A high‐resolution pollen and geochemical analysis of late Holocene human impact and vegetation history in southern Cumbria,England

The historic era, which in Cumbria begins with the Roman invasion of AD 71, is a frequently neglected period in palaeoecological research, but its study can bring benefits in improving knowledge of landscape history and in understanding the significance and limitations of palaeoecological records. Pollen and geochemical data are presented for late Holocene records from Deer Dyke and Hulleter Mosses in southern Cumbria. The records show initially low levels of anthropogenic impact, followed by a phase of forest clearance and mixed agriculture from the 7th to 11th centuries AD. The timing of these clearances suggests that they were initially Anglo‐Saxon in origin, rather than Norse. Further clearances in the 16th century AD are interpreted as a response to monastic dissolution and late Tudor population pressures; the landscapes reached their contemporary form following extensive clearances in the 17th century AD. Silicon and titanium concentrations at Deer Dyke Moss were used to reconstruct past levels of atmospheric dust loading, which is broadly related to soil erosion. Geochemical influx was found to peak during periods of landscape transition rather than from established land use. This relationship with pollen data is thought to reflect the predominantly low levels of anthropogenic impact in the region, which changes as substantial woodland clearances during the 16th century AD and continuous land use pressure since then have greatly increased the supply of airborne dust. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flood seasonality and generating conditions in the Tay catchment, Scotland from 1200 to present

The new maximum recorded river flows in Scotland since 1988 have triggered widespread interest in whether floods are becoming more frequent and in the conditions that generate floods of different magnitudes and frequencies. There are questions about the longer-term variability in flood-generating characteristics, and whether there are past analogues for present hydroclimatic variability. The present paper builds on previous work reconstructing a detailed historic flood chronology for the Tay, the largest catchment in Scotland, and its tributaries over the past 800 years, extending the gauged discharge record (1952 onwards). It categorizes flood-generating factors in the Tay catchment and analyses the hydro-meteorological conditions that have generated extreme and moderate floods over a historical period. This work is placed in a broader literature context of historical 'climaxes of storminess', periods of higher storm frequency, flood patterns observed in Scotland and Europe during the Little Ice Age and longer-term rainfall and temperature patterns. The paper concludes that the variability in flood-generating characteristics is highly dependent on the timescale of observation. Inevitably the relative dominance of winter and early spring flooding can vary from year to year and within specific time-periods, but so can the level of augmentation of the flood series with summer and autumn floods to produce notable 'flood years' and flood clusters. The Tay provides a good 'all-Scotland surrogate' for historical flood patterns, reflecting its gathering areas in eastern and western Scotland. The value of a historical approach to the assessment of flood seasonality and generating characteristics is clearly demonstrated.     

塔里木板块南缘早古生代沉积特征及构造背景探讨

塔里木板块南缘早古生代时期继承了震旦纪的古地理格局，处于浅海陆棚—半深海环境，沉积了一套海相碳酸盐岩和碎屑岩地层。根据区域地层划分、古生物化石和最新的同位素测年数据，确定了塔里林板块南缘地层时代为早古生代。通过沉积学和地球化学方法初步分析，确定了该地区为早古生代的大地构造背景—具有被动大陆边缘性质。因此，系统研究塔里木板块南缘早古生代沉积地层，对于重塑早生代以来该区板块构造格局及演化历史有重要地质意义。     

山东淄博地区晚古生代成煤环境演替

淄博地区本溪期—石千峰期沉积环境经历了障壁岛—泻湖—台地环境，三角洲环境，曲流河环境体系的演替。相应的泥炭形成环境有不稳定的局限泻湖泥炭坪，较开阔泻湖泥炭坪，中等稳定的开阔泻湖泥炭坪，三角洲平原分流河道两侧的泥炭沼泽，洪泛平原上的泥炭沼泽。成煤植物上，本溪期以Ｃｏｒｄａｉｔｅｓ，Ｌｅｐｉｄｏｄｅｎｄｒａｌｅｓ，Ｎｅｕｒｏｐｔｅｒｉｓ为主，太原期华夏植物群发展，Ｌｅｐｉｄｏｄｅｎｄｒｏｎ，Ｃｏｒｄａｉｔｅｓ继续发育，真蕨纲和种子蕨纲占越来越重要的地位。山西期以Ｏｄｏｎｔｏｐｔｅｒｉｓｓｐ．，Ａｎｎｕｌａｒｉａｏｒｉｅｎｔａｌｉｓ，Ｐｅｃｏｐｔｅｒｉｓｏｒｉｅｎｔａｌｉｓ，Ｐ．ｎｏｒｉｎｉ为主。自煤系形成至今，本区经历了海西印支期的普遍沉降埋藏、燕山期的普遍抬升局部断陷、喜山期的剥蚀、新构造运动期的差异沉降等阶段。古构造、古气候对本区成煤环境有重要的控制作用。     

