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The southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) records a strong uplift phase after the early Middle Pleistocene, which has been related to the slab break-off of the subducting Arabian plate beneath the Anatolian microplate. During the last 450 kyr the area underwent an uplift phase at a mean rate of similar to 3.2 m/kyr, as suggested by Middle Pleistocene marine sediments exposed at similar to 1,500 m above sea level. These values are significantly higher than the 1.0-1.5 m/kyr estimated since the Late Pleistocene, suggesting temporal variations in uplift rate. To estimate changes in uplift rate during the Pleistocene we studied the marine terraces along the CAP southern margin, mapping the remnants of the platforms and their associated deposits in the field, and used the TerraceM software to identify the position and elevation of associated shoreline angles. We used shoreline angles and the timing of Quaternary marine sedimentation as constrains for a Landscape Evolution Model that simulates wave erosion of an uplifting coast. We applied random optimization algorithms and minimization statistics to find the input parameters that better reproduce the morphology of CAP marine terraces. The best-fitting uplift rate history suggests a significative increase from 1.9 to 3.5 m/kyr between 500 and 200 kyr, followed by an abrupt decrease to 1.4 m/kyr until the present. Our results agree with slab break-off models, which suggest a strong uplift pulse during slab rupture followed by a smoother decrease.
Lakes cover large parts of the climatically sensitive Arctic landscape and respond rapidly to environmental change. Arctic lakes have different origins and include the predominant thermokarst lakes, which are small, young and highly dynamic, as well as large, old and stable glacial lakes. Freshwater diatoms dominate the primary producer community in these lakes and can be used to detect biotic responses to climate and environmental change. We used specific diatom metabarcoding on sedimentary DNA, combined with next-generation sequencing and diatom morphology, to assess diatom diversity in five glacial and 15 thermokarst lakes within the easternmost expanse of the Siberian treeline ecotone in Chukotka, Russia. We obtained 163 verified diatom sequence types and identified 176 diatom species morphologically. Although there were large differences in taxonomic assignment using the two approaches, they showed similar high abundances and diversity of Fragilariceae and Aulacoseiraceae. In particular, the genetic approach detected hidden within-lake variations of fragilarioids in glacial lakes and dominance of centric Aulacoseira species, whereas Lindavia ocellata was predominant using morphology. In thermokarst lakes, sequence types and valve counts also detected high diversity of Fragilariaceae, which followed the vegetation gradient along the treeline. Ordination analyses of the genetic data from glacial and thermokarst lakes suggest that concentrations of sulfate (SO42-), an indicator of the activity of sulfate-reducing microbes under anoxic conditions, and bicarbonate (HCO3-), which relates to surrounding vegetation, have a significant influence on diatom community composition. For thermokarst lakes, we also identified lake depth as an important variable, but SO42- best explains diatom diversity derived from genetic data, whereas HCO3- best explains the data from valve counts. Higher diatom diversity was detected in glacial lakes, most likely related to greater lake age and different edaphic settings, which gave rise to diversification and endemism. In contrast, small, dynamic thermokarst lakes are inhabited by stress-tolerant fragilarioids and are related to different vegetation types along the treeline ecotone. Our study demonstrated that genetic investigations of lake sediments can be used to interpret climate and environmental responses of diatoms. It also showed how lake type affects diatom diversity, and that such genetic analyses can be used to track diatom community changes under ongoing warming in the Arctic.
The Coulomb failure stress (CFS) criterion is the most commonly used method for predicting spatial distributions of aftershocks following large earthquakes. However, large uncertainties are always associated with the calculation of Coulomb stress change. The uncertainties mainly arise due to nonunique slip inversions and unknown receiver faults; especially for the latter, results are highly dependent on the choice of the assumed receiver mechanism. Based on binary tests (aftershocks yes/no), recent studies suggest that alternative stress quantities, a distance-slip probabilistic model as well as deep neural network (DNN) approaches, all are superior to CFS with predefined receiver mechanism. To challenge this conclusion, which might have large implications, we use 289 slip inversions from SRCMOD database to calculate more realistic CFS values for a layered half-space and variable receiver mechanisms. We also analyze the effect of the magnitude cutoff, grid size variation, and aftershock duration to verify the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for the ranking of stress metrics. The observations suggest that introducing a layered half-space does not improve the stress maps and ROC curves. However, results significantly improve for larger aftershocks and shorter time periods but without changing the ranking. We also go beyond binary testing and apply alternative statistics to test the ability to estimate aftershock numbers, which confirm that simple stress metrics perform better than the classic Coulomb failure stress calculations and are also better than the distance-slip probabilistic model.
