Paleo-glacial reconstruction of the Thajwas glacier in the Kashmir Himalaya using 10Be cosmogenic radionuclide dating

Quantitative glacial chronologies of past glaciations are sparse in the Himalaya, and mostly absent in the Kashmir Himalaya. We used cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure dating, and geomorphological mapping to reconstruct glacial advances of the Thajwas Glacier (TG) in the Great Himalayan Range of the Kashmir Himalaya. From ¹⁰Be exposure dating of ten moraine boulders, four glacial stages with ages ～20.77 ± 2.28 ka, ～11.46 ± 1.69 ka, ～9.12 ± 1.39 ka and ～4.19 ± 0.78 ka, were identified. The reconstructed cosmogenic radionuclide ages confirmed the global Last Glacial Maximum (gLGM), Younger Dryas, Early Holocene, and Neoglaciation episodes. As per area and volume change analyses, the TG has lost 51.1 km² of its area and a volume of 2.64 km³ during the last 20.77 ± 2.28 ka. Overall, the results suggested that the TG has lost 64% of area and 73% of volume from the Last glacial maximum to Neoglaciation and about 85.74% and 87.67% of area and volume, respectively, from Neoglaciation to the present day. The equilibrium line altitude of the TG fluctuated from 4238 m a.s.l present to 3365 m a.s.l during the gLGM (20.77 ± 2.28 ka). The significant cooling induced by a drop in mean ambient temperature resulted in a positive mass balance of the TG during the gLGM. Subsequently the melting accelerated due to the continuing rise of the global ambient temperature. Paleo-glacial history reconstruction of the Kashmir Himalaya, with its specific geomorphic and climatic setting, would help close the information gap about the chronology of past regional glacial episodes.     

狭陡型泥石流成灾特征与防治对策研究——以阿坝州金川县刘家沟泥石流为例

刘家沟位于四川省阿坝州金川县,是一条狭陡型高频泥石流沟,每年雨季,降雨激发泥石流灾害链。本文在野外调查和实地勘测的基础上,分析认为,受汶川MS8.0地震扰动,刘家沟形成流通区单位面积上松散固体物质达98.11×10⁴ m³,在409.8‰的平均纵坡降下,泥石流活动频率明显增强,泥石流沿程放大效应明显,最终形成了降雨+径流侵蚀-滑坡-堰塞体-堰塞体溃决-增大的泥石流-堵河形成堰塞湖-卡撒沟中、下游损害的灾害链。提出采用格宾石笼进行固坡护床,结合拦挡坝拦粗排细的作用,根据保护对象设置防护堤,优化排导槽与主河交汇条件的综合治理措施,可为小流域高频狭陡型泥石流灾害的治理提供参考。     

Recent trends on glacier area retreat over the group of Nevados Caullaraju-Pastoruri (Cordillera Blanca,Peru) using Landsat imagery

The Cordillera Blanca, located in the central zone of the Andes Mountains in Peru, has shown a retreat in its glaciers. This paper presents a trend analysis of the glacier area over the groups of Nevados Caullaraju-Pastoruri from 1975 to 2010 using Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery. In the case of the Nevados Pastoruri/Tuco, the study period was extended back to 1957 by using an aerial photograph taken that year. The extent of clean glacier ice was estimated using Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI) thresholds. Moreover, the estimation of debris-covered glacier ice was retrieved by means of a decision tree classification method using NDSI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST). Area estimations derived from Landsat imagery were compared to the glacier ground-truth data in 1975 and 2010. Results show a statistically significant (p < 0.05) decreasing trend over the whole study area. Total glacier area decreased at a rate of 4.5 km² per decade from 1975 to 2010, with a total loss of 22.5 km² (58%). Lower decreasing rates were found for the period 1987–2010: 3.5 km² per decade with a total loss of 7.7 km² (32.5%). In the case of the Nevados Pastoruri/Tuco, decreasing rates of clean ice extent were constant for the periods 1957–2010, 1975–2010 and 1987–2010, with values close to 1.4 km² per decade and a total loss between 1957 and 2010 estimated at about 5 km² (54%). This work shows an evident area decrease in the Caullaraju-Pastoruri tropical glaciers, which needs to be included in a future hydrological scenario of local adaptability and water management.     