秦岭造山带新生代构造隆升与区域环境效应研究

据沉积，构造、地貌并结合地球物理资料综合研究认为，秦岭造山带新生代构造隆升是在中生代白垩纪晚期构造隆升基础上，于晚第三纪中新世迅速隆升，而早更新世早期则是新构造活动最强烈时期。秦岭造山带的新生代构造隆升的方式主要有地垒式、掀斜式、振荡式和翘板式4种。诱发这一地区新构造抬升的主要原因和动力学机制是华北地块自北而南，扬子地块自南而北相向向秦岭造山带之下陆内俯冲和秦岭地块深部软流圈抬升共同作用所致。     

Climate change and future flows of Rocky Mountain rivers: converging forecasts from empirical trend projection and down‐scaled global circulation modelling

To predict future river flows, empirical trend projection (ETP) analyses and extends historic trends, while hydroclimatic modelling (HCM) incorporates regional downscaling from global circulation model (GCM) outputs. We applied both approaches to the extensively allocated Oldman River Basin that drains the North American Rocky Mountains and provides an international focus for water sharing. For ETP, we analysed monthly discharges from 1912 to 2008 with non‐parametric regression, and extrapolated changes to 2055. For modelling, we refined the physical models MTCLIM and SNOPAC to provide water inputs into RIVRQ (river discharge), a model that assesses the streamflow regime as involving dynamic peaks superimposed on stable baseflow. After parameterization with 1960–1989 data, we assessed climate forecasts from six GCMs: CGCM1‐A, HadCM3, NCAR‐CCM3, ECHAM4 and 5 and GCM2. Modelling reasonably reconstructed monthly hydrographs (R² about 0·7), and averaging over three decades closely reconstructed the monthly pattern (R² = 0·94). When applied to the GCM forecasts, the model predicted that summer flows would decline considerably, while winter and early spring flows would increase, producing a slight decline in the annual discharge (?3%, 2005–2055). The ETP predicted similarly decreased summer flows but slight change in winter flows and greater annual flow reduction (?9%). The partial convergence of the seasonal flow projections increases confidence in a composite analysis and we thus predict further declines in summer (about ? 15%) and annual flows (about ? 5%). This composite projection indicates a more modest change than had been anticipated based on earlier GCM analyses or trend projections that considered only three or four decades. For other river basins, we recommend the utilization of ETP based on the longest available streamflow records, and HCM with multiple GCMs. The degree of correspondence from these two independent approaches would provide a basis for assessing the confidence in projections for future river flows and surface water supplies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

全球地面降水月值历史数据集研制

全球降水历史数据是开展气候、水循环等研究的基础。收集整理全球12个数据源降水历史月值资料,通过站号、站名甄别不同数据源中相同台站,对344个通过相关系数、一致率、均值t检验、方差F检验的台站多源资料进行拼接,尽可能多地融合各套数据产品优势,最终形成全球降水历史月值数据集(CMA Global PrecipitationV1.0, CGP)。数据集重点解决当前国际数据产品在东亚地区站点稀少、同时应用多套数据应用门槛较高等问题。数据集收录3.1万个台站共计1.87×107组月降水记录, 4152个台站序列长度达百年。与美国大气海洋局(NOAA)的全球降水数据集(GHCN-M V2.0)对比,CGP新增1万个站点、0.5×107组有效观测记录和1030条百年序列,其中141条百年序列通过多源整合技术获取。CGP的站点和数据量优势主要体现在东亚、东欧、西伯利亚等站点稀疏地区。基于CGP分析的全球降水时空特征与国际同类产品的结果较一致。新增的数据虽然没有改变全球降水分布的总体特征,但对区域性的百年降水变化检测有一定影响。基于CGP的全球降水百年序列结果显示,20世纪前半叶全球降水量偏小,近20年是1900年以来全球降水量最大的时期,各纬度带、各个国家或地区的降水长期变化趋势呈现显著的差异。      

