Apatite Reference Materials for SIMS Microanalysis of Isotopes and Trace Elements

Twelve apatite samples have been tested as secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) reference materials. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis shows that the SLAP, NUAN and GR40 apatite gems are internally homogeneous, with most trace element mass fractions having 2 standard deviations (2s) ≤ 2.0%. BR2, BR5, OL2, AFG2 and AFB1, which have U > 63 μg g^-1, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb > 283, and homogeneous SIMS U-Pb data, have respective isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) ages of 2053.83 ± 0.21 Ma, 2040.34 ± 0.09 Ma, 868.87 ± 0.25 Ma, 478.71 ± 0.22 Ma and 473.25 ± 0.09 Ma. Minor U-Pb heterogeneity exists and accurate SIMS results require correction with the 3D Concordia-constrained common Pb composition. Among the studied samples, AFG2 and BR5 are the most homogeneous U-Pb reference materials. The SIMS sulfur isotopic compositions of eight of the apatites shows they are homogeneous, with 2s for both 10³δ³⁴S and 10³δ³³S < 0.55‰. One apatite, BR96, has Δ³³S = -0.36 ± 0.2‰. The apatite samples have ID-TIMS ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr between 0.704214 ± 0.000030 and 0.723134 ± 0.000035.     

Regional variations in trace element concentrations in tissues of black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon (Decapoda: Penaeidae) from South Vietnam

The goal of the present study was to examine the specific bioaccumulation of 22 trace elements in muscle, exoskeleton and hepatopancreas of black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon from the Mekong River Delta (MRD), and the South Key Economic Zone (SKEZ), South Vietnam. The general tendency in most trace element concentrations among different tissues were hepatopancreas>exoskeleton>muscle. Comparisons of trace element levels in tissues between the two regions showed that concentrations of Se in muscle and As in all three tissues were higher in SKEZ; whereas in MRD, the higher concentrations of most elements such as Mn, Cu, Cd, Ba, Hg, were observed in tissues. These geographical variations in trace element levels may reflect the differences in human activities between the two regions of South Vietnam. The target hazard quotient (THQ) values for trace elements (<1) indicate that local residents are not exposed to potential health risks via the consumption of shrimp.     

Regional variations in trace element concentrations in tissues of black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon (Decapoda: Penaeidae) from South Vietnam

The goal of the present study was to examine the specific bioaccumulation of 22 trace elements in muscle, exoskeleton and hepatopancreas of black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon from the Mekong River Delta (MRD), and the South Key Economic Zone (SKEZ), South Vietnam. The general tendency in most trace element concentrations among different tissues were hepatopancreas > exoskeleton > muscle. Comparisons of trace element levels in tissues between the two regions showed that concentrations of Se in muscle and As in all three tissues were higher in SKEZ; whereas in MRD, the higher concentrations of most elements such as Mn, Cu, Cd, Ba, Hg, were observed in tissues. These geographical variations in trace element levels may reflect the differences in human activities between the two regions of South Vietnam. The target hazard quotient (THQ) values for trace elements (<1) indicate that local residents are not exposed to potential health risks via the consumption of shrimp.     

Simultaneous Organic Matter and Nitrogen Removal from Piggery Slaughterhouse Wastewater Using Bioaugmented Gaslift Membrane Bioreactor

A single bioaugmentation reactor and a side-stream gaslift membrane bioreactor combined with bioaugmentation are conducted to treat real wastewater from a centralized piggery slaughterhouse in Vietnam. The bioaugmented reactor is inoculated with heterotrophic microorganisms (Bacillus sp.) isolated from piggery slaughterhouse wastewater. The results of a single bioaugmentation experiment show high removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (84.8%–97.5%) and total nitrogen (TN) (69.9%–87.2%) at loading rates of 1.28–3.89 and 0.14–0.37 kg m⁻³ d⁻¹, respectively. The combined system demonstrates a significantly higher TN removal efficiency (89.0%–96.1%) (p < 0.001), more stable flux (36.0–38.4 L m⁻² h⁻¹), and transmembrane pressure (0.95–1.05 bar), and better capacity of separation of solid–liquid phases compared to the single bioaugmentation. High COD and TN removal efficiency is possibly due to assimilation and simultaneous nitrification and denitrification processes. The results of this study also indicate the feasibility and propitious efficiency of the bioaugmented gaslift membrane bioreactor for piggery slaughterhouse wastewater treatment.     

