Assignment of groundwater level at the wastewater collecting pipe for a landfill groundwater simulation: utilization of the two-dimensional saturated–unsaturated groundwater numerical model

In order to understand the effects of a landfill operation on groundwater flow behavior, a 2D horizontal groundwater simulation model was carried out. The model saved the memory of computer and time consumption, comparing it with the 3D groundwater flow model. However, the greatest difficulty is the assignment of the collecting pipe boundary at the study site. Therefore, a 2D vertical model was applied to calculate the change of the groundwater table above the collecting pipe. This paper focuses on examining the validation of the assignment of the collecting pipe boundary by applying the results of the 2D vertical model. The 2D horizontal model was coupled with the recharge model to solve the partial differential equation of groundwater flow. The finite difference method and iterative successive over relaxation were applied. The drainage volume of leachate collection was summed up in the whole landfill site and compared with the average volume of treated wastewater. The study demonstrated that the results of the 2D vertical model validated and can be applied to the 2D horizontal groundwater flow simulation.     

Impact of climate change on runoff from a mid‐latitude mountainous catchment in central Japan

Hydrologic balance in high‐altitude, mid‐latitude mountain areas is important in terms of the water resources available to associated lowlands. This study examined how current and historical shifts in precipitation (P) patterns and concurrent increases in temperature (T) affected runoff (Q) and other hydrologic components in a mid‐latitude mountain catchment of central Japan, using a combination of long‐term data and a simplified hydrologic model, along with their stochastic treatment. The availability of intensive meteorological and hydrological data from the period 1997–2001 allowed the derivation of key relationships for the current climate that tie the forcing term to the parameters or state variables. By using the data recorded in the period 1965–2001, the force for driving the historical simulation was generated. Based on this model and historical shifts in P and T, the probability density functions of Q (pdf(Q)) was computed. A main novelty in this study is that such a stochastic representation, which is useful for considering the influence of projected shifts in environmental factors on the hydrologic budget, was provided. Despite the large increase in the rate of T in winter and spring, pdf(Q) in spring and summer varied appreciably during the time studied mainly because of an increase in snowmelt. An interannual change in whole‐year Q was robust to shifts in T because while Q in spring increased, in summer it decreased, implying a crucial effect of global warming on mountain hydrologic regimes is change in the timing of Q. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concentrations of Trace Elements in Carbonate Reference Materials Coral JCp-1 and Giant Clam JCt-1 by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry

Trace elements in the Geological Survey of Japan carbonate reference materials Coral JCp-1 and Giant Clam JCt-1 were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after digestion with 2% v/v HNO₃. A standard addition method was adopted in this determination in order to neutralise the Ca matrix effect. In addition, Sc, Y, In and Bi were used as internal standards to control the matrix effect and correct instrumental drift. Of the eighteen elements measured in JCp-1, precisions for fourteen elements, including Cu, Cd and Ba, were better than 10% RSD and concentrations ranged from 0.002 μg g^-1 (Cs) to 8.02 μg g^-1 (Ba). The concentrations of measured trace elements in JCt-1, except for Cu, were lower than those in JCp-1. Precisions for all elements with concentrations higher than 0.04 μg g^-1 in JCt-1 were also better than 10% RSD and concentrations were found to be between 0.001 μg g^-1 (Cs) and 4.84 μg g^-1 (Ba). The concentrations of more than fifteen trace elements in the aragonite reference materials are reported here for the first time. Both reference materials are suitable for use in geochemical studies of environmental reconstruction based upon biogenic carbonate materials.     

Determination of Selenium in Twenty-Eight Geological Reference Materials by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Twenty-eight geological reference samples have been analysed for selenium using atomic absorption spectrometry with hydride generation and quartz cell atomizer and/or with solvent extraction and carbon tube atomizer. Data are presented for 5 CCRMP, 6 USGS, 3 NBS, 6 NIM and 8 GSJ reference materials.     

