Exploring the database of a soil environmental survey using a geo-self-organizing map: A pilot study

A model integrating geo-information and self-organizing map (SOM) for exploring the database of soil environmental surveys was established. The dataset of 5 heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, and Pb) was built by the regular grid sampling in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. Auxiliary datasets were collected throughout the study area to help interpret the potential causes of pollution. The main findings are as follows: (1) Soil samples of 5 elements exhibited strong variation and high skewness. High pollution risk existed in the case study area, especially Hg and Cd. (2) As and Pb had a similar topo-logical distribution pattern, meaning they behaved similarly in the soil environment. Cr had behaviours in soil different from those of the other 4 elements. (3) From the U-matrix of SOM networks, 3 levels of SEQ were identified, and 11 high risk areas of soil heavy metal-contaminated were found throughout the study area, which were basically near rivers, factories, and ore zones. (4) The variations of contamination index (CI) followed the trend of construction land (1.353) > forestland (1.267) > cropland (1.175) > grassland (1.056), which suggest that decision makers should focus more on the problem of soil pollution surrounding industrial and mining enterprises and farmland.

     

A comparison of methods to estimate groundwater recharge from bare soil based on data observed by a large-scale lysimeter

Effectively estimating groundwater recharge is critical to manage water resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions as impacted by intensive human activities and climate changes. Rare insights have been gained into groundwater recharge since direct observation is hard to carry out. Although several methods are currently available to estimate groundwater recharge, the estimated results may cover noticeable bias. The behaviours of different methods based on different conceptual frameworks and exhibiting different levels of complexity should be examined to estimate actual groundwater recharge. This study aims to assess the performance of four common methods to estimate groundwater recharge. For this end, large-scale lysimeters equipped with soil water content sensors and water table sensors were set up at a research site established in Guanzhong Basin of China. The data achieved by 1-year observation were employed to compare four estimation methods. As revealed from the results, the following findings are drawn. (a) Groundwater level fluctuation (GLF) method is simple, whereas its accuracy is determined by specific yield, and adopting a water balance method to estimate specific yield can considerably enhance the accuracy of GLF. (b) The calibrated numerical model can obtain the optimal result compared with the other methods, whereas long-term observation data are required for parameter calibration. (c) In the water balance method, the maximum entropy production (MEP) model and a practical method (estimating evaporation between two rainfall events) were used to calculate evaporation. As indicated by the results, water balance method combined with MEP is capable of obtaining more reliable results of groundwater recharge compared with the practical method. (d) With an analytical model based on linearized Richards' equation, accurate results can be achieved. What is more, the analytical model only needs the measurement of soil moisture near the surface. The limitation of this method is that it is difficult to determine the maximal water flux. The mentioned findings are of critical implications to the management and sustainable development of groundwater.     

云南维西大宝山铜矿地质特征及矿石中Ag与Cu关系探讨

云南维西大宝山铜矿区位于青藏高原东南缘,哀牢山-金沙江构造带西北部雪龙山成矿带中,是典型的中低温热液矿床。矿区主要包括望香台及滑石板矿段,根据矿床、矿体特征及详尽的镜下观察,将矿石类型划分为氧化矿、硫化矿及混合矿。氧化矿主要包括孔雀石及蓝铜矿,多分布在望香台矿段中浅部,是辉铜矿次生氧化富集作用的结果,出露形式多以混合矿产出;硫化矿主要包括辉铜矿及黄铜矿,且独立组成不同的矿物组合类型,分别为望香台矿段、滑石板矿段的主要矿石矿物。不同的矿石组合类型所含矿物种类、矿石结构构造不尽相同。通过对不同样品进行化学分析测试,发现在硫化矿辉铜矿等矿物组合中,Cu品位越高,相应Ag品位越高,存在一定的线性关系;而在硫化矿黄铜矿矿体中,Ag含量与Cu品位无相应关系;混合矿(辉铜矿、孔雀石及蓝铜矿)中此类关系更加显著。此外,辉铜矿、孔雀石、蓝铜矿单矿物矿石及混合矿矿石中含有硫砷铜银矿、深红银矿、雌黄及雄黄等伴生矿物,而黄铜矿中矿物种类较为单一。综合矿区地质特征、矿体分布特征、矿物组合类型认为,矿区中辉铜矿、孔雀石、蓝铜矿等组合类型为含银矿物的主要载体。     