金沙江上游雪隆囊古滑坡堰塞湖溃坝堆积体的发现及其环境与灾害意义

西藏芒康县金沙江上游雪隆囊河谷史前时期(全新世晚期)发生了一次明显的堰塞事件,形成了一个湖水体积约3.1×108 m3的大型堰塞湖。该堰塞湖形成后期发生溃决并引发异常大洪水,这一溃决事件发生在大约1 117 A.D.。地震诱发山体滑坡可能是金沙江发生堰塞的直接原因。在雪隆囊古堰塞坝体的下游一侧到其下游3.5 km的范围内,发现大量由砾石、砂和少量黏土组成的混杂堆积体,判定其为滑坡堰塞湖的溃坝堆积,是滑坡坝体及上游河床物质在坝体溃决后快速堆积形成。整套溃坝堆积体具有支撑-叠置构造、叠瓦构造和杂基构造等沉积特征,还具有一种特殊的沉积构造:即在垂向剖面上发育粗砾石层与细砂砾层的韵律互层,但剖面中缺少砾或砂的透镜体。这种沉积构造("互层构造")是溃坝堆积相区别于冲-洪积相、泥石流相等的一种重要判别标志。采用水力学模型反演确定雪隆囊古滑坡堰塞湖溃决洪水的平均流速为7.48 m/s,最大洪峰流量为10 786 m3/s。雪隆囊溃坝堆积体沉积特征及其环境的研究,不但有助于揭示古洪水事件发生的过程和机制,同时对于认识金沙江上游地区的环境演变也具有重要意义。     

新疆东帕米尔高原慕士塔格峰洋布拉克冰川雪冰及融水中可培养细菌多样性分析

采用LB和PYGV两种培养基分离培养慕士塔格峰洋布拉克冰川雪冰及融水中可培养细菌,通过分离菌株16S rDNA的PCR-RFLP图谱和基于基因序列相似性的系统发育分析揭示细菌多样性。结果从样品中共分离到178株菌,分属于变形菌门（Proteobacteria）中的α-Proteobacteria、β-Proteobac-teria、γ-Proteobacteria纲,厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）,放线菌门（Actinobacteria）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）6个类群,以假单胞菌Pseudomonas、黄杆菌Flavobacterium、紫色杆菌Janthinobacterium为优势菌群。 LB和PYGV两种培养基在分离的细菌数量及种群多样性、优势菌属、特有菌属方面呈现一定差异。结果表明,慕士塔格峰洋布拉克冰川地区可培养细菌多样性丰富,且存在一定的地方特异性菌属,寡营养培养基更利于极端微生物的恢复生长。     

赤泥库大坝渗漏分析及灌浆处理技术

由于施工质量问题,洛阳一个赤泥库大坝在试运行中发生大面积渗漏及管涌。在对渗漏原因进行分析的基础上实施的在坝内坡增设土工膜、坝轴线上游增设帷幕灌浆防渗墙、坝体下游坡面增设排渗沟和排水棱体等抢险加固措施,有效地解决了坝体渗漏问题。在灌浆处理过程中,针对筑坝材料的复杂性和不均匀性,通过施工前的灌浆试验,取得了适合本场地条件的钻孔施工工艺参数及灌浆方式、灌浆压力、灌浆段确定、水灰比比级等施工技术参数,确保了灌浆处理的效果。     

Assessment of the Evolution in Velocity of Two Debris‐Covered Valley Glaciers in Nepal and New Zealand

Feature tracking of orthorectified pairs of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer satellite images is used to calculate velocities for the Tasman Glacier, New Zealand (2002–2014) and the Khumbu Glacier, Nepal (2001–2008). Velocities in the middle and upper ablation zones of both glaciers show a long‐term decrease of ～10–20%, while the terminus of Khumbu Glacier has remained near stagnation throughout the study period. In contrast, there has been a recent acceleration of the lower terminus of Tasman Glacier, from ～5 m a^–1 in 2002 to 40 m a^–1 in 2014. Both of these glaciers have an extensive supraglacial debris cover across their lower ablation regions, with the Khumbu Glacier terminating on land and the Tasman Glacier terminating in a proglacial lake. The rapid recent increase in velocity of the terminus of Tasman Glacier is closely correlated with the increase in size of its proglacial lake. These results indicate the complex dynamic changes that mountain valley glaciers may undergo in response to long‐term negative mass balance.     