Increase in medium-size rainfall events will enhance the C-sequestration capacity of biological soil crusts

Biological soil crusts(BSCs) play important roles in the carbon(C) balance in arid regions. Net C balance of BSCs is strongly dependent on rainfall and consequent activation of microbes in the BSCs. The compensation-rainfall size for BSCs(the minimum rainfall amount for a positive net C balance) is assumed to be different with BSCs of different developmental stages. A field experiment with simulated rainfall amount(SRA) of 0, 1, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mm was conducted to examine the C fluxes and compensation-rainfall size of BSCs in different parts of fixed dunes in the ecotone between the Badain Jaran Desert and the Minqin Oasis. We found algae-lichen crust on the interdunes and crest, algae crust on the leeward side, and lichen-moss crust on the windward. Even a small rainfall(1 mm) can activate both photosynthesis and respiration of all types of BSCs. The gross ecosystem production, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem exchange were significantly affected by SRA, hours after the simulated rainfall, position on a dune, and their interactions. The rapid activation of photosynthesis provides a C source and therefore could be responsible for the increase of C efflux after each rewetting. C-uptake and-emission capacity of all the BSCs positively correlated with rainfall size, with the lowest C fluxes on the leeward side. The compensation rainfall for a net C uptake was 3.80, 15.54, 8.62, and 1.88 mm for BSCs on the interdunes, the leeward side, the crest, and the windward side, respectively. The whole dune started to show a net C uptake with an SRA of 5 mm and maximized with an SRA of about 30 mm. The compensation-rainfall size is negatively correlated with chlorophyll content. Our results suggest that BSCs will be favored in terms of C balance, and sand dune stabilization could be sustained with an increasing frequency of 5-10 mm rainfall events in the desert-oasis transitional zone.-     

Mineralogical study of brown olivine in Northwest Africa 1950 shergottite and implications for the formation mechanism of iron nanoparticles

Martian meteorites, in particular shergottites, contain darkened olivine (so‐called “brown olivine”) whose color is induced by iron nanoparticles formed in olivine during a shock event. The formation process and conditions of brown olivine have been discussed in the Northwest Africa 2737 (NWA 2737) chassignite. However, formation conditions of brown olivine in NWA 2737 cannot be applied to shergottites because NWA 2737 has a different shock history from that of shergottites. Therefore, this study observed brown olivine in the NWA 1950 shergottite and discusses the general formation process and conditions of brown olivine in shergottites. Our observation of NWA 1950 revealed that olivine is heterogeneously darkened between and within grains different from brown olivine in NWA 2737. XANES analysis showed that brown olivine contains small amounts of Fe³⁺ and TEM/STEM observation revealed that there is no SiO‐rich phase around iron metal nanoparticles. These observations indicate that iron nanoparticles were formed by a disproportionation reaction of olivine (3Fe²⁺_olivine → Fe⁰_metal + 2Fe³⁺_olivine + V_olivine, where V_olivine means a vacancy in olivine). Some parts of brown olivine show lamellar textures in SEM observation and Raman peaks in addition to those expected for olivine, implying that brown olivine experienced a phase transition (to e.g., ringwoodite). In order to induce heterogeneous darkening, heterogeneous high temperature of about 1500–1700 K and shock duration of at least ~90 ms are required. This heterogeneous high temperature resulted in high postshock temperature (>900 K) inducing back‐transformation of most high‐pressure phases. Therefore, in spite of lack of high‐pressure phases, NWA 1950 (= Martian meteorites with brown olivine) experienced higher pressure and temperature compared to other highly shocked meteorite groups.     

Late Jurassic (Tithonian) radiolarians from a clastic unit of the Khabarovsk complex (Russian Far East): Significance for subduction accretion timing and terrane correlation

A well-preserved radiolarian fauna from a clastic unit of the Khabarovsk accretionary complex (southern part of the Badzhal accretionary wedge terrane in the Russian Far East) is assigned to the basal part of the Pseudodictyomitra carpatica zone. The age of the fauna is most likely late Tithonian. This is the first reliable dating of the clastic unit and makes it possible to constrain the timing of subduction accretion in the Badzhal terrane. The Khabarovsk complex is correlated chronologically with the Bikin and Samarka terranes (Russian Far East), Mino, Southern Chichibu and North Kitakami terranes (Japan), and Nadanhada terrane (northeast China).     

