Discovery of the early Jurassic Gajia mélange in the Bangong–Nujiang suture zone: Southward subduction of the Bangong–Nujiang Ocean?

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Mélange records a series of geological processes associated with oceanic subduction and continental collision. This paper reports for the first time...     

松辽盆地增强型地热系统开发选区评价

干热岩是一种新型清洁能源,其开发利用区的确定十分重要。笔者首先通过对松辽盆地热源、资源量、导热、聚热、地震活动5个方面资料的收集,提出了松辽盆地增强型地热系统开发选区适宜性评价方法;然后选取8项评价因子,利用ArcGIS 10.2平台将松辽盆地划分为26个评价单元,根据打分法和层次分析法(AHP)求取每个因子的权重;最后,对26个选区进行综合评价,将其分成适宜、较适宜、一般适宜、较不适宜和不适宜5个等级。结果表明:松辽盆地干热岩开发适宜区和较适宜区主要集中在盆地中部的大安—大庆一带,确定的适宜选区范围对今后干热岩开发工作具有一定指导作用。     

孟加拉盆地东部褶皱带差异构造变形及成因

基于野外地质调查和地震资料分析,证实了孟加拉盆地东部褶皱带发育底部和中部两套滑脱层。底部滑脱层在整个褶皱带均发育,而中部滑脱层仅发育于北段—中段的陆上和陆架区,在中段的陆坡-洋盆区及南段则不发育。中部滑脱层的发育受古陆坡富泥沉积控制。北段—中段主要发育滑脱褶皱及被断层突破的滑脱褶皱,而南段主要发育泥底辟和泥火山构造。孟加拉盆地东部褶皱带滑脱层系及构造样式的差异变形特征主要受区域挤压作用、沉积作用以及地层流体超压等方面存在着差异的共同影响。     

二元同位素测温技术及其在白云岩储层成因研究中的应用——以塔里木盆地中下寒武统为例

作为近年来新兴的实验技术,二元同位素(D47)测温技术已被应用于碳酸盐岩成岩环境的研究中。简要介绍了二元同位素测温技术的原理及应用方法,并以塔里木盆地中下寒武统白云岩为例,优选11块样品,测试其D47值和白云石的碳氧同位素,并计算出样品的成岩温度和古流体的δ~(18)O值。综合分析认为:样品中,颗粒白云岩形成于低温准同生—浅埋藏环境,成岩流体为海水;细晶白云岩为深埋藏成岩环境中原岩受到了高温重结晶作用的改造,成岩流体为地下热卤水;孔缝中的白云石胶结物是深埋藏成岩环境富镁热卤水沉淀作用的产物。研究证明二元同位素测温技术可以较好地恢复白云岩的成岩温度,减少储层成因的多解性,它为今后储层成因研究提供了一种新的手段和依据。     

DEM simulations of sandstone under true triaxial compressive tests

Numerically simulated true triaxial compression tests (σ ₁ ≥ σ ₂ ≥ σ ₃) are conducted in this study to elucidate the failure mechanism of sandstone using 3D discrete element method (DEM), in particular the effect of the intermediate principal stress (σ ₂). Eight series of tests (σ ₃ = 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, and 100 MPa) are conducted. Within each series, σ ₂ is varied from σ ₂ = σ ₃ to σ ₂ = σ ₁ from test to test. For each test, σ ₁ is raised monotonically to failure while keeping σ ₂ and σ ₃ constant. The DEM simulations reveal the effect of σ ₂ on the variations of peak stress, Young’s modulus, failure plane angles, the brittle–ductile transition, and the evolution of failure modes, the effect beyond the well-understood effect of σ ₃. The simulation is in qualitative agreement with the results obtained experimentally. Detailed analyses performed on the particle-scale responses further the understanding of the microscopic mechanisms. The distribution of contact force becomes more homogeneous with the increase of σ ₃, which leads to the resulting damage being more localized rather than diffused. The interaction between contact force distribution and coalescence of cracks determines the processes and patterns of fracturing in the sample scale. σ ₂ is found to affect the microscopic stress distribution as well as structure evolution, and this effect weakens with the increase of σ ₃.     

Three-dimensional DEM investigation of critical state and dilatancy behaviors of granular materials

The critical state is significant to the mechanical behaviors of granular materials and the foundation of the constitutive relations. Using the discrete element method (DEM), the mechanical behaviors of granular materials can be investigated on both the macroscopic and microscopic levels. A series of DEM simulations under true triaxial conditions have been performed to explore the critical state and dilatancy behavior of granular materials, which show the qualitatively similar macroscopic responses as the experimental results. The critical void ratio and stress ratio under different stress paths are presented. A unique critical state line (CSL) is shown to indicate that the intermediate principal stress ratio does not influence the CSL. Within the framework of the unique critical state, the stress–dilatancy relation of DEM simulations is found to fulfill the state-dependent dilatancy equations. As a microscopic parameter to evaluate the static determinacy of the granular system, the redundancy ratio is defined and investigated. The results show that the critical state is very close to the statically determinate state. Other particle-level indexes, including the distribution of the contact forces and the anisotropies, are carefully investigated to analyze the microstructural evolution and the underlying mechanism. The microscopic analysis shows that both the contact orientations and contact forces influence the mechanical behaviors of granular materials.     

