Flow processes and sedimentation in unidirectionally migrating deep‐water channels: From a three‐dimensional seismic perspective

Three‐dimensional seismic data were used to infer how bottom currents control unidirectional channel migration. Bottom currents flowing towards the steep bank would deflect the upper part of sediment gravity flows at an orientation of 1° to 11° to the steep bank, yielding a helical flow circulation consisting of a faster near‐surface flow towards the steep bank and a slower basal return flow towards the gentle bank. This helical flow model is evidenced by the occurrence of bigger, muddier (suggested by low‐amplitude seismic reflections) lateral accretion deposits and gentle channel wall with downlap terminations on the gentle bank and by smaller, sandier (indicated by high‐amplitude seismic reflectors) channel fills and steep channel walls with truncation terminations on the steep bank. This helical flow circulation promotes asymmetrical depositional patterns with dipping accretion sets restricted to the gentle bank, which restricts the development of sinuosity and yields unidirectional channel migration. These results aid in obtaining a complete picture of flow processes and sedimentation in submarine channels.     

New aromatic biomarkers and possible maturity indicators found in New Albany Shale extracts

Aromatic hydrocarbons from benzene extracts of New Albany Shale were characterized. A biomarker that has a molecular weight of 546 and a structural configuration consistent with that of an alkyl-aromatic hydrocarbon (C₄₀H₆₆) was tentatively identified. It was found that the relative concentrations of the biomarker are indicative of differing levels of thermal maturity of the shale organic matter. A 40-carbon bicyclic carotenoid (C₄₀H₄₈) is proposed as the geochemical precursor of this biomarker. Thermal maturity of the shale organic matter can also be differentiated by observing differences in “fingerprints” as obtained by field-ionization mass spectrometry on the aromatic hydrocarbon fraction. Using this technique, we found that the more mature shale samples from southeastern Illinois contain more low molecular weight extractable aromatic hydrocarbons and the less mature shale samples from northwestern Illinois contain more high molecular weight extractable aromatic hydrocarbons. It was demonstrated that field-ionization and tandem mass spectrometric techniques through fingerprint and individual compound identification, are useful for shale aromatic hydrocarbon fraction characterization and for thermal maturation interpretation.     

Quaternary Climate and Environment in the Lop Nur, Xinjiang

Since the middle Early Pleistocene (1.20 Ma B.P.), the desert steppe climate and environment have predominated in the Lop Nur area, Xinjiang, characterized by warm humid epochs interrupted by dry cold intervals. The grain-size and magnetic susceptibility curves record 30 climatic oscillations, each with a ca. 40 ka cycle, in the area since 1.2 Ma B.P., which reflects the controlling effects exerted by the astronomic factor on the environment. The Quaternary sedimentary environment in the Lop Nur gradually changed from a fresh lake through a brackish lake to a saline lake, showing a spiral evolution, and finally it evolved into a playa.     

Gallium and germanium in the metal and silicates of L- and LL-chondrites

Concentrations of Ga and Ge in the metal of 31 L-, 8 LL- and 2 H-chondrites, and in the silicates of 12 L- and LL-chondrites have been determined by spectrophotometric methods. The ranges of Ga contents in the metal of L- and LL-chondrites are 1.1–36.9 ppm and 1.0–34.1 ppm, respectively. The Ge content in the metal is positively correlated with Ga and ranges from 89.1–160 ppm, and 126–308 ppm for L- and LL-chondrites, respectively. The Ga content in the silicates of L-chondrites varies from 4.0 to 8.9 ppm.The Ga and Ge contents in the metal are clearly lower in unequilibrated than in equilibrated L- and LL-group chondrites. Unequilibrated (type 3 and 4) and equilibrated (type 5 and 6) chondrites are well separated in the plots of Ga vs Ge in the metal and the L- and LL-groups are also well resolved. The Ga and Ge in the metal are well correlated with petrologic grade. This suggests that Ga and Ge variations in the metal are related to thermal metamorphism. There is evidence of an enrichment of Ga in the metal due to shock-reheating.     

Experiments on the reflection coefficients of a detached breakwater in a directional wave field

Results of estimating the directional wave fields in front of a detached breakwater are presented here in this paper. Two of non-phase-locked methods, i.e., the Maximum Likelihood Method (MLM) and the Extended Maximum Entropy Principle Method (EMEP), were adopted for the purpose. In general, the latter outperforms the former. It is shown that the reflection coefficients decrease with increasing distances away from the detached breakwater, and within four wavelengths from the detached breakwater, the rate of the decrease is faster for wave fields having larger directional spreads. When the measuring distance is more than four wavelengths away from the detached breakwaters, the reflection coefficients tend to reach to a constant value. It is shown that, with the use of the non-phase-locked EMEP method, the effective region can be extended, as compared with the results of Huntley and Davidson [J. Waterw. Port Coast. Ocean Eng. 124 (1998) 312].     

