Links between erosion, runoff variability and seismicity in the Taiwan orogen

The erosion of mountain belts controls their topographic and structural evolution and is the main source of sediment delivered to the oceans. Mountain erosion rates have been estimated from current relief and precipitation, but a more complete evaluation of the controls on erosion rates requires detailed measurements across a range of timescales. Here we report erosion rates in the Taiwan mountains estimated from modern river sediment loads, Holocene river incision and thermochronometry on a million-year scale. Estimated erosion rates within the actively deforming mountains are high (3-6 mm yr(-1)) on all timescales, but the pattern of erosion has changed over time in response to the migration of localized tectonic deformation. Modern, decadal-scale erosion rates correlate with historical seismicity and storm-driven runoff variability. The highest erosion rates are found where rapid deformation, high storm frequency and weak substrates coincide, despite low topographic relief.     

Evidences of rapid erosion driven by climate in the Yarlung Zangbo （Tsangpo） Great Canyon, the eastern Himalayan syntaxis

Climate and tectonism are both particularly intense in the Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) Great Canyon in the eastern Himalayan syntaxis,which is characterized by the most rapid landscape evolution of anywhere in the world.Thus,the eastern Himalayan syntaxis is one of the best locations to study the interactions between climate and tectonics.This paper investigates the cooling ages of the Doxong La-Baibung profile using apatite fission track (AFT) dating on 11 bedrock samples at elevations ranging from 4210 to 710 m.There are topographic,climatic,metamorphic,and thermochronological gradients in the profile,providing good conditions to study interactions between climate and tectonics.AFT ages ranged from 4.6±0.6 Ma to 1.7±0.3 Ma,and the mean fission track lengths ranged from 11.0 to 12.4 μm.It was found that the cooling rates revealed by AFT ages increased with decreasing elevation.However,the tendency of the cooling rates revealed by the 40 Ar-39 Ar ages was different from that indicated by the AFT ages.Moreover,for most districts of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis,the compiled AFT age distribution correlates well with the annual average precipitation,indicating the coupling of the cooling and erosion rates of the near-surface rock and precipitation.The geothermal history modeling results indicate an obvious increase in the cooling and erosion rate between 1.0 and 0.5 Ma.This age is consistent with other research findings for this time,when the vapor channel of the Yarlung Zangbo Great Canyon began to take effect.These evidences suggest that climate,especially precipitation,has acting as a key factor influencing the rapid cooling and erosion in the Yarlung Zangbo Great Canyon since 1-0.5 Ma.     

Decoupling of erosion and precipitation in the Himalayas

The hypothesis that abrupt spatial gradients in erosion can cause high strain rates in active orogens has been supported by numerical models that couple erosional processes with lithospheric deformation via gravitational feedbacks. Most such models invoke a 'stream-power' rule, in which either increased discharge or steeper channel slopes cause higher erosion rates. Spatial variations in precipitation and slopes are therefore predicted to correlate with gradients in both erosion rates and crustal strain. Here we combine observations from a meteorological network across the Greater Himalaya, Nepal, along with estimates of erosion rates at geologic timescales (greater than 100,000 yr) from low-temperature thermochronometry. Across a zone of about 20 km length spanning the Himalayan crest and encompassing a more than fivefold difference in monsoon precipitation, significant spatial variations in geologic erosion rates are not detectable. Decreased rainfall is not balanced by steeper channels. Instead, additional factors that influence river incision rates, such as channel width and sediment concentrations, must compensate for decreasing precipitation. Overall, spatially constant erosion is a response to uniform, upward tectonic transport of Greater Himalayan rock above a crustal ramp.     

Messinian salinity crisis regulated by competing tectonics and erosion at the Gibraltar arc

The Messinian salinity crisis (5.96 to 5.33 million years ago) was caused by reduced water inflow from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea resulting in widespread salt precipitation and a decrease in Mediterranean sea level of about 1.5 kilometres due to evaporation. The reduced connectivity between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at the time of the salinity crisis is thought to have resulted from tectonic uplift of the Gibraltar arc seaway and global sea-level changes, both of which control the inflow of water required to compensate for the hydrological deficit of the Mediterranean. However, the different timescales on which tectonic uplift and changes in sea level occur are difficult to reconcile with the long duration of the shallow connection between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic needed to explain the large amount of salt precipitated. Here we use numerical modelling to show that seaway erosion caused by the Atlantic inflow could sustain such a shallow connection between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean by counteracting tectonic uplift. The erosion and uplift rates required are consistent with previous mountain erosion studies, with the present altitude of marine sediments in the Gibraltar arc and with geodynamic models suggesting a lithospheric slab tear underneath the region. The moderate Mediterranean sea-level drawdown during the early stages of the Messinian salinity crisis can be explained by an uplift of a few millimetres per year counteracted by similar rates of erosion due to Atlantic inflow. Our findings suggest that the competition between uplift and erosion can result in harmonic coupling between erosion and the Mediterranean sea level, providing an alternative mechanism for the cyclicity observed in early salt precipitation deposits and calling into question previous ideas regarding the timing of the events that occurred during the Messinian salinity crisis.     

