Weathering of sulfidic shale and copper mine waste: secondary minerals and metal cycling in Great Smoky Mountains National Park,Tennessee, and North Carolina,USA

Metal cycling via physical and chemical weathering of discrete sources (copper mines) and regional (non-point) sources (sulfide-rich shale) is evaluated by examining the mineralogy and chemistry of weathering products in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, and North Carolina, USA. The elements in copper mine waste, secondary minerals, stream sediments, and waters that are most likely to have negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems are aluminum, copper, zinc, and arsenic because these elements locally exceed toxicity guidelines for surface waters or for stream sediments. Acid-mine drainage has not developed in streams draining inactive copper mines. Acid-rock drainage and chemical weathering processes that accompany debris flows or human disturbances of sulfidic rocks are comparable to processes that develop acid-mine drainage elsewhere. Despite the high rainfall in the mountain range, sheltered areas and intermittent dry spells provide local venues for development of secondary weathering products that can impact aquatic ecosystems.Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.

U-Pb Zircon Dating of the Yeniutan Granitic Intrusion in the Western Sector of the North Qilian Mountains

Zircons from granodiorite and biotite granite in the Yeniutan granitic intrusion in the western North Qilian Mountains yielded a weighted mean 206Pb/238U apparent age of 460±3 Ma, suggesting that the intrusion originated during the late stage of plate subduction. Its related Ta'ergou and Xiaoliugou deposits are two of the few large tungsten deposits formed in the plate subduction environment in the world. The U-Pb dating of the zircons from the biotite granite gave a discordant lower intercept age of 183±4 Ma, which implies that the Yanshanian event was probably superimposed on the North Qilian region.     

近40年天山冰川变化的遥感监测

Both marginal fluctuation and areal change were used to detect the accurate dynamics of glacier change in the study area using Landsat MSS, ETM, SPOT HRV and topographic maps based on GIS. From 1963 to 1977, four of eight glaciers advanced, two of them retreated and another two kept stable, the glacier advanced generally. From 1977 to 1986, four of eight glaciers retreated and the others kept stable, but the retreated glaciers were those which advanced from 1963 to 1977. From 1986 to 2000, seven of eight glaciers retreated and only one glacier kept stable, the retreating velocity was 10-15 m/a. Glacier recession in this period became very fast and universal. From 1963 to 2000, the area of glaciers decreased from 5479.0 ha to 4795.4 ha, up to 12.5%. It is alarming that most of glacier retreats happened from 1986 to 2000. This was very consistent with change process of summer mean temperature in this region and global warming beginning in the 1980s.     

Timing of advance and basal condition of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum in the Richardson Mountains,NWT

This study presents new ages for the northwest section of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) glacial chronology from material recovered from two retrogressive thaw slumps exposed in the Richardson Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. One study site, located at the maximum glacial limit of the LIS in the Richardson Mountains, had calcite concretions recovered from aufeis buried by glacial till that were dated by U/Th disequilibrium to 18,500 cal yr BP. The second site, located on the Peel Plateau to the east yielded a fossil horse (Equus) mandible that was radiocarbon dated to ca. 19,700 cal yr BP. These ages indicate that the Peel Plateau on the eastern flanks of the Richardson Mountains was glaciated only after 18,500 cal yr BP, which is later than previous models for the global last glacial maximum (LGM). As the LIS retreated the Peel Plateau around 15,000 cal yr BP, following the age of the Tutsieta phase, we conclude that the presence of the northwestern margin of the LIS at its maximum limit was a very short event in the western Canadian Arctic.     

东昆仑大干沟火山岩SHRIMP锆石U-Pb测年及其地质意义

东昆仑大干沟以北地区造山后形成的牦牛山组磨拉石建造不整合覆盖于前泥盆系之上,其形成时代对限定柴达木盆地加里东造山作用的结束时间及晚古生代裂解作用的开始时间具有重要意义。应用单颗粒锆石离子探针质谱仪(SHRIMP)方法,对牦牛山组上部火山岩段的样品进行精确的锆石U-Pb测年。结果表明,牦牛山组上段火山岩样品DG01和DG02中的岩浆锆石206Pb/238U平均年龄分别为403.6±5.1Ma和409±3.4Ma。综合前人研究认为,造山后牦牛山组伸展型磨拉石的形成时代为晚志留世-早泥盆世,限定了晚古生代裂解的开始时间,也意味着早古生代加里东造山运动在晚志留世-早泥盆世之前已经结束。     

