Access to reeds and mat making in the lower Volta basin of Ghana

This paper explores the origins of pressures on reeds and sedges used for mat making in the lower Volta basin of Ghana, and their impact on the socially embedded system which dictates access to reed fields. Data for the study were collected through field work employing participatory rural appraisal methods in 18 communities, involving 152 mat weavers. The findings showed that the mat‐weaving industry has contributed immensely in providing poor women a means of livelihood but reed marshes in the basin have reduced in recent years due to hydrological changes in the area caused by the damming of the Volta upstream. The decline in the availability of reed is exerting immense pressure on this once freely available resource, thus inducing landlords to impose a price on the rights of entry into marshlands by reed collectors. The imposition of these charges affected the very people that the mat‐weaving industry is targeted to help. The study recommends the local and central government to play a more active role and civil society groups to broaden the livelihood base of women living in this region.     

Evolution of a Neoproterozoic to Palaeozoic intracratonic setting, Officer Basin, South Australia

The Neoproterozoic basins of central Australia share many features of architecture and sedimentary fill, suggesting common large-scale extrinsic causal mechanisms. In an attempt to improve understanding of these mechanisms we have gathered and analysed new deep seismic reflection data and re-evaluated existing seismic and well-log data from the eastern Officer Basin, the largest and most poorly known of Australia's intracratonic basins. The Officer Basin is asymmetric and has a steep thrust-controlled northern margin paralleled by sub-basins as much as 10 km in depth. Further south the basin shallows gradually onto a broad platform. The basin rests on a thick crust (≈42 km) that is pervaded by a complex of northward-dipping surfaces most of which terminate erosionally against the sediments of the Officer Basin and are interpreted as prebasinal features, possibly faults. Some appear to have been zones of crustal weakness which were reactivated as thrust complexes and played a major role in basin evolution. The sedimentary succession can be subdivided into six megasequences separated by major tectonically and erosionally enhanced sequence boundaries. The megasequences have distinctive sequence stacking patterns suggesting that they were deposited in response to episodic subsidence induced by a major extrinsic tectonic event. The basin initially formed as part of a giant sag basin which incorporated all the present-day intracratonic basins (Amadeus, Georgina, Ngalia, Officer and Savory Basins) in a single large ‘superbasin’ perhaps as a response to mantle processes. Subsidence then ceased for ≈100 Myr producing a regional erosion surface. Beginning in the Torrensian or Sturtian five more major events of varying regional significance influenced the basin's evolution. Four were compressional events, the first of which activated major thrust complexes along the present basin margins, forming deep foreland sub-basins with elevated intervening basement blocks. Once activated, the thrust complexes and sub-basins persisted throughout the life of the intracratonic basins. From this epoch the intracratonic basins of central Australia were decoupled from the giant sag basin and became interrelated but independent features. Available information suggests that the Officer, Amadeus, Georgina, Ngalia and Savory Basins are related and are perhaps products of major tectonic events associated with the assembly and ultimate dispersal of the Proterozoic supercontinent. The closing phases of these basins were strongly influenced by events occurring along the newly created active eastern margin of the Australian continent in the Palaeozoic.     

Conventional and Unconventional Hydrocarbon Resource Potential Evaluation of Source Rocks and Reservoirs: A Case Study of the Upper Xiaganchaigou Formation,Western Qaidam Basin,Northwest China

The Paleogene upper Xiaganchaigou Formation (E₃²) is the most important source rock and reservoir in the Qaidam Basin. However, there are few studies on the processes of hydrocarbon accumulation in this formation; therefore, its hydrocarbon resource potential has not been estimated reasonably. This paper evaluates the hydrocarbon generation properties in light of an improved hydrocarbon generation and expulsion potential model. According to the geochemical characteristics of source rocks and the petrological features of reservoirs, the potentials of different resource types, including conventional oil, tight oil and shale oil, are quantified by combining the buoyancy-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depth (BHAD) and the lower limit for movable resource abundance. The results show that the source rocks are characterized by a large thickness (more than 1000 m), moderate organic matter content, high marginal maturity and a high conversion rate (50% hydrocarbons have been discharged before R_o?=?1%), which provide sufficient oil sources for reservoir formation. Moreover, the reservoirs in the Qaidam Basin consist mainly of low-porosity and low-permeability tight carbonates (porosity of 4.7% and permeability less than 1 mD). The maximum hydrocarbon generation, expulsion, retention and movable retention intensities at present are 350?×?10⁴ t/km², 250?×?10⁴ t/km², 130?×?10⁴ t/km² and 125?×?10⁴ t/km², respectively. The thresholds of hydrocarbon generation, expulsion and BHAD were 0.46% R_o, 0.67% R_o and 0.7% R_o, respectively. Moreover, the dynamic evolution process of hydrocarbon accumulation was divided into three evolution stages, namely, (a) initial hydrocarbon accumulation, (b) conventional hydrocarbon reservoir and shale oil accumulation and (c) unconventional tight oil accumulation. The conventional oil, tight oil and movable shale oil resource potentials were 10.44?×?10⁸ t, 51.9?×?10⁸ t and 390?×?10⁸ t, respectively. This study demonstrates the good resource prospects of E₃² in the Qaidam Basin. A comprehensive workflow for unconventional petroleum resource potential evaluation is provided, and it has certain reference significance for other petroliferous basins, especially those in the early unconventional hydrocarbon exploration stage.

