MULTIDISCIPLINARY INVESTIGATIONS ON THREE ROCK GLACIERS IN THE SWISS ALPS: LEGACIES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

This paper recognizes the contribution of Professor Wilfried Haeberli for his inspiration and leadership in the field of permafrost science and his generous encouragement, both direct and indirect, to the ETH Researchers who have, through him, endeavoured to contribute to this fascinating research area. The multidisciplinary investigations described in this paper have focused on three rock glaciers, Muragl, Murtèl‐Corvatsch and Furggwanghorn, all of which have been subject to a varying degree of prior study, and which are continuing to attract new generations of researchers to understand and explain the processes and predict future behaviour. This paper marks a stage at which it is possible to summarize some advances in the state of the art and associated innovations that can be attributed to early motivation by Wilfried Haeberli and offers a tribute as well as gratitude for his ongoing feedback and advice. Some thoughts on the development of thermokarst due to water ponding and flow, and a conceptual model of geotechnical mechanisms that aim to explain some aspects of rock glacier kinematics, are also introduced.     

A quantitative assessment of snow shielding effects on surface exposure dating from a western North American 10Be data compilation

To better assess the spatiotemporal variations of the snow shielding effect on surface exposure dating, we compiled a dataset of 1341 ¹⁰Be ages from alpine moraines and glacially eroded valleys across western North America, and conducted a sensitivity test with both modern and time-integrated snow data covering the same region. Our analyses reveal significant differences in snow shielding both across our geographic domain and through time. In our time-integrated experiments we find snow-based exposure age corrections as low as 3.5% in the Great Basin region and high as 28.4% in the Pacific Northwest for samples dating to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) when no wind-sweeping is assumed. As demonstrated with our time-varying snow conditions with a global climate model and a positive degree day model, modern snow conditions across western North America cannot account for the varying snow patterns under large scale climate shifts since the LGM. The snow-based exposure age corrections from the modern data differ from those calculated by our time-varying model by up to 17% across our model domain. In addition, we find that the ¹⁰Be ages calculated under two end-member scenarios regarding wind-sweeping effects, specifically whether boulders were shielded only when the total snow accumulation exceeded boulder heights or were always shielded when the snow was present, can differ by ∼7.6% on average for LGM aged samples. Our analyses provide a model-based estimates of the spatiotemporal variability and complexity of snow shielding effects on surface exposure dates across western North America and highlight the need to consider snow depth variations both spatially and temporally when conducting surface exposure dating in terrains where snowfall accumulation is significant.     

A natural gas hydrate-oil-gas system in the Qilian Mountain permafrost area,northeast of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Natural gas hydrate, oil and gas were all found together in the Qilian Mountain permafrost area, northeast of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. They are closely associated with each other in space, but whether they are in any genetic relations are unknown yet. In this paper, a hydrocarbon gas-generation series, gas-fluid migration series and hydrocarbon gas-accumulation series are analyzed to probe the spatial, temporal and genetic relationships among natural natural gas hydrate, oil and gas. The subsequent results show that natural gas hydrate, oil and gas actually form a natural gas hydrate-oil-gas system. Based on the Middle Jurassic and the Upper Triassic hydrocarbon gas-generation series, it is divided into four major sub-systems in the study area: (1) A conventional Upper Triassic gas-bearing sub-system with peak hydrocarbon gas-generation in the late Middle Jurassic; (2) a conventional Middle Jurassic oil-bearing sub-system with low to mature hydrocarbon gas-generation in the late Middle Jurassic; (3) a natural gas hydrate sub-system with main gas source from the Upper Triassic gas-bearing sub-system and minor gas source from the Middle Jurassic oil-bearing sub-system as well as little gas source from the Middle Jurassic coal-bed gas and the microbial gas; (4) a shallower gas sub-system with microbial alteration of the main gas source from the Upper Triassic gas-bearing sub-system. This natural gas hydrate-oil-gas system and its sub-systems are not only theoretical but also practical, and thus they will play an important role in the further exploration of natural gas hydrate, oil and gas, even other energy resources in the study area.     

Integrated geophysical surveys on railroads in permafrost areas

The zones of thawed ground in the permafrost area are most dangerous from engineer-geologist effect point of view. Detection of such zones, as making forecast of their movement is the main task of engi...     

昆仑山隧道洞内防排水及衬砌隔热保温层施工技术

介绍了高原多年冻土世界第一长隧道——昆仑山隧道洞内防排水及衬砌隔热保温层的设计特点, 通过材料性能优选和工艺试验, 选定了适宜于高原多年冻土隧道洞内防排水及衬砌隔热保温层施工的材料, 并制定科学、合理的施工方法和工艺, 确保昆仑山隧道工程质量.     

