Factors controlling the spatial and temporal variability of dust emissions

New field measurement techniques are allowing researchers to better understand how surficial properties affect the temporal and spatial variability of dust emissions. In this paper we review the current understanding of the dust emission process and present new field measurements that examine how three surface properties： roughness, crust strength, and temporal changes of surface properties affect dust emissions. These data were collected using three unique measurement systems developed by our team. Roughness exerts considerable control on the entrainment threshold and emissions of dust from a surface. We have carried out a series of experiments designed to quantify roughness effects on aeolian sediment entrainment and transport in a shear stress partitioning framework. Our results show that the model of Raupach et al. （1993） provides very good agreement with available data to predict the amount of shearing stress on the intervening surface among roughness elements, relatively independent of their size and distribution. However, element size affects the aeolian sediment transport process beyond that attributable only to the reduction of surface shear stress caused by the roughness. Additional interactions of the elements with the saltation cloud appear to reduce the transport efficiency and potentially dust emissions as well. The effect of crust strength on dust emissions was assessed using a newly-developed pin penetrometer, which can measure crust strength in-situ. Previous researchers suggested that variation in crust strength even within a small area could lead to considerable spatial variability in dust emissions. Our measurements showed that crust strength is highly variable over a scale of centimeters. This variability may help to explain some of the observed scatter in field measurements of dust emissions for what appear to be homogeneous surfaces. Variability of dust emissions in time and space was also evaluated using a new instrument, the Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab （PI-SWERL） developed to measure dust emissions from soil surfaces.     

Modeling the seismic response of basin-edge structure by a sequential waveform method

A sequential waveform method is developed to simulate the seismic response of basin-edge structure excited by a plane incident P-wave. The full procedure involves: (a) a previous parameterization of the investigated model using the seismic wave velocities and depths of the sedimentary stratifications; (b) an input motion determined from the records at stations installed on hard rock; (c) forward computation of the P-SV elastic wave field by means of a two-dimensional finite difference (FD) method; (d) the optimization of the model vector using simulated annealing technique and comparing the simulated seismic response of the tested structure with the observed wave field; (e) the correction of the initial model by trial-and-error by testing the differences between synthetics and observed data, and (f) the final solution obtained by iteration using the conjugate gradient algorithm. The search of an optimal basin-edge model has been parallel processed by varying the shapes and velocities of strata on the basis of the fitting of relative timing, amplitude and phase between the output and the observed data. The input motion and sensitivity have been checked and the validity of the method has been demonstrated by numeric analysis. Using the teleseismic records generated by 7 earthquakes recorded at 26 broadband seismic stations, we have studied the seismic velocity structure of the southern edge of the Jiyang depression located in the Bohai Bay basin, northern China. Two cross sections show an agreement between the velocity results and the geological sections available in the region. In addition, we obtain evidence of three hidden faults under the sections and features that suggest major extensions at the Paleogene.     

Planation, bauxites and epeirogeny: One or two paleosurfaces on the West African margin?

Mapping of lateritic bauxites over the West African rifted margin and analysis of the geomorphic properties of these bauxites, combined with available geological data lead to a discussion of the presence of either two Meso-Cenozoic planation surfaces or a single Eocene surface to account for the morphotectonic and paleoclimatic evolution of the Guinean landforms. At large scale, two stepped bauxitic levels are documented. Ongoing or episodic uplift following Gondwana breakup and Meso-Cenozoic climate change are proposed to have allowed the formation and abandonment of an Early mid-Cretaceous surface today preserved as the higher bauxitic level, and the setting of an Eocene planation surface bearing a second generation of bauxites, making the lower bauxitic level. The single Eocene surface hypothesis requires that Paleogene bauxitization preserved large pre-existing relief to explain two stepped bauxitic levels of the same age. The two-surface hypothesis is favored because it would explain rebauxitization of alluvial pebbles of bauxites under the lower lateritic level.     

Surface pollen and its relationship to vegetation on the southern slope of the eastern Qilian Mountains

The objective of this study is to investigate pollen-vegetation relationship in the Qilian Mountains. The eastern Qilian Mountains are located in the transitional zone of the Tibetan Plateau, the Loess Plateau and the arid region of Northwest China, which is one of the key areas of global environmental change. A total of 13 surface pollen samples from main vegetation have been collected. Pollen percentages were calculated in all samples. In order to reveal the relationship between pollen composition and the vegetation types from which the soil samples have been collected, Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) ordination method was employed on the pollen data. The results show that dominating vegetation types can be recognized by their pollen spectra: Picea crassifolia forest, alpine shrub and alpine meadow as well. Altitude and temperature determine the distribution of the surface pollen and the vegetation. The good agreement between modern vegetation and surface samples across this area provides a measure of the reliability of using pollen data to reconstruct paleoenvironment and paleovegetation patterns in this or other similar regions. However the loss of Betula pollen in forest needs further investigation. Pollen oxidation is the most important factor contributing to the damage of modern pollen in the study area. Pollen concentrations decrease with the increase of pH values of soils, and decrease sharply when the pH exceeds 7.6.