Late-Glacial and Early Holocene Environmental and Climatic Change at Lake Tambichozero, Southeastern Russian Karelia

High-resolution lithostratigraphy, mineral magnetic, carbon, pollen, and macrofossil analyses, and accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C measurements were performed in the study of a sediment sequence from Lake Tambichozero, southeastern Russian Karelia, to reconstruct late-glacial and early Holocene aquatic and terrestrial environmental changes. The lake formed ca. 14,000 cal yr B.P. and the area around the lake was subsequently colonized by arctic plants, forming patches of pioneer communities surrounded by areas of exposed soil. A minor rise in lake productivity and the immigration of Betula pubescens occurred ca. 11,500 cal yr B.P. The rise in summer temperatures probably led to increased melting of remnant ice and enhanced erosion. The distinct increase in lake productivity and the development of open Betula-Populus forests, which are reconstructed based on plant macrofossil remains, indicate stable soils from 10,600 cal yr B.P. onward. Pinus and Picea probably became established ca. 9900 cal yr B.P.     

Late Quaternary Spring-Fed Deposits of the Grand Canyon and Their Implication for Deep Lava-Dammed Lakes

One of the most intriguing episodes in the Quaternary evolution of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, Arizona, was the development of vast lakes that are thought to have backed up behind lava erupted into the gorge. Stratigraphic evidence for these deep lava-dammed lakes is expectedly sparse. Possible lacustrine deposits at six areas in the eastern canyon yielded no compelling evidence for sediment deposited in a deep lake. At two of the sites the sediment was associated with late Quaternary spring-fed pools and marshes. Water-lain silt and sand at lower Havasu Creek was deposited 3000 cal yr ago. The deposit contains an ostracode assemblage similar to that living in the modern travertine-dammed pools adjacent to the outcrop. The second deposit, at Lees Ferry, formed in a spring-fed marsh 43,000 cal yr ago, as determined by ¹⁴C and amino acid geochronology. It contains abundant ostracode and mollusk fossils, the richest assemblages reported from the Grand Canyon to date. Our interpretation of these sediments as spring-fed deposits, and their relative youth, provides an alternative to the conventional view that deposits like these were formed in deep lava-dammed lakes that filled the Grand Canyon.     

Historic Dead Sea Level Fluctuations Calibrated with Geological and Archaeological Evidence

The Dead Sea, the Holocene terminal lake of the Jordan River catchment, has fluctuated during its history in response to climatic change. Biblical records, calibrated by radiocarbon-dated geological and archaeological evidence, reinforce and add detail to the chronology of the lake-level fluctuations. There are three historically documented phases of the Dead Sea in the Biblical record: low lake levels ca. 2000–1500 B.C.E. (before common era); high lake levels ca. 1500–1200 B.C.E.; and low lake levels between ca. 1000 and 700 B.C.E. The Biblical evidence indicates that during the dry periods the southern basin of the Dead Sea was completely dry, a fact that was not clear from the geological and archaeological data alone.     

Riparian alder fens — source or sink for nutrients and dissolved organic carbon? — 2. Major sources and sinks

Natural riparian forest wetlands are known to be effective in their ability to remove nitrate by denitrification and sediments with attached phosphorus via sedimentation. On the other hand, litter input and decomposition is a process of crucial importance in cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in a forest ecosystem.In this study we investigated the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the alder fen ecosystem through leaf litter and its decomposition and the removal capacity of nitrogen and phosphorus by measuring denitrification and sedimentation in the alder fen.We found an average input of leaf litter during fall 1998 of 226 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW with nutrient concentration of 0.17% P and 1.6% N. This means a yearly input of 0.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P and 3.6 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N. The decomposition of leaf litter using litter bags with small and large mesh size resulted in bags with macroinvertebrates (large mesh size) and without macroinvertebrates (small mesh size). After 57 days the litter bags with macroinvertebrates had a decomposition rate of 79%.Denitrification was measured in May and June of 1997 using the acetylene inhibition technique on intact soil cores and slurry-experiments. The average annual denitrification rate was 0.2 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N using data from the core experiments. The denitrification rate was higher after addition of nitrate, indicating that denitrification in the riparian alder fen is mainly controlled by nitrate supply.The sedimentation rate in the investigated alder fen ranged from 0.47 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW to 4.46 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW in 1998 depending on the study site and method we used. Sedimentation rates were lower in newly designed plate traps than in cylinder traps. The alder fen also showed lower rates than the adjacent creek Briese. Average phosphorus removal rate was 0.33 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P.Input sources for the surface water of the alder fen are sediment mineralization and decomposition of leaf litter; output sources are sedimentation and denitrification. This study showed that a nutrient input of 24.58 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ N, 8.8 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ P and 419 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ DOC into the surface water of the alder fen is possible. Alder fens cannot improve water quality of an adjacent river system. This is only true for a nearly pristine alder fen with the hydrology of 10 months flooded conditions and 2 months non-flooding conditions a year.     

