Catastrophic middle Pleistocene jökulhlaups in the upper Susquehanna River: Distinctive landforms from breakout floods in the central Appalachians

Widespread till and moraines record excursions of middle-Pleistocene ice that flowed up-slope into several watersheds of the Valley and Ridge Province along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. A unique landform assemblage was created by ice-damming and jökulhlaups emanating from high gradient mountain watersheds. This combination of topography formed by multiple eastward-plunging anticlinal ridges, and the upvalley advance of glaciers resulted in an ideal geomorphic condition for the formation of temporary ice-dammed lakes. Extensive low gradient (1°–2° slope) gravel surfaces dominate the mountain front geomorphology in this region and defy simple explanation. The geomorphic circumstances that occurred in tributaries to the West Branch Susquehanna River during middle Pleistocene glaciation are extremely rare and may be unique in the world. Failure of ice dams released sediment-rich water from lakes, entraining cobbles and boulders, and depositing them in elongated debris fans extending up to 9 km downstream from their mountain-front breakout points. Poorly developed imbrication is rare, but occasionally present in matrix-supported sediments resembling debris flow deposits. Clast weathering and soils are consistent with a middle Pleistocene age for the most recent flows, circa the 880-ka paleomagnetic date for glacial lake sediments north of the region on the West Branch Susquehanna River. Post-glacial stream incision has focused along the margins of fan surfaces, resulting in topographic inversion, leaving bouldery jökulhlaup surfaces up to 15 m above Holocene channels. Because of their coarse nature and high water tables, jökulhlaup surfaces are generally forested in contrast to agricultural land use in the valleys and, thus, are readily apparent from orbital imagery.     

THE PARLOR IN THE WILDERNESS: DOMESTICATING AN ICONIC AMERICAN LANDSCAPE*

ABSTRACT. Thirty years ago D. W. Meinig argued that certain landscapes “are part of the iconography of nationhood.” From the earliest European settlement, the North American “wilderness” forged the crucible that shaped U.S. culture. By the early nineteenth century romantic aesthetic theories and nationalistic patriotism influenced American perspectives on the emerging cultural landscape. Artists, writers, and travelers sought out places for their healthful and scenic qualities as well as for moral instruction from nature. The locus of this confluence of politics, philosophy, and art was the Hudson River Valley of New York State. Guesthouses and hotels, especially in and around the Catskill Mountains, accommodated these travelers. This article examines the cultural basis of the mountain resort in its appropriation and marketing of a regional landscape and its incorporation as a national icon, with a specific history of the development of Mohonk Mountain House by the Smiley family from 1869 to 2008.     

Risk Assessment,Emergency Preparedness and Response to Hazards: The Case of the 1997 Red River Valley Flood,Canada

The prevention and/or mitigation offlood disasters requires continual research, numerouscapital investment decisions, and high-qualitymaintenance and modifications of flood-controlstructures. In addition, institutional and privatepreparedness is needed. The experience offlood-control in North America has shown mixedoutcomes: while flood frequency has declined duringthe last few decades, the economic losses havecontinued to rise. Recent catastrophic floods havealso been linked to major structural interventions inthe region. The flood diversions may cause harmfuleffects upon the floodplain inhabitants by influencingflood levels in areas which are not normallyflood-prone. The increasing vulnerability of thefloodplain inhabitants poses new challenges and raisesquestions concerning the existing risk assessmentmethods, institutional preparedness and responses todisaster-related public emergencies, and local-levelpublic involvement in flood mitigation efforts.In the context of the catastrophic 1997 floods of theRed River Valley, Manitoba, Canada, this researchfocuses on two aspects of flood-related emergencygovernance and management: (i) the functions andeffectiveness of control structures, and (ii) theroles, responsibilities and effectiveness oflegislative and other operational measures. The studyconcludes that the flood-loss mitigation measures,both in terms of effects of control structures andinstitutional interventions for emergency evacuation,were not fully effective for ensuring the well-beingand satisfaction of floodplain inhabitants. Althoughorganizational preparedness and mobilization to copewith the 1997 flood emergency was considerable, theirsuccess during the onset of the flood event waslimited. Lack of communication and understandingbetween institutions, a reluctance to implementup-to-date regulations, and minimal publicparticipation in the emergency decision-making processall contributed to the difficulties experienced byfloodplain inhabitants.     

罗布泊东阿奇克谷地雅丹地貌与库姆塔格沙漠形成的关系

阿奇克谷地位于罗布泊洼地之东, 93°E以西, 东西长约150km, 南北宽20~30km。为新生代北山与阿尔金山之间的地堑凹地的一部分, 与东面河西走廊的地堑凹地相通。根据出露的雅丹地层河湖相沉积样品所作的ESR测年(2272~10094kaBP)和本区的地质地貌特征可将阿奇克谷地演化与库姆塔格沙漠的发育史归纳为4个时期。①早更新世至中更新世罗布泊古湖扩大时期, 东部湖湾宽约50~60km, 向东延伸至93°15′E或更东; ②中更新世晚期山地上升与古湖湾退缩消失时期, 距今30万年前左右, 青藏高原强烈隆升, 阻挡了海洋水汽的进入, 亚洲内陆加速变干, 由于阿尔金山的左旋向东滑动, 在北面古湖区地层发生了与阿尔山斜交的羽毛状断裂谷群, 并因东北向的断裂上升与东西向的河西地堑谷地斜交, 阻断了疏勒河水不再向西流入罗布泊, 使东部湖湾向西退缩并逐步消失; ③中更新世晚期至晚更新世初, 暴雨径流与强烈的风蚀作用时期, 阿奇克谷地北部的洪积湖相沉积台地支沟口形成雅丹土丘群, 谷地南面库姆塔格沙漠北面羽毛状断裂谷群形成雅丹垄脊和风蚀谷, 谷地中央呈现出季节性的盐碱沼泽和零星雅丹土丘; ④晚更新世末至全新世库姆塔格沙漠扩大, 向北埋没了羽毛状断裂谷(风蚀谷)和雅丹垄脊, 形成了世界上独特的羽毛状沙丘。     

