Origin and recharge estimates of groundwater in the ordos plateau,People’s Republic of China

Groundwater is a valuable resource in the semiarid Ordos Plateau region where abundant mineral resources, such as coal, natural gas, and halite, are present. With resources development, groundwater demand will increase dramatically. The origin identification and recharge estimates of groundwater are significant components of sustainable groundwater development in the Ordos Plateau. Groundwater and precipitation samples were taken and the isotopic compositions δ²H, δ¹⁸O, and chloride were analyzed to identify groundwater origins and to estimate recharge rates. The δ²H and δ¹⁸O of the groundwater show that the groundwater recharge is of meteoric origin. The chloride mass balance (CMB) method was used to quantify recharge rates of groundwater in the Ordos Plateau, which varies from 2.93 to 22.11% of the effective annual rainfall. Recharge rates estimated by CMB were compared with values obtained from other methods and were found to be in good agreement. This study can be used to develop effective programs for groundwater management and development.     

Review on transboundary aquifers in People’s Republic of China with case study of Heilongjiang-Amur River Basin

Groundwater, as a precious resource hidden underground, is an important component of the global water system. Transboundary aquifers containing substantial amount of groundwater often carry crucial ecological and social implications. Yet, it is unfortunate that transboundary aquifers have hardly been in the forefront of political and scientific discussions, and have not received due attention by policymakers. This article attempts to summarize the investigation on the eight transboundary aquifers that China shares with the neighboring countries. An overview on the groundwater resources in China, including its distribution, exploitation and challenges is also provided. Hydrogeological condition of the Heilongjiang-Amur River Basin aquifer, which is one of the eight major aquifers, is further elaborated. Cooperative activities carried out by China and Russia on monitoring and management of this aquifer are also presented.     

Determination and vertical distribution of nitrogen species in sediments of Funan Rivers, Chengdu City, China

Although numerous papers have been published on nutrients in Great Lakes, estuaries, continental shelf areas and marines in the aspects of determination, sediment-water-interface exchange, fluxes and budget estimation, eutrophication and microbial processes as well as modeling study, the knowledge of river condition （especially urban river） is uncertain and simply considered as a contributor to eutrophication of estuary. After a series of determinations of nitrogen species corresponding to ammonia-N （AN）, Kjeldahl-N （K-N）, and total nitrogen （TN） by means of National Standards for China, the nitrate ＆ nitrite （Nitr-N） and org-N were obtained by the difference of TN with K-N, and K-N with AN, respectively. Therefore, the behaviors of vertical distributions in overlying waters and porewaters in the Fu and Nan Rivers located in Chengdu City were achieved.     

Mercury in coal from the People＇s Republic of China

The Peoples＇ Republic of China produces and consumes the largest quantity of coal in the world; about 2.19 billion tons of coal were produced in 2005. It is estimated that coal consumption will reach 7 billion tons by 2020. Although the nationwide percentage of electrical production from coal is falling due to increased coal-fired power generation efficiency and alternative sources, China will bum more coal than any other country for the foreseeable future. China also is estimated to be the largest producer of Hg emissions （Dastoor and Larocque, 2004, Atmos. Envirn. 38：147-161）. A recent comprehensive study of anthropogenic Hg emissions in China （Streets et al., 2005, Atmos. Envirn. 39：7789-7806） produced a figure of 536 tons of Hg for the year 1999 with coal combustion （all types） accounting for 38% of the total. Atmospheric Hg emission is an international problem as the upper atmosphere provides effective global transport of mercury. Although the estimates vary, China produces about three times more Hg/t of coal burnt than the USA because of the lack of modem technology for pollution control and limited use of cleaned coal. Knowledge of the mercury content, mode of occurrence, and regional distribution in Chinese coal is vital in order to assess the global atmospheric contribution from Chinese coal combustion.     