Spatial differences in rock uplift rates inferred from channel steepness indices along the northern flank of the Qilian Mountain, northeast Tibetan Plateau

The rate and distribution of deformation along the Qilian Mountain, on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, is needed to understand the evolution of high topography associated with the plateau. Recently, a number of empirical studies have provided support for the contention, common to most models of fluvial incision, that rock uplift rate exerts a first-order control on the gradient of longitudinal river profiles. Along the northern Qilian Mountain, this method is used to extract information about the spatial patterns of differential rock uplift. Analysis of the longitudinal profiles of bedrock channels reveals systematic differences in the channel steepness index along the trend of the frontal ranges. Local comparisons of channel steepness reveal that lithology and precipitation have limited influence on channel steepness. Similarly, there is little evidence suggesting that channel steepness is influenced by differences in the sediment loads. We argue that the distribution of channel steepness in the Qilian Mountain is mostly the result of differential rates of rock uplift. Thus, channel steepness indices reveal a lower rock uplift rate in the eastern portion of the Qilian Mountain and a higher rate in the middle and west. The highest rates appear to occur in the middle-west portions of the range, just to the west of the Yumu Shan.     

新生代青藏高原三维古地形再造

印度板块与欧亚板块的碰撞,引发了青藏高原的快速隆升、高原及邻区的气候环境、地形地势巨变,这一过程为同期形成的海洋沉积盆地、周缘前陆盆地和高原内部盆地所记录。高原隆升剥蚀区与前述三种类型的汇水盆地基本上处于一个相对封闭和半封闭体系,因而,可以根据质量平衡的原则,将汇水盆地内的沉积物按照物源方向和一定的分配方案回剥至隆升剥蚀区,重建任一时间段内剥蚀区的地形地势。通过对比不同时间段的古地形地势演变,可以比较精确和全面地刻划高原的隆升过程、隆升和剥蚀速率、隆升后所达到的海拔高度,进而探讨隆升与气候的关系,探索青藏高原在大陆碰撞体制下是增生扩大还是缩小     

The search for a topographic signature of life

Landscapes are shaped by the uplift, deformation and breakdown of bedrock and the erosion, transport and deposition of sediment. Life is important in all of these processes. Over short timescales, the impact of life is quite apparent: rock weathering, soil formation and erosion, slope stability and river dynamics are directly influenced by biotic processes that mediate chemical reactions, dilate soil, disrupt the ground surface and add strength with a weave of roots. Over geologic time, biotic effects are less obvious but equally important: biota affect climate, and climatic conditions dictate the mechanisms and rates of erosion that control topographic evolution. Apart from the obvious influence of humans, does the resulting landscape bear an unmistakable stamp of life? The influence of life on topography is a topic that has remained largely unexplored. Erosion laws that explicitly include biotic effects are needed to explore how intrinsically small-scale biotic processes can influence the form of entire landscapes, and to determine whether these processes create a distinctive topography.     

Active out-of-sequence thrust faulting in the central Nepalese Himalaya

Recent convergence between India and Eurasia is commonly assumed to be accommodated mainly along a single fault--the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT)--which reaches the surface in the Siwalik Hills of southern Nepal. Although this model is consistent with geodetic, geomorphic and microseismic data, an alternative model incorporating slip on more northerly surface faults has been proposed to be consistent with these data as well. Here we present in situ cosmogenic 10Be data indicating a fourfold increase in millennial timescale erosion rates occurring over a distance of less than 2 km in central Nepal, delineating for the first time an active thrust fault nearly 100 km north of the surface expression of the MHT. These data challenge the view that rock uplift gradients in central Nepal reflect only passive transport over a ramp in the MHT. Instead, when combined with previously reported 40Ar-39Ar data, our results indicate persistent exhumation above deep-seated, surface-breaking structures at the foot of the high Himalaya. These results suggest that strong dynamic interactions between climate, erosion and tectonics have maintained a locus of active deformation well to the north of the Himalayan deformation front.     

