A FINITE ELEMENT SHALLOW WATER CIRCULATION MODEL FOR TOLO HARBOUR, HONG KONG

Numerical solution of two-dimensional shallow water equations has been achieved by the finite element method. In this work, the governing equations were first converted into different equations suitable for explicit, forward marching, integration in the time domain. A second order Taylor's series expansion was used for the continuity equation and an "upwind" differencing was incorporated in the nonlinear convective terms in the momentum equations.The model was applied to Tolo Harbour in Hong Kong. Velocity vector plots and surface elevations obtained from the calculations are reasonably consistent with the expected tidal response of the systems.     

High Purge Volume Sampling—A New Paradigm for Subslab Soil Gas Monitoring

Subslab soil gas sampling and analysis is a common line of evidence for assessing human health risks associated with subsurface vapor intrusion to indoor air for volatile organic compounds; however, conventional subslab sampling methods have generated data that show substantial spatial and temporal variability, which often makes the interpretation difficult. A new method of monitoring has been developed and tested that is based on a concept of integrating samples over a large volume of soil gas extracted from beneath the floor slab of a building to provide a spatially averaged subslab concentration. Regular field screening is also conducted to assess the trend of concentration as a function of the volume removed to provide insight into the spatial distribution of vapors at progressive distances away from the point of extraction. This approach minimizes the risk of failing to identify the areas of elevated soil vapor concentrations that may exist between discrete sample locations, and can provide information covering large buildings with fewer holes drilled through the floor. The new method also involves monitoring the extraction flow rate and transient vacuum response for mathematical analysis to help interpret the vapor concentration data and to support an optimal design for any subslab venting system that may be needed.     

Characteristics of tephra in Holocene lake sediments on King George Island, West Antarctica: implications for deglaciation and paleoenvironment

Several reworked tephra layers in gravity-flow deposits are present in lacustrine core sediments collected from Hotel and Rudy Lakes on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, maritime sub-Antarctica. This study tests the values of tephra for establishing regional tephrochronologies for lakes in ice-covered landscapes in the vicinity of volcanoes. The tephra record is more abundant in a long Hotel Lake core (515 cm long). This study uses volcanic glass samples from five tephra layers of Hotel Lake and from one tephra layer of Rudy Lake. Morphologically, tephras are mixtures of basaltic and pumice shards, both having various degrees of vesicularity. Major element analyses of glass shards reveal that the majority of the glass fragments belong to basic glass (<60 wt% SiO₂), compositionally ranging from basalt to low-silica andesite and subalkaline series medium-K tholeiites, probably sourced from Deception Island located 130 km southwest of King George Island. Less than 20% of tephra belongs to silicic glass and occurs in three tephra horizons E of Hotel Lake. However, source volcano(es) for about 10% of basic tephra and silicic tephra are not readily identified from nearby volcanic centers. Except for the studied tephra in Rudy Lake, all tephra samples in Hotel Lake are not ashfall deposits but reworked and redeposited pyroclasts derived from retreating ice sheet, resulting in the occurrence of geochemically equivalent tephra samples in different tephra horizons. The dating of the studied tephra horizons represents the timing of deglaciation rather than that of volcanic eruptions. The result of this study implies that combined with sedimentological information more chemical criterion is necessary to study tephrochronology and regional correlation and to understand paleoenvironmental changes using tephra.     

A density-dependent multi-species model to assess groundwater flow and nutrient transport in the coastal Keauhou aquifer,Hawai‘i,USA

Hydrogeology Journal - Fresh groundwater is a critical resource supporting coastal ecosystems that rely on low-salinity, nutrient-rich groundwater discharge. This resource, however, is subject to...     

Estimation of groundwater recharge using the soil moisture budget method and the base-flow model

A detailed characterization of the site is crucial to designing an efficient method of managing the risks associated with tailings from abandoned mines. Therefore, samples collected from various depths within tailings in Guryong mine, Korea, were analyzed for their chemical, physical and mineralogical characteristics. All samples of the Guryong tailings had acid-generating potential. However, in the oxidation zone, the net acid generation (NAG) was low (30 kg H₂SO₄ t⁻¹) although the acid neutralization potential (ANP) was less than zero. The ANP values in the unoxidation zone were higher (> −56.0 kg CaCO₃ t⁻¹) than in the other zones. As a result, the amount of alkali ions that are needed to neutralize the acid needs to be considered. In this experiment G3, G4 and G6 drill cores containing fine tailings particles near the unoxidation zone were observed to contain calcite (CaCO₃) with acid-neutralizing capacity. A low pH (2−4) in the oxidation zone of the tailings changed to a neutral pH in the unoxidation zone of the tailings. These results suggest that the acid-neutralizing capacity of the tailings was controlled by particle and mineral composition of tailings.     

