Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography

In recent months there has been an explosion of interest in using the Web to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic information provided voluntarily by individuals. Sites such as Wikimapia and OpenStreetMap are empowering citizens to create a global patchwork of geographic information, while Google Earth and other virtual globes are encouraging volunteers to develop interesting applications using their own data. I review this phenomenon, and examine associated issues: what drives people to do this, how accurate are the results, will they threaten individual privacy, and how can they augment more conventional sources? I compare this new phenomenon to more traditional citizen science and the role of the amateur in geographic observation.     

Mineralogy and chemical composition of the clay fraction of Neogene shales from the Surma Group in the Bengal basin,Bangladesh

Mineralogical and chemical investigations (<2μm clay separates) of shale samples from the Neogene-age Surma Group obtained from four wells (Habiganj-11, Shahbazpur-1, Titas-11, Titas-15) in the Bengal basin, Bangladesh, were carried out in order to reveal the clay mineral composition as reservoir exploration and exploitation requires a good understanding of the clay minerals. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). Mineralogically, the sub-surface Surma Group shales comprise predominantly quartz, plagioclase, illite, chlorite, kaolinite, with lesser amounts of K-feldspar, dolomite and smectite, and minor to trace amounts of calcite, siderite and pyrite. The chemical composition of the <2 μm clay separates also suggests an illite and chlorite-rich composition. With increasing burial depth, the Surma Group shales are enriched in illite. The gradual decreasing of the smectite clays with depth and ultimate disappearance at greater depths (≥ 3000 m) may have been responsible for the presence of the diagenetic illite. Based on the mineralogical composition it is most likely that the illite-chlorite associations together with quartz and feldspar were predominantly detrital in origin and thus reflect the presence of a rapidly-rising source terrain not subjected to intense weathering.     

河流深槽沉积体与油气的关系——以辽河坳陷大25井区为例

河流深槽沉积体是河流沉积的一种特殊沉积体。辽河坳陷第三纪断裂活动强烈，火山岩广泛分布，形成了独特的地貌条件，具备形成河流深槽沉积体的地质条件。本文以辽河坳陷东部凹陷大２５井区为例，对河流深槽沉积体的成因及特征进行探讨，证实了大２５井区巨厚砂砾岩沉积是河流在火山岩古地形的限制下发生急转弯，在其变曲河段的深槽中沉积的深槽沉积体。该沉积体中发育良好的储集空间，有利于油气储集。该类储集体的发现，丰富了辽河坳陷的储层类型，为油气勘探提供了新的领域。     

新疆锰矿成矿规律研究

最近新疆西昆仑地区锰矿勘查实现重大突破,伴随大型优质锰矿的发现和勘查,锰已成为新疆区域优势金属矿种之一。通过系统收集资料,总结新疆锰矿成矿类型及区域时空规律。指出寒武纪、二叠纪、石炭纪是新疆锰矿成矿的3个重要时代,西昆仑-昆盖山裂谷带、塔里木陆块北部边缘活动带是新疆锰矿成矿的重要构造单元,以海相沉积型锰矿为主要成矿类型。同时,对比中国南方重要锰矿成矿特征,指出新疆奥尔托喀讷什、穆呼锰矿与广西下雷超大型锰矿在地质构造背景、成矿时代、含矿建造、矿石类型等方面均有相似之处,在成矿空间上具某种“亲缘性”。新疆西昆仑穆呼-玛尔坎苏锰矿带具超大型锰矿成矿潜力。     

Sr,Nd,Pb Isotope Geochemistry and Magma Evolution of the Potassic Volcanic Rocks,Wudalianchi,Northeast China

Wudalianchi volcanic rocks are the most typical Cenozoic potassic volcanic rocks in easten China.Compositional comparisons between whole rocks and glasses of various occurrences indicate that the magma tends to become rich in silica and alkalis as a result of crystal differentiation in the course of evolu-tion.They are unique in isotopic composition with more radiogenic Sr but less radiogenic Pb.^87Sr/^86Sr is higher and ^143Nd/^144Nd is lower than the undifferentiated global values.In comparison to continental pot-ash volcanic rocks,Pb isotopes are apparently lower.These various threads of evidence indicate that the rocks were derived from a primary enriched mantle which had not been subjected to reworking and shows no sign of incorporation of crustal material.The correlation between Pb and Sr suggests the regional heterogeneity in the upper mantle in terms of chemical composition.     

