浙闽沿海地区I型-A型复合花岗岩体的地球化学及成因

以鼓山－魁岐、青田和普陀山－桃花岛三个典型岩体为例,系统研究了浙闽沿海Ｉ型－Ａ型复合花岗岩体的地质和地球化学特征。研究结果表明：复合岩体中Ｉ型与Ａ型花岗岩在主量、微量和稀土元素特征上均存在明显变异。总体而言,Ａ型花岗岩较之Ｉ型花岗岩富硅、富碱、贫钙、镁、铝,并具偏高的Ｒｂ／Ｓｒ、Ｒｂ／Ｂａ、Ｇａ／Ａｌ和偏低的ＬＲＥＥ／ＨＲＥＥ比值及显著的铕负异常。两类花岗岩的Ｎｄ、Ｓｒ同位素组成均具有壳幔混熔岩浆的特点,但仍存在一定的变异。上述变异既有岩浆分异演化的影响,又有幔源岩浆卷入的贡献,在不同的复合岩体中起主导作用的因素各不相同。通过对岩石产出动力地质背景的全面分析,结合本区不同复合岩体中二类花岗岩具不同地球化学变异特点的地质事实,提出浙闽沿海Ｉ型－Ａ型复合花岗岩是区域构造应力、断裂构造、幔源岩浆卷入和岩浆分异演化多种因素综合作用的结果     

Delineating extent and magnitude of river flooding to lakes across a northern delta using water isotope tracers

Hydrological monitoring in complex, dynamic northern floodplain landscapes is challenging, but increasingly important as a consequence of multiple stressors. The Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta, Canada, is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance reliant on episodic river ice-jam flood events to recharge abundant perched lakes and wetlands. Improved and systematic monitoring of landscape-scale hydrological connectivity among freshwater ecosystems (rivers, channels, wetlands, and lakes) is needed to guide stewardship decisions in the face of climate change and upstream industrial development. Here, we use water isotope compositions, supplemented by measurements of specific conductivity and field observations, from 68 lakes and 9 river sites in May 2018 to delineate the extent and magnitude of spring ice-jam induced flooding along the Peace and Athabasca rivers. Lake-specific estimates of input water isotope composition (δ_I) were modelled after accounting for influence of evaporative isotopic enrichment. Then, using the distinct isotopic signature of input water sources, we develop a set of binary mixing models and estimate the proportion of input to flooded lakes attributable to river floodwater and precipitation (snow or rain). This approach allowed identification of areas and magnitude of flooding that were not captured by other methods, including direct observations from flyovers, and to demarcate flow pathways in the delta. We demonstrate water isotope tracers as an efficient and effective monitoring tool for delineating spatial extent and magnitude of an important hydrological process and elucidating connectivity in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, an approach that can be readily adopted at other floodplain landscapes.     

A crowd sensing system identifying geotopics and community interests from user-generated content

This paper presents a crowd sensing system (CSS) that captures geospatial social media topics and allows the review of results. Using Web-resources derived from social media platforms, the CSS uses a spatially-situated social network graph to harvest user-generated content from selected organizations and members of the public. This allows ‘passively’ contributed social media-based opinions, along with different variables, such as time, location, social interaction, service usage, and human activities to be examined and used to identify trending views and influential citizens. The data model and CSS are used for demonstration purposes to identify geotopics and community interests relevant to municipal affairs in the City of Toronto, Canada.     

Carbon offsets, reversal risk and US climate policy

Background  

One controversial issue in the larger cap-and-trade debate is the proper use and certification of carbon offsets related to changes in land management. Advocates of an expanded offset supply claim that inclusion of such activities would expand the scope of the program and lower overall compliance costs, while opponents claim that it would weaken the environmental integrity of the program by crediting activities that yield either nonexistent or merely temporary carbon sequestration benefits. Our study starts from the premise that offsets are neither perfect mitigation instruments nor useless "hot air."     

The anomalous properties of Markarian 1460

We present and discuss optical, near-infrared and H  i measurements of the galaxy Markarian 1460 at a distance of 19 Mpc in the Ursa Major Cluster. This low-luminosity ( M _B =−14) galaxy is unusual because (i) it is blue ( B − R =0.8) and has the spectrum of an H  ii galaxy, (ii) it has a light profile that is smooth and well fitted by an r ^1/4 and not an exponential function at all radii larger than the seeing, and (iii) it has an observed central brightness of about μ _B =20 mag arcsec⁻² , intermediate between those of elliptical galaxies (on the bright μ _B side) and normal low-luminosity dwarf irregular (on the low μ _B side) galaxies. No other known galaxy exhibits all these properties in conjunction. On morphological grounds this galaxy looks like a normal distant luminous elliptical galaxy, since the Fundamental Plane tells us that higher luminosity normal elliptical galaxies tend to have lower surface-brightnesses. Markarian 1460 has 2×10⁷ M_⊙ of H  i and a ratio M (H  i )/ L _B of 0.2, which is low compared to the typical values for star-forming dwarf galaxies. From the high surface-brightness and r ^1/4 profile, we infer that the baryonic component of Markarian 1460 has become self-gravitating through dissipative processes. From the colours, radio continuum, H  i and optical emission line properties, and yet smooth texture, we infer that Markarian 1460 has had significant star formation as recently as ∼1 Gyr ago but not today.