Recharge source and hydrogeochemical evolution of shallow groundwater in a complex alluvial fan system,southwest of North China Plain

Many cities around the world are developed at alluvial fans. With economic and industrial development and increase in population, quality and quantity of groundwater are often damaged by over-exploitation in these areas. In order to realistically assess these groundwater resources and their sustainability, it is vital to understand the recharge sources and hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in alluvial fans. In March 2006, groundwater and surface water were sampled for major element analysis and stable isotope (oxygen-18 and deuterium) compositions in Xinxiang, which is located at a complex alluvial fan system composed of a mountainous area, Taihang Mt. alluvial fan and Yellow River alluvial fan. In the Taihang mountainous area, the groundwater was recharged by precipitation and was characterized by Ca–HCO₃ type water with depleted δ¹⁸O and δD (mean value of −8.8‰ δ¹⁸O). Along the flow path from the mountainous area to Taihang Mt. alluvial fan, the groundwater became geochemically complex (Ca–Na–Mg–HCO₃–Cl–SO₄ type), and heavier δ¹⁸O and δD were observed (around −8‰ δ¹⁸O). Before the surface water with mean δ¹⁸O of −8.7‰ recharged to groundwater, it underwent isotopic enrichment in Taihang Mt. alluvial fan. Chemical mixture and ion exchange are expected to be responsible for the chemical evolution of groundwater in Yellow River alluvial fan. Transferred water from the Yellow River is the main source of the groundwater in the Yellow River alluvial fan in the south of the study area, and stable isotopic compositions of the groundwater (mean value of −8.8‰ δ¹⁸O) were similar to those of transferred water (−8.9‰), increasing from the southern boundary of the study area to the distal end of the fan. The groundwater underwent chemical evolution from Ca–HCO₃, Na–HCO₃, to Na–SO₄. A conceptual model, integrating stiff diagrams, is used to describe the spatial variation of recharge sources, chemical evolution, and groundwater flow paths in the complex alluvial fan aquifer system.     

Numerical modeling of rainstorm-induced shallow landslides in saturated and unsaturated soils

For the assessment of shallow landslides triggered by rainfall, the physically based model coupling the infinite slope stability analysis with the hydrological modeling in nearly saturated soil has commonly been used due to its simplicity. However, in that model the rainfall infiltration in unsaturated soil could not be reliably simulated because a linear diffusion-type Richards’ equation rather than the complete Richards’ equation was used. In addition, the effect of matric suction on the shear strength of soil was not actually considered. Therefore, except the shallow landslide in saturated soil due to groundwater table rise, the shallow landslide induced by the loss in unsaturated shear strength due to the dissipation of matric suction could not be reliably assessed. In this study, a physically based model capable of assessing shallow landslides in variably saturated soils is developed by adopting the complete Richards’ equation with the effect of slope angle in the rainfall infiltration modeling and using the extended Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion to describe the unsaturated shear strength in the soil failure modeling. The influence of rainfall intensity and duration on shallow landslide is investigated using the developed model. The result shows that the rainfall intensity and duration seem to have similar influence on shallow landslides respectively triggered by the increase of positive pore water pressure in saturated soil and induced by the dissipation of matric suction in unsaturated soil. The rainfall duration threshold decreases with the increase in rainfall intensity, but remains constant for large rainfall intensity.     

Timing of UHP metamorphism in the Hong’an area,western Dabie Mountains,China: evidence from zircon U–Pb age,trace element and Hf isotope composition

