Mineralogy and geochemistry of a Late Permian coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, China: influence from siliceous and iron-rich calcic hydrothermal fluids

This paper describes the influence of siliceous and iron-rich calcic low-temperature hydrothermal fluids (LTHF) on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the Late Permian No. 11 Coal (anthracitic, R_r=2.85%) in the Dafang Coalfield in northwestern Guizhou Province, China. The No. 11 Coal has high contents of vein ankerite (10.2 vol.%) and vein quartz (11.4 vol.%), with formation temperatures of 85 and 180 °C, respectively, indicating that vein ankerite and vein quartz were derived from low-temperature calcic and siliceous hydrothermal fluids in two epigenetic episodes. The vein quartz appears to have formed earlier than vein ankerite did, and at least three distinct stages of ankerite formation with different Ca/Sr and Fe/Mn ratios were observed.The two types of mineral veins are sources of different suites of major and trace metals. Scanning electron microscope and sequential extraction studies show that, in addition to Fe, Mg, and Ca, vein ankerite is the dominant source of Mn, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the coal, and the contents of these five elements are as high as 0.09% and 74.0, 33.6, 185, and 289 μg/g, respectively. In contrast, vein quartz is the main carrier mineral for platinum-group elements (PGEs) Pd, Pt, and Ir in the coal, and the contents of Pd, Pt, and Ir are 1.57, 0.15, and 0.007 μg/g, respectively. Sequential extraction showed a high PGE content in the silicate fraction, up to 10.4 μg/g Pd, 1.23 μg/g Pt, and 0.05 μg/g Ir, respectively. It is concluded that the formation of ankerite and quartz and the anomalous enrichment of trace elements in the No. 11 Coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, result from the influx of calcic and siliceous low-temperature hydrothermal fluids.     

Water soluble components of PM10 Chongqing, China

The concentrations of water soluble ions (Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, NO₃ ^-, Cl^-, and SO ₄ ^2- ) in PM₁₀ samples collected on cellulose filters by a medium-volume cascade impactor were determined, which were obtained from three kinds of areas in Chongqing: industrial area (Jiulongpo district), commercial and residential area (Jiangbei district) and background area (Jinyun Mountain in the Beibei district). The results showed that except for the background site, the annual average values of PM₁₀ are 23% – 61% higher than the national air quality standard (GradeII) (0.1 mg/m³), even that the value of the control site is still 20% higher than American standard (0.05 mg/m³). This implied that serious pollution of fine particles occurred in Chongqing. Nine kinds of soluble ions in water of PM₁₀ were analyzed by ion chromatography (IC) and the annual average concentrations follow the order of [SO ₄ ^2- ] > [NO³ _-] > [Cl^-] > [F^-], and [Ca²⁺] > [NH₄ ⁺] > [K⁺] > [Na⁺] > [Mg²⁺]. Their values were different in these areas: the industrial area > the commercial and living area > the control area. As for NH_{4 +}, K⁺, Ca²⁺, NO₃ ^- and SO ₄ ^2- , their seasonal average concentrations show a similar variation trend: the values in spring and fall were higher than those in summer and winter. The seasonal average concentrations of [Cl^-], [F^-], [Na⁺] and [Mg²⁺] are much lower than those of other ions. However, the concentrations of [Na⁺] changed more greatly in different seasons than those of the other three ions. Correlation coefficients showed that the three areas have been polluted by coal smoke and dust to different extents, while some local resources of pollution should be taken into consideration as well.     

Landscape change and sandy desertification in arid areas: a case study in the Zhangye Region of Gansu Province, China

The Zhangye Region of Gansu Province is an important agricultural base in arid northwestern China. During the twentieth century, especially in the last five decades, the region has experienced sandy desertification. To document the status and causes of this deterioration, satellite images, meteorological and socioeconomic data to assess landscape change from 1993 to 2002 were interpreted and analyzed. The results show that during the intervening 9-year period the area of sandy lands has increased by 642.2 km², which consist of aeolian sand dune (357.1 km²) and potential sandy land (216.3 km²). Although the development and reversion of sandy desertification co-exist, the sandy desertification in this area seems serious and is attributable to the irrational use of water and land.     

An alternative Boussinesq equation considering the effect of hysteresis on coastal groundwater waves

This paper presents an alternative Boussinesq equation considering hysteresis effect via a third‐order derivative term. By introducing an improved moisture–pressure retention function, this equation describes, with reasonable precision, groundwater propagation in coastal aquifers subject to Dirichlet boundary condition of different oscillation frequencies. Test results confirmed that it is necessary to consider horizontal and vertical flows in unsaturated zone, because of their variable influences on hysteresis. Hysteresis in unsaturated zone can affect the water table wave number of groundwater wave motion, such as wave damping rate and phase lag. Oscillations with different periods exert different hysteresis effect on wave propagation. Truncation/shrinkage of unsaturated zones also affects the strength of hysteresis. These impacts can be reflected in the alternative Boussinesq equation by adjusting the parameter representing the variation rate of moisture associated with pressure change, as opposed to traditional computationally expensive hysteresis algorithms. The present Boussinesq equation is simple to use and can provide feasible basis for future coupling of groundwater and surface water models. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validating the ability of the discontinuous deformation analysis method to model normal P‐wave propagation across rock fractures

