Der WWF Report „Der östliche Himalaya – Wo Welten kollidieren“ beschreibt detailliert mehr als 350 neue Arten. Wissenschaftler verschiedener Organisationen haben sie zwischen 1998 und 2008 in einer Region entdeckt, die Bhutan, den Nord-Osten Indiens, den Norden Myanmars ebenso wie Nepal und südliche Bereiche Tibets umfasst. Unter den neu entdeckten Arten sind 242 Pflanzen, 16 Amphibien, 16 Reptilien, 14 Fische, zwei Vögel, zwei Säugetiere und mindestens 60 neue Wirbellose.
Das Projekt "A long-term climate record from lacustrine sediments of the Zada-Basin, SW Tibet" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Institut für Geosysteme und Bioindikation durchgeführt. The long-term history of the Asian monsoon climate is important for a better understanding of regional- to global-scale climate change during the late Neogene, but poorly documented. We propose a multidisciplinary study of -1 km thick late Miocene to Pleistocene (ca. 7-1 Ma?) lacustrine deposits exposed in the Zada basin, SW Tibet, to establish a medium- to highresolution long-term climate record for that region. The present proposal will build and expand upon the results of an ongoing pilot study, during which we established a detailed stratigraphic and sedimentologic framework, and carried out initial sampling for sediment-petrographic work, geochronologic work, and the evaluation of a variety of different potential proxy materials for the reconstruction of climatic and ecologic conditions in the Zada Basin during Late Miocene to Pleistocene time.
Das Projekt "Ergaenzung topographischer Karten durch die 'Metric Camera' nach Aenderung in den Testraeumen und Ergaenzung durch neue Themen" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Heidelberg, Geographisches Institut Heidelberg durchgeführt. Das Vorhaben ist ein Teil des Projekts 'Metric Camera', das von Prof. Konecny, Inst. fuer Photogrammetrie, TU Hannover, entworfen worden ist. Ist es moeglich, sinnvoll und wirtschaftlich, veraltete Landkarten durch Fotos aus dem Weltraum (Spacelab) zu aktualisieren? Wegen der unguenstigen Jahreszeit (Nov./Dez.) werden wir von den deutschen Zielen kaum brauchbare Luftbilder erhalten und deshalb auf Kenya, Aegypten, Osttuerkei und Tibet ausweichen. Im Unterschied zu anderen Gruppen moechte ich versuchen, aus der gegenwaertigen agrarischen oder forstlichen Nutzung eine Karte des Naturpotentials zu entwickeln und mit dieser vielleicht die herkoemmlichen Karten ergaenzen. Ein Randthema ist die Rolle der Generalisierung von Uebersichtskarten. Warum konnten die Tektoniker (Geologen) nicht auf diesen, sondern erst auf Landsatbildern die langen Lineare erkennen?
Das Projekt "Dynamics of Active Layer in Qinghai-Xizang Plateau" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Umweltphysik durchgeführt. The dynamics of the active layer in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Xizang-Plateau (China) shall be studied by (i) exploration using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) at scales up to 1 km and (ii) by high-resolution monitoring of three characteristic sites at scales of meters. This is the German part of a cooperative project with the Cold & Arid Regions Environment and Engineering Research Instiute (CATEERI) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Lanzhou. In the initial phase, GPR is used for the identification of the eventual monitoring sites. In later phases, the seasonal ice table and, if existent, the ground ice table, are mapped periodically during three field campaigns. For reliable quantitative results, an inversion algorithm for an existing Maxwell-solver will be developed in this project. The high-resolution monitoring sites will comprise (i) a site with stable permafrost as a reference (ii) a transient natural site to study decay in detail, and (iii) a site near the embankment of the road or of the railway to assess the impact of manmade constructions. Each site will be instrumented with an array of sensors for subsurface temperature and liquid water, meterological parameters and radiation components. Based on the data, simplifield quantitative models of the thermal and hydraulic dynamics of the active layer will be developted.
Das Projekt "Reconstruction of Asian monsoon using compound-specific isotope signals of terrestrial and aquatic biomarkers in Tibetan lake systems 'Western lakes'" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Max-Planck-Institut für Biogeochemie durchgeführt. This project is part of a joint multiproxy research activity reconstructing the late Quaternary Monsoon dynamics on the Tibetan plateau. It uses stable isotopes (13C, 18O and D) to reconstruct the hydrology of individual lake systems and 14C to compare the timing of events in different lakes on the plateau. Latest compound-specific D and 14C technology using biomarkers are applied overcoming current limitations in palaeoclimate reconstruction. On the one hand Delta D values of aquatic and terrestrial biomarkers are applied to reconstruct monsoon intensity and climate, respectively. On the other hand compound-specific 14C values of terrestrial biomarkers will be used to establish an age sequence that is not affected by the variable reservoir effect of the lakes. Focal points of this proposal are reconstructions from the core Nam Co 08/01, which is the first core dates back to about 25 ka BP. We will firstly focus on the oldest and unknown part of the sequence followed by known events like 4k, 8k and the Younger Dryas. Secondly we will establish a valid age depth model that is not affected by the lake reservoir effect. Thirdly, we will participate in the retrieval of the new core at Tangra Yumco and collect necessary samples of plants, algae, soil and water for calibration studies. Based on all reconstructions of the joint research activity over the whole priority program for the first time the development of the monsoon extent over the Tibetan plateau can be reconstructed.
