Stratigraphy and geochemistry of pillow basalts within the ophiolitic mélange of the Izmir–Ankara–Erzincan suture zone: implications for the geotectonic character of the northern branch of Neotethys

The Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zone of Turkey is a broad zone of ophiolitic mélange containing numerous fragmented blocks ranging in age from Triassic to Cretaceous. Stratigraphic sequences for various mélange units are compared, together with the geochemistry of associated basaltic pillow lavas of Cretaceous age. A review of geochemical data for the pillow lavas demonstrate: (a) a dominant group of alkalic basalts with enriched incompatible elements, variable Zr/Y and Zr/Nb ratios, and (b) a range of tholeiitic basalts with slightly depleted to mildly enriched (normalized) rare earth patterns, (La/Yb)_N 0.4-3.0, and generally low Zr/Y ratios. The alkalic basalts can be chemically matched to Pacific Ocean seamounts, although the close association of red radiolarites and cherts suggests that many basalts represent the margins of such structures, rather than the main seamount edifice. Nd-Sr isotope data are typical for ocean island basalts and represent an admixture of a dominant EM-1 source and a depleted MORB-like source. Enhanced δ¹⁸O compositions are a consequence of submarine alteration and not crustal contamination. Tholeiitic compositions have affinities with both N- and E-type MORB, although most are probably representative of tholeiitic ocean islands. Overall the basalts are mainly representative of structures built on the ocean floor, rather than the oceanic crust itself, being scraped off the subducting crust and preserved in the mélange of the accretionary wedge.     

Structural and remote sensing studies of the southern Betsimisaraka Suture, Madagascar

An assessment of the southern Betsimisaraka Suture (B.S.) of southeastern Madagascar using remote sensing and field investigation reveals a complex deformation history. Image processing of Landsat ETM+data and JERS-I Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery was integrated with field observations of structural geology and field petrography. The southern B.S. divides the Precambrian basement rocks of Madagascar in two parts. The western part includes Proterozoic rocks whereas the eastern part is an Archean block, named the Masora block. The southern part of the B.S. includes high-grade metamorphic rocks, recording strong deformation and has mineral deposits including chromite, nickel, and emerald, characteristic of oceanic material that is compatible with a suture zone.Large-scale structural features indicate ductile deformation including three generations of folding (F1, F2, and F3) associated with dextral shearing. The first folding event (F1) shows a succession of folds with NE striking axial planes. The second folding event (F2) mainly has north–south striking axial planes and the last event (F3) is represented by mega folds that have ENE–WSW axial plane directions and have NNW and SSE contractional strain patterns. Closure of the Mozambique Ocean between two components of Gondwana sandwiched rocks of the B.S. and formed upright folds and shortening zones which produced N–S trending lineaments. Later dextral movements followed the contraction and formed NW–SE trending lineaments and N–S trending normal faults associated with dextral strike slip faults and fractures.     

Reactive transport in unsaturated soil: Comprehensive modelling of the dynamic spatial and temporal mass balance of water and chemical components

By implementing the moisture-based form of Richards’ equation into the geochemical modelling framework PHREEQC, a generic tool for the simulation of one-dimensional flow and solute transport in the vadose zone undergoing complex geochemical reactions was developed. A second-order, cell-centred, explicit finite difference scheme was employed for the numerical solution of the partial differential equations of flow and transport. In this scheme, the charge-balanced soil solution is treated as an assembly of elements, where changes in water and solute contents result from fluxes of elements across cell boundaries. Therefore, water flow is considered in terms of oxygen and hydrogen transport.     

中国避暑型气候的地域类型及其时空分布特征

由于中国各地纬度、地形及海陆位置的地域差异,形成了多种多样的避暑型气候。本文采用1993-2012年756个国家基本站和122个辐射站逐日气象数据,基于通用热气候指数(UTCI)模型计算各气象站点的人体感知温度,结合聚类分析方法对避暑型气候的地域类型进行了研究,并对其空间分布、时间变化和舒适特征进行了分析。结果表明：中国避暑型气候主要包括西南高原型、中东部山岳型、东北山地平原型、西北山地高原型和环渤海低山丘陵型5种地域类型;各类避暑型气候具有显著的地域特色：西南高原型避暑气候纬度低、海拔高,太阳辐射较强;中东部山岳型避暑气候地势高、风速大,夏季舒适偏冷;环渤海低山丘陵型避暑气候地势低、湿度大,夏季舒适偏热且舒适度受海风影响明显;西北山地高原型避暑气候温度适宜、天气晴朗,但略显干燥;东北山地平原型避暑气候凉爽、风速不大、辐射不强、湿度适中,综合条件相对优越。从各类避暑型气候夏季人体感知温度的变化来看,环渤海低山丘陵型舒适期较短,其余类型舒适期相对较长,东北山地平原型和西北山地高原型人体感知温度曲线呈良好的单峰对称变化,其余类型大致呈单峰不对称形态。本文不仅丰富了避暑型气候研究的理论成果,而且也可为避暑型旅游资源的开发与规划提供科学依据,进一步指导人们的避暑旅游活动。     

Does the framing of climate policies make a difference to public support? Evidence from UK marginal constituencies

Public support for climate policies is essential to underpin their credibility, but evidence suggests that an environmental basis for that support is not strong. It has been suggested that framing climate policies in other terms, such as energy security or job creation, will build a more sustainable political basis for bold climate policies. This approach is explored using data from a survey in 157 UK marginal constituencies. Framing does make a difference to support for the expansion of renewable energy, but not to support for policies on energy efficiency and financial assistance to developing countries. The data also show key differences in levels of support for policies between different socio-demographic and voter groups.     