The Hong’an area (western Dabie Mountains) is the westernmost terrane in the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogen that preserves UHP eclogites. The ages of the UHP metamorphism have not been well constrained, and thus hinder our understanding of the tectonic evolution of this area. LA-ICPMS U–Pb age, trace element and Hf isotope compositions of zircons of a granitic gneiss and an eclogite from the Xinxian UHP unit in the Hong’an area were analyzed to constrain the age of the UHP metamorphism. Most zircons are unzoned or show sector zoning. They have low trace element concentrations, without significant negative Eu anomalies. These metamorphic zircons can be further subdivided into two groups according to their U–Pb ages, and trace element and Lu–Hf isotope compositions. One group with an average age of 239 ± 2 Ma show relatively high and variable HREE contents (527 ≥ Lu_N ≥ 14) and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios (0.00008–0.000931), indicating their growth prior to a great deal of garnet growth in the late stage of continental subduction. The other group yields an average age of 227 ± 2 Ma, and shows consistent low HREE contents and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios, suggesting their growth with concurrent garnet crystallization and/or recrystallization. These two groups of age are taken as recording the time of prograde HP to UHP and retrograde UHP–HP stages, respectively. A few cores have high Th/U ratios, high trace element contents, and a clear negative Eu anomaly. These features support a magmatic origin of these zircon cores. The upper intercept ages of 771 ± 86 and 752 ± 70 Ma for the granitic gneiss and eclogite, respectively, indicate that their protoliths probably formed as a bimodal suite in rifting zones in the northern margin of the Yangtze Block. Young Hf model ages (T _DM1) of magmatic cores indicate juvenile (mantle-derived) materials were involved in their protolith formation. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Microbial release of potassium from K-bearing minerals by thermophilic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus

A strain of thermophilic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus was cultured with K-bearing minerals to determine if microbe-mineral interactions enhance the release of mineralic potassium. Experiments were carried out in two settings, one with the mineral grains and the fungal cells in direct contact, and the other employing a membrane (pore size 0.22 μm) to separate the two. Measurements over a period of 30 days showed that, irrespective of the experimental setup, the concentration of free K in the culture was drastically higher than those in any of the control experiments where no living organism was present. Moreover, the occurrence of mineral-cell physical contact enhanced potassium release by an additional factor of 3 to 4 in comparison to the separation experiments. For contact experiments, Electron Probe Microanalysis revealed the formation of mycelium-mineral aggregates, and Atomic Force Microscopy imaging further indicated the possible ingestion of mineral particles by the fungus cells. Contrasting to what was observed and expected in control experiments, the potassium solubilization rate showed a positive dependence upon pH when fungi and minerals were mixed directly, and exhibited no correlations with solution acidity if cell-rock contact was restrained. These results appear to suggest that A. fumigatus promoted potassium release by means of at least three likely routes, one through the complexation of soluble organic ligands, another appealing to the immobile biopolymers such as the insoluble components of secretion, and the third related to the mechanical forces in association with the direct physical contact between cells and mineral particles.     

Metallographic cooling rates and origin of IVA iron meteorites

We have determined the metallographic cooling rates for 13 IVA irons using the most recent and most accurate metallographic cooling rate model. Group IVA irons have cooling rates that vary from 6600 °C/Myr at the low-Ni end of the group to 100 °C/Myr at the high-Ni end of the group. This large cooling rate range is totally incompatible with cooling in a mantled core which should have a uniform cooling rate. Thermal and fractional crystallization models have been used to describe the cooling and solidification of the IVA asteroid. The thermal model indicates that a metallic body of 150 ± 50 km in radius with less than 1 km of silicate on the outside of the body has a range of cooling rates that match the metallographic cooling rates in IVA irons in the temperature range 700-400 °C where the Widmanstätten pattern formed. The fractional crystallization model for Ni with initial S contents between 3 and 9 wt% is consistent with the measured variation of cooling rate with bulk Ni and the thermal model. New models for impacts in the early solar system and the evolution of the primordial asteroid belt allow us to propose that the IVA irons crystallized and cooled in a metallic body that was derived from a differentiated protoplanet during a grazing impact. Other large magmatic iron groups, IIAB, IIIAB, and IVB, also show significant cooling rate ranges and are very likely to share a similar history.     

Background concentrations of elements in surface soils and their changes as affected by agriculture use in the desert-oasis ecotone in the middle of Heihe River Basin,North-west China

