A New Ootype of Dinosaur Egg (Faveoloolithidae: Duovallumoolithus shangdanensis oogen. et oosp. nov.) from the Late Cretaceous in the Shangdan Basin,Shaanxi Province,China

A new ootype collected from the Upper Cretaceous Lijiacun Formation in the Shangdan Basin, Shaanxi Province is described in this paper. Based on general external shape, size, eggshell thickness and honeycomb‐like eggshell microstructure, eggs are referable to the oofamily Faveoloolithidae. Compared with other members of Faveoloolithidae, specimens described in this paper show special characteristics: adjacent pores are usually separated by two eggshell units between which often develop interspaces; columnar eggshell units are relatively closely arranged in radial view. According to these characteristics, we erect a new oogenus and a new oospecies: Duovallumoolithus shangdanensis oogen. et oosp. nov. The new discovery expands the diversity of Faveoloolithidae.     

Comparative Study of Hydrogen and Carbon Isotopic Composition of Gases Generated from the Pyrolysis of a Peat under Saltwater and Freshwater Conditions

To understand the influence of the diagenetic water medium on the isotopic compositions of thermogenic coalbed gas, both hydrous and anhydrous closed-system pyrolyses were performed at temperatures of 250°C to 650°C on an herbaceous marsh peat. Compared to the results of anhydrous pyrolysis, the hydrocarbon gases generated from hydrous pyrolyses have very different hydrogen isotopic compositions. However, the carbon isotopic compositions of the hydrocarbon gases became only slightly heavier in hydrous pyrolysis, compared to that from anhydrous pyrolysis. With the progress of thermal evolution from peat to a more advanced thermal maturity of vitrinite reflectance values (Ro) of 5.5% during the pyrolysis, the difference in the average δD value increased from 52‰ to 64‰ between the hydrous pyrolysis with saltwater and anhydrous pyrolysis and increased from 18‰ to 29‰ between the hydrous pyrolysis with freshwater and anhydrous pyrolysis, respectively. The difference in the average δ13C value was only 1‰–2‰ between the hydrous and anhydrous pyrolysis. The relationships between the δD values of the generated hydrocarbon gases and Ro values as well as among δD values of the hydrocarbon gas species are established. The close relationships among these parameters suggest that the water medium had a significant effect on the hydrogen isotopic composition and a minimal effect on the carbon isotopic composition of the hydrocarbon gases. The results of these pyrolyses may provide information for the understanding of the genesis of coalbed gas from herbaceous marsh material with the participation of different diagenetic water media.     

桂北地区罗地1井钻探施工实践

页岩具有较强的水敏性,在页岩气勘查钻进施工中,井内易发生坍塌、剥落造成超径或缩径等井壁失稳现象。罗地1井采用金刚石绳索取心工艺进行钻进,完井井深1501.06 m,岩心采取率、井斜等各项指标均符合地质设计要求。本文主要从罗地1井的钻井设备、井身结构、施工难点等方面进行总结,可为今后页岩气调查井的施工提供参考。     

内蒙古西乌旗罕乌拉地区下二叠统寿山沟组碎屑锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄及其地质意义

中亚造山带南缘二叠纪的构造背景一直存在争议。以内蒙古西乌旗罕乌拉地区发育的寿山沟组为研究对象,开展了野外地质、岩石学、碎屑锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年龄研究。2个样品锆石阴极发光图像和Th/U值指示,锆石为岩浆成因锆石。103颗碎屑锆石年龄测试结果显示,年龄信息可划分为5组:285~328Ma,峰期年龄302Ma;338~361Ma;455~490Ma;757Ma;1278Ma、2380Ma。最年轻的年龄为285Ma,结合侵入其中的花岗岩同位素年龄,指示西乌旗罕乌拉地区寿山沟组沉积时限介于285~280Ma之间,主体沉积时代应为早二叠世Sakmarian期—Artinskian期。寿山沟组碎屑锆石反映出近源、快速沉积的特点,沉积物源中含有较多的火山碎屑物,可能代表弧后盆地沉积,为早二叠世古亚洲洋闭合前洋壳俯冲消减作用的沉积响应。结合区域资料,寿山沟组碎屑锆石的年龄对应于东北地区的变质基底及其后的构造岩浆事件,物源区物质主要来自于苏尼特左旗—锡林浩特—西乌旗一带早石炭世末—晚石炭世岩浆弧及贺根山—东乌旗一带,并进一步限制了华北与西伯利亚两大板块的缝合线应位于寿山沟组发育地区的南部,即索伦缝合带,拼合时代最可能为晚二叠世—早三叠世。     