Near-Earth space represents a significant scientific and technological challenge. Particularly at magnetic low-latitudes, the horizontal magnetic field geometry at the dip equator and its closed field-lines support the existence of a distinct electric current system, abrupt electric field variations and the development of plasma irregularities. Of particular interest are small-scale irregularities associated with equatorial plasma depletions (EPDs). They are responsible for the disruption of trans-ionospheric radio waves used for navigation, communication, and Earth observation. The fast increase of satellite missions makes it imperative to study the near-Earth space, especially the phenomena known to harm space technology or disrupt their signals. EPDs correspond to the large-scale structure (i.e., tens to hundreds of kilometers) of topside F region irregularities commonly known as Spread F. They are observed as depleted-plasma density channels aligned with the ambient magnetic field in the post-sunset low-latitude ionosphere. Although the climatological variability of their occurrence in terms of season, longitude, local time and solar flux is well-known, their day to day variability is not. The sparse observations from ground-based instruments like radars and the few simultaneous measurements of ionospheric parameters by space-based instruments have left gaps in the knowledge of EPDs essential to comprehend their variability.
In this dissertation, I profited from the unique observations of the ESA’s Swarm constellation mission launched in November 2013 to tackle three issues that revealed novel and significant results on the current knowledge of EPDs. I used Swarm’s measurements of the electron density, magnetic, and electric fields to answer, (1.) what is the direction of propagation of the electromagnetic energy associated with EPDs?, (2.) what are the spatial and temporal characteristics of the electric currents (field-aligned and diamagnetic currents) related to EPDs, i.e., seasonal/geographical, and local time dependencies?, and (3.) under what conditions does the balance between magnetic and plasma pressure across EPDs occur?
The results indicate that: (1.) The electromagnetic energy associated with EPDs presents a preference for interhemispheric flows; that is, the related Poynting flux directs from one magnetic hemisphere to the other and varies with longitude and season. (2.) The field-aligned currents at the edges of EPDs are interhemispheric. They generally close in the hemisphere with the highest Pedersen conductance. Such hemispherical preference presents a seasonal/longitudinal dependence. The diamagnetic currents increase or decrease the magnetic pressure inside EPDs. These two effects rely on variations of the plasma temperature inside the EPDs that depend on longitude and local time. (3.) EPDs present lower or higher plasma pressure than the ambient. For low-pressure EPDs the plasma pressure gradients are mostly dominated by variations of the plasma density so that variations of the temperature are negligible. High-pressure EPDs suggest significant temperature variations with magnitudes of approximately twice the ambient. Since their occurrence is more frequent in the vicinity of the South Atlantic magnetic anomaly, such high temperatures are suggested to be due to particle precipitation.
In a broader context, this dissertation shows how dedicated satellite missions with high-resolution capabilities improve the specification of the low-latitude ionospheric electrodynamics and expand knowledge on EPDs which is valuable for current and future communication, navigation, and Earth-observing missions. The contributions of this investigation represent several ’firsts’ in the study of EPDs: (1.) The first observational evidence of interhemispheric electromagnetic energy flux and field-aligned currents. (2.) The first spatial and temporal characterization of EPDs based on their associated field-aligned and diamagnetic currents. (3.) The first evidence of high plasma pressure in regions of depleted plasma density in the ionosphere. These findings provide new insights that promise to advance our current knowledge of not only EPDs but the low-latitude post-sunset ionosphere environment.
Strong hydroclimatic controls on vulnerability to subsurface nitrate contamination across Europe
(2020)
Subsurface contamination due to excessive nutrient surpluses is a persistent and widespread problem in agricultural areas across Europe. The vulnerability of a particular location to pollution from reactive solutes, such as nitrate, is determined by the interplay between hydrologic transport and biogeochemical transformations. Current studies on the controls of subsurface vulnerability do not consider the transient behaviour of transport dynamics in the root zone. Here, using state-of-the-art hydrologic simulations driven by observed hydroclimatic forcing, we demonstrate the strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity of hydrologic transport dynamics and reveal that these dynamics are primarily controlled by the hydroclimatic gradient of the aridity index across Europe. Contrasting the space-time dynamics of transport times with reactive timescales of denitrification in soil indicate that similar to 75% of the cultivated areas across Europe are potentially vulnerable to nitrate leaching for at least onethird of the year. We find that neglecting the transient nature of transport and reaction timescale results in a great underestimation of the extent of vulnerable regions by almost 50%. Therefore, future vulnerability and risk assessment studies must account for the transient behaviour of transport and biogeochemical transformation processes.
Uplift in the broken Andean foreland of the Argentine Santa Bárbara System (SBS) is associated with the contractional reactivation of basement anisotropies, similar to those reported from the thick-skinned Cretaceous-Eocene Laramide province of North America. Fault scarps, deformed Quaternary deposits and landforms, disrupted drainage patterns, and medium-sized earthquakes within the SBS suggest that movement along these structures may be a recurring phenomenon, with yet to be defined repeat intervals and rupture lengths. In contrast to the Subandes thrust belt farther north, where eastward-migrating deformation has generated a well-defined thrust front, the SBS records spatiotemporally disparate deformation along structures that are only known to the first order. We present herein the results of geomorphic desktop analyses, structural field observations, and 2D electrical resistivity tomography and seismic-refraction tomography surveys and an interpretation of seismic reflection profiles across suspected fault scarps in the sedimentary basins adjacent to the Candelaria Range (CR) basement uplift, in the south-central part of the SBS. Our analysis in the CR piedmont areas reveals consistency between the results of near-surface electrical resistivity and seismic-refraction tomography surveys, the locations of prominent fault scarps, and structural geometries at greater depth imaged by seismic reflection data. We suggest that this deformation is driven by deep-seated blind thrusting beneath the CR and associated regional warping, while shortening involving Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary strata in the adjacent basins was accommodated by layer-parallel folding and flexural-slip faults that cut through Quaternary landforms and deposits at the surface.
