Energetic Particles Observed in the CUSP Region During a Storm Recovery Phase

In this paper we report energetic ion behavior and its composition variations observed by the Cluster/RAPID instrument when the spacecraft was travelling in the high latitude magnetospheric boundary region on the day of the 31 March, 2001, strongest magnetic storm in the past 50 years. The Dst index reached −360 nT at about 09:00 UT. During its early recovery phase, large amounts of oxygen and helium ions were observed; the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen in the RAPID energy range reached as high as 250%, which suggests that the observed energetic particles might be of magnetospheric origin. The observations further show that enhanced energetic electron fluxes are confined in a very narrow region, while protons have occupied a larger region, and heavy ions have been observed in an even larger region. The flux of energetic electrons show a slight enhancement in a region where the magnetic field magnitude is around zero. These observed energetic ions could be quasi-trapped by the current sheet in the stagnation region of the cusp.     

Gas accumulation from oil cracking in the eastern Tarim Basin: A case study of the YN2 gas field

Oil and gas exploration in eastern Tarim Basin, NW China has been successful in recent years, with several commercial gas accumulations being discovered in a thermally mature to over-mature region. The Yingnan2 (YN2) gas field, situated in the Yingnan structure of the Yingjisu Depression, produces gases that are relatively enriched in nitrogen and C₂₊ alkanes. The δ¹³C₁ (−38.6‰ to −36.2‰) and δ¹³C₂ values (−30.9‰ to −34.7‰) of these gases are characteristic of marine sourced gases with relatively high maturity levels. The distributions of biomarkers in the associated condensates suggest close affinities with the Cambrian–Lower Ordovician source rocks which, in the Yingjisu Sag, are currently over-mature (with 3–4%Ro). Burial and thermal maturity modeling results indicate that paleo-temperatures of the Cambrian–Lower Ordovician source rocks had increased from 90 to 210 °C during the late Caledonian orogeny (458–438 Ma), due to rapid subsidence and sediment loading. By the end of Ordovician, hydrocarbon potential in these source rocks had been largely exhausted. The homogenization temperatures of hydrocarbon fluid inclusions identified from the Jurassic reservoirs of the YN2 gas field suggest a hydrocarbon emplacement time as recent as about 10 Ma, when the maturity levels of Middle–Lower Jurassic source rocks in the study area were too low (<0.7%Ro) to form a large quantity of oil and gas. The presence of abundant diamondoid hydrocarbons in the associated condensates and the relatively heavy isotopic values of the oils indicate that the gases were derived from thermal cracking of early-formed oils. Estimation from the stable carbon isotope ratios of gaseous alkanes suggests that the gases may have been formed at temperatures well above 190 °C. Thus, the oil and gas accumulation history in the study area can be reconstructed as follows: (1) during the late Caledonian orogeny, the Cambrian–Lower Ordovician marine source rocks had gone through the peak oil, wet gas and dry gas generation stages, with the generated oil and gas migrating upwards along faults and fractures to form early oil and gas accumulations in the Middle–Upper Ordovician and Silurian sandstone reservoirs; (2) since the late Yanshanian orogeny, the early oil accumulations have been buried deeper and oil has undergone thermal cracking to form gas; (3) during the late Himalayan orogeny, the seals for the deep reservoirs were breached; and the gas and condensates migrated upward and eventually accumulating in the relatively shallow Jurassic reservoirs.     

Landscape change and sandy desertification in arid areas: a case study in the Zhangye Region of Gansu Province, China

The Zhangye Region of Gansu Province is an important agricultural base in arid northwestern China. During the twentieth century, especially in the last five decades, the region has experienced sandy desertification. To document the status and causes of this deterioration, satellite images, meteorological and socioeconomic data to assess landscape change from 1993 to 2002 were interpreted and analyzed. The results show that during the intervening 9-year period the area of sandy lands has increased by 642.2 km², which consist of aeolian sand dune (357.1 km²) and potential sandy land (216.3 km²). Although the development and reversion of sandy desertification co-exist, the sandy desertification in this area seems serious and is attributable to the irrational use of water and land.     

