The geology of Australian Mars analogue sites

Australia has numerous landforms and features, some unique, that provide a useful reference for interpreting the results of spacecraft orbiting Mars and exploring the martian surface. Examples of desert landforms, impact structures, relief inversion, long-term landscape evolution and hydrothermal systems that are relevant to Mars are outlined and the relevant literature reviewed. The Mars analogue value of Australia's acid lakes, hypersaline embayments and mound spring complexes is highlighted along with the Pilbara region, where the oldest convincing evidence of life guides exploration for early life on Mars. The distinctive characteristics of the Arkaroola Mars Analogue Region are also assessed and opportunities for future work in Australia are outlined.     

Land use/land cover change detection and prediction in the north-western coastal desert of Egypt using Markov-CA

Detecting land-use change has become of concern to environmentalists, conservationists and land use planners due to its impact on natural ecosystems. We studied land use/land cover (LULC) changes in part of the northwestern desert of Egypt and used the Markov-CA integrated approach to predict future changes. We mapped the LULC distribution of the desert landscape for 1988, 1999, and 2011. Landsat Thematic Mapper 5 data and ancillary data were classified using the random forests approach. The technique produced LULC maps with an overall accuracy of more than 90%. Analysis of LULC classes from the three dates revealed that the study area was subjected to three different stages of modification, each dominated by different land uses. The use of a spatially explicit land use change modeling approach, such as Markov-CA approach, provides ways for projecting different future scenarios. Markov-CA was used to predict land use change in 2011 and project changes in 2023 by extrapolating current trends. The technique was successful in predicting LULC distribution in 2011 and the results were comparable to the actual LULC for 2011. The projected LULC for 2023 revealed more urbanization of the landscape with potential expansion in the croplands westward and northward, an increase in quarries, and growth in residential centers. The outcomes can help management activities directed toward protection of wildlife in the area. The study can also be used as a guide to other studies aiming at projecting changes in arid areas experiencing similar land use changes.     

Ventifacts on Earth and Mars: Analytical, field, and laboratory studies supporting sand abrasion and windward feature development

Terrestrial ventifacts – rocks that have been abraded by windblown particles – are found in desert, periglacial, and coastal environments. On Mars, their abundance suggests that aeolian abrasion is one of the most significant erosional processes on the planet. There are several conflicting viewpoints concerning the efficacy of potential abrasive agents, principally sand and dust, and the relationships between wind direction and ventifact form. Our research, supported by a review of the literature, shows that sand, rather than dust or other materials, is the principle abrasive agent on Earth and Mars. Relative to dust, sand delivers about 1000× the energy onto rock surfaces on a per particle basis. Even multiple dust collisions will do little or no damage because the stress field from the impact is much smaller than the spacing of microflaws in the rock. The abrasion profiles of terrestrial ventifacts are consistent with a kinetic energy flux due to saltating sand, not airborne dust. Furthermore, Scanning Electron Microscope images reveal surfaces that are fractured and cleaved by sand grain impact. With respect to their distribution, ventifacts are found in regions that contain sand or did so in the past, but are not found where only dust activity occurs. Contrary to some published reports, our evidence from field studies, analytical models, and wind tunnel and other experiments indicates that windward, not leeward, abrasion is responsible for facet development and feature formation (pits, flutes, and grooves). Leeward abrasion is confined to fluvial conditions, in which the high viscosity and density of water are able to entrain sand-size material in vortices. Therefore, ventifacts and abraded terrain provide an unambiguous proxy for the direction of the highest velocity winds, and can be used to reconstruct palaeowind flow.     

Criteria for the identification of ventifacts in the geological record: A review and new insights

Ventifacts (wind-worn stones) are typical of terrestrial environments remained very long without any vegetation, under hot or cold climates. Therefore, within the sedimentary record, they can allow recognizing desert conditions, even where no aeolian dune deposits are preserved. There seems that, in the recent literature, pebbles and cobbles from various palaeoenvironments were mistaken for ventifacts. This may partly be explained by the scatter and relative scarcity of illustrations to which refer. The aim of this paper is to help recognizing ventifacts in the sedimentary record, based on a critical review of the diagnostic properties generally used, and on new studies permitting to suggest additional criteria. After an evaluation of the sedimentary contexts favourable to preserving ventifacts, the distinctive characters that could be seen on each one are treated in order of increasing alteration of the original appearance: surface features, medium-scale features (new types of pit especially), and general shape. Finally, the problem of distinguishing between ventifacts and aquafacts is approached.     

Salt weathering simulation using a single-immersion technique

Samples of concrete were subjected in an environmental cabinet to six different diurnal cycles of temperature and humidity change representative of desert surface conditions in the presence of a range of saturated salt solutions. The samples were not subjected to repeated immersion or continuous partial immersion as has been the case in most previous experiments. Breakdown did occur nonetheless. The two most effective cycles were one from Egypt (with a very high daytime maximum) and one from the Negev (with high nocturnal humidity conditions). Cycles with relatively modest temperature and humidity cycles were ineffective in causing debris liberation.     