As the Arctic coast erodes, it drains thermokarst lakes, transforming them into lagoons, and, eventually, integrates them into subsea permafrost. Lagoons represent the first stage of a thermokarst lake transition to a marine setting and possibly more saline and colder upper boundary conditions. In this research, borehole data, electrical resistivity surveying, and modeling of heat and salt diffusion were carried out at Polar Fox Lagoon on the Bykovsky Peninsula, Siberia. Polar Fox Lagoon is a seasonally isolated water body connected to Tiksi Bay through a channel, leading to hypersaline waters under the ice cover. The boreholes in the center of the lagoon revealed floating ice and a saline cryotic bed underlain by a saline cryotic talik, a thin ice-bearing permafrost layer, and unfrozen ground. The bathymetry showed that most of the lagoon had bedfast ice in spring. In bedfast ice areas, the electrical resistivity profiles suggested that an unfrozen saline layer was underlain by a thick layer of refrozen talik. The modeling showed that thermokarst lake taliks can refreeze when submerged in saltwater with mean annual bottom water temperatures below or slightly above 0 degrees C. This occurs, because the top-down chemical degradation of newly formed ice-bearing permafrost is slower than the refreezing of the talik. Hence, lagoons may precondition taliks with a layer of ice-bearing permafrost before encroachment by the sea, and this frozen layer may act as a cap on gas migration out of the underlying talik.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is an established geophysical tool to explore a wide range of near-surface environments. Today, the use of synthetic GPR data is largely limited to 2D because 3D modeling is computationally more expensive. In fact, only recent developments of modeling tools and powerful hardware allow for a time-efficient computation of extensive 3D data sets. Thus, 3D subsurface models and resulting GPR data sets, which are of great interest to develop and evaluate novel approaches in data analysis and interpretation, have not been made publicly available up to now. <br /> We use a published hydrofacies data set of an aquifer-analog study within fluvio-glacial deposits to infer a realistic 3D porosity model showing heterogeneities at multiple spatial scales. Assuming fresh-water saturated sediments, we generate synthetic 3D GPR data across this model using novel GPU-acceleration included in the open-source software gprMax. We present a numerical approach to examine 3D wave-propagation effects in modeled GPR data. Using the results of this examination study, we conduct a spatial model decomposition to enable a computationally efficient 3D simulation of a typical GPR reflection data set across the entire model surface. We process the resulting GPR data set using a standard 3D structural imaging sequence and compare the results to selected input data to demonstrate the feasibility and potential of the presented modeling studies. We conclude on conceivable applications of our 3D GPR reflection data set and the underlying porosity model, which are both publicly available and, thus, can support future methodological developments in GPR and other near-surface geophysical techniques.
Uplift in the broken Andean foreland of the Argentine Santa Bárbara System (SBS) is associated with the contractional reactivation of basement anisotropies, similar to those reported from the thick-skinned Cretaceous-Eocene Laramide province of North America. Fault scarps, deformed Quaternary deposits and landforms, disrupted drainage patterns, and medium-sized earthquakes within the SBS suggest that movement along these structures may be a recurring phenomenon, with yet to be defined repeat intervals and rupture lengths. In contrast to the Subandes thrust belt farther north, where eastward-migrating deformation has generated a well-defined thrust front, the SBS records spatiotemporally disparate deformation along structures that are only known to the first order. We present herein the results of geomorphic desktop analyses, structural field observations, and 2D electrical resistivity tomography and seismic-refraction tomography surveys and an interpretation of seismic reflection profiles across suspected fault scarps in the sedimentary basins adjacent to the Candelaria Range (CR) basement uplift, in the south-central part of the SBS. Our analysis in the CR piedmont areas reveals consistency between the results of near-surface electrical resistivity and seismic-refraction tomography surveys, the locations of prominent fault scarps, and structural geometries at greater depth imaged by seismic reflection data. We suggest that this deformation is driven by deep-seated blind thrusting beneath the CR and associated regional warping, while shortening involving Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary strata in the adjacent basins was accommodated by layer-parallel folding and flexural-slip faults that cut through Quaternary landforms and deposits at the surface.
