A methane fuse for the Cambrian explosion: carbon cycles and true polar wander   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Joseph L. Kirschvink  Timothy D. Raub 《Comptes Rendus Geoscience》2003,335(1):65-78

The dramatic diversification of animal groups known as the Cambrian Explosion (evolution's ‘Big Bang’) remains an unsolved puzzle in Earth Science. The Vendian–Cambrian interval is characterized by anomalously high rates of apparent plate motion, interpreted as True Polar Wander (TPW), and by more than a dozen large, high-frequency perturbations in carbon isotopes that dwarf all others observed through the past 65 million years. We suggest that these biological, tectonic, and geochemical events are intimately related in the following fashion. First, tropical continental margins and shelf-slopes which formed during fragmentation of the supercontinent Rodinia accumulated massive quantities of isotopically-light organic carbon during Late Neoproterozoic time, as indicated by strikingly heavy isotope ratios in inorganic carbon during interglacial intervals. Second, an initial phase of Vendian TPW moved these organic-rich deposits to high latitude, where conditions favored trapping biogenic methane in layers of gas hydrate and perhaps permafrost. Continued sedimentation during Late Vendian time added additional hydrate/gas storage volume and stabilized underlying units until the geothermal gradient moved them out of the clathrate stability field, building up deep reservoirs of highly pressurized methane. Finally, a burst of TPW brought these deposits back to the Tropics, where they gradually warmed and were subjected to regional-scale thermohaline eddy variation and related sedimentation regime changes. Responding to the stochastic character of such changes, each reservoir reached a critical failure point independently at times throughout the Cambrian. By analogy with the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum event, these methane deposits yield transient, greenhouse-induced pulses of global warming when they erupt. Temperature correlates powerfully with biodiversity; the biochemical kinetics of metabolism at higher temperature decrease generation time and maintain relatively rich and dense invertebrate populations. Repeated thermal pulses along with progressive disruption and alteration of global ocean circulation patterns by TPW could cause the increase in diversity that accompanied the radiation of metazoans. We suggest that a methane ‘fuse’ ignited the Cambrian Evolutionary Explosion.  相似文献   

Carbon cycling in a shallow turbid estuary of southeast Texas: The use of plant pigment biomarkers and water quality parameters     

Thomas S. Bianchi  M. Baskaran  Joseph DeLord  M. Ravichandran 《Estuaries and Coasts》1997,20(2):404-415

Particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and plant pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids) were measured approximately bimonthly from March 1992 to October 1993 in the Sabine-Neches estuary (Sabine Lake region), located on the Texas-Louisiana border. High freshwater inflow into this shallow turbid estuary results in the shortest hydraulic residence time (ca. 7 d) of all Texas estuaries (Baskaran et al. in press). Annual averages of chlorophyll-a (3.0 μg l^?1) and particulate organic carbon (1.1 mg l^?1) in the water column were extremely low in comparison to other shallow estuaries. The highest chlorophyll-a concentrations were observed in October 1993, in the mid and lower regions of the estuary, during the lowest river discharge. Zeaxanthin and fucoxanthin concentrations suggested that much of the chlorophyll-a during this low flow period was represented by cyanobacteria and diatoms that entered from the Gulf of Mexico. The range of DOC concentrations was generally high (4.4–20.9 mg l^?1) and were significantly correlated with POC, but not with chlorophyll-a concentrations. When total suspended particulate (TSP) concentrations were below 20 to 30 mg l^?1, there were significant increases in %POC and %PON of the TSP. The unusually high POC: chlorophyll-a ratios (highest value of 1423) suggested that much of the POC contained low concentrations of chlorophyll-a that had degraded during transport from wetlands in the Sabine and Neches rivers. Based on these data, this estuary can be characterized as a predominantly heterotrophic system, with low light penetrance, short particle-residence times, high DOC, and low inputs from autochthonous carbon sources.  相似文献   