局地经圈环流和沙漠

应用 Xie和 Arkin降水资料和 NECP／NCAR再分析资料，研究了撒哈拉和中国西北沙漠地区的干旱气候。结果表明，尽管该两区域都有在年降水量少于50mm的十分干旱的区域，但其年度特征却非常不同。在撒哈拉沙漠中心的南部地区和中国西北沙漠地区，超过70％的降水出现在6－8月；而在撒哈拉沙漠中心以北地区，降水主要集中在12－2月。这种十分干旱的气候不能用Channey提出的生物圈－辐射效应加以解释。由于6－7月的强下沉中心远在撒哈拉强干中心的北部，其形成也不能用Rodwell和Hoskins提出的季风－沙漠机制予以解释。利用局地经圈环流的概念对两地干旱气候的分析和比较发现，局地经圈环流的下沉在12－2月支配着局地的垂直环流，导致干旱气候形成。这时撒哈拉北部的弱的、相对的多雨的气候是因受中海气候型影响所改。而在6－7月局地该为上升运动，其中尤以中国西北地区为显著。因此撒哈拉南部及中国西北的沙漠地区降水多集中在6－8月。不过与此上升运动相伴的是低空来之中、高纬的强而干的北风，它携带的水汽甚少，不利深对流发展。正是这种局地经圈环流导致了该两处干旱气候的形成。     

吉兰泰盐湖地区沙漠环境变化的遥感研究

吉兰泰盐湖地区沙漠分布广泛。ＴＭ遥感影像显示该地区沙漠的分布主要受两条沙带的控制，一条沙带位于吉兰泰盐湖以西巴音乌拉山的西北部地区，该沙带向西与腾格里沙漠相连，移动速度很快；另一条沙带分布在吉兰泰盐湖的北部和东部，面积很大，沙体连成一片构成乌兰布和沙漠。吉兰泰盐厂于１９８８～１９９７年９年间，相继开展了“湖区补水、治沙一体化工程”等项目，对沙漠的治理工作已取得一定的效果。     

Sand dunes as a major proximal dust source for late Pleistocene loess in the Negev Desert, Israel

Grain size analyses of three hilltop, primary eolian loess sequences in the Negev desert, southern Israel, show a bimodal grain-size distribution at 50-60 μm and 3-8 μm. Using analyses of mineralogy and OSL ages we demonstrate that the coarse mode is composed mostly of quartz grains and its relative magnitude increases regionally with time, suggesting an enhancement of a time-transgressive proximal dust source compared to a distal, Saharan fine-grain dust. The only proximal dust source for large amount of coarse silt quartz grains is the sands that advanced into Sinai and the Negev concurrently with the loess accretion during the late Pleistocene as a result of the exposure of the Mediterranean shelf. We therefore propose that the coarse silt quartz grains were formed through eolian abrasion within the margins of an advancing sand sea. This relationship between desert sand seas as a source for proximal coarse dust and desert margin loess deposits can be applicable to other worldwide deserts such as Northern Africa, China and Australia.     

鄂尔多斯沙区天然水体水化学组成及其成因

天然水体水化学组成及其成因分析既有助于重塑和预测区域水文地质环境及水文地球化学发展历史,也是水资源评价的基础。本文基于鄂尔多斯沙区天然水体水化学数据和前人在该地区的研究成果,利用多种水化学分析方法,对该地区天然水体的水化学组成及其成因进行分析。结果表明：鄂尔多斯沙区毛乌素沙地和库布齐沙漠虽然具有不同的沙漠景观,但其相同类型的天然水体具有相似的水化学性质和成因,该现象的出现可能和两者具有相似的蒸发量有关。鄂尔多斯沙区受蒸发影响较小的深层地下水水化学类型以Ca²⁺-HCO₃^-型为主,其水化学组成主要受控于岩石风化;湖水蒸发较强烈,水化学类型为Na⁺-Cl^-型,其水化学组成主要受控于蒸发—结晶过程的影响;浅层地下水和河水的水化学类型及其成因均处于两者之间,具有过渡特征。离子比例关系显示,蒸发岩风化、碳酸盐岩风化和硅酸盐岩风化在不同程度上影响着深层地下水、浅层地下水和河水的水化学组成。鄂尔多斯沙区地下水和河水虽然能满足灌溉水要求,但由于蒸发强烈,长期使用可能会引起盐碱化。本研究结果可为区域水资源可持续开发利用提供科学依据。     

塔克拉玛干沙漠地面风场特征及周边地区沙丘排列关系分析

通过对1996~2000年17个气象站风资料的分析和计算, 结合高空环流形势分析, 对塔克拉玛干沙漠近地面风场特征进行了研究, 并对风场特征与周边地区沙丘排列方向之间的关系进行了分析。研究表明:①塔克拉玛干沙漠近地面风场特征是在高空西风带的背景下, 经过青藏高原、天山山脉的动力分支和抬升等作用下形成的。冬季, 尼雅河以东盛行偏东风, 以西盛行偏西风; 夏季, 克里雅河以西地区盛行偏西北风和西风, 以东盛行东北风。②从东到西, 东北风系影响逐渐减弱而西北风系影响逐渐加强; 南北方向变化较为复杂。③除若羌地区外, 塔克拉玛干沙漠输沙势都小于200 VU, 属于低能风环境, 且以单峰或锐双峰为主。在区域分布上, 沙漠东部及中部强度较大, 西部及南部较小。④沙丘排列方向主要由主、次输沙方向的夹角及二者的输沙比率决定, 其走向与最大输沙总量垂直。