Geochemical fingerprinting as a tool for repatriating poached dinosaur fossils in Mongolia: A case study for the Nemegt Locality, Gobi Desert

Mud volcanism (MV) is an efficient dewatering mechanism common to collisional settings which provides transport of major and trace elements from deep sedimentary reservoirs to the surface. Boron is the chief geochemical fingerprinting tracer of MV activity. Numerous MVs of the Kerch Peninsula emit water and mud with extreme boron enrichment. Boron content correlates with the burial depth of the source Oligo-Miocene mudrocks yielding the highest boron contents in illite-dominated mud (up to 1500 ppm B) in the Bulganak MV, which represent the deepest endmember (up to 3.5&#160;km) in the Kerch Peninsula. Smectite-dominated mud from shallow depths (1-1.5&#160;km) at small MVs are poorer in both illite and boron (up to 250&#160;ppm). B-enrichment of the parent shale and diagenetically-driven smectite illitization and dewatering are considered as the main prerequisites for boron enrichment in MVs.MV waters are mainly related to diagenetically altered basinal water diluted by 18O- and B-enriched dehydration water released during smectite illitization. The range of boron contents in the Kerch MV waters is as large as 14 to 1640 ppm (470 ppm on average), and the BMV/BSW ratios are from 3.0 to 354. Waters of small MVs show lower B enrichment (14-73&#160;ppm; BMV/BSW&#160;=&#160;3.0-15.8). The majority of Cl-HCO3/Na and HCO3-Cl/Na highly evolved saline MV waters sampled in large MVs are also enriched in 18O (&#948;18O&#160;=&#160;+9.8 to +14.5&#160;&#8240; VSMOW) and D (&#948;D&#160;=&#160;-30 to -4&#160;&#8240; VSMOW) isotopes being also rich in boron (average 650&#160;ppm). Waters of small MVs are poorer in 18&#1054; (&#948;18O&#160;=&#160;+3.6 to + 6.1&#160;&#8240;) and B (average 130&#160;ppm). The fluid generation temperatures inferred to be &#1058;Mg/Li = 34 to 117&#176;&#1057;. In the hot season, MV waters reach a salinity of 40-70&#160;g/L TDS and precipitate halite, Na and Na-Ca borates. At the Bulganak MV field, there is a unique accumulation of MV-related borates, which contain predominant tincalconite and ulexite, minor borax and traces of probertite. The broad occurrence of ulexite in the Kerch MVs is due to the B (460&#8211; 630&#160;ppm) and Ca (>30&#160;ppm) ranges of NaCl-dominated brines, which are known to be optimal for ulexite crystallization in modern playas and salars. MV-related borate deposits can form at the following essential conditions: venting of B-rich MV waters; environment akin to playa lake; long dry and hot seasons; evaporation and ensuing increased boron concentration in shallow close MV pools; pH of MV water between 8.5 and 9.5; low permeability of clayey mud cover. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant 17-17-01056.

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The impact of increasing land productivity on groundwater dynamics: a case study of an oasis located at the edge of the Gobi Desert

Carbon Balance and Management ◽

10.1186/s13021-020-00142-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wu Lei ◽

Li Changbin ◽

Xie Xuhong ◽

He Zhibin ◽

Wang Wanrui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gobi Desert ◽

Land Productivity ◽

Groundwater Dynamics ◽

The Impact

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The impact of increasing land productivity on groundwater dynamics: a case study of an oasis located at the edge of the Gobi Desert

10.21203/rs.2.20566/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lei Wu ◽

Li Changbin ◽

Xuhong Xie ◽

Zhibin He ◽

Wanrui Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arid Regions ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Gobi Desert ◽

Land Productivity ◽

Water Losses ◽

Shiyang River Basin ◽

Groundwater Overexploitation ◽

Oasis Area ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background: Intensification of agricultural systems may result in overexploitation of water resources in arid regions because enhanced productivity of crops is often associated with increased actual evapotranspiration (AET). The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of increased regional AET on the groundwater level in a case study of the oasis located within the Shiyang River Basin near the edge of the Gobi Desert.Result: The results of the study show that regional AET increased during the period from 1981 to 2010 due to increasing oasis area and air temperature. The water losses due to AET exceeded the water supply from the mountainous discharges of the basin by the end of this period, leading to groundwater overexploitation in the oasis area.Conclusions: This case study shows the importance of considering the effect of climate change on water losses associated with increasing agricultural production for the sustainable agricultural development of arid regions.