中国大陆及邻近海域的Rayleigh波群速度分布

利用Rayleigh波群速度资料反演得到中国大陆及其临近海域的(70°E-145°E,10°N-55°N)15-120s周期的群速度分布图像. 塔里木盆地在15s处清楚地显示为低速,在16-33s左右没有显示,但在36-5s显示为高速,说明塔里木盆地有较深的根. 青藏高原块体是44s至120s图像中最为突出的低速块体,南面与印度板块的分界线以及与北面的塔里木盆地、柴达木盆地的分界清晰,其块体中西部的速度低于东部. 泰国清迈附近存在一尺度为1000km左右的低速带,可能是青藏高原块体的物质向东南方向迁移造成上地幔物质上涌的结果. 南北地震带表现为强烈的速度梯度带,西面为低速,东面为高速. 中国南海的中央、日本海中央、菲律宾海表现为海洋性地壳. 菲律宾海的图像与地形及地震带完全吻合. 环绕菲律宾海及日本海存在400km左右宽的低速带,可能是岩浆活动带.     

剥蚀及地幔作用下青藏高原隆升过程的数值模拟

修改了England和Mckenzie的黏性薄层流变模型中控制大陆形变的连续性方程,将剥蚀作用对高原隆升演化的影响直接引入该方程,并考虑下伏地幔小尺度对流对增厚岩石层的搬离作用对高原隆升演化后期的影响,用有限差分法直接模拟青藏高原隆升过程. 数值模拟结果所显示的高原隆升演化过程与实际观测资料吻合较好,揭示了高原隆升演化过程的非平稳和多阶段的特性;同时还表明上地幔小尺度对流对岩石层底部的搬离作用可能是最近8Ma以来高原快速隆升的主导机制.     

2001年11月14日新疆-青海交界8.1级地震

简要介绍了2001年11月14日新疆－青海交界8．1级地震的预测情况，给出了中、美、日等对此次地震的震源参数测定和震源机制，以及余震的分布和加卸载响应比随时间的变化。进而对震区近期地震趋势进行预测。     

双台河口自然保护区濒海湿地景观变化及其管理对策研究

从国内外湿地研究进展看，濒海湿地景观变化及其管理对策研究得到人们越来越广泛的重视。以辽宁双台河自然保护区为研究区域，利用1994和1997年两期TM数据进行GIS数据处理，通过各种类型的湿地景观在该时段的面积变化得到保护区濒海湿地景观的动态变化特征，并在变化原因分析的基础上提出了一些相应的保护区管理对策，以便更好地为湿地保护和管理提供决策依据。     

GIS支持下青海湖地区草地蝗虫发生的地形分析

草地蝗虫发生的地形分析是建立草地蝗虫发生预报模型的基础，以青海湖地区为实验区，在Arc/Info和ArcView地理信息系统的支持下，进行草地蝗虫发生与各地形变量（包括海拔高度、坡度与坡向）的叠置分析，提取草地蝗虫发生的地形信息数据库，然后，分别采用T－检验（对连续变量－海拔高度和坡度）和卡方（Chisquare)检验（对类变量－坡向类型）进行各地形变量对草地蝗虫发生的差异显著性检验，结果表明，海拔高度和坡度对草地蝗虫发生的影响极为显著（显著性水平p=0.000)，而坡向地草地蝗虫发生的影响不是特别明显（显著性水平p=0.039)。     

甘青地区中晚全新世植被变化与人类活动

史前时期人类对环境的影响是近几年来国际研究的热点。在甘青地区，全新世的孢粉资料比较多。但在中晚全新世，该区人类对环境的影响作用及其程度仍不清楚，许多孢粉分析资料中并没有充分考虑人类活动的影响。本文选取孢粉分辨率较高、代表性较好的青海湖、兰州、秦安大地湾三地的资料，着重研究了其中乔木成分的变化。分析发现，孢粉组合中乔木成分的变化与气候变化的趋势并不一致。通过对考古及历史资料的分析，笔者认为，该区的植被很早就受到人类活动的影响。自全新世中期，本区植被中的乔木成分波动下降。5000－3000a BP期间，史前农业对植被的影响较大。3000－2000a BP期间，植被略有恢复。2000a BP以后，人为影响加剧，植被中乔木成分迅速下降。研究者认为，依赖孢粉资料重建中晚全新世的气候变化历史应当慎重。