Impact of irrigated agriculture on groundwater-recharge salinity: a major sustainability concern in semi-arid regions

Intensive irrigated agriculture substantially modifies the hydrological cycle and often has major environmental impacts. The article focuses upon a specific concern—the tendency for progressive long-term increases in the salinity of groundwater recharge derived from irrigated permeable soils and replenishment of unconfined aquifers in more arid regions. This process has received only scant attention in the water-resource literature and has not been considered by agricultural science. This work makes an original contribution by analysing, from scientific principles, how the salinisation of groundwater recharge arises and identifies the factors affecting its severity. If not proactively managed, the process eventually will impact irrigation waterwell salinity, the productivity of agriculture itself, and can even lead to land abandonment. The types of management measure required for mitigation are discussed through three detailed case histories of areas with high-value groundwater-irrigated agriculture (in Spain, Argentina and Pakistan), which provide a long-term perspective on the evolution of the problem over various decades.     

关于西南岩溶山区生态建设的一些讨论—－以贵州省为例

在分析20世纪90年代以来南方岩溶山区生态退化和重建研究实践方面的薄弱环节及国外岩溶区生态建设经验的基础上,对岩溶山区生态建设的特殊性进行了重新认识。指出岩溶山地的生态环境建设必须是一种经济建设,石漠化综合治理模式必须由扶贫型向质量型转变,由单一坡改梯向多途径特色农业转变,由防护型向开发型转变,由政府主导向参与式转变。在恢复和治理生态的前提下调整农业内部结构,发展特色产业,将环境资源转化为有形商业产品,形成生态环境外部经济效益良性循环的机制,以中止岩溶脆弱生态背景上土地退化的恶性循环。      

和田玉的鉴定与评估

新疆和田玉是世界软玉品种中最好的一种,有“玉王”之称。该文对和田玉的矿物组成、化学成分及物理性质进行了鉴定分析,提出了和田玉原料及玉器的评估方法。     

基于PCA-GEP算法的边坡稳定性预测

提出一种基于主成分分析的基因表达式程序设计算法,并将其用于边坡稳定性预测。该算法先采用主成分分析法对样本数据进行预处理,有效地减少预测模型的输入量,消除输入数据间的相关性,再将得到的新样本数据输入基因表达式,构建边坡稳定性的预测模型。利用该预测模型对82个危险圆弧破坏边坡实例中的71个实例进行学习,对另外11个实例进行预测,取得了较好的效果。在保留传统的以误差值作为评判模型优劣标准的同时,引入AIC信息准则法,分别对v-SVR算法和GA-BP网络算法和PCA-GEP算法三种预测模型进行比较分析,结果表明,运用该算法可以获得更优的预测模型,其预测结果比v-SVR算法和GA-BP网络等其他算法得到的结果具有更高的预测精度。工程实例计算表明,该方法是合理、可行的。     

Geochemical baseline of trace elements in the sediment in Dexing area,South China

A baseline might be used as a point of reference to monitor change from some specific data without concern for whether the baseline determination is natural or has been changed by human activity. We selected 326 sediment samples from Dexing area, South China, and analyzed for 17 chemical elements. The geochemical baseline was predicted with the method of the normalization procedure combined with the relative cumulative frequency curve. The results indicate Al was the best reference element for the normalization procedure among four potential reference elements (Al, Fe, Ti, and Mn). The baseline value range obtained from the normalization procedure method included both the regional geochemical background of the sediment and the median value of the measured contents. The median value of baselines obtained from relative cumulative frequency method was lower than that obtained from normalization procedure method. In contrast to the geochemical patterns of heavy metals in 1987, the spatial distribution of anomalies sprawled in 2004 in study area, especially for Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, As, Fe, and Cr.     

Hydrogeophysical approach for contamination assessment in NamSon landfill,Hanoi, Vietnam

Self potential (SP) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) methods are used together with the results of groundwater samples hydrogeochemical analysis to assess the impact of the water leak from the landfill garbage site at NamSon located in Northern Hanoi on causing pollution to the surrounding environment and affecting geological structure. Selected survey area covers an area of 180 × 300 m lying in the low land of the NamSon site with a slope ranging about 8 m in direction NW–SE. There are three geophysical measurements lines denoted as T1, T2 and T3. Processing 180 SP data points has allowed to draw maps of equipotential epoch in the two periods in 2015 and 2016. The maps show four zones of SP positive anomalies with maximum amplitudes of about +20 mV where the groundwater flow direction is downward and five zones of SP negative anomalies with minimum values in a range from ?180 to ?260 mV where the groundwater flow direction is upward. Resistivity values of the subsurface layers of soils and rocks have been aquired from 2D inverse model for measuring ERT in March 2015 and March 2016. The results of the ERT allowed to define the low resistivity in the range 15–20 Ωm related to leachate plume from NamSon landfill site. Results of the physico-chemical analysis of groundwater samples from the existing six boreholes show increases in concentration of the measured pollutant parameters indicating contamination of the groundwater as a result of solid waste leachate accumulation. This result is affirmative evidence for the survey results by geophysical technique. The rapid decrease in quality of groundwater over the last year is probably due to the influence of the leachate from the NamSon landfill site.     