Selective feeding of bay scallop Argopecten irradians on phytoplankton community revealed by HPLC analysis of phytopigments in Bohai Sea,China

Understanding the feeding selectivity on phytoplankton by shellfish is currently a big challenge.In order to investigate the feeding behavior of bay scallop(Argopecten irradians)on phytoplankton,we compared its compositions of phytopigments in digestive glands with those in the surrounding seawater,and conducted five consecutive investigations between July and November 2016 in a bay scallop culture area along coast of Qinghuangdao City,northwest of the Bohai Sea,China.Phytopigments in four-size fractionated phytoplankton of seawater(micro-(20-200 μm);nano(L)-[10-20 μm];nano(S)-[2.7-10 μm],and pico-[2.7 μm])and digestive glands of A.irradians were examined to investigate the selective feeding of A.irradians.Results show that fucoxanthin and peridinin constituted the major part of taxonomically diagnostic carotenoids(TDCs)in the micro-and nano(L)-phytoplankton in seawater.Compared with total phytoplankton biomass of seawater(TPB,sum of the four sizes),a substantial decrease of fucoxanthin proportion to total DCs in digestive glands was observed while that of peridinin,19'-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin,alloxanthin and 19'-hexanoyloxy-fucoxanthin showed an obvious increase when those pigments were mainly confined to micro-sized phytoplankton(20-200 μm).However,zeaxanthin and prasinoxanthin were mainly confined to nano(s)-and pico-phytoplankton,of which the proportions in digestive glands were usually lower in TPB.The contribution of lutein to total DCs in digestive glands(with an average of 7.23%)increased compared with TPB of seawater(with an average of 0.63%)during all five sampling times.     

2000-2015年三江平原主要作物需水量征及影响因素分析

全生育期内作物需水量的研究是农业水资源有效利用和进行合理灌溉的重要依据。基于三江平原22个气象站点2000—2015年逐日气象观测资料及中国区域地面气象要素数据集，利用国际粮农组织 （FAO）Penman-Monteith模型和分段单值平均作物系数法，分别对三江平原水稻、玉米和大豆的作物需水量进行计算，分析作物需水量年际变化特征，采用通径分析法研究作物需水量的变化成因。结果表明：（1）三江平原16 a来年均参考作物蒸散量为537.4 mm，日均为 3.5 mm，呈波动减少趋势。（2）生长季内，水稻在分蘖期需水量最大，为177.1 mm，玉米在七叶期需水量最大，为99.7 mm，大豆在结荚期需水量最大，为96.1 mm；水稻、玉米和大豆的净灌溉需水量分别为195.4 mm、130.8 mm和72.2 mm，对灌溉的依赖程度水稻>玉米>大豆。（3）由通径分析结果可知，三江平原作物需水量的主要影响因素为净辐射、气温和日照时数。     

最近和即将发生的崩解事件不会削弱埃默里冰架的稳定性

冰架崩解约占南极物质损耗总量的一半。借助卫星遥感本世纪已经观测到多次大型崩解事件，引发了公众对气候变化问题的广泛关注。然而作为冰架消涨的自然循环，某些崩解事件只是周期性重现而并非近年来南极升温导致。2019年9月-10月，我们通过“哨兵一号”雷达卫星和“京师一号”小卫星完整地记录到发生在埃默里冰架前端的一次大型崩解事件，并利用冰流数值模式模拟了本次以及未来两次即将发生的崩解事件对该冰架的动力学影响。遥感观测表明，埃默里冰架前端发育有两条纵向、两条横向和一条斜向共五条大型裂隙。它们沿尖端继续向上游延伸可以造成三次崩解事件，其中第一次发生于2019年9月末，D28冰山随普里兹湾涡流向西北方向旋转漂移。依据前人推测的崩解周期，我们在模型中设置五组试验，选择露出海面体积、接地面积、冰流通量三个参数估算冰架对三次崩解的响应。结果表明，通过设计合理的网格系统，我们的模型能够捕捉到每次崩解事件释放的物理信号。三次崩解总体响应趋于一致，仅表现出微弱的差异。在一个60年的崩解周期内，三次崩解引发冰流加速70 m/a，前端减薄2 m，接地线退缩60 km2，共约造成40亿吨额外的物质损耗。然而上述变化仍然处于最新卫星估算误差内部，所以我们认为这些崩解事件并不会显著削弱埃默里冰架整体的稳定结构。考虑到这还是首次明确观测到该冰架进入新一轮崩解周期，未来仍必要收集更长时间序列的遥感资料用以验证模式结果。     

