Contribution of phytoliths to total biogenic silica volumes in the tropical rivers of Malaysia and associated implications for the marine biogeochemical cycle

The contribution of phytoliths to total biogenic silica (BSi) volumes in rivers worldwide, and the associated implications for the biogeochemical cycle, require in-depth study. Based on samples from rivers in Peninsular Malaysia, this project investigated the source and characteristics of BSi found in Asian tropical rivers, as well as the process of reverse weathering taking place in these fluvial systems. Results indicated that BSi samples collected in sediments consisted of phytolith, diatom and sponge spicules. Phytoliths, predominantly of the elongate form, comprised 92.8%–98.3% of BSi in the Pahang River. Diatom BSi in this river consisted mainly of pennatae diatoms, but represented a relatively small proportion of the total BSi volume. However, diatom BSi (predominantly of the Centricae form) was more prevalent in the Pontian and Endau Rivers with shares of 68.8% and 79.3% of the total BSi volumes, respectively, than Pahang River. Carbon contents of the BSi particulates ranged from 1.85% to 10.8% with an average of 4.79%. These values are higher than those recorded in other studies to date, and indicate that BSi plays a major role in controlling permanent carbon burial. This study suggests that phytoliths from terrestrial plants are the primary constituents of BSi in the rivers of Peninsular Malaysia, and therefore represent a significant proportion of the coastal silica budget.     

Significant population genetic structure detected in the rock bream <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oplegnathus fasciatus</Emphasis> (Temminck &amp; Schlegel, 1844) inferred from fluorescent-AFLP analysis

Oplegnathus fasciatus (rock bream) is a commercial rocky reef fish species in East Asia that has been considered for aquaculture. We estimated the population genetic diversity and population structure of the species along the coastal waters of China using fluorescent-amplified fragment length polymorphisms technology. Using 53 individuals from three populations and four pairs of selective primers, we amplified 1 264 bands, 98.73% of which were polymorphic. The Zhoushan population showed the highest Nei’s genetic diversity and Shannon genetic diversity. The results of analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that 59.55% of genetic variation existed among populations and 40.45% occurred within populations, which indicated that a significant population genetic structure existed in the species. The pairwise fixation index F _st ranged from 0.20 to 0.63 and were significant after sequential Bonferroni correction. The topology of an unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean tree showed two significant genealogical branches corresponding to the sampling locations of North and South China. The AMOVA and STRUCTURE analyses suggested that the O. fasciatus populations examined should comprise two stocks.     

Timing of mineralization at the Shihu gold deposit in the middle segment of the Taihang Mountain,China

The Shihu gold deposit, located in the middle-south section of the core of the Fuping mantle branch structure, is hosted in the Archean Fuping Group and adjacent to the quartz diorite porphyrite. The gold deposit is the only large gold deposit with reserves of more than 30 tons gold discovered in western Hebei Province so far. In order to constrain the timing of mineralization of this ore deposit, this paper focuses on the isotopic dating of zircon and pyrite. Zircons in gold-bearing quartz veins are magmatic in origin and no hydrothermal zircon has been found in such quartz veins, indicating that zircons were derived from the wall rocks. U–Pb ages of zircons fall mainly in the two domains: 2492 ± 82 and 136 ± 4 Ma, respectively, indicative of the contribution of the Fuping-Group TTG gneiss and Yanshanian igneous rocks, respectively. The Re–Os isotopic compositions of pyrites in the gold-bearing quartz veins yield an isochron age of 127 ± 31 Ma. Combined with other