Study of the flood control scheduling scheme for the Three Gorges Reservoir in a catastrophic flood

The Three Gorges Project is the world's largest water conservancy project. According to the design standards for the 1,000‐year flood, flood diversion areas in the Jingjiang reach of the Yangtze River must be utilized to ensure the safety of the Jingjiang area and the city of Wuhan. However, once these areas are used, the economic and life loss in these areas may be very great. Therefore, it is vital to reduce this loss by developing a scheme that reduces the use of the flood diversion areas through flood regulation by the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), under the premise of ensuring the safety of the Three Gorges Dam. For a 1,000‐year flood on the basis of a highly destructive flood in 1954, this paper evaluates scheduling schemes in which flood diversion areas are or are not used. The schemes are simulated based on 2.5‐m resolution reservoir topography and an optimized model of dynamic capacity flood regulation. The simulation results show the following. (a) In accord with the normal flood‐control regulation discharge, the maximum water level above the dam should be not more than 175 m, which ensures the safety of the dam and reservoir area. However, it is necessary to utilize the flood diversion areas within the Jingjiang area, and flood discharge can reach 2.81 billion m³. (b) In the case of relying on the TGR to impound floodwaters independently rather than using the flood diversion areas, the maximum water level above the dam reaches 177.35 m, which is less than the flood check level of 180.4 m to ensure the safety of the Three Gorges Dam. The average increase of the TGR water level in the Chongqing area is not more than 0.11 m, which indicates no significant effect on the upstream reservoir area. Comparing the various scheduling schemes, when the flood diversion areas are not used, it is believed that the TGR can execute safe flood control for a 1,000‐year flood, thereby greatly reducing flood damage.     

Advances in our understanding of the gem corundum deposits of the West Pacific continental margins intraplate basaltic fields

Recent discoveries over the last decade of new gemfields, exploitation of new and existing deposits, and application of relatively new techniques have greatly increased our knowledge of the basalt-derived gem sapphire–ruby–zircon deposits. In this paper we focus on the Late Mesozoic to Cenozoic intraplate basaltic fields of the West Pacific continental margins. We review advances made in understanding the genesis of these deposits, based on the application of newer techniques. We also critically review existing data on the gem corundum deposits, in order to further refine a model for their origin.In some of the intraplate basaltic fields, corundum-bearing xenoliths have been found showing a range of PT formation conditions from 790 °C at 0.85 GPa to as much as 1100 to 1200 °C at 1.0 to 2.5 GPa. Although most magmatic sapphires contain syngenetic inclusions of columbite-group phases, zircon, spinel and rutile, some contain additional nepheline and K-feldspar, suggesting crystallization from more undersaturated alkaline magma while the Weldborough field of NE Tasmania also contains molybdenite and beryl, suggesting at least some interaction with more fractionated ‘granitic-type’ magmas. There is a large range in PT conditions calculated for the metamorphic rubies (from 780 to 940 °C, through 800 to 1150 °C up to 1000 to 1300 °C). Fluid/melt inclusion studies on magmatic corundums generally suggest that they formed in a CO₂-rich environment from a ‘syenitic’ melt under a range of T conditions from 720 to 880 °C up to 1000 to 1200 °C. Oxygen isotope studies reveal that typical magmatic corundums have values of + 4.4 to 6.9‰, whereas metamorphic corundums from the same basaltic host have lower values of + 1.3 to 4.2‰.Geochronological studies have shown that some fields produced a simple eruptive and zircon/corundum crystallization event while others had multiple eruptive events but only one or two zircon crystallization events. For a few fields, some corundums/zircons crystallized in storage regions and then remained relatively inert for periods of 200 to 400 Ma without significant change before transport to the surface in the Cenozoic. Tectonic studies of the Australian region suggest that many of the corundums crystallized from magmas related to episodic basaltic volcanism in a tectonic regime of extension, associated with the opening of the Tasman and Coral Seas. For the Asian region, the magmatic–polygenetic corundums within the basaltic fields largely crystallized in a tectonic regime of distributed E–W extension, whereas the metamorphic-metasomatic corundums crystallised in a transpressional regime associated with the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate (e.g., [Garnier, V., Giuliani, G., Maluski, H., Ohnenstetter, D., Deloule, E., 2003. Ar–Ar and U–Pb ages of marble-hosted ruby deposits from Central and South-east Asia. Geophysical Research Abstracts 5, 03751; Garnier, V., Giuliani, G., Ohnenstetter, D., and Schwarz, D., 2004. Les gisements de corindon: classification et genese. Les placers a corindon gemme. Le Regne Mineral 55, 7-47; Garnier, V., Ohnenstetter, D., Giuliani, G., Maluski, H., Deloule, E., Phan Trong, T., Pham Van, L., Hoang Quang, V., 2005a. Age and significance of ruby-bearing marble from the Red River Shear Zone, Northern Vietnam. Canadian Mineralogist 43, 1315–1329]).     

