Exposure dating and reinterpretation of coarse debris accumulations (‘rock glaciers’) in the Cairngorm Mountains,Scotland     

Colin K. Ballantyne  Christoph Schnabel  Sheng Xu 《第四纪科学杂志》2009,24(1):19-31

Relict rock glaciers have considerable potential for contributing to palaeoclimatic reconstruction, but this potential is often undermined by lack of dating control and problems of interpretation. Here we reinvestigate and date four proposed ‘rock glaciers’ in the Cairngorm Mountains and show that the morphology of only one of these appears consistent with that of a true rock glacier produced by creep of underlying ice or ice‐rich sediment. All four features comprise rockslide or rock avalanche runout debris, and the possibility that all four represent unmodified runout accumulations cannot be discounted. Surface exposure dating of the four debris accumulations using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be produced uncertainty‐weighted mean ages of 15.4 ± 0.8 ka, 16.2 ± 1.0 ka, 12.1 ± 0.6 ka and 12.7 ± 0.8 ka. All four ages imply emplacement under cold stadial conditions, two prior to the Windermere Interstade of ca. 14.5–12.9 cal. ka BP and two during the Loch Lomond Stade of ca. 12.9–11.5 cal. ka BP. The above ages indicate that paraglacial rock‐slope failure on granite rockwalls occurred within a few millennia after deglaciation. The mean exposure ages obtained for runout debris at two sites – Strath Nethy (16.2 ± 1.0 ka) and Lairig Ghru (15.4 ± 0.8 ka) – are consistent with basal radiocarbon ages from Loch Etteridge, 22 km to the southwest (mean = 15.6 ± 0.3 cal. ka BP) and imply widespread deglaciation of the Cairngorms and adjacent valleys before 15 ka and possibly 16 ka. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

<Superscript>226</Superscript>Ra, <Superscript>232</Superscript>Th and <Superscript>40</Superscript>K activities in soils of Cuihua Mountain National Geological Park,China     

Xinwei Lu  Xiaolan Zhang 《Environmental Geology》2008,56(2):353-357

Gamma activity from the naturally occurring radionuclides namely, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, the primordial radionuclide ⁴⁰K was measured in the soil of Cuihua Mountain National Geological Park, China using γ-ray spectrometry technique. The mean activity of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were found to be 27.2 ± 6.5, 43.9 ± 6.2 and 653.1 ± 127.6 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. The concentrations of these radionuclides were compared with the typical world values and the average activities of Chinese soil. The radium equivalent activity, the air absorbed dose rate, the annual effective dose rate, and the external hazard index were evaluated and compared with the internationally approved values. All the soil samples have Ra_eq lower than the limit of 370 Bq kg⁻¹ and H _ex less than unity. The overall mean outdoor terrestrial gamma dose rate is 66.3 nGy h⁻¹ and the corresponding outdoor annual effective dose is 0.081 mSv.  相似文献   

Spatial Variation in the Structure of Kelp Forest Communities Along a Wave Exposure Gradient     

Christopher  Harrold  James  Watanabe Susan  Lisin 《Marine Ecology》1988,9(2):131-156

Abstract. Four sites were sampled in kelp (Macrocysiis pyrifera) forests occupying rocky bottom habitats along a wave exposure gradient in central California. Consistent betwecn-site differences were found in the three major structural elements - the surface canopy, the undcrstory assemblage, and the ground cover/turf assemblage - of kelp forest communities. Macrocysiis pyrifera was found at all four sites. Nereucyslis tuelkeana only at the most exposed site. The understory kelps Laminaria setchellii and Pterygopltora californica were also characteristic of exposed sites. Articulated coralline algae were more abundant at exposed sites than protected, while fleshy red algae showed the opposite pattern. All four study sites were located along 8.5 km of coastline, and thus were assumed to have available to them the same species pool for colonization. The substrate composition was the same and the amount of unconsolidated substrate was similar at all four sites. We suggest that exposure to wave-generated water motion, through its influence on the surface canopy and therefore on the amount of light reaching the bottom, is responsible for these between-site differences.  相似文献   

Exposure ages from relict lateral moraines overridden by the Fennoscandian ice sheet     

Derek Fabel  David Fink  Jon Harbor  Arjen P. Stroeven 《Quaternary Research》2006,65(1):136-146