A computational approach to Quaternary lake-level reconstruction applied in the central Rocky Mountains,Wyoming, USA

Sediment-based reconstructions of late-Quaternary lake levels provide direct evidence of hydrologic responses to climate change, but many studies only provide approximate lake-elevation curves. Here, we demonstrate a new method for producing quantitative time series of lake elevation based on the facies and elevations of multiple cores collected from a lake's margin. The approach determines the facies represented in each core using diagnostic data, such as sand content, and then compares the results across cores to determine the elevation of the littoral zone over time. By applying the approach computationally, decisions are made systematically and iteratively using different facies classification schemes to evaluate the associated uncertainty. After evaluating our assumptions using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), we quantify past lake-elevation changes, precipitation minus evapotranspiration (Δ_P−ET), and uncertainty in both at Lake of the Woods and Little Windy Hill Pond, Wyoming. The well-correlated (r = 0.802 ± 0.002) reconstructions indicate that water levels at both lakes fell at > 11,300, 8000–5500, and 4700–1600 cal yr BP when Δ_P − ET decreased to − 50 to − 250 mm/yr. Differences between the reconstructions are typically small (10 ± 24 mm/yr since 7000 cal yr BP), and the similarity indicates that our reconstruction method can produce statistically comparable paleohydrologic datasets across networks of sites.     

大兴安岭摩天岭雨养泥炭沼泽多环芳烃分布特征与来源分析

运用气相色谱—质谱(GC-MS)技术对大兴安岭摩天岭(47°22′23″N,120°38′45″E)雨养泥炭沼泽泥炭柱中的多环芳烃(PAHs)污染物进行了分析。结果表明,研究区雨养泥炭沼泽表层PAHs总含量的质量比为1 874.4 ng/g,与国内外雨养泥炭沼泽表层相比,其污染水平相对较高。由于研究区气候冷湿,雨养泥炭沼泽中的有机质腐殖化程度较低,有机碳含量较高,这和其PAHs含量的相关性较小。研究区样品中检测出的PAHs主要以2~3环的多环芳烃为主;由PAHs分子标志物指标分析结果可知,研究区雨养泥炭沼泽PAHs污染物的主要来源是当地森林火灾与大气远距离沉降;沉降的PAHs污染物是原油开采、石油生产和化石燃料燃烧的共同贡献。在距地表15~34 cm处,柱状剖面层的PAHs含量显著增加,这是由于1987年和1998年大兴安岭发生森林火灾树木燃烧所致。     

TOPOGRAPHIC SHADING AND GEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS OF DIRECT SOLAR RADIATION IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS*

Topographic shading curtails the period and complicates the geographic patterns of insolation in mountainous areas. Maps derived from oblique aerial photographs of shadow lines cast by the irregular, mountainous east horizon in Provo, Utah are used as a case study to illustrate an alternative to existing techniques of solar radiation data collection. For study areas of several hundred square kilometers, this method may be superior in resolution and at the same time more error free and economically feasible than other methods. Measurement of solar inputs received at sample stations scattered through the mapped area show that the phenomenon of topographically delayed sunrise has a distinct effect on daily totals of radiation in the manner suggested by the maps.     

中国西部山地发展的一般模式——以天山巴音布鲁克地区为例

中国西部山区是我国的水源地及生态屏障，它们的合理开发与保护是西部大开发的基本内容。研究归纳出山地发展的“巴音布鲁克模式”：（1）天鹅及其生境的绝对保护（核心）；（2）建立可持续牧业（主体）；（3）规范和发展旅游业（突破口）；（4）西蒙古土尔扈特传统文化的保护（文化多样性）。中国西部山区的发展模式都可以概括为一个核心（自然保护）三个圈层（与当地主要土地资源相适应的主导产业，与当地特有资源相联系的新兴产业，当地民族文化保护）。这种模式能够充分体现生态优先的思想，同时考虑到促进地区新老经济及文化的发展与保护，符合西部大开发的方针。     

Geochemical Information Indicating the Water Recharge to Lakes and Immovable Megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert

1 Introduction The Badain Jaran Desert, located in western Inner Mongolia, China, has a unique landscape containing 144 lakes (72 of which are still watery) with a total water area of about 23 km2, and the world’s highest stationary sand dunes with a height between 200 m and 500 m. Much attention has been paid to the water recharge of the desert in the past decade. Investigations on the resources of water system there have been performed continuously since the early 1990s, which lead to th…