西藏普兰地区第四纪以来冰锯作用研究

为了验证西藏普兰地区冰川作用对地形演化的影响, 选取纳木那尼峰、喜马拉雅山和冈底斯山3个区域, 利用数字高程模型(DEM)数据和遥感影像, 对现代冰川与末次冰盛期(LGM)古冰川平衡线高度(ELA)、冰川作用区坡度与高程的关系以及冰川分布的高程频谱进行计算和分析。结果显示, 研究区内冰川剥蚀作用显著、坡度降低最明显的地带位于LGM古冰川平衡线附近, 并在一定程度上限制山脉的高度。根据冰川地貌特征参数和前人研究结果, 认为气候是影响冰锯作用的主要因素。冰期时, 研究区内西风急流南移, 风速增强, 降水量增多, 为冰川发育创造良好条件, 冰锯作用也增强。对于构造抬升强烈的山脉(如纳木那尼峰), 虽然冰锯作用得到加强, 但是构造抬升增加的山脉高度不会完全被冰锯作用抵消。     

秦皇岛全新世海岸的演化和现代海岸的保护

秦皇岛海岸东自山海关西至洋河口。经过六十年代与八十年代两个时期对岸带的调查与实验分析资料的对比,作者认为其全新世时期的发育演化分为四个阶段:1)距今七千年前的海退阶段,2)距今七千年至五千年的海进阶段,3)距今五千年至三千年的海退阶段,4)距今三千年来的海进阶段。本文还论述了海岸带现代侵蚀问题,认为遭受侵蚀的原因有:海面的上升,沿海河流建水坝和茌河床及岸带大量挖砂使海岸带泥沙供应减少。此外,还对海岸的保护提出了具体的建议。     

Increased sedimentation rates and grain sizes 2-4 Myr ago due to the influence of climate change on erosion rates

Around the globe, and in a variety of settings including active and inactive mountain belts, increases in sedimentation rates as well as in grain sizes of sediments were recorded at approximately 2-4 Myr ago, implying increased erosion rates. A change in climate represents the only process that is globally synchronous and can potentially account for the widespread increase in erosion and sedimentation, but no single process-like a lowering of sea levels or expanded glaciation-can explain increases in sedimentation in all environments, encompassing continental margins and interiors, and tropical as well as higher latitudes. We suggest that climate affected erosion mainly by the transition from a period of climate stability, in which landscapes had attained equilibrium configurations, to a time of frequent and abrupt changes in temperature, precipitation and vegetation, which prevented fluvial and glacial systems from establishing equilibrium states.     

Cause analysis of gully erosion in Yuanmou basin of Jinshajiang valley

Some factors （i.e. lithology, topography, climate, the change of population as well as land use during the past 50 years） that could have great influence on the development of gully in the arid-hot basin of Jinshajiang valley were investigated. The results show that the factors leading to the strong gully erosion in this area include： the widely distributed Yuanmou group stratum, which promotes the development of gully erosion; the unique geomorphologic configuration that is prone to rock fall and gully erosion; the strong and time-concentrated rainfall; the arid-humid alternate climate characteristics that prepares the ground for the development of fissures in soils; the arid-hot climate that goes against the growth and recovery of vegetation; and the unreasonable and abusive human activities.     

Evolution of drainage systems and its developing trend in connection with tectonic uplift of Eastern Kunlun Mt.

The Eastern Kunlun Mt. had been subjected to uplift together with the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau before the Early Pleistocene, and yet the Mt, did not protrude out of the Plateau surface. During that period lakes spread all over the studied region, with the drainage systems being all short rivers flowing into the lakes. At the end of the Early Pleistocene, intensive tectonic uplift led to the rising of the Eastern Kunlun Mt. and made the Mt. protrude onto the Plateau surface. As a result, a fault depression valley formed extending nearly from west to east along the fault belt of the Southern Kunlun Mt. Lakes in this region died out, surface runoffs joined into the valley of the Southern Kunlun Mt. resulting in a large river streaming nearly from west to east. Around 150 kaBP, because of the strong differential movement, rivers, such as the Jialu River and the Golmud River, retrogressively eroded seriously, cutting through the Burhan Budai Mt. Then they pirated the large river and divided it into four portions. Owing to the uplift of the Eastern Kunlun Mt., strongly retrogressive erosion of the upper reaches of the Jialu River has made the watershed of the Buqingshan Mt. migrate 6–10 km southward since Holocene. At present, it remains a stronger trend of retrogressive erosion developing upward to the basin of the Yellow River Source and it seems that the Jialu River is scrambling for the streamhead of the Yellow River.     

