Geology topics

Z. Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Z. Zhang.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2022

Past terrestrial hydroclimate sensitivity controlled by Earth system feedbacks

Despite tectonic conditions and atmospheric CO 2 levels ( pCO 2 ) similar to those of present-day, geological reconstructions from the mid-Pliocene (3.3-3.0 Ma) document high lake levels in the Sahel and mesic conditions in subtropical Eurasia, suggesting drastic reorganizations of subtropical terrestrial hydroclimate during this interval. Here, using a compilation of proxy data and multi-model paleoclimate simulations, we show that the mid-Pliocene hydroclimate state is not driven by direct CO 2 radiative forcing but by a loss of northern high-latitude ice sheets and continental greening. These ice sheet and vegetation changes are long-term Earth system feedbacks to elevated pCO 2 . Further, the moist conditions in the Sahel and subtropical Eurasia during the mid-Pliocene are a product of enhanced tropospheric humidity and a stationary wave response to the surface warming pattern, which varies strongly with land cover changes. These findings highlight the potential for amplified terrestrial hydroclimate responses over long timescales to a sustained CO 2 forcing.

Nature Communications↗

USGS2011

Development of a carbonate absorption-based process for post-combustion CO2 capture: The role of biocatalyst to promote CO2 absorption rate

An Integrated Vacuum Carbonate Absorption Process (IVCAP) for post-combustion carbon dioxide (CO2) capture is described. IVCAP employs potassium carbonate (PC) as a solvent, uses waste or low quality steam from the power plant for CO2 stripping, and employs a biocatalyst, carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme, for promoting the CO2 absorption into PC solution. A series of experiments were performed to evaluate the activity of CA enzyme mixed in PC solutions in a stirred tank reactor system under various temperatures, CA dosages, CO2 loadings, CO2 partial pressures, and the presence of major flue gas contaminants. It was demonstrated that CA enzyme is an effective biocatalyst for CO2 absorption under IVCAP conditions. ?? 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2011

Modeling the spatial-temporal dynamics of net primary production in Yangtze River Basin using IBIS model

The climate change has significantly affected the carbon cycling in Yangtze River Basin. To better understand the alternation pattern for the relationship between carbon cycling and climate change, the net primary production (NPP) were simulated in the study area from 1956 to 2006 by using the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS). The results showed that the average annual NPP per square meter was about 0.518 kg C in Yangtze River Basin. The high NPP levels were mainly distributed in the southeast area of Sichuan, and the highest value reached 1.05 kg C/m 2 . The NPP increased based on the simulated temporal trends. The spatiotemporal variability of the NPP in the vegetation types was obvious, and it was depended on the climate and soil condition. We found the drought climate was one of critical factor that impacts the alterations of the NPP in the area by the simulation.

Yangtze River↗

USGS2011

ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model Version 2 - summary of validation results