In near- surface geophysics, ground-based mapping surveys are routinely used in a variety of applications including those from archaeology, civil engineering, hydrology, and soil science. The resulting geophysical anomaly maps of, for example, magnetic or electrical parameters are usually interpreted to laterally delineate subsurface structures such as those related to the remains of past human activities, subsurface utilities and other installations, hydrological properties, or different soil types. To ease the interpretation of such data sets, we have developed a multiscale processing, analysis, and visualization strategy. Our approach relies on a discrete redundant wavelet transform (RWT) implemented using cubic-spline filters and the a trous algorithm, which allows to efficiently compute a multiscale decomposition of 2D data using a series of 1D convolutions. The basic idea of the approach is presented using a synthetic test image, whereas our archaeogeophysical case study from northeast Germany demonstrates its potential to analyze and process rather typical geophysical anomaly maps including magnetic and topographic data. Our vertical-gradient magnetic data show amplitude variations over several orders of magnitude, complex anomaly patterns at various spatial scales, and typical noise patterns, whereas our topographic data show a distinct hill structure superimposed by a microtopographic stripe pattern and random noise. Our results demonstrate that the RWT approach is capable to successfully separate these components and that selected wavelet planes can be scaled and combined so that the reconstructed images allow for a detailed, multiscale structural interpretation also using integrated visualizations of magnetic and topographic data. Because our analysis approach is straightforward to implement without laborious parameter testing and tuning, computationally efficient, and easily adaptable to other geophysical data sets, we believe that it can help to rapidly analyze and interpret different geophysical mapping data collected to address a variety of near-surface applications from engineering practice and research.
Earth and environmental sciences rely on detailed information about subsurface processes. Whereas geophysical techniques typically provide highly resolved spatial images, monitoring subsurface processes is often associated with enormous effort and, therefore, is usually limited to point information in time or space. Thus, the development of spatial and temporal continuous field monitoring methods is a major challenge for the understanding of subsurface processes. We have developed a novel method for ground-penetrating-radar (GPR) reflection monitoring of subsurface flow processes under unsaturated conditions and applied it to a hydrological infiltration experiment performed across a periglacial slope deposit in northwest Luxembourg. Our approach relies on a spatial and temporal quasicontinuous data recording and processing, followed by an attribute analysis based on analyzing differences between individual time steps. The results demonstrate the ability of time-lapse GPR monitoring to visualize the spatial and temporal dynamics of preferential flow processes with a spatial resolution in the order of a few decimeters and temporal resolution in the order of a few minutes. We observe excellent agreement with water table information originating from different boreholes. This demonstrates the potential of surface-based GPR reflection monitoring to observe the spatiotemporal dynamics of water movements in the subsurface. It provides valuable, and so far not accessible, information for example in the field of hydrology and pedology that allows studying the actual subsurface processes rather than deducing them from point information.
We present a new set of global and local sea‐level projections at example tide gauge locations under the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 emissions scenarios. Compared to the CMIP5‐based sea‐level projections presented in IPCC AR5, we introduce a number of methodological innovations, including (i) more comprehensive treatment of uncertainties, (ii) direct traceability between global and local projections, and (iii) exploratory extended projections to 2300 based on emulation of individual CMIP5 models. Combining the projections with observed tide gauge records, we explore the contribution to total variance that arises from sea‐level variability, different emissions scenarios, and model uncertainty. For the period out to 2300 we further breakdown the model uncertainty by sea‐level component and consider the dependence on geographic location, time horizon, and emissions scenario. Our analysis highlights the importance of local variability for sea‐level change in the coming decades and the potential value of annual‐to‐decadal predictions of local sea‐level change. Projections to 2300 show a substantial degree of committed sea‐level rise under all emissions scenarios considered and highlight the reduced future risk associated with RCP2.6 and RCP4.5 compared to RCP8.5. Tide gauge locations can show large ( > 50%) departures from the global average, in some cases even reversing the sign of the change. While uncertainty in projections of the future Antarctic ice dynamic response tends to dominate post‐2100, we see substantial differences in the breakdown of model variance as a function of location, time scale, and emissions scenario.
We present a new set of global and local sea‐level projections at example tide gauge locations under the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 emissions scenarios. Compared to the CMIP5‐based sea‐level projections presented in IPCC AR5, we introduce a number of methodological innovations, including (i) more comprehensive treatment of uncertainties, (ii) direct traceability between global and local projections, and (iii) exploratory extended projections to 2300 based on emulation of individual CMIP5 models. Combining the projections with observed tide gauge records, we explore the contribution to total variance that arises from sea‐level variability, different emissions scenarios, and model uncertainty. For the period out to 2300 we further breakdown the model uncertainty by sea‐level component and consider the dependence on geographic location, time horizon, and emissions scenario. Our analysis highlights the importance of local variability for sea‐level change in the coming decades and the potential value of annual‐to‐decadal predictions of local sea‐level change. Projections to 2300 show a substantial degree of committed sea‐level rise under all emissions scenarios considered and highlight the reduced future risk associated with RCP2.6 and RCP4.5 compared to RCP8.5. Tide gauge locations can show large ( > 50%) departures from the global average, in some cases even reversing the sign of the change. While uncertainty in projections of the future Antarctic ice dynamic response tends to dominate post‐2100, we see substantial differences in the breakdown of model variance as a function of location, time scale, and emissions scenario.