The human impact on the transformation of juniper forest landscape in the western part of the Pamir-Alay range (Tajikistan)

Detailed analyses were conducted of human impact on juniper forest landscapes occurring within the Zarafshan Range (Pamir-Alay). Juniperus seravschanica and J. semiglobosa belong to forest-forming species in Central Asia. At present, juniper forests all over Tajikistan are seriously threatened as a result of excessive logging and cattle grazing. The aim of this paper is to present juniper forest transformation as a result of human activities as well as the diversity of soil properties in the organic and humus horizons in the altitudinal system of soil zonation. Three groups of phytocoenoses were distinguished: those with a dominant share of Juniperus seravschanica; those with a dominant share of J. semiglobosa; and mixed. Associations with Juniperus seravschanica and J. semiglobosa feature several variants of phytocoenoses with dominant species: Artemisia lehmanniana, A. dracunculus, Eremurus olgae, Festuca sulcata, Ligularia thomsonii, Stipa turkestanica, Thymus seravschanicus, and Ziziphora pamiroalaica. The collected soil samples differ in their granulometric composition. Gravelly cobble fractions >2 mm are dominant; the share of sandy particles <2 mm is much lower (about 10–20%). Fraction 0.5–0.05 attains 35% on average. The Corg content of the soil varied from 0.26 to 11.40% in the humus horizon (A) and from 4.3 to 25% in the organic (O). Similar relationships were reported in the case of Ntot concentration. A clear relationship can be observed between concentrations of Corg and Ntot. Soil pH varied, ranging from very low acidic (pH 5.5) to neutral (pH 8.5). The content of available P varied; high concentrations were noted in organic (O) (40.46–211 mg kg^?1) and mixed horizons (OA) (2.61–119 mg kg^?1). Maximum accumulations of Pavail (1739.6 mg kg^?1) and Ptot (9696 mg kg^?1) were observed at a site heavily affected by intense grazing. Concentrations of Mgavail varied from 116 to 964 mg kg^?1. Most of the analysed soil profiles lacked an organic horizon; only thin humus occurred.     

Subsidence prediction method of solid backfilling mining with different filling ratios under thick unconsolidated layers

Solid backfill mining for coal pillar recovery in industrial squares has to ensure that the mine infrastructure, such as the shafts and substations, is not degraded or has its utility impaired by that mining. At the same time, it is important to recover as much coal as possible. As a result, it is necessary to predict mining subsidence during solid backfilling mining of coal pillars in industrial squares and to optimize the design of the working faces. At the Baishan coal mine in Anhiu province, China, there are thick layers of unconsolidated overburden above the coal seam so it is not appropriate to use the surface subsidence prediction method of equivalent mining height to predict subsidence during the mining of the coal pillars there. In order to find a reasonable coal pillar recovery scheme for the Baishan mine, a numerical simulation method is used to determine the relationships between the compression ratio of the backfilling material and the surface subsidence prediction parameters. Research was done to determine the appropriate parameters, and based on the final prediction parameters and taking the mandated protection standards for buildings and structures into account, surface subsidence is predicted and a backfill mining scheme for pillar recovery is proposed. The results show that of the six mining schemes considered, scheme 5 is the best scheme for coal pillar recovery in the industrial square at the Baishan mine. The research results are significant for similar mines with thick unconsolidated overburden anywhere in the world.     

Numerical investigation of slippage characteristics of normal and reverse faults under fluid injection and production

Nowadays, a great deal of petroleum geology and engineering projects associated with underground fluid injection and production (FIP) are widely conducted around the world. The FIP engineering may cause complex stress perturbation and trigger seismicity, which have been extensively reported and studied. In this paper, we investigated the fault slippage characteristics influenced by FIP. It reveals that for a fault (normal or reverse) that penetrating through the reservoir into the caprock and underburden, the footwall reservoir is the relatively stable one for fluid injection in a fluid FIP engineering. No matter it is a normal or a reverse fault, injecting fluid into footwall reservoir and producing fluid from the hanging wall reservoir can induce smaller fault slippage. After having determined the better fluid injection–production pattern, we studied the influence of three key factors of fault, i.e., dip, offset and depth, on fault stability. We found that, in our range of study, the influence of single action of fault dip, offset or depth on fault slippage in a FIP engineering was small. However, the influence of the combined effects of the factors may be large. Finally, we studied the effect of different pressure management scenarios on fault responses based on the specific fluid injection–production pattern. The results revealed that appropriate pressure management could effectively reduce fault slippage in a FIP engineering. However, inappropriate pressure management may cause much larger fault slippage. Given these concerns, it is therefore vital that the effect of pressure management scenario to be modeled prior to FIP.     

Centroid sliding pyramid method for removability and stability analysis of fractured hard rock

This paper proposes a new method using centroid sliding pyramid (CSP) to identify the removability and stability of fractured hard rock in tunnel and slope engineering. The new method features two geometrical and topological improvements over the original key block method (KBM). Firstly, all the concave corners are considered as starting points of cutting process when a concave block is divided into a set of convex blocks in the original KBM. Only the concave corners formed by two joint planes are used for partitioning a concave block in the presented method and concave corners with free planes are excluded. Secondly, joint pyramid for removability computation in the original KBM is generated using all of the joint planes, while CSP is calculated only from the joint planes adjoining the free planes. The cone angle θ of CSP is the vectorial angle formed by the two candidate sliding surfaces of this CSP. Removability analysis of a block is transformed into calculating the cone angle of CSP. The geometrical relationship is simplified, and data size for removability computation is reduced compared with the original KBM. The provided method is implemented in a computer program and validated by examples of fractured rock slopes and tunnels.