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Millennial-scale palaeoclimate variability has been documented in various terrestrial and marine palaeoclimate proxy records throughout the Northern Hemisphere for the last glacial cycle. Its clear expression and rapid shifts between different states of climate (Greenland Interstadials and Stadials) represents a correlation tool beyond the resolution of e.g. luminescence dating, especially relevant for terrestrial deposits. Usually, comparison of terrestrial proxy datasets and the Greenland ice cores indicates a complex expression of millennial-scale climate variability as recorded in terrestrial geoarchives including loess. Loess is the most widespread terrestrial geoarchive of the Quaternary and especially widespread over Eurasia. However, loess often records a smoothed representation of millennial-scale variability without all fidelity when compared to the Greenland data, this being a relevant limiting feature in integrating loess with other palaeoclimate records. To better understand the loess proxy-response to millennial-scale climate variability, we simulate a proxy signal smoothing by natural processes through application of low-pass filters of delta O-18 data from Greenland, a high-resolution palaeoclimate reference record, alongside speleothem isotope records from the Black Sea-Mediterranean region. We show that low-pass filters represent rather simple models for better constraining the expression of millennial-scale climate variability in low sedimentation environments, and in sediments where proxy-response signals are most likely affected by natural smoothing (by e.g. bioturbation). Interestingly, smoothed datasets from Greenland and the Black Sea-Mediterranean region are most similar in the last similar to 15 ka and between similar to 50-30 ka. Between similar to 30-15 ka, roughly corresponding to the Last Glacial Maximum and the deglaciation, the records show dissimilarities, challenging the construction of robust correlative time-scales in this age range. From our analysis it becomes apparent that patterns of palaeoclimate signals in loess-palaeosol sequences often might be better explained by smoothed Greenland reference data than the original high-resolution Greenland dataset, or other reference data. This opens the possibility to better assess the temporal resolution and palaeoclimate potential of loess-palaeosol sequences in recording supra-regional climate patterns, as well as to securely integrate loess with other chronologically better-resolved palaeoclimate records.
Marked along-strike changes in stratigraphy, mountain belt morphology, basement exhumation, and deformation styles characterize the Andean retroarc; these changes have previously been related to spatiotemporal variations in the subduction angle. We modeled new apatite fission track and apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He data from nine ranges located between 26 degrees S and 28 degrees S. Using new and previously published data, we constructed a Cretaceous to Pliocene paleogeographic model that delineates a four-stage tectonic evolution: extensional tectonics during the Cretaceous (120-75 Ma), the formation of a broken foreland basin between 55 and 30 Ma, reheating due to burial beneath sedimentary rocks (18-13 Ma), and deformation, exhumation, and surface uplift during the Late Miocene and the Pliocene (13-3 Ma). Our model highlights how preexisting upper plate structures control the deformation patterns of broken foreland basins. Because retroarc deformation predates flat-slab subduction, we propose that slab anchoring may have been the precursor of Eocene-Oligocene compression in the Andean retroarc. Our model challenges models which consider broken foreland basins and retroarc deformation in the NW Argentinian Andes to be directly related to Miocene flat subduction.
Records from ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) are highly contaminated by noise, which is much stronger
compared to data from most land stations, especially on the horizontal components. As a consequence, the high energy of the oceanic noise at frequencies below 1 Hz considerably complicates the analysis of the teleseismic earthquake signals recorded by OBSs.
Previous studies suggested different approaches to remove low-frequency noises from OBS recordings but mainly focused on the vertical component. The records of horizontal components, which are crucial for the application of many methods in passive seismological analysis of body and surface waves, could not be much improved in the teleseismic frequency band. Here we introduce a noise reduction method, which is derived from the harmonic–percussive separation algorithms used in Zali et al. (2021), in order to separate long-lasting narrowband signals from broadband transients in the OBS signal. This leads to significant noise reduction of OBS records on both the vertical and horizontal components and increases the earthquake signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) without distortion of the broadband earthquake waveforms. This is demonstrated through tests with synthetic data. Both SNR and cross-correlation coefficients showed significant improvements for different realistic noise realizations. The application of denoised signals in surface wave analysis and receiver functions is discussed through tests with synthetic and real data.
