Palaeoenvironmental significance of Late Permian palaeosols in the South‐Eastern Iberian Ranges,Spain

The Late Permian (Wuchiapingian) Alcotas Formation in the SE Iberian Ranges consists of one red alluvial succession where abundant soil profiles developed. Detailed petrographical and sedimentological studies in seven sections of the Alcotas Formation allow six different types of palaeosols, with distinctive characteristics and different palaeogeographical distribution, to be distinguished throughout the South‐eastern Iberian Basin. These characteristics are, in turn, related to topographic, climatic and tectonic controls. The vertical distribution of the palaeosols is used to differentiate the formation in three parts from bottom to top showing both drastic and gradual vertical upwards palaeoenvironmental changes in the sections. Reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental conditions based on palaeosols provides evidence for understanding the events that occurred during the Late Permian, some few millions of years before the well‐known Permian‐Triassic global crisis.     

Late Pleistocene glacial and lake history of northwestern Russia

Five regionally significant Weichselian glacial events, each separated by terrestrial and marine interstadial conditions, are described from northwestern Russia. The first glacial event took place in the Early Weichselian. An ice sheet centred in the Kara Sea area dammed up a large lake in the Pechora lowland. Water was discharged across a threshold on the Timan Ridge and via an ice-free corridor between the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and the Kara Sea Ice Sheet to the west and north into the Barents Sea. The next glaciation occurred around 75-70 kyr BP after an interstadial episode that lasted c. 15 kyr. A local ice cap developed over the Timan Ridge at the transition to the Middle Weichselian. Shortly after deglaciation of the Timan ice cap, an ice sheet centred in the Barents Sea reached the area. The configuration of this ice sheet suggests that it was confluent with the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Consequently, around 70-65 kyr BP a huge ice-dammed lake formed in the White Sea basin (the 'White Sea Lake'), only now the outlet across the Timan Ridge discharged water eastward into the Pechora area. The Barents Sea Ice Sheet likely suffered marine down-draw that led to its rapid collapse. The White Sea Lake drained into the Barents Sea, and marine inundation and interstadial conditions followed between 65 and 55 kyr BP. The glaciation that followed was centred in the Kara Sea area around 55-45 kyr BP. Northward directed fluvial runoff in the Arkhangelsk region indicates that the Kara Sea Ice Sheet was independent of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and that the Barents Sea remained ice free. This glaciation was succeeded by a c. 20-kyr-long ice-free and periglacial period before the Scandinavian Ice Sheet invaded from the west, and joined with the Barents Sea Ice Sheet in the northernmost areas of northwestern Russia. The study area seems to be the only region that was invaded by all three ice sheets during the Weichselian. A general increase in ice-sheet size and the westwards migrating ice-sheet dominance with time was reversed in Middle Weichselian time to an easterly dominated ice-sheet configuration. This sequence of events resulted in a complex lake history with spillways being re-used and ice-dammed lakes appearing at different places along the ice margins at different times.     

The influence of the organic aerosol component on CCN supersaturation spectra for different aerosol types

Abstract This paper describes the effect of the presence of water-soluble organic compounds (WSOC) in aerosol particles on the aerosol critical supersaturation as defined by the Köhler theory and on cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration. Taking into account both the soluble mass increase and the surface tension depression due to WSOC, we calculated a substantial decrease of the aerosol critical supersaturation, which results in a large increase in CCN number concentration. CCN supersaturation spectra were computed for three different aerosol types: marine, rural and urban. The increase of CCN number concentration in the presence of WSOC (with respect to the case when only the inorganic aerosol compounds are considered) varies with aerosol type, with an increase up to 13% in the marine case, up to 97% in the rural case, and up to 110% in the urban case, for the supersaturation range typical of atmospheric conditions.     

