库姆塔格沙漠地区景观格局与动态研究

在景观分类与制图基础上分析了库姆塔格沙漠地区的景观格局与20世纪70年代以来的景观动态。库姆塔格沙漠地区以干燥的石质山地、干旱的沙漠、戈壁和盐化荒漠为景观主体,人工和天然绿洲面积很小;分布有3种景观要素组合模式,即库姆塔格沙漠西部地区的山地-洪积扇-湖盆模式、西湖地区的湖盆-戈壁荒漠模式和敦煌洪积扇上的人工绿洲发育模式。近30多年来景观总体上变化不大,人工绿洲面积增加了1倍多,盐生草甸有比较明显的减少。沙漠表现出比较明显扩展趋势的区域,一是沙漠东南部边缘部分,有向东、向南扩展的迹象;二是沙漠南部边缘部分,在强烈的东北风作用下有向阿尔金山上扩展的迹象。人类的社会经济活动是库姆塔格沙漠地区景观变化的主要驱动力。     

Hargreaves公式在塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地的适用性

对运用Hargreaves公式计算参考作物蒸散量(ET0)在干旱区的适用性存在不同观点。为了求证Hargreaves公式在极端干旱区塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地的适用性,利用2005-2010年塔克拉玛干沙漠研究站的气象资料,以利用Penman-Monteith公式计算的结果为标准,对利用Hargreaves公式计算的ET0进行了对比分析,并对两种计算结果差异的成因进行了阐释。结果表明:在年时间尺度上,利用Hargreaves公式计算的结果略大于利用Penman-Monteith公式计算的结果,标准差介于32.86~35.00 mm,年参考作物蒸散量计算结果呈现弱变异程度;在月时间尺度上,用两种方法计算的参考作物蒸散量呈现中等变异程度,蒸散量绝对偏差介于-3.26~8.73 mm,相对偏差介于-12.20%~29.02%,除了10月与11月,其余月份相对偏差均保持在10%之内。用两种方法计算的10月与11月份ET0产生差异的最主要原因在于有较高的温度较差。最后,经过对年、月参考作物蒸散量进行t-检验及建立回归方程,表明Hargreaves公式适用于极端干旱的塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地。     

南疆一次强沙尘暴的近地层特征和湍流输送分析

利用2006年4月10日沙尘暴过境期间塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地80 m垂直梯度探测系统的实时资料,分析了该地区近地面层气象要素和湍流输送特征的变化过程。结果表明,沙尘暴过境期间,近地层风速有先降低后增大的过程,10 m高度上动量向下输送明显,热量输送只有很小的上传趋势;沙尘暴过境前,近地面为弱稳定的逆温层,空气处于暖干的状态,10 m高度上垂直气流表现为系统性的下沉运动,随着沙尘暴爆发,湍流交换显著增强,空气进入相对冷湿状态,气流有上升运动趋势,但强度不大,仍以水平湍能为主。     

古尔班通古特沙漠表层土壤凝结水水汽来源特征分析

水分条件是决定干旱沙漠区生态环境的关键因素,凝结水是干旱区植物和低等生物的重要水分来源。利用自制蒸渗计在春、夏、秋3个季节对古尔班通古特沙漠苔藓、地衣、藻类及流沙4种地表类型表层原状土壤凝结水形成进行了观测研究。结果表明,在2 cm、5 cm、10 cm、20 cm 4种高度原状土中,用纱网封底土壤表层2 cm和5 cm土壤的凝结水测定结果能够真实的代表古尔班通古特沙漠不同类型地表土壤凝结水形成特征;凝结水主要集中产生在土壤表层2 cm范围内;凝结水的水汽来源于空气和土壤且以空气来源为主,春季由于表层土壤含水率较高,来自于土壤的水汽所占的比重较高,地衣0~2 cm表层凝结水来源于土壤水汽补充的比例春季为35.5%,夏季和秋季分别降到15.5%和11.3%;秋季55 d的观测结果表明,凝结水形成总量随流沙、藻类、地衣和苔藓依次增加,分别为3.46 mm、4.07 mm、4.89 mm和5.15 mm,说明在干旱的沙漠地带,凝结水是除降水以外补充表层土壤水分最重要的水分来源。     

影响库布齐沙漠合作杨、沙柳造林成活率的因素分析

对库布齐沙漠的主要造林树种合作杨和沙柳的造林密度与气象因素对造林效果的影响进行的分析结果表明,造林密度对合作杨和沙柳的造林效果有明显的影响。对于合作杨而言,最佳的造林密度为2 m×6 m,这一栽植密度多年的成活率可达到90%以上,保存率达到89%以上,栽后第五年,树木净高生长量为2.03 m。对于沙柳而言,最佳的造林密度应该选择1 m×4 m或2 m×2m。分析显示,气象因子对造林效果的影响是通过综合作用体现出来的,第一综合因子主要包括年降水量、年均相对湿度、3-5月大风日数和年大风日数。其中,年降水量和相对湿度对合作杨和沙柳的造林成活率和保存率的影响为正向作用,3-5月大风日数和年大风日数作用相反。第二综合因子主要包括年均温、年降水量和6-8月降水量。其中,年降水量和6-8月降水量对合作杨和沙柳的造林效果的影响为正向作用,年均温的作用反之。     

