基于二维小波变换的FMI图象分割

为了从FMI资料中定量提取参数，一个重要的步骤是从实际FMI资料中分离出反映溶孔、溶洞、裂缝的子图像。本文给出的方法，考虑图像像元邻域的特征，应用二维小波变换求出目标与背景边缘的点集，按这个边缘点集的坐标点所对应的原图像像素灰度值的平均值作为分割阈值进行图像分割。实际资料处理表明，应用这种方法可以从实际的FMI资料中准确地分割出孔洞、裂缝的子图像并且可以按深度段连续自动处理，为后续定量计算参数奠定了良好基础。     

Assessing the Comparability of Ammonium,Nitrate and Sulfate Concentrations Measured by Three Air Quality Monitoring Networks

Airborne fine particulate matter across the United States is monitored by different networks, the three prevalent ones presently being the Clean Air Status and Trend Network (CASTNet), the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment Network (IMPROVE) and the Speciation and Trend Network (STN). If combined, these three networks provide speciated fine particulate data at several hundred locations throughout the United States. Yet, differences in sampling protocols and samples handling may not allow their joint use. With these concerns in mind, the objective of this study is to assess the spatial and temporal comparability of the sulfate, nitrate and ammonium concentrations reported by each of these networks. One of the major differences between networks is the sampling frequency they adopted. While CASTNet measures pollution levels on seven-day integrated samples, STN and IMPROVE data pertain to 24-hour samples collected every three days. STN and IMPROVE data therefore exhibit considerably more short-term variability than their CASTNet counterpart. We show that, despite their apparent incongruity, averaging the data with a window size of four to six weeks is sufficient to remove the effects of differences in sampling frequency and duration and allow meaningful comparison of the signals reported by the three networks of concern. After averaging, all the sulfate and, to a lesser degree, ammonium concentrations reported are fairly similar. Nitrate concentrations, on the other hand, are still divergent. We speculate that this divergence originates from the different types of filters used to collect particulate nitrate. Finally, using a rotated principal component technique (RPCA), we determined the number and the geographical organization of the significant temporal modes of variation (clusters) detected by each network for the three pollutants of interest. For sulfate and ammonium, the clusters’ geographical boundaries established for each network and the modes of variations within each cluster seem to correspond. RPCA erformed on nitrate concentrations revealed that, for the CASTNet and IMPROVE networks, the modes of variation do not correspond to unified geographical regions but are found more sporadically. For STN, the clustered areas are unified and easily delineable. We conclude that the possibility of jointly using the data collected by CASTNet, IMPROVE and STN has to be weighed pollutant by pollutant. While sulfate and ammonium data show some potential for joint use, at this point, combining the nitrate data from these monitoring networks may not be a judicious choice.     

Les laves du mont Bangou : une première manifestation volcanique éocène, à affinité transitionnelle,de la Ligne du Cameroun

Mount Bangou, an Eocene volcano (⁴⁰K–⁴⁰Ar ages between 44.7 and 43.1 ± 1 Ma) is the oldest dated volcano of the Cameroon Line. In this region, two magmatic series, evolving by fractional crystallization, show transitional affinities that are exceptionally known in this sector. Mineral compositions of basaltic rocks (scarce modal olivine and occurrence of normative hypersthene) as well as geochemical characteristics (low Ba, La, Ta contents and high Y/Nb ratios) are in agreement with this trend. The succession of magmas evolving in time from transitional to more typical alkaline compositions is evidenced in a continental setting. To cite this article: J. Fosso et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Modeling the impact of microbial activity on redox dynamics in porous media

The present study investigates the interaction between microbial growth and activity and the redox dynamics in natural porous media. The impact the transport regime has on this interaction is also addressed. Expressions for microbial growth are incorporated into a geochemical reaction network linking redox reaction rates to the activity of the microorganisms. A flexible simulation environment, the Biogeochemical Reaction Network Simulator (BRNS) is used for this purpose. Two reactive transport applications relevant to fields of contaminant hydrology and early diagenesis are simulated with the BRNS. Model results are evaluated based on a comparison with comprehensive datasets on the biodegradation of lactate in a sand column experiment and on the distribution of redox-sensitive chemical species in marine sediments of the Skagerrak, Denmark. It is shown that, despite quite different transport regimes, the geomicrobiological model performs equally well in the reproduction of measured chemical species distribution for both applications. This result emphasizes the broad applicability of the proposed approach. Our simulations support that the competitive behavior between various microbial groups is a process controlling the development of redox stratified environments. Furthermore, it is also shown that the transport regime is a key controlling factor for the degree of spatial correlation between microbial biomass distributions and redox reaction rates. Although all our simulations yield a pronounced stratification of the redox processes in the system, the biomass distribution is related to the associated reaction rates only in case of the advection controlled column experiment. In the early diagenetic application, mixing due to bioturbation is the dominant transport process for particulate matter, hence leading to fairly homogeneous distribution of bacterial biomasses which are unrelated to the spatial distribution of redox reaction rates. This homogeneous biomass distribution combined with the 1G carbon degradation model approach might explain why the steady state concentration profiles in such systems can be reproduced by diagenetic models without explicit representation of microbial growth.     

