Situated in a climatically stressful environment, alpine grassland is sensitive to subtle climate changes in its productivity. We remedy the current deficiency in studying grassland productivity by taking the integrated effect of all relevant factors into consideration. The relative importance of temperature, rainfall and evaporation to the alpine grassland productivity in western China was determined through analysis of their relationship with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) between 1981 and 2000. Climate warming stimulated grassland productivity in the 1980s, but hampered it in the 1990s. Temperature is more important than rainfall to grassland productivity early in the growing season. However, their relative importance is reversed late in the growing season. Monthly summer month rainfall modified by maximum monthly temperature is a good predictor of alpine grassland productivity at 62.0 per cent. However, the best predictor is water deficiency, which is able to improve the estimation accuracy to 78.3 per cent. Hence, the impact of temperature on grassland productivity is better studied indirectly through evaporation. 相似文献
Preservation and effective management of highly dynamic coastal features located in areas under development pressures requires in-depth understanding of their evolution. Modern geospatial technologies such as lidar, real time kinematic GPS, and three-dimensional GIS provide tools for efficient acquisition of high resolution data, geospatial analysis, feature extraction, and quantification of change. These techniques were applied to the Jockey's Ridge, North Carolina, the largest active dune field on the east coast of the United States, with the goal to quantify its deflation and rapid horizontal migration. Digitized contours, photogrammetric, lidar and GPS point data were used to compute a multitemporal elevation model of the dune field capturing its evolution for the period of 1974– 2004. In addition, peak elevation data were available for 1915 and 1953. Analysis revealed possible rapid growth of the dune complex between 1915–1953, followed by a slower rate of deflation that continues today. The main dune peak grew from 20.1 m in 1915 to 41.8 m in 1953 and has since eroded to 21.9 m in 2004. Two of the smaller peaks within the dune complex have recently gained elevation, approaching the current height of the main dune. Steady annual rate of main peak elevation loss since 1953 suggests that increase in the number of visitors after the park was established in 1974 had little effect on the rate of dune deflation. Horizontal dune migration of 3–6 m/yr in southerly direction has carried the sand out of the park boundaries and threatened several houses. As a result, the south dune section was removed and the sand was placed at the northern end of the park to serve as a potential source. Sand fencing has been an effective management strategy for both slowing the dune migration and forcing growth in dune elevation. Understanding the causes of the current movements can point to potential solutions and suggest new perspectives on management of the dune as a tourist attraction and as a recreation site, while preserving its unique geomorphic character and dynamic behavior. 相似文献
Abstract. The Yinshan polymetallic deposit is a hydrothermal vein-type deposit closely related to Late Jurassic felsic-inter-mediate volcanic-subvolcanic activity in Jiangxi Province, South China. Illite is a major alteration mineral observed in the deposit. Our study shows that the Kübler index of the illite has a close relation to ore-forming fluids of different stages of hydrothermal alteration and mineralization. The early Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization dated at 130–136 Ma is characterized by relatively low water/rock ratios and diffusive fluid movement within phyllite, whereas the later Cu-Au-S mineralization at 122 -125 Ma was accompanied by higher water/rock ratios and localized fluid flow through fractures and channels. Illite formed in the early Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization stage contains swelling layers while the illite formed in the later Cu-Au-S mineralization stage has no swelling layers but was associated with intensive chloritization. The last stage of mineralization (at 104 Ma) was minor and did not produce significant amounts of illite. 相似文献
We develop a series of simple numerical models to explain the anomalous subsidence and deposition phenomena on the northern continental margin of the South China Sea, in particular in the Baiyun Sag. The results suggest that a short-period high rate deposition of around 17 Ma is related to a rapid subsidence event, which may be due to episodic emplacement of a dense intrusion. Necking and gravity models indicate that in the basement of the Baiyun Sag, there is a dense zone that is 100–200 kg/m3 more dense than the surrounding country rock. Considering its high magnetic intensity and regional igneous activity, the dense zone is thought to be related to a phase of basalt intrusion that may have taken place around 17 Ma. Thermal and subsidence models indicate that a hot denser intrusion can cause significant subsidence immediately after the intrusion. The subsidence rate then slows down with cooling, thus becoming consistent with the observed subsidence curves at around 17 Ma. The results also indicate that the lithospheric strength under the Baiyun Sag is negligible, and that the high-velocity layer in the lowermost crust may be not an original part of the pre-rift crust. Instead, it is thought to be underplated intrusion emplaced at around 30 Ma when the continental margin broke up. 相似文献
The ancient gravel stratum near Nanjing, China, is a major stratum of Cenozoic age along the middle–lower reaches of the Yangtze River. This paper first presents a typical geological profile and material composition of the ancient gravel stratum, and then discusses its geologic origin, soil–rock-forming processes, engineering mechanical properties, and their relations. These analyses are useful for city planning, geotechnical engineering, construction, and characterization of the geological environment in the Nanjing area. 相似文献
The delivery of volcanogenic sulphur into the upper atmosphere by explosive eruptions is known to cause significant temporary climate cooling. Therefore, phreatomagmatic and phreatoplinian eruptions occurring during the final rifting stages of active flood basalt provinces provide a potent mechanism for triggering climate change.
