Can 234U–230Th dating be used to date large semi‐arid tufas? Challenges from a study in the Naukluft Mountains,Namibia

The large, extensive tufa deposits of the semi‐arid Naukluft Mountains, Namibia are potentially important palaeoenvironmental indicators in an area with few proxy records. Tufas are reliable indicators of increased moisture availability, and have been shown to be amenable to ²³⁴U–²³⁰Th dating, although two challenges are detrital contamination and open‐system behaviour. Densely cemented tufa facies are good candidates for dating, minimising these problems. We report attempts to date five densely‐cemented units, which are only found rarely within the Naukluft deposits. We applied a detailed methodology using multiple subsample analysis, measurement of insoluble residues, application of ‘isochron’ mixing lines, and attempted open‐systems modelling, alongside observations of micromorphology and cathodoluminescence in order to assess the validity of any obtained dates. Surprisingly, densely cemented tufas were found not always to be suitable for dating. Two units contained detrital contamination, which could not be corrected for using a single leachate correction or ‘isochron’ methods. Two units contained ‘excess ²³⁰Th’. This could result under a closed‐system if initial (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) was sufficiently high. Alternatively this may be the result of open‐system behaviour, and loss of uranium, or incorporation of initial unsupported ²³⁰Th, which render samples unsuitable for ²³⁴U–²³⁰Th dating. Micromorphological appearance and cathodoluminescence behaviour are used to explore these possibilities. This study exemplifies the need for careful sample selection, and highlights the importance of analysing multiple subsamples from any tufa sample. The detailed methodology applied proves to be a powerful tool for identifying the range of problems that can be encountered when selecting suitable candidate samples for successful dating. It also shows that semi‐arid tufa sequences may contain very little material suitable for dating. A reliable age of c 80 ka was obtained for a banded unit within a large fluvial barrage, with less reliable dates suggesting tufa deposition during times since >350 ka through to the late Holocene. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallelization of the distinct lattice spring model

The distinct lattice spring model (DLSM) is a newly developed numerical tool for modeling rock dynamics problems, i.e. dynamic failure and wave propagation. In this paper, parallelization of DLSM is presented. With the development of parallel computing technologies in both hardware and software, parallelization of a code is becoming easier than before. There are many available choices now. In this paper, Open Multi‐Processing (OpenMP) with multicore personal computer (PC) and message passing interface (MPI) with cluster are selected as the environments to parallelize DLSM. Performances of these parallel DLSM codes are tested on different computers. It is found that the parallel DLSM code with OpenMP can reach a maximum speed‐up of 4.68× on a quad‐core PC. The parallel DLSM code with MPI can achieve a speed‐up of 40.886× when 256 CPUs are used on a cluster. At the end of this paper, a high‐resolution model with four million particles, which is too big to handle by the serial code, is simulated by using the parallel DLSM code on a cluster. It is concluded that the parallelization of DLSM is successful. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrological response of a Brazilian semi‐arid catchment to different land use and climate change scenarios: a modelling study

Brazilian semi‐arid regions are characterized by water scarcity, vulnerability to desertification, and climate variability. The investigation of hydrological processes in this region is of major interest not only for water planning strategies but also to address the possible impact of future climate and land‐use changes on water resources. A hydrological distributed catchment‐scale model (DiCaSM) has been applied to simulate hydrological processes in a small representative catchment of the Brazilian northeast semi‐arid region, and also to investigate the impact of climate and land‐use changes, as well as changes associated with biofuel/energy crops production. The catchment is part of the Brazilian network for semi‐arid hydrology, established by the Brazilian Federal Government. Estimating and modelling streamflow (STF) and recharge in semi‐arid areas is a challenging task, mainly because of limitation in in situ measurements, and also due to the local nature of some processes. Direct recharge measurements are very difficult in semi‐arid catchments and contain a high level of uncertainty. The latter is usually addressed by short‐ and long‐time‐scale calibration and validation at catchment scale, as well as by examining the model sensitivity to the physical parameters responsible for the recharge. The DiCaSM model was run from 2000 to 2008, and streamflow was successfully simulated, with a Nash–Sutcliffe (NS) efficiency coefficient of 0·73, and R² of 0·79. On the basis of a range of climate change scenarios for the region, the DiCaSM model forecasted a reduction by 35%, 68%, and 77%, in groundwater recharge (GWR), and by 34%, 65%, and 72%, in streamflow, for the time spans 2010–2039, 2040–2069, and 2070–2099, respectively, could take place for a dry future climate scenario. These reductions would produce severe impact on water availability in the region. Introducing castor beans to the catchment would increase the GWR and streamflow, mainly if the caatinga areas would be converted into castor beans production. Changing an area of 1000 ha from caatinga to castor beans would increase the GWR by 46% and streamflow by 3%. If the same area of pasture is converted into castor beans, there would be an increase in GWR and streamflow by 24% and 5%, respectively. Such results are expected to contribute towards environmental policies for north‐east Brazil (NEB), and to biofuel production perspectives in the region. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