A feasible approach to predicting time-dependent bearing performance of jacked piles from CPTu measurements

Acta Geotechnica - In this paper, a simple but feasible approach is proposed to predict the time-dependent load carrying behaviours of jacked piles from CPTu measurements. The corrected cone...     

A new standardized Palmer drought index for hydro‐meteorological use

Accepting the concept of standardization introduced by the standardized precipitation index, similar methodologies have been developed to construct some other standardized drought indices such as the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). In this study, the authors provided deep insight into the SPEI and recognized potential deficiencies/limitations in relating to the climatic water balance it used. By coupling another well‐known Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), we proposed a new standardized Palmer drought index (SPDI) through a moisture departure probabilistic approach, which allows multi‐scalar calculation for accurate temporal and spatial comparison of the hydro‐meteorological conditions of different locations. Using datasets of monthly precipitation, temperature and soil available water capacity, the moisture deficit/surplus was calculated at multiple temporal scales, and a couple of techniques were adopted to adjust corresponding time series to a generalized extreme value distribution out of several candidates. Results of the historical records (1900–2012) for diverse climates by multiple indices showed that the SPDI was highly consistent and correlated with the SPEI and self‐calibrated PDSI at most analysed time scales. Furthermore, a simple experiment of hypothetical temperature and/or precipitation change scenarios also verified the effectiveness of this newly derived SPDI in response to climate change impacts. Being more robust and preferable in spatial consistency and comparability as well as combining the simplicity of calculation with sufficient accounting of the physical nature of water supply and demand relating to droughts, the SPDI is promising to serve as a competent reference and an alternative for drought assessment and monitoring. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotope compositions of migmatites from the North Qinling terrane and their geological implications

Migmatites are predominant in the North Qinling (NQ) orogen, but their formation ages are poorly constrained. This paper presents a combined study of cathodoluminescence imaging, U–Pb age, trace element and Hf isotopes of zircon in migmatites from the NQ unit. In the migmatites, most zircon grains occur as new, homogeneous crystals, while some are present as overgrowth rims around inherited cores. Morphological and trace element features suggest that the zircon crystals are metamorphic and formed during partial melting. The inherited cores have oscillatory zoning and yield U–Pb ages of c. 900 Ma, representing their protolith ages. The early Neoproterozoic protoliths probably formed in an active continental margin, being a response to the assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia. The migmatite zircon yields Hf model ages of 1911 ± 20 to 990 ± 22 Ma, indicating that the protoliths were derived from reworking of Palaeoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic crustal materials. The anatexis zircon yields formation ages ranging from 455 ± 5 to 420 ± 4 Ma, with a peak at c. 435 Ma. Combined with previous results, we suggest that the migmatization of the NQ terrane occurred at c. 455–400 Ma. The migmatization was c. 50 Ma later than the c. 490 Ma ultra‐high‐P (UHP) metamorphism, indicating that they occurred in two independent tectonic events. By contrast, the migmatization was coeval with the granulite facies metamorphism and the granitic magmatism in the NQ unit, which collectively argue for their formation due to the northward subduction of the Shangdan Ocean. UHP rocks were distributed mainly along the northern margin and occasionally in the inner part of the NQ unit, indicating that they were exhumed along the northern edge and detached from the basement by the subsequent migmatization process.     

