Structural defects in microcrystalline silica

The structure of the microcrystalline silica varieties chalcedony, flint, moganite, opal-C and -CT is characterized by X-ray powder diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The role of impurities is investigated by infrared spectroscopy and chemical analysis. Microcrystalline opal, chalcedony and flint have a disordered intergrowth structure composed of cristobalite and tridymite domains in opal, and quartz and moganite domains in chalcedony and flint. Each constituent phase has different cell dimensions and symmetry. The main impurity is water which is enriched at the intergrowth interfaces. Density and refractive indices of microcrystalline silica depend on the water content.     

Charcoal and fossil wood from palaeosols,sediments and artificial structures indicating Late Holocene woodland decline in southern Tibet (China)

Charcoal and fossil wood taken from palaeosols, sediments and artificial structures were analysed in order to evaluate the regional pedoanthracological potential and to obtain information on Holocene environmental changes, particularly on possible past tree occurrences in southern Tibet. This research was initiated by the question to what extent this area is influenced by past human impact. Even recent evaluations have perceived the present treeless desertic environment of southern Tibet as natural, and the previous Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes detected were predominantly interpreted to be climate-determined. The material analysed – comprising a total of 53 botanical spectra and 55 radiocarbon datings from 46 sampling sites (c. 3500–4700 m a.s.l.) – represents the largest systematically obtained data set of charcoal available from Tibet so far. 27 taxa were determined comprising trees, (dwarf-) shrubs and herbs as well as grasses. The predominant tree taxa were Juniperus, Hippophae, Salix and Betula. According to their present-day occurrence in the region, the genera Juniperus and Hippophae can be explicitly attributed to tree species. Further, less frequently detected tree taxa were Populus, Pinus, Quercus, Taxus and Pseudotsuga. Charcoal of Juniperus mainly occurred on southern exposures, whereas Betula was associated with northern exposures. In contrast, the (partly) phreatophytic taxa Hippophae and Salix showed no prevalent orientation. The distribution of radiocarbon ages on charcoal revealed a discontinuous record of burning events cumulating in the Late Holocene (c. 5700–0 cal BP). For southern Tibet, these results indicated a Late Holocene vegetation change from woodlands to the present desertic pastures. As agrarian economies in southern and south-eastern Tibet date back to c. 3700 and 5700 cal BP, respectively, and the present-day climate is suitable for tree growth up to c. 4600 m a.s.l., we concluded that the Late Holocene loss or thinning out of woodlands had been primarily caused by humans.     

Ecological stability during the LGM and the mid-Holocene in the Alpine Steppes of Tibet?

Arid and Alpine ecosystems are known for extreme environmental changes during the Late Quaternary. We hypothesize that the world's largest Alpine arid ecosystem however, the Alpine Steppes of the Tibetan highlands, remained ecologically stable during the LGM and the mid-Holocene. This hypothesis is tested by distributional range of plant species, plant life forms and rate of endemism. The set of character species has a precipitation gradient between 50 and 350 mm/a, testifying for resilience to precipitation changes. 83% of the species have a wider vertical range than 1000 m used as a proxy for resilience to temperature changes. 30% of the species are endemic with 10 endemic genera, including plate-shaped cushions as a unique plant life form. These findings are in line with palaeo-ecological proxies (δ¹⁸O, pollen) allowing the assumption that Alpine Steppes persisted during the LGM with 3 to 4 K lower summer temperatures.During the mid-Holocene, forests could have replaced Alpine Steppes in the upper catchments of the Huang He, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Yarlung Zhangbo, but not in the interior basins of the north-western highlands, because the basins were then flooded, suppressing forests and supporting the environmental stability of this arid Alpine grassland biome.     

Persistence of Artemisia steppe in the Tangra Yumco Basin,west-central Tibet,China: despite or in consequence of Holocene lake-level changes?