Study on temporal and spatial evolution of China’s oil supply and consumption

To begin with, energy flow chart is used to analyze the status of China’s oil supply and consumption. Moreover, the temporal and spatial evolution of the oil production and oil products consumption in China is studied based on the gravity model. Finally, the decoupling index combined with the log mean Divisia index method is used to explore the contribution of the factors which influence terminal oil product consumption in China over the period 1991–2010. This paper draws the following results: (1) China’s net oil import dependency soared from 7.5 % in 1993 to 58.63 % in 2010. (2) The center of gravity for crude oil production and oil products consumption is an overall movement toward the southwest. (3) The economic activity effect is the critical factor in the growth of oil products consumption in China. However, industrial energy intensity effect plays the dominant role in decreasing oil products consumption. (4) The value of the decoupling index represented a re-coupling effect in 1996–1997 and 2003–2004. The other time interval showed weak decoupling effect.     

Club convergence and spatial distribution dynamics of carbon intensity in China’s construction industry

Climate change caused by carbon emissions continuously threatens sustainable development. Due to China’s immense territory, there are remarkable regional differences in carbon emissions. The construction industry, which has strong internal industrial differences, further leads to carbon emission disparity in China. Policymakers should consider spatial effects and attempt to eliminate carbon emission inequality to promote the sustainable development of the construction industry and realize emission reduction targets. Based on the classic Markov chain and spatial Markov chain, this paper investigates the club convergence and spatial distribution dynamics of China’s carbon intensity in the construction industry from 2005 to 2014. The results show that the provincial carbon intensity in the construction industry is characterized by “convergence clubs” during the research period, and very low-level and very high-level convergence clubs have strong stability. Moreover, the carbon intensity class transitions of provinces tend to be consistent with that of their neighbors. Furthermore, the transition of carbon intensity types is highly influenced by their regional backgrounds. The provinces with high carbon emissions have a negative influence on their neighbors, whereas the provinces with low carbon emissions have a positive influence. These analyses provide a spatial interpretation to the “club convergence” of carbon intensity.     

Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in finegrained sediments of the East China Sea

The nearshore mud area along the Changjiang （Yangtze River） estuary and the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, and the distal mud area to the southeast of Cheju Island, Korea are the modem accumulative centers, thus, being the ＂sinks＂ of pollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons （PAHs） in the East China Sea （ECS）. PAHs of surface sediment samples from the mud areas of the ECS and a ^210Pb dating sediment core collected using a gravity core from the coastal mud area in the ECS were quantified by GC/MSD with the internal standard materials.     

Contamination and distribution of heavy metals in urban soil in Zhangzhou City, Fujian, China

The urban environment quality is of vital importance as the majority of people now live in cities. Due to the continuous urbanization and industrialization with rapidly increasing economy in China, metals are continuously emitted into soils, imposing a great threat on human health. Urban soils might be affected by industrial activities, transport, agricultural practice, and waste disposal. An extensive survey was conducted in the highly urbanized Zhangzhou City （Fujian Province, China） using a systematic sampling strategy. Concentrations of Hg, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, As, Cr and Ni were measured on 108 topsoil samples collected from parks （0-15 cm）, residential areas and suburban agricultural soils. Statistic approach （cluster analysis） was adopted for identification of natural and anthropogenic influence on heavy metal contents. The maps of metal concentrations in surface soils were made based on geographical information system （GIS） data. All of these aim at assessing the distribution of these heavy metals in the urban environment.     

Two prognostic models for copper-polymetallic resources in the Dalaymyao area (Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China)

The insufficient knowledge of the Dalaymyao area and the large resource potential of copper-polymetallic ores casts doubt on the adequate assessment of mineral content with the use of traditional research methods. On the basis of investigation of the regional geologic structure and correlation of patterns in mineral resource distribution within the eastern and western flanks of the East-Uzhumujin metallogenic belt (Erlian perspective field), two prognostic models for mineral resources have been made on the basis of geologic anomalies. Target areas for prospects and sampling have been outlined using Morpas 3.0 software.     