Cadmium and phosphorus cycling in the water column of the South China Sea: The roles of biotic and abiotic particles

The concentrations of cadmium, phosphorus, and aluminum in size-fractionated phytoplankton, zooplankton, and sinking particles are determined using ICPMS to evaluate the roles of biotic and abiotic particles on the cycling and ratios of Cd and P in the water column. Plankton were collected with a filtration apparatus equipped with 10-, 60-, and 150-μm aperture plankton nets on two occasions (2002 and 2006), and sinking particles were sampled by moored sediment traps deployed at depths of 120, 600, and 3500 m from 2004 to 2005. In contrast to what our previous study revealed, i.e., that most of the other bioactive trace metals in plankton were strongly correlated with abiotic Al and adsorbed on phytoplankton [Ho, T.Y., Wen, L.S., You, C.F., Lee, D.C., 2007. The trace metal composition of size-fractionated plankton in the South China Sea: biotic versus abiotic sources. Limnol Oceanogr 52, 1776–88.], Cd/P ratios, ranging from 0.12 to 0.34 mmol/mol P, did not vary with Al and exhibited fairly consistent values among different sizes of plankton, showing that Cd was mostly incorporated on an intracellular basis. In terms of the sinking particles, fluxes in Cd and P as well as in Cd/P ratios were strongly influenced by both biotic and abiotic particles. Overall, the Cd/P ratios in the sinking particles ranged from 0.03 to 1.2 mmol/mol, with the highest value observed in traps at 120 m during the productive season. The lowest value was observed in deep water during high flux periods for lithogenic particles. At surface depth, flux and Cd/P ratios were elevated during the most productive season in the region. The elevated ratios in the traps at 120 m were most likely related to preferential uptake of Cd for the dominant species (coccolithophores) during the productive period. Relatively, Cd/P ratios sharply decreased with increasing Al flux in deep water and ratios were much lower than the expected Cd/P ratios obtained from the relative portion of lithogenic and biogenic particles, indicating that the adsorption of soluble P into lithogenic particles was significant in the deep water during high lithogenic particle flux periods. Using averaged annual fluxes and standing stock in the water column, the residence time of biogenic Cd and P are 0.10 and 0.20, 250 and 100, and 9100 and 5000 years respectively in the top 120 m, 600 m, and water column as a whole, also showing preferential removal for Cd in the euphotic zone but relatively higher removal rates for P in the deep water. Our study suggests that the shift in microalgal community structure along with input of lithogenic minerals are both potentially important factors in influencing Cd/P ratios in oceanic water on a geological time scale.     

A numerical study of the pre-ejection, magnetically-sheared corona as a free boundary problem

A class of magnetostatic equilibria with axial symmetry outside a unit sphere in the presence of plasma pressure and an r ^–2 gravitational field is constructed. The structure contains a localized current-carrying region confined by a background bipolar potential field, and the shape of the region changes subject to the variation of the electric current. The continuity requirement for the magnetic field and plasma pressures at the outer boundary of the cavity defines a free boundary problem, which is solved numerically using a spectral boundary scheme. The model is then used to study the expansion of the current-carrying region, caused by the buildup of magnetic shear, against the background confining field. The magnetic shear in our model is induced by the loading of an azimuthal field, accompanied by a depletion of plasma density.We show that due to the additional effect of confinement by the dense surrounding plasma, the energy of the magnetic field can exceed the energy of its associated open field, presumably a necessary condition for the onset of coronal mass ejections. (However, the plasma beta of the confining fluid is higher than that in the outer boundary of a realistic helmet-streamer structure.) Furthermore, under the assumption that coronal mass ejections are driven by magnetic buoyancy, the result from our model study lends further support to the notion of a suspended magnetic flux rope in the low-density cavity of a helmet-streamer as a promising pre-ejection configuration.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

福建省上杭县罗卜岭斑岩型铜（钼）矿床地质特征

罗卜岭异常区处于成矿有利部位，本文通过对该区的热液蚀变分带、岩石化学特征、包裹体特征等的初步研究以及对化探异常进行深部验证，认为罗卜岭异常区存在着斑岩型铜（钼）矿床，是寻找斑岩型铜（钼）矿床的有利靶区。     

Feasible groundwater allocation scenarios for land subsidence area of Pingtung Plain,Taiwan

Land subsidence basically is the deprivation of water and earth resources, further inducing social and economical undesirable impact. The principal direction of land subsidence prevention is properly management of groundwater. However groundwater management should be developed on the basis of combined technical, economical, social and institutional approaches to management that reflect local conditions and can be adapted and evolved. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to make land subsidence prevention strategies for government to refer. Before year 1969, agriculture was the main land utilization business in Pingtung Plain. Due to intensive development of fish breeding after 1970’s, the aquaculture area along the estuary region of Pingtung Plain have been dramatically increased. Groundwater thus became the main fresh water resource for aquacultural water diluting and flushing because of the insufficiency in surface water supply. The uncontrolled development of groundwater resources has led to undesirable effects, especially in the south where aquaculture is concentrated. These effects are land subsidence, saline water intrusion, lowering of water tables and reductions in well yields. Government stressed on the improvement of breeding technology in the past, which mainly focused on the water quality control in order to raise the culture density, however, it neglected the impact to the environment and quantity control. This paper promotes a reasonable aquacultural water consumption policy aims at finding out the most suitable breeding species considering water consumption and its reasonable breeding area under the premise that it will not depress the original profit of aquatic products trading. Published in Russian in Vodnye Resursy, 2007, published in Vodnye Resursy, 2007, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 281–289. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

高密度电阻率法探测岩溶的应用研究

应用高密度电阻率法查清三家子地段输油管道地下岩溶的分布状态，解决了岩溶对输油管道影响的问题。