DUST FALL IN THE TAKLA MAKAN DESERT OF CHINA

The Takla Makan Desert is one of the supposed sources of eolian deposits in the eastern China and the North Pacific Ocean. Lack of direct measurements hinders the theoretical interpretation of material exchange between the atmosphere and land surface as well as the sediment budget of the region. From 1992 to 1994, four measuring sites were established in the vicinity of 84°E meridian along a 380 km observation traverse from the northern margin to the central desert. Data were collected on quantities of dust fall and sedimentary characteristics of airborne sediments, including grain-size distributions as well as chemical and mineral compositions. The quantities of annual dust fall were 10² to 10³ tons km^-2 yr^-1, increasing from the margin toward the central desert. Monthly concentrations of particles finer than 0.02 mm in diameter ranged from 0.06 to 1.25 mg m^-3 over the three-year observation period. The elemental ratio and the element enrichment factor ruled out the Takla Makan Desert as possible sources of the dust in Hawaii and Alaska. The mean geometric diameter of airborne sediments in the 4 to 8 m surface layer from the Luntai oasis was 0.038 mm and from the interior ranged 0.064 to 0.067 mm being moderately to poorly sorted. Weight percent of particles finer than 0.063 mm in diameter were from 83.5% to 47.7%, decreasing toward the central desert. Distributions of the airborne particles were unimodal with peak diameters of 0.06 to 0.07 mm in the central desert and 0.02 to 0.06 mm in the sites toward the edge of the desert. [Key words: dust fall, sedimentary characteristics, Takla Makan Desert.]     

Extended FRAG-BASE schema-matching method for multi-version open GIS Web services retrieval

The OGC Web Service (OWS) schemas have the characteristics of a complex element structure, are distributed and large scale, have differences in element naming, and are available in different versions. Applying conventional matching approaches may lead to not only poor quality, but also bad performance. In this article, the OWS schema file decomposition, fragment presentation, fragment identification, fragment element match, and combination of match results are developed based on the extended FRAG-BASE (fragment-based) schema-matching method. Different versions of Web Feature Service (WFS) and Web Coverage Service (WCS) schema-matching experiments show that the average recall of the extended FRAG-BASE matching for the schemas is above 80%, the average precision reaches 90%, the average overall achieves 85%, and the matching efficiency increases by 50% as compared with that of the COMA and CONTEXT matcher. The multi-version WFS retrieval under the Antarctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (AntSDI) data service environment demonstrates the feasibility and superiority of the extended FRAG-BASE method.     

A Voronoi neighborhood-based search heuristic for distance/capacity constrained very large vehicle routing problems

Local search heuristics for very large-scale vehicle routing problems (VRPs) have made remarkable advances in recent years. However, few local search heuristics have focused on the use of the spatial neighborhood in Voronoi diagrams to improve local searches. Based on the concept of a k-ring shaped Voronoi neighbor, we propose a Voronoi spatial neighborhood-based search heuristic and algorithm to solve very large-scale VRPs. In this algorithm, k-ring Voronoi neighbors of a customer are limited to building and updating local routings, and rearranging local routings with improper links. This algorithm was evaluated using four sets of benchmark tests for 200–8683 customers. Solutions were compared with specific examples in the literature, such as the one-depot VRP. This algorithm produced better solutions than some of the best-known benchmark VRP solutions and requires less computational time. The algorithm outperformed previous methods used to solve very large-scale, real-world distance constrained capacitated VRP.     

Soil Iodine Determination in Deccan Syneclise,India: Implications for Near Surface Geochemical Hydrocarbon Prospecting

The association of iodine with organic matter in sedimentary basins is well documented. High iodine concentration in soils overlying oil and gas fields and areas with hydrocarbon microseepage has been observed and used as a geochemical exploratory tool for hydrocarbons in a few studies. In this study, we measure iodine concentration in soil samples collected from parts of Deccan Syneclise in the west central India to investigate its potential application as a geochemical indicator for hydrocarbons. The Deccan Syneclise consists of rifted depositional sites with Gondwana–Mesozoic sediments up to 3.5 km concealed under the Deccan Traps and is considered prospective for hydrocarbons. The concentration of iodine in soil samples is determined using ICP-MS and the values range between 1.1 and 19.3 ppm. High iodine values are characteristic of the northern part of the sampled region. The total organic carbon (TOC) content of the soil samples range between 0.1 and 1.3%. The TOC correlates poorly with the soil iodine (r ² < 1), indicating a lack of association of iodine with the surficial organic matter and the possibility of interaction between the seeping hydrocarbons and soil iodine. Further, the distribution pattern of iodine compares well with two surface geochemical indicators: the adsorbed light gaseous hydrocarbons (methane through butane) and the propane-oxidizing bacterial populations in the soil. The integration of geochemical observations show the occurrence of elevated values in the northern part of the study area, which is also coincident with the presence of exposed dyke swarms that probably serve as conduits for hydrocarbon microseepage. The corroboration of iodine with existing geological, geophysical, and geochemical data suggests its efficacy as one of the potential tool in surface geochemical exploration of hydrocarbons. Our study supports Deccan Syneclise to be promising in terms of its hydrocarbon prospects.     