Seasonal distribution of total mercury and methylmercury in sediments of the Wujiangdu Reservoir, Guizhou, China

The concentrations of total mercury and methylmercury in sediments were determined at the dam of the Wujiangdu Reservoir in different seasons. Total mercury (HgT) levels in the whole sediment profile were 254.2±47.0 ng/g in winter, 254.2±31.6 ng/g in spring, and 256.7±60.8 ng/g in summer, without significant variations in different seasons or at different depths. In contrast, the methylmercury (MeHg) compounds were most abundant at the sediment-water interface and decreased progressively with depth. MeHg contents of the sediments during different seasons are highly dependent on microbial activity, and seem to be higher when Hg (II)-methylating microorganisms are active. Thus, MeHg levels tend to rise in the loci where nutrient supplies and biological productivity are favorable. The percentage of HgT that is present as MeHg in the sediments increased gradually from December 2003 to April 2004 and to July 2004.     

Spatial and temporal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fine- grained sediments of the East China Sea

The nearshore mud area along the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary and the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, and the distal mud area to the southeast of Cheju Island, Korea are the modern accumulative centers, thus, being the “sinks” of pollutant…     

Methylmercury and total mercury distribution in the sediments of Baihua Reservoir, Guizhou Province, China

Mercury is an important pollutant in lakes. Methylmercury （MeHg）, the most toxic mercury species, which can be formed from inorganic mercury in lakes, can be bioaccumulated into high concentration in food chain and result in a potential threat to human beings. Sediments play an important role for the Hg biogeochemistry in the aquatic systems： Mercury methylation has been shown to be fastest in the surfacial sediments, where the microbial activity is highest. The formation of MeHg in lakes suggests that sediments and/or near-shore wetlands can be the sources of MeHg in aquatic environments. The Baihua Reservoir, located in the suburb of Guiyang, was impounded in 1966. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Guizhou Organic Chemical Plant which used inorganic mercury as catalyst to produce acetic acid, was responsible for the discharge of waste water with high mercury content.     

Political memories of conflict,economic land concessions,and political landscapes in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Political memories—which are crucial for establishing and maintaining ‘political capital’, based on individual and group positioning during past conflict and wars, but also in relation to presentday politics—are important when considering varied outcomes from negotiations and other interactions that occur in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in relation to large-scale economic land concessions. This paper continues to expand on the idea of political memories of past conflicts and wars by considering the concept in relation to the theoretical framework proposed by Hall et al. (2011) in their book Powers of Exclusion, which stresses the importance of interactions between regulation, force, the market and legitimation for understanding different types of exclusionary processes, especially those linked to land access. I argue that political memories are particularly relevant when it comes to legitimation, but that expanding the concept so as to include political memories is important. In relation to large-scale plantation, mining and hydropower dam concessions, I also stress the importance of political memories in (re)shaping understandings of landscapes, thus creating particular varieties of memory laden political landscapes, which too are constituted by the past but are also politically mobilized in the present.     

Selenium in soil,grain, human hair and drinking water in relation to esophageal cancer in the Cixian area,Hebei Province,People’s Republic of China

Selenium deficiency was suspected to be a factor in the aetiology of esophageal cancer in the Linxian and Cixian regions of the People’s Republic of China and vitamin trials in the Linxian area indicated that combined supplementation with β-carotene, vitamin E and Se reduced the mortality rate. In order to further evaluate the role of Se, the distribution of total Se in cultivated topsoils, grain, human hair and drinking water was studied in 15 villages in the Cixian area, People’s Republic of China, which in the 1980–1990s had one of the highest mortality rates from esophageal cancer in the world. This study demonstrated that total Se concentrations in drinking water, soil, grain and hair increase from the low esophageal cancer area to the high cancer area, contrary to the expected trend. This suggests that Se deficiency does not play a major role in the aetiology of esophageal cancer in the study area. Nitrate in drinking water is much higher in the area with high esophageal cancer mortality rate than in the low mortality rate area, and this may be a significant factor. Mycotoxins (especially fumonisin), nitrosamine and nitrosamine precursors in grain, ${\mathrm{NO}}_3^{-}$ in drinking water, and dietary β-carotene and Vitamin E remain as potential factors which need to be evaluated further.     

