Response of Erosion to Environmental and Climate Changes During the Anthropocene Within the Endorheic System of Mhabeul, Southeastern Tunisia

2022 ◽  
pp. 217-234
Author(s):  
Elhoucine Essefi ◽  
Soumaya Hajji
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Clustering Techniques ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Intrinsic Parameters ◽  
The Core ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Climatic And Environmental Change

This chapter aimed to investigate the record of climatic and environmental change in the sedimentary filling of sebkha Mhabeul and their effect on hydric and eolian erosion within the wetland and its watershed. Along a 37 cm core, the sedimentary, geochemical, and geophysical signals at the Holocene-Anthropocene transition were followed. Sampling was carried out each 1 cm to obtain 37 samples. All studied parameters and clustering techniques indicate that the first 7 cm represent the Anthropocene strata. According to the age model, this upper part of the core records the last 300 yrs. The sedimentary record of the Anthropocene is marked by an increasing rate of sedimentation, grain size fining, heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Ni, Mn, and Fe) enrichment, which is related to increased erosion. Other intrinsic parameters such as CE, pH, Na, K, and CaCO3 enhance sediment erodibility. The measurement of the magnetic susceptibility along a 37 cm core collected from the sebkha Mhabeul shows an obvious upward increase related to a high content of heavy metals for the first 7 cm.

scholarly journals Indian summer monsoon variability and vegetation changes in the core monsoon zone, India, during the Holocene: A multiproxy study

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamlesh Kumar ◽  
Shailesh Agrawal ◽  
Anupam Sharma ◽  
Shilpa Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
Indian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Central India ◽  
Vegetation Changes ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Core ◽  
Monsoon Variability ◽  
Three Stages

We present the results of sediment texture, δ13C values, TOC, TN, TOC/TN, and magnetic susceptibility (χlf) of a 1.54-m deep sediment trench recovered from the core monsoon zone (CMZ) of central India, to understand the paleovegetational history and Indian summer monsoon (ISM) variability during the Holocene. The lower δ13C values, TOC/TN ratio, and magnetic susceptibility (χlf) from ~11.4 to 9.5 ka BP suggest enhanced ISM intensity, which is well correlated with other available ISM records from both terrestrial as well as marine archives. A gradual stepwise expansion of C4 plants during ~8.1 and 6.3 ka BP, ~6.3 to 4.7 ka BP, and ~3.0 to 2.0 ka BP suggests a gradual weakening of ISM. The highest δ13C values (–18.7‰) recorded at ~2.0 ka BP indicate the dominance of C4 plants suggesting the weakest phase of ISM in the study area. The expansion of C3 plants from ~2.0 to 1.6 ka BP indicates a sudden increase in ISM intensity. Subsequently, three stages of enhanced ISM have been recorded between ~1.6 and 0.93 ka BP, ~0.76 and 0.42 ka BP, and ~0.28 ka BP to present.

The Holocene paleoenvironmental history of Western Caucasus (Russia) reconstructed by multi-proxy analysis of the continuous sediment sequence from Lake Khuko

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 095968362097278
Author(s):  
Alexei M Grachev ◽  
Elena Y Novenko ◽  
Evgeniy A Grabenko ◽  
Mikhail Y Alexandrin ◽  
Elya P Zazovskaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Sediment Core ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Western Caucasus ◽  
Climate History ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Western Caucasus