Variability of atmospheric freezing level height derived from radiosonde data in China during 1958–2005 and its impact to cryosphere changes

Atmospheric air temperature data from 92 stations in China’s radiosonde network were used to analyze changes in the freezing level height (FLH), glacier snow line, and ice edge from 1958–2005 (48 years) and to examine the impact of these changes on the cryosphere. In general, the FLH, glacier snow line, and ice edge exhibited latitudinal zonation, declining from south to north. Trends in the FLH, glacier snow line, and ice edge showed spatial heterogeneity during the study period, with prevailing upward trends. Temporally, the FLH, glacier snow line, and ice edge trends differed on various time scales.     

The Alpine Rif Belt (Morocco): A Case of Mountain Building in a Subduction-Subduction-Transform Fault Triple Junction

—The Rif belt forms with the Betic Cordilleras an asymmetric arcuate mountain belt (Gibraltar Arc) around the Alboran Sea, at the western tip of the Alpine orogen. The Gibraltar Arc consists of an exotic terrane (Alboran Terrane) thrust over the African and Iberian margins. The Alboran Terrane itself includes stacked nappes which originate from an easterly, Alboran-Kabylias-Peloritani-Calabria (Alkapeca) continental domain, and displays Variscan low-grade and high-grade schists (Ghomarides-Malaguides and Sebtides-Alpujarrides, respectively), shallow water Mesozoic sediments (mainly in the Dorsale Calcaire passive margin units), and infracontinental peridotite slices (Beni Bousera, Ronda). During the Late Cretaceous?-Eocene, the Alboran Terrane was likely located south of a SE-dipping Alpine-Betic subduction (cf. Nevado-Filabride HP-LT metamorphism of central-eastern Betics). An incipient collision against Iberia triggered back-thrust tectonics south of the deformed terrane during the Late Eocene-Oligocene, and the onset of the NW-dipping Apenninic-Maghrebian subduction. The early, HP-LT phase of the Sebtide-Alpujarride metamorphism could be hypothetically referred to the Alpine-Betic subduction, or alternatively to the Apenninic-Maghrebian subduction, depending on the interpretation of the geochronologic data set. Both subduction zones merged during the Early Miocene west of the Alboran Terrane and formed a triple junction with the Azores-Gibraltar transform fault. A westward roll back of the N-trending subduction segment was responsible for the Neogene rifting of the internal Alboran Terrane, and for its coeval, oblique docking onto the African and Iberian margins. Seismic evidence of active E-dipping subduction, and opposite paleomagnetic rotations in the Rif and Betic limbs of the Gibraltar Arc support this structurally-based scenario.     

Distinguishing streamflow trends caused by changes in climate,forest cover,and permafrost in a large watershed in northeastern China

Understanding how rivers respond to changes in land cover, climate, and subsurface conditions is critical for sustainably managing water resources and ecosystems. In this study, long‐term hydrologic, climate, and satellite data (1973–2012) from the Upper Tahe River watershed (2359 km²) in the Da Hinggan Mountains of northeast China were analysed to quantify the relative hydrologic effects of climate variability (system input) and the combined influences of forest cover change and permafrost thaw (system characteristics) on average annual streamflow (system response) using 2 methods: the sensitivity‐based method and the Kendall–Theil robust line method. The study period was subdivided into a forest harvesting period (1973–1987), a forest stability period (1988–2001), and a forest recovery period (2002–2012). The results indicated that the combined effects of forest harvesting and permafrost thaw on streamflow (+ 47.0 mm) from the forest harvesting period to the forest stability period was approximately twice as large as the effect associated with climate variability (+20.2 mm). Similarly, from the forest stability period to the forest recovery period, the decrease in average annual streamflow attributed to the combined effects of forest recovery and permafrost thaw (?38.0 mm) was much greater than the decrease due to climate variability (?22.2 mm). A simple method was used to separate the distinct impacts of forest cover change and permafrost thaw, but distinguishing these influences is difficult due to changes in surface and subsurface hydrologic connectivity associated with permafrost thaw. The results highlight the need to consider multiple streamflow drivers in future watershed and aquatic ecosystem management. Due to the ecological and hydrological susceptibility to disturbances in the Da Hinggan Mountains, forest harvesting will likely negatively impact ecohydrological processes in this region, and the effects of forest species transition in the forest recovery process should be further investigated.     

寒区灌丛与积雪关系研究进展

在气候变化的背景下, 寒区灌丛与积雪的相互关系成为寒区水文循环研究的重要环节. 综述近几十年来寒区灌丛-积雪相互关系的国内外研究现状, 并对未来研究提出了展望. 寒区灌丛过去几十年来覆盖面积和生物量等呈现增加趋势, 灌丛的增加可截留积雪, 改变积雪重分布, 影响积雪消融过程; 积雪可增加灌丛区地温, 制约灌丛区融雪时空变化过程, 影响寒区灌丛的生理生态过程. 灌丛与积雪同为寒区自然生态系统和环境的重要组成部分, 二者相互作用使地面太阳辐射和地表水分分配过程复杂化, 从而间接地影响寒区冻土环境变化. 最后, 指出了未来研究需要重点关注的几个问题: 寒区灌丛区积雪分布的精确估计; 灌丛-积雪-冻土连续体的研究; 耦合灌丛-积雪作用的寒区水文模型的构建.