In this study, we investigated the scale sizes of equatorial plasma irregularities (EPIs) using measurements from the Swarm satellites during its early mission and final constellation phases. We found that with longitudinal separation between Swarm satellites larger than 0.4°, no significant correlation was found any more. This result suggests that EPI structures include plasma density scale sizes less than 44 km in the zonal direction. During the Swarm earlier mission phase, clearly better EPI correlations are obtained in the northern hemisphere, implying more fragmented irregularities in the southern hemisphere where the ambient magnetic field is low. The previously reported inverted-C shell structure of EPIs is generally confirmed by the Swarm observations in the northern hemisphere, but with various tilt angles. From the Swarm spacecrafts with zonal separations of about 150 km, we conclude that larger zonal scale sizes of irregularities exist during the early evening hours (around 1900 LT).
Quantifying rock weakening due to decreasing calcite mineral content by numerical simulations
(2018)
The quantification of changes in geomechanical properties due to chemical reactions is of paramount importance for geological subsurface utilisation, since mineral dissolution generally reduces rock stiffness. In the present study, the effective elastic moduli of two digital rock samples, the Fontainebleau and Bentheim sandstones, are numerically determined based on micro-CT images. Reduction in rock stiffness due to the dissolution of 10% calcite cement by volume out of the pore network is quantified for three synthetic spatial calcite distributions (coating, partial filling and random) using representative sub-cubes derived from the digital rock samples. Due to the reduced calcite content, bulk and shear moduli decrease by 34% and 38% in maximum, respectively. Total porosity is clearly the dominant parameter, while spatial calcite distribution has a minor impact, except for a randomly chosen cement distribution within the pore network. Moreover, applying an initial stiffness reduced by 47% for the calcite cement results only in a slightly weaker mechanical behaviour. Using the quantitative approach introduced here substantially improves the accuracy of predictions in elastic rock properties compared to general analytical methods, and further enables quantification of uncertainties related to spatial variations in porosity and mineral distribution.
The advantages of remote sensing using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a high spatial resolution of images, temporal flexibility and narrow-band spectral data from different wavelengths domains. This enables the detection of spatio-temporal dynamics of environmental variables, like plant-related carbon dynamics in agricultural landscapes. In this paper, we quantify spatial patterns of fresh phytomass and related carbon (C) export using imagery captured by a 12-band multispectral camera mounted on the fixed wing UAV Carolo P360. The study was performed in 2014 at the experimental area CarboZALF-D in NE Germany. From radiometrically corrected and calibrated images of lucerne (Medicago sativa), the performance of four commonly used vegetation indices (VIs) was tested using band combinations of six near-infrared bands. The highest correlation between ground-based measurements of fresh phytomass of lucerne and VIs was obtained for the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) using near-infrared band b(899). The resulting map was transformed into dry phytomass and finally upscaled to total C export by harvest. The observed spatial variability at field- and plot-scale could be attributed to small-scale soil heterogeneity in part.
High-latitude treeless ecosystems represent spatially highly heterogeneous landscapes with small net carbon fluxes and a short growing season. Reliable observations and process understanding are critical for projections of the carbon balance of the climate-sensitive tundra. Space-borne remote sensing is the only tool to obtain spatially continuous and temporally resolved information on vegetation greenness and activity in remote circumpolar areas. However, confounding effects from persistent clouds, low sun elevation angles, numerous lakes, widespread surface inundation, and the sparseness of the vegetation render it highly challenging. Here, we conduct an extensive analysis of the timing of peak vegetation productivity as shown by satellite observations of complementary indicators of plant greenness and photosynthesis. We choose to focus on productivity during the peak of the growing season, as it importantly affects the total annual carbon uptake. The suite of indicators are as follows: (1) MODIS-based vegetation indices (VIs) as proxies for the fraction of incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) that is absorbed (fPAR), (2) VIs combined with estimates of PAR as a proxy of the total absorbed radiation (APAR), (3) sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) serving as a proxy for photosynthesis, (4) vegetation optical depth (VOD), indicative of total water content and (5) empirically upscaled modelled gross primary productivity (GPP). Averaged over the pan-Arctic we find a clear order of the annual peak as APAR ≦ GPP<SIF<VIs/VOD. SIF as an indicator of photosynthesis is maximised around the time of highest annual temperatures. The modelled GPP peaks at a similar time to APAR. The time lag of the annual peak between APAR and instantaneous SIF fluxes indicates that the SIF data do contain information on light-use efficiency of tundra vegetation, but further detailed studies are necessary to verify this. Delayed peak greenness compared to peak photosynthesis is consistently found across years and land-cover classes. A particularly late peak of the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) in regions with very small seasonality in greenness and a high amount of lakes probably originates from artefacts. Given the very short growing season in circumpolar areas, the average time difference in maximum annual photosynthetic activity and greenness or growth of 3 to 25 days (depending on the data sets chosen) is important and needs to be considered when using satellite observations as drivers in vegetation models.