塔里木沙漠油田南部区域地表水与地下水水化学特征

 沙漠油田位于塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地的流动沙丘群中,距沙漠南北边缘绿洲均有200 km多,塔里木盆地南缘分布众多发源于昆仑山区的地表河流,而沙漠中地下水的形成与分布、以及地下水水化学特征的演变,与其南部区域的地表水的循环转化有密切的水力联系;通过对沙漠油田南部分布的地表河流水质、泉水水质、湖泊水质、沙漠地下水水质进行采样分析,初步弄清了沙漠油田南部区域地表水与地下水的水质状况和水化学特征,为该区域水资源的合理开发利用、探索沙漠中可利用水资源的分布特征,提供相应的基础资料。     

Rock varnish microlamination dating of late Quaternary geomorphic features in the drylands of western USA

Varnish microlamination (VML) dating is a correlative age determination technique that can be used to date and correlate various geomorphic features in deserts. In this study, we establish a generalized late Quaternary (i.e., 0–300 ka) varnish layering sequence for the drylands of western USA and tentatively correlate it with the SPECMAP oxygen isotope record. We then use this climatically correlated varnish layering sequence as a correlative dating tool to determine surface exposure ages for late Quaternary geomorphic features in the study region. VML dating of alluvial fan deposits in Death Valley of eastern California indicates that, during the mid to late Pleistocene, 5–15 ky long aggradation events occurred during either wet or dry climatic periods and that major climate shifts between glacial and interglacial conditions may be the pacemaker for alteration of major episodes of fan aggradation. During the Holocene interglacial time, however, 0.5–1 ky long brief episodes of fan deposition may be linked to short periods of relatively wet climate. VML dating of alluvial desert pavements in Death Valley and the Mojave Desert reveals that pavements can be developed rapidly (< 10 ky) during the Holocene (and probably late Pleistocene) in the arid lowlands (< 800 m msl) of these regions; but once formed, they may survive for 74–85 ky or even longer without being significantly disturbed by geomorphic processes operative at the pavement surface. Data from this study also support the currently accepted, “being born at the surface” model of desert pavement formation. VML dating of colluvial boulder deposits on the west slope of Yucca Mountain, southern Nevada, yields a minimum age of 46 ka for the emplacement of these deposits on the slope, suggesting that they were probably formed during the early phase of the last glaciation or before. These results, combined with those from our previous studies, demonstrate that VML dating has great potential to yield numerical age estimates for various late Quaternary geomorphic features in the western USA drylands.     

Influence of soil texture on the binding energies of fine mineral dust particles potentially released by wind erosion

Models of the two aeolian processes (saltation and sandblasting) that lead to emission of fine dust particles (PM20) by wind erosion in arid and semi-arid areas have been combined to form the so-called ‘Dust Production Model’ (DPM). In this model, the size dependent binding energies of PM20 embedded within the wind-erodible loose soil aggregates or in the soil surface itself are key input parameters. Indeed, their values condition at the same time the intensity of emissions and their initial size distribution. Previous comparisons of vertical mass fluxes measured on-field with the model predictions suggest that these energies might be relatively independent of soil texture and also probably composition. Because this would greatly facilitate application of the DPM at regional or global scale, the objective of this work is to check experimentally the veracity of this result. The strategy that has been designed for this has involved selecting four natural soil samples collected in various source areas of the world and covering a wide range of textures and compositions. Then, these soil samples have been used to perform carefully controlled wind erosion simulations in a wind tunnel. During the experiments, which were carried out at different wind speeds with each soil, the horizontal flux (F_h) of saltating soil aggregates has been monitored. At the same time, number concentrations (C_i) of PM20 released by the sandblasting process were recorded in the 6 size classes of an optical size analyzer. Thus, the efficiency of the sandblasting process (defined as the ratio of C_i to F_h) could be determined for each of these size classes. Analysis of the results obtained in similar saltation conditions shows that for the four tested soils, and within the range of contents in clay and other components favoring aggregation (mostly organic matter and carbonates), the influence of soil composition and texture on binding energies of the PM20 particles within soil aggregates is at best a second order effect that can be neglected in large scale modeling of wind erosion by the DPM.     

Heavy Minerals and Rare Earth Elements in Coastal and Inland Dune Sands of El Vizcaino Desert,Baja California Peninsula,Mexico

A heavy mineral (HM) study and light and heavy rare earth elements (LREE and HREE) analysis were performed in coastal and inland dune sands, El Vizcaino Desert, Central Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Our study shows high abundances of hornblende and apatite in the El Vizcaino dune sands, suggesting a dominance of granodiorites/intermediate plutonic rocks and marine authigenic phosphorite in the dune sands. There is a relationship between unstable heavy minerals like hornblende, pyroxenes, and sphene, and heavy rare earth elements (HREE) that suggests that unstable heavy minerals are potential carriers of HREE in the dune fields. However, there is a slight depletion of HREE in relation to LREE, especially in one locality of the inland dunes probably associated with the wind regime and weathering of unstable heavy minerals in the sands. Inland, transitional, and coastal dune fields can be observed as different dune provinces by means of grouping HM and REE data in two separate dendograms. It seems that HREE are correlated with fine-grained sand sizes and correlated with high CIA values linked to slightly weathered sands.