Surface water–groundwater interaction and chemistry in a mineral-armored hydrothermal outflow channel, Yellowstone National Park, USA

Small quantities of groundwater interact with hydrothermal surface water to drive in-stream geochemical processes in a silica-armored hot-spring outflow channel in Yellowstone National Park, USA. The objective of this study was to characterize the hydrology and geochemistry of this unique system in order to (1) learn more about the Yellowstone Plateau’s subsurface water mixing between meteoric and hydrothermal waters and (2) learn more about the chemical and physical processes that lead to accumulation of streambed cements, i.e., streambed armor. A combination of hydrological, geochemical, mineralogical, microscopic, and petrographic techniques were used to identify groundwater and surface-water exchange. Interaction could be identified in winter because of differences in surface water and groundwater composition but interaction at other times of the year cannot be ruled out. Dissolved constituents originating from groundwater (e.g., Fe(II) and Mg) were traced downstream until oxidation and/or subsequent precipitation with silica removed them, particularly where high affinity substrates like cyanobacterial surfaces were present. Because the stream lies in a relatively flat drainage basin and is fed mainly by a seasonally relatively stable hot spring, this system allowed study of the chemical processes along a stream without the obscuring effects of sedimentation.     

Environmental Factors Contributing to the Development and Demise of a Toxic Dinoflagellate (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Karlodinium veneficum</Emphasis>) Bloom in a Shallow,Eutrophic, Lagoonal Estuary

A dense bloom of the ichthyotoxic dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum was discovered in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, on 19 October 2006 and was associated with four subsequent fish kills. Microscopic, photopigment, DNA, and toxicological techniques confirmed bloom identity and toxicity. High-resolution spatio-temporal data from ship-board and fixed automated sampling stations provided a unique opportunity to investigate the environmental conditions that initiated, maintained, and terminated the K. veneficum bloom. Bloom initiation and growth were favored by high nutrient availability and reduced dispersal during the period of declining riverine discharge after Tropical Storm Ernesto. K. veneficum out-competed other co-occurring dinoflagellates, perhaps because of the production of karlotoxins that are known to act as grazing deterrents and to facilitate mixotrophic feeding. Once the bloom was established, small-scale hydrodynamic processes, coupled with vertical migration, concentrated cells along a frontal convergence to high densities (>200,000 cells per milliliter). By 26 October 2006, wind mixing and possible nutrient stress disrupted the bloom. Release of cell-bound toxins during the bloom collapse likely accounted for the associated fish kill events where fish were reported as exhibiting typical symptoms of karlotoxin poisoning. The dynamics of this bloom underscore the tight control of harmful algal blooms by meteorological forcing, hydrology, and sediment nutrient input in this shallow lagoonal estuary.     

Zircon M257 ‐ a Homogeneous Natural Reference Material for the Ion Microprobe U‐Pb Analysis of Zircon

We introduce and propose zircon M257 as a future reference material for the determination of zircon U‐Pb ages by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. This light brownish, flawless, cut gemstone specimen from Sri Lanka weighed 5.14 g (25.7 carats). Zircon M257 has TIMS‐determined, mean isotopic ratios (2s uncertainties) of 0.09100 ± 0.00003 for ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U and 0.7392 ± 0.0003 for ²⁰⁷pb/²³⁵U. Its ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U age is 561.3 ± 0.3 Ma (unweighted mean, uncertainty quoted at the 95% confidence level); the U‐Pb system is concordant within uncertainty of decay constants. Zircon M257 contains ～ 840 μg g^?1 U (Th/U ～ 0.27). The material exhibits remarkably low heterogeneity, with a virtual absence of any internal textures even in cathodoluminescence images. The uniform, moderate degree of radiation damage (estimated from the expansion of unit‐cell parameters, broadening of Raman spectral parameters and density) corresponds well, within the “Sri Lankan trends”, with actinide concentrations, U‐Pb age, and the calculated alpha fluence of 1.66 × 10¹⁸ g^?1. This, and a (U+Th)/He age of 419 ± 9 Ma (2s), enables us to exclude any unusual thermal history or heat treatment, which could potentially have affected the retention of radiogenic Pb. The oxygen isotope ratio of this zircon is 13.9%o VSMOW suggesting a metamorphic genesis in a marble or calc‐silicate skarn.     

地质空间信息元数据服务模式的实现

地质空间信息元数据为解决地质空间信息的共享提供了有效的手段。从地质空间信息核心元数据的标准着手,介绍了基于分布式结点自治的地质空间信息元数据服务体系的结构,给出了元数据的服务模式的解决方案。其中重点阐述了元数据的管理、发布与服务功能。将该元数据服务模式应用于国家地质空间信息网格平台,提供元数据应用的服务示范,取得了良好的信息共享应用效果。     

Long-Term Changes in Water Quality and Productivity in the Patuxent River Estuary: 1985 to 2003