The origins and development of the arid and highly seasonal steppe-desert biome in Central Asia, the largest of its kind in the world, remain largely unconstrained by existing records. It is unclear how Cenozoic climatic, geological, and biological forces, acting at diverse spatial and temporal scales, shaped Central Asian ecosystems through time. Our synthesis shows that the Central Asian steppe-desert has existed since at least Eocene times but experienced no less than two regime shifts, one at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition and one in the mid-Miocene. These shifts separated three successive "stable states," each characterized by unique floral and faunal structures. Past responses to disturbance in the Asian steppe-desert imply that modern ecosystems are unlikely to recover their present structures and diversity if forced into a new regime. This is of concern for Asian steppes today, which are being modified for human use and lost to desertification at unprecedented rates.
Early onset and late acceleration of rapid exhumation in the Namche Barwa syntaxis, eastern Himalaya
(2020)
The Himalayan syntaxes, characterized by extreme rates of rock exhumation co-located with major trans-orogenic rivers, figure prominently in the debate on tectonic versus erosional forcing of exhumation. Both the mechanism and timing of rapid exhumation of the Namche Barwa massif in the eastern syntaxis remain controversial. It has been argued that coupling between crustal rock advection and surface erosion initiated in the late Miocene (8-10 Ma). Recent studies, in contrast, suggest a Quaternary onset of rapid exhumation linked to a purely tectonic mechanism. We report new multisystem detrital thermochronology data from the most proximal Neogene clastic sediments downstream of Namche Barwa and use a thermo-kinematic model constrained by new and published data to explore its exhumation history. Modeling results show that exhumation accelerated to similar to 4 km/m.y. at ca. 8 Ma and to similar to 9 km/m.y. after ca. 2 Ma. This three-stage history reconciles apparently contradictory evidence for early and late onset of rapid exhumation and suggests efficient coupling between tectonics and erosion since the late Miocene. Quaternary acceleration of exhumation is consistent with river-profile evolution and may be linked to a Quaternary river-capture event.
The timing and mechanisms of the Cretaceous sea incursions into Central Asia are still poorly constrained. We provide a new chronostratigraphic framework based on biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy together with detailed paleoenvironmental analyses of Cretaceous records of the proto-Paratethys Sea fluctuations in the Tajik and Tarim basins. The Early Cretaceous marine incursion in the western Tajik Basin was followed by major marine incursions during the Cenomanian (ca. 100 Ma) and Santonian (ca. 86 Ma) that reached far into the eastern Tajik and Tarim basins. These marine incursions were separated by a Turonian-Coniacian (ca. 92-86 Ma) regression. Basin-wide tectonic subsidence analyses imply that the Early Cretaceous sea incursion into the Tajik Basin was related to increased Pamir tectonism. We find that thrusting along the northern edge of the Pamir at ca. 130-90 Ma resulted in increased subsidence in a retro-arc basin setting. This tectonic event and coeval eustatic highstand resulted in the maximum observed geographic extent of the sea during the Cenomanian (ca. 100 Ma). The following Turonian-Coniacian (ca. 92-86 Ma) major regression, driven by eustasy, coincides with a sharp slowdown in tectonic subsidence during the late orogenic unloading period with limited thrusting. The Santonian (ca. 86 Ma) major sea incursion was likely controlled by eustasy as evidenced by the coeval fluctuations in the west Siberian Basin. An early Maastrichtian cooling (ca. 71-70 Ma), potentially connected to global Late Cretaceous trends, is inferred from the replacement of mollusk-rich limestones by bryozoan- and echinoderm-rich limestones.
The origin of Asian monsoons
(2020)
The Cenozoic inception and development of the Asian monsoons remain unclear and have generated much debate, as several hypotheses regarding circulation patterns at work in Asia during the Eocene have been proposed in the few last decades. These include (a) the existence of modern-like monsoons since the early Eocene; (b) that of a weak South Asian monsoon (SAM) and little to no East Asian monsoon (EAM); or (c) a prevalence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migrations, also referred to as Indonesian-Australian monsoon (I-AM). As SAM and EAM are supposed to have been triggered or enhanced primarily by Asian palaeogeographic changes, their possible inception in the very dynamic Eocene palaeogeographic context remains an open question, both in the modelling and field-based communities. We investigate here Eocene Asian climate conditions using the IPSL-CM5A2 (Sepulchre et al., 2019) earth system model and revised palaeogeographies. Our Eocene climate simulation yields atmospheric circulation patterns in Asia substantially different from modern conditions. A large high-pressure area is simulated over the Tethys ocean, which generates intense low tropospheric winds blowing southward along the western flank of the proto-Himalayan-Tibetan plateau (HTP) system. This low-level wind system blocks, to latitudes lower than 10 degrees N, the migration of humid and warm air masses coming from the Indian Ocean. This strongly contrasts with the modern SAM, during which equatorial air masses reach a latitude of 20-25 degrees N over India and southeastern China. Another specific feature of our Eocene simulation is the widespread subsidence taking place over northern India in the midtroposphere (around 5000 m), preventing deep convective updraught that would transport water vapour up to the condensation level. Both processes lead to the onset of a broad arid region located over northern India and over the HTP. More humid regions of high seasonality in precipitation encircle this arid area, due to the prevalence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migrations (or Indonesian-Australian monsoon, I-AM) rather than monsoons. Although the existence of this central arid region may partly result from the specifics of our simulation (model dependence and palaeogeographic uncertainties) and has yet to be confirmed by proxy records, most of the observational evidence for Eocene monsoons are located in the highly seasonal transition zone between the arid area and the more humid surroundings. We thus suggest that a zonal arid climate prevailed over Asia before the initiation of monsoons that most likely occurred following Eocene palaeogeographic changes. Our results also show that precipitation seasonality should be used with caution to infer the presence of a monsoonal circulation and that the collection of new data in this arid area is of paramount importance to allow the debate to move forward.