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An Observing System Simulation Experiment Framework for Air Quality Forecasts in Northeast Asia: A Case Study Utilizing Virtual Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer and Surface Monitored Aerosol Data

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs14020389 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 389

Author(s):

Hyeon-Kook Kim ◽

Seunghee Lee ◽

Kang-Ho Bae ◽

Kwonho Jeon ◽

Myong-In Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

South Korea ◽

System Simulation ◽

Northeast Asia ◽

Gobi Desert ◽

Observation Data ◽

Environment Monitoring ◽

Study Results ◽

Current Monitoring

Prior knowledge of the effectiveness of new observation instruments or new data streams for air quality can contribute significantly to shaping the policy and budget planning related to those instruments and data. In view of this, one of the main purposes of the development and application of the Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE) is to assess the potential impact of new observations on the quality of the current monitoring or forecasting systems, thereby making this framework valuable. This study introduces the overall OSSE framework established to support air quality forecasting and the details of its individual components. Furthermore, it shows case study results from Northeast Asia and the potential benefits of the new observation data scenarios on the PM2.5 forecasting skills, including the PM data from 200 virtual monitoring sites in the Gobi Desert and North Korean non-forest areas (NEWPM) and the aerosol optical depths (AOD) data from South Korea’s Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS AOD). Performance statistics suggest that the concurrent assimilation of the NEWPM and the PM data from current monitoring sites in China and South Korea can improve the PM2.5 concentration forecasts in South Korea by 66.4% on average for October 2017 and 95.1% on average for February 2018. Assimilating the GEMS AOD improved the performance of the PM2.5 forecasts in South Korea for October 2017 by approximately 68.4% (~78.9% for February 2018). This OSSE framework is expected to be continuously implemented to verify its utilization potential for various air quality observation systems and data scenarios. Hopefully, this kind of application result will aid environmental researchers and decision-makers in performing additional in-depth studies for the improvement of PM air quality forecasts.

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Seasonal variations in threshold wind speed for saltation depending on soil temperature and vegetation: A case study in the Gobi Desert

Aeolian Research ◽

10.1016/j.aeolia.2021.100716 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 100716

Author(s):

Kaman Kong ◽

Banzragch Nandintsetseg ◽

Masato Shinoda ◽

Masahide Ishizuka ◽

Yasunori Kurosaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Soil Temperature ◽

Seasonal Variations ◽

Gobi Desert ◽

Threshold Wind Speed

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The Eyjafjallajökull AD 2010 eruption and the preservation of medium-sized eruptions in marine surface sediment offshore southern Iceland

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2017.15 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 87 (3) ◽

pp. 386-406

Author(s):

Christina Bonanati ◽

Heidi Wehrmann ◽

Maxim Portnyagin ◽

Kaj Hoernle

Keyword(s):

North Atlantic ◽

Surface Sediment ◽

Volcanic Glass ◽

Volcanic Eruptions ◽

Major Element Composition ◽

Geochemical Fingerprinting ◽

The North ◽

Marine Surface ◽

Glass Shards

AbstractThe recent volcanic eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull 2010 and Grímsvötn 2011 demonstrated the risks that mediumsized explosive Icelandic eruptions pose to the North Atlantic region. Using the Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption as a case study, we assess how traceable such eruptions are in the marine sedimentary record at medial distances from the source and investigate which factors have affected the particle transport to the marine sedimentary archive. During R/VPoseidoncruise 457, we recovered 13 box cores at 100–1600 m water depths and distances of 18–180 km southwest, south, and east of Iceland. Volcanic glass shards from the uppermost surface sediment were analyzed for their major element composition by electron microprobe and assigned to their eruptive source by geochemical fingerprinting. The predominantly basaltic particles are mostly derived from the Katla, Grímsvötn-Lakagígar, and Bárðarbunga-Veiðivötn volcanic systems. We also identified rhyolitic particles from the Askja 1875 and Öræfajökull 1362 eruptions. Only three out of almost 900 analyzed glass shards are derived from the recent Eyjafjallajökull 2010 eruption, suggesting that medium-sized eruptions are only poorly preserved in marine sediments located at medial distances southwest to east of Iceland. We conclude that the frequency of past medium-sized eruptions is likely higher than detectable in this archive.

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