西天山巴音布鲁克地区早古生代成矿地质环境:岩浆岩及其时代和元素同位素约束

西天山位于中亚造山带(CAOB)西南部,是其重要组成部分。CAOB晚古生代金属成矿环境和过程尤为典型,但早古生代成矿地质环境还不甚清楚。新疆巴音布鲁克地区出露(原定时代晚志留世)巴音布鲁克组火山岩夹浅海相碎屑岩和灰岩,是认识西天山早古生代成矿地质环境的难得对象。巴音布鲁克组出露于Nikolaev-那拉提山北缘断裂与Atbash-Inylchek-那拉提山南缘断裂之间的中天山,在巴音布鲁克地区典型发育,火山岩包括玄武岩、玄武安山岩、英安岩、流纹岩及相应的火山碎屑岩,其中侵入岩有正长斑岩和花岗闪长岩。LA-ICP-MS测得玄武安山岩、英安岩、正长斑岩、花岗闪长岩、流纹岩锆石U-Pb年龄分别为455.6±8.1Ma、444.5±1.9Ma、441.4±1.6Ma、455.4±5.3Ma、424±1.9Ma,岩浆活动于晚奥陶-早志留世,喷出和侵入时代接近,原定巴音布鲁克组地层时代晚志留世应改为晚奥陶-早志留世。这些岩浆岩具有相似的稀土元素地球化学特征,微量元素相比原始地幔均亏损Nb、Ta、P、Ti。玄武岩正的ε(t)=+1.6~+6.7,低的(~(87)~Sr/~(86)NdSr)i=0.70377~0.70489,指示岩浆源区具有亏损地幔特征,弱的Zr-Hf负异常,低的Th/Nb比值,较窄的同位素变化范围暗示地壳混染并不显著,微量元素及铅同位素特征(~(206)Pb/~(204)Pb=18.26~18.77,~(207)Pb/~(204)Pb=15.63~15.69,~(208)Pb/~(204)Pb=38.21~38.34)表明岩浆源区可能是俯冲流体及洋底沉积物交代的地幔楔橄榄岩部分熔融成因。西天山巴音布鲁克地区早古生代岩浆岩应是南天山洋晚奥陶-早志留世向北向中天山陆块之下俯冲在中天山-伊犁板块南缘活动大陆边缘的岩浆产物,指示了陆缘岩浆弧环境。这种陆缘弧环境有利于斑岩铜金成矿系统发育,值得高度关注相关铜金矿的地质找矿。     

On-the-fly server-based aerial imagery management system

Aerial images are valuable products when dealing with both geospatial and geotemporal analysis. Nowadays, they are widely used for many different purposes and by an extensive public, including private companies, official administrations and individual users. Although in the past few years there has been an increasing interest in showing all kinds of geographical information on the World Wide Web, access to aerial imagery and its dissemination are still difficult and lack flexibility. This paper introduces an aerial imagery management system based on client–server principles, operated so as to allow users quick and efficient queries, processing and management of huge sets of photogrammetric imagery stored on raster servers. It is a novel product that is ready to provide image-based cartographic data available in public and private digital warehouses, facilitating all the required visualisations and queries, as well as geometric and radiometric processing on the fly. This paper shows the design, system architecture and various functionalities of the system in a real-life scenario.     

Multi‐proxy study of Holocene environmental change and human activity in the Central Apennine Mountains,Italy

This paper describes a multi‐proxy palaeoecological investigation undertaken in conjunction with an archaeological survey of the Upper Sangro Valley in the Abruzzo National Park, Central Italy. Despite being a biodiversity hotspot and regarded as a near‐pristine area, the pollen, spore and diatom data all show major changes in the vegetation extending to over 2000 m a.s.l. during the mid to late Holocene. Although there are changes in ecological composition earlier in the Holocene they are different in type and magnitude from the changes which began about 800 cal a BC. The pollen and diatom evidence do not correlate well with regional palaeoclimate data, or on‐site isotopic evidence, but do appear to be related to Samnite (later Iron Age) clearance and upland grazing associated with transhumance and later annexation (and centuriation) of the lower slopes by Roman surveyors. The greatest change in vegetation was during the period c. AD 500–600 and corresponds with the Byzantine–Gothic Wars, and Lombard–Carolingian settlement reorganization into nucleated hilltop settlements which managed upland grazing. This pattern of intensive land use at all altitudes persisted until the early 20th century and only changed following rural depopulation after World War II. These data illustrate how cultural factors had a profound effect on this mountainous region which, in this case, far outweighed the effects of climatic fluctuations which are known to have occurred from both this study area and the region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.