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Tajikistan is often affected by atmospheric mineral dust. The direct and indirect radiative effects of dust play a sensitive role in the climate system in Central Asia. The Central Asian Dust Experiment (CADEX) provides first lidar measurements in Tajikistan. The autonomous multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar PollyXT was operated for 1.5 years (2015/16) in Dushanbe. In spring, lofted layers of long-range transported dust and in summer/ autumn, lower laying dust from local or regional sources with large optical thicknesses occurred.

Mineral dust needs to be characterized comprehensively since it contributes to the climate change in Tajikistan / Central Asia. Lidar results from the measurements of mineral dust during CADEX are compared with results of sun photometer measurements, satellite-based measurements, and chemical analysis of ground samples. Although the dust is often advected from far-range sources, it impacts on the local conditions considerably.

Arising from: G. Yancheva et al. Nature 445, 74-77 (2007) On the basis of the anti-correlation of their palaeoclimatic proxy for the strength of the East Asian winter monsoon from [...]

Central Asia is highly vulnerable to large earthquakes, yet existing records of past seismic activity in this area are still insufficient to reliably assess regional earthquake hazard on longer timescales. Within this study, the sediments of Sary Chelek, a mountain lake in the western Kyrgyz Tian Shan, were investigated to explore its potential as a natural paleoseismic archive. The lacustrine deposits are characterized by a succession of annually laminated (varved) sediments overlying event deposits that consist of large-scale turbidites and distorted lake sediments, similar to earthquake-related deposits described from other lake sediment records. Microscopic sediment analysis furthermore revealed distorted varves in the laminated sequence that closely resemble earthquake-related soft-sediment deformation structures. Varve counting and radiometric dating determine the formation of the distorted varves and the emplacement of the large-scale event deposits to the early 1990s and mid-1940s, respectively. This is in good temporal agreement with the occurrence of two large earthquakes that struck western Kyrgyzstan in AD 1992 and AD 1946. These results and particularly the precise age control of the Sary Chelek sediment record highlight its potential for establishing a long and precisely dated record of regional earthquake activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arising from: G. Yancheva et al. Nature 455, 74-77 (2007). The Asian summer monsoon has been precisely reconstructed from the high-resolution record from the speleothem1, but reconstruction of the Asian [...]

For the first time, continuous vertically resolved aerosol measurements were performed by lidar in Tajikistan, Central Asia. Observations with the multiwavelength polarization Raman lidar PollyXT were conducted during CADEX (Central Asian Dust EXperiment) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from March 2015 to August 2016. Co-located with the lidar, a sun photometer was also operated. The goal of CADEX is to provide an unprecedented data set on vertically resolved aerosol optical properties in Central Asia, an area highly affected by climate change but largely missing vertically resolved aerosol measurements. During the 18-month measurement campaign, mineral dust was detected frequently from ground to the cirrus level height. In this study, an overview of the measurement period is given and four typical but different example measurement cases are discussed in detail. Three of them are dust cases and one is a contrasting pollution aerosol case. Vertical profiles of the measured optical properties and the calculated dust and non-dust mass concentrations are presented. Dust source regions were identified by means of backward trajectory analyses. A lofted layer of Middle Eastern dust with an aerosol optical thickness (AOT) of 0.4 and an extinction-related Ångström exponent of 0.41 was measured. In comparison, two near-ground dust cases have Central Asian sources. One is an extreme dust event with an AOT of 1.5 and Ångström exponent of 0.12 and the other one is a most extreme dust event with an AOT of above 4 (measured by sun photometer) and an Ångström exponent of -0.08. The observed lidar ratios (and particle linear depolarization ratios) in the presented dust cases range from 40.3 to 46.9 sr (and 0.18-0.29) at 355 nm and from 35.7 to 42.9 sr (0.31-0.35) at 532 nm wavelength. The particle linear depolarization ratios indicate almost unpolluted dust in the case of a lofted dust layer and pure dust in the near-ground dust cases. The lidar ratio values are lower than typical lidar ratio values for Saharan dust (50-60 sr) and comparable to Middle Eastern or west-Asian dust lidar ratios (35-45 sr). In contrast, the presented case of pollution aerosol of local origin has an Ångström exponent of 2.07 and a lidar ratio (particle linear depolarization ratio) of 55.8 sr (0.03) at 355 nm and 32.8 sr (0.08) at 532 nm wavelength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time, continuous