Variations of methane stable isotopic values from an Alpine peatland on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Acta Geochimica - Isotopic signature is a powerful tool to discriminate methane (CH4) source types and constrain regional and global scale CH4 budgets. Peatlands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are...     

Evaluation of oil Wells performance ranking in high water cut stage

Computational Geosciences - In order to quantify the performance ranking of oil wells in high water cut reservoir, a quantitative evaluation method of oil wells is established from two perspectives...     

Numerical characterization of slope rock mass through considerations of hydraulic and mechanical properties

Landslides - In this paper, the slope rock mass is numerically characterized by considering hydraulic and mechanical properties using two distinct element models. The flow rate and permeability are...     

Late Neoarchean crustal growth under paired continental arc-back arc system in the North China Craton

The late Archean (~3.0–2.5 Ga) was a key period of continental growth globally, which is widely considered to reflect the onset of vigorous plate tectonic activity, although related continental growth modes remain contentious. Here we investigate a suite of late Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks from the southwest Qixia area of the Jiaobei terrane in the North China Craton. The rocks in this suite include amphibolites, clinopyroxene amphibolites, and hornblende plagioclase gneisses. We present zircon U-Pb isotopic data which indicate that the protoliths of these rocks formed during ~2549–2511 Ma.The (clinopyroxene) amphibolites correspond to meta-basaltic rocks, with some containing high modal content of titanite. These rocks show moderate to high FeO_T (8.96–13.62 wt.%) and TiO₂ (0.59–1.59 wt.%), flat to less fractionated REE patterns, and mildly negative Th, Nb, and Ta anomalies, resembling those of Fe-tholeiites. In addition, they display positive zircon ?_Hf(t) values (+2.6 to +8.7), and are devoid of crustal contamination or fractional crystallization. Combined with the low Nb/Yb (mostly < 1.60) and (Hf/Sm)_N (mostly < 0.95), low to moderate Th/Yb (0.08–0.54), and low V/Sc (5.53–9.19) ratios, these basaltic rocks are interpreted to have been derived from a relatively reduced and depleted mantle source that was mildly metasomatized by hydrous fluids. The hornblende plagioclase gneisses are meta-andesitic rocks, and occur interlayered with the basaltic rocks. They are transitional between tholeiitic and calc-alkaline rock series, and show fractionated REE patterns with evidently negative Th, Nb, and Ta anomalies. The depleted zircon ?_Hf(t) values (+2.4 to +8.4) and quantitative chemical modeling suggest that the andesitic rocks were most likely generated by injection and mixing of juvenile felsic magmas with the tholeiitic basaltic magmas.In general, the chemical features and genesis of late Neoarchean meta-basaltic rocks in our study area resemble those of Mariana back-arc basin basalts. Combined with regional geological data, it is proposed that the Jiaobei terrane witnessed late Neoarchean crustal growth under a paired continental arc-back arc setting. On a regional context, we propose two distinct geodynamic mode of late Neoarchean continental growth across North China Craton (particularly the Eastern Block), i.e., (1) arc-continent accretion along northwestern part of the Eastern Block; and (2) paired continental arc-back arc system surrounding the ~3.8–2.7 Ga continental nuclei to the southeast.     

Monotonic and cyclic characteristics of K0-Consolidated saturated soft clay under a stress path involving a variable confining pressure

In certain field conditions such as offshore projects under wave loads or embankments under traffic loads, both the vertical and horizontal stresses are variable. However, previous investigations rarely considered the variation in horizontal stress. To better understand the characteristics of natural saturated soft clay, a series of monotonic and cyclic triaxial tests with a K₀-consolidation state were carried out under a variable confining pressure (VCP) stress path. The development of axial strain, pore water pressure and effective stress path is analysed. The results show that with the increase in η (the ratio of the variation in the mean effective principal stress to that of the deviatoric stress), the undrained shear strength (q_f) decreases continuously. The pore water pressure generation is slightly improved under a stress path with increasing confining pressure. Based on the test results, a unified formula was established to predict the pore water pressure under VCP stress paths. The unique p–q–e relationship of normally consolidated clay in monotonic VCP triaxial tests was also demonstrated. Under VCP stress paths, the amplitude of the pore pressure increases, and the effective stress path tilts more sharply to the right. Moreover, a unified formula was established that can provide a good reference for predicting effective stress paths under cyclic VCP triaxial tests.