Pareto’s law and sample size: a case study of China’s urban system 1984–2008

While Pareto’s law has been widely supported by empirical evidence in urban studies, past studies have focused on finding best fits for city rank-size distribution. A main concern with Pareto’s law is the truncation of sample selection, for which few studies have examined it directly. This study tests three existing threshold methods (number threshold, size threshold, and urban population percentage threshold) using China’s city system as a case study. In addition, this study proposes a new method based upon the percentage threshold of the total number of cities. A systematic analysis is applied to examine the relationship between Pareto exponent and sample size using different threshold methods. The results show that Pareto exponent is sensitive to sample size and the truncation point. Including only large cities is problematic because a slight change in the truncation point will yield quite different results of Pareto exponent. In addition, the new method, the percentage threshold of the total number of cities method, presents an advantage over previous methods, in that this method yields a consistent set of results over a wide range of thresholds. Finally, when using this new method with China’s city system, the Pareto exponent presents a turning point in 1996, representing China’s transition from a planned economy to a more market oriented economy during that period.     

Late-stage sulfides and sulfarsenides in Lower Cambrian black shale (stone coal) from the Huangjiawan mine, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China

Summary The Ni-Mo Huangjiawan mine, Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China, occurs in Lower Cambrian black shale (stone coal) in an area where other mines have recently extracted ore from the same horizon. Detailed electron microprobe (EMPA) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses of representative thin sections have revealed a complex assemblage of sulfides and sulfarsenides. Early sulfidic and phosphatic nodules and host matrix have been lithified, somewhat fractured, and then mineralized with later-stage sulfides and sulfarsenides. Gersdorffite, millerite, polydymite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, and clausthalite have been recognized. EMPA data are given for the major phases. Pyrite trace-element distributions and coeval Ni-, As-sulfides indicate that in the main ore layer, the last sulfide deposition was Ni-As-Co-rich. Mo and V deposition were early in the petrogenesis of these rocks. The assemblages gersdorffite-millerite-polydymite (pyrite) and millerite-gersdorffite (pyrite) and the composition of gersdorffite indicate a formation temperature of between 200° and 300 °C suggesting that the last solutions to infiltrate and mineralize the samples were related to hydrothermal processes. Environmentally sensitive elements such as As, Cd, and Se are hosted by sulfides and sulfarsenides and are the main source of these elements to residual soil. Crops grown on them are enriched in these elements, and they may be hazardous for animal and human consumption. Authors’ addresses: H. E. Belkin, U.S. Geological Survey, 956 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, USA; Kunli Luo, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China     

Vertical distribution of physical–chemical features of water and bottom sediments in four saline lakes of the Khangai mountain region,Western Mongolia

Characterizing vertical profiles of water columns is important to understanding the biochemical cycles and nutrient dynamics of an aquatic ecosystem. Physical and chemical properties of surface water in Mongolian saline lakes have been studied over the past decade, but chemical composition along a vertical profile of the water column has not been well documented. Four major saline lakes (Lakes Telmen, Oigon, Tsegeen and Khag) in northwestern Mongolia were studied to determine geochemical behavior of microelements and to assess major ionic components and trace elements associated with vertical profile of various water samples and sediments. Water samples were vertically collected from each sampling depth with a vacuum deep-water sampler in July 2013. Physical–chemical parameters, major ionic components and trace elements were analyzed by conventional methods and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Concentrations of microelements and mineralogical composition of sediment samples from near shore were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. This study was apparently the first to characterize chemical composition along vertical profiles of these lakes. Sodium, chloride and sulfate ions were largely conserved in all water samples except Lake Oigon. Depending on salinity type, these lakes were divided into sodium-sulfate lake (Lake Khag) or chloride lakes. Due to geomorphological characteristics, strontium (≤3.18 mg/l) was the only ion in the highest concentration across all depths of water and sediment samples among the lakes. Sediments were comprised mainly of quartz, anorthite, albite and orthoclase. In conclusion, physical and chemical properties in Lake Oigon were highly variable and dissimilar among lakes. Furthermore, we inferred that vertical profiles of water columns were intimately linked to variations in chemical composition of salt lakes in the western Mongolia.