Exhumation during crustal folding in the Namche-Barwa syntaxis   总被引：6，自引：0，他引：6  

Jean-Pierre Burg  Philippe Davy  Peter Nievergelt  Felix Oberli  Diane Seward  Zhizhong Diao  Martin Meier 《地学学报》1997,9(2):53-56

Geological observation in the eastern end of the Himalaya shows that the Asia/India Suture is folded. Metamorphic rocks derived from India occur structurally below the suture, in the core of a regional antiform. Isotopic and fission track dating establish cooling-exhumation of rocks from c.30 km depth within the last 4 Myr. We argue that exhumation is caused by ～ 10 mm yr^-1 erosion coeval with crustal scale folding.  相似文献   

The glacilacustrine sedimentary environment of Bowser Lake in the northern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada     

Robert Gilbert  Joseph R. Desloges  John J. Clague 《Journal of Paleolimnology》1997,17(3):331-346

Bowser Lake, a fiord lake in the northern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, contains a thick Holocene fill consisting mainly of silt and clay varves. These sediments were carried into the lake by proglacial Bowser River which drains a high-energy, heavily glacierized basin. Sedimentation in the lake is controlled by seasonal snow and ice melt, by autumn rainstorms, and by rare, but very large jökulhlaups from glacier-dammed lakes in the upper Bowser River basin which complicate environmental inferences from the sedimentary record. Sediment is dispersed through the deep western part of the lake by energetic turbidity currents. The turbidity currents apparently do not overtop a sill that separates the western basin from much shallower areas to the east. Large amounts of silt and clay are deposited from suspension in the eastern part of the lake, but sediment accumulation rates there are much lower than to the west. Several strong acoustic reflectors punctuate the varved fill in the western basin; these may be thick or relatively coarse beds deposited during jökulhlaups or exceptionally large storms. The contemporary sediment yield to Bowser Lake, estimated from sediments in the lake, is about 360 t km^-2a^-1. This is a relatively high value, but it is less than yields insome other, similar montane basins with extensive snow and ice cover.The most likely explanation for the difference is that large amounts of sediment have been, and continue to be, stored on the Bowser delta andin small proglacial lakes.  相似文献   

Modelling of soil temperature profiles using data from the pilot experiment at Anand     

B Joseph  P Goswami 《Journal of Earth System Science》1996,105(2):191-195

We present some preliminary results from a multi-layer soil temperature finite-difference model using the data set obtained during the pilot experiment on land surface processes at Anand. We hope that the present results will prove useful during the final field experiments scheduled for the coming monsoon season.  相似文献   

Curvature analysis of triangulated surfaces in structural geology   总被引：6，自引：0，他引：6  

Philippe Samson  Jean-Laurent Mallet 《Mathematical Geology》1997,29(3):391-412

This paper addresses the problem of characterizing the shape of a geological surface on the basis of its principal curvatures. The surface is assumed to be modeled as a set of adjacent triangles defined by the location of their vertices and a method is proposed for estimating numerically the principal curvatures at the vertices of the triangles using a local C² interpolant. Also shown is how principal curvatures can be useful for studying the deformation of a geological surface (with application to 3D balanced unfolding), and analyzing the folding or faulting of the interface between two adjacent layers.  相似文献   

Harmonic Analysis of Sedimentary Cyclic Sequences in Kansas, Midcontinent, USA     

Daniel F. Merriam  Joseph E. Robinson 《Mathematical Geology》1997,29(8):953-962

Several stratigraphic sequences in the Upper Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) in Kansas (Midcontinent, USA) were analyzed quantitatively for periodic repetitions. The sequences were coded by lithologic type into strings of datasets. The strings then were analyzed by an adaptation of a one-dimensional Fourier transform analysis and examined for evidence of periodicity. The method was tested using different states in coding to determine the robustness of the method and data. The most persistent response is in multiples of 8–10 ft (2.5–3.0 m) and probably is dependent on the depositional thickness of the original lithologic units. Other cyclicities occurred in multiples of the basic frequency of 8–10 with persistent ones at 22 and 30 feet (6.5–9.0 m) and large ones at 80 and 160 feet (25–50 m). These levels of thickness relate well to the basic cyclothem and megacyclothem as measured on outcrop. We propose that this approach is a suitable one for analyzing cyclic events in the stratigraphic record.  相似文献   