Lateral moraines constructed along west to east sloping outlet glaciers from mountain centred, pre-last glacial maximum (LGM) ice fields of limited extent remain largely preserved in the northern Swedish landscape despite overriding by continental ice sheets, most recently during the last glacial. From field evidence, including geomorphological relationships and a detailed weathering profile including a buried soil, we have identified seven such lateral moraines that were overridden by the expansion and growth of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al exposure ages of 19 boulders from the crests of these moraines, combined with the field evidence, are correlated to episodes of moraine stabilisation, Pleistocene surface weathering, and glacial overriding. The last deglaciation event dominates the exposure ages, with ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al data derived from 15 moraine boulders indicating regional deglaciation 9600 ± 200 yr ago. This is the most robust numerical age for the final deglaciation of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. The older apparent exposure ages of the remaining boulders (14,600-26,400 yr) can be explained by cosmogenic nuclide inheritance from previous exposure of the moraine crests during the last glacial cycle. Their potential exposure history, based on local glacial chronologies, indicates that the current moraine morphologies formed at the latest during marine oxygen isotope stage 5. Although numerous deglaciation ages were obtained, this study demonstrates that numerical ages need to be treated with caution and assessed in light of the geomorphological evidence indicating moraines are not necessarily formed by the event that dominates the cosmogenic nuclide data.  相似文献   

Association between multi-level inorganic arsenic exposure from drinking water and skin lesions in Inner Mongolia, China     

Xiaojuan GUO Yoshihisa Fujino Xiaolei YE Jun LIU Takesumi Yoshimura 《中国地球化学学报》2006,25(B08):73-73

Arsenic is one of the most important single-substance toxicants in the environment. In Inner Mongolia of China, 300000 residents are believed to drink water containing 〉50 μg/L. Skin lesions have been known as the most common consequences resulting from chronic exposure to arsenic. To clarify the prevalence of arsenic-induced skin lesions, it is important to assess the impact of this problem on the target population, and to make future planning. We evaluated the association between multi-level inorganic arsenic exposure from drinking water and skin lesions in an arsenic-affected area in Inner Mongolia, China. 109 and 32 subjects fi＇om high-level arsenic-affected （〉5 μg/L） village and low-level （≤50 μg/L） village were recruited and had detailed physical examination with special emphasis on arsenic-related skin lesions. Arsenic exposure was measured for each participant with As concentration of primary well and the duration of using the well was recorded. Arsenic-induced skin lesions including keratosis, pigmentation, and/or leucomelanosis were diagnosed in 56 and 3 subjects in the two villages, respectively. Logistic regression was conducted to calculate prevalence-odd ratios of skin lesions by levels of arsenic exposure with adjustment of sex, age group, smoking and duration of exposure. A consistent dose-response relationship between arsenic exposure level and skin lesion risk was observed.  相似文献   

Quantification of the risk associated with high levels of mercury pollution at Temirtau, Kazakhstan     

Huiwen HSIAO Susanne M. Ullrich Trevor W. Tanton 《中国地球化学学报》2006,25(B08):233-233

This research aims to establish the risks of hurnan exposure to modeling approach. The study site was located on the River Nura 1990s, an acetaldehyde production plant located in the industrial high environmental mercury levels, based on a quantitative risk in central Kazakhstan. From the 1950s until its closure in the mid city of Temirtau released mercury-containing wastewater into the river. River sediments are highly contaminated with mercury up to a distance of 25 km and beyond. In addition, a local power station released an estimated 6 million tonnes of fly-ash into the water and the mercury has become quite tightly associated with the ash deposits. River water, fish and agricultural land in the floodplain are also contaminated with mercury, yet the risks posed to the local population have not been evaluated to date. In June and July 2005, we took samples of soil, interior and exterior dust, drinking water, and food from individual households, communal areas and markets. Additionally, water and sediment samples and fish were taken from the river. Interviews were conducted with householders to establish their age and body weight, general living conditions and sources of irrigation and drinking water. A food frequency questionnaire （FFQ） was designed to investigate the frequencies of consumption of several common regional food items, including fish from the fiver and/or local market. Human hair samples were also collected to estimate the mercury bioburden and to enable the validity of the modeling approach to be established. The paper expands on the main pathways of contamination and looks at linkages between exposure pathways and mercury concentrations found in human hair. Uncertainties inherent in risk analysis as well as their influence on the relative importance of different exposure routes are also discussed.  相似文献   

Quaternary bedrock erosion and landscape evolution in the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica: Reevaluating rates and processes     

Norikazu Matsuoka  Cline E. Thomachot  Chiaki T. Oguchi  Tamao Hatta  Masahiro Abe  Hiroyuki Matsuzaki 《Geomorphology》2006,81(3-4):408-420