The multi-component Hekla Ö Tephra,Iceland: a complex widespread mid-Holocene tephra layer

Large Plinian eruptions from Hekla volcano, Iceland, produce compositionally zoned tephra used as key markers in tephrochronology. However, spatial variations in chemical composition of a tephra layer may complicate its identification. An example is the 5950–6180 cal a bp Hekla Ö tephra layer, which shows compositional spread from rhyolite, dacite and andesite to basalt. In soil sections north of Hekla, the SiO₂ content of the tephra glass reaches 76 wt% in the lowest unit of the Hekla Ö deposit and decreases to 62–63 wt% in the uppermost unit. Intermingled within the whole deposit are basalt tephra grains having 46–47 wt% SiO₂. The composition of the basalt glass includes primitive basalt and a more evolved basalt (MgO >6 and <6 wt%, respectively). Together with literature data, the Hekla Ö tephra and the so-called T-Tephra/Hekla-T are most likely from contemporaneous eruptions of different vents on the Hekla volcanic system, forming a single important marker tephra (Hekla ÖT) deposited over 80% of Iceland. Identification is complicated by its spatial compositional heterogeneity, such as systematic decrease in SiO₂ content from the east to the west of Hekla volcano. Consequently, an individual tephra layer from a large explosive eruption can have different composition at different locations. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rain on snow induced urban floods in cold maritime climate: Risk,indicators and trends

Urban floods pose a societal and economical risk. This study evaluated the risk and hydro-meteorological conditions that cause pluvial flooding in coastal cities in a cold climate. Twenty years of insurance claims data and up to 97 years of meteorological data were analysed for Reykjavík, Iceland (64.15°N; <100 m above sea level). One third of the city's wastewater collection system is combined, and pipe grades vary from 0.5% to 10%. Results highlight semi-intensive rain (<7 mm/h; ≤3 year return period) in conjunction with snow and frozen ground as the main cause for urban flood risk in a climate which undergoes frequent snow and frost cycles (avg. 13 and 19 per season, respectively). Floods in winter were more common, more severe and affected a greater number of neighbourhoods than during summer. High runoff volumes together with debris remobilized with high winds challenged the capacity of wastewater systems regardless of their age or type (combined vs. separate). The two key determinants for the number of insurance claims were antecedent frost depth and total precipitation volume per event. Two pluvial regimes were particularly problematic: long duration (13–25 h), late peaking rain on snow (RoS), where snowmelt enhanced the runoff intensity, elongated and connected independent rainfall into a singular, more voluminous (20–76 mm) event; shorter duration (7–9 h), more intensive precipitation that evolved from snow to rain. Closely timed RoS and cooling were believed to trigger frost formation. A positive trend was detected in the average seasonal snow depth and volume of rain and snowmelt during RoS events. More emphasis, therefore, needs to be placed on designing and operating urban drainage infrastructure with regard to RoS co-acting with frozen ground. Furthermore, more detailed, routine monitoring of snow and soil conditions is important to predict RoS flood events.     

MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF KARST DEPRESSIONS ON A MEDITERRANEAN KARST MASSIF

Dolines are the most typical landform in karst landscapes. They play an important role in karst hydrogeology; they are effective sediment traps that provide information about past climates and karst evolution, and can also be indicators of tectonic activity. The morphometic analysis of those depressions can help in their study and interpretation. However, detailed identification and delineation of dolines becomes increasingly difficult when the study area is very large, of limited access or covered by vegetation. Here, we have used a method developed by the authors for automatic identification and delineation of karst depressions based on the use of a pit removal algorithm. Next a complete morphometric analysis of the karst depressions has been carried out. The main advantage of the methodology is that by delineating and identifying the depth of each doline from its rim, many morphometric statistics can be obtained, including the relation of doline depth and area with respect to altitude, the main doline orientations, doline density, the fractal dimension of doline area and frequency, and point field analysis, among others. The results are interpreted from a geomorphological point of view and the mapped dolines can be easily integrated into geomorphological mapping. A case study is presented from the large Sierra Gorda karst massif in southern Spain, where 3100 depressions have been identified. A strong structural control of doline shape and orientation is demonstrated; the main areas of doline density are highlighted and doline size is shown to follow a fractal law.     

Geology and Mineral Chemistry of Uranium- and Thorium-bearing Minerals in Rare-Metal (NYF) Pegmatites of Um Solimate,South Eastern Desert,Egypt

