Formation of the Dongmozhazhua Pb–Zn Deposit in the Thrust‐Fold Setting of the Tibetan Plateau,China: Evidence from Fluid Inclusion and Stable Isotope Data

The Dongmozhazhua deposit, the largest Pb–Zn deposit in south Qinghai, China, is stratabound, carbonate‐hosted and associated with epigenetic dolomitization and silicification of Lower–Middle Permian—Upper Triassic limestones in the hanging walls of a Cenozoic thrust fault system. The mineralization is localized in a Cenozoic thrust‐folded belt along the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, which was formed due to the India–Asia plate collision during the early Tertiary. The deposit comprises 16 orebodies with variable thicknesses (1.5–26.3 m) and lengths (160–1820 m). The ores occur as dissemination, vein, and breccia cement. The main sulfide assemblage is sphalerite + galena + pyrite + marcasite ± chalcopyrite ± tetrahedrite, and gangue minerals consist mainly of calcite, dolomite, barite, and quartz. Samples of pre‐ to post‐ore stages calcite yielded δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values that are, respectively, similar to and lower than those yielded by the host limestones, suggesting that the calcite formed from fluids derived from carbonate dissolution. Fluid inclusions in calcite and sphalerite in the polymetallic sulfidization stage mostly comprise liquid and gas phases at room temperature, with moderate homogenization temperatures (100–140°C) and high salinities (21–28 wt% NaCl eq.). Micro‐thermometric fluid inclusion data point to polysaline brines as ore‐forming fluids. The δD and δ¹⁸O values of ore fluids, cation compositions of fluid inclusions, and geological information suggest two main possible fluid sources, namely basinal brines and evaporated seawater. The fluid inclusion data and regional geology suggest that basinal brines derived from Tertiary basins located southeast of the Dongmozhazhua deposit migrated along deep detachment zones of the regional thrust system, leached substantial base metals from country rocks, and finally ascended along thrust faults at Dongmozhazhua. There, the base‐metal‐rich basinal brines mixed with bacterially‐reduced H₂S‐bearing fluids derived from evaporated seawater preserved in the Permo–Triassic carbonate strata. The mixing of the two fluids resulted in Pb–Zn mineralization. The Dongmozhazhua Pb–Zn deposit has many characteristics that are similar to MVT Pb–Zn deposits worldwide.     

How deep can forest vegetation cover extend their hydrological reinforcing contribution?

An experimental campaign was set up to quantify the contribution of evapotranspiration fluxes on hillslope hydrology and stability for different forest vegetation cover types. Three adjacent hillslopes, respectively, covered by hardwood, softwood, and grass were instrumented with nine access tubes each to monitor soil water dynamics at the three depths of 30, 60, and 100 cm, using a PR2/6 profile probe (Delta‐T Devices Ltd) for about 6 months including wet periods. Soil was drier under softwood and wetter under grass at all the three depths during most of the monitoring period. Matric suction derived via the soil moisture measurements was more responsive to changes in the atmospheric conditions and also recovered faster at the 30 cm depth. Results showed no significant differences between mean matric suction under hardwood (101.6 kPa) with that under either softwood or grass cover. However, a significant difference was found between mean matric suction under softwood (137.5 kPa) and grass (84.3 kPa). Results revealed that, during the wettest period, the hydrological effects from all three vegetation covers were substantial at the 30 cm depth, whereas the contribution from grass cover at 60 cm (2.0 kPa) and 100 cm (1.1 kPa) depths and from hardwood trees at 100 cm depth (1.2 kPa) was negligible. It is surmised that potential instability would have occurred at these larger depths along hillslopes where shallow hillslope failures are most likely to occur in the region. The hydrological effects from softwood trees, 8.1 and 3.9 kPa, were significant as the corresponding factor of safety values showed stable conditions at both depths of 60 and 100 cm, respectively. Therefore, the considerable hydrological reinforcing effects from softwood trees to the 100 cm depth suggest that a hillslope stability analysis would show that hillslopes with softwood trees will be stable even during the wet season.     