The effects of fractures on wave propagation problems are increasingly abstracting the attention of scholars and engineers in rock engineering field. This study aims to fully validate the ability of discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) to model normal P‐wave propagation across rock fractures. The effects of a single fracture and multiple parallel fractures are all tested. The results indicate that DDA can accurately reflect the fracture effects, including the fractures stiffness, the fracture spacing and the fracture number, and the effects of incident wave frequency on one‐dimensional P‐wave propagation problems. Thus, DDA is able to deal well with normal incident P‐wave propagation problems. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trend and extreme occurrence of precipitation in a mid‐latitude Eurasian steppe watershed at various time scales

The confounding effects of step change invalidate the stationarity assumption of commonly used trend analysis methods such as the Mann–Kendall test technique, so previous studies have failed to explain inconsistencies between detected trends and observed large precipitation anomalies. The objectives of this study were to (1) formulate a trend analysis approach that considers nonstationarity due to step changes, (2) use this approach to detect trends and extreme occurrences of precipitation in a mid‐latitude Eurasian steppe watershed in North China, and (3) examine how runoff responds to precipitation trends in the study watershed. Our results indicate that annual precipitation underwent a marginal step jump around 1995. The significant annual downward trend after 1994 was primarily due to a decrease in summer rainfall; other seasons exhibited no significant precipitation trends. At a monthly scale, July rainfall after 1994 exhibited a significant downward trend, whereas precipitation in other months had no trend. The percentage of wet days also underwent a step jump around 1994 following a significant decreasing trend, although the precipitation intensity exhibited neither a step change nor any significant trend. However, both low‐frequency and high‐frequency precipitation events in the study watershed occurred more often after than before 1994; probably as either a result or an indicator of climate change. In response to these precipitation changes, the study watershed had distinctly different precipitation‐runoff relationships for observed annual precipitations of less than 300 mm, between 300 and 400 mm, and greater than 400 mm. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of expansion ratio on the critical Reynolds number in single fracture flow with sudden expansion

Flow in a single fracture (SF) is an important research subject in groundwater hydrology, hydraulic engineering, radioactive nuclear waste repository and geotechnical engineering. An abruptly changing aperture is a unique type of SF. This study discusses the relation between the values of the critical Reynolds number (Re_c) for the onset of symmetry breaking of flow and the expansion ratio (E) of SF, which is defined as the ratio between the outlet (D) and inlet (d) apertures. This study also investigates the effect of inlet aperture d on Re_c for flow in an SF with abruptly changing apertures (SF‐ACA) using the finite volume method. Earlier numerical and experimental results showed that flow is symmetric in respect to the central plane of the SF‐ACA at small Reynolds number (Re) but becomes asymmetric when Re is sufficiently large. Our simulations show that the value of Re_c decreases with the increasing E, and the relationship between the logarithm of Re_c and E can be described accurately using either a quadratic polynomial function or a logarithmic function. However, the relationship of Re_c and d for a given E value is vague, and Re_c becomes even less sensitive to d when E increases. This study also reveals that the hydraulic gradient (J) and flow velocity (v) follow a super‐linear relationship that can be fitted almost perfectly by the Forchheimer equation. The inertial component (J_i) of J increases monotonically with Re, whereas the viscous component (J_v) of J decreases monotonically with Re. The Re value corresponding to equal inertial and viscous components of J (named as the transitional point Re) decreases when E increases, and such a transitional point Re should be closely related to the critical Reynolds number Re_c, although a rigorous theoretical proof is not yet available. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrological cycle and water balance estimates for the megadune–lake region of the Badain Jaran Desert,China

The hydrology and water balance of megadunes and lakes have been investigated in the Badain Jaran Desert of China. Field observations and analyses of sand layer water content, field capacity, secondary salt content, and grain size reveal 3 types of important natural phenomenon: (a) vegetation bands on the leeward slope of the megadunes reflect the hydrological regime within the sandy vadose zone; (b) seepage, wet sand deposits, and secondary salt deposits indicate the pattern of water movement within the sandy vadose zone; (c) zones of groundwater seeps and descending springs around the lakes reflect the influence of the local topography on the hydrological regime of the megadunes. The seepage exposed on the sloping surface of the megadunes and gravity water contained within the sand layer confirm the occurrence of preferential flow within the vadose zone of the megadunes. Alternating layers of coarse and fine sand create the conditions for the formation of preferential flows. The preferential flows promote movement of water within the sand layer water that leads to deep penetration of water within the megadunes and ultimately to the recharging of groundwater and lake water. Our results indicate that a positive water balance promotes recharge of the megadunes, which depends on the high permeability of the megadune material, the shallow depth of the surface sand layer affected by evaporation, the occurrence of rainfall events exceeding 15 mm, and the sparse vegetation cover. Water balance estimates indicate that the annual water storage of the megadunes is about 7.5 mm, accounting for only 8% of annual precipitation; however, the shallow groundwater per unit area under the megadunes receives only 3.6% of annual precipitation, but it is still able to maintain a dynamic balance of the lake water. From a water budget perspective, the annual water storage in the megadunes is sufficient to serve as a recharge source for lake water, thereby enabling the long‐term persistence of the lakes. Overall, our findings demonstrate that precipitation is a significant component of the hydrological cycle in arid deserts.