A comparative study of three different learning algorithms applied to ANFIS for predicting daily suspended sediment concentration

The modeling and prediction of suspended sediment in a river are key elements in global water recourses and environment policy and management. In the present study, an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System model trained with the Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm is considered for time series modeling of suspended sediment concentration in a river. The model is trained and validated using daily river discharge and suspended sediment concentration data from the Schuylkill River in the United States. The results of the proposed method are evaluated and compared with similar networks trained with the common Hybrid and Back-Propagation algorithms, which are widely used in the literature for prediction of suspended sediment concentration. Obtained results demonstrate that models trained with the Hybrid and Levenberg-Marquardt algorithms are comparable in terms of prediction accuracy. However, the networks trained with the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm perform better than those trained with the Hybrid approach.     

Estimation of Blast-Induced Air Overpressure in Quarry Mines Using Cubist-Based Genetic Algorithm

In the present work, blast-induced air overpressure is estimated by an innovative intelligence system based on the cubist algorithm (CA) and genetic algorithm (GA) with high accuracy, called GA–CA model. Herein, CA initialization model was developed first and the hyper-parameters of the CA model were selected randomly. Subsequently, the GA procedure was applied to perform a global search for the optimized values of the hyper-factors of the CA model. Root-mean-square error (RMSE) is utilized as a compatibility function to determine the optimal CA model with the lowest RMSE. Gaussian process (GP), conditional inference tree (CIT), principal component analysis (PCA), hybrid neural fuzzy inference system (HYFIS) and k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) models are also developed as the benchmark models in order to compare and analyze the quality of the proposed GA–CA algorithm; 164 blasting works were investigated at a quarry mine of Vietnam for this aim. The results revealed that GA significantly improved the performance of the CA model. Based on the statistical indices used for model assessment, the proposed GA–CA model was confirmed as the most superior model as compared to the other models (i.e., GP, CIT, HYFIS, PCA, k-NN). It can be applied as a robust soft computing tool for estimating blast-induced air overpressure.

     

Introduction to the China-Vietnam Cooperation Project: A Comparative Study of the Holocene Sedimentary Evolution of the Yangtze and Red River Deltas

Both China and Vietnam confront the challenges of natural geohazards and environmental changes in their deltas and coastal zones due to rapid urbanization, economic development, and the impacts of global climate change. China and Vietnam initiated a comparative study of the Holocene sedimentary evolution of the Yangtze River Delta(YRD) and Red River Delta(RRD) for the period 2015–2018 in order to improve the understanding of the two delta evolution histories in the Holocene. Previous investigative data of the two rivers, onshore delta plains, and offshore subaqueous deltas have been explored and reinterpreted. New data gleaned from boreholes, piston cores, shallow seismic and hydrodynamic sources have been collected from the offshore YRD and the East China Sea inner shelf, and surface sediments and short cores have been collected from the RRD near-shore areas. Six focal areas of the joint project have been defined for comparative studies of the two deltas, including morphological development, sequential stratigraphy, coastline shifting, sedimentary characteristics, sedimentary dynamics, and correlation with anthropogenic global climate change. The results of these study areas are presented herein. The joint project also includes cooperative capacity building; exchanges of young scientists have been organized during the project period, and hands-on training in laboratory geochemical analysis, numerical modeling, and seismic data processing and interpretation have been provided by China and its Vietnamese geoscientist partners. Joint field excursions were organized to the upstream of the Yangtze and Red Rivers in Yunan Province, China, all the way downstream along the Vietnamese portion of the Red River. These joint studies have, over the past three years, improved understanding of the evolutionary history of these two major rivers and their mechanisms of source to sink. Joint project results of these two major deltas are not limited to the geosciences; the cooperative mechanical and operational experiences have been helpful for future cooperation in the field of marine geoscience between China and Vietnam, as well for cooperative activities with other ASEAN member countries.     