On June 29, 2009, NASA and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan released a Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) to users worldwide at no charge as a contribution to the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS). This “version 1” ASTER GDEM (GDEM1) was compiled from over 1.2 million scenebased DEMs covering land surfaces between 83°N and 83°S latitudes. A joint U.S.-Japan validation team assessed the accuracy of the GDEM1, augmented by a team of 20 cooperators. The GDEM1 was found to have an overall accuracy of around 20 meters at the 95% confidence level. The team also noted several artifacts associated with poor stereo coverage at high latitudes, cloud contamination, water masking issues and the stacking process used to produce the GDEM1 from individual scene-based DEMs (ASTER GDEM Validation Team, 2009). Two independent horizontal resolution studies estimated the effective spatial resolution of the GDEM1 to be on the order of 120 meters. A second version of the ASTER GDEM (GDEM2) is scheduled for release by NASA and METI in mid-October, 2011. Improvements in the GDEM2 result from acquiring 260,000 additional scenes to improve coverage, a smaller correlation kernel to yield higher spatial resolution, and improved water masking. As with the GDEM1, the GDEM2 validation was performed by the U.S. and Japanese partners. Vertical accuracy assessments included a comparison of the GDEM2 against absolute geodetic references over the Conterminous US (CONUS), against national elevation grids over the US and Japan, against the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 1 arc-second elevation grids over the US and 20 sites around the globe, and against space borne laser altimeter data globally. Horizontal accuracy assessments were conducted as part of the Japan and the global SRTM studies, and horizontal resolution studies were conducted in both Japan and the US. Each group documented changes in artifacts in GDEM2 due to processing improvements. The absolute vertical accuracy study found the GDEM2 to be within -0.20 meters on average when compared against 18,000 geodetic control points over the CONUS, with an accuracy of 17 meters at the 95% confidence level. The Japan study noted the GDEM2 differed from the 10-meter national elevation grid by -0.7 meters over bare areas, and by 7.4 meters over forested areas. Similarly, the CONUS study noted the GDEM2 to be about 8 meters above the 1 arc-second NED over most forested areas, and more than a meter below NED over bare areas. The global altimeter study found the GDEM2 to be on average within 3 meters of altimeter-derived control, and also documented sensitivity to tree canopy height. The Japan study noted that the horizontal displacement in GDEM1 of 0.95 pixels was reduced to 0.23 pixels in GDEM2. Both teams noted improvements in horizontal resolution, between 71 and 82 meters, comparable to the SRTM 1 arc second elevation model, but at the cost of some increased noise. The number of voids and artifacts noted in GDEM1 were substantially reduced in GDEM2, and in some areas virtually eliminated. Based on these findings, the GDEM validation team recommends the release of the GDEM2 to the public, acknowledging that, while vastly improved, some artifacts still exist which could affect its utility in certain applications.

Report↗

USGS2010

A global overview of drought and heat-induced tree mortality reveals emerging climate change risks for forests

Greenhouse gas emissions have significantly altered global climate, and will continue to do so in the future. Increases in the frequency, duration, and/or severity of drought and heat stress associated with climate change could fundamentally alter the composition, structure, and biogeography of forests in many regions. Of particular concern are potential increases in tree mortality associated with climate-induced physiological stress and interactions with other climate-mediated processes such as insect outbreaks and wildfire. Despite this risk, existing projections of tree mortality are based on models that lack functionally realistic mortality mechanisms, and there has been no attempt to track observations of climate-driven tree mortality globally. Here we present the first global assessment of recent tree mortality attributed to drought and heat stress. Although episodic mortality occurs in the absence of climate change, studies compiled here suggest that at least some of the world's forested ecosystems already may be responding to climate change and raise concern that forests may become increasingly vulnerable to higher background tree mortality rates and die-off in response to future warming and drought, even in environments that are not normally considered water-limited. This further suggests risks to ecosystem services, including the loss of sequestered forest carbon and associated atmospheric feedbacks. Our review also identifies key information gaps and scientific uncertainties that currently hinder our ability to predict tree mortality in response to climate change and emphasizes the need for a globally coordinated observation system. Overall, our review reveals the potential for amplified tree mortality due to drought and heat in forests worldwide.

Forest Ecology and Management↗

USGS2009

Major earthquakes recorded by Speleothems in Midwestern U.S. caves

Historic earthquakes generated by the New Madrid seismic zone represent some of the largest recorded in the United States, yet prehistoric events are recognized only through deformation in late-Wisconsin to Holocene-age, near surface sediments (liquefaction, monoclinal folding, and changes in river meanders). In this article, we show that speleothems in caves of southwestern Illinois and southeastern Missouri may constitute a previously unrecognized recorder of large earthquakes in the U.S. midcontinent region. The timing of the initiation and regrowth of stalagmites in southwestern Illinois and southeastern Missouri caves is consistent with the historic and prehistoric record of several known seismic events in the U.S. midcontinent region. We conclude that dating the initiation of original stalagmite growth and later postearthquake rejuvenation constitutes a new paleoseismic method that has the potential for being applied to any region around the world in the vicinity of major seismic zones where caves exist. Use of this technique could expand the geographical distribution of paleoseimic data, document prehistoric earthquakes, and help improve interpretations of paleoearthquakes.

