Statistical and geostatistical features of streambed hydraulic conductivities in the Platte River, Nebraska

This paper presents streambed hydraulic conductivities of the Platte River from south-central to eastern Nebraska. The hydraulic conductivities were determined from river channels using permeameter tests. The vertical hydraulic conductivities (K _v ) from seven test sites along this river in south-central Nebraska belong to one statistical population. Its mean value is 40.2 m/d. However, the vertical hydraulic conductivities along four transects of the Ashland test site in eastern Nebraska have lower mean values, are statistically different from the K _v values in south-central Nebraska, and belong to two different populations with mean values of 20.7 and 9.1 m/d, respectively. Finer sediments carried from the Loup River and Elkhorn River watersheds to the eastern reach of the Platte River lowers the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the streambed. Correlation coefficients between water depth and K _v values along a test transect indicates a positive correlation – a larger K _v usually occurs in the part of channel with deeper water. Experimental variograms derived from the vertical hydraulic conductivities for several transects across the channels of the Platte River show periodicity of spatial correlation, which likely result from periodic variation of water depth across the channels. The sandy to gravelly streambed contains very local silt and clay layers; spatially continuous low-permeability streambed was not observed in the river channels. The horizontal hydraulic conductivities were larger than the vertical hydraulic conductivities for the same test locations.     

Element mobility during pyrite weathering: implications for acid and heavy metal pollution at mining-impacted sites

Based on back scattered electron images and electron micro-probe analysis results, four alteration layers, including a transition layer, a reticulated ferric oxide layer, a nubby ferric oxide layer and a cellular ferric oxide layer, were identified in the naturally weathering products of pyrite. These layers represent a progressive alteration sequence of pyrite under weathering conditions. The cellular ferric oxide layer correlates with the strongest weathering phase and results from the dissolution of nubby ferric oxide by acidic porewater. Leaching coefficient was introduced to better express the response of element mobility to the degree of pyrite weathering. Its variation shows that the mobility of S, Co and Bi is stronger than As, Cu and Zn. Sulfur in pyrite is oxidized to sulfuric acid and sulfate that are basically released into to porewater, and heavy metals Co and Bi are evidently released by acid dissolution. As, Cu and Zn are enriched in ferric oxide by adsorption and by co-precipitation, but they would re-release to the environment via desorption or dissolution when porewater pH becomes low enough. Consequently, Co, Bi, As, Cu and Zn may pose a substantial impact on water quality. Considering that metal mobility and its concentration in mine waste are two important factors influencing heavy metal pollution at mining-impacted sites, Bi and Co are more important pollutants in this case.     

Timing of Magma Mixing in the Gangdisě Magmatic Belt during the India-Asia Collision： Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb Dating

Abstract  Abundant mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) extensively distribute in granitoids in the Gangdisê giant magmatic belt, within which the Qüxü batholith is the most typical MME‐bearing pluton. Systematic sampling for granodioritic host rock, mafic microgranular enclaves and gabbro nearby at two locations in the Qüxü batholith, and subsequent zircon SHRIMP II U‐Pb dating have been conducted. Two sets of isotopic ages for granodioritic host rock, mafic microgranular enclaves and gabbro are 50.4±1.3 Ma, 51.2±1.1 Ma, 47.0±1 Ma and 49.3±1.7 Ma, 48.9±1.1 Ma, 49.9±1.7 Ma, respectively. It thus rules out the possibilities of mafic microgranular enclaves being refractory residues after partial melting of magma source region, or being xenoliths of country rocks or later intrusions. Therefore, it is believed that the three types of rocks mentioned above likely formed in the same magmatic event, i.e., they formed by magma mixing in the Eocene (c. 50 Ma). Compositionally, granitoid host rocks incline towards acidic end member involved in magma mixing, gabbros are akin to basic end member and mafic microgranular enclaves are the incompletely mixed basic magma clots trapped in acidic magma. The isotopic dating also suggested that huge‐scale magma mixing in the Gangdisê belt took place 15–20 million years after the initiation of the India‐Asia continental collision, genetically related to the underplating of subduction‐collision‐induced basic magma at the base of the continental crust. Underplating and magma mixing were likely the main process of mass‐energy exchange between the mantle and the crust during the continental collision, and greatly contributed to the accretion of the continental crust, the evolution of the lithosphere and related mineralization beneath the portion of the Tibetan Plateau to the north of the collision zone.     