吉林夹皮沟金矿稳定同位素地质及找矿方向

吉林夹皮沟金矿床成因,多年来一直存在变质热液和岩浆热液之争。在金矿带北侧海西期花岗岩内和南侧白山镇一带变质岩地区进行外围找矿始终没有突破性进展。在前人研究基础上,通过一些补测工作对夹皮沟金矿稳定同位素地质给予新的认识。Ｓ和Ｃ、Ｈ、Ｏ流体主要来自地幔,部分Ｓ和Ｓｉ、Ｐｂ、Ａｕ主要来自花岗岩和古老变质层状岩系,成矿远景区应重点选定在夹皮沟—大砬子深大断裂两侧中生代脉岩体附近。     

富丽繁复的美——对维吾尔族金饰艺术的探究

新疆维吾尔族妇女有佩戴首饰的习俗,其黄金首饰富丽繁复的装饰风格体现出浓郁的民族特征。从艺术学的角度分析了维吾尔族金饰工艺、造型、纹样特征。结果显示,维吾尔族首饰喜爱用黄金材质,制作工艺中的花丝工艺和金珠工艺具有地域特征;首饰造型上形体硕大;装饰纹样受到生存环境和宗教文化的影响,常用植物纹样、几何纹样和文字纹样。材料与精细的首饰工艺制作相结合使首饰呈现出富丽繁复的装饰风格特征。     

The effects of soil sand contents on characteristics of humic acids along soil profiles

It is generally accepted that the compositions and properties of soil organic matter (SOM) are influenced by many factors. In order to reveal the effects of soil texture on characteristics and dynamics of SOM and its sub-fraction, humic acid (HA), along two soil profiles, a yellow soil profile and a purplish soil profile, under the same climate and vegetation conditions were determined. Results indicate that the decomposition and humification degrees of SOM and HA of the purplish soils are higher than those of the corresponding yellow soils indicated by A/O–A ratios of HAs, TOCs and HA yields of bulk soil samples, nevertheless, the development degree of the purplish soil is lower than that of the yellow soil. The variations of E₄/E₆ ratios of HAs along the soil profiles indicate the overall molecular sizes of HAs decreased downward along the soil profiles. A/O–A ratios of HAs decreased downward along both the soil profiles indicate that humification processes decrease downward along both the soil profiles. Leaching of SOM shows significant effects on the distribution and characteristics of HAs in the yellow soil profile but the purplish soil profile, which is consistent with the higher hydrophobicity of HAs in purplish soils, shows that the distribution characteristics of SOM along the soil profiles are a complex result of the combination of soil texture and characteristics of SOM itself. The remarkably different sand contents are concluded tentatively as one of reasons to the different distributions and dynamics of HAs along the soil profiles, however, to profoundly understand the evolution and transport of SOM along soil profiles needs more researches.     

The effect of annealing on the luminescence decay-time of synthetic calcite:Mn

Calcite was synthesized by four methods, and the luminescence decay-time was measured for nine samples before and after heating hydrothermally in the temperature range 200–400°C. Decay-time data were collected between room temperature and approximately 15 K. The decay time at room temperature is approximately 50 ms, with little difference between a given calcite before and after hydrothermal treatment. The decay time at 15 K is always greater than at room temperature as the effect of thermal quenching diminishes. Differences in decay time before and after heating are more apparent at low temperature owing to this reduction in thermal quenching. The decay time decreased significantly in two samples, and an increase in decay time was observed in the remaining seven samples following heating. Among the latter group, the change in decay time was insignificant in three samples. The results are compared with previous data in which it was shown that the effect of heating is to increase the intensity of luminescence.     

Iron isotopic analyses of geological reference materials on MC-ICP-MS with instrumental mass bias corrected by three independent methods

Here we report iron (Fe) isotopic data of three pure Fe solution standards (IRMM-014, GSB Fe, and NIST 3126a) and five widely used geological reference materials (RMs) from the United States Geological Survey and Geological Survey of Japan obtained on a Neptune Plus multi-collector–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) in our laboratory over the past 3 years. The instrumental mass bias was corrected by three independent methods: sample-standard bracketing (SSB), Ni doping?+?SSB, and ⁵⁷Fe–⁵⁸Fe double spike?+?SSB. Measurements reveal that both the Ni doping and double spike methods helped calibrate short-term fluctuations in mass bias. Collectively, almost all measurements of RMs yielded δ⁵⁶Fe within?±?0.05 of recommended values, provided that each sample was measured four times on MC-ICP-MS. For the first time, new recommended values for NIST SRM3126a are reported (δ⁵⁶Fe?=?0.363?±?0.006, 2SE, 95% CI; and δ⁵⁷Fe?=?0.534?±?0.010, 2SE).