The first tephra evidence for a Late Glacial explosive volcanic eruption in the Arxan-Chaihe volcanic field (ACVF), northeast China

A 5 mm thick tephra layer has been identified in the lacustrine sediments of Moon Lake in the Arxan-Chaihe volcanic field (ACVF) in Greater Khingan Mountains (NE China). The visible tephra layer is clearly revealed as a distinct peak in magnetic susceptibility measurements. The tephra layer consists mainly of brown vesicular glass shards and minor amounts of plagioclase, olivine and clinopyroxene. Major and minor element analysis has been carried out on the glass shards and plagioclase minerals. Glass shards show low concentrations of K₂O, similar to the eruptive products derived from post-Miocene volcanoes of the ACVF. The plagioclase phenocrysts in both lava and tephra from ACVF, and in the tephra recorded in Moon Lake are labradorites. During the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, there were also extensive explosive eruptions in the nearby Nuominhe volcanic field (NVF). Volcanic rocks from the ACVF are easily distinguished from those derived from the NVF, having distinctly different K₂O concentrations. This compositional variation is likely the result of different magmatic processes operating in the ACVF and NVF. Radiocarbon dating on organic materials from the lacustrine sediments dates the tephra layer to ca. 14,200 cal yrs BP, which implies that it was generated by a previously unknown Late Pleistocene explosive eruption in the ACVF. These results, for the first time, give a direct tephra record in this area, and suggest that identification of further tephra and/or cryptotephra in local sedimentary basins such as crater lakes of scoria cones and maars will be significant for dating the Late Pleistocene to Holocene volcanic eruptions and will help to establish a detailed record of the volcanic activity in the ACVF. The newly discovered tephra layer also provides a dated tephrochronological marker layer, which will in future studies provide a means to synchronise local sedimentary records of the climatically variable Late Glacial.     

Influence of vegetation change on watershed hydrology: implications for paleoclimatic interpretation of lacustrine δ18O records

Stratigraphic shifts in the oxygen isotopic (¹⁸O) and trace element (Mg and Sr) composition of biogenic carbonate from tropical lake sediment cores are often interpreted as a proxy record of the changing relation between evaporation and precipitation (E/P). Holocene ¹⁸O and Mg and Sr records from Lakes Salpetén and Petén Itzá, Guatemala were apparently affected by drainage basin vegetation changes that influenced watershed hydrology, thereby confounding paleoclimatic interpretations. Oxygen isotope values and trace element concentrations in the two lowland lakes were greatest between ~ 9000 and 6800 ¹⁴C-yr BP, suggesting relatively high E/P, but pollen data indicate moist conditions and extensive forest cover in the early Holocene. The discrepancy between pollen- and geochemically-inferred climate conditions may be reconciled if the high early Holocene ¹⁸O and trace element values were controlled principally by low surface runoff and groundwater flow to the lake, rather than high E/P. Dense forest cover in the early Holocene would have increased evapotranspiration and soil moisture storage, thereby reducing delivery of meteoric water to the lakes. Carbonate ¹⁸O and Mg and Sr decreased between 7200 and 3500 ¹⁴C-yr BP in Lake Salpetén and between 6800 and 5000 ¹⁴C-yr BP in Lake Petén Itzá. This decline coincided with palynologically documented forest loss that may have led to increased surface and groundwater flow to the lakes. In Lake Salpetén, minimum ¹⁸O values (i.e., high lake levels) occurred between 3500 and 1800 ¹⁴C-yr BP. Relatively high lake levels were confirmed by ¹⁴C-dated aquatic gastropods from subaerial soil profiles ~ 1.0–7.5 m above present lake stage. High lake levels were a consequence of lower E/P and/or greater surface runoff and groundwater inflow caused by human-induced deforestation.     

Late Holocene glacial and periglacial evolution in the upper Orco Valley, northwestern Italian Alps

The sediments present in some areas of the Orco Valley provide indications on climatic variations that occurred during the last 6000 years on the southern slopes of the Alps. In particular, distribution and ages of peat layers help define periods and extent of glacial fluctuation in the last 2200 years. Sampling of soils involved in periglacial processes provided a basis for development of a chronological framework of late Holocene environmental change. The data indicate a trend toward cooler climate in the second half of the Holocene. A strong relationship exists between phases of River Po flooding and expansion/retreat phases of the Swiss glaciers: major glacial advances were coeval with periods of intense flooding of the River Po, whereas the phases of glacial retreat coincided with periods of little flooding of the Po. Only in three cases do relationships between glacier activity and floods show weak correlations; two of the cases relate to the warmest periods in approximately the last 2200 years, while the third is the present period. Paleoclimatic evidence from the study region indicates the relatively warm Roman Period between about 2200 and 1900 cal yr BP appears to better represent modern conditions than does the Medieval Warm Period.     

