Due to continuing sea level rise and a southward retreat of the river mouth, bottom-water salinity increased at 7200 cal yr B.P. along with an increase in seasonal variability. Conditions comparable to the modern hydrography were achieved by 3800 cal yr B.P.     

Coastal neotectonics in Southern Central Andes: uplift and deformation of marine terraces in Northern Chile (27°S)

Neotectonic observations allow a new interpretation of the recent tectonic behaviour of the outer fore arc in the Caldera area, northern Chile (27°S). Two periods of deformation are distinguished, based on large-scale Neogene to Quaternary features of the westernmost part of the Coastal Cordillera: Late Miocene to Early Pliocene deformations, characterized by a weak NE–SW to E–W extension is followed by uppermost Pliocene NW–SE to E–W compression. The Middle Pleistocene to Recent time is characterized by vertical uplift and NW–SE extension. These deformations provide clear indications of the occurrence of moderate to large earthquakes. Microseismic observations, however, indicate a lack of shallow crustal seismicity in coastal zone. We propose that both long-term brittle deformation and uplift are linked to the subduction seismic cycle.     

Progress in sandy desertification research of China

Desertification is one of the most serious environmental and socio-economic problems facing the world today. Because the rapid expansion of desertification has resulted in serious environmental deterioration, economic loss, locally unsteadiness political situation and social upheaval, it has become a hot-spot issue of worldwide concern. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, as the catastrophic drought in the west Africa greatly accelerated the development of desertification, the desertificati…