The garnet muscovite granitic pegmatite of Um Solimate, in southern Egypt, represents a promising asset for strategic and economic metals, especially Bi–Ni–Ag–Nb–Ta as well as U and Th. The ore bodies occur as large masses, pockets and/or veins of very coarse-grained pegmatites, which consist mainly of K-feldspar, quartz and albite with subordinate muscovite, garnet, and biotite. Radiometric data revealed that eU- and eTh-contents of the pegmatites reach up to 39 ppm and 82 ppm, respectively. The studied pegmatites are enriched in primary U and Th minerals (uraninite, coffinite, thorianite and uranothorite) as well as Hf-rich zircon and monazite, which give rise to anomalous radioactive zones. Niobium-tantalium-bearing minerals (i.e. ferrocolumbite, microlite and uranopyrochlore), xenotime, barite, galena, fluorite, and apatite are ubiquitous, and, consequently, the studied pegmatites belong tothe Niobium–Yttrium–Fluorine-type (NYF) family. The noble metal mineralization includes argentite (Ag2S), native Ni and Bi as well as bismite and bismoclite. In addition, beryl and tourmaline are observed in pegmatites near the contact with metasediments and ultramafic bodies. The observed compositional variations of Ta/(Ta+Nb) and Mn/(Mn+Fe) ratios in columbite (0.08–0.45 and 0.11–0.57, respectively) and Hf contents in zircon (3.54–6.46 wt%) may reflectan extreme degree of magmatic fractionation leading to formation of the pegmatite orebody.     

Micromorphological characteristics of glacimarine sediments: implications for distinguishing genetic processes of massive diamicts

Glacimarine diamicts are produced by diverse processes, and genetic differentiation is often problematic using macro-sedimentological criteria alone. Micromorphology offers a potentially helpful tool in such investigations. Macroscopically massive diamict samples of known glacimarine origin, from the Polar North Atlantic, Antarctica and north Irish Sea, were prepared for micromorphological analysis to (1) identify microstructures unique to different modes of sedimentation and (2) interpret genetic processes from those structures. The samples comprised examples of debris-flow, iceberg-turbate and suspension settling deposits from late Quaternary glacier-influenced marine environments: tidewater glacier, sub- or pro-ice shelf and continental slopes in front of ice stream termini. Results show two significant features of debris-flow sediments: a bimodal grain fabric of near-horizontal and -vertical grains, and laminated clay and silt coatings on sand and pebble grains. Coatings are best developed in sediments with finer grain-size distributions and in debris-flow sediments which have had relatively long run-out distances on trough-mouth fans, suggesting continuous rotation of grains in a buoyant, turbulent aqueous environment. This is significant because it precludes debris-flow delivery by plug flow. The micromorphology of iceberg turbate has not been described previously. It contains structures similar to those described in tills, so that unambiguous identification of these sediments seems unlikely based on micromorphological criteria alone. Suspension sediments range from fine-grained massive diamicts containing microfossils to more heterogeneous coarser sediments characterised by abrupt textural variations, from ice-distal and ice-proximal glacimarine environments respectively. The ice-proximal sediments contain fine vertical lineations marking the trajectories of dropstones through wet matrix. These dropstone tracks have not been reported in previous studies.     

乌鲁木齐大气混合层厚度和稳定度与大气污染的关系

利用乌鲁木齐市4座10层100 m梯度气象塔2013年6月~2014年4月气象观测资料和7个环境监测站[WTBX]AQI[WTBZ]资料,计算并分析了大气混合层厚度和稳定度特征,探讨了大气混合层厚度和稳定度与污染的关系。结果表明：乌鲁木齐市混合层厚度夏季郊区高、城区低,冬季从南郊—城区—北郊随地势降低依次降低;夏季和冬季分别在1 559～1 772 m和526～1 156 m之间。地面至2 km以上每500 m高度间隔统计混合层厚度,500～1 000 m出现频率最多;月变化为6～9月基本在500 m以上,且每个高度区间其概率均超过10%,10月～次年2月1 500 m以上区间概率明显减小;日变化为中午13:00～16:00达到最高值,下午和傍晚迅速下降。白天较大的感热输送提供充足的热力条件,这也体现出白天以不稳定层结为主,夜间则以稳定层结为主。大气稳定度分类结果,夏季郊区和城区不稳定（A～C类）所占比例差不多,冬季北郊稳定（E、F类）所占比较最大、城区最弱。[WTBX]AQI指数冬季最大,从南郊—城区—北郊依次增大,这与采暖期污染物多、南郊比北郊地势高有利于扩散输送有关。总体来看,乌鲁木齐大气混合层厚度空间分布与气象要素、大气稳定度、地形等密切相关,对AQI[WTBZ]指数分布有重要影响,这对近地层大气污染状况预报有着重要的指导意义。