沁县七星泉天然矿泉水水质特征

沁县七星泉（后泉）饮用天然矿泉水是山西发现最早的天然矿泉水之一。１９８７年１１月经国家级鉴定为低钠、低矿化度、锶重碳酸－钙镁型饮用天然矿泉水。可作为瓶装天然矿泉水及矿泉饮料用水予以开发。     

Influence of multipurpose trees on agricultural crops in arid regions of Haryana, India

The effects of multipurpose trees on the productivity of agricultural crops were studied in the arid regions of Haryana. In one of the experiments, wheat was grown on irrigated farms having scattered trees ofDalbergia sissoo, Azadirachta indica, Prosopis cinerariaandAcacia nilotica. Data of wheat yield for each tree species at different distances (1, 3, 5, and 7 m) and four directions (East, West, North and South) from the tree bases and control (no trees) were collected. Results indicate thatAzadirachta indicaandProsopis cinerariadid not produce any significant difference in the wheat yield while the other two species (Dalbergia sissooandAcacia nilotica) gave a reduction in yield.A. niloticahad a more significant and prominent effect and a reduction of 40 to 60 % wheat yield was observed.Dalbergia sissooreduced yield by 4 to 30 % but the reduction was only up to a distance of 3 m. In general, the impact of trees on productivity was observed up to 3 m distance and there was little, if any, impact up to 5 m and almost no impact at 7 m.In another experiment,D. sissoo(18-years-old) was raised as windbreak and productivity of cotton was assessed. The tree belt reduced the wind speed by 15 to 45 %, depending on season and wind speed. The influence of trees on cotton yield was observed to be negative up to 2H (36 m), where H is tree height, i.e. 18 m. Cotton productivity was observed to be maximum between 2H and 5H. Depending upon orientation of tree belt, the increase in cotton yield was found to be 4 to 10 %.     

秦岭泥盆系层控铅锌矿床成因模式探讨

在论述秦岭泥盆系层控铅锌矿床的黄铁矿微量元素,硫、铅、氢、氧同位素,矿物气液包裹体均一温度及成分.区域地层元素丰度等方面特征的基础上,提出了该类型属海底含矿热泉溢出沉积和隐伏含矿热泉贯入沉淀的成因模式.     

春季高原东侧水平稳定层分析

本文利用稠密的探空资料,分析了春季高原东侧的水平稳定层。确定了该稳定层的范围和强度,指出了其温度、湿度和流场特征,并初步探讨了其维持机制。     

华南晚三叠世前陆盆地的成因地层格架及演化历史

在详细研究盆地中各类沉积体系的沉积构成和演化过程的基础上,通过成因地层对比,建立了残留海湾—前陆盆地的成因地层格架。根据沉积体系的时空组合及其与相关等时性地层面的配置关系,划分出了3个构造沉积幕,每个构造沉积幕都是盆地基底荷载挠曲变形至弹性回跳过程的沉积响应。海平面升降变化和盆内软沉积物压实沉降虽然不能触发和主控盆地基底的构造挠曲旋回,但对各构造沉积幕的地层构型和持续时间有重要影响。盆地基底荷载挠曲变形与海平面升降或压实沉降过程以不同方式叠加,产生各种类型的构造沉积幕,与前陆盆地共生的还有后陆盆地和残留的弧后盆地。     

Gully‐head erosion processes on a semi‐arid valley floor in Kenya: a case study into temporal variation and sediment budgeting

A three year monitoring programme of gully‐head retreat was established to assess the significance of sediment production in a drainage network that expanded rapidly by gully‐head erosion on the low‐angled alluvio‐lacustrine Njemps Flats in semi‐arid Baringo District, Kenya. This paper discusses the factors controlling the large observed spatial and temporal variation in gully‐head retreat rates, ranging from 0 to 15 m a^?1. The selected gullies differed in planform and in runoff‐contributing catchment area but soil material and land use were similar. The data were analysed at event and annual timescales. The results show that at annual timescale rainfall amount appears to be a good indicator of gully‐head retreat, while at storm‐event timescale rainfall distribution has to be taken into account. A model is proposed, including only rainfall (P) and the number of dry days (DD) between storms: which explains 56 per cent of the variation in retreat rate of the single‐headed gully of Lam1. A detailed sediment budget has been established for Lam1 and its runoff‐contributing area (RCA). By measuring sediment input from the RCA, the sediment output by channelized flow and linear retreat of the gully head for nine storms, it can be seen that erosion shifts between different components of the budget depending on the duration of the dry period (DD) between storms. Sediment input from the RCA was usually the largest component for the smaller storms. The erosion of the gully head occurred as a direct effect of runoff falling over the edge (GH_waterfall) and of the indirect destabilization of the adjacent walls by the waterfall erosion and by saturation (GH_mass/storage). The latter component (GH_mass/storage) was usually much larger that the former (GH_waterfall). The sediment output from the gully was strongly related to the runoff volume while the linear retreat, because of its complex behaviour, was not. Overall, the results show that the annual retreat is the optimal timescale to predict retreat patterns. More detailed knowledge about relevant processes and interactions is necessary if gully‐head erosion is to be included in event‐based soil erosion models. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.