Das Projekt "Lake System Response of Nam Co area, Central Tibet, to Late Quaternary Monsoon Dynamics: Interaction of Littoral, Fluvial and Slope Processes" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Berlin, Institut für Geographische Wissenschaften, Fachrichtung 2 Physische Geographie durchgeführt. Nam Co Lake covers a surface area of c. 1,870 km2. lt is located at 4,722 m a.s.l. and its drainage basin covers an area of approx. 15,000 km2. Various beach ridge generations along the Nam Co shoreline record former lake level high stands, for the beach ridges are found 20 m above the most recent lake level. Lehmkuhl et al. (2002) state an age of 20 ka BP. Satellite images show that additional, lower-lying beach ridges attest to young Quatemary retreating and oscillating lake levels. These young Quatemary beach ridges are deposited an top of older alluvial fans. Reactivation of channels after lake retreat resulted in the dissection of beach ridges and older fluvial deposits, which were superposed by younger fluvial and colluvial deposits. Locally also eolian deposits interfinger with littoral and fluvial deposits (Lehmkuhl et al. 2002), and especially in the eastern part of Nam Co extensive loess covers can also be identified. In the Nam Co drainage basin temporary storage systems such as fans, colluvial deposits, mass movement deposits and eolian deposits will be recorded in their horizontal appearance (mapping) and intersection (recording of outcrops, sedimentological investigation). A detailed geomorphological investigation of the Nam Co area will provide Information an the surface dynamics characterizing the Jake catchment area. The interfingering of littoral, fluvial, gravitational and eolian deposits will allow past morphodynamics to be ranked into a relative and absolute time frame. As is (meanwhile) well known in geomorphology, so-called 'events', (processes with a high magnitude and a low frequency) are the most important landscape-shaping agents. In the Nam Co area distinct landscape sensitivity and recurring heavy rainfall of the summer monsoon anticipate strong event geomorphology. Especially the analysis of fluvial and colluvial deposits, locally interfingering with deposits from mass movements, yields information an magnitude and frequency of these events. Thus, the geomorphological and sedimentological analysis of the Nam Co catchment will provide information an Late Quaternary landscape history and stratigraphy of relief-shaping events. Coupled with paleoclimate information as it will be provided from the investigation of Nam Co lacustrine sediments (subprojects by A. Schwalb, G. Gleixner, V. Mosbrugger) valuable information will be provided an Holocene climate and environmental dynamics. For selected time slices paleoenvironmental scenarios will be developed and implemented into modelling approaches to support evaluation of geomorphic events. As well as LGM, such time slices might focus an the late Pleistocene phase of fan abandonment and the early Holocene wet phase, both as stated by Brown et al. (2003) for the Western Tibetan Plateau. usw.
Das Projekt "Late Neogene environmental evolution of the Tibetan Plateau recorded in long-term lacustrine archives" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Institut für Geosysteme und Bioindikation durchgeführt. Knowledge about the long-term history of the Asian monsoon climate is a prerequisite for better understanding regional- and global-scale climate change during the late Neogene and its link to the tectonic evolution and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Here we propose to continue our running multidisciplinary study on lacustrine deposits in Tibet; we focus on the Qaidam basin (NE plateau), which contains a unique record of aridification in central Asia. A 1400 m deep drill-core (SG-1: 940 m recovered in 2008, 1400 m to be reached in April 2010) and a surface profile provide a continuous sedimentary archive spanning the last ca.8 Myr. For the future, we anticipate considerable synergy to result from a second drilling campaign (SG- 2) into an anticline structure nearby SG-1 that is planned by the same group within a launched BMBF program (1400 m: ca.8-15 Ma). Integrating the results from the Qaidam basin with other data available from different areas of the Tibetan Plateau (Zada: ca.9-1 Ma, Cuoe: last ca.2.8 Ma, Heqing and Zoîge: both last ca.1 Ma) will allow us to conduct a comprehensive analysis of palaeoclimate proxies and related tectonic activities. The project is carried out in close cooperation by German and Chinese partners based on equal scientific work share, and bilateral financial support by the DFG, BMBF (German side), CAS, NSFC, and MST (Chinese side).