四川九寨沟地貌与第四纪地质

九寨沟地处青藏高原向四川盆地陡跌的两在地貌单元的过渡地带,经笔者等调查可划分出高山地地貌、高山坡地地貌和高山河谷地貌等三种地貌类型及十种成因类型的第四纪堆积物,并对其分布规律、特征者描述。首次划分了区内第四纪地层,探讨其演化过程。为研究九寨沟自然资源的演化发展以及合理利用和保护提供了基础资料。     

江淮流域大洪水的发生规律探讨

对江淮流域的大洪水进行分析 ,得出如下三点新的认识 :(1)在太阳黑子活动的峰谷年前后 ,江淮流域一般容易出现大洪水 ;(2 )在太阳黑子活动的磁周期转变年前后 ,江淮流域容易出现大洪水 ,甚至是特大洪水 ;(3)在太阳黑子活动磁周期转变年前后的厄尔尼诺同年或次年 ,江淮流域更容易出现大洪水 ,甚至是特大洪水。这些认识可以为长期及超长期的洪水预报提供一定的理论依据。     

2001-2020年新疆伊犁河谷植被主要生长季NDVI时空变化与水热因子关系研究

植被是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,在气候和生物化学循环中对水和能量的交换起到至关重要的作用。利用MODIS-NDVI数据,采用Theil-Sen中值趋势分析、Mann-Kendall检验及变异系数的方法,研究了2001-2020年伊犁河谷植被主要生长季（5-9月）归一化植被指数（NDVI）的时空变化特征,结合气温降水数据采用相关性分析的方法,探究了植被主要生长季的影响因素。结果表明：（1）2001-2020年伊犁河谷植被主要生长季NDVI在空间上存在明显的差异性,NDVI多年均值较高。（2）区域尺度上,NDVI年际变化趋势较为平缓;像元尺度上,微量减少和微量增加的面积占比较大,显著增加与显著减少的区域较集中,占比较小。（3）伊犁河谷生长季植被的稳定性较好,CV≤0.10基本分布在整个区域,0.3相似文献   

ASSESSMENT OF 17β-ESTRADIOL IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS AROUND KLANG VALLEY, MALAYSIA

This study was conducted to assess the existing concentration of 17β-estradiol(E2)in the surface water samples collected from rivers and lakes around Klang Valley,Malaysia.E2,which is a natural feminizing chemical produced in female organisms,regularly used to compare with other environmental estrogens because they behave similarly and react effectively as a hormone at a very low concentration.It was found that the average concentration of E2 in the aquatic environment of Klang Valley was(14.08 ±3.67)pg/mL,which was 14 times higher than those in the Japanese aquatic environment in this study.The river system had the average concentration of(20.02±5.26)pg/mL while the lake had an average concentration of(5.91±3.39)pg/mL.The E2 concentration was presumed high if the sources occurred nearby the area.Current levels of E2 in the aquatic environment may possess threats to existing aquatic organisms.Since high level of E2 has been discovered in the aquatic environment around Klang Valley,further studies and monitoring of E2 and other EDCs concentrations are needed to determine their levels in Malaysian aquatic environment and help to control these chemicals pollution in the aquatic environment.     

长江中下游成矿带地质与矿产研究进展

长江中下游成矿带是我国重要成矿带之一,矿产资源开发利用历史悠久.自20世纪20年代至今,国内外学者在该地区开展了广泛深入研究工作,取得了丰硕的研究成果,并发表了大量科学研究论文和50余部专著.据统计,1959年～2012年间在公开发行的中文地质学期刊中,有关长江中下游地区的学术论文共888篇;1990年～2012年间公开发表的SCI检索论文中该区有185篇.这些论文中涉及矿床学方面的研究最多,约占论文总数的一半.成矿带内,铜陵矿集区研究程度最高,发表的相关论文数量也最多.有关成矿带的论文发表数量总体趋势逐年增加,在20世纪90年代初和2010～2012年出现两个研究高峰,反映了长江中下游成矿带近年来仍然是我国地质学研究的热点地区之一.近年来,长江中下游成矿带的地质找矿和科学研究均取得了重要进展,地质与矿产研究主要集中在以下几方面:(1)中生代构造转换与成岩成矿的地球动力学背景;(2)岩浆作用与深部过程;(3)成矿系统及其演化;(4)成矿潜力.本专辑收录的26篇论文基本反映了当前长江中下游成矿带及邻区的最新研究进展,所报道的大量地质学新观察、矿床学和岩石学研究、元素和同位素地球化学数据、同位素年代学特别是高精度锆石U-Pb年龄等对深入进一步探讨长江中下游成矿带形成与演化具有重要参考价值,对于推动成矿带基础理论研究和指导找矿勘探均有重要意义.