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America↗

USGS2009

A Mid-Late Quaternary loess-paleosol record in Simmons Farm in southern Illinois, USA

In unglaciated areas of the Mississippi Valley region, the typical full loess-paleosol succession contains the Modern Soil developed in Peoria Silt, weakly developed Farmdale Geosol developed in Roxana Silt, Sangamon Geosol developed in Loveland Silt, and Yarmouth Geosol developed in Crowley's Ridge Silt. Although a fifth loess called the Marianna Silt is reported at one area, the paleosol that separates the Crowley Ridge and Marianna Silts is not well defined. Previous thermoluminescence (TL) and optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) age chronology has suggested multiple phases of Sangamon Geosol developed in Loveland Silt, but clear morphological evidence of polygenetic Sangamon Geosol profiles have not been found. Recently, a thick loess-paleosol sequence has been studied in the middle Mississippi Valley in unglaciated southern Illinois, USA. Soil morphology and analytical results revealed five loesses and associated paleosol units. Two Sangamon Bt horizons were found separated by a thick ACtk horizon, interpreted to indicate two phases of Sangamon Geosol development. This well-preserved loess-paleosol succession provides one of the most complete mid-late Quaternary loess records in the middle Mississippi Valley to date, and is important for studying the stratigraphic framework and paleoclimate and environment changes. ?? 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quaternary Science Reviews↗

USGS2008

Multi-proxy evidence for Late Pleistocene-Holocene climatic and environmental changes in Lop-Nur, Xinjiang, Northwest China

A 10.35-m-long sediment core from the Luobei depression in Lop-Nur, Xinjiang, Northwest China, provides detailed information about environmental changes during the Late Pleistocene. The samples taken every 5 cm of the core were analyzed for 10 environmental proxies, including magnetic susceptibility, granularity, chroma, carbonate and loss on ignition (LOI), and pH value. The chronology data are provided by the uranium/thorium disequilibrium dates. The sediments of the section were deposited during the last 32000 years. The results of analysis of 10 proxies were examined using multivariate statistical analysis, and the principal components were calculated. According to the results, the Late Pleistocene sequence contains four climatic and environmental stages appearing in the cycles of cold-wet and warm-dry changes. During 10-9 ka BP, it was the earliest warm episode in the Holocene. Environmental changes in this district were restricted by global change, as suggested by the analysis of glacial-interglacial cycles. But it was different from the mutative trend of a monsoon region in East China because of its own characteristics, which was the situation of cold-wet and warm-dry climate-environment change. The candidate reason may be the uplift of the Tibet Plateau and the westerly wind circulation. ?? Science Press, Institute of Geochemistry, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH 2008.

Chinese Journal of Geochemistry↗

USGS2004

Slowing extrusion tectonics: Lowered estimate of post-Early Miocene slip rate for the Altyn Tagh fault

Determination of long-term slip rate for the Altyn Tagh fault is essential for testing whether Asian tectonics is dominated by lateral extrusion or distributed crustal shortening. Previous slip-history studies focused on either Quaternary slip-rate measurements or pre-Early Miocene total-offset estimates and do not allow a clear distinction between rates based on the two. The magmatic and metamorphic history revealed by SHRIMP zircon dating of clasts from Miocene conglomerate in the Xorkol basin north of the Altyn Tagh fault strikingly matches that of basement in the southern Qilian Shan and northern Qaidam regions south of the fault. This match requires that the post-Early Miocene long-term slip rate along the Altyn Tagh fault cannot exceed 10 mm/year, supporting the hypothesis of distributed crustal thickening for post-Early Miocene times. This low long-term slip rate and recently documented large pre-Early Miocene cumulative offset across the fault support a two-stage evolution, wherein Asian tectonics was dominated by lateral extrusion before the end of Early Miocene, and since then has been dominated by distributed crustal thickening and rapid plateau uplift. ?? 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS2002

Geology, distribution, and classification of gold deposits in the western Qinling belt, central China