This paper presents new multi-proxy records of the Holocene environmental and climatic changes in the Western Caucasus revealed from a continuous sediment sequence from mountainous Lake Khuko (Caucasus State Natural Biospheric Reserve, 1744 m a.s.l.). Palaeoecological analyses of a sediment core for grain size, magnetic susceptibility, loss on ignition, and pollen allowed us to determine five principal climatic phases with several subphases since 10.5 ka BP. The age model is based on seven accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dates, supplemented by 210Pb data for the uppermost part of the sediment core. Warm periods (10.5–6.7, 6.7–5.5, 3.5–2.4, 0.8–0.5 ka BP) were characterized by high biological productivity in the lake as indicated by high organic matter content and expansion of forests, typical of modern low and middle mountain zones, as indicated by the increase in abundance of Quercus, Ulmus, Corylus, and Tilia in the pollen assemblages. Cold periods (5.5–3.5, 2.4–0.8, and 0.5 ka BP–present) are marked by a consistent decrease in organic matter content in lake deposits and possibly higher intensity of the catchment erosion. The changes in pollen assemblages (for instance peaks of Abies, Picea, and Pinus) suggested a potential elevational decline in the boundaries of vegetation belts and expansion of high-altitude woodlands. Abrupt changes in the lake ecosystem were identified between 4.2 and 3.5 ka cal BP marked by a short-term variation in sediment regime shown by variation in organic matter content, magnetic susceptibility values, and sediment grain size. This was probably caused by climatic fluctuations in the Western Caucasus region as a result of complex shifts in the ocean-atmosphere system during the 4.2 ka event. Overall, the first Holocene multi-proxy continuous lake sediment record provides new insights into the climate history in the Western Caucasus.

Holocene sedimentation in the Hupo Trough of the southwestern East Sea (Japan Sea) and development of the East Korea Warm Current

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110032
Author(s):  
Boo-Keun Khim ◽  
Sunghan Kim ◽  
Yu-Hyeon Park ◽  
Jongmin Lee ◽  
Sangbeom Ha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Japan Sea ◽  
East Sea ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Size Change ◽  
Sediment Properties ◽  
Warm Current ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Mean Grain Size ◽  
East Korea Warm Current

Various sediment properties, such as mean grain size, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, C/N ratio, CaCO3, and biogenic opal content, were analyzed for a box core (BC02; 45 cm long) and a gravity core (GC02; 628 cm long), which were collected from the western margin of the Hupo Trough located off the eastern coast of Korea. The study area has been affected by the East Korea Warm Current (EKWC), a branch of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC). The analytical results obtained for BC02 and the upper part of GC02 were in agreement, affirming the core-top preservation of GC02. Based on the corrected calibrated AMS 14C dates, the sedimentation rate of GC02 changed abruptly at ~8.2 ka from ~4.0–10.2 cm/kyr in the lower part to ~56.6–91.0 cm/kyr in the middle to upper part. This corresponds to the lithologic change from sandy mud to mud sediments showing the mean grain size change from 6.9 to 46.0 μm. Diverse paleoceanographic proxies representing the surface water condition exhibited varying degree of change at ~8.2 ka, after which all the properties remain almost unchanged, implying stable and continuous depositional conditions following the complete development of the EKWC. Furthermore, it indicated that the sediment depositional conditions in the Hupo Trough in response to the EKWC might have stabilized at ~8.2 ka since the opening of the Korea Strait during the Holocene sea level rise. Moreover, microfossil data from previous studies on the establishment of the TWC in the East Sea (Japan Sea) support our interpretation that the sediment properties revealed the Holocene development of the EKWC in the Hupo Trough.

The distribution of lead, zinc, and chromium in fractions of bottom sediments in the Narew River and its tributaries

2008 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirosław Skorbiłowicz ◽  
Elżbieta Skorbiłowicz
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Bottom Sediment ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Grain Size Distribution ◽  
Bottom Sediments ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
Sediment Pollution ◽  
Lead Zinc

The distribution of lead, zinc, and chromium in fractions of bottom sediments in the Narew River and its tributariesThe purpose of the paper was to evaluate the distribution of lead, zinc and chromium contents in different grain fractions of bottom sediments in the Narew River and some of its tributaries. This study also aimed to determine which fractions are mostly responsible for bottom sediment pollution. The studies of the Narew and its tributaries (the Supraśl, Narewka, and Orlanka) were conducted in September 2005 in the upper Narew catchment area. The analyzed bottom sediments differed regarding grain size distribution. The studies revealed the influence of the percentage of particular grain fractions present on the accumulation of heavy metals in all bottom sediments.

