Glacier change and glacier runoff variation in the Tuotuo River basin,the source region of Yangtze River in western China

Glaciers in the Tuotuo River basin, western China, have been monitored in recent decades by applying topographical maps and high-resolution satellite images. Results indicate that most of glaciers in the Tuotuo River basin have retreated in the period from 1968/1971 to 2001/2002, and their shrinkage area is 3.2% of the total area in the late 1960s. To assess the influence of glacier runoff on river runoff, a modified degree–day model including potential clear-sky direct solar radiation has been applied to the glaciated regions of the river basin over the period 1961–2004. It was found that glacier runoff has increased in the last 44 years, especially in the 1990s when a two-thirds increase in river runoff was derived from the increase in glacier runoff caused by loss of ice mass in the entire Tuotuo River basin.     

马家沟矿断层赋存规律及其对生产的指导作用

笔 者 结合 工 作 实 践 ,概 述 了 马 家 沟 井 田 范 围 内 断 层 发 育 的 特 点 及 其 基 本 规 律 ;重 点 分 析 了F2断 层 的 赋 存 特征 ,简 要说 明 了根 据断 层赋 存 规律 对生 产 的指 导作 用 。     

Study on capillary rise from shallow groundwater and critical water table depth of a saline-sodic soil in western Songnen plain of China

The objective of this study was to develop an empirical equation for estimating the capillary rise in the saline-sodic soil area of Songnen Plain in China based on the Averianov formula. The capillary rise was observed under five controlled groundwater levels by lysimeters. Field experiment results indicated that capillary rise had close relationship with the groundwater table depth, soil moisture of 10–40 cm soil layer and leaf area index. These factors have been taken into account to develop the empirical equation for capillary rise simulation. The model parameters for Songnen Plain were derived by Levenberg–Marquardt and global optimization calculating method. The modeled capillary rise has a good agreement with the observed data (r ² = 0.875). With the simulation model, the critical water table depth was identified as 2.5 m, indicating that soil secondary salinization will not occur when the water table depth is deeper than 2.5 m. Therefore, in the irrigation areas, groundwater table depth should be controlled to be higher than 2.5 m to prevent the occurrence of soil secondary salinization. The results from this research will provide useful information for the water sources management and soil secondary salinization control in Songnen Plain of China, one of the most serious saline-affected areas in the world.     

Silicon isotope fractionation in bamboo and its significance to the biogeochemical cycle of silicon

A systematic investigation on silica contents and silicon isotope compositions of bamboos was undertaken. Seven bamboo plants and related soils were collected from seven locations in China. The roots, stem, branch and leaves for each plant were sampled and their silica contents and silicon isotope compositions were determined. The silica contents and silicon isotope compositions of bulk and water-soluble fraction of soils were also measured. The silica contents of studied bamboo organs vary from 0.30% to 9.95%. Within bamboo plant the silica contents show an increasing trend from stem, through branch, to leaves. In bamboo roots the silica is exclusively in the endodermis cells, but in stem, branch and leaves, the silica is accumulated mainly in epidermal cells. The silicon isotope compositions of bamboos exhibit significant variation, from −2.3‰ to 1.8‰, and large and systematic silicon isotope fractionation was observed within each bamboo. The δ³⁰Si values decrease from roots to stem, but then increase from stem, through branch, to leaves. The ranges of δ³⁰Si values within each bamboo vary from 1.0‰ to 3.3‰. Considering the total range of silicon isotope composition in terrestrial samples is only 7‰, the observed silicon isotope variation in single bamboo is significant and remarkable. This kind of silicon isotope variation might be caused by isotope fractionation in a Rayleigh process when SiO₂ precipitated in stem, branches and leaves gradually from plant fluid. In this process the Si isotope fractionation factor between dissolved Si and precipitated Si in bamboo (α_pre-sol) is estimated to be 0.9981. However, other factors should be considered to explain the decrease of δ³⁰Si value from roots to stem, including larger ratio of dissolved H₄SiO₄ to precipitated SiO₂ in roots than in stem. There is a positive correlation between the δ³⁰Si values of water-soluble fractions in soils and those of bulk bamboos, indicating that the dissolved silicon in pore water and phytoliths in soil is the direct sources of silicon taken up by bamboo roots. A biochemical silicon isotope fractionation exists in process of silicon uptake by bamboo roots. Its silicon isotope fractionation factor (α_bam-wa) is estimated to be 0.9988. Considering the distribution patterns of SiO₂ contents and δ³⁰Si values among different bamboo organs, evapotranspiration may be the driving force for an upward flow of a silicon-bearing fluid and silica precipitation. Passive silicon uptake and transportation may be important for bamboo, although the role of active uptake of silicic acid by roots may not be neglected. The samples with relatively high δ³⁰Si values all grew in soils showing high content of organic materials. In contrast, the samples with relatively low δ³⁰Si values all grew in soil showing low content of organic materials. The silicon isotope composition of bamboo may reflect the local soil type and growth conditions. Our study suggests that bamboos may play an important role in global silicon cycle.     

Investigating a reservoir bank slope displacement history with multi-frequency satellite SAR data

Slope instability arisen along with dam construction is a common problem of great concern in reservoir areas. Thus, displacement monitoring of active slopes is of great importance for the safety of dam operation. The unstable Guobu slope is located only about 1.5 km away from Laxiwa hydropower station in upstream Yellow River. In this study, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) datasets acquired by C-band Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR), L-band Advanced Land Observing Satellite 2 (ALOS-2) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar 2 (PALSAR-2), and X-band TerraSAR-X covering different evolution stages of Guobu slope were collected to investigate the displacement history so as to facilitate understanding of its deformation and failure mechanisms. The displacements occurred during the past decade were quantitatively identified for the first time by SAR pixel offset tracking analyses. The results show that before the reservoir impoundment, the maximum accumulative displacements on the slope were more than 7 m from 2003 to 2008, while the post-impoundment displacements also exceeded 7 m in just 1 year from September 2009 to September 2010. Furthermore, this slope is still in active deformation up to now. Nevertheless, the displacement rates seem decreased recently according to the interferometric results of TerraSAR-X data pairs from September 2015 to March 2016.     