A high-resolution TEM-AEM, pH titration, and modeling study of Zn coprecipitation with ferrihydrite

Experiments of Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ coprecipitation as a function of pH were conducted in the laboratory at ambient temperature and pressure. X-ray diffraction patterns of the coprecipitates show two broad peaks at 0.149 and 0.258 nm, which is consistent with published patterns for pure 2-line ferrihydrite. Zn²⁺ uptake occurred at pH ≥5 while Fe³⁺ precipitation occurred between pH 3 and 4, although both Zn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ were present in the same solution during the entire range of pH titration. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that the coprecipitates are 2 to 6 nm sized single crystalline particles but aggregated to 50 to 400 nm sized clusters. Analytical electron microscopy indicated that the 5% atomic Zn with respect to Fe was homogeneously distributed. No segregated phases were found in the clusters or at single crystal edges, which is consistent with published extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) results at similar Zn/(Zn + Fe) ratios. Hence, occlusion and surface precipitation may be excluded as possible coprecipitation mechanisms. The bulk solution Zn²⁺ sorption edge was fitted to both solid solution and generalized diffuse layer surface complexation models. However, a solid solution model is inconsistent with published EXAFS results that show tetrahedral polydentate Zn²⁺ complexes sharing apices with Fe³⁺octahedra.     

In situ feldspar dissolution rates in an aquifer

In situ silicate dissolution rates within the saturated Navajo sandstone, at Black Mesa, Arizona were determined from elemental fluxes in the aquifer. The mass transfer between groundwater and mineral matrix along flow paths was calculated from inverse mass balance modeling. The reaction time is bound by ¹⁴C-based travel time. BET surface areas were measured with N₂ gas adsorption. Dissolution rates for K-feldspar and plagioclase are 10⁻¹⁹ and 10⁻¹⁶ mol (feldspar) m⁻² s⁻¹, respectively, which are ∼10⁵ times slower than laboratory experiment-derived rates under similar pH and temperature but at far from equilibrium conditions. The rates obtained in this study are consistent with the slower field rates found in numerous watershed and soil profile studies. However, these rates are from saturated aquifers, overcoming some concerns on estimated rates from unsaturated systems. The Navajo sandstone is a quartz-sandstone with a relatively simple and well-studied hydrogeology, groundwater geochemistry, and lithology, a large number of groundwater analyses and ¹⁴C groundwater ages, groundwater residence times up to ∼37 ky, groundwater pH from ∼8 to 10, and temperature from ∼15 to 35°C.     

午后多重极光弧观测研究

本文利用2001-2003年南极中山站175天全天空摄像机观测,对午后多重极光弧的出现率及其与Kp指数的关系进行了统计分析,结果表明午后多重极光弧出现率呈一单峰分布,最大发生率出现在1445UT(1645MLT),其位置在1500MLT极光热点(1300-1700MLT)近夜侧的部分。与地磁活动指数Kp的相关统计分析表明,Kp值为2-3之间时多重极光弧有较大的出现率,这说明中等地磁活动情形下午后多重极光弧有较高的出现率。事件分析表明多重极光弧的强度变化与地磁Pc5脉动具有较高的相关性,并且有类似的频谱特征,这说明午后多重极光弧可能与同时出现的Pc5地磁脉动有关。     

"虚拟水"理论及其在中国的实践应用初步研究

“虚拟水”是国际上20世纪90年代初提出来的一个新概念,它主要是指缺水国家通过进口粮食而实现本国的水资源安全。中东和北非地区事实上已经实施了“虚拟水”战略,以保障当地的水资源安全。中国疆域辽阔,水资源分布时空不均衡性明显,通过对2000年中国各省(市)进出口粮食情况的分析发现,中国各省(市)之间已存在“虚拟水”现象,将各省(市)“虚拟水”进出口量与当地的水资源情况进行对比分析,从中可以发现中国各省(市)进出口“虚拟水”有4种表现形式,出现这些表现形式有多方面的原因。