Sensor-based profiles of the NO parameter in the central Arctic and southern Canada Basin: New insights regarding the cold halocline

Here we report the first optical, sensor-based profiles of nitrate from the central Makarov and Amundsen and southern Canada Basins of the Arctic Ocean. These profiles were obtained as part of the International Polar Year program during spring 2007 and 2008 field seasons of the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO) and Beaufort Gyre Exploration Program (BGEP). These nitrate data were combined with in-situ, sensor-based profiles of dissolved oxygen to derive the first high-resolution vertical NO profiles to be reported for the Arctic Ocean. The focus of this paper is on the halocline layer that insulates sea ice from Atlantic water heat and is an important source of nutrients for marine ecosystems within and downstream of the Arctic. Previous reports based on bottle data have identified a distinct lower halocline layer associated with an NO minimum at about S=34.2 that was proposed to be formed initially in the Nansen Basin and then advected downstream. Greater resolution afforded by our data reveal an even more pronounced NO minimum within the upper, cold halocline of the Makarov Basin. Thus a distinct lower salinity source ventilated the Makarov and not the Amundsen Basin. In addition, a larger Eurasian River water influence overlies this halocline source in the Makarov. Observations in the southern Canada Basin corroborate previous studies confirming multiple lower halocline influences including diapycnal mixing between Pacific winter waters and Atlantic-derived lower halocline waters, ventilation via brine formation induced in persistent openings in the ice, and cold, O₂-rich lower halocline waters originating in the Eurasian Basin. These findings demonstrate that continuous sensing of chemical properties promises to significantly advance understanding of the maintenance and circulation of the halocline.     

Practical versus absolute salinity measurements: New advances in high performance seawater salinity sensors

Optical salinity sensors described here measure directly the seawater refractive index and thus enable a measurement of the seawater density and composition variation. We detail the measurement dependence to environmental parameters (in particular temperature and pressure) compared to conductivity sensors, and demonstrate that it may be advantageous to directly measure refractive index rather than electrical conductivity and so obtain a more direct route to density and absolute salinity.     

Fibre reinforced sands: from experiments to modelling and beyond

Based on hypotheses derived directly from experimental observations of the triaxial behaviour, a constitutive model for fibre reinforced sands is built in this paper. Both the sand matrix and the fibres obey their own constitutive law, whereas their contributions are superimposed using a volumetric homogenization procedure. The Severn‐Trent sand model, which combines well‐known concepts such as critical state theory, Mohr‐Coulomb like strength criterion, bounding surface plasticity and kinematic hardening, is adopted for the sand matrix. Although the fibres are treated as discrete forces with defined orientation, an equivalent continuum stress for the fibre phase is derived to allow the superposition of effects of sand and fibres. The fibres are considered as purely tensile elements following a linear elastic constitutive rule. The strain in the fibres is expressed as a fraction of the strain in the reinforced sample so that imperfect bonding is assumed at the sand‐fibre interface. Only those fibres oriented within the tensile strain domain of the sample can mobilize tensile stress—the orientation of fibres is one of the key ingredients to capture the anisotropic behaviour of fibre reinforced soil that is observed for triaxial compression and extension loading. A further mechanism of partition of the volume of voids between the fibres and the sand matrix is introduced and shown to be fundamental for the simulation of the volumetric behaviour of fibre‐reinforced soils. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

高陡岩质边坡生态修复试验

高陡岩质边坡立地条件差,水热容量小,不具备植物生长所必需的土壤环境,其生态修复是目前山体生态恢复的一大难题。针对江苏连云港云山风景区马涧通道生态修复的需要,选取3种不同黏合剂进行喷播修复,开展生态修复基质试验研究,分析采用不同黏合剂的生态修复基质的施工及效果等情况,为后续马涧通道边坡生态修复工程的整体实施提供借鉴。     

碳中和背景下我国清洁能源发展所需矿产资源供需特征

碳达峰、碳中和迫切需要加大清洁能源供给,而清洁能源发展需要更高的矿产资源消耗强度。分析了镍、铅、铜、锌、铝、铁6种清洁能源所需关键矿产资源的供需特点,结果表明：精炼镍、精炼铜供需缺口较大,次为锌板,年均缺口占年均消费量比例分别为34.23%、30.46%、7.56%;预测未来达到需求峰值时,精炼镍、精炼铜、锌板缺口占需求峰值的比例分别为34%、30%、8%;镍矿、铜矿、铁矿资源的对外依存度较高,铝矿资源对外依存度次之,铅锌矿资源对外依存度较小。随着清洁能源技术对矿产资源的需求增长,针对供需缺口较大、对外依存度较高的矿种,中国需加强国际矿业合作,保障资源供应。     

溱潼西斜坡地震资料“双高”处理关键技术

溱潼凹陷西斜坡是岩性、构造-岩性等隐蔽油藏勘探的有利区,具有砂体薄、横向变化快、圈闭面积小、断裂关系复杂等特点。常规地震处理剖面保幅性差、频率低,导致小断层识别困难、地层尖灭线刻画精度低、岩性圈闭不落实。开展以提高地震资料保幅性、提高分辨率为核心的“双高”处理方法研究,构建以保幅去噪、一致性处理、高精度Radon变换法压制多次波、反Q滤波提高分辨率、五维数据规则化及精细速度建模等为主的技术体系,并确定对应的质量控制方法。“双高”处理的地震资料保幅性好、信噪比高,波组产状与地质认识更吻合,目的层主频提高10 Hz,有效频宽拓宽20 Hz,小断层及地层尖灭点较清晰。新处理资料的解释发现了一批有利油气目标。     

Geostatistical Rock Physics Inversion for Predicting the Spatial Distribution of Porosity and Saturation in the Critical Zone

Mathematical Geosciences - Understanding the subsurface structure and function in the near-surface groundwater system, including fluid flow, geomechanical, and weathering processes, requires...