Valuing direct use values of wetlands: A case study of Tam Giang–Cau Hai lagoon wetland in Vietnam

Tam Giang–Cau Hai lagoon wetland directly or indirectly provides the likelihoods for about 300,000 persons living around as well as on the lagoon. Due to expansion of aquacultures, intensive fishing, and lack of an appropriate management scheme, the biological resources in the lagoon are degraded. This study provides information on the direct use values of the lagoon wetland, using market price approach. This information on economic values can be used for designing new policies and making trade-offs among alternative management options for the lagoon wetland.     

The orbital distribution of Near-Earth Objects inside Earth’s orbit

Canada’s Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite (NEOSSat), set to launch in early 2012, will search for and track Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), tuning its search to best detect objects with a < 1.0 AU. In order to construct an optimal pointing strategy for NEOSSat, we needed more detailed information in the a < 1.0 AU region than the best current model (Bottke, W.F., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Petit, J.M., Levison, H.F., Michel, P., Metcalfe, T.S. [2002]. Icarus 156, 399–433) provides. We present here the NEOSSat-1.0 NEO orbital distribution model with larger statistics that permit finer resolution and less uncertainty, especially in the a < 1.0 AU region. We find that Amors = 30.1 ± 0.8%, Apollos = 63.3 ± 0.4%, Atens = 5.0 ± 0.3%, Atiras (0.718 < Q < 0.983 AU) = 1.38 ± 0.04%, and Vatiras (0.307 < Q < 0.718 AU) = 0.22 ± 0.03% of the steady-state NEO population. Vatiras are a previously undiscussed NEO population clearly defined in our integrations, whose orbits lie completely interior to that of Venus. Our integrations also uncovered the unexpected production of retrograde orbits from main-belt asteroid sources; this retrograde NEA population makes up ?0.1% of the steady-state NEO population. The relative NEO impact rate onto Mercury, Venus, and Earth, as well as the normalized distribution of impact speeds, was calculated from the NEOSSat-1.0 orbital model under the assumption of a steady-state. The new model predicts a slightly higher Mercury impact flux.     

Nd and Sr isotopic evidence for the origin of tektite material from DSDP site 612 off the New Jersey coast

Abstract— Late Eocene tektite material from DSDP site 612 is composed of angular to spherical tektites and microtektites containing abundant vesicles and a few unmelted to partially melted mineral inclusions. The major element compositions of the 612-tektites are generally comparable to those of North American tektites, but the physical features suggest that the DSDP-612 tektites were formed by less severe shock melting. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd compositions of 612-tektites: a) show much wider ranges than the tightly constrained group of North American tektites and microtektites, and b) are significantly different from those of other groups of tektites. The existence of large isotopic variations in tektites from DSDP site 612 requires that they were formed from a chemically and isotopically heterogeneous material in a regime that is distinctive from that of other groups of tektites. T^ND_CHUR and T^Sr_UR model ages of the 612-tektites indicate that they were formed from a crustal source of late Precambrian mean age (800–1000 Ma) which in middle Palaeozoic time (?400 Ma) was further enriched in Rb/Sr during sedimentary processes. These source characteristics suggest that the impact which produced the 612-tektites occurred in rocks of the Appalachian orogeny or sediments derived from this orogenic belt. Potential source materials for both 612-tektites and North American tektites are present on the eastern and southeastern part of the North American continent and its adjacent shelf. The distinct isotopic differences between 612-tektites and North American tektites indicate that the two groups of tektites were either formed by the impact of more than one bolide in the same general area, or by a single impact event that sampled different layers.     

小麦冠层理化参量的高光谱遥感反演试验研究

以国产成像光谱仪所获高光谱遥感数据为基础，根据田间同步采样数据建立的基于反射光谱特征的小麦冠层生物物理和生物化学估计模型，实现了用航空高光谱遥感数据对田间小麦冠层理化参量的整体反演。结果表明：用高光谱遥感方法估计小麦冠层理化参量是可行的；以理化参数为“波段”的数字图像及其处理，为农学家以理化参量的空间分布及其差异解释作物产量空间分布差异和研究作物生态生理机理提供了新的手段。     

Petrogenetic relationship between Allan Hills 77005 and other achondrites

Allan Hills (ALHA) 77005 is a newly discovered, unique achondrite from Antarctica. Petrologic similarities with the shergottites in terms of mineralogy, oxidation state, inferred source region composition, shock metamorphic effects and shock ages suggest a genetic relationship. Volatile to involatile element ratios (e.g. K/U, Rb/U, Cs/U, Tl/U) and abundances of other trace elements support this hypothesis. ALHA 77005 may be a cumulate that crystallized from a liquid parental to those from which the shergottites crystallized; alternatively it may be a sample of the type of source peridotite from which shergottite parent liquids were derived by partial melting. Chemical similarities with terrestrial ultramafic rocks suggest that this unique meteorite provides an additional sample of the only other solar system body known to have basalt source regions chemically similar to the upper mantle of the Earth.     

Merging science into community adaptation planning processes: a cross-site comparison of four distinct areas of the Lower Mekong Basin

Climate change is increasingly affecting rural areas worldwide. The Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) is at particular risk due to heat stress, changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent and extreme climatic events. It is imperative that local-level adaptation plans are developed in a manner that builds resilience to these growing threats. Strategies for developing adaptation plans tend to comprise predominantly science-led or predominantly community-led processes. This study examines an approach that balances inputs from both processes in characterizing community vulnerability as a component of the adaptation planning workflow. Evaluation sites are located within four distinct sub-regions of the LMB: the Vietnam Mekong Delta, the Annamite Mountains of Lao PDR, the Cambodia central lowlands, and the mid-elevation forests of northern Thailand. Our results indicate that by merging science-based data with community-level perspective, knowledge gaps from both sides are filled and a more comprehensive understanding of vulnerability is factored into adaptation planning.     

