Deflation rates of different clastic sediments in the arid regions of China

By wind tunnel experiment, we studied the deflation rates of 8 different clastic sediments in the arid regions of China, discussed the sources of aeolian sand and their influence on the development of sand dunes and formation of sand deserts from the view of dynamics of wind erosion. The average deflation rates of 8 typical clastic sediments in the arid regions of China can be arranged in the order of lacustrine sand > alluvial sand > weathered sandstone and shale > pluvial sediments > fluvioglacial sand > weathered granite > slope deposit > glacial sediments. The deflation rates exhibited strong positive correlations with the erodible particle (0.063–2mm) content and sorting features. In contrast, the deflation rates had obvious negative correlations with the contents of silt clay (<0.063 mm) and gravel (>2 mm). According to the deflation rates, the 8 typical clastic sediments can be divided into four categories: (1) lacustrine and alluvial sand, which are readily prone to wind erosion, assumed to be the main source of aeolian sand; (2) weathered sandstone and shale, pluvial sediments and fluvioglacial sand with considerable deflation rates, might be the secondary source of aeolian sand; (3) weathered granite and slope deposit having the lower deflation rates, could supply a little aeolian sand; and (4) glacial sediments with a strong anti-erodibility, could hardly offer any aeolian sand. In addition to the strong wind conditions, the exposure of extensive lacustrine sand induced by the desiccation of inland lake basin, as well as the pre-sorting of clastic sediments by flowing water should be the key factors influencing the development of sand deserts in China. The possible reason the sand deserts in China being mostly distributed around the inland lake basins and along riverbanks could be better understood through sand source analysis.     

Land degradation is not a necessary outcome of communal pastoralism in arid Namibia

In Otjimbingwe, a region of arid south-central Namibia, human population densities are high and these communal pastoralists own large numbers of livestock. Such situations are commonly perceived to lead to the ‘tragedy of the commons'. This region lends itself to a comparison of the effects of communal and commercial farming (with private land ownership) because the communal area is completely surrounded by commercial farms. In spite of far higher stocking densities on the communal areas and the absence of an overall grazing strategy, we found no evidence of the ‘tragedy of the commons' on Otjimbingwe. Indeed, the communal areas did not differ in a number of soil and vegetation parameters from the commercial farms. These results point both to the resilience of arid environments to high stocking levels and the over-riding influence of abiotic variables on environmental quality.     

中国干旱区不同成因碎屑沉积物的吹蚀速率研究

1 Introduction The sand deserts in China are the product of long-term wind erosion from clastic sediments and remodified by wind in the arid environments (Wu, 1987; Gao et al., 1993). The origin of aeolian sand is an elementary issue in studying morpholog…     

70年来中国风沙地貌学的发展

风是除流水之外塑造地球景观的第二大流体,以其为外营力形成的风沙地貌在全球干旱区广泛分布,超过40%的全球陆地面积受风沙地貌过程的影响,与人类生存环境存在着密切的关系,19世纪末以来受到国际学术界的持续关注。中国干旱半干旱地区广泛发育风沙地貌,但风沙地貌研究比国际研究晚半个多世纪,始于20世纪50年代后期。本文总结了新中国成立70年来中国风沙地貌学发展的3个阶段：初创阶段（1949—1977年）、充实发展阶段（1978—1999年）和国际化研究阶段（2000年至今）。现在中国风沙地貌研究的水平整体与国际并行,部分领先。中国具有重要国际影响力的风沙地貌研究工作包括沙丘移动规律、风沙地貌区域综合研究、中国独特风沙地貌发育演变过程、戈壁地貌学研究、沙丘二次流以及地外星球的探索研究。中国风沙地貌学研究有在未来领跑国际研究的潜势,但风沙地貌学家必需有4个方面的战略思考,即综合集成、地球系统科学引领、全球视野和深空时代的发展。     

Sedimentary characteristics of palaeolake deposits along the Indus River valley,Ladakh, Trans‐Himalaya: Implications for the depositional environment

This study is an attempt to contribute to the data set of granulometric studies of sediments by measuring the sedimentary structure and texture, along with statistical parameters, of cold and arid lake systems. The palaeolake sequence along the River Indus on the western fringe of the Tibetan Plateau in Ladakh sector was selected in order to shed light on depositional environmental changes within the lake from post‐last glacial maximum to 5 ka. The River Indus was blocked by Lamayuru dam burst during the deglaciation, after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the subsequent increase in water level led to the formation of the Saspol–Khalsi palaeolake. This lake was ca 55 km in length, extending from Nimo to Khalsi, had a surface area of 370 km² and was in existence until 5 ka. Two sections (Saspol and Khalsi) separated by an aerial distance of 35 km show a similar trend in sediment character due to their deposition in the same lake system. Grain‐size studies show a polymodal nature of sediments for both of the sections. However, sediments of the lower/downstream section (Khalsi) show a poorer degree of sorting, and coarser grain size and high energy depositional condition as compared with the sediments of Saspol section (positioned upstream) due to the location of the sections within the lake system. It was noted that, in high‐altitude arid regions, the sedimentological characteristics of large‐sized valley lakes may vary greatly, horizontally as well as vertically, owing to local stream input, inflow intensity from the catchment, outflow velocity of water channels, lithology and valley widths at the different sites.     