Rates and processes of rock weathering, soil formation, and mountain erosion during the Quaternary were evaluated in an inland Antarctic cold desert. The fieldwork involved investigations of weathering features and soil profiles for different stages after deglaciation. Laboratory analyses addressed chemistry of rock coatings and soils, as well as ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al exposure ages of the bedrock. Less resistant gneiss bedrock exposed over 1 Ma shows stone pavements underlain by in situ produced silty soils thinner than 40 cm and rich in sulfates, which reflect the active layer thickness, the absence of cryoturbation, and the predominance of salt weathering. During the same exposure period, more resistant granite bedrock has undergone long-lasting cavernous weathering that produces rootless mushroom-like boulders with a strongly Fe-oxidized coating. The red coating protects the upper surface from weathering while very slow microcracking progresses by the growth of sulfates. Geomorphological evidence and cosmogenic exposure ages combine to provide contrasting average erosion rates. No erosion during the Quaternary is suggested by a striated roche moutonnée exposed more than 2 Ma ago. Differential erosion between granite and gneiss suggests a significant lowering rate of desert pavements in excess of 10 m Ma^− 1. The landscape has been (on the whole) stable, but the erosion rate varies spatially according to microclimate, geology, and surface composition.  相似文献   

Glacial survival of blockfields on the Varanger Peninsula, northern Norway     

Jakob Fjellanger  Leif Srbel  Henriette Linge  Edward J. Brook  Grant M. Raisbeck  Franoise Yiou 《Geomorphology》2006,82(3-4):255-272

For more than hundred years it has been debated whether blockfields in mountain summit areas can be used to delimit the vertical extent of Pleistocene ice sheets. In this study the relationship between blockfields, developed in quartzites and sandstones on the Varanger Peninsula, northern Norway, and glacially derived features have been evaluated. Erratics and circular ablation moraines are superimposed on the blockfields and lateral meltwater channels are eroded into them. Glacial striations and other signs of glacial sculpturing are restricted to low-lying areas with channelled ice flow. Relative ages of the blockfields and the features in them are inferred, and the first measurements of in-situ produced cosmogenic nuclides from the Varanger Peninsula are reported. We conclude that the blockfields have survived underneath at least one thick, cold-based ice sheet. Thus, these blockfields cannot be used as indicators of ice-free conditions as previously suggested for southern Norway. Our results have implications for the potential for land surface preservation beneath ice sheets and for glacial reconstructions in northern Fennoscandia.  相似文献   

北京西北城区一次重污染过程中PM₁₀的氧化损伤能力研究     

席春秀  邵龙义  吴凡  常玲利  李杰 《岩石矿物学杂志》2018,37(3):492-496

为评估大气重污染期间北京市可吸入颗粒物(PM_(10))的毒性,采集2016年3月份一次大气重污染过程中北京市大气PM_(10)样品,应用质粒DNA损伤评价法来研究其氧化损伤能力。结果表明,雾霾期间PM_(10)对DNA的损伤率高于雾霾逐渐消退时期,远高于雾霾前期清洁天,颗粒物对DNA损伤率随剂量的增加而增加。雾霾前后PM_(10)水溶样品的平均TD_(20)值表现为雾霾前清洁天(788.01μg/mL)雾霾消退后期(470.40μg/mL)雾霾期间(55.78μg/mL),说明氧化能力雾霾期间雾霾消退后期雾霾前清洁天。另外通过雾霾前后数据对比得到,暴露毒性指数TI大小顺序为雾霾期间(13 245.06)雾霾消退后期(1 658.87)雾霾前清洁天(254.08),说明雾霾期间PM_(10)对人体危害更大。  相似文献   

Elucidating hydrological complexity and climate-influenced diagenesis during the early Carboniferous of South Wales     

N.J. Hogancamp  V.P. Wright 《Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. Geologists' Association》2021,132(1):93-101

A revised age provided by conodonts from the Gilwern Oolite of the Clydach area of South Wales allows a clearer understanding of the palaeohydrology, palaeoclimatic history and diagenesis of previously correlated oolitic units. Earlier uncertainty over the apparent sub-regional differences in climate during the early Visean (Chadian—Arundian) lowstand is resolved. Previously a humid interval evidenced by prominent palaeo-epikarst capping the Gilwern Oolite along the northern outcrops of the South Wales synclinorium, was not recognized in what were regarded as correlative outcrops in the Chadian Gully Oolite in the southern part of the synclinorium. Conodont dating now shows that the Gilwern Oolite is much older (Courceyan) than the Chadian Gully Oolite, and during the prolonged exposure of the former there was an interval of weathering under a humid climate. This also explains the contrast between the diagenesis seen between the Gilwern and Gully oolites, which are no longer seen as correlatives.  相似文献