In many arid ecosystems, vegetation frequently occurs in high-cover patches interspersed in a matrix of low plant cover. However, theoretical explanations for shrub patch pattern dynamics along climate gradients remain unclear on a large scale. This context aimed to assess the variance of the Reaumuria soongorica patch structure along the precipitation gradient and the factors that affect patch structure formation in the middle and lower Heihe River Basin (HRB). Field investigations on vegetation patterns and heterogeneity in soil properties were conducted during 2014 and 2015. The results showed that patch height, size and plant-to-patch distance were smaller in high precipitation habitats than in low precipitation sites. Climate, soil and vegetation explained 82.5% of the variance in patch structure. Spatially, R. soongorica shifted from a clumped to a random pattern on the landscape towards the MAP gradient, and heterogeneity in the surface soil properties (the ratio of biological soil crust (BSC) to bare gravels (BG)) determined the R. soongorica population distribution pattern in the middle and lower HRB. A conceptual model, which integrated water availability and plant facilitation and competition effects, was revealed that R. soongorica changed from a flexible water use strategy in high precipitation regions to a consistent water use strategy in low precipitation areas. Our study provides a comprehensive quantification of the variance in shrub patch structure along a precipitation gradient and may improve our understanding of vegetation pattern dynamics in the Gobi Desert under future climate change.
On November 18, 2017, a MS6.9 earthquake struck Mainling County, Tibet, with a depth of 10km. The earthquake occurred at the eastern Himalaya syntaxis. The Namche Barwan moved northward relative to the Himalayan terrane and was subducted deeply beneath the Lhasa terrane, forming the eastern syntaxis after the collision of the Indian plate and Asian plates. Firstly, this paper uses the far and near field broadband seismic waveform for joint inversion (CAPJoint method)of the earthquake focal mechanism. Two groups of nodal planes are obtained after 1000 times Bootstrap test. The strike, dip and rake of the best solution are calculated to be 302°, 76° and 84° (the nodal plane Ⅰ)and 138°, 27° and 104° (the nodal plane Ⅱ), respectively. This event was captured by interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR)measurements from the Sentinel-1A radar satellite, which provide the opportunity to determine the fault plane, as well as the co-seismic slip distribution, and assess the seismic hazards. The overall trend of the deformation field revealed by InSAR is consistent with the GPS displacement field released by the Gan Wei-Jun's team. Geodesy (InSAR and GPS)observation of the earthquake deformation field shows the northeastern side of the epicenter uplifting and the southwestern side sinking. According to geodetic measurements and the thrust characteristics of fault deformation field, we speculate that the nodal plane Ⅰ is the true rupture plane. Secondly, based on the focal mechanism, we use InSAR data as the constraint to invert for the fine slip distribution on the fault plane. Our best model suggests that the seismogenic fault is a NW-SE striking thrust fault with a high angle. Combined with the slip distribution and aftershocks, we suggest that the earthquake is a high-angle thrust event, which is caused by the NE-dipping thrust beneath the Namche Barwa syntaxis subducted deeply beneath the Lhasa terrane. 相似文献
This study, conducted in the Catalan Coastal Ranges, north‐east Spain, describes the Upper Devonian Kellwasser event in a shallowing‐upward sequence of black shales, siltstones and quartz arenites. This sequence was deposited in a progradational and regressive coastal system where the sedimentary environment evolved from the inner shelf to a lagoonal pond located landward of the shoreline. Three anomalous succeeding steps have been identified by geochemical analysis. The first one, detected on the inner shelf, was characterized by oxygen depletion and high organic productivity. The second, detected in the nearshore, was caused by hydrothermal activity occurring under normal oxic conditions. The third and most intense step was identified in the muds of the lagoonal pond and has been linked to strong anoxic conditions, elevated clastic input derived from changes in the weathering regime at the source area and moderate hydrothermal activity. The Kellwasser event is thus defined in the study area as stepwise and multi‐causal. This is the first time that the Kellwasser event has been identified in a sedimentary environment behind the shoreline. It is also the first time that it has been reported in the Catalan Coastal Ranges. 相似文献
The Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, has typically been considered a tectonically stable region with little significant seismic activity. The region though, is one that is regularly affected by hurricanes. A detailed survey of ca 100 km of the eastern Yucatán and Cozumel coast identified the presence of ridges containing individual boulders measuring >1 m in length. The boulder ridges reach 5 m in height and their origin is associated with extreme wave event activity. Previously modelled tsunami waves from known seismically active zones in the region (Muertos Thrust Belt and South Caribbean Deformed Belt) are not of sufficient scale in the area of the Yucatán Peninsula to have produced the boulder ridges recorded in this study. The occurrence of hurricanes in this region is more common, but two of the most destructive (Hurricane Gilbert 1988 and Hurricane Wilma 2005) produced coastal waves too small to have created the ridges recorded here. In this paper, a new tsunami model with a source area located on the Motagua/Swan Island Fault System has been generated that indicates a tsunami event may have caused the extreme wave events that resulted in the deposition of the boulder ridges. 相似文献
The Xiadian Fault is a very important concealed active fault in the Beijing Plain. It is the seismogenic fault of the Sanhe-Pinggu MS8.0 earthquake in 1679. The ancient earthquake sequence in the long historical period is of great significance to understand accurately the activity characteristics of the fault and effectively reduce the earthquake disaster risk in Beijing. We have re-interpreted the Dahuzhuang trench, and identified three layers of buried paleosol, six collapsed wedges and one sand liquefaction event. Further, through the comparison with the landmark strata and paleo-earthquake events revealed by other trenches on the fault, an ancient earthquake sequence with a long historical period of the Xiadian Fault was established:since the 31ka, the Xiadian Fault has 11 occurrences of earthquake events (including the 1679 earthquake), and the average recurrence interval is about 2.8ka. The paleo-seismic sequence also shows that there is an ancient earthquake cluster period from 25ka to 15ka, and there are 5 strong earthquakes in the cluster period. The average recurrence interval is about 2.0ka, which reflects the phase difference of the Xiadian Fault activity. 相似文献