Single particle analysis of oceanic suspended matter during the SEEDS II iron fertilization experiment

Suspended particles collected from surface seawater during the SEEDS II (Subarctic Iron Experiment for Ecosystem and Dynamics Study II) experiment were analyzed individually using an electron probe X-ray micro analyzer and characterized by size and elemental composition. Their numbers, relative abundances, and relative particle volume all showed clear differences between samples collected inside vs. outside the phytoplankton bloom that developed following the addition of iron. Throughout the study, Si-rich, Ca-rich and Organic particles were dominant and their number increased inside the fertilized patch; these particles accounted for 21%, 13% and 58% of the particles examined, respectively. Si-rich or Ca-rich particles commonly consisted of fragments of diatom frustules and coccolithophorids. There was consistently greater percentage of Ca-rich particles and lower percentage of Si-rich particles inside the patch than outside of it in number, but both types of these particles apparently occupied a larger volume inside the patch than outside of it. Organic particles, that showed having peaks in smaller diameter particles, increased apparently inside the patch with time after iron fertilization. The Organic particles had a more diverse mixture of both bio-related and crustal trace elements than the other types of particles. These results suggest that the increase in suspended particles following the iron enrichment was due to a combination of detrital material and live phytoplankton.     

Geology of the Gorny Altai subduction–accretion complex, southern Siberia: Tectonic evolution of an Ediacaran–Cambrian intra-oceanic arc-trench system

The Gorny Altai region in southern Siberia is one of the key areas in reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This region features various orogenic elements of Late Neoproterozoic–Early Paleozoic age, such as an accretionary complex (AC), high-P/T metamorphic (HP) rocks, and ophiolite (OP), all formed by ancient subduction–accretion processes. This study investigated the detailed geology of the Upper Neoproterozoic to Lower Paleozoic rocks in a traverse between Gorno-Altaisk city and Lake Teletskoy in the northern part of the region, and in the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun area in the southern part. The tectonic units of the studied areas consist of (1) the Ediacaran (=Vendian)–Early Cambrian AC, (2) ca. 630 Ma HP complex, (3) the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian OP complex, (4) the Cryogenian–Cambrian island arc complex, and (5) the Middle Paleozoic fore-arc sedimentary rocks. The AC consists mostly of paleo-atoll limestone and underlying oceanic island basalt with minor amount of chert and serpentinite. The basaltic lavas show petrochemistry similar to modern oceanic plateau basalt. The 630 Ma HP complex records a maximum peak metamorphism at 660 °C and 2.0 GPa that corresponds to 60 km-deep burial in a subduction zone, and exhumation at ca. 570 Ma. The Cryogenian island arc complex includes boninitic rocks that suggest an incipient stage of arc development. The Upper Neoproterozoic–Lower Paleozoic complexes in the Gorno-Altaisk city to Lake Teletskoy and the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun areas are totally involved in a subhorizontal piled-nappe structure, and overprinted by Late Paleozoic strike-slip faulting. The HP complex occurs as a nappe tectonically sandwiched between the non- to weakly metamorphosed AC and the OP complex. These lithologic assemblages and geologic structure newly documented in the Gorny Altai region are essentially similar to those of the circum-Pacific (Miyashiro-type) orogenic belts, such as the Japan Islands in East Asia and the Cordillera in western North America. The Cryogenian boninite-bearing arc volcanism indicates that the initial stage of arc development occurred in a transient setting from a transform zone to an incipient subduction zone. The less abundant of terrigenous clastics from mature continental crust and thick deep-sea chert in the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian AC may suggest that the southern Gorny Altai region evolved in an intra-oceanic arc-trench setting like the modern Mariana arc, rather than along the continental arc of a major continental margin. Based on geological, petrochemical, and geochronological data, we synthesize the Late Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic tectonic history of the Gorny Altai region in the western CAOB.     

Remanent magnetization of Precambrian and Cretaceous kimberlites in South Africa

Summary. Middle Precambrian and Cretaceous kimberlites were collected from three sites (Premier, Montrose and National) and two sites (Wesselton and Koffyfontein) in South Africa respectively. The natural remanent magnetization of these rocks remains stable to both alternating field and thermal demagnetization. The virtual geomagnetic pole-positions derived from the directions of stable remanence of the Precambrian rocks can be correlated with palaeomagnetic poles obtained from other Middle-Late Precambrian rocks in Africa. The Cretaceous poles for the Wesselton and the Koffyfontein rocks coincide with other Cretaceous poles.