Characteristic Features of REE and Pb–Zn–Ag Mineralizations in the Na Son Deposit,Northeastern Vietnam

The Na Son deposit is a small‐scale Pb–ZnPb–Zn–Ag deposit in northeast Vietnam and consists of biotite–chlorite schist, reddish altered rocks, quartz veins and syenite. The biotite–chlorite schist is intruded by syenite. Reddish altered rocks occur as an alteration halo between the biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz veins and the biotite–chlorite schist. Allanite occurs in the biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz veins and in the proximal reddish altered rocks. Rare earth element (REE) fluorocarbonate minerals occur along fractures or at rim of allanite crystals. The later horizontal aggregates of sulfide veins and veinlets cut the earlier reddish altered rocks. The earlier Pb–Zn veins consist of a large amount of galena and lesser amounts of sphalerite, pyrite and molybdenite. The later Cu veins cutting the Pb–Zn veins include chalcopyrite and lesser amounts of tetrahedrite and pyrite. The occurrences of two‐phase H₂O–CO₂ fluid inclusions in quartz from biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz veins and REE‐bearing fluorocarbonate minerals in allanite suggest the presence of CO₂ and F in the hydrothermal fluid. The oxygen isotopic ratios of the reddish altered rocks, biotite–chlorite schist, and syenite range from +13.9 to +14.9 ‰, +11.5 to +13.3 ‰, and +10.1 to +11.6 ‰, respectively. Assuming an isotopic equilibrium between quartz (+14.6 to +15.8 ‰) and biotite (+8.6 ‰) in the biotite–allanite‐bearing quartz vein, formation temperature was estimated to be 400°C. At 400°C, δ¹⁸O values of the hydrothermal fluid in equilibrium with quartz and biotite range from +10.5 to +11.7 ‰. These δ¹⁸O values are consistent with fluid that is derived from metamorphism. Assuming an isotopic equilibrium between galena (+1.5 to +1.7 ‰) and chalcopyrite (+3.4 ‰), the formation temperature was estimated to be approximately 300°C. The formation temperature of the Na Son deposit decreased with the progress of mineralization. Based on the geological data, occurrence of REE‐bearing minerals and oxygen isotopic ratios, the REE mineralization is thought to result from interaction between biotite–chlorite schist and REE‐, CO₂‐ and F‐bearing metamorphic fluid at 400°C under a rock‐dominant condition.     

Spatial prediction models for shallow landslide hazards: a comparative assessment of the efficacy of support vector machines,artificial neural networks,kernel logistic regression,and logistic model tree

Preparation of landslide susceptibility maps is considered as the first important step in landslide risk assessments, but these maps are accepted as an end product that can be used for land use planning. The main objective of this study is to explore some new state-of-the-art sophisticated machine learning techniques and introduce a framework for training and validation of shallow landslide susceptibility models by using the latest statistical methods. The Son La hydropower basin (Vietnam) was selected as a case study. First, a landslide inventory map was constructed using the historical landslide locations from two national projects in Vietnam. A total of 12 landslide conditioning factors were then constructed from various data sources. Landslide locations were randomly split into a ratio of 70:30 for training and validating the models. To choose the best subset of conditioning factors, predictive ability of the factors were assessed using the Information Gain Ratio with 10-fold cross-validation technique. Factors with null predictive ability were removed to optimize the models. Subsequently, five landslide models were built using support vector machines (SVM), multi-layer perceptron neural networks (MLP Neural Nets), radial basis function neural networks (RBF Neural Nets), kernel logistic regression (KLR), and logistic model trees (LMT). The resulting models were validated and compared using the receive operating characteristic (ROC), Kappa index, and several statistical evaluation measures. Additionally, Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were applied to confirm significant statistical differences among the five machine learning models employed in this study. Overall, the MLP Neural Nets model has the highest prediction capability (90.2 %), followed by the SVM model (88.7 %) and the KLR model (87.9 %), the RBF Neural Nets model (87.1 %), and the LMT model (86.1 %). Results revealed that both the KLR and the LMT models showed promising methods for shallow landslide susceptibility mapping. The result from this study demonstrates the benefit of selecting the optimal machine learning techniques with proper conditioning selection method in shallow landslide susceptibility mapping.     

青岛市水资源现状及保护对策

青岛市是我国严重缺水城市之一，水资源供需矛盾突出，形势十分严峻。从青岛市水资源的具体问题出发，对诸如地下水位下降、水质污染、海水入侵等问题进行具体和理论上的分析，并提出针对性的保护对策，在水资源的评价、开源与节流、区域水资源的开发利用、水污染防治与污水资源化及水资源的可持续利用等方面均提出新的观点，为青岛市水资源的可持续利用提供了科学的决策依据，对青岛市国民经济持续发展具有重要意义。     

A discrete element study on the deformation and degradation of coal-fouled ballast

Acta Geotechnica - This paper presents the results of Discrete Element Modelling (DEM) which quantitively examine the effect of coal fouling on the deformation and degradation of ballast upon...