     

Resource management and agriculture in the periurban interface of Kumasi,Ghana: Problems and prospects

This paper outlines pressures on agricultural land in periurban Kumasi, Ghana. A survey of agricultural practices underlines the recent and rapid transition from agricultural to urban land use in the periurban interface, and shows how farmers are reacting by reducing fallow periods. Farmers are also intensifying agriculture near streams and rivers through increased use of irrigation, in response to growing urban markets for a wider range of vegetables. We identify specific problems of water resource pollution and waste management, with particular reference to farmland irrigation. We report results of composting interventions as a community‐based waste management strategy. We consider integrated organic waste recycling as a generic strategy to help protect periurban natural resources, to enhance food production through nutrient recycling, and to improve community sanitation.     

Mineral Resource Potential of Tajikistan: As an Important Component of Sustainable Development of the Silk Road Economic Belt

<正>The presence of rich natural resources and their rational use is the basis of dynamic and sustainable development of the state and society in general.The most effective integrated use of natural resources,which include mineral resources,predetermines the development of productive forces,the development of new areas,and the deployment of new industries,solves the problems of employment and contributes to economic growth of the     

评《长江流域经济发展和上、中、下游比较研究》

长江流域经济历来在我国经济发展中占有十分重要的地位。早在80年代中期,在《全国国土规划纲要》中就将长江沿江地区与沿海地区共同形成的"T"型主轴线作为我国经济建设的主轴线。     

Quantifying the Degree of Water Resource Utilization Polarization: A Case Study of the Yellow River Basin

The overexploitation of water resources has a substantial influence on their sustainable utilization and the ecological environment in a river basin. Quantification of the development and utilization of water resources plays an important role in guiding the rational utilization of water resources. Based on this, this paper develops the concept of water resource utilization polarization (WRUP) in order to qualitatively analyze whether water resources are being overexploited in the process of utilization. An index model of WRUP was built to quantify the degree of water resources overexploitation. In addition, taking seven secondary basins of the Yellow River as examples, the available quantity, overdraft and polarization indexes of surface water and groundwater resources were calculated. The results show that there are 34.49×10⁸ m³ of surface water available, which accounts for 56.21% of the total surface water volume. A total of 5.84×10⁸ m³ of groundwater is available, which is 58.74% of the total groundwater resources. We also found that the water resources are heavily overexploited and that there is extensive polarization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. The highest polarization of water resources occurs from Lanzhou to Toudaoguai where the polarization index is 19.88 and from Longmen to Sanmenxia where it is 11.81. There is no polarization above Longyangxia or from Toudaoguai to Longmen. Overall, the polarization of water resources is 7.95 over the entire Yellow River area. These results provide a reference for the availability of water resources that can be used to determine the degree of overexploitation of the water resources in the Yellow River.     

Machine Learning of Mineralization-Related Geochemical Anomalies: A Review of Potential Methods

Research on processing geochemical data and identifying geochemical anomalies has made important progress in recent decades. Fractal/multi-fractal models, compositional data analysis, and machine learning (ML) are three widely used techniques in the field of geochemical data processing. In recent years, ML has been applied to model the complex and unknown multivariate geochemical distribution and extract meaningful elemental associations related to mineralization or environmental pollution. It is expected that ML will have a more significant role in geochemical mapping with the development of big data science and artificial intelligence in the near future. In this study, state-of-the-art applications of ML in identifying geochemical anomalies were reviewed, and the advantages and disadvantages of ML for geochemical prospecting were investigated. More applications are needed to demonstrate the advantage of ML in solving complex problems in the geosciences.     