Chemical weathering and CO2 consumption in the glaciated Karuxung River catchment,Tibetan Plateau

Climate factors play critical roles in controlling chemical weathering, while chemically weathered surface material can regulate climate change. To estimate global chemical weathering fluxes and CO₂ balance, it is important to identify the characteristics and driving factors of chemical weathering and CO₂ consumption on the Tibetan Plateau, especially in glaciated catchments. The analysis of the hydro-geochemical data indicated that silicate weathering in this area was inhibited by low temperatures, while carbonate weathering was promoted by the abundant clastic rocks with fresh surfaces produced by glacial action. Carbonate weathering dominated the riverine solute generation (with a contribution of 58%, 51%, and 43% at the QiangYong Glacier (QYG), the WengGuo Hydrological Station (WGHS), and the lake estuary (LE), respectively). The oxidation of pyrite contributed to 35%, 42%, and 30% of the riverine solutes, while silicate weathering contributed to 5%, 6%, and 26% of the riverine solutes at the QYG, WGHS, and LE, respectively. The alluvial deposit of easily weathering fine silicate minerals, the higher air temperature, plant density, and soil thickness at the downstream LE in comparison to upstream and midstream may lead to longer contact time between pore water and mineral materials, thus enhancing the silicate weathering. Because of the involvement of sulfuric acid produced by the oxidation of pyrite, carbonate weathering in the upstream and midstream did not consume atmospheric CO₂, resulting in the high rate of carbonate weathering (73.9 and 75.6 t km⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively, in maximum) and potential net release of CO₂ (with an upper constraint of 35.6 and 35.2 t km⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively) at the QYG and WGHS. The above results indicate the potential of the glaciated area of the Tibetan Plateau with pyrite deposits being a substantial natural carbon source, which deserves further investigation.     

The influence of coupled physical swelling and chemical reactions on deformable geomaterials

Coupled thermo‐hydro‐mechanical‐chemical modelling has attracted attention in past decades due to many contemporary geotechnical engineering applications (e.g., waste disposal, carbon capture and storage). However, molecular‐scale interactions within geomaterials (e.g., swelling and dissolution/precipitation) have a significant influence on the mechanical behaviour, yet are rarely incorporated into existing Thermal‐Hydro‐Mechanical‐Chemical (THMC) frameworks. This paper presents a new coupled hydro‐mechanical‐chemical constitutive model to bridge molecular‐scale interactions with macro‐physical deformation by combining the swelling and dissolution/precipitation through an extension of the new mixture‐coupling theory. Entropy analysis of the geomaterial system provides dissipation energy, and Helmholtz free energy gives the relationship between solids and fluids. Numerical simulation is used to compare with the selected recognized models, which demonstrates that the swelling and dissolution/precipitation processes may have a significant influence on the mechanical deformation of the geomaterials.     

Porosity Distribution Characteristics and Geological Analysis of Brine Storage Medium in the Qaidam Basin,Western China

Underground brine is an unusual water resource that contains abundant mineral resources. It is distributed widely in the Qaidam Basin, western China, a hyperarid inland basin located in the northern Tibetan Plateau. Pores in the brine storage medium act as storage space and transmission channels of underground brine. Therefore, the porosity of brine storage medium determines its ability to store brine. In this study, Mahai Salt Lake was used as the research area as a modern saline lake located in the north area of the Qaidam Basin. A total of 100 porosity samples were collected from eight sampling points in two profiles of the research area at sampling depths of 1.30–314.78 m. The porosity distribution characteristics and influencing factors in brine storage medium were analysed according to the measured porosity data. Based on analysis of the pore structure characteristics, the brine storage medium contains intercrystalline pores, unlike conventional freshwater storage mediums. Moreover, the primary salt rock is susceptible to dissolution by lighter brine, facilitating the formation of secondary porosity. Due to the formation of secondary pores, a porosity greater than 20% remains even at buried depths greater than 100 m. Based on the geological statistical analysis, due to the geographic location, salt formation time, and depositional environment, the porosity values of Mahai Salt Lake do not exhibit a wider distribution, but also show more extreme values than a nearby salt lake. Based on the porosity characteristics by depth, due to the presence of secondary pores, flooding, stratigraphic static pressure, and other factors, porosity shows fluctuations with increasing depth.