复合荒漠化及其时空变化研究——以新疆艾比湖地区为例

以新疆艾比湖地区为研究区,通过对现有荒漠化监测指标体系的归纳分析,界定了复合荒漠化概念.利用遥感影像数据提取研究区各类荒漠化的现状与动态变化信息.研究结果表明:单一主导因子荒漠化类型面积占荒漠化土地总面积的82.29%,复合荒漠化面积占17.71%.2002~2005年,艾比湖湖面面积缩小了322.5073 km2,相应的总体土地荒漠化面积增加了7.18%,复合荒漠化面积增加了133%.土地荒漠化的过程同时也发生了变化,风蚀、复合荒漠化增加而土地盐渍化减少,荒漠化程度加重,复合荒漠化类型增加并向其他土地类型扩展.     

沧东—南皮凹陷孔店期古盐度与古环境演化

内陆封闭湖泊的盐度与湖平面具有同步反向变化的特点,通过古盐度研究可推测沉积时期的古气候状况。通过Sr/Ba、Th/U含量比值及C、O同位素的含量变化分析,对沧东—南皮凹陷孔店期各层序古盐度的变化进行系统研究,结合孢粉及岩性组合,推断该区孔店期的水体性质及各层序间古环境的演化。综合认为孔店期整体水体性质为半咸—微咸水,水体深度呈浅→深→浅的变化规律,古气候变化特征为半干旱→湿润→半干旱→干旱气候。     

新疆东昆仑阿其克库勒湖西南缘蛇绿岩--铬铁矿证据及其构造环境探讨

新疆东昆仑阿其克库勒湖西南缘蛇绿岩沿近东西走向的昆中断裂出露,以构造岩片的形式夹持于泥盆纪和志留纪地层中,由变质橄榄岩、堆晶岩和火山岩三部分组成.对变质橄榄岩中的铬铁矿成分分析证实了它们属蛇绿岩的成员,并且铬铁矿的Cr#=Cr/(Cr Al)为0.59～0.65,指示蛇绿岩经历了从洋中脊到俯冲带环境的演化,形成机制为岩石-熔体反应机制.     

洱海近区非潮汐重力变化的研究

本文给出了洱海水体变化对局部重力场影响的解析式和量级,并且将理论结果与实测的水文、流动重力及定点重力分析结果作了比较,结果表明:影响的程度因距洱海的距离而异。在台站重力测量中,由水体变化产生的干扰淹没在零漂之中(约占每日零漂量的2％),潮汐主频段上没有明显的干扰信号;而对流动重力测量,在水体变化大的情况下,部分测点所产生的变化可以达到10×10~(-8)m/s~2。     

北京翠湖湿地生境恢复及效果评估

湿地恢复是指通过生态技术或生态工程对退化或消失的湿地进行修复或重建,再现退化前的结构和功能以及相关的物理、化学和生物学特性,使其发挥应有的作用。自2010年,翠湖湿地综合运用了微地形重塑、基质恢复、植被种植和岸带护坡等湿地生境恢复技术,累计应用面积约13.33 hm2。翠湖湿地应用生境恢复技术之后,有效改善了水环境质量,血红裸藻"水华"现象爆发频率显著降低,水华覆盖面积得到有效控制。同时,湿地基质质量得到了有效提升。湿地植被覆盖度由恢复之前的51%增加到恢复后的71%;植物物种由221种增加为236种;水鸟种类和偶见种有所增加。本研究可为城市湿地恢复提供技术支撑。     

柴达木盆地第三系咸水湖相生油岩古沉积环境地球化学特征

在系统分析柴达木盆地西部第三系咸水湖相生油岩样品的微量元素、有机物、粘土矿物组成的基础上,揭示了研究区生油岩的无机元素和有机质组成特征;并结合沉积环境的无机与有机地球化学指标,重建了生油岩沉积时的古沉积环境。生油岩的B、Cl-及伽玛蜡烷含量表明,沉积时的水介质条件是半咸水—咸水环境,并伴随湖盆沉积中心北迁过程各层位地层的盐度发生规律性时空]化;生油岩的Fe2 /Fe3 、S2-、Pr/Ph比值、藿烷碳数分布模式及黄铁矿含量反映其沉积时的沉积环境为强还原性;粘土矿物组合特征及含量揭示这些生油岩的沉积相带介于中心咸湖相和边缘咸湖相之间。     

Subfossil and modern diatom plankton and the paleolimnology of Rotsee (Switzerland) since 1850

The diatom biostratigraphy of the topmost sediment meter of Rotsee, Central Switzerland, is characterized by a major change fromCyclotella comensis-dominated toStephanodiscus hantzschii/S. parvus-dominated assemblages. A comparison between old phytoplankton samples, taken between 1910–1930, and subfossil diatom assemblages is used for dating the upper 35 cm of the core. There is evidence that the change in dominant diatoms occurred in 1919/20, thus before the opening of an artificial inlet in 1922, and is due to increasing eutrophication. Furthermore, the sedimentary carbonate content can be used as a good indicator for past phytoplankton productivity in Rotsee.