vertically resolved aerosol measurements were performed by lidar in Tajikistan, Central Asia. Observations with the multiwavelength polarization/Raman lidar PollyXT were conducted during CADEX (Central Asian Dust EXperiment) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, from March 2015 to August 2016. Co-located with the lidar a sun photometer was operated. The goal of CADEX is to provide an unprecedented data set on vertically resolved aerosol optical properties in Central Asia, an area highly affected by climate change but largely missing vertically resolved aerosol measurements. During the 18-months measurement campaign, mineral dust was detected frequently from ground to cirrus level height. In this study, an overview of the measurement period is given and four typical but different example measurement cases are discussed in detail. Three of them are dust cases and one is a contrasting pollution aerosol case. Vertical profiles of the measured optical properties and the calculated dust and non-dust mass concentrations are presented. Dust source regions were identified by means of backward trajectory analyses. A lofted layer of Middle Eastern dust with an aerosol optical thickness (AOT) of 0.4 and an extinction-related Ångström exponent of 0.41 was measured. In comparison, two near-ground dust cases have Central Asian sources. One is an extreme dust event with an AOT of 1.5 and Ångström exponent of 0.12 and the other one is a most extreme dust event with an AOT of above 4 (measured by sun photometer) and an Ångström exponent of -0.08. The observed lidar ratios (particle linear depolarization ratios) in the presented dust cases range from 40.3 sr to 46.9 sr (0.18–0.29) at 355 nm and from 35.7 sr to 42.9 sr (0.31–0.35) at 532 nm wavelength. The particle linear depolarization ratios indicate almost unpolluted dust in the case of a lofted dust layer and pure dust in the near-ground dust cases. The lidar ratio values are lower than typical lidar ratio values for Saharan dust (50–60 sr) and comparable to Middle Eastern/West-Asian dust lidar ratios (35–45 sr). In contrast, the presented case of pollution aerosol of local origin has an Ångström exponent of 2.07 and a lidar ratio (particle linear depolarization ratio) of 55.8 sr (0.03) at 355 nm and 32.8 sr (0.08) at 532 nm wavelength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We classify artesian waters from the Amu Darya Delta. [•] We infer their hydrochemical evolution. [•] With mass balances we quantify the contributions of different solute components. [•] We present a chemical SiO2-geothermometer for the Aral Sea Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of synthetic apatite crystals along the fluorapatite-chlorapatite Ca5(PO4)3(F,Cl) join have been synthesized at 1220 to 1375 °C from Ca3(PO4)2 dissolved in a CaF2-CaCl2 melt. The solid solutions have then been characterized both chemically and structurally. Because of well-known difficulties in measuring the chemical composition of apatites containing F and Cl by electron microprobe a new semi-micro wet chemical method has been developed. Apatite is relatively well dissolved in mineral acids including HNO3. Nitric acid digestion of apatite for analysis of F and Cl has not been applied in the past to our knowledge. One reason is the potential risk of losing gaseous HF and HCl during acid decomposition. We present an analytical procedure that enables the analyses of F, Cl, Ca, P, and trace elements after digestion of 10 mg apatite with a small amount of 1 N HNO3 in gas-tight PTFE tubes at 80 °C. Analytical results from three independent closed acid digestions of 20 synthetic fluorchlorapatites are presented. The reliability of this method was tested on the basis of charge balance, the Ca/P, Ca/(F+Cl), and P/(F+Cl) ratios, and the total cation sum. Independently derived Cl/F ratios by XRD using Rietveld refinement of apatite crystals from the same synthesis experiments are additionally presented. The apatite solid solutions were characterized by IR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction using Rietveld refinements (XRD), and single-crystal diffraction (SCXRD) structure determinations. IR spectra indicate no or only a very minor hydroxylapatite component in the solid solutions. Lattice parameters of the apatite solid solutions vary systematically with composition. The a-lattice parameter varies linearly. In contrast to F- , which occupies a special position at (0,0, 1/4;) in the unit cell, Cl- occupies split positions ranging from 0.346(4) to 0.4428(2) in the z-coordinate because of the larger ionic Cl- radius. Single-crystal structure determinations reveal that the Ca2 site is also split into Ca2A and Ca2B sites for F- and Cl- as nearest neighbors, respectively. In comparison to the Ca2A-F- arrangements, the larger Cl- ion presses the triangular arrangement of Ca-ions outward to facilitate an energetic more favorable constellation resulting in the formation of Ca2B-Cl- arrangements. The occupancies of the Ca2A and Ca2B sites, as determined by SCXRD, correlate strictly with the F-Cl content. Apatites rich in Cl (xCl > 0.5) show a deficiency in halogens, which is probably charge balanced