Pervasive wetland flooding in the glacial drift prairie of North Dakota (USA)

This article describes a unique flood hazard, produced by the dramatic expansion of wetlands in Nelson County, located within the North American Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, USA. There has been an unprecedented increase in the number, average size, and permanence of prairie wetlands, and a significant increase in the size of a closed lake (Stump Lake) due to a decade-long wet spell that began in 1993 following a prolonged drying trend. Base-line land cover information from the 1992 USGS National Land Cover Characterization dataset, and a Landsat TM scene acquired 9 July 2001 are used to assess the growth of the closed lake and wetland pond surface areas, and to analyze the type and area of various land cover classes inundated between 1992 and 2001. The open water profile in Nelson County changed from one marked by relatively comparable coverage of closed lake and wetland pond areas in 1992, to one in which wetland open water accounted for the vast majority of total open water in 2001. The bulk of the wetland pond area expansion occurred by displacing existing wetland vegetation and agricultural cropland. Producers responded to the flood hazard by filing Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) claims and enrolling cropland in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal land retirement program. Land taken out of agricultural production has had an enormous impact upon the agricultural sector that forms the economic base of the rural economy. In 2001 the land taken out of production due to CRP enrollment and preventive planting claims represented nearly 42% of Nelson County’s 205.2 K ha base agricultural land. The patterns obtained from this detailed study of Nelson County are likely to be the representative of the more publicized flood disaster occurring within the Devils Lake Basin of North Dakota.     

National flood discharge mapping in Austria

This article presents the approach and the results of a study in which 30, 100 and 200 year return period flood discharges were estimated for 26,000 km of Austrian streams. Three guiding principles were adopted: combination of automatic methods and manual assessments by hydrologists to allow speedy processing and account for the local hydrological situation; combination of various sources of information including flood peak samples, rainfall data, runoff coefficients and historical flood data; and involvement of the Hydrographic Services to increase the accuracy and enhance the acceptance of results. The flood discharges for ungauged catchments were estimated by the Top-kriging approach with manual adjustment to the local flood characteristics. The adopted combination approach proved to be very efficient both in terms of the project time required and in terms of the accuracy and acceptability of the estimated flood discharges of given return periods.     

内蒙古天和永玄武岩成因：岩相学与矿物学分析

天和永地区南北向出露的小面积单层碱性玄武岩,岩石中出现至少三种矿物共生组合关系。所有岩石均以橄榄石作为主要斑晶矿物,大颗粒环带橄榄石斑晶中心镁值为89．5,边缘镁值为70．3,小颗粒环带橄榄石镁值46．2～78．9。粒径最小的橄榄石聚集体和散布的基质橄榄石均无明显环带,前者镁值67．4～68．1,后者镁值65．5—72．1;单斜辉石由相对高钛高铝贫硅的散布柱状辉石和相对低钛低铝富硅的聚集粒状辉石组成,前者形成于低压快速淬火环境,镁值65．1—77．1,后者形成于富含挥发份的低压低过冷度环境,镁值77．7～78．0。所有单斜辉石均以次透辉石为主,个别为深绿辉石;斜长石以包含结构产出为主,为相对偏酸性的中长石An=33．7～37．4,CaO含量低与早期大量单斜辉石结晶有关。由于残余岩浆内K,0和Na20含量富集且极不均一,晚期结晶的长石同时出现了高钠长石、K-高钠长石（歪长石）和K-透长石;钛铁氧化物多数为晚期结晶的细粒基质矿物,少量以0．3ram左右的斑晶和橄榄石斑晶中的包裹体形式存在,可归属为钛铁尖晶石（Usp）-磁铁矿（Mt）固溶体系列,晚期逐渐向贫铝、铬和富钛方向演化。由于以上各种造岩矿物的晶出,导致残余岩浆形成的火山玻璃向贫镁、铁、钙和富铝、钾方向演化,火山玻璃的全碱含量变异趋势与全岩类似,均和SiO2含量无明显相关性,火山玻璃具有响岩和粗面安山岩成分特征,K2O／Na2O值变化大0．68～1．61,均为钾玄岩系列,Na2O含量依然呈现宽区间特征,是天和永玄武岩由钾质过渡到钠质的主要原因。天和永玄武质岩浆从地幔运移到地表仅需5小时-5天,大颗粒斑晶橄榄石和小颗粒基质橄榄石生长仅需几小时到几天,前者形成无须深部岩浆房停留,后者近似晚期岩浆快速淬火时间。高镁橄榄石斑晶与残余岩浆的扩散平衡时间约42天～252天。深部结晶的橄榄石在运移途中和地表流动过程中缺乏足够的时间和适宜的动力学条件而无法离开岩浆体系。全岩与火山玻璃间缺少中间过渡成分,呈两个相对集中的端元组分存在亦由晶出矿物无法离开岩浆体系所致。天和永玄武岩的成岩时间尺度远小于同化混染和岩浆分异的时间尺度,是岩浆作用过程未能明显影响其不均一原生岩浆性质的主要原因。因此,岩浆作用的某些物理过程分析是认识岩浆起源与岩浆作用过程及其对火成岩多样性的贡献的重要方面,同时对于理解和约束岩浆作用的某些化学过程也是十分有益的。     