Das Projekt "Landscape and Lake-System Response to Late Quaternary Dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau - Northern Transect" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Berlin, Institut für Geographische Wissenschaften, Fachrichtung 4 Angewandte Geographie, Umwelthydrologie und Ressourcenmanagement durchgeführt. The objective of this proposed project bundle is the reconstruction of Quaternary climate and landscape evolution of the Northern Tibetan Plateau. The project aims to contribute multidisciplinary approaches on three selected lake catchment archives along sediment routings (sediment cascades) in order to better understand the interrelation between various land forming processes within well defined catchments. These processes are closely related to climatic conditions in the area. By reconstructing the processes we will be able to give detailed information about the climate development of the area. Important process parameters are related to the amount and temporal-spatial variations of precipitation which are directly linked to changes in the monsoonal air masses. Our research bundle focuses on the northern transect. The selected key-sites comprise the Donggi-Cona system, the Lake Ayakhum system and a nameless lake in the western Kunlun Mts. of quite different climate influence but with similar catchment characteristics (fully developed sediment cascades from the glaciers to the lakes). We will provide the first systematic chronostratigraphy of manifold aspects of environmental change on the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau, combining different types of terrestrial and lake records. Moreover, we will be able to synthesise land forming processes and their responses to climate forcing. Spatial GIS-based modelling of the landscape and climate evolution will help us to link local findings with regional and global signals.
Das Projekt "Lake system response of Nam Co area, central Tibet, to Late Quaternary Monsoon dynamics: Microfossils as recorders of environmental change" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig, Institut für Geosysteme und Bioindikation durchgeführt. In August/September 2005, during the pilot phase of this project, we have carried out a limnological survey that included the collection of water column samples from Nam Co, water samples from tributaries, surface sediments and short cores. Long cores (max. 4.7 m) and outcrop sediments were collected in cooperation with partners. Preliminary analyses show that there are abundant microfossils, especially ostracodes that document the suitability of Nam Co sediments for an evaluation of the response of Nam Co and its catchment area to environmental dynamics and climate change. This proposal seeks funding for a detailed microfossil analysis of sediment cores and outcrop sediments in order to characterize the lake system response to climate change during (1) recent decades, and (2) during the Holocene, as well as to characterize the (3) dynamics of past lake level high stands. Fossil ostracode species assemblages and the oxygen and carbon isotopic signatures from their valves will provide information about, for example, the precipitation vs. evaporation ratio, lake level changes and water supply to the lake such as meltwater runoff that is controlled by monsoon dynamics and temperature. We also plan to carry out a second field work phase at Nam Co followed by an exploratory survey in S. Tibet together with cooperation partners.
Das Projekt "Teilprojekt: Seismische Erkundung von ICDP Bohrlokationen im Nam Co See, Tibet" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Bremen, Fachgebiet Meerestechnik / Umweltforschung durchgeführt. Durch eine Kooperation der Universitäten Bremen und Jena und dem Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research/Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, konnte eine zweite seismoakustische Vermessung in 2016 den Datensatz von 2014 erheblich erweitern und damit eine hinreichende seismische Überdeckung eines der größten Sees auf the tibetischen Plateau erreichen.Dieses Projekt zielt auf einen Abschluß der Arbeiten zum Datenprozessing und der seismischen Interpretation der neu gesammelten Daten sowie die Unterstützung des bewilligten ICDP Workshop in 2018 in Beijing sowie dem geplanten ICDP Bohrantrag. Der See bietet ein einzigartiges Sedimentarchiv von über 500 Metern Mächtigkeit, der ein Klimaarchiv von vielleicht einer Million Jahre repräsentiert.Das transpressive bzw. transtensionale tektonische Setting, verbunden mit lokaler Subsidenz, folgt einer komplexen Entwicklung in Raum und Zeit, die zu erhöhten Sedimentationsraten führte und die kontinuierliche Sedimentation in Zentrum des See auch bei relative Tiefständen sicherstellte. Auch die detaillierte Rekonstruktion der Tektonik selbst ist ein Thema der laufenden Arbeiten, genauso wie die Reaktion und Entwicklung der Deposition auf der Skala des gesamten Sees.Ein wichtiges Thema des dritten Jahres wird die Rekonstruktion von Seespiegelschwankungen sein, mit einem besonderen Fokus auf Phasen besonders erhöhten Niveaus (Mega Lake Hypothese). Es existieren teilweise widersprüchliche Hinweise auf Niveaus von mehr als 100 m über dem heutigen Seespiegel im marinen Isotopenstadium 5. Die seismischen Daten, die über Korngröße und Reflexionsstärke insbesondere Wassertiefe und Abstand zur Küste dokumentieren, sollen auf Hinweise für mächtigere und weit verteilte tonreiche Einheiten niedriger Amplitude untersucht und stratigraphisch eingehängt werden.