Delineating and defining the boundaries of an active landslide in the rainforest of Puerto Rico using a combination of airborne and terrestrial LIDAR data

Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) is a remote sensing technique that uses light, often using pulses from a laser to measure the distance to a target. Both terrestrial- and airborne-based LIDAR techniques have been frequently used to map landslides. Airborne LIDAR has the advantage of identifying large scarps of landslides covered by tree canopies and is widely applied in identifying historical and current active landslides hidden in forested areas. However, because landslides naturally have relatively small vertical surface deformation in the foot area, it is practically difficult to identify the margins of landslide foot area with the limited spatial resolution (few decimeters) of airborne LIDAR. Alternatively, ground-based LIDAR can achieve resolution of several centimeters and also has the advantages of being portable, repeatable, and less costly. Thus, ground-based LIDAR can be used to identify small deformations in landslide foot areas by differencing repeated terrestrial laser scanning surveys. This study demonstrates a method of identifying the superficial boundaries as well as the bottom boundary (sliding plane) of an active landslide in National Rainforest Park, Puerto Rico, USA, using the combination of ground-based and airborne LIDAR data. The method of combining terrestrial and airborne LIDAR data can be used to study landslides in other regions. This study also indicates that intensity and density of laser point clouds are remarkably useful in identifying superficial boundaries of landslides.     

Observation of CO2 degassing in Tianshuihai Lake Basin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

A large volume of underground gas in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has been identified. Although many studies were performed to investigate the soil organic carbon dynamics and Earth degassing in volcanic areas, this is the first report of a large amount of non-volcanic CO₂ contained in permafrost. The gas was mostly CO₂ (81.76 vol. %) and nitrogen (14.59 vol. %). The gas composition and the evidence from carbon stable isotope values (?23.9 ‰, PDB) suggested that the gases possibly had a deep origin. The gas emissions may be triggered by permafrost degradation, which means mitigation of the barrier effect of permafrost for the gas. In addition, plate tectonic processes may also lead to gas emissions, as the tectonic activity is strong in the area. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to the underground gases in the study of global change and permafrost degradation.     

Polyaxial stress-dependent permeability of a three-dimensional fractured rock layer

A study about the influence of polyaxial (true-triaxial) stresses on the permeability of a three-dimensional (3D) fractured rock layer is presented. The 3D fracture system is constructed by extruding a two-dimensional (2D) outcrop pattern of a limestone bed that exhibits a ladder structure consisting of a “through-going” joint set abutted by later-stage short fractures. Geomechanical behaviour of the 3D fractured rock in response to in-situ stresses is modelled by the finite-discrete element method, which can capture the deformation of matrix blocks, variation of stress fields, reactivation of pre-existing rough fractures and propagation of new cracks. A series of numerical simulations is designed to load the fractured rock using various polyaxial in-situ stresses and the stress-dependent flow properties are further calculated. The fractured layer tends to exhibit stronger flow localisation and higher equivalent permeability as the far-field stress ratio is increased and the stress field is rotated such that fractures are preferentially oriented for shearing. The shear dilation of pre-existing fractures has dominant effects on flow localisation in the system, while the propagation of new fractures has minor impacts. The role of the overburden stress suggests that the conventional 2D analysis that neglects the effect of the out-of-plane stress (perpendicular to the bedding interface) may provide indicative approximations but not fully capture the polyaxial stress-dependent fracture network behaviour. The results of this study have important implications for understanding the heterogeneous flow of geological fluids (e.g. groundwater, petroleum) in subsurface and upscaling permeability for large-scale assessments.     

Holocene palaeoflood events recorded by slackwater deposits along the lower Jinghe River valley,middle Yellow River basin,China

Palaeoflood slackwater deposits (SWDs), are the natural record of overbank flooding and are often found within aeolian loess‐soil profiles along the river valleys of the middle Yellow River basin. These pedo‐stratigraphic sequences are studied using a multi‐disciplinarily approach to reconstruct Holocene hydro‐climatic variations. Our field investigations along the lower Jinghe River valley have identified palaeoflood SWDs at several sites along the riverbanks based on sedimentological criteria. Analytical results, including magnetic susceptibility, particle‐size distribution and concentrations of chemical elements, indicate that these well‐sorted palaeoflood SWD beds were deposited from the suspended sediment load in floodwaters. We identify two episodes of extraordinary palaeoflood events along the Jinghe River valley. These hydro‐climatic events were dated to 4200–4000 and 3200–2800 a BP, by using the optically stimulated luminescence method in combination with archaeological dating of retrieved anthropogenic remains, and with pedo‐stratigraphic correlations with the previously studied Holocene pedo‐stratigraphy in the Jinghe River drainage basin. The flooding events are therefore considered to be a regional expression of known climatic events in the northern hemisphere and demonstrate Holocene climate was far from stable. This study provides important data in understanding the interactions between regional hydro‐climatic systems and global change in semi‐arid and sub‐humid regions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