     

Landslide susceptibility zonation method based on C5.0 decision tree and K-means cluster algorithms to improve the efficiency of risk management

Machine learning algorithms are an important measure with which to perform landslide susceptibility assessments,but most studies use GIS-based classification methods to conduct susceptibility zonation.This study presents a machine learning approach based on the C5.0 decision tree(DT)model and the K-means cluster algorithm to produce a regional landslide susceptibility map.Yanchang County,a typical landslide-prone area located in northwestern China,was taken as the area of interest to introduce the proposed application procedure.A landslide inventory containing 82 landslides was prepared and subse-quently randomly partitioned into two subsets:training data(70％landslide pixels)and validation data(30％landslide pixels).Fourteen landslide influencing factors were considered in the input dataset and were used to calculate the landslide occurrence probability based on the C5.0 decision tree model.Susceptibility zonation was implemented according to the cut-off values calculated by the K-means clus-ter algorithm.The validation results of the model performance analysis showed that the AUC(area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve)of the proposed model was the highest,reaching 0.88,compared with traditional models(support vector machine(SVM)=0.85,Bayesian network(BN)=0.81,frequency ratio(FR)=0.75,weight of evidence(WOE)=0.76).The landslide frequency ratio and fre-quency density of the high susceptibility zones were 6.76/km2 and 0.88/km2,respectively,which were much higher than those of the low susceptibility zones.The top 20％interval of landslide occurrence probability contained 89％of the historical landslides but only accounted for 10.3％of the total area.Our results indicate that the distribution of high susceptibility zones was more focused without contain-ing more"stable"pixels.Therefore,the obtained susceptibility map is suitable for application to landslide risk management practices.     

Effect of freeze–thaw cycles on strength and ductility and microstructure of cement-treated silt with polypropylene fiber

Acta Geotechnica - In this paper, the strength, ductility and microstructure behavior of cement-treated silt with polypropylene fiber was studied by a host of experimental studies. The influence of...     

不同地质建造类型的生态环境功能特征——以西昌地区为例

地质建造背景可以直接反映该地区的形成演化过程、物质组成和地理条件,直接或间接地影响基岩上的生态环境。小范围内生态环境效应由地质建造直接控制,再由不同的气候条件、人类活动进行改造。土壤中的营养元素基本继承于母岩,而气候条件和人类活动同样会对土壤的物理性质、化学性质形成扰动。以中国地质调查局生态地质调查工程之大凉山区生态地质调查项目为依托,以沉积建造特征、空间分布、大地构造属性等因素为基础,将西昌地区划分为11个地质建造单元。通过详细的野外调查和数据分析,对西昌地区不同地质建造单元进行研究,认为建造单元上的生态地质环境存在明显的差异性,地质建造背景直接制约了成土母质及土壤的物理化学性质,营养元素在成土母质和土壤之间的迁移存在明显的继承性。同时,不同的地质建造单元和不同的地理地貌特征共同决定了不同地质建造单元的生态功能属性。研究成果为下一步开展生态地质调查提供依据和思路。     

Sensitivity assessment of strontium isotope as indicator of polluted groundwater for hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids produced in the Dameigou Shale of Qaidam Basin

Hydrogeochemical processes that would occur in polluted groundwater and aquifer system, may reduce the sensitivity of Sr isotope being the indicator of hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids(HFFF) in groundwater. In this paper, the Dameigou shale gas field in the northern Qaidam Basin was taken as the study area, where the hydrogeochemical processes affecting Sr isotope was analysed. Then, the model for Sr isotope in HFFF-polluted groundwater was constructed to assess the sensitivity of Sr isotope as HFFF indicator. The results show that the dissolution can release little Sr to polluted groundwater and cannot affect the εSr(the deviation of the 87 Sr/86 Sr ratio) of polluted groundwater. In the meantime, cation exchange can considerably affect Sr composition in the polluted groundwater. The Sr with low εSr is constantly released to groundwater from the solid phase of aquifer media by cation exchange with pollution of Quaternary groundwater by the HFFF and it accounts for 4.6% and 11.0% of Sr in polluted groundwater when the HFFF flux reaches 10% and 30% of the polluted groundwater, respectively. However, the Sr from cation exchange has limited impact on Sr isotope in polluted groundwater. Addition of Sr from cation exchange would only cause a 0.2% and 1.2% decrease in εSr of the polluted groundwater when the HFFF flux reaches 10% and 30% of the polluted groundwater, respectively. These results demonstrate that hydrogeochemical processes have little effect on the sensitivity of Sr isotope being the HFFF indicator in groundwater of the study area. For the scenario of groundwater pollution by HFFF, when the HFFF accounts for 5%(in volume percentage) of the polluted groundwater, the HFFF can result in detectable shifts of εSr(ΔεSr=0.86) in natural groundwater. Therefore, after consideration of hydrogeochemical processes occurred in aquifer with input of the HFFF, Sr isotope is still a sensitive indicator of the Quaternary groundwater pollution by the HFFF produced in the Dameigou shale of Qaidam Basin.     

我国大风机理研究和预报技术进展

大风作为常见且影响严重的天气现象,可在各类天气系统和地形综合影响下产生。全面认识其机理和预报方法,对风灾防御和风能利用都有很大帮助。本文梳理了我国气象观测和业务预报关于大风定义、大风分布特征以及雷暴、台风等主要灾害性系统大风分布情况。之后简述雷暴、台风、冷空气等系统产生大风的机理,以及复杂地形下垫面的热力和动力作用对局地大风的影响,概括了不同系统大风预报技术的研究进展。最后总结大风研究现状和不足。