Relation of Velocity Distribution and Mass for DA White Dwarfstwo

White dwarfs are the evolutionary endpoint of the low-and-medium mass stars. In the studies of white dwarfs, the mass of white dwarf is an important physical parameter. In this paper, we give an analysis about the velocity distribution of DA white dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and hope to find the relation between mass and velocity distribution of white dwarfs. We get the radial velocity and tangential velocity of every DA white dwarf according to their proper motion and spectral shift. Through analyzing the velocity distribution of DA white dwarfs, we find that the small-mass white dwarfs, which are produced from the single-star evolution channel, have a relatively large velocity dispersion.     

Stability analysis of shotcrete supported crown of NATM tunnels with discontinuity layout optimization

For tunnel constructed by New Austrian Tunnelling Method, the crown is the upper part of tunnel section, constructed during excavation process and supported by shotcrete. The stability of the crown has great influence on the safety of tunnel itself and the buildings above, which correlates, among others, with geometrical setup of tunnel and material properties of shotcrete and soil/rock. In this paper, aiming at analyzing the stability of shotcrete supported crown, a recently presented numerical method discontinuity layout optimization is adopted, which introduces a great amount of potential discontinuities cross over one another and provides a wide search space for efficient upper limit analysis. In the analysis, a well‐established hydration model of cementitious material is implemented for accounting the hydration of shotcrete. Then assumptions based on convergence‐confinement method are used for accounting the 3‐dimensional effect in 2‐dimensional analysis, finally providing time‐space–dependent assessments of stability of shotcrete supported crown.     

北斗一张网业务管理与服务系统设计与实现

针对北斗一张网体系建设与运营项目的实际需求与现状，整合已有基础设施资源，深入研究挖掘了潜在的信息资源，搭建了一个标准化管理与服务应用统一平台——业务管理与服务系统，提高了系统的移动管理能力、系统管理水平及系统服务效率，改变了传统CORS的管理与运维模式，同时也为海量用户提供了更高效便捷的个性化服务，真正从应用层面上实现了规范化、体系化与便捷化。在这一系统的支撑下，北斗一张网服务体系确立了全新的管理机制，也为北斗未来更广泛地推广应用打下坚实基础。     

甘肃柳园地区早二叠世正长花岗斑岩脉锆石U-Pb年代学、岩石地球化学特征——对北山造山带晚古生代构造背景的指示

甘肃北山地区位于中亚造山带中段，是诠释中亚造山带构造演化的关键区域之一，长期以来受到地质学界的广泛关注。柳园地区位于甘肃北山南带，区内脉岩发育，这些岩脉的研究可以为阐释北山造山带晚古生代构造背景提供更多证据。基于此，本文选取位于甘肃柳园地区的正长花岗斑岩脉开展了系统的锆石U-Pb-Hf同位素和全岩主量、微量元素分析。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb分析显示，岩脉侵位于早二叠世（（288.5±1.4）Ma）。全岩地球化学分析显示，正长花岗斑岩脉的SiO₂和全碱质量分数较高，Fe、Mg、Ca、Al和P质量分数较低，Rb、Th、U和Pb相对富集，Ba、Nb、La、Ce、Sr和Ti等元素相对亏损，Eu负异常显著，具有较高的Rb/Sr值和较低的K/Rb值及锆石饱和温度（730~844℃，集中于740℃左右），显示该岩脉为高钾钙碱性高分异I型花岗岩，并具有俯冲带岩浆活动的地球化学特征。正长花岗斑岩脉具有较低的Zr/Hf值（18.42~28.01，平均值为22.37）和Th/U值（3.82~7.99，平均值为5.34），与平均地壳组分接近，锆石ε_Hf（t）值为2.94~9.66，平均值为5.72，T_DM2值为955~611 Ma，指示源区主体为新元古代地壳的部分熔融，并存在幔源物质加入。根据构造判别图解并结合前人关于二叠纪区域构造变形、盆地沉积物源、岩浆演化等方面的研究结果，笔者认为该正长花岗斑岩脉形成于俯冲作用过程中的局部伸展环境，并认为北山地区增生造山事件至少持续到早二叠世。