Late-glacial and Holocene vegetation and climatic history of the Cass Basin, central South Island, New Zealand

Lithology, pollen, macrofossils, and stable carbon isotopes from an intermontane basin bog site in southern New Zealand provide a detailed late-glacial and early Holocene vegetation and climate record. Glacial retreat occurred before 17,000 cal yr B.P., and tundra-like grassland–shrubland occupied the basin shortly after. Between 16,500 and 14,600 cal yr B.P., a minor regional expansion of forest patches occurred in response to warming, but the basin remained in shrubland. Forest retreated between 14,600 and 13,600 cal yr B.P., at about the time of the Antarctic Cold Reversal. At 13,600 cal yr B.P., a steady progression from shrubland to tall podocarp forest began as the climate ameliorated. Tall, temperate podocarp trees replaced stress-tolerant shrubs and trees between 12,800 and 11,300 cal yr B.P., indicating sustained warming during the Younger Dryas Chronozone (YDC). Stable isotopes suggest increasing atmospheric humidity from 11,800 to 9300 cal yr B.P. Mild (annual temperatures at least 1°C higher than present), and moist conditions prevailed from 11,000 to 10,350 cal yr B.P. Cooler, more variable conditions followed, and podocarp forest was completely replaced by montane Nothofagus forest at around 7500 cal yr B.P. with the onset of the modern climate regime. The Cass Basin late-glacial climate record closely matches the Antarctic ice core records and is in approximate antiphase with the North Atlantic.     

Paleoclimate studies and natural-resource management in the Murray-Darling Basin I: past,present and future climates

This paper provides an incisive review of paleoclimate science and its relevance to natural-resource management within the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). The drought of 1997–2010 focussed scientific, public and media attention on intrinsic climate variability and the confounding effect of human activity, especially in terms of water-resource management. Many policy and research reviews make statements about future planning with little consideration of climate change and without useful actionable knowledge. In order to understand future climate changes, modellers need, and demand, better paleoclimate data to constrain their model projections. Here, we present an insight into a number of existing long-term paleoclimate studies relevant to the MDB. Past records of climate, in response to orbital forcing (glacial–interglacial cycles) are found within, and immediately outside, the MDB. High-resolution temperature records, spanning the last 10⁵ years, exist from floodplains and cave speleothems, as well as evidence from lakes and their associated lunettes. More recently, historical climate records show major changes in relation to El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycles and decadal shifts in rainfall regimes. A considerable body of research currently exists on the past climates of southeastern Australia but, this has not been collated and validated over large spatial scales. It is clear that a number of knowledge gaps still exist, and there is a pressing need for the establishment of new paleoclimatic research within the MDB catchment and within adjacent, sensitive catchments if past climate science is to fulfil its potential to provide policy-relevant information to natural-resource management into the future.     

闽粤台沿海北西西向最新构造带与大震构造背景

闽粤台沿海自台湾运动以来逐渐形成了多条北西西向隆起—拗陷的最新活动构造带,与已知的北东—北北东向隆起、拗陷带构成了区域性镶嵌构造格局。 研究区内除板块相互碰撞、俯冲及上地幔物质上涌形成大震构造背景外,莫霍面隆起或隆起断距大、低速层厚、地壳变薄、近两、三千年地表抬升差异活动显著以及台东近海有北西西向构造活动等,也都是发生大震的重要构造背景     

The Interannual Variability of Climate in a Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Model

In this paper, the interannual variability simulated by the coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP CGCM) in 40 year integrations is analyzed, and compared with that by the corresponding IAP AGCM which uses the climatic sea surface temperature as the boundary condition in 25 year integrations.The mean climatic states of January and July simulated by IAP CGCM are in good agreement with that by IAP AGCM, i.e., no serious ‘climate drift’ occurs in the CGCM simulation. A comparison of the results from AGCM and CGCM indicates that the standard deviation of the monthly averaged sea level pressure simulated by IAP CGCM is much greater than that by IAP AGCM in tropical region. In addition, both Southern Oscillation (SO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) can be found in the CGCM simulation for January, but these two oscillations do not exist in the AGCM simulation.The interannual variability of climate may be classified into two types: one is the variation of the annual mean, another is the variation of the annual amplitude. The ocean-atmosphere interaction mainly increases the first type of variability. By means of the rotated EOF, the most important patterns corresponding to the two types of interannual variability are found to have different spatial and temporal characteristics.     

攀西古裂谷地区深部热流

在实测地表大地热流、岩石放射性元素含量以及生热率的基础上,作者计算了攀西古裂谷地区的深部热流值(q_r)及地壳上部放射性元素富集层厚度(D),即分别为38.4mw/m~2和15.7km。与世界上其它地区相比,本区具有较高的深部热流值和较大的D值。笔者进一步阐明,较大的D值是攀西古裂谷地区地壳分异程度差在地热上的反映,而较高的q_r值表明本区来自地壳深处上地幔的热量比较大,这与攀西古裂谷地区的整个地质发展历史相一致。