全球化、跨国公司投资与地区发展关系研究进展

近年来,全球化力量成为影响区域经济发展及其空间格局演变的主要因素之一。在未来相当长一个时期内,全球化因素影响的深度与广度都将进一步扩展。随着经济活动全球化的发展,学术界有相当多的研究关注全球化、跨国公司投资及其社会经济影响。本文分别从国家、区域和企业三个不同的层面及全球化与区域发展互动的角度对现有的关于全球化、跨国公司投资与地区发展的相关研究进行总结和评述。     

Estimating the fluvial sediment input to the coastal sediment budget: A case study of Ghana

Knowledge of fluvial sediment supply to the coastal sediment budget is important for the assessment of the impacts on coastal stability. Such knowledge is valuable for designing coastal engineering schemes and the development of shoreline management planning policies. It also facilitates understanding of the connection between rivers in the hinterland and adjoining coastal systems. Ghana's coast has many fluvial sediment sources and this paper provides the first quantitative assessments of their contributions to the coastal sediment budget. The methods use largely existing data and attempt to cover all of Ghana's significant coastal rivers. Initially work was hindered by insufficient direct measured data. However, the problem was overcome by the application of a regression approach, which provides an estimated sediment yield for non-gauged rivers based on data from gauged rivers with similar characteristics. The regression approach was effective because a regional coherence in behaviour was determined between those rivers, where direct measured data were available. The results of the assessment revealed that Ghana's coast is dissected by many south-draining rivers, stream and lagoons. These rivers, streams and lagoons supply significant amounts of sediment to coastal lowlands and therefore contribute importantly to beaches. Anthropogenic impoundment of fluvial sediment, especially the Akosombo dam on the Volta River, has reduced the total fluvial sediment input to the coast from about 71 × 10⁶ m³/a before 1964 (pre-Akosombo dam) to about 7 × 10⁶ m³/a at present (post-Akosombo dam). This sharp reduction threatened the stability of the east coast and prompted an expensive ($83 million) defence scheme to be implemented to protect 8.4 km-long coastline at Keta. Sections of Ghana's coast are closely connected to the hinterland through the fluvial sediment input from local rivers. Therefore, development in the hinterland that alters the fluvial sediment input from those local rivers could have significant effects on the coast. There is the need, therefore, to ensure that catchment management plans and coastal management plans are integrated or interconnected.     

Denudation rates of a subequatorial orogenic belt based on estimates of sediment yields: evidence from the Paleozoic Appalachian Basin,USA

The Upper Mississippian (ca. 325 Ma) Pride Shale and Glady Fork Member in the Central Appalachian Basin comprise an upward‐coarsening, ca. 60‐m‐thick succession of prodeltaic‐delta front, interlaminated fine‐grained sandstones and mudstones gradational upwards into mouth‐bar and distributary‐channel sandstones. Analysis of laminae bundling in the Pride Shale reveals a hierarchy of tidal cycles (semi‐diurnal, fortnightly neap‐spring) and a distinct annual cyclicity resulting from seasonal fluvial discharge. These tidal rhythmites thus represent high‐resolution chronometers that can be used in basin analysis. Annual cycles average 10 cm in thickness, thus the bulk of the Pride Shale‐Glady Fork Member in any one vertical section is estimated to have accumulated in ca. 600 years. Progradational clinoforms are assumed to have had dips of 0.3–3° with a median dip of 1.7°; the latter infilled a NE‐SW oriented foreland trough up to 300 km long by 50 km wide in the relatively short time period of 90 kyr. The total volume of sediment in the Pride basin is ca. 900 km³ which, for an average sediment density of 2700 kg m^?3, equates to a total mass of ca. 2.4 × 10⁶ Mt. Thus, mass sediment load can be estimated as 27 Mt yr^?1. For a drainage basin area of 89 000 km², based on the scale of architectural channel elements and cross‐set thicknesses in the incised‐valley‐fill deposits of the underlying Princeton Formation, suspended sediment yields are estimated at ca. 310 t km^?2 yr^?1 equating to a mechanical denudation rate of ca. 0.116 mm yr^?1. Calculated sediment yields and inferred denudation rates are comparable to modern rivers such as the Po and Fly and are compatible with a provenance of significant relief and a climate characterized by seasonal, monsoonal discharge. Inferred denudation rates also are consistent with average denudation rates for the Inner Piedmont Terrane of the Appalachians based on flexural modelling. The integration of stratigraphic architectural analysis with a novel chronometric application highlights the utility of sedimentary archives as a record of Earth surface dynamics.     

Three-Dimensional Petrophysical Modelling and Volumetric Analysis to Model the Reservoir Potential of the Kupe Field,Taranaki Basin,New Zealand

Natural Resources Research - This study addresses the three-dimensional (3D) petrophysical modelling and volumetric analysis of the Farewell Reservoir in the Kupe Field in the southern Taranaki...     