by oxygen (Cl-- ↔ O² + □) forming an oxyapatite component. The oxyapatite component prevents the F-absent, Cl-rich apatite from crystallizing with a monoclinic symmetry and stabilizes the observed hexagonal symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A palaeohydrological reconstruction on decadal scale for the period 15 000–2000 cal. yr BP based on calculated net accumulation rates for biogenic silica (F-bSiO2) and additional proxies (sedimentological data, geochemical sediment characteristics and pollen) is derived from varved sediments of Lake Sihailongwan (SHL). In Lake SHL, F-bSiO2 is positively correlated with the inflow of nutrient-rich groundwater. Since groundwater inflow is mainly fed by seepage of summer monsoon rainfall, F-bSiO2 documents changes in summer monsoon strength. Summer monsoon rainfall was enhanced in the early Holocene around 9800 and 7800 cal. yr BP. Groundwater inflow during these periods did not reach the high level of the Lateglacial warm period (c. 14 300–12 500 cal. yr BP) when the vicinity of the lake was less densely covered with woody vegetation than in the Holocene. Aeolian influx of silt-sized debris was relatively higher during an overall drier period between 9500 and 8000 cal. yr BP. A mid-Holocene sedimentation interval with distinct century-scale variability in summer monsoon rainfall documents a positive correlation between rainfall and siliciclastic influx that reflects a more efficient removal of mineral aerosols for increased rainfall at an overall high dust concentration over the Asian continent. Summer monsoon rainfall reached minima around 6400, 4900, 3700 and 2200 cal. yr BP. Remarkably, aeolian siliciclastic influx peaked at the beginning and at the end of a dry interval between 4100 and 3600 cal. yr BP. Around 3600 cal. yr BP Lake SHL received substantial aeolian influx of different geochemical provenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeohydrology of the brackish karst lake An Loch Mór (Inis Oírr) was reconstructed based on its 11 600 year sedimentation record. Low calcareous early Holocene sediments, characterized by high TOC contents and deposited at generally low accumulation rates, show a gradual decrease upwards in the concentration of the siliciclastic sediment until c. 7000 cal. yr BP. From c. 9000 cal. yr BP, sediment accumulation became increasingly dominated by the deposition of autochthonous calcite and organic matter. The deposition of autochthonous calcite and its chemical composition (Ca/Sr, Ca/Mg) are determined by the subsurface inflow of freshwater from the catchment of the lake and by the balance between freshwater and seawater influx. During the early Holocene, the lake mainly received input of sea salt by sea-spray. The sediments document the further development from seasonal towards the onset of diurnal infiltration of seawater at c. 5100 cal. yr BP. At that time, the relative sea level must have risen nearly to its present level in Galway Bay. Diurnal seawater infiltration during high tides was controlled by freshwater input. Freshwater inflow from the catchment gradually increased with human impact on local vegetation (EVPT decrease). Permanent diurnal seawater infiltration in concert with this general freshwater increase made the geochemical sedimentation record highly sensitive to changes in annual precipitation. We use information from the palynological record to interpret geochemically inferred freshwater inflow variations in terms of dry and wet climatic periods and document distinct century-scale successions between wet and dry climatic episodes for western Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sr isotope and Ca/Mg/Sr chemical compositions of freshwater ostracode tests separated from a sediment core represent the last 16 ka of sedimentation in Lake Constance, Central Europe. The chemical evolution of the paleowater''s dissolved load of Lake Constance was estimated by correcting the ostracode data for Ca/Mg/Sr fractionation due to biogenic calcification. Since the Late Pleistocene deglaciation, the Ca/Sr molar ratios of paleowaters increased systematically from about 100 (a near marine signature) to about 200. Ca/Mg molar ratios varied in the range of 1–25. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios indicate Late Pleistocene paleowater compositions of 0.7086–0.7091, significantly more radiogenic than present day waters (0.7085). Sr isotopes and Ca/Mg/Sr chemical data together show that weathering of Mesozoic evaporites consistently dominated the dissolved Sr load (80–90%). Carbonate and silicate weathering were less important (1–10%). Trends of Sr dissolved loads were therefore not related to Mg which was mainly mobilized by carbonate weathering. Biotite weathering was an important source of radiogenic Sr in the paleowaters. The short-term release (duration about 600–800 years) of radiogenic Sr during glacier retreat started 15.2 ka ago and was due to enhanced biotite weathering at the glacier base. Long-term release of radiogenic Sr was due to biotite weathering in glacial soils and silicate rocks, and has gradually declined since the Late Pleistocene/Holocene transition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]