Measuring Food Deserts via GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Making: The Case of Tehran

The purpose of this article is to identify food deserts using a geographic information system (GIS)-based multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) approach in the city of Tehran. We have found that, compared to technocratic methods, GIS-based MCDM and taking into account people or their agents' opinions in the food deserts analysis leads to different results. Whereas measuring food deserts based on the distance to large retail food stores indicated that a large part of the northern neighborhoods of Tehran do not have access to large food stores, identifying the food desert through the GIS-based MCDM approach revealed that northern neighborhoods of Tehran have relatively good access to healthy, affordable food. In addition, results indicated that individual factors have a more effective role than environmental factors in food accessibility. Food accessibility analysis revealed that more than 26.6 percent of Tehran's people (2,049,796) are living in very low and low food accessibility areas. Accordingly, to achieve a relatively healthy and inclusive food environment, establishment of a food council, development of mobile food markets and farmers' markets, extension of public transport, enhancement of food literacy, and community-based development of small full-service grocery stores, especially in southern and western sections of Tehran, should be pursued. In addition, addressing Tehran's food desert issues would be incomplete without due attention to the wider political and economic environment.     

Measuring Space–Time Access to Food Retailers: A Case of Temporal Access Disparity in Franklin County,Ohio

Typical measures of food access use spatial-only methods to identify nearby food outlets and the quantity, quality, and variety of food available. This measure of spatial access falls short in explaining the effect that the operating hours of food retailers have on food access. Our study aims to complement the spatial dimension of access measures by bringing time in as a new constraint on food access. To this end, we developed three measures of spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal access and correlated these measures with socioeconomic status (SES) in a case in Columbus, Ohio. Findings from our analysis of food access disparity suggest that low-SES neighborhoods in Columbus are not at a disadvantage of spatial access, but their limited temporal access is a more pressing concern. Implications drawn from the study would assist community advocates, local governments, and other stakeholders in deriving a better understanding of the local foodscape that are not only mediated by space but also time.     

沙漠、戈壁和黄土表土岩石磁学特征及其对黄土磁化率机制的意义

黄土高原黄土来自于其北部或西北部的沙漠和戈壁被广泛认可。本文选取西北地区典型的沙漠、戈壁和黄土表土样品,进行系统的岩石磁学研究。结果显示：沙漠和戈壁磁学特征相似,以磁铁矿占绝对优势,磁颗粒为多畴和假单畴,几乎不含超顺磁颗粒,磁性矿物总体含量高于黄土表土。黄土表土以磁铁矿为主,同时含有磁赤铁矿,磁颗粒以成壤过程中形成的超顺磁和单畴颗粒为主。虽然沙漠和戈壁细粒中亚铁磁性矿物相对比例明显高于粗粒,但粗粒组分含量大,对磁性稀释作用显著,全样总体表现为粗粒磁性特征。影响沙漠、戈壁和黄土磁化率的主导因素不同,沙漠和戈壁为磁性矿物含量主导型,磁性矿物总含量高,黄土表土为磁性矿物粒度主导型,超顺磁对磁化率贡献占主导。合理区分风速论和成土论两种磁化率机制,需准确判断成壤程度和氧化还原状态。因此,不同环境条件下磁化率的环境意义及古气候重建,需首先准确区分影响磁化率的主导因素。     

Impacts of geoscience research on the physical environment of the Vestfold Hills,Antarctica

Antarctic polar deserts can be of considerable scientific interest, but can also exhibit great environmental sensitivity. A variety of factors, including Australia's legal obligations under the Madrid Protocol, public expectations, certain research opportunities and ethical considerations, demand a very high standard of environmental protection. A survey outside the Davis Station limits in the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica, identified 66 sites at which past human activities had left long term impacts on the physical environment. Nearly half of all observed impacts were the result of geoscientific research that had left old pit and trench sites, vehicular tracks, partly excavated palaeontological material, rock sampling and drilling sites, localised slope instability caused by disturbance, and discarded equipment and markers. Comparisons between rehabilitated sites and others where little, if any, rehabilitation appears to have been attempted suggest natural processes alone are generally insufficient to heal the damage, but that effective rehabilitation is often possible if undertaken immediately after the initial disturbance.     

我国沙漠地区潜水氟的分布、成因及演变

本文探讨了沙漠地区潜水中氟的分布、成因、迁移及演变,研究得出不同于砾漠和粘漠,氟是沙漠潜水的标型元素,是沙漠形成和上地沙化的产物。