Tracing submarine groundwater discharge flux in Tolo Harbor,Hong Kong (China)

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an important pathway for groundwater and associated chemicals to discharge to the sea. Groundwater levels monitored along a transect perpendicular to the shoreline are used to calculate SGD flux from the nearshore aquifer to Tolo Harbor, Hong Kong (China). The calculated SGD flux—recharge/discharge measured with Darcy’s Law methods—agrees well with estimates based on geo-tracer techniques and seepage meter in Tolo Harbor during previous studies. The estimated freshwater SGD is 1.69–2.0 m²/d at the study site and 0.3?±?0.04 cm/d for the whole of Tolo Harbor, which is comparable to the river discharge (0.25?±?0.07 cm/d) and precipitation (0.45?±?0.15 cm/d). The tide-driven SGD in the intertidal zone is 13.98–17.59 m²/d at the study site and 2.42?±?0.56 cm/d for the whole of Tolo Harbor. The SGD occurring in the subtidal zone and the bottom of Tolo Harbor is 3.12?±?4.63 cm/d. Fresh SGD accounts for ~5% of the total SGD, while the rest (~95%) is contributed by saline SGD driven by various forces. About 96% of the tide-driven SGD in the intertidal zone occurs in the ebbing tide period because the head difference between the groundwater level and sea level is great during this period. Tide-driven SGD in the spring tide is ~1.2 times that during neap tide. The tidal fluctuation amplitude and tide-driven SGD in the intertidal zone are positively correlated to each other; thus, a spring neap variation of the tide-driven SGD is observed.     

An insight into the surface velocity of Inylchek Glacier and its effect on Lake Merzbacher during 2006–2016 with Landsat time-series imagery

Mountain glacier is one of the extremely sensitive indicators for climate change, and its surface motion distribution and corresponding variation are valuable information for understanding ice mass exchange and glacier dynamics. This paper presents the long-term ice velocity distributions of Inylchek Glacier in the Tianshan region by pixel-tracking algorithm with time-series Landsat imagery acquired during 2006–2016. Then the monitored ice motion fields of Inylchek Glacier were carefully analyzed and revealed a generally similar spatial distribution characteristic. Most of the ice of the North Inylchek Glacier remains in a stagnant state except for the upstream part, but a relatively high velocity of 20–40 cm/day with an RMSE of 3 cm/day was observed on most part of the South Inylchek Glacier, except for the slow-moving glacier terminus. We also state the glacier dynamics around Lake Merzbacher and their possible effect on its glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) risk. Besides, the surface velocity distribution on South Inylchek Glacier surface during the ablation period from 2014 to 2016 was also established and also compared with annual velocity. The corresponding difference yields that there is a positive relation between ice motion and temperature variation. Therefore, the time-series ice surface motion yielded by the Landsat imagery thus could provide us an efficient and low-cost way to analyze the current state and changes in glaciers, thanks to the continuous and regular spaceborne observations provided by the Landsat satellites.     

Experimental and numerical investigation on coal drawing from thick steep seam with longwall top coal caving mining

Steep coal seam mining activities will frequently occur during the next few decades in China. In this study, both experimental and numerical methods are employed to investigate the coal drawing from thick steep seam with longwall top coal caving mining. A series of analyses is performed to investigate the features of the drawing body, the distribution of top coal recovery ratio and the shape of the rock flow under steep conditions. The results indicate that the drawing body of top coal develops prior to upper side of the panel face obviously, and the top coal in the central part of the panel has a higher recovery ratio than that in the lower and upper parts in steep coal seam with caving mining method. The flow paths of the fragmented top coal are nearly straight lines moving towards the drawing window, and the fastest path maintains a constant angle with the plumb line. The spatial shape of the rock flow indicates “bidirectional asymmetry,” which results from the presence of the shield beam and dip angle of the coal seam; thus, this is the root cause of the appearance of the drawing body’s prior development towards the upper side of the panel. The field observation data indicates the same distribution of top coal recovery as that in the physical experiment and numerical simulation. Furthermore, suggested measurements are proposed to improve top coal recovery in steep seam mining based on the engineering practice of Dayuan coal mine.