Unified modeling of flow liquefaction and cyclic mobility

Flow liquefaction and cyclic mobility are two different phenomena that are encountered during strong earthquakes. Flow liquefaction is associated with the contractive behavior of loose granular materials and cyclic mobility is associated with the dilative response of both loose and dense granular materials at low confining stresses. These two types of response pertain to the same material and therefore should be modeled in a consistent manner. Whether a soil in a given state exhibits contractive or dilative behavior is dependent on its dilatancy, d=d_v^p/d_q^p. A form of the dilatancy d=d(η,ψ,C) is proposed, where η=q/p is the stress ratio, and ψ and C denote the internal state variables and the intrinsic properties, respectively. It has been shown that such a state-dependent dilatancy is effective in describing both the contractive and dilative behavior. This allows the soil behavior associated with flow liquefaction and cyclic mobility during earthquakes to be modeled in a unified way.     

Seismic imaging of the middle and upper crust by double-difference tomography: the Haicheng earthquake (Ms 7.3) in Liaoning Province

The Haicheng earthquake (Ms 7.3) occurred in Liaoning Province (39°N–43°N, 120°E–126°E ), China on February 4, 1975. The mortality rate was only 0.02% owing to the first timely and accurate prediction, although the area affected by the earthquake was 9200 km² and covered cities with a population density of 1000 p/km². In this study, the doubledifference (DD) tomography method was used to obtain high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) P- and S-wave velocity (Vp and Vs) structures and Vp/Vs as well as the earthquake locations. Tomography results suggest that velocity structure at shallow depth coincides well with topography and sediment thickness. The earthquake locations form a northwest-striking zone associated with the Jinzhou(JZ) Fault and a northeast-striking zone associated with the Haichenghe-Dayanghe (HD) Fault, and suggest that the JZ Fault consists of three faults and the Ms 7.3 Haicheng earthquake originated at the intersection of the JZ and the Faults. Lowvelocity zones (LVZs) with low Vp/Vs are observed at 15–20 km depth beneath the Haicheng (HC) region. We interpret the LVZs in the middle crust as regions of fluids, suggesting rock dehydration at high temperatures. The LVZs and low Vp/Vs in the upper crust are attributed to groundwater-filled cracks and pores. We believe that large crustal earthquakes in this area are caused by the combination of faulting and fluid movement in the middle crust.     

Description and Phylogenetic Position of Dinosaur Eggshells from the Luanchuan Area of Western Henan Province, China

Here, we examine 145 dinosaur eggshells from a new fossil locality in the Qiupa Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of the Luanchuan area in western Henan Province, China. The eggshells display elongatoolithid macro- and microstructures, including ridges and nodes on the outer surface, two ultrastructural layers, and an undulatory boundary between the mammillary and continuous layers. A phylogenic analysis shows that the Luanchuan eggshells belong to the ooclade Elongatoolithidae. Within Elongatoolithidae, the thickness ratio of the mammillary layer to the entire eggshell, and the porosity of the Luanchuan eggshells are comparable to the oogenera Macroolithus and Elongatoolithus. There is no direct evidence for the taxonomic identity of the Luanchuan eggshells; however, they were likely laid by oviraptorids based on their phylogenetic position and their similarities with known oviraptorid eggs.     

Metamorphic growth and recrystallization of zircons in extremely O-depleted rocks during eclogite-facies metamorphism: Evidence from U-Pb ages, trace elements, and O-Hf isotopes

A combined in situ SIMS and LA-(MC)-ICPMS study of U-Pb ages, trace elements, O and Lu-Hf isotopes was conducted for zircon from eclogite-facies metamorphic rocks in the Sulu orogen. The two microbeam techniques sampled various depths of zircon domains, revealing different element and isotope relationships between residual magmatic cores and new metamorphic rims and thus the geochemical architecture of metamorphic zircons which otherwise cannot be recognized by the single microbeam technique. This enables discrimination of metamorphic growth from different subtypes of metamorphic recrystallization. Magmatic cores with U-Pb ages of 769 ± 9 Ma have positive δ¹⁸O values of 0.1-10.1‰, high Th/U and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios, high REE contents, and steep MREE-HREE patterns with negative Eu anomalies. They are interpreted as crystallizing from positive δ¹⁸O magmas during protolith emplacement. In contrast, newly grown domains have concordant U-Pb ages of 204 ± 4 to 252 ± 7 Ma and show negative δ¹⁸O values of −10.0‰ to −2.2‰, low Th/U and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios, low REE contents, and flat HREE patterns with weak to no Eu anomalies. They are interpreted as growing from negative δ¹⁸O fluids that were produced by metamorphic dehydration of high-T glacial-hydrothermally altered rocks during continental subduction-zone metamorphism. Differences in δ¹⁸O between different domains within single grains vary from 0.8‰ to 12.5‰, suggesting different degrees of O isotope exchange between the positive δ¹⁸O magmatic core and the negative δ¹⁸O metamorphic fluid during the metamorphism. The magmatic zircons underwent three subtypes of metamorphic recrystallization, depending on their accessibility to negative δ¹⁸O fluids. The zircons recrystallized in solid-state maintained positive δ¹⁸O values, and REE and Lu-Hf isotopes of protolith zircon, but their U-Pb ages are lowered. The zircons recrystallized through dissolution exhibit negative δ¹⁸O values similar to the metamorphic growths, almost completely reset U-Pb ages, and partially reset REE systems. The zircons recrystallized through replacement show variably negative δ¹⁸O values, and partially reset REE, and U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic systems. Therefore, this study places robust constraints on the origin of metamorphic zircons in eclogite-facies rocks and provides a methodological framework for linking the different types of metamorphic zircons to petrological processes during continental collision.