During the early Eocene, the northeast Atlantic margin was subjected to repeated ashfall for 0.5 m.y. This was the result of extensive phreatomagmatic activity along 3000 km of the opening northeast Atlantic rift. These widespread, predominantly basaltic ashes are now preserved in marine sediments of the Balder Formation and its equivalents, and occur over an area extending from the Faroe Islands to Denmark and southern England. These ash-bearing sediments also contain pollen and spore floras derived from low diversity forests that grew in cooler, drier climates than were experienced either before or after these highly explosive eruptions. In addition, coeval plant macrofossil evidence from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA, also shows a comparable pattern of vegetation change. The coincidence of the ashes and cooler climate pollen and spore floras in northwest Europe identifies volcanism as the primary cause of climate cooling. Estimates show that whilst relatively few phreatomagmatic eruptive centres along the 3000 km opening rift system could readily generate 0.5–1 °C cooling, on an annual basis, only persistent or repeated volcanic phases would have been able to achieve the long-term cooling effect observed in the floral record. We propose that the cumulative effect of repeated Balder Formation eruptions initiated a biodiversity crisis in the northeast Atlantic margin forests. Only the decline of this persistent volcanic activity, and the subsequent climatic warming at the start of the Eocene Thermal Maximum allowed the growth of subtropical forests to develop across the region. 相似文献
The internal architecture of the immense volumes of eruptive products in Continental Flood Basalt Provinces (CFBPs) provides vital clues, through the constraint of a chrono-stratigraphic framework, to the origins of major intraplate melting events. This work presents close examination of the internal facies architecture and structure, duration of volcanism, epeirogenetic uplift associated with CFBPs, and the potential environmental impacts of three intensely studied CFBPs (the Parana-Etendeka, Deccan Traps and North Atlantic Igneous Province). Such a combination of key volcanological, stratigraphic and chronologic observations can reveal how a CFBP is constructed spatially and temporally to provide crucial geological constraints regarding their development.
Using this approach, a typical model can be generated, on the basis of the three selected CFBPs, that describes three main phases of flood basalt volcanism. These phases are recognized in Phanerozoic CFBPs globally. At the inception of CFBP volcanism, relatively low-volume transitional-alkaline eruptions are forcibly erupted into exposed cratonic basement lithologies, sediments, and in some cases, water. Distribution of initial volcanism is strongly controlled by the arrangement of pre-existing topography, the presence of water bodies and local sedimentary systems, but is primarily controlled by existing lithospheric and crustal weaknesses and concurrent regional stress patterns. The main phase of volcanism is typically characterised by a culmination of repeated episodes of large volume tholeiitic flows that predominantly generate large tabular flows and flow fields from a number of spatially restricted eruption sites and fissures. These tabular flows build a thick lava flow stratigraphy in a relatively short period of time (c. 1–5 Ma). With the overall duration of flood volcanism lasting 5–10 Ma (the main phase accounting for less than half the overall eruptive time in each specific case). This main phase or ‘acme’ of volcanism accounts for much of the CFBP eruptive volume, indicating that eruption rates are extremely variable over the whole duration of the CFBP. During the waning phase of flood volcanism, the volume of eruptions rapidly decrease and more widely distributed localised centres of eruption begin to develop. These late-stage eruptions are commonly associated with increasing silica content and highly explosive eruptive products. Posteruptive modification is characterised by continued episodes of regional uplift, associated erosion, and often the persistence of a lower-volume mantle melting anomaly in the offshore parts of those CFBPs at volcanic rifted margins. 相似文献
A thick sequence of mafic-ultramafic rocks, occurs along a major shear zone (Phulad lineament), running across the length of Aravalli Mountain Range for about 300 kms. It has been suggested, that this sequence may represent a fragment of ophiolite or a rift related metavolcanic suite made up of basalts and fractionated ultramafics. The geological and tectonic significance of the complex is assessed using field relationships, petrography and geochemistry. Structurally, the lowest part of the complex comprises a discontinuous band of plastically deformed harzburgite (mantle component) followed by layered cumulus gabbroic rocks (crustal component). A complex of non-cumulus rocks comprising hornblende schists, gabbros, sheeted dykes and pillowed basalts structurally overlies layered gabbros. Huge bodies of diorite intrude volcanics.