Spatiotemporal patterns of tropical deforestation and forest degradation in response to the operation of the Tucuruí hydroelectric dam in the Amazon basin

The planned construction of hundreds of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon basin has the potential to provide invaluable ‘clean’ energy resources for aiding in securing future regional energy needs and continued economic growth. These mega-structures, however, directly and indirectly interfere with natural ecosystem dynamics, and can cause noticeable tree loss. To improve our understanding of how hydroelectric dams affect the surrounding spatiotemporal patterns of forest disturbances, this case study integrated remote sensing spectral mixture analysis, GIS proximity analysis and statistical hypothesis testing to extract and evaluate spatially-explicit patterns of deforestation (clearing of entire forest patch) and forest degradation (reduced tree density) in the 80,000 km² neighborhoods of the Brazil's Tucuruí Dam, the first large-scale hydroelectric project in the Amazon region, over a period of 25 years from 1988 to 2013. Results show that the average rates of deforestation were consistent during the first three time periods 1988–1995 (620 km² per year), 1995–2001 (591 km² per year), and 2001–2008 (660 km² per year). However, such rate dramatically fell to half of historical levels after 2008, possibly reflecting the 2008 global economic crisis and enforcement of the Brazilian Law of Environmental Crimes. The rate of forest degradation was relatively stable from 1988 to 2013 and, on average, was 17.8% of the rate of deforestation. Deforestation and forest degradation were found to follow similar spatial patterns across the dam neighborhoods, upstream reaches or downstream reaches at the distances of 5 km–80 km, suggesting that small and large-scale forest disturbances may have been influencing each other in the vicinity of the dam. We further found that the neighborhoods of the Tucuruí Dam and the upstream region experienced similar degrees of canopy loss. Such loss was mainly attributed to the fast expansion of the Tucuruí town, and the intensive logging activities alongside major roads in the upstream reservoir region. In contrast, a significantly lower level of forest disturbance was discovered in the downstream region.     

Short‐term spatial and temporal patterns of suspended sediment transfer in proglacial channels,small River Glacier,Canada

Alpine glacial basins are a significant source and storage area for sediment exposed by glacial retreat. Recent research has indicated that short‐term storage and release of sediment in proglacial channels may control the pattern of suspended sediment transfer from these basins. Custom‐built continuously recording turbidimeters installed on a network of nine gauging sites were used to characterize spatial and temporal variability in suspended sediment transfer patterns for the entire proglacial area at Small River Glacier, British Columbia, Canada. Discharge and suspended sediment concentration were measured at 5 min intervals over the ablation season of 2000. Differences in suspended sediment transfer patterns were then extracted using multivariate statistics (principal component and cluster analysis). Results showed that each gauging station was dominated c. 80% of days by diurnal sediment transfer patterns and ‘low’ suspended sediment concentrations. ‘Irregular’ transfer patterns were generally associated with ‘high’ sediment concentrations during snowmelt and rainfall events, resulting in the transfer of up to 70% of the total seasonal suspended sediment load at some gauging stations. Suspended sediment enrichment of up to 600% from channel storage release and extrachannel inputs occurred between the glacial front and distal proglacial boundary. However, these patterns differed significantly between gauging stations as determined by the location of the gauging station within the catchment and meteorological conditions. Overall, the proglacial area was the source for up to 80% of the total suspended sediment yield transferred from the Small River Glacier basin. These results confirmed that sediment stored and released in the proglacial area, in particular from proglacial channels, was controlling suspended sediment transfer patterns. To characterize this control accurately requires multiple gauging stations with high frequency monitoring of suspended sediment concentration. Accurate characterization of this proglacial control on suspended sediment transfer may therefore aid interpretation of suspended sediment yield patterns from glacierized basins. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The timing and nature of recession of outlet glaciers of Hielo Patagónico Norte, Chile, from their Neoglacial IV (Little Ice Age) maximum positions

The dates of recession of eleven outlet glaciers of the Hielo Patagónico Norte (Northern Patagonian Icefield) from their recent maximum positions have been inferred from dendrochronology, lichenometry, radiocarbon dating and historical sources. We have refined the dating for part of the Little Ice Age period in this area placing a glacial advance to between AD 1650 and 1766 with the latter date favoured as conformable with historical records and an uncalibrated radiocarbon determination. Glacier recession from maximal positions began in the early 1860s–1870s. Recession was largely synchronous on the western and eastern sides of the Icefield. This synchronicity suggests that climate forcing over-rides second-order controls on glacier behaviour such as the nature of the terminal environment (e.g. calving/non-calving) or differences in glacier drainage basin area. We argue that this icefield-wide glacier recession represents a response to post-Little Ice Age warming, and provides further evidence for the global extent and near synchronous termination of the Little Ice Age.