青藏高原隆升对中国疆域自然环境的影响：破解“胡焕庸线”的思考

我国疆域广大,人口、土地、耕地和发展程度很不均衡。1933年,知名学者胡焕庸据此提出了著名“胡焕庸线”。利用这条北东南西走向直线,将中国大陆划分为东西两个部分。该线的东、西两侧差异悬殊。究其原由,制约因素的多元的,而近地表的自然环境和地球内部物质与能量的交换起着重要作用。研究与探索表明:(1)印度次大陆与欧亚大陆两陆—陆板块的碰撞—挤压驱使高原南缘喜马拉雅造山带的突起是根本原因。(2)喜马拉雅造山带的突起阻隔了印度洋南来温湿气候的北进,并形成了西风带造成了我国西北地域的干旱和荒漠化。(3)在力系作用下,壳、幔物质重新分异、调整,地壳短缩增厚、高原整体台升不仅导致东、西两部降水量、气温、人口、耕地与生态环境的显著改变,且地球物理场发生了强烈变异与分布不均。(4)西部发展的关键在于水,水进则人进,人进则文化进,文化进则科技进,科技进则发展快,西部人民生活与生存环境不断优化,社会则更安宁。(5)东部不断强化开辟地下空间与利用,西部期盼“红旗河”工程实施,维护生态环境,兴建亿亩现代化耕地、牧场与绿洲。我国东部与西部共同发展与建设十分重要,饭碗要永远端在自己手中。     

Significant decadal-scale impact of volcanic eruptions on sea level and ocean heat content

Ocean thermal expansion contributes significantly to sea-level variability and rise. However, observed decadal variability in ocean heat content and sea level has not been reproduced well in climate models. Aerosols injected into the stratosphere during volcanic eruptions scatter incoming solar radiation, and cause a rapid cooling of the atmosphere and a reduction in rainfall, as well as other changes in the climate system. Here we use observations of ocean heat content and a set of climate simulations to show that large volcanic eruptions result in rapid reductions in ocean heat content and global mean sea level. For the Mt Pinatubo eruption, we estimate a reduction in ocean heat content of about 3 x 10(22) J and a global sea-level fall of about 5 mm. Over the three years following such an eruption, we estimate a decrease in evaporation of up to 0.1 mm d(-1), comparable to observed changes in mean land precipitation. The recovery of sea level following the Mt Pinatubo eruption in 1991 explains about half of the difference between the long-term rate of sea-level rise of 1.8 mm yr(-1) (for 1950-2000), and the higher rate estimated for the more recent period where satellite altimeter data are available (1993-2000).     

山东地区地壳及上地幔结构研究

利用布设在山东省境内的宽频带流动地震观测台阵和国家地震局固定地震观测台站记录的地震数据, 应用接收函数和SKS波分裂方法, 研究山东地区的地壳与上地幔结构, 得到该区域的地壳厚度、地壳平均P波与S波的波速比以及SKS波分裂延迟的分布情况。结果表明, 山东地区地壳厚度范围为28~39 km; 胶南隆起的北段和南段以及鲁西隆起北侧济阳凹陷的地壳厚度小于32 km, 鲁西隆起下方的地壳比较厚。研究区 P波与S波的波速比主要分布在1.67~1.94之间, 鲁西隆起西南部和胶南隆起北段该比值小于1.75, 可能是由中上地壳增厚以及下地壳减薄和拆沉造成。鲁西隆起南北P波与S波的波速比差异反映地壳活动的差异。地幔物质的各向异性显示, 山东地区西部的地壳减薄和拆沉可能仍在进行。     

Response of tree-ring width to rainfall gradient along the Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China