Geochemistry of the Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous shales from the Molango Region,Hidalgo, eastern Mexico: Implications for source-area weathering,provenance, and tectonic setting

This study focuses on the Jurassic (Huayacocotla and Pimienta Formations) and Upper Cretaceous (Méndez Formation) shales from the Molango Region, Hidalgo, Mexico. In this article, we discuss the mineralogy, major, and trace element geochemistry of the Mesozoic shales of Mexico. The goal of this study is to constrain the provenance of the shales, which belong to two different periods of the Mesozoic Era and to understand the weathering conditions and tectonic environments of the source region.     

Probabilistic Analysis of Fracture Reactivation Associated with Deep Underground CO2 Injection

In the context of carbon capture and storage, deep underground injection of CO₂ induces the geomechanical changes within and around the injection zone and their impact on CO₂ storage security should be evaluated. In this study, we conduct coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical modeling to investigate such geomechanical changes, focusing on probabilistic analysis of injection-induced fracture reactivation (such as shear slip) that could lead to enhanced permeability and CO₂ migration across otherwise low-permeability caprock formations. Fracture reactivation in terms of shear slip was analyzed by implicitly considering the fracture orientations generated using the Latin hypercube sampling method, in one case using published fracture statistics from a CO₂ storage site. The analysis was conducted by a coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical simulation to first calculate the three-dimensional stress evolution during a hypothetical CO₂ injection operation and then evaluate the probability of shear slip considering the statistical fracture distribution and a Coulomb failure analysis. We evaluate the probability of shear slip at different points within the injection zone and in the caprock just above the injection zone and relate this to the potential for opening of new flow paths through the caprock. Our analysis showed that a reverse faulting stress field would be most favorable for avoiding fracture shear reactivation, but site-specific analyses will be required because of strong dependency of the local stress field and fracture orientations.     

泄滩滑坡碎块石土饱和与非饱和水力学参数的现场试验研究

碎块石土由于块石含量较高,块石粒径较大,其水力学参数的确定具有一定困难。首先,采用双套环法对三峡库区泄滩滑坡的滑体碎块石土饱和渗透系数进行了原位试验,并根据土层孔隙率、颗粒级配等因素采用相关经验公式对试验结果进行了分析。其次,结合使用张力计和体积含水率仪对其土水特征曲线进行了现场模拟试验,并采用Fredlund模型对试验结果进行了拟合分析。最后,根据土水特征曲线和饱和渗透系数,采用经验公式估算了其非饱和渗透系数。试验及分析表明,该滑坡的碎块石土层的饱和渗透系数为(1.78～3.2)×10-2 cm/s,为强渗透性;材料的细颗粒含量越少,有效粒径及控制粒径越大,不均匀系数越小,相应的渗透系数越大。相关研究成果可以为泄滩滑坡非饱和非稳定渗透计算提供参数依据,并对同类型土体非饱和水力学参数的确定具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Effects of an Omnivorous Katydid,Salinity, and Nutrients on a Planthopper-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spartina</Emphasis> Food Web

Top–down and bottom–up effects interact to structure communities, especially in salt marshes, which contain strong gradients in bottom–up drivers such as salinity and nutrients. How omnivorous consumers respond to variation in prey availability and plant quality is poorly understood. We used a mesocosm experiment to examine how salinity, nutrients, an omnivore (the katydid Orchelimum fidicinium) and an herbivore (the planthopper Prokelisia spp.) interacted to structure a simplified salt marsh food web based on the marsh grass Spartina alterniflora. Bottom–up effects were strong, with both salinity and nutrients decreasing leaf C/N and increasing Prokelisia abundance. Top–down effects on plants were also strong, with both the herbivore and the omnivore affecting S. alterniflora traits and growth, especially when nutrients or salt were added. In contrast, top–down control by Orchelimum of Prokelisia was independent of bottom–up conditions. Orchelimum grew best on a diet containing both Spartina and Prokelisia, and in contrast to a sympatric omnivorous crab, did not shift to an animal-based diet when prey were present, suggesting that it is constrained to consume a mixed diet. These results suggest that the trophic effects of omnivores depend on omnivore behavior, dietary constraints, and ability to suppress lower trophic levels, and that omnivorous katydids may play a previously unrecognized role in salt marsh food webs.