The concentrations of twenty four chemical elements in the surface layer of natural desert soils and the cultivated farmland soils were measured at a desert-oasis ecotone in the middle of Heihe river basin, north-west China. Background values were estimated for (a) major elements (Si 335.3 g kg^− 1, Al 49.4 g kg^− 1, Fe 19.1 g kg^− 1, Ca 29.4 g kg^− 1, Mg 8.9 g kg^− 1, K 20.1 g kg^− 1, Na 17.5 g kg^− 1 and P 0.338 g kg^− 1), (b) heavy metals and non-metals (Cr 55.8 mg kg^− 1, Mn 404.8 mg kg^− 1, Ni 17.7 mg kg^− 1, Cu 5.1 mg kg^− 1, Zn 33.7 mg kg^− 1, Pb 15.5 mg kg^− 1 and As 5.2 mg kg^− 1) and (c) other trace elements (Ti 2.0 mg kg^− 1, V 55.3 mg kg^− 1, Co 5.7 mg kg^− 1, Rb 82.4 mg kg^− 1, Sr 232.9 mg kg^− 1, Y 14.7 mg kg^− 1, Zr 194.9 mg kg^− 1, Nb 7.8 mg kg^− 1 and Ba 720.6 mg kg^− 1). After natural desert soil was cultivated for agricultural use, significant changes in element concentrations occurred under tillage, irrigation and fertilisation management. Compared to natural soil, the for the levels of Si, K, Na, Sr, Zr and Ba decreased, and no changes were observed for Rb, while the values of the other 17 elements increase in agricultural soil from 1.2 to 3.5 times. However, their absolute concentrations are still low, suggesting that the arable soil in this region remains comparatively a clean soil. The increased silt, clay and organic carbon content, under long-term irrigation, enriched the fine-grained materials, and application of fertilisers and manure contributed to the accumulation of most elements in arable soil. The accumulation of elements in agricultural soil increased with increasing cultivation years and extent of soil development.     

碳酸盐岩裂缝与岩溶作用研究

从构造与非构造作用角度出发,突出研究断层对裂缝的控制作用、断裂与岩溶的关系和裂缝与岩溶之间的关系,揭示碳酸盐岩裂缝与岩溶的发育规律。研究表明：构造裂缝为岩溶发育提供岩溶作用进行的有利通道,非构造裂缝则可以加速溶蚀作用的进行,促进岩溶的发育;裂缝与岩溶之间的关系始终是相辅相成、相互促进的关系。     

牛庄洼陷沙河街组超压系统发育特征及其演化

东营凹陷牛庄洼陷沙河街组发育有超压系统,这对油气运移和聚集过程有着重要的影响。在对超压系统现今发育特征研究的基础上,本文运用约束下数值模拟方法对牛庄洼陷超压系统的演化规律进行研究,并探讨了超压系统的主要形成机制。牛庄洼陷在沙河街组四段、沙河街组三段的下亚段和中亚段存在着超压系统,最大压力系数可以达到1.8,最大剩余压力超过了20MPa。自沙三段上亚段沉积期开始,超压系统开始发育。到东营组沉积期末,超压系统经历了大约10Ma的泄压过程。自新近系馆陶组沉积期,超压系统再次迅速增压,逐渐接近现今发育状况。上覆地层沙三段上亚段高沉积速率导致了超压系统的形成和早期剩余压力的增加,而水热增压和烃类物质大量生成联合造成超压系统晚期迅速增压。超压系统演化规律揭示出在油气主要运移期研究区古异常流体压力的分布状况,这为进一步开展牛庄洼陷油气运移和聚集过程的动力学研究提供了理论依据。     

库车坳陷大北地区下白垩统巴什基奇克组储层成因地质分挝

塔里木盆地库车坳陷大北地区白垩系巴什基奇克组储层以细一中粒岩屑砂岩为主夹少量长石岩屑砂岩,杂基为铁泥质和泥质(2%～10%).胶结物以方解石(3%～15%)为主.粘土矿物以伊利石、绿泥石和伊/蒙混层为主,不含高岭石,伊/蒙混层中的蒙皂石含量一般为(15～20)%;主要孔隙组合为残余原生粒问孔-溶蚀孔-微孔隙,占储集空间总量的(50～90)%,其次为构造缝-溶蚀孔,主要的孔隙类型为溶蚀孔和裂缝,总体属于低孔低渗-特低孔特低渗储层.综合分析认为:阶段性的前陆构造逆冲推覆作用对沉积旋回性、水体盐度变化及物源区距离变化的控制至关重要;构造活跃期扇三角洲前缘环境中形成的差分选中-粗砂岩、近源快速堆积造成的高岩屑含量、干旱成湖导致的高碳酸盐胶结和早成岩期相对深埋-后期持续快速深埋压实作用,是特低孔特低渗储层的主要成因;而较优质储层足构造平缓期辫状河三角洲前缘环境中形成的分选好的中-细砂岩、早期表生溶蚀及弱碳酸盐胶结作用、早期构造破裂的复合作用及其叠加效应的结果.