Unlike today’s prevailing terrestrial features, the geologic past of Central Asia witnessed marine environments and conditions as well. A vast, shallow sea, known as proto-Paratethys, extended across Eurasia from the Mediterranean Tethys to the Tarim Basin in western China during Cretaceous to Paleogene times. This sea formed about 160 million years ago (during Jurassic times) when the waters of the Tethys Ocean flooded into Eurasia. It drastically retreated to the west and became isolated as the Paratethys during the Late Eocene-Oligocene (ca. 34 Ma).
Having well-constrained timing and paleogeography for the Cretaceous-Paleogene proto-Paratethys sea incursions in Central Asia is essential to properly understand and distinguish the controlling mechanisms and their link to Asian paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic change. The Cretaceous-Paleogene tectonic evolution of the Pamir and Tibet and their far-field effects play a significant role on the sedimentological and structural evolution of the Central Asian basins and on the evolution of the proto-Paratethys sea fluctuations as well. Comparing the records of the sea incursions to the tectonic and eustatic events has paramount importance to reveal the controlling mechanisms behind the sea incursions. However, due to inaccuracies in the dating of rocks (mostly continental rocks and marine rocks with benthic microfossils providing low-resolution biostratigraphic constraints) and conflicting results, there has been no consensus on the timing of the sea incursions and interpretation of their records has been in question. Here, we present a new chronostratigraphic framework based on biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy as well as a detailed paleoenvironmental analysis for the Cretaceous and Paleogene proto-Paratethys Sea incursions in the Tajik and Tarim basins, in Central Asia. This enables us to identify the major drivers of marine fluctuations and their potential consequences on regional and global climate, particularly Asian aridification and the global carbon cycle perturbations such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). To estimate the paleogeographic evolution of the proto-Paratethys Sea, the refined age constraints and detailed paleoenvironmental interpretations are combined with successive paleogeographic maps. Regional coastlines and depositional environments during the Cretaceous-Paleogene sea advances and retreats were drawn based on the results of this thesis and integrated with existing literature to generate new paleogeographic maps.
Before its final westward retreat in the Eocene, a total of six Cretaceous and Paleogene major sea incursions have been distinguished from the sedimentary records of the Tajik and Tarim basins in Central Asia. All have been studied and documented here.
We identify the presence of marine conditions already in the Early Cretaceous in the western Tajik Basin, followed by the Cenomanian (ca. 100 Ma) and Santonian (ca. 86 Ma) major marine incursions far into the eastern Tajik and Tarim basins separated by a Turonian-Coniacian (ca. 92-86 Ma) regression. Basin-wide tectonic subsidence analyses imply that the Early Cretaceous invasion of the sea into the Tajik Basin is related to increased Pamir tectonism (at ca. 130 – 90 Ma) in a retro-arc basin setting inferred to be linked to collision and subduction. This tectonic event mainly governed the Cenomanian (ca. 100 Ma) sea incursion in conjunction with a coeval global eustatic high resulting in the maximum geographic extent of the sea. The following Turonian-Coniacian (ca. 92-86 Ma) major regression, driven by eustasy, coincides with a sharp slowdown in tectonic subsidence related to a regime change in Pamir tectonism from compression to extension. The Santonian (ca. 86 Ma) major sea incursion was more likely controlled dominantly by eustasy as also evidenced by the coeval fluctuations in the west Siberian Basin. During the early Maastrichtian, the global Late Cretaceous cooling is inferred from the disappearance of mollusk-rich limestones and the dominance of bryozoan-rich and echinoderm-rich limestones in the Tajik Basin documenting the first evidence for the Late Cretaceous cooling event in Central Asia.