Multifractal features of the particle-size distribution of suspended sediment in the Three Gorges Reservoir,China

The Three Gorges Reservoir(TGR)in China is the largest hydroelectric project in the world,but the threat of sediment affecting ecological sustainability of the reservoir is a topic of concern.Sediment particlesize distribution(PSD)is informative in understanding sediment transport dynamics and biochemical functions.It is,therefore,important to quantitatively characterize the distribution of sediment particles.In the current study,fractal theory is applied to determine the PSD of suspended sediment in the TGR.The results show that the volumetric fractal dimension(D_v)exhibits a significant seasonal difference(p<0.05),reflecting sediment source and hydrodynamic sorting control the granularity of suspended sediment in the TGR.More specifically,suspended sediment particles are coarser in the wet season than in the dry season for the Yangtze River,and the opposite is true for the Ruxi River,an important tributary.The generalized dimension spectrum,D(q)-q,and multifractal singularity spectrum,f[α(q)]-α(q),were calculated for each suspended sediment sample.Thereafter,the parameters,D(0),D(1),D(2),α(0),Δα(q),andΔf[α(q)],were determined to characterize the PSD.As a result,the coarser suspended sediment during the wet season is characterised by a more complex PSD pattern,with a wider range of particle sizes,greater heterogeneity,and greater homogeneity of distribution over the measurement interval.However,the multifractal structure of the PSD of suspended sediment is more complex during the dry season than during the wet season,with higher local dispersion and variability.The findings of the current study highlight that multifractal analysis provides important insight for understanding the PSD of suspended sediment in the TGR.     

Distribution of eruptive volcanic basalt in the South China Sea and adjacent areas by interpreting gravity,magnetic and seismic data

Volcanic basalt eruption activity in the South China Sea and adjacent areas occurred strongly in Cenozoic E ra. However, it is difficult to define their ranges and spatial locations.This paper presents the methods of reduction to the magnetic equator in low latitudes to bring out a better correlation between magnetic anomalies and their causing-sources; high-frequency filtering is to separate gravity and magnetic anomalies as well as information about the volcanic basalts in the upper part of the Earth’s crust; 3D total gradient is to define the spatial location of high density and magnetic bodies. The distribution of eruptive volcanic basalt is determined by multi-dimensional correlation analysis between high frequency gravity and magnetic anomalies with weighted total gradient 3D.The results from the above-mentioned methods have shown that the distribution of the eruptive volcanic basalt is mainly concentrated along the South China Sea’s sea floor-spreading axis, transitional crust, Manila trench and some large faults zone. These results are improved by existing boreholes and seismic data in the study area.     

A generic approach to modelling flexible confined boundary conditions in SPH and its application

In this paper, a new approach to applying confining stress to flexible boundaries in the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method is developed to facilitate its applications in geomechanics. Unlike the conventional SPH methods that impose confining boundary conditions by creating extra boundary particles, the proposed approach makes use of kernel truncation properties of SPH approximations that occur naturally at free-surface boundaries. Therefore, it does not require extra boundary particles and, as a consequence, can be utilised to apply confining stresses onto any boundary with arbitrary geometry without the need for tracking the curvature change during the computation. This enables more complicated problems that involve moving confining boundaries, such as confining triaxial tests, to be simulated in SPH without difficulties. To further enhance SPH applications in elasto-plastic computations of geomaterials, a robust numerical procedure to implement Mohr-Coulomb plasticity model in SPH is presented for the first time to avoid difficulties associated with corner singularities in Mohr-Coulomb model. The proposed approach was first validated against two-dimensional finite element (FE) solutions for confining biaxial compression tests to demonstrate its predictive capability at small deformation range when FE solutions are still valid. It is then further extended to three-dimensional conditions and utilised to simulate triaxial compression experiments. Simulation results predicted by SPH show good agreement with experiments, FE solutions, and other numerical results available in the literature. This suggests that the proposed approach of imposing confining stress boundaries is promising and can handle complex problems that involve moving confining boundary conditions.