By comparing the long-term tree-ring growths at various geographic scales, we can make clear the effects of environmental variations on tree growth, and get an understanding of the responses of forest ecosystems to the possible changes in global and regional climate. Radial tree-ring growth of Picea schrenkiana and its relationship to air temperature and precipitation were investigated across longi- tude transects on the north slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in northwestern China. Tree-ring samples were collected and residual chronologies were developed for three different regions along a gradient of decreasing precipitation from west to east. Response-function analysis was conducted to quantify the relationships between tree-ring chronologies and climate variables, such as monthly mean temperature and monthly precipitation from 1961 to 1998, using the PRECON software program. The statistical characteristics of the chronologies showed that the three chronologies constructed in this study con- tained significant environmental signals and were well suitable to reveal the impacts of climatic change on tree growth and forest productivity. Annual ring-width variations were similar among the three sites, but the variability was greatest in the east. This research showed that the growth trends of Picea schrenkiana in the Tianshan Mountains have not followed a uniform pattern. Response-function analy- sis indicated that there were significant correlations between tree growth and climatic factors in all the three regions, among which precipitation was the principal. With decreasing precipitation, the response of tree-ring widths to increasing temperature changed from a positive to a negative correlation. As for precipitation, the positive relationship to tree-ring width always dominates. It could be expected that with increased temperature and decreased precipitation, the importance of precipitation to tree growth would increase, and the response of tree growth to environmental changes would also increase. This study emphasizes the importance of regional-scale investigations into the biosphere-climate interac- tions. The results of this research indicated a substantial increment of tree-ring radial growth as a re- sult of warmer and wetter climate in the eastern regions. However, climate change will have less effect on forest growth and primary production in the western regions.     

可控源音频大地电磁法在个旧西区深部地质结构探测中的应用

个旧西区具有与个旧东区相似的成矿地质条件,是近年来找矿工作的重点。为了研究个旧西区深部地质结构,采用可控源音频大地电磁法（CSAMT）,选择在个旧东区典型矿段（卡房）开展长600m,共12测点的过井试验剖面测量,探讨了在该地区使用CSAMT法的有效性,同时完成个旧西区长21km,共420测点的CSAMT剖面测量。基于地层岩石物性特征及过井剖面反演结果,成功划分出2km以深范围内地层组间界面以及岩体顶面接触结构,结果显示：（1）以316测点为界,南北电阻率迥异,北部为高阻,主要为花岗岩分布区,南部为低阻,主要为沉积岩分布区;（2）识别出F1,F2,F3共3条断裂,揭露了地下构造的形态特征;（3）桥顶山凸起顶部的3处岩凹与南侧岩舌下方的岩兜、者勒白凸起南缘与中部岩凹内的岩兜、贾沙河海拔750～0m处的个旧组地层捕虏体是成矿的有利部位,可优先布设相关验证工作;水塘寨下方深埋的花岗岩凸起和个旧组地层接触部位,显示良好的找矿远景,是寻求找矿突破的关键。可见,CSAMT法是该区深部地质信息探测的一种行之有效方法。     

柴达木盆地小柴旦地区构造演化对烃源岩热演化的控制作用

柴达木盆地小柴旦地区是发育在元古界结晶基底上的中新生代叠合盆地,构造上具有南北分带的特征,形成6个典型的构造单元。中生代以来受燕山运动和喜山运动改造,形成两期区域不整合,不整合界面相互叠置,多期改造,且剥蚀作用涉及地层层系多、范围广。在主要不整合界面地层剥蚀量恢复基础上开展了骨干剖面构造演化研究,针对研究区具体情况采用针对性参数,系统开展了不同构造带中下侏罗统烃源岩埋藏史和热演化史分析。结果显示,不同构造带形成时期与四个演化阶段的沉降抬升幅度具有一定差异,构造演化的差异性也导致了中下侏罗统烃源岩在地质历史时期埋藏过程的差异性。区内烃源岩热演化可总结为山前推覆深埋型、持续埋深成熟型、抬升成熟型和抬升低熟型等四种类型。不同构造带烃源岩热演化的差异性也导致了研究区目前的油气发现主要集中于山前带及其周缘,但凹陷内也具备低熟油形成的条件。     

Improved estimates of global ocean circulation, heat transport and mixing from hydrographic data

Through its ability to transport large amounts of heat, fresh water and nutrients, the ocean is an essential regulator of climate. The pathways and mechanisms of this transport and its stability are critical issues in understanding the present state of climate and the possibilities of future changes. Recently, global high-quality hydrographic data have been gathered in the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), to obtain an accurate picture of the present circulation. Here we combine the new data from high-resolution trans-oceanic sections and current meters with climatological wind fields, biogeochemical balances and improved a priori error estimates in an inverse model, to improve estimates of the global circulation and heat fluxes. Our solution resolves globally vertical mixing across surfaces of equal density, with coefficients in the range (3-12) x 10(-4) m2 s(-1). Net deep-water production rates amount to (15 +/- 12) x 10(6) m3 s(-1) in the North Atlantic Ocean and (21 +/- 6) x 10(6) m3 s(-1) in the Southern Ocean. Our estimates provide a new reference state for future climate studies with rigorous estimates of the uncertainties.