Lake Towuti is a tectonic basin, surrounded by ultramafic rocks. Lateritic soils form through weathering and deliver abundant iron (oxy)hydroxides but very little sulfate to the lake and its sediment. To characterize the sediment biogeochemistry, we collected cores at three sites with increasing water depth and decreasing bottom water oxygen concentrations. Microbial cell densities were highest at the shallow site a feature we attribute to the availability of labile organic matter (OM) and the higher abundance of electron acceptors due to oxic bottom water conditions. At the two other sites, OM degradation and reduction processes below the oxycline led to partial electron acceptor depletion. Genetic information preserved in the sediment as extracellular DNA (eDNA) provided information on aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophs related to Nitrospirae. Chloroflexi, and Therrnoplasmatales. These taxa apparently played a significant role in the degradation of sinking OM. However, eDNA concentrations rapidly decreased with core depth. Despite very low sulfate concentrations, sulfate-reducing bacteria were present and viable in sediments at all three sites, as confirmed by measurement of potential sulfate reduction rates. Microbial community fingerprinting supported the presence of taxa related to Deltaproteobacteria and Firmicutes with demonstrated capacity for iron and sulfate reduction. Concomitantly, sequences of Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiales, and Methanornicrobiales indicated potential for fermentative hydrogen and methane production. Such first insights into ferruginous sediments showed that microbial populations perform successive metabolisms related to sulfur, iron, and methane. In theory, iron reduction could reoxidize reduced sulfur compounds and desorb OM from iron minerals to allow remineralization to methane. Overall, we found that biogeochemical processes in the sediments can be linked to redox differences in the bottom waters of the three sites, like oxidant concentrations and the supply of labile OM. At the scale of the lacustrine record, our geomicrobiological study should provide a means to link the extant subsurface biosphere to past environments.
Climate change is likely to impact the seasonality and generation processes of floods in the Nordic countries, which has direct implications for flood risk assessment, design flood estimation, and hydropower production management. Using a multi-model/multi-parameter approach to simulate daily discharge for a reference (1961–1990) and a future (2071–2099) period, we analysed the projected changes in flood seasonality and generation processes in six catchments with mixed snowmelt/rainfall regimes under the current climate in Norway. The multi-model/multi-parameter ensemble consists of (i) eight combinations of global and regional climate models, (ii) two methods for adjusting the climate model output to the catchment scale, and (iii) one conceptual hydrological model with 25 calibrated parameter sets. Results indicate that autumn/winter events become more frequent in all catchments considered, which leads to an intensification of the current autumn/winter flood regime for the coastal catchments, a reduction of the dominance of spring/summer flood regimes in a high-mountain catchment, and a possible systematic shift in the current flood regimes from spring/summer to autumn/winter in the two catchments located in northern and south-eastern Norway. The changes in flood regimes result from increasing event magnitudes or frequencies, or a combination of both during autumn and winter. Changes towards more dominant autumn/winter events correspond to an increasing relevance of rainfall as a flood generating process (FGP) which is most pronounced in those catchments with the largest shifts in flood seasonality. Here, rainfall replaces snowmelt as the dominant FGP primarily due to increasing temperature.We further analysed the ensemble components in contributing to overall uncertainty in the projected changes and found that the climate projections and the methods for downscaling or bias correction tend to be the largest contributors. The relative role of hydrological parameter uncertainty, however, is highest for those catchments showing the largest changes in flood seasonality, which confirms the lack of robustness in hydrological model parameterization for simulations under transient hydrometeorological conditions.