Following the last Cretaceous sea incursion, a major regional restriction event, marked by the exceptionally thick (≤ 400 m) shelf evaporites is assigned a Danian-Selandian age (ca. 63-59 Ma). This is followed by the largest recorded proto-Paratethys sea incursion with a transgression estimated as early Thanetian (ca. 59-57 Ma) and a regression within the Ypresian (ca. 53-52 Ma). The transgression of the next incursion is now constrained as early Lutetian (ca. 47-46 Ma), whereas its regression is constrained as late Lutetian (ca. 41 Ma) and is associated with a drastic increase in both tectonic subsidence and basin infilling. The age of the final and least pronounced sea incursion restricted to the westernmost margin of the Tarim Basin is assigned as Bartonian–Priabonian (ca. 39.7-36.7 Ma). We interpret the long-term westward retreat of the proto-Paratethys Sea starting at ca. 41 Ma to be associated with far-field tectonic effects of the Indo-Asia collision and Pamir/Tibetan plateau uplift. Short-term eustatic sea level transgressions are superimposed on this long-term regression and seem coeval with the transgression events in the other northern Peri-Tethyan sedimentary provinces for the 1st and 2nd Paleogene sea incursions. However, the last Paleogene sea incursion is interpreted as related to tectonism. The transgressive and regressive intervals of the proto-Paratethys Sea correlate well with the reported humid and arid phases, respectively in the Qaidam and Xining basins, thus demonstrating the role of the proto-Paratethys Sea as an important moisture source for the Asian interior and its regression as a contributor to Asian aridification.
We lastly study the mechanics, relative contribution and preservation efficiency of ancient epicontinental seas as carbon sinks with new and existing data, using organic rich (sapropel) deposits dated to the PETM from the extensive epicontinental proto-Paratethys and West Siberian seas. We estimate ca. 1390±230 Gt organic C burial, a substantial amount compared to previously estimated global total excess organic C burial (ca. 1700-2900 Gt) is focused in the proto-Paratethys and West Siberian seas alone. We also speculate that enhanced organic carbon burial later over much of the proto-Paratethys (and later Paratethys) basin (during the deposition of the Kuma Formation and Maikop series, repectively) may have majorly contributed to drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide before and during the EOT cooling and glaciation of Antarctica. For past periods with smaller epicontinental seas, the effectiveness of this negative carbon cycle feedback was arguably diminished, and the same likely applies to the present-day.
The origin of Asian monsoons
(2020)
The Cenozoic inception and development of the Asian monsoons remain unclear and have generated much debate, as several hypotheses regarding circulation patterns at work in Asia during the Eocene have been proposed in the few last decades. These include (a) the existence of modern-like monsoons since the early Eocene; (b) that of a weak South Asian monsoon (SAM) and little to no East Asian monsoon (EAM); or (c) a prevalence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migrations, also referred to as Indonesian-Australian monsoon (I-AM). As SAM and EAM are supposed to have been triggered or enhanced primarily by Asian palaeogeographic changes, their possible inception in the very dynamic Eocene palaeogeographic context remains an open question, both in the modelling and field-based communities. We investigate here Eocene Asian climate conditions using the IPSL-CM5A2 (Sepulchre et al., 2019) earth system model and revised palaeogeographies. Our Eocene climate simulation yields atmospheric circulation patterns in Asia substantially different from modern conditions. A large high-pressure area is simulated over the Tethys ocean, which generates intense low tropospheric winds blowing southward along the western flank of the proto-Himalayan-Tibetan plateau (HTP) system. This low-level wind system blocks, to latitudes lower than 10 degrees N, the migration of humid and warm air masses coming from the Indian Ocean. This strongly contrasts with the modern SAM, during which equatorial air masses reach a latitude of 20-25 degrees N over India and southeastern China. Another specific feature of our Eocene simulation is the widespread subsidence taking place over northern India in the midtroposphere (around 5000 m), preventing deep convective updraught that would transport water vapour up to the condensation level. Both processes lead to the onset of a broad arid region located over northern India and over the HTP. More humid regions of high seasonality in precipitation encircle this arid area, due to the prevalence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migrations (or Indonesian-Australian monsoon, I-AM) rather than monsoons. Although the existence of this central arid region may partly result from the specifics of our simulation (model dependence and palaeogeographic uncertainties) and has yet to be confirmed by proxy records, most of the observational evidence for Eocene monsoons are located in the highly seasonal transition zone between the arid area and the more humid surroundings. We thus suggest that a zonal arid climate prevailed over Asia before the initiation of monsoons that most likely occurred following Eocene palaeogeographic changes. Our results also show that precipitation seasonality should be used with caution to infer the presence of a monsoonal circulation and that the collection of new data in this arid area is of paramount importance to allow the debate to move forward.
The East Asian monsoons characterize the modern-day Asian climate, yet their geological history and driving mechanisms remain controversial. The southeasterly summer monsoon provides moisture, whereas the northwesterly winter monsoon sweeps up dust from the arid Asian interior to form the Chinese Loess Plateau. The onset of this loess accumulation, and therefore of the monsoons, was thought to be 8 million years ago (Ma). However, in recent years these loess records have been extended further back in time to the Eocene (56-34 Ma), a period characterized by significant changes in both the regional geography and global climate. Yet the extent to which these reconfigurations drive atmospheric circulation and whether the loess-like deposits are monsoonal remains debated. In this thesis, I study the terrestrial deposits of the Xining Basin previously identified as Eocene loess, to derive the paleoenvironmental evolution of the region and identify the geological processes that have shaped the Asian climate.