Comparative study of activation energies of conductance and desiccation rates of some marine algae     

David G. Rands  Joseph S. Davis 《Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries》1997,59(3):275-281

Measurements of the activation energy of electrical conductance and desiccation rates on subtidal marine algae from Florida were compared to similar data from the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, on intertidal marine algae frequently subjected to long periods of exposure to air. We have developed a method for calculating the reaction rate constant of desiccation of fully hydrated marine algae. Values of activation energies and desiccation rate constants are consistent with the requirements for survival of these algae under widely different environmental conditions.  相似文献   

Aerosol polarized phase function and single-scattering albedo retrieved from ground-based measurements     

Zhengqiang Li  Philippe Goloub  Claude Devaux  Xingfa Gu  Yanli Qiao  Fengsheng Zhao  Hongbin Chen 《Atmospheric Research》2004,71(4):233-241

Aerosol optical parameters, polarized phase function and single-scattering albdeo, have been retrieved from ground-based sun photometer measurements in Beijing 2003. The measured aerosol optical thickness varies from 0.12 to 0.77 with an average value of 0.39. The measured Ångström coefficient ranges from 0.75 to 1.47 with an average value of 1.21. The retrieved single-scattering albedo at 870 nm is within the 0.76–0.94 range and the average value is 0.85, suggests there are considerable aerosol absorptions in Beijing. The maximum value of retrieved polarized phase function at 870 nm ranges from 0.068 to 0.225 with an average value of 0.16, and it illustrates good correlations with the Ångström coefficient, i.e. the relative size of aerosol particles. Analyses of measurements and theoretical calculations show the polarized phase function is sensitive to aerosol size distribution and complex refractive index, especially the imaginary part of the refractive index which denotes aerosol light absorbing effects. These results suggest that the polarized phase function is an effective and unique aerosol optical parameter and is able to improve the retrieval of aerosol physical properties.  相似文献   

Hydrological connectivity of soil pipes determined by ground‐penetrating radar tracer detection     

Joseph Holden 《地球表面变化过程与地形》2004,29(4):437-442

Soil pipes are common and important features of many catchments, particularly in semi‐arid and humid areas, and can contribute a large proportion of runoff to river systems. They may also signi?cantly in?uence catchment sediment and solute yield. However, there are often problems in ?nding and de?ning soil pipe networks which are located deep below the surface. Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) has been used for non‐destructive identi?cation and mapping of soil pipes in blanket peat catchments. While GPR can identify subsurface cavities, it cannot alone determine hydrological connectivity between one cavity and another. This paper presents results from an experiment to test the ability of GPR to establish hydrological connectivity between pipes through use of a tracer solution. Sodium chloride was injected into pipe cavities previously detected by the radar. The GPR was placed downslope of the injection points and positioned on the ground directly above detected soil pipes. The resultant radargrams showed signi?cant changes in re?ectance from some cavities and no change from others. Pipe waters were sampled in order to check the radar results. Changes in electrical conductivity of the pipe water could be detected by the GPR, without data post‐processing, when background levels were increased by more than approximately twofold. It was thus possible to rapidly determine hydrological connectivity of soil pipes within dense pipe networks across hillslopes without ground disturbance. It was also possible to remotely measure travel times through pipe systems; the passing of the salt wave below the GPR produced an easily detectable signal on the radargram which required no post‐processing. The technique should allow remote sensing of water sources and sinks for soil pipes below the surface. The improved understanding of ?owpath connectivity will be important for understanding water delivery, solutional and particulate denudation, and hydrological and geomorphological model development. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献