Gold deposits of the western Qinling belt occur within the western part of the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogen, which is located between the Precambrian North China and Yangtze cratons and east of the Songpan-Ganzi basin. The early Paleozoic to early Mesozoic orogen can be divided into northern, central, and southern zones, separated by the Shangdan and Lixian-Shanyang thrust fault systems. The northern zone consists of an early Paleozoic arc accreted to the North China craton by ca. 450 Ma. The central zone, which contains numerous orogenic gold deposits, is dominated by clastic rocks formed in a late Paleozoic basin between the converging cratonic blocks. The southern zone is characterized by the easternmost exposure of Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Songpan-Ganzi basin. These Early to Late Triassic turbidities, in part calcareous, of the immense Songpan-Ganzi basin also border the western Qinling belt to the west. Carlinlike gold deposits are abundant (1) along a westward extension of the southern zone defined by a window of early Paleozoic clastic rocks extending into the basin, and (2) within the easternmost margin of the basinal rocks to the south of the extension, and in adjacent cover rocks of the Yangtze craton. Triassic and Early Jurassic synkinematic granitoids are widespread across the western Qinling belt, as well as in the Songpan-Ganzi basin. Orogenic lode gold deposits along brittle-ductile shear zones occur within greenschist-facies, highly deformed, Devonian and younger clastic rocks of the central zone. Mainly coarse-grained gold, along with pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and minor base metal sulfides, occur in networks of quartz veinlets, brecciated wall rock, and are dissminated in altered wall rock. Isotopic dates suggest that the deposits formed during the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic as the leading edge of the Yangtze craton was thrust beneath rocks of the western Qinling belt. Many gold-bearing placers are distributed along the river systems that flow south from the lode-bearing central zone. Carlin-like gold deposits have only been identified during the last decade in the southern zone of the western Qinling and in the northeastern corner of the Songpan-Ganzi basin. The deposits mainly contain micron-diameter gold in arsenical pyrite; are characterized by the common occurrence of cinnabar, stibnite, realgar, and orpiment; exhibit strong silicification, carbonatization, pyritization, and decalcification dissolution textures; and are structurally controlled. The lack of reactive host lithologies may have prevented development of large (> 100 tones of gold), stratigraphically-controlled orebodies, which are typical of the Carlin deposits in the western USA. These deposits are hosted by Triassic turbidities and shallow-water carbonates, and an early Paleozoic inlier in the Songpan-Ganzi basin that extends in an east-west belt for about 300 km. Rather than true "Carlin" deposits, these Carlin-like deposits may be some type of shallow-crustal (i.e., epithermal) hybrid with features intermediate to Nevada-style Carlin deposits and the orogenic gold deposits to the immediate north. These Carlin-like deposits also overlap in age with the early Mesozoic orogenic gold deposits and, therefore, also formed during the final stages of collision between the cratons and intermediate basin closure.

Mineralium Deposita↗

USGS2002

Ontogenetic behavior and migration of Volga River Russian sturgeon, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, with a note on adaptive significance of body color

We conducted laboratory experiments with Volga River Russian sturgeon, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, to develop a conceptual model of early behavior. We daily observed fish from day-0 (embryos, first life interval after hatching) to day-29 feeding larvae for preference of bright habitat and cover, swimming distance above the bottom, up- and downstream movement, and diel activity. Hatchling embryos initiated a downstream migration, which suggests that predation risk of embryos at spawning sites is high. Migration peaked on days 0-5 and ceased on day 7 (8-day migration). Migrants preferred bright, open habitat and early migrants swam-up far above the bottom (maximum daily median, 140 cm) in a vertical swim tube. Post-migrant embryos did not prefer bright illumination but continued to prefer white substrate, increased use of cover habitat, and swam on the bottom. Larvae initiated feeding on day 10 after 170.6 cumulative temperature degree-days. Larvae did not migrate, weakly preferred bright illumination, preferred white substrate and open habitat, and swam near the bottom (daily median 5-78 cm). The lack of a strong preference by larvae for bright illumination suggests foraging relies more on olfaction than vision for locating prey. A short migration by embryos would disperse wild sturgeon from a spawning area, but larvae did not migrate, so a second later migration by juveniles disperses young sturgeon to the sea (2-step migration). Embryo and larva body color was light tan and tail color was black. The migration, behavior, and light body color of Russian sturgeon embryos was similar to species of Acipenser and Scaphirhynchus in North America and to Acipenser in Asia that migrate after hatching as embryos. The similarity in migration style and body color among species with diverse phylogenies likely reflects convergence for common adaptations across biogeographic regions. ?? 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Environmental Biology of Fishes↗