We conducted a quantitative assessment of estuarine ecosystem responses to reduced phosphorus and nitrogen loading from sewage treatment facilities and to variability in freshwater flow and nonpoint nutrient inputs to the Patuxent River estuary. We analyzed a 19-year dataset of water quality conditions, nutrient loading, and climatic forcing for three estuarine regions and also computed monthly rates of net production of dissolved O₂ and physical transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) using a salt- and water-balance model. Point-source loading of DIN and DIP to the estuary declined by 40–60% following upgrades to sewage treatment plants and correlated with parallel decreases in DIN and DIP concentrations throughout the Patuxent. Reduced point-source nutrient loading and concentration resulted in declines in phytoplankton chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and light-saturated carbon fixation, as well as in bottom-layer O₂ consumption for upper regions of the estuary. Despite significant reductions in seaward N transport from the middle to lower estuary, chl-a, turbidity, and surface-layer net O₂ production increased in the lower estuary, especially during summer. This degradation of water quality in the lower estuary appears to be linked to a trend of increasing net inputs of DIN into the estuary from Chesapeake Bay and to above-average river flow during the mid-1990s. In addition, increased abundance of Mnemiopsis leidyi significantly reduced copepod abundance during summer from 1990 to 2002, which favored increases in chl-a and allowed a shift in total N partitioning from DIN to particulate organic nitrogen. These analyses illustrate (1) the value of long-term monitoring data, (2) the need for regional scale nutrient management that includes integrated estuarine systems, and (3) the potential water quality impacts of altered coastal food webs.     

An implementation of rock engineering system for ranking the instability potential of natural slopes in Greek territory. An application in Karditsa County

This paper presents an application of rock engineering system (RES) in an attempt to reveal and assess the inherent instability potential of 388 sites where equivalent landslides have been manifested and recorded in the region of Karditsa County, Greece. The main objective has been defining the principal causative and triggering factors responsible for the manifestation of landslide phenomena, quantify their interactions, obtain their weighted coefficients, and calculate the instability index, which refers to the inherent potential instability of each natural slope of the examined region. From the statistical interpretation of the data reported in a well-documented database and concerning the examined failure sites, a clear correlation between the instability index and the area affected by a single landslide event has been revealed. Almost the entire failure sites, 98% of the examined slope sites, exhibit an instability index value over 55, a value which is thought to be a critical threshold for landslide manifestation concerning natural slopes in Karditsa County. It is argued that the presented RES methodology, engaging the selected set of parameters, could be considered as an effective expert's tool for ranking, in an objectively optimal and simple way, the instability potential of natural slopes in Karditsa County, and thus providing a tool for sound zoning landslide hazard.     

中国数字地质调查系统的基本构架 及其核心技术的实现

数字地质调查系统是贯穿整个地质矿产资源调查全过程的软件,涵盖地质矿产调查、矿产资源勘查、矿体模拟、品住估计、资源量估算、矿山开采系统优化等内容。考虑数字地质调查系统的应用技术层面,从数据“层”模型、数据流“池”技术、不同阶段数据模型继承技术、数据互操作技术等几个方面讨论了核心技术及其实现,通过基于无缝一体化技术的数据采集、管理、综合处理与成果表达,在实体或矿块的矿床建模技术与品住估计、储量估算等方面展现了全地质调查过程的数字化,不但为地质人员应用高新技术降低了门坎,而且极大地提高了研究精度和效率,丰富了成果的表现形式和服务形式。随着数字地质调查系统的完善和应用水平的提高,数字地质调查系统将成为中国地质调查的主流软件体系。     

山西保德—静乐地区新近纪地层时代讨论

通过对山西保德-静乐地区新近纪地层的野外地质调查和实测剖面,对分布于该区的新近纪地层进行了详细的研究和划分,获得了新的ESR和古地磁测年数据,并结合生物地层序列确定了该区新近系地层的顺序为：新近系上新统静乐组（N2j）、新近系中新统上部保德组（N1^26）和中新统下部芦子沟组（N1^1l）。     

非均匀月壤介质的被动微波辐射传输模拟

基于非均匀月壤物理模型和辐射传输方程,模拟月壤介质中的微波辐射传输特性,探讨频率、月壤厚度等与月表亮温的关系。结果表明:在低频段,月壤微波辐射亮温的动态变化范围较大,可探测的月壤厚度大,3 GHz时的最大可探测月壤厚度达12.4 m;在高频段对应的可探测月壤厚度较小,特别是从50GHz往后的频率段内,最大可探测月壤厚度均小于2 m。不同频率的亮温-厚度变化曲线没有交叉点,且频率越高,所能探测的月壤厚度越小。根据模拟结果,建立了月壤厚度与亮温的查找表。基于查找表,利用单个波段的亮温数据即可得到月壤厚度信息。     

Automated Image Registration for Hydrologic Change Detection in the Lake-Rich Arctic

Multitemporal remote sensing provides a unique tool to track lake dynamics at the pan-Arctic scale but requires precise registration of thousands of satellite images. This is a challenging task owing to a dearth of stable features to be used as tie points [(TPs), i.e., control points] in the dynamic landscapes. This letter develops an automated method to precisely register images in the lake-rich Arctic. The core premise of the method is that the centers of lakes are generally stable even if their shorelines are not. The proposed procedures first extract lakes in multitemporal satellite images, derive lake centroids and match them between images, and then use the centroids of stable lakes as TPs for image registration. The results show that this approach can achieve subpixel registration accuracy, outcompeting the conventional manual methods in both efficiency and accuracy. The proposed method is fully automated and represents a feasible way to register images for lake change detection at the pan-Arctic scale.