Field study of monotonic and cyclic lateral behaviour of piles in soft soils improved with and without vacuum preloading

Acta Geotechnica - Project Oufei is the largest individual reclamation project in Wenzhou city, China, and the main infrastructure consists of seawalls, sluices and separation dikes. These...     

High-P granulites of the Songshugou area (Qinling Orogen,east-central China): Petrography,phase relations,and U/Pb zircon geochronology

High-pressure (HP) granulites provide telling records of mineral reactions at upper mantle to lower crustal levels and key information on the fate of material in subduction systems. The latter especially applies when they abut eclogite and mantle dunite because such rock associations are crucial for understanding the incompletely known processes at the interface of converging plates. A continental arc, active c. 520–395 Ma ago, formed an enigmatic example of such a rock association in the Songshugou area, Qinling Orogen. To unravel the juxtaposition of the distinct rocks, this study combines petrography, phase equilibria modelling, conventional thermobarometry, and zircon U–Th–Pb–Ti–REE analysis. Two mafic HP granulites, which contain the mineral assemblages garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase–rutile–mesoperthite–quartz and garnet–clinopyroxene–plagioclase–rutile, experienced peak metamorphic conditions of ≤1.4 GPa, 860°C and ~1.3 GPa, ≥910°C, respectively. During decompression and cooling, at 489 ± 4 Ma, amphibole lamellae unmixed from a clinopyroxene solid solution and orthopyroxene in part replaced garnet. A felsic HP granulite shows equilibration of garnet, perthite, antiperthite, kyanite, quartz, and rutile at 810–860°C, ~1.2 GPa, sillimanite growth during decompression, and upper amphibolite facies cooling at 510 ± 4 Ma. Though the thermobarometric data are just within the methodological errors, the U/Pb zircon ages imply the HP granulites did not evolve coherently. The HP granulites either represent foundered lower arc crust or originated from subduction erosion because their geochemistry is indistinguishable from that of the hanging-wall plate. Published and new pressure–temperature–time–deformation paths converge at ~710°C, ~0.9 GPa, and ≲470 Ma, implying exhumation tectonics juxtaposed the HP granulites with a mélange of eclogite and mantle dunite at lower crustal levels. This study highlights that lower arc crust can comprise material of diverse evolution.     

Characteristics of Ore-controlling Structures and Ore Emplacement Mechanism in the Shihu Gold Deposit,Hebei Province - A Case Study of the No.101 VeinEI北大核心CSCD

The Shihu gold deposit lies in the middle-northern Taihang Mountains and is strictly controlled by faults. The ore-controlling structures in the mining district are not well-documented. Detailed field observation and laboratory investigation of the No.101 vein indicated that the ore-controlling structures of the Shihu gold deposit are the pre-Mesozoic shear joints with SN and NW strike that reactivated during the Yanshanian emerged from. The NNW-SSE left-strike-slip stresses during the main mineralization stage led to the dilation of the NW-strike structural segments along the roof and footwall of the early quartz diorite porphyrite veins, which contributed to the extensive wall-rock alteration, intensive gold mineralization and occur as quartz-vein type ores, and consequently the formation of rich ore pillars. On the contrary, the SN-strike compressive structures correspond to the weak wall-rock alteration and gold mineralization and occur as altered-rock type ores. All the rich ore pillars laterally distributed with high-angle (70°±), and wholly pitched southward with 40° angle. According to the structural ore-controlling regularities, the location between the No.47 and the No.61 exploratory line with elevation below 150 m is an excellent ore-prospecting area. Our prospecting proposal based on the ore-controlling structural analyses in the study area has been proven by the underground works in the Shihu gold deposit. © 2017, Science Press. All right reserved.     

桂西北林旺金矿床构造控矿规律及成矿模式探讨

桂西北林旺金矿是近年来右江盆地新发现的卡林型金矿,位于乐业碳酸盐台地边缘乐业-浪全同生断裂带上。通过对矿区进行野外调查、岩矿鉴定并结合勘探成果进行综合研究,发现I号矿体群与断裂、褶皱的时空联系具有构造分带的特征,以F1断层为界,上盘褶皱鞍部发育石英杂砂岩夹粉砂质泥岩矿体,矿体近F1断层破碎带部位发育破碎的硅化构造岩带,F1下盘近破碎带部位发育强烈劈理化、炭化粉砂质泥岩带,指示矿区在印支期挤压过程中,石英杂砂岩顺着先存构造薄弱面以泥岩层为滑动系统,往上部逆冲并逐渐发生褶皱,产生许多张裂隙,成为成矿流体富集的场所。林旺金矿床是层滑-褶皱构造体系与成矿流体耦合作用的产物,分析了矿床构造成矿规律,提出了以层滑-褶皱运动机制为基础的成矿模式以及成矿远景。     

河南卢氏发现黄土旧石器

文章报道了在河南卢氏发现的3个旧石器地点:石制品出自S1的Ly15地点;在S3,S2和S1中均有旧石器发现的Ly13地点;出自S2的Ly14地点。3个地点的石制品均以石英岩砾石为原料,锤击法打片,石器数量较少,有手镐、刮削器,这些发现为探索中国南北旧石器文化的关系及其与环境变化的关系有重要意义。