The closed Tangra Yumco Basin underwent the strongest Quaternary lake-level changes so far recorded on the Tibetan Plateau. It was hitherto unknown what effect this had on local Holocene vegetation development. A 3.6-m sediment core from a recessional lake terrace at 4,700 m a.s.l., 160 m above the present lake level of Tangra Yumco, was studied to reconstruct Holocene flooding phases (sedimentology and ostracod analyses), vegetation dynamics and human influence (palynology, charcoal and coprophilous fungi analyses). Peat at the base of the profile proves lake level was below 4,700 m a.s.l. during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. A deep-lake phase started after 11 cal ka BP, but the ostracod record indicates the level was not higher than ~4,720 m a.s.l. (180 m above present) and decreased gradually after the early Holocene maximum. Additional sediment ages from the basin suggest recession of Tangra Yumco from the coring site after 2.6 cal ka BP, with a shallow local lake persisting at the site until ~1 cal ka BP. The final peat formation indicates drier conditions thereafter. Persistence of Artemisia steppe during the Holocene lake high-stand resembles palynological records from west Tibet that indicate early Holocene aridity, in spite of high lake levels that may have resulted from meltwater input. Yet pollen assemblages indicate humidity closer to that of present potential forest areas near Lhasa, with 500–600 mm annual precipitation. Thus, the early mid-Holocene humidity was sufficient to sustain at least juniper forest, but Artemisia dominance persisted as a consequence of a combination of environmental disturbances such as (1) strong early Holocene climate fluctuations, (2) inundation of habitats suitable for forest, (3) extensive water surfaces that served as barriers to terrestrial diaspore transport from refuge areas, (4) strong erosion that denuded the non-flooded upper slopes and (5) increasing human influence since the late glacial.     

Crystal structure and growth fabric of length-fast chalcedony

Chalcedony from Brazilian agates, has been investigated by using transmission-electron microscopy, X-ray-diffraction, thermogravimetry and optical techniques. The quartz fibers of length-fast chalcedony are composed of submicroscopical polysynthetic, lamellar-twinned right- and lefthanded crystals, according to the Brazil law. This very narrow twinning causes 3 systems of diffuse diffraction streaks (corresponding to the three-fold symmetry) parallel to 〈10.1〉, very frequently possessing an intensity maximum at h±1/2, k, l±1/2. These extra reflections were detected both in electron- and X-ray-diffraction patterns. Wall-lining chalcedony is parallel fibrous consisting of smaller crystallites with a higher total water content (0.06±0.01 μm and 1.2±0.1 wt %) than spherulitic chalcedony in horizontal agate bands (ca. 0.1 μm and 0.7±0.1 wt%).     

Sediment sequences and paleosols in the Kyichu Valley, southern Tibet (China), indicating Late Quaternary environmental changes

Abstract The Tibetan Plateau is highly sensitive to environmental changes and affects the settings of a far larger territory in Central Asia and beyond. Thus, knowledge on past environmental changes in that area is essential. Even though the Kyichu (Lhasa River) Valley and its tributaries is an easily accessible area, the Late Quaternary landscape evolution of southern Tibet is in general scarcely known. Therefore, 12 sedimentary sections in the middle and lower catchment were subjected to multidisciplinary analyses (sedimentology, paleopedology, AMS ¹⁴C and luminescence dating, and charcoal determination) aiming at results on regional paleoenvironmental changes. At the altitude studied (3600–4000 m above sealevel), no glacial relics could be detected, indicating that the valley positions have been unglaciated since the Last Interglacial. The lack of fluvial–lacustrine structures above the floodplain is due to the aggradational character of this tectonically (sub‐)active valley, which caused an alluvial burying of older valley bottoms. During the Late Pleistocene the mouth area of the Kyichu was occupied by a lake which was part of a larger dam‐lake in the superordinate Yarlung Zhangbo Valley. On the valley flanks, loesses were predominantly deposited before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), whereas eolian sands were predominantly deposited around and after the LGM. Paleosols of Last Interglacial, Last Glacial and Holocene ages regularly occur at terrestrial sites representing temperate to cool and humid to semiarid conditions during soil formation. Ages of colluvial sediments indicate that the widespread barren valley slopes were primarily formed by Late Pleistocene erosion followed by a secondary Holocene erosion phase. Charcoal spectra indicate a Late Holocene change from a forest environment to a pastoral environment with sparse grasses, herbs and dwarf shrubs. It is assumed that the Late Holocene environmental changes, such as loss of forests/woodlands and erosion, have at least been reinforced by humans, enhancing a regional climatic aridification and cooling trend.     