I review dust deposits in the geological record and conclude that these are commonly represented by a mix of both windblown and water-laid sediments, in contrast to the pure windblown material known as loess. Yet by using a combination of quartz surface morphologies, provenance characteristics and distinguishing grain-size distributions, windblown dust can be identified and quantified in a variety of settings. This has important implications for tracking aridification and dust-fluxes throughout the geological record.
Past reversals of Earth’s magnetic field are recorded in the deposits of the Xining Basin and I use these together with a dated volcanic ash layer to accurately constrain the age to the Eocene period. A combination of pollen assemblages, low dust abundances and other geochemical data indicates that the early Eocene was relatively humid suggesting an intensified summer monsoon due to the warmer greenhouse climate at this time. A subsequent shift from predominantly freshwater to salt lakes reflects a long-term aridification trend possibly driven by global cooling and the continuous uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Superimposed on this aridification are wetter intervals reflected in more abundant lake deposits which correlate with highstands of the inland proto-Paratethys Sea. This sea covered the Eurasian continent and thereby provided additional moisture to the winter-time westerlies during the middle to late Eocene.
The long-term aridification culminated in an abrupt shift at 40 Ma reflected by the onset of windblown dust, an increase in steppe-desert pollen, the occurrence of high-latitude orbital cycles and northwesterly winds identified in deflated salt deposits. Together, these indicate the onset of a Siberian high atmospheric pressure system driving the East Asian winter monsoon as well as dust storms and was triggered by a major sea retreat from the Asian interior. These results therefore show that the proto-Paratethys Sea, though less well recognized than the Tibetan Plateau and global climate, has been a major driver in setting up the modern-day climate in Asia.
Vegetation has long been hypothesized to influence the nature and rates of surface processes. We test the possible impact of vegetation and climate on denudation rates at orogen scale by taking advantage of a pronounced along-strike gradient in rainfall and vegetation density in the Himalaya. We combine 12 new 10Be denudation rates from the Sutlej Valley and 123 published denudation rates from fluvially- dominated catchments in the Himalaya with remotely-sensed measures of vegetation density and rainfall metrics, and with tectonic and lithologic constraints. In addition, we perform topographic analyses to assess the contribution of vegetation and climate in modulating denudation rates along strike. We observe variations in denudation rates and the relationship between denudation and topography along strike that are most strongly controlled by local rainfall amount and vegetation density, and cannot be explained by along-strike differences in tectonics or lithology. A W–E along-strike decrease in denudation rate variability positively correlates with the seasonality of vegetation density (R = 0.95, p < 0.05), and negatively correlates with mean vegetation density (R = −0.84, p < 0.05). Vegetation density modulates the topographic response to changing denudation rates, such that the functional relationship between denudation rate and topographic steepness becomes increasingly linear as vegetation density increases. We suggest that while tectonic processes locally control the pattern of denudation rates across strike of the Himalaya (i.e., S–N), along strike of the orogen (i.e., E–W) climate exerts a measurable influence on how denudation rates scatter around long-term, tectonically-controlled erosion, and on the functional relationship between topography and denudation
In the comment on "Varves of the Dead Sea sedimentary record." Quaternary Science Reviews 215 (Ben Dor et al., 2019): 173-184. by R. Bookman, two recently published papers are suggested to prove that the interpretation of the laminated sedimentary sequence of the Dead Sea, deposited mostly during MIS2 and Holocene pluvials, as annual deposits (i.e., varves) is wrong. In the following response, we delineate several lines of evidence which coalesce to demonstrate that based on the vast majority of evidence, including some of the evidence provided in the comment itself, the interpretation of these sediments as varves is the more likely scientific conclusion. We further discuss the evidence brought up in the comment and its irrelevance and lack of robustness for addressing the question under discussion.
Glacial-cycle simulations of the Antarctic Ice Sheet with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM)
(2020)
Simulations of the glacial-interglacial history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet provide insights into dynamic threshold behavior and estimates of the ice sheet's contributions to global sea-level changes for the past, present and future. However, boundary conditions are weakly constrained, in particular at the interface of the ice sheet and the bedrock. Also climatic forcing covering the last glacial cycles is uncertain, as it is based on sparse proxy data. <br /> We use the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) to investigate the dynamic effects of different choices of input data, e.g., for modern basal heat flux or reconstructions of past changes of sea level and surface temperature. As computational resources are limited, glacial-cycle simulations are performed using a comparably coarse model grid of 16 km and various parameterizations, e.g., for basal sliding, iceberg calving, or for past variations in precipitation and ocean temperatures. In this study we evaluate the model's transient sensitivity to corresponding parameter choices and to different boundary conditions over the last two glacial cycles and provide estimates of involved uncertainties. We also discuss isolated and combined effects of climate and sea-level forcing. Hence, this study serves as a "cookbook" for the growing community of PISM users and paleo-ice sheet modelers in general. <br /> For each of the different model uncertainties with regard to climatic forcing, ice and Earth dynamics, and basal processes, we select one representative model parameter that captures relevant uncertainties and motivates corresponding parameter ranges that bound the observed ice volume at present. The four selected parameters are systematically varied in a parameter ensemble analysis, which is described in a companion paper.