Rapid environmental changes of the Late-glacial and Holocene in a sediment record from the Yagour Plateau, High Atlas, Morocco

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk Cornelissen ◽  
William Fletcher ◽  
Philip Hughes ◽  
Benjamin Bell ◽  
Ali Rhoujjati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
High Atlas ◽  
The Core ◽  
Grain Sizes ◽  
Late Glacial And Holocene

<p>The High Atlas mountains of Morocco represent a climatological frontier between the Atlantic and Saharan realms as well as a site of major Pleistocene glacier expansion. However, Late-glacial and Holocene environmental change is weakly constrained, leaving open questions about the influence of high- and low-latitude climate forcing and the expression of North Atlantic rapid climate changes. High elevation lakes on the sandstone plateaux of the High Atlas have been recognised as archives of Late Quaternary environmental change but remain little explored. Here, we present findings from new sedimentological, palaeoecological and geochronological investigation of a lake marginal sediment core recovered in June 2019 from the <em>Ifard </em>Lake located on the Yagour Plateau. The plateau is a distinctive sandstone upland located to the southeast of Marrakech in the High Atlas (31.31°N, 7.60°W, 2460 m.a.s.l.). The lake is located within a small, perched catchment area, offering an opportunity to isolate catchment effects and investigate atmospheric deposition of organic and inorganic tracers of past environmental change. The core stratigraphy reveals shifts between inorganic sands and lake muds with fluctuations in grain sizes and sediment reddening. The differences in these stratigraphic layers are most likely linked to hydrological changes associated with changing snowpack conditions and local catchment erosion dynamics. The core chronology is well-constrained by AMS radiocarbon dating of pollen concentrates, with the core sequence spanning the last ca. 14,000 years. The driving agents of environmental change on the plateau are inferred using a multiproxy approach, combining sedimentological analyses (particle-size by laser granulometry, elemental analysis by core-scanning XRF, C/H/N/S analysis), palynology (pollen, spores, non-pollen palynomorphs) and contiguous macrocharcoal analysis. High-resolution, well-constrained proxies therefore permit novel regional insights into past environmental and climatic changes at centennial timescales. A prime working hypothesis is that the imprint of wider palaeoclimatic changes of both the North Atlantic region and Saharan realm (African Humid Period, AHP) is detected at this site. Key climatic periods such as the Younger Dryas and multi-centennial cooling episodes around 8000 and 4200 years ago are distinctly characterised in the record by finer grain sizes and the accumulation of pollen-rich material and charcoal. These responses are thought to be governed by regional climate forcing and local snowmelt moisture supply to the Yagour Plateau. An increase in fine sediment supply, magnetic susceptibility and Fe content in the upper part of the core may be related to enhanced atmospheric dust deposition following the end of the AHP. Whilst taking anthropological influences on the local environment into account, this study will contribute to the detection of long-term and rapid climate changes in a sensitive mountain region at the rim of the Atlantic and Saharan climate systems.</p>

Holocene sediment transport and climate variability of offshore Adélie Land, East Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Anna Borisovna Albot
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Glacial Meltwater ◽  
The Core ◽  
Grain Size Distributions ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Mass Accumulation Rates