Geochemical classification suggests that all non-cumulus mafic rocks are sub-alkaline basalts except one variety of dykes which shows mildly alkaline character. The sub-alkaline rocks are tholeiite to calc-alkaline with boninite affinity. Tectono-magmatic variation diagrams and MORB normalised patterns suggest a fore arc tectonic regime for the eruption of these rocks.
The mafic rocks of Phulad Ophiolite Suite are zoned across the strike in terms of their distribution from west to east. The hornblende schists and basalts are exposed at the westernmost margin followed by gabbros and dykes. The alkaline dyke occurs at the easternmost part. The rocks of Phulad suite are juxtaposed with shallow water sediments in the east followed by platformal sediments and then continental slope sediments in the further east indicating gradual thickening of the crust from west to east and an eastward subduction. The geochemical interpretation presented in this study, together with discussion of lithological association is used to decipher the tectonic evolution of the Mesoproterozoics of NW Indian shield. 相似文献
The Wilhelmine Alpe section near Immenstadt (Allgäu, south Germany), which represents one of the best continuously exposed outcrops within the northern Alpine foreland basin, has been analyzed for magnetostratigraphic and palynostratigraphic signals. The section comprises the marine-to-terrestrial transition from Lower Marine (UMM) to Lower Freshwater Molasse (USM) sediments. Based on the correlation of the local magnetic pattern with the geomagnetic polarity timescale (GPTS) and palynostratigraphic data, an age of about 31 Ma is suggested for the UMM–USM transition in the Wilhelmine Alpe section. A comparison with coeval magnetostratigraphic sections from central and eastern Switzerland indicates that the regression of the UMM sea along the southern margin of the Molasse basin occurred strongly heterochronously between 31.5 and 30 Ma. The heterochroneity is attributed to the deposition of fan-delta and alluvial fan sediments which document that the overall marine conditions during the UMM were accompanied by strong clastic input derived from the rising Alps. This clastic contribution had a much stronger influence on the depositional pattern than previously thought. 相似文献
Land degradation imposes a great threat to the world. It is not merely an environmental issue, but also a social and economic problem. Land desertification is among the main aspects of environment changes in the source region of the Yellow River. Previous studies focused on water resource utilization and soil erosion, but land degradation in the source region of the Yellow River even the whole Qinghai-Xizang Plateau received little attention. Based on the data obtained by field investigation and TM satellite images of 2000, this study provides the classification and evaluation information of the land degradation in the source region of the Yellow River. There are six types of land degradation in this region: water erosion in the northern mountains around the Gonghe Basin, sandy desertification in the Gonghe Basin and Upland Plain Area, aridization in the lower reaches, salinization in the Gonghe Basin, vegetation degradation in the intramontance basin and freezing and thawing erosion in the high mountains. The total degraded area is 34,429.6 km2, making up 37.5% of the land in the study area. Finally, land degradation in the source region of the Yellow River was evaluated according to changes in the physical structure and chemical component of soils, land productivity, secondary soil salt and water conditions. 相似文献