Neoendemic ground beetles and private tree haplotypes: two independent proxies attest a moderate last glacial maximum summer temperature depression of 3–4 °C for the southern Tibetan Plateau

Previous findings regarding the Last Glacial Maximum LGM summer temperature depression (maxΔT in July) on the Tibetan Plateau varied over a large range (between 0 and 9 °C). Geologic proxies usually provided higher values than palynological data. Because of this wide temperature range, it was hitherto impossible to reconstruct the glacial environment of the Tibetan Plateau. Here, we present for the first time data indicating that local neoendemics of modern species groups are promising proxies for assessing the LGM temperature depression in Tibet. We used biogeographical and phylogenetic data from small, wingless edaphous ground beetles of the genus Trechus, and from private juniper tree haplotypes. The derived values of the maxΔT in July ranged between 3 and 4 °C. Our data support previous findings that were based on palynological data. At the same time, our data are spatially more specific as they are not bound to specific archives. Our study shows that the use of modern endemics enables a detailed mapping of local LGM conditions in High Asia. A prerequisite for this is an extensive biogeographical and phylogenetic exploration of the area and the inclusion of additional endemic taxa and evolutionary lines.     

TEM characterisation and interpretation of fabric and structural degree of order in microcrystalline SiO2 phases

Representative samples of the two fabric varieties of microcrystalline quartz, chalcedony and quartzine, from agates of different origin were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Both varieties contain lamellar admixtures of the SiO₂ mineral moganite. The transitions from quartz to moganite within the fabric differ in a characteristic way. Whereas in quartzine the gradient between the structures is steep, the transition is more continuous in chalcedony. The morphology of moganite in chalcedony and quartzine is determined by the (101)-face; in pure moganite from Gran Canaria it is governed by the (110)-face.     

The nature of water in chalcedony and opal-C from brazilian agate geodes

The water species (H₂O_(SiOH) and H₂O_(mol)) of length-fast chalcedony and opal-C in Brazilian agates were studied with thermoanalytical, chemical and infrared absorption methods. Specific surfaces were measured with the BET nitrogen adsorption method and the specific densities were determined. Chalcedony and opal-C have fully hydrated crystal surfaces at the open porosity. They contain additional water at inner surfaces, which are closed micropores in the case of opal-C and regions of accumulated defects (e.g. twinlamellae boundaries) in chalcedony. All surfaces are covered with silanole groups, hydrogen-bonded to molecular water. Additional hydroxyl groups, weakly hydrogen bonded to the structural framework within the crystallites, are located at structural point defects. Wall-lining chalcedony ranges from translucent gray to milky white bands corresponding with decreasing total water content, the H₂O_(SiOH)/H₂O_(mol)-ratio, BET-surfaces and increasing density. The H₂O_(SiOH)/H₂O_(mol)-ratio is sensitive to subsequent hydrothermal treatment and indicates a low temperature formation of chalcedony.     

Plant communities of central Tibetan pastures in the Alpine Steppe/Kobresia pygmaea ecotone

Eleven plant communities of the central Tibetan ecotone (31°20′-33°00′N/89°00′-92°10′E) between the Kobresia pygmaea grazing pastures of the eastern highlands and the open short grass steppe with cushion plants (“Alpine Steppe”) of the north-western highlands have been described on the basis of 189 plot-based floristically complete vegetation records. In parallel, remote sensing techniques distinguish four main land-use cover types. Our hypotheses are: (1) The plant communities of the central Tibetan highlands are grazing-adapted and resilient to degradation. (2) In contrast to grazing resilient plant functional types, the turf cover of the K. pygmaea pastures and the Kobresia schoenoides wetlands is degradable through desiccation, periglacial processes, soil-dwelling small mammals and livestock. Five grazing-related plant functional traits are introduced. Grazing tolerance is the prevalent functional type. Species with no specific protection against grazing make up not more than 6% of the total cover. Unpalatable plants cover up to 8%. Only the azonal K. schoenoides swamps - the indispensable winter grazing reserve - have been widely degraded and depleted by 75%, being replaced by Carex sagaensis grazing pastures. It can be foreseen that governmental policy of sedentarisation of nomads will lead to reduced grazing mobility and degradation of winter grazing reserves.