<p>Grain size analysis of the terrigenous fraction of a laminated diatom ooze dating back to 11.4 kyr recovered offshore Adélie Land, East Antarctic margin was used to examine variations in sediment transport, depositional environments and Holocene climate variability at the location. Interpretations were assisted by additional proxies of primary productivity (δ¹³CFA, BSi%), glacial meltwater input (δDFA) and subsurface temperature (TEXL₈₆). Three lithologic intervals with distinct grain size distributions were identified. At ~11.4 ka the diatom ooze has a clear glacimarine influence which gradually decreases until ~8.2 ka. During this time interval, coincident with the early Holocene warm period, sediment is inferred to have been delivered by glacial meltwater plumes and ice-bergs in a calving bay environment. It is suggested that the glaciers in Adélie Land had retreated to their present day grounding lines by 8.2 ka, and from then on sediment was delivered to the site primarily via the Antarctic Coastal and Slope Front Currents, largely through a suspended sediment load and erosion of the surrounding banks. Enhanced biogenic mass accumulation rates and primary production at 8.2 ka suggest onset of warmer climatic conditions, coincident with the mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum.  At ~4.5 ka, grain size distributions show a rapid increase in mud content coincident with a transient pulse of glacial meltwater and a sudden decrease in biogenic and terrigenous mass accumulation rates. The increased mud content is inferred to have been deposited under a reduced flow regime of the Antarctic Coastal and Slope Front Currents during the Neoglacial period that followed the final stages of deglaciation in the Ross Sea. It is hypothesised here that cessation of glacial retreat in the Ross Sea and the development of the modern day Ross Sea polynya resulted in enhanced Antarctic Surface Water production which led to increased sea ice growth in the Adélie Land region. The presence of sea ice led to reduced primary production and a decrease in the maximum current strength acting to advect coarser-sized terrigenous sediment to the core site during this time.  Sedimentation rates appear to have a strong correlation with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) over the last 8.2 kyr, and are inferred to be related to changing sea ice extent and zonal wind strength. Light laminae counts (biogenic bloom events) appear to decrease in frequency during time intervals dominated by El Niño events. Spectral analysis of the greyscale values of core photographs reveals peaks in the 2-7 year band, known ENSO periods, which increase in frequency in the mid-and-late Holocene. Spectral analyses of the sand percent and natural gamma ray (NGR, a measure of clay mineral input) content of the core reveal peaks in the ~40-60, 200-300, 600, 1200-1600 and 2200-2400 year bands. The most significant of these cycles in the NGR data is in 40-60 year band may be related to internal mass balance dynamics of the Mertz Glacier or to the expansion and contraction of the Antarctic circumpolar vortex. Cycles in the 200-300 and 2200-2400 year bands are related to known periods of solar variability, which have previously been found to regulate primary productivity in Antarctic coastal waters. Cycles in the 590-625 and 1200-1600 year bands have a strong signal through the entire record and are common features of Holocene climatic records, however the origin of these cycles is still under debate between solar forcing and an independent mode of internal ocean oscillation.</p>

Variations in magnetic properties of Mexican serpentinites and related micro-textures 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra B. Ramírez-García ◽  
Luis M. Alva-Valdivia
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Magnetic Properties ◽  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Anisotropy Of Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Ultramafic Rocks ◽  
Magnetic Carrier ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Geochemical Studies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Magnetite Formation

&lt;p&gt;Magnetite formation of serpentinized ultramafic rocks leads to variations in the magnetic properties of serpentinites; however, magnetite precipitation is still on debate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this work, we analyzed 60 cores of ultramafic rocks with a variety of serpentinization degrees. These rocks belong to the ultramafic-mafic San Juan de Otates complex in Guanajuato, Mexico. Geochemical studies have been previously conducted, enabling us to compare changes in the magnetic properties against the chemical variations generated by the serpentinization process. By studying the density and magnetic properties such as anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, hysteresis curves as well as magnetic and temperature-dependent susceptibility and, we were able to identify the relationship between magnetic content and serpentinization degree, the predominant magnetic carrier, and to what extent the magnetite grain size depends on the serpentinization. &amp;#160;Variations in these parameters allowed us to better constrain the temperature at which serpentinization occurred, the generation of other Fe-rich phases such as Fe-brucite and/or Fe-rich serpentine as well as distinctive rock textures formed at different serpentinization degrees.&lt;/p&gt;

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