Thousands of glacier lakes have been forming behind natural dams in high mountains following glacier retreat since the early 20th century. Some of these lakes abruptly released pulses of water and sediment with disastrous downstream consequences. Yet it remains unclear whether the reported rise of these glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) has been fueled by a warming atmosphere and enhanced meltwater production, or simply a growing research effort. Here we estimate trends and biases in GLOF reporting based on the largest global catalog of 1,997 dated glacier-related floods in six major mountain ranges from 1901 to 2017. We find that the positive trend in the number of reported GLOFs has decayed distinctly after a break in the 1970s, coinciding with independently detected trend changes in annual air temperatures and in the annual number of field-based glacier surveys (a proxy of scientific reporting). We observe that GLOF reports and glacier surveys decelerated, while temperature rise accelerated in the past five decades. Enhanced warming alone can thus hardly explain the annual number of reported GLOFs, suggesting that temperature-driven glacier lake formation, growth, and failure are weakly coupled, or that outbursts have been overlooked. Indeed, our analysis emphasizes a distinct geographic and temporal bias in GLOF reporting, and we project that between two to four out of five GLOFs on average might have gone unnoticed in the early to mid-20th century. We recommend that such biases should be considered, or better corrected for, when attributing the frequency of reported GLOFs to atmospheric warming.
Water infiltration in soil is not only affected by the inherent heterogeneities of soil, but even more by the interaction with plant roots and their water uptake. Neutron tomography is a unique non-invasive 3D tool to visualize plant root systems together with the soil water distribution in situ. So far, acquisition times in the range of hours have been the major limitation for imaging 3D water dynamics. Implementing an alternative acquisition procedure we boosted the speed of acquisition capturing an entire tomogram within 10 s. This allows, for the first time, tracking of a water front ascending in a rooted soil column upon infiltration of deuterated water time-resolved in 3D. Image quality and resolution could be sustained to a level allowing for capturing the root system in high detail. Good signal-to-noise ratio and contrast were the key to visualize dynamic changes in water content and to localize the root uptake. We demonstrated the ability of ultra-fast tomography to quantitatively image quick changes of water content in the rhizosphere and outlined the value of such imaging data for 3D water uptake modelling. The presented method paves the way for time-resolved studies of various 3D flow and transport phenomena in porous systems
River-valley morphology preserves information on tectonic and climatic conditions that shape landscapes. Observations suggest that river discharge and valley-wall lithology are the main controls on valley width. Yet, current models based on these observations fail to explain the full range of cross-sectional valley shapes in nature, suggesting hitherto unquantified controls on valley width. In particular, current models cannot explain the existence of paired terrace sequences that form under cyclic climate forcing. Paired river terraces are staircases of abandoned floodplains on both valley sides, and hence preserve past valley widths. Their formation requires alternating phases of predominantly river incision and predominantly lateral planation, plus progressive valley narrowing. While cyclic Quaternary climate changes can explain shifts between incision and lateral erosion, the driving mechanism of valley narrowing is unknown. Here, we extract valley geometries from climatically formed, alluvial river-terrace sequences and show that across our dataset, the total cumulative terrace height (here: total valley height) explains 90%–99% of the variance in valley width at the terrace sites. This finding suggests that valley height, or a parameter that scales linearly with valley height, controls valley width in addition to river discharge and lithology. To explain this valley-width-height relationship, we reformulate existing valley-width models and suggest that, when adjusting to new boundary conditions, alluvial valleys evolve to a width at which sediment removal from valley walls matches lateral sediment supply from hillslope erosion. Such a hillslope-channel coupling is not captured in current valley-evolution models. Our model can explain the existence of paired terrace sequences under cyclic climate forcing and relates valley width to measurable field parameters. Therefore, it facilitates the reconstruction of past climatic and tectonic conditions from valley topography.