Scattered ground‐roll attenuation using model‐driven interferometry

Scattered ground roll is a type of noise observed in land seismic data that can be particularly difficult to suppress. Typically, this type of noise cannot be removed using conventional velocity‐based filters. In this paper, we discuss a model‐driven form of seismic interferometry that allows suppression of scattered ground‐roll noise in land seismic data. The conventional cross‐correlate and stack interferometry approach results in scattered noise estimates between two receiver locations (i.e. as if one of the receivers had been replaced by a source). For noise suppression, this requires that each source we wish to attenuate the noise from is co‐located with a receiver. The model‐driven form differs, as the use of a simple model in place of one of the inputs for interferometry allows the scattered noise estimate to be made between a source and a receiver. This allows the method to be more flexible, as co‐location of sources and receivers is not required, and the method can be applied to data sets with a variety of different acquisition geometries. A simple plane‐wave model is used, allowing the method to remain relatively data driven, with weighting factors for the plane waves determined using a least‐squares solution. Using a number of both synthetic and real two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional (3D) land seismic data sets, we show that this model‐driven approach provides effective results, allowing suppression of scattered ground‐roll noise without having an adverse effect on the underlying signal.     

Community turnover provides insight into variable invertebrate recovery between restored streams with different integrated catchment management plans

ABSTRACT

Understanding temporal patterns in restored environments is important for identifying potential barriers to recovery and improved management of degraded habitats. In this paper, we use temporal beta diversity analyses to compare invertebrate community recovery trajectories in three restored agricultural stream sites under different integrated catchment plans, a native forest reference site, and two unmodified pasture control stream sites over 24 years. The restored sites diverged from their initial community composition over time and became more similar to the reference site community, which was relatively stable over time. Variation partitioning showed that prior to restoration beta diversity was primarily associated with environmental and spatial drivers, whereas post-restoration beta diversity was more influenced by temporal and environmental drivers, including changes in substrate size, fine sediments, water clarity, and nutrients, as well as temperature and flow regime. Species’ contributions to beta diversity varied between sites and years, with sensitive EPT taxa contributing more in reference and control sites. However, contributions of some EPT species, particularly mayflies, increased in restored sites post-ICM. In summary, after nearly two decades of ICM, restored stream sites show recovery towards reference conditions, yet differences persist, indicating that rehabilitation may take longer, depending on the restoration goals.     

The forward problem of electromagnetic induction: accurate finite-difference approximations for two-dimensional discrete boundaries with arbitrary geometry

We describe finite-difference approximations to the equations of 2-D electromagnetic induction that permit discrete boundaries to have arbitrary geometrical relationships to the nodes. This allows finite-difference modelling with the flexibility normally ascribed to finite-element modelling. Accuracy is demonstrated by comparison with finite-element computations. We also show that related approximations lead to substantially improved accuracy in regions of steep, but not discontinuous, conductivity gradient.     

The potential of wetlands in reducing storm surge

A critical component of flood protection in some coastal areas is expected to be the potential contribution of wetlands to the lowering of surges as they propagate inland from the coast. Consequently, an accurate method to quantify the effect of wetlands on coastal surge levels is required. The degree to which wetlands attenuate surge is the subject of debate and difficult to assess. The potential of wetlands to reduce storm surge has typically been expressed as a constant attenuation rate, but the relationship is much more complex. A numerical storm surge model was applied to assess the sensitivity of surge response to specified wetland loss. Results suggest that wetlands do have the potential to reduce surges but the magnitude of attenuation is dependent on the surrounding coastal landscape and the strength and duration of the storm forcing. Numerical models that simulate the relevant physical processes can provide valuable information on how to best integrate wetlands into coastal protection plans. However, while the model applied for this study has displayed skill in estimating surges over wetlands, the formulations are missing key processes and model advancements are necessary.