花岗岩研究的误区——关于花岗岩研究的思考之五

本文在对花岗岩四大基石(混合作用、结晶分离作用、构造环境和源区)问题分析的基础上,指出花岗岩研究存在的三大误区: (1)不恰当地仿效玄武岩的理论和研究方法,忽视了花岗岩的复杂性。(2)不恰当地用板块构造学说解释大陆花岗岩问题。板块构造是地球演化到一定阶段的产物,并成功解释了与板块边界相联系的岩浆活动,但是,它不能解决主要来源于大陆的花岗岩的地质问题。(3)太过重视花岗岩的地球化学研究而忽视了对花岗岩基础地质的研究。作者指出,地球化学方法在花岗岩中的使用应当是有限制的,花岗岩研究陷入误区是我们缺少扎实的基础研究、对板块构造的理解不深和对花岗岩复杂性认识不足等三个方面的原因造成的。文中还批评了学术界存在的人云亦云的奴性思想,指出它严重地阻碍了我们的创新思维,是当前亟待改进和克服的。     

Origin and evolution of alkali basaltic magma in the Okinawa Trough

I~IOXThe Okinawa Trough is an extending back--arc basin between the East China Sea Shelf andthe Ry'Ukyu Island Arc of Japan. There are widespreadly distributing acid pumice in the troughand a little basalt just in some area of the extending center. There have been some detailed rePOrtsabout the mineralogy and petrochemical feature of the subalkali tholeiite and alkali trachyte in thetrough (Zhai and Gan, 1995; Li et al., 1997; Qin and Zhai, 1988). This paper mainly reportselectron mic…     

洪涝灾害遥感监测研究

本文讨论了利用陆地卫星、气象卫星和航空侧视雷达等遥感技术进行洪涝灾情监测的技术方法,并应用于1991年江淮地区特大洪涝灾害的快速调查与分析。     

Environmental geology problems in the Tyrrhenian coastal area of Santa Marinella, province of Rome, central Italy

 The Tyrrhenian resort of S. Marinella (central Italy) is subjected to significant anthropogenic pressures during the summer vacation period, a common situation all along the Italian coast. Located 65 km NW of Rome on the southern slopes of the Tolfa Mountains, S. Marinella is built on a gently sloping, E–W trending belt which is cut by 14 N–S oriented ephemeral streams that discharge into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The low to medium permeability turbiditic sandstones which outcrop along this belt belong to the Late Cretaceous Pietraforte unit. Three environmental problems are addressed in this study. The first problem is related to the high water supply demand during the summer months which has forced local residents to dig a large number of wells. Extensive pumping from these wells has caused salt-water intrusion into the Pietraforte, thus compromising the domestic use of the groundwater. The second problem consists of the illegal dumping of urban solid waste, material that represents a hazard during significant rain events as well as a possible cause of groundwater contamination. The final issue addressed concerns the flooding potential of the 14 ephemeral streams that cross the inhabited area of S. Marinella, a risk which is highlighted by the disastrous flood which occurred on 2 October 1981 and during the period of the Roman Emperor Settimio Severo (205 A.D.). Some suggestions are proposed to mitigate and contain the effects of these problems. Received: 7 November 1995 / Accepted: 5 December 1996