Stable isotopic and geochemical identification of groundwater evolution and recharge sources in the arid Shule River Basin of Northwestern China

Stable isotopic (δD_VSMOW and δ¹⁸O_VSMOW) and geochemical signatures were employed to constrain the geochemical evolution and sources of groundwater recharge in the arid Shule River Basin, Northwestern China, where extensive groundwater extraction occurs for agricultural and domestic supply. Springs in the mountain front of the Qilian Mountains, the Yumen‐Tashi groundwater (YTG), and the Guazhou groundwater (GZG) were Ca‐HCO₃, Ca‐Mg‐HCO₃‐SO₄ and Na‐Mg‐SO₄‐Cl type waters, respectively. Total dissolved solids (TDS) and major ion (Mg²⁺, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, K⁺, SO₄^2?, Cl^? and NO₃^?) concentrations of groundwater gradually increase from the mountain front to the lower reaches of the Guazhou Basin. Geochemical evolution in groundwater was possibly due to a combination of mineral dissolution, mixing processes and evapotranspiration along groundwater flow paths. The isotopic and geochemical variations in melt water, springs, river water, YTG and GZG, together with the end‐member mixing analysis (EMMA) indicate that the springs in the mountain front mainly originate from precipitation, the infiltration of melt water and river in the upper reaches; the lateral groundwater from the mountain front and river water in the middle reaches are probably effective recharge sources for the YTG, while contribution of precipitation to YTG is extremely limited; the GZG is mainly recharged by lateral groundwater flow from the Yumen‐Tashi Basin and irrigation return flow. The general characteristics of groundwater in the Shule River Basin have been initially identified, and the results should facilitate integrated management of groundwater and surface water resources in the study area. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

泰安市做好泰山石保护及奇石市场管理

泰山是世界自然与文化双遗产,同时又是世界级地质公园。随着泰山知名度的不断提高和旅游业的蓬勃发展,泰山石作为泰安特有的地质资源受到社会各界的青睐,市场需求越来越大,对外影响越来越深远,由此带动了奇石资源的全面开发。但违法开采、盗采滥挖、破坏地质地貌景观和非法收购、销售奇石的行为同时存在,因此,保护和管理好奇石资源是非常重要的。     

Distribution and sources of organic carbon, nitrogen and their isotopes in sediments of the subtropical Pearl River estuary and adjacent shelf, Southern China

The isotopic composition (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) and organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN, organic plus inorganic) content of 37 carbonate-free surficial sediments of the subtropical Pearl River estuary and the adjacent shelf of South China Sea (SCS) was determined. The δ¹³C values indicate that the sediment organic material is a mixture from two sources, terrestrial and marine. Several of the sediments have extremely low (< 4) OC / TN ratios, which could be due to low OC contents and/or to a significant fraction of the TN present as inorganic nitrogen adsorbed on clays. In general, the spatial patterns of OC, TN, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N are similar. Values are low at the river mouth and on the western coast, suggesting proportionally greater accumulation of terrestrial particulate organic matter relative to marine phytodetritus, which is limited by low productivity in the turbid plume of the Pearl River. Algal-derived organic carbon (al-OC) content is estimated to be low (≤ 0.06%) at the river mouth and higher (up to 0.57%) on the adjacent inner shelf based on a mixing model of end members.     

Decreasing Trend of Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Inner-Core Size over the Past Decades

Studies on tropical cyclone(TC) inner-core size have become increasingly active in recent years. However, few studies have investigated the trend of TC inner-core size. Here, we introduce a new index to measure TC inner-core size and calculate the observed trend. This index can greatly reduce the influence of data heterogeneity and uncertainty. It also considers public concern because the new index is mainly determined by the inner-core size of strong TCs, which attract more public attention than weak TCs. The results show that in the past decades, TC inner-core size has a significant downtrend that is significant above the 99% confidence level when the new index is used. We also show that this trend is probably related to the increase in TC intensity and relatively small inner-core size of strong TCs. Moreover, relative sea surface temperature(SST) is assumed to make contributions to the downtrend of TC inner-core size, which has a significant negative correlation with the new index.     

砂土液化判别方法研究

评定地基土液化可能性是抗震勘察设计中的一个重大课题,通过对比《建筑抗震设计规范》推荐判别方法与美国Seed判别法,推导出新的判别方法,该法具有判别准确、理论合理、计算简便、与工程实际相结合等优点,是一种值得推广的判别方法。     

裂隙网络多标度分形计算机模拟

岩体裂隙网络是不均匀，非对称的复杂分形，用简单分数维不能刻画其特征，必须采用多标度分形来研究，才能全面客观地描述其本质。文中介质了隙网络多标度分形计算机模拟原理与方法。     