改革开放以来中国农业政策效果的时空计量分析

Since reform and opening up, how much contribution has China’s implementation of new agricultural policy made to agricultural output? This paper is trying to establish an agricultural policy output econometric model for doing a quantitative analysis of China’s new agricultural policy. The results show that China’s agricultural policies on agricultural output have an average contribution rate of about 7% since 1978, which is consistent with the OECD’s basic forecast. There are obvious temporal and spatial differences. Generally speaking, we can divide the contribution of agricultural policy into three periods, which are the start-up phase from 1978 to 1991 (14 years), the stationary phase from 1992 to 2002 (11 years) and the rising phase from 2003 to 2008 (6 years). In space, the contribution of agricultural policy underwent a process from the all-low in the start-up phase, the gradual increase in the stationary phase to the all-high in the rising phase. Northern and western regions are more sensitive to policies. There are three major factors that can affect the contribution of regional agricultural policies, which are the process of national industrialization strategy, terrain and the level of local finance.     

大城市边缘区农村居民点用地空间布局优化研究——对上海南汇地区的考察

大城市边缘区农村居民点用地存在用地粗放、布局散乱、难于规范管理等问题。以大城市边缘区农村居民点用地整理为契机,优化空间布局不仅有利于形成农村经济新增长点,还可促进农村居民点土地集约节约利用。在分析当地农村居民点用地现状及其分布状况的基础上,以典型地区——上海南汇地区为例,对其空间分布的随机性进行了检验,对农村居民点用地按标准偏差分类,并进一步按欧氏空间距离对大于2.25标准偏差的地块进行聚类分析。结果显示:南汇地区农村居民点用地的空间分布并不是随机分布,可分为远离中心类和集聚中心类两种类型。依据结果,提出了"远离中心方案"和"集聚中心方案"两种不同的农村居民点用地整理方案。     

卫星遥感结合气象资料计算的中国干旱区夏季地面感热特征

选用美国国家海洋和大气局(NOAA)系列卫星观测的1982-2006年历年夏季每半月合成的归一化差值植被指数(NDVI)数据资料和针对我国西北干旱区不同下垫面的Ch-INDV参数化关系式,计算了我国110°E以西/35°N以北区域内84个气象站历年夏季各月的地表热力输送系数Ch值和地面感热通量序列,并将其与ERA-40再分析感热资料进行了比较分析。随后,通过数理统计和经验正交函数(EOF)分析方法,研究其时空分布的基本特征和异常变化的演变规律及其东、西部地面感热年际变化的差异。主要结论为:(1)我国西北干旱区夏季地面感热通量实际计算值与ERA-40再分析感热资料相比,两者在值的大小、分布形势和年际变化趋势上均较一致,但感热实际计算值的空间分布更加明显地突出了各气象站所在区域的局地特征。(2)对西北干旱区夏季地面感热EOF分析表明,第一模态反映了全场一致的空间变化,第二和第三模态在干旱区东部和西部区具有不同的南北反向或东西反向的空间变化。第一和第二主分量有较明显的年代际或更长时间尺度的周期变化,第三主分量的年际变化较明显。(3)西北干旱区东部和西部夏季地面感热输送具有相反的年际变化趋势,干旱区东部呈逐年增加的趋...     

Determination of Realistic and Statistical Value of the Information Gathered from Exploratory Drilling

Unlike other branches of geosciences, exploratory drilling has not been investigated within the framework of an information system; so, the expression “value of exploratory drilling information” (despite its common usage) is vague. This article presents a model for the evaluation of value of the information gathered from exploratory drilling after studying different mineral exploration and exploratory drilling systems within the framework of an “information system.” Although this model does not present the economic value of information, it is a suitable tool for comparing different drilling patterns. The model was verified on the basis of drilling data for the Gol-Gohar XIIA anomaly.     

An Analysis of the Published Mineral Resource Estimates of the Haji-Gak Iron Deposit,Afghanistan

The Haji-Gak iron deposit of eastern Bamyan Province, eastern Afghanistan, was studied extensively and resource calculations were made in the 1960s by Afghan and Russian geologists. Recalculation of the resource estimates verifies the original estimates for categories A (in-place resources known in detail), B (in-place resources known in moderate detail), and C₁ (in-place resources estimated on sparse data), totaling 110.8 Mt, or about 6% of the resources as being supportable for the methods used in the 1960s. C₂ (based on a loose exploration grid with little data) resources are based on one ore grade from one drill hole, and P₂ (prognosis) resources are based on field observations, field measurements, and an ore grade derived from averaging grades from three better sampled ore bodies. C₂ and P₂ resources are 1,659.1 Mt or about 94% of the total resources in the deposit. The vast P₂ resources have not been drilled or sampled to confirm their extent or quality. The purpose of this article is to independently evaluate the resources of the Haji-Gak iron deposit by using the available geologic and mineral resource information including geologic maps and cross sections, sampling data, and the analog-estimating techniques of the 1960s to determine the size and tenor of the deposit.