煤矿瓦斯抽放井一次成井工艺及技术效果

煤矿瓦斯抽放井要求垂直精度高、井径大,通常采用常规钻探工艺时,需进行3-4次扩孔才能达到最终孔径,施工时间较长,钻进效率较低。此次在端氏煤矿施工的大口径瓦斯抽放井,采用了的一次成井钻进技术及工艺方法,钻进口径达到φ660mm,选用了江汉735型和715型系列镶齿牙轮钻头,采用塔式加重钻具控制并保证了钻井的重直度,采用密度较大的化学泥浆和保持大泵量排渣,避免了井底牙轮钻头的重复破碎,确保了钻进效果。与传统的扩孔工艺相比,缩短了施工周期,成井质量高,提高了钻进效率,降低了钻进成本。     

Thermal regime of a supraglacial lake on the debris-covered Koxkar Glacier, southwest Tianshan, China

A supraglacial lake was surveyed on the Koxkar Glacier in southwest Tianshan from July to September 2007 and July to September 2008, and the temperature variation characteristics of the lake, debris and debris-free ice were analyzed at different depths to determine the thermal regimes. In addition, the discrepancies of temperature variation characteristics were investigated for different geomorphic units of the ablation zone of the Koxkar Glacier. It was found that daily temperature variation curves for deep water are V-shaped because meltwater from the glacier surface at temperatures of around 0°C feeds the lake and mixes with the relatively high-temperature surface water during the day. As the water temperature rises to approximately 4°C, the mixed water sinks and forms a low-temperature trough in the deep water of the lake in the middle of the day. The vertical lapse rate of the lake water temperature against depth (?0.33°C/m) has a magnitude lower than that of the debris (?4.29°C/m) and that of the debris-free ice (?0.38°C/m) in the Koxkar Glacier??s ablation zone. The temperature curve for the surface water largely varied between the temperature curves for the debris at depths of 0.2 and 0.5?m. The surface thermal condition of the ablation zone is significantly affected by the daily weather, and there is a limited influence in debris at a depth of 1?m and in the lake at a depth of 5?m.     

森林沼泽景观区区域化探新、旧方法技术应用效果对比

自森林沼泽景观区1∶20万区域化探工作开展以来,各个单位、不同阶段工作方法技术各有不同,工作效果不明显。中国地质科学院地球物理地球化学勘查研究所近年来通过研究制定了新的工作方法技术,通过应用取得了较好的效果,为此本文仅以内蒙古一二五公里幅1∶20万区域化探新、旧方法技术的应用效果对比进行初步探讨。     

Effect of wool fiber addition on the reinforcement of loose sands by microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP): mechanical property and underlying mechanism

Acta Geotechnica - Animal fibers with α-keratin had obvious advantages of mechanical strength and durability on reinforced microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP)-cemented loose...     

伊利石40Ar-39Ar年龄的统计分析与成藏期

为了确定鄂尔多斯盆地苏里格气田的成藏年代,通过提取砂岩储层中的黏土质填隙物,分离分级成 < 0.5、0.5~1.0、1.0~2.0μm的分样品,进行伊利石激光阶段加热40Ar-39Ar定年.等时线年龄是自生伊利石与碎屑伊利石的混合年龄.通过趋势分析和回归分析分别获得极小的趋势年龄和极小的回归年龄,该年龄比较接近自生伊利石年龄.测试结果表明,伊利石的等时线年龄介于160.9~232.0 Ma之间,为自生伊利石与碎屑伊利石的混合年龄.采用数理统计方法获得极小趋势年龄和极小回归年龄分别为151.7 Ma和152.4 Ma,该年龄比较接近自生伊利石年龄,代表了热流体活动和油气成藏时间.      

Detrital zircon geochronology and provenance of sediments within the Mesozoic basins:New insights into tectonic evolution of the Qinling Orogen

Mesozoic sedimentary units within the Nanzhao and Mashiping basins record the paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the Qinling Orogen (QO). This study uses...