云南金平县镁铁-超镁铁岩岩床群的地球化学特征

金平地区的镁铁-超镁铁质岩岩床群侵入在晚泥盆世地层中。岩石类型包括粒玄岩、辉绿岩、辉长岩、橄榄辉玄岩和苦橄岩。岩床群的走向与区域构造方向一致,为北西向延伸。单个岩床的厚度在1-200m之间,较厚的岩床有明显的结晶分异作用。粒玄岩和辉绿岩含相当数量的钛铁矿,称为铁钛玄武岩。化学成分以强烈富Ti为特征,TiO₂含量平均达3.9%.Mg含量通常较低,是拉斑质或碱性玄武岩演化而来的。这种高Ti玄武岩还富Th、Ta、Nb,Th/Ta比值接近1,Zr/Nb比值较低,接近OIB的特征,推测产于板内环境,是地幔柱部分熔融形成的岩浆。金平岩床群中苦橄岩和橄榄辉玄岩(MgO含量在15.1%-23.3%之间)出露的比例相对较多,指示地幔柱部分熔融的温度较高,推测相当于地幔柱尾部的特征。     

The role of the sediment budget in understanding debris flow susceptibility

This study proposes a sediment‐budget model to predict the temporal variation of debris volume stored in a debris‐flow prone watershed. The sediment‐budget is dominated by shallow landslides and debris outflow. The basin topography and the debris volume stored in the source area of the debris‐flow prone watershed help evaluating its debris‐flow susceptibility. The susceptibility model is applied to the Tungshih area of central western Taiwan. The importance of the debris volume in predicting debris‐flow susceptibility is reflected in the standardized coefficients of the proposed statistical discriminant model. The high prediction rate (0·874) for the occurrence of debris flows justifies the capability of the proposed susceptibility models to predict the occurrence of debris flows. This model is then used to evaluate the temporal evolution of the debris‐flow susceptibility index. The analysis results show that the numbers of watershed which are classified as a debris‐flow group correspond well to storage of sediment at different time periods. These numbers are 10 before the occurrence of Chi‐Chi earthquake, 13 after the occurrence of Chi‐Chi earthquake, 16 after the occurrence of landslides induced by Typhoon Mindulle (Typhoon M), and 14 after the occurrence of debris flows induced by Typhoon M. It indicates that the occurrence of 7·6 Chi‐Chi earthquake had significant impact on the debris flow occurrence during subsequent typhoons. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A data assimilation-based method for optimizing parameterization schemes in a land surface process model

Optimizing the parameters of a land surface process model(LSPM) through data assimilation(DA) can not only improve and perfect the parameterization schemes in the LSPM through the physical mechanism, but also increase its regional adaptability and simulation capability. This has practical importance for improving simulation results and the climate-prediction capability of general circulation models(GCMs) and regional climate models(RCMs). This paper presents a DA-based method for optimizing the parameterization schemes in LSPMs. We optimize the unsaturated-soil water flow(Un SWF) model as an example by developing a soil-moisture assimilation scheme based on the Un SWF model and the extended Kalman filter(EKF) algorithm, and then combining them with the Variable Infiltration Capacity(VIC) model. Using a month as the assimilation window, we used the Shuffled Complex Evolution–University of Arizona(SCE-UA) algorithm to minimize the objective function through simulated and assimilated soil moisture, achieved the best fit with the given objective function measurement, and optimized the parameters of the Un SWF model, including the saturated-soil hydraulic conductivity, moisture content, matrix potential, and the Clapp and Hornberger constant. The optimal values of the model parameters were obtained during the DA period(the year 1986), and then the optimized parameters were used to improve the Un SWF model. Finally, numerical simulation experiments were carried out from 1986 to 1993 to evaluate the simulation capability of the improved model and to explore and realize the DA-based method for optimizing the soil water parameterization scheme in LSPMs. The experimental results indicated that the optimized model parameters improved and perfected the model based on the physical mechanism, and increased its simulation capability; the optimized model parameters had good temporal portability and their adaptability was stronger, achieving the aim of improving the model. Therefore, this method is reasonable and feasible. This paper provides a good reference for DA-based optimization of the parameterization schemes in LSPMs.     

Critical sensitivity of load/unload response ratio and stress accumulation before large earthquakes: example of the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake

The Load/Unload Response Ratio (LURR) method is often defined as the ratio between Benioff strains released during the time periods of loading and unloading, corresponding to earth tide induced Coulomb Failure Stress change on optimally oriented faults. According to the method, anomalous increase in the time series of LURR usually occurs prior to occurrence of a large earthquake. Previous studies have indicated that the stress field that existed before a large earthquake has strong influence on the evaluation of LURR. In order to augment the sensitivity of LURR in measuring the criticality of stress accumulation before an earthquake, we replace the circular region usually adopted in LURR practice with an area within which the tectonic stress change would mostly affect the Coulomb stress on a potential seismogenic fault of a future event. Coulomb stress change before the hypothetical earthquake is calculated based on a simple back-slip dislocation model of the event. Retrospective test of this new algorithm on the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake shows remarkable enhancement of the LURR precursory anomaly. To illustrate the variation of LURR time series associated with our choice of identified areas with increased Coulomb stress before the earthquake, we calculate the spatial distributions of LURR within a circular region of 700 km radius centered at epicenter of the event. Comparing the spatial LURR distributions of different periods, the change of LURR within the Coulomb stress increase areas looks more prominent than the others: it remains at a low level for most of the time and markedly increases few years before the quake. This result further shows the validity of the Coulomb stress algorithm. Unlike circular regions, areas of increased Coulomb stress with anomalously increased LURR values before a large earthquake could provide a relatively more precise estimation of the criticality of the ensuing event.