Sediment archives in the terrestrial and marine realm are regularly analyzed to infer changes in climate, tectonic, or anthropogenic boundary conditions of the past. However, contradictory observations have been made regarding whether short period events are faithfully preserved in stratigraphic archives; for instance, in marine sediments offshore large river systems. On the one hand, short period events are hypothesized to be non-detectable in the signature of terrestrially derived sediments due to buffering during sediment transport along large river systems. On the other hand, several studies have detected signals of short period events in marine records offshore large river systems. We propose that this apparent discrepancy is related to the lack of a differentiation between different types of signals and the lack of distinction between river response times and signal propagation times. In this review, we (1) expand the definition of the term ‘signal’ and group signals in sub-categories related to hydraulic grain size characteristics, (2) clarify the different types of ‘times’ and suggest a precise and consistent terminology for future use, and (3) compile and discuss factors influencing the times of signal transfer along sediment routing systems and how those times vary with hydraulic grain size characteristics. Unraveling different types of signals and distinctive time periods related to signal propagation addresses the discrepancies mentioned above and allows a more comprehensive exploration of event preservation in stratigraphy – a prerequisite for reliable environmental reconstructions from terrestrially derived sedimentary records.
Widespread flooding in June 2013 caused damage costs of €6 to 8 billion in Germany, and awoke many memories of the floods in August 2002, which resulted in total damage of €11.6 billion and hence was the most expensive natural hazard event in Germany up to now. The event of 2002 does, however, also mark a reorientation toward an integrated flood risk management system in Germany. Therefore, the flood of 2013 offered the opportunity to review how the measures that politics, administration, and civil society have implemented since 2002 helped to cope with the flood and what still needs to be done to achieve effective and more integrated flood risk management. The review highlights considerable improvements on many levels, in particular (1) an increased consideration of flood hazards in spatial planning and urban development, (2) comprehensive property-level mitigation and preparedness measures, (3) more effective flood warnings and improved coordination of disaster response, and (4) a more targeted maintenance of flood defense systems. In 2013, this led to more effective flood management and to a reduction of damage. Nevertheless, important aspects remain unclear and need to be clarified. This particularly holds for balanced and coordinated strategies for reducing and overcoming the impacts of flooding in large catchments, cross-border and interdisciplinary cooperation, the role of the general public in the different phases of flood risk management, as well as a transparent risk transfer system. Recurring flood events reveal that flood risk management is a continuous task. Hence, risk drivers, such as climate change, land-use changes, economic developments, or demographic change and the resultant risks must be investigated at regular intervals, and risk reduction strategies and processes must be reassessed as well as adapted and implemented in a dialogue with all stakeholders.
In June 2013, widespread flooding and consequent damage and losses occurred in Central Europe, especially in Germany. This paper explores what data are available to investigate the adverse impacts of the event, what kind of information can be retrieved from these data and how well data and information fulfil requirements that were recently proposed for disaster reporting on the European and international levels. In accordance with the European Floods Directive (2007/60/EC), impacts on human health, economic activities (and assets), cultural heritage and the environment are described on the national and sub-national scale. Information from governmental reports is complemented by communications on traffic disruptions and surveys of flood-affected residents and companies.
Overall, the impacts of the flood event in 2013 were manifold. The study reveals that flood-affected residents suffered from a large range of impacts, among which mental health and supply problems were perceived more seriously than financial losses. The most frequent damage type among affected companies was business interruption. This demonstrates that the current scientific focus on direct (financial) damage is insufficient to describe the overall impacts and severity of flood events.
The case further demonstrates that procedures and standards for impact data collection in Germany are widely missing. Present impact data in Germany are fragmentary, heterogeneous, incomplete and difficult to access. In order to fulfil, for example, the monitoring and reporting requirements of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 that was adopted in March 2015 in Sendai, Japan, more efforts on impact data collection are needed.