建设经济带是经济发展布局的最佳选择——长江经济带经济发展的巨大潜力

自1984年, “点-轴开发”理论和中国国土开发、经济布局的“T”字型宏观战略提出以来,“T”字型空间结构战略在20世纪80~90年代得到大规模实施。海岸经济带和长江经济带2个一级重点经济带构成“T”字型,长江经济带将内地2个最发达的核心地区（成渝地区和武汉地区）与海岸经济带联系起来,其腹地几乎包括半个中国,其范围内资源丰富,农业、经济和技术基础雄厚,已经形成世界上最大的以水运为主的、包括铁路、高速公路、管道以及超高压输电等组成的具有超大能力的综合运输通道,其巨大的发展潜力是除海岸经济带以外的其他经济带所不能比拟的。“点-轴开发”理论和中国国土开发、经济布局的“T”字型宏观战略（海岸带和长江沿线作为全国的一级发展轴线）已经得到国内诸多知名学者和有关部门领导的认同,符合中国国土开发和经济布局合理化的要求,以海岸地带和长江沿岸作为今后几十年中国国土开发和经济布局的一级轴线的战略将是长期的。     

黑河流域水资源信息系统设计

建立黑河流域水资源信息系统的目标是为黑河流域水资源合理利用与经济社会和生态环境协调发展的研究提供基础数据和技术支撑,并辅助建立流域决策支持系统和水资源模型。本文介绍黑河流域水资源信息系统的设计和应用,共包括27个图层的空间数据、40 a气候和水文序列、以及部分NOAA AVHRR和TM遥感数据,是我国西北内陆河流域最完整的水资源信息系统之一,已被应用于黑河流域水资源合理利用以及水文和生态基础研究。     

新经济空间下城市竞争力的潜能研究

在新经济空间研究的基础上,阐述了与城市竞争力有关的一系列空间因素,认为这些因素的复杂性决定了城市之间的竞争和合作关系,城市主体总是试图通过空间关系的改善来提高自身的竞争优势.总结了城市在比较优势驱动下的竞争,认为城市发展中政府的调控战略是一个重要的因素.通过探讨合作的潜在利益,论述了不同层次的合作是城市增强竞争力的有利手段.阐释了城市合作的模式和相互学习的过程,充分说明了城市之间合作关系的建立和持续是城市面临区域经济全球化和一体化挑战的应对之策.     

国际新经济地理学领域的实证研究进展

对新经济地理学的理论渊源和发展过程,国内已有学者陆续进行过系统介绍,但是对新经济地理学的实证研究还缺乏相关的研究。本文对基于新经济地理学的相关实证研究进行了梳理,将其归纳为五个主要方面：一是市场潜力会提升地区要素价格;二是市场潜力会吸引要素流入;三是本地市场效应的存在;四是贸易引致集聚;五是波动的敏感性。从而为新经济地理理论提供经验支持,并在此基础上提出了新经济地理学有意义的政策含义。     

Utility of the 2-D Multi-Electrode Resistivity Imaging Technique in Groundwater Exploration in the Voltaian Sedimentary Basin, Northern Ghana

Guinea worm and other water borne diseases associated with untreated surface water use have necessitated that communities are supplied with groundwater in the Northern Region of Ghana. The Electrical Resistivity Survey (ERS) method is one of the common geophysical survey techniques used for borehole siting in Ghana. Various groundwater exploration programs have utilized it by employing the four electrode system. However, the ERS has not been able to locate potential borehole sites successfully in the Voltaian Sedimentary Basin (VSB) in the Northern Region of Ghana although it has been successful in other geological formations. Unsatisfactory results obtained from the employment of the ERS system in the VSB therefore necessitated an experiment with the 2-D Multi-Electrode Resistivity Imaging (2-D MERI) technique. Field results show that the 2-D MERI is a robust and efficient technique: an improvement on the four electrode ERS system in terms of amount and quality of data obtained. The 2-D MERI interpretations were confirmed with a much improved borehole drilling success rate of 60% compared to 38% obtained using the ERS within the mudstone and shale formations. The 2-D MERI also indicated that very low resistivity layers in the VSB may not necessarily be good targets for borehole drilling and the generally held notion that groundwater cannot be found at depths more than 25 m is no longer tenable.     

Early Eocene magnetostratigraphy and tectonic evolution of the Xining Basin,NE Tibet

The Cenozoic strata of the Xining Basin, NE Tibet, have provided crucial records for understanding the tectonic and palaeo-environmental evolution of the region. Yet, the age of the lower part of the sedimentary stratigraphy and, consequently, the early tectonic evolution of the basin remain debated. Here, we present the litho- and magnetostratigraphy of various early Eocene sections throughout the Xining Basin independently constrained by the U–Pb radiometric age of a carbonate bed. Our study extends the dated stratigraphy down to 53.0 Ma (C24n.1r) and reveals highly variable accumulation rates during the early Eocene ranging from 0.5 to 8 cm/ka. This is in stark contrast to the low but stable accumulation rates (2–3 cm/ka) observed throughout the overlying Palaeogene and Neogene strata. Such a pattern of basin infill is not characteristic of flexural subsidence as previously proposed, but rather supports an extensional origin of the Xining Basin with multiple depocentres, which subsequently coalesced into a more stable and slowly subsiding basin. Whether this extension was related to the far-field effects of the subducting Pacific Plate or the India–Asia collision remains to be confirmed by future studies.