Enhanced bioremoval of refractory compounds from dyeing wastewater using optimized sequential anaerobic/aerobic process

The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket process followed by the biological aerated filter process was employed to improve the removal of color and recalcitrant compounds from real dyeing wastewater. The highest removal efficiency for color was observed in the anaerobic process, at 8-h hydraulic retention time, seeded with the sludge granule. In the subsequent aerobic process packed with the microbe-immobilized polyethylene glycol media, the removal efficiency for chemical oxygen demand increased significantly to 75 %, regardless of the empty bed contact time. The average influent non-biodegradable soluble chemical oxygen demand was 517 mg/L, and the average concentration in effluent from the anaerobic reactor was 363 mg/L, suggesting the removal of some recalcitrant matters together with the degradable ones. The average non-biodegradable soluble chemical oxygen demand in effluent from the aerobic reactor was 87, 93, and 118 mg/L, with the removal efficiency of 76, 74, and 67 %, at 24-, 12-, and 8-h empty bed contact time, respectively. The combined anaerobic sludge blanket and aerobic cell-entrapped process was effective to remove the refractory compounds from real dyeing wastewater as well as in reducing organic loading to meet the effluent discharge limits. This integrated process is considered an effective and economical treatment technology for dyeing wastewater.     

Flow Characteristics of Cemented Paste Backfill

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is primarily used for backfilling underground voids at George Fisher Mine (Mount Isa, Australia). The objective of this paper is to summarise the geotechnical characterisation of the tailings and the rheological properties of the CPB as determined from a laboratory testing program undertaken at James Cook University. Two binders were examined [a General Purpose cement and a slag blend cement] over a range of dosages from 0 to 6% and CPB mix solids content in the range of 72–78%. The slump tests were carried out using the standard cone (ASTM C 143) used for concrete and a cylinder with 110 mm (diameter) × 110 mm (height), whereas the yield stress was measured using a shear vane (Brookfield vane spindle V-73). The index characteristics of the tailings including the grain size distribution, liquid limit, plastic limit, specific gravity were determined as per ASTM standards. This paper will then discuss the interrelationships among the solid content, slump, saturated density and the yield stress of the CPB. It is shown that there is strong correlation between the two different slump test devices used in this study. The smaller cylindrical device appears to have good potential for slurries like mine tailings or dredged mud that have high water content for slump test. There is also strong inter-relationship among solid content, slump, yield stress, and bulk density. Increasing the solid content increases the bulk density and yield stress, but reduces the slump. While there is hardly any difference between the two binder types used in this study in terms of flow parameters, namely the yield stress and slump, the binder dosage has an effect. At any specific solid content, higher binder dosages lead to a drop in the slump and increase in the yield stress. The difference is more pronounced in dense slurries. It is also strongly believed that the trends and relationships developed in this study may be valuable for the other mining operations using CPB.     

The early Miocene (~25 Ma) volcanism in the northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge,enriched mantle source injection during rifting prior to the Shikoku backarc basin opening

The northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR), remnant conjugate arc of the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Mariana (IBM) active arc, is dominated by basalt-andesite except for the Komahashi-Daini Seamount where acidic plutonic rocks of 38 Ma were recovered. These mafic to intermediate volcanics are produced by the rifting volcanism in the proto-IBM arc associated with spreading of the Shikoku Basin. The HFSE and HREE contents and ratios of these volcanics indicate enriched source mantle composition compared to recent volcanic front. The LILE ratios exhibit similar characteristics to reararc volcanism of the recent Izu arc, and some enriched volcanics exhibit high abundance of sediment melt inputs. Based on these observations and compilations of the published data set, the replacement event of the wedge mantle under the IBM arc occurred two times. The first event occurred between 45 and 38 Ma, with Pacific type mantle being replaced by depleted Indian type mantle. The second event occurred between 36 and 25 Ma, enriched mantle flowed from reararc side. The slab component during the proto-IBM arc rifting was a similar characteristic to recent reararc volcanism of the Izu arc, and sediment melt added in a local area.     

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.