This study focuses on evaluating the potential of ALOS/PALSAR time-series data to analyze the activation of deep-seated landslides in the foothill zone of the high mountain Alai range in the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan). Most previous field-based landslide investigations have revealed that many landslides have indicators for ongoing slow movements in the form of migrating and newly developing cracks. L-band ALOS/PALSAR data for the period between 2007 and 2010 are available for the 484 km2 area in this study. We analyzed these data using the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) time-series technique to assess the surface deformation related to the activation of landslides. We observed up to ±17 mm/year of LOS velocity deformation rates, which were projected along the local steepest slope and resulted in velocity rates of up to −63 mm/year. The obtained rates indicate very slow movement of the deep-seated landslides during the observation time. We also compared these movements with precipitation and earthquake records. The results suggest that the deformation peaks correlate with rainfall in the 3 preceding months and with an earthquake event. Overall, the results of this study indicated the great potential of L-band InSAR time series analysis for efficient spatiotemporal identification and monitoring of slope activations in this region of high landslide activity in Southern Kyrgyzstan.
The Big Naryn Complex (BNC) in the East Djetim-Too Range of the Kyrgyz Middle Tianshan block is a tectonized, at least 2 km thick sequence of predominantly felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks intruded by porphyric rhyolite sills. It overlies a basement of metamorphic rocks and is overlain by late Neoproterozoic Djetim-Too Formation sediments; these also occur as tectonic intercalations in the BNC. The up to ca. 1100 m thick Lower Member is composed of predominantly rhyolites-to-dacites and minor basalts, while the at least 900 m thick pyroclastic Upper Member is dominated by rhyolitic-to-dacitic ignimbrites. Porphyric rhyolite sills are concentrated at the top of the Lower Member. A Lower Member rhyolite and a sill sample have LA-ICP-MS U-Pb zircon crystallization ages of 726.1 +/- 2.2 Ma and 720.3 +/- 6.5 Ma, respectively, showing that most of the magmatism occurred within a short time span in the late Tonian-early Cryogenian. Inherited zircons in the sill sample have Neoarchean (2.63, 2.64 Ga), Paleo- (2.33-1.81 Ga), Meso- (1.55 Ga), and Neoproterozoic (ca. 815 Ma) ages, and were derived from a heterogeneous Kuilyu Complex basement. A 1751 +/- 7 Ma Ar-40/Ar-39 age for amphibole from metagabbro is the age of cooling subsequent to Paleoproterozoic metamorphism of the Kuilyu Complex. The large amount of pyroclastic rocks, and their major and trace element compositions, the presence of Neoarchean to Neoproterozoic inherited zircons and a depositional basement of metamorphic rocks point to formation of the BNC in a continental magmatic arc setting.
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.
We measure valence-to-core x-ray emission spectra of compressed crystalline GeO₂ up to 56 GPa and of amorphous GeO₂ up to 100 GPa. In a novel approach, we extract the Ge coordination number and mean Ge-O distances from the emission energy and the intensity of the Kβ'' emission line. The spectra of high-pressure polymorphs are calculated using the Bethe-Salpeter equation. Trends observed in the experimental and calculated spectra are found to match only when utilizing an octahedral model. The results reveal persistent octahedral Ge coordination with increasing distortion, similar to the compaction mechanism in the sequence of octahedrally coordinated crystalline GeO₂ high-pressure polymorphs.
Graphite forms the endpoint for organic carbon metamorphism; it is extremely resilient to physical, biological and chemical degradation. Carbonaceous materials (CM) contained within sediments, collected across Taiwan and from the Gaoping submarine canyon, were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy to determine the crystallinity. This allowed the erosional and orogenic movements of petrogenic organic carbon (OCpetro) during the Taiwanese orogeny to be deduced. After automatically fitting and classifying spectra, the distribution of four groups of CM within the sediments provides evidence that many forms of OCpetro have survived at least one previous cycle of erosion, transport and burial before forming rocks in the Western Foothills of the island. There is extensive detrital graphite present in rocks that have not experienced high-grade metamorphism, and graphite flakes are also found in recently deposited marine sediments off Taiwan. The tectonic and geological history of the island shows that these graphite flakes must have survived at least three episodes of recycling. Therefore, transformation to graphite during burial and orogeny is a mechanism for stabilizing organic carbon over geological time, removing biospheric carbon from the active carbon cycle and protecting it from oxidation during future erosion events.