Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

• The Tajik Basin: A composite record of sedimentary basin evolution in response to tectonics in the Pamir

  Chapman, James B.; Carrapa, Barbara; DeCelles, Peter G.; Worthington, James; Mancin, Nicoletta; Cobianchi, Miriam; Stoica, Marius; Wang, Xin; Gadoev, Mustafo; Oimahmadov, Ilhomjon; et al. (WILEY, 2019)

  Investigation of a >6-km-thick succession of Cretaceous to Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in the Tajik Basin reveals that this depocentre consists of three stacked basin systems that are interpreted to reflect different mechanisms of subsidence associated with tectonics in the Pamir Mountains: a Lower to mid-Cretaceous succession, an Upper Cretaceous-Lower Eocene succession and an Eocene-Neogene succession. The Lower to mid-Cretaceous succession consists of fluvial deposits that were primarily derived from the Triassic Karakul-Mazar subduction-accretion complex in the northern Pamir. This succession is characterized by a convex-up (accelerating) subsidence curve, thickens towards the Pamir and is interpreted as a retroarc foreland basin system associated with northward subduction of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere. The Upper Cretaceous to early Eocene succession consists of fine-grained, marginal marine and sabkha deposits. The succession is characterized by a concave-up subsidence curve. Regionally extensive limestone beds in the succession are consistent with late stage thermal relaxation and relative sea-level rise following lithospheric extension, potentially in response to Tethyan slab rollback/foundering. The Upper Cretaceous-early Eocene succession is capped by a middle Eocene to early Oligocene (ca. 50-30 Ma) disconformity, which is interpreted to record the passage of a flexural forebulge. The disconformity is represented by a depositional hiatus, which is 10-30 Myr younger than estimates for the initiation of India-Asia collision and overlaps in age with the start of prograde metamorphism recorded in the Pamir gneiss domes. Overlying the disconformity, a >4-km-thick upper Eocene-Neogene succession displays a classic, coarsening upward unroofing sequence characterized by accelerating subsidence, which is interpreted as a retro-foreland basin associated with crustal thickening of the Pamir during India-Asia collision. Thus, the Tajik Basin provides an example of a long-lived composite basin in a retrowedge position that displays a sensitivity to plate margin processes. Subsidence, sediment accumulation and basin-forming mechanisms are influenced by subduction dynamics, including periods of slab-shallowing and retreat.
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  Determining Areal Precipitation in the Basin and Range Province of Southern Arizona - Sonoita Creek Basin

  Ben-Asher, J.; Randall, J.; Resnick, S.; Water Resources Research Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, 1976-05-01)

  A linear relationship between point precipitation and elevation in conjunction with a computer four-point interpolation technique was used to simulate areal rainfall over Sonoita Creek Basin, Arizona. The simulation's sensitivity and accuracy were checked against the official isohyetal map of Arizona (Univ. of Arizona, 1965) by changing the density of the interpolation nodes. The simulation was found to be in good agreement with the official map. The average areal-rainfall was calculated by integration. Cumulative rainfall amounts were assumed to be stochastically independent from one season to another. The seasonal precipitations of forty years (1932-1972) were subdivided into five groups. to check for binomial distribution. The binomial model fits the historical data adequately. The binomial model for cumulative seasonal areal-precipitation provides one way to compute the return period. This information will be necessary for decision-makers and hydrologists to predict the area's future water balance.
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  Land use and vegetation change in response to river basin development in the lower Tana Basin of Eastern Kenya

  Maingi, John Kaunda.; Marsh, Stuart E.; Hutchinson, Charles F.; Swetnam, Thomas W.; Huete, Alfredo R.; Reeves, Richard W. (The University of Arizona., 1998)

  This study describes the impacts of river development projects on land use and vegetation in a floodplain that includes old-growth forest and an important primate habitat located in eastern Kenya. River basin development activities include the construction of hydro-electric dams in the upper river basin, and an irrigation scheme, the Bura Irrigation and Settlement Project, in the lower basin. Through flood frequency analysis for both the pre- and post-dam period, I demonstrate that there has been a significant (p < 0.01) reduction in floods with a recurrence interval of 5 years or greater. A hydrological simulation model is used to estimate the frequency and duration of flooding of 73 vegetation sample plots for the pre- and post-dam period. Four of the plots, lying less than 1.25 m above dry season river level, show a slight increase in days flooded, whereas the rest show a significant decline in days flooded from the pre- to the post-dam period. Detailed descriptions of the structure and dynamics of the Tana riverine forest, and exploration into the influence of abiotic variables to species composition, are made using ordination and classification techniques. The three canopy levels examined, and the regeneration layer, had different species compositions. Many of the upper canopy species are not regenerating. Results of detailed land cover and change detection mapping using remotely sensed data reveal significant change. Forest cover declined slightly (about 2%) between 1975 and 1984. However, between 1989 and 1996, there was a 27% decline in riverine forest, while cultivated area within the forest increased by 45%. Over the same period, area of exposed soil increased by 112%. Several landscape measures are given and all indicate significant fragmentation of riverine forest. The extent of riverine forest along the active river channel declined by about 200 m between 1989 and 1996. Human disturbance now represents the greatest threat to continued survival of the forest. Results of a dendrochronologie investigation reveal that a number of species produce growth rings. Four species identified as offering the best chance for developing a ring-width chronology are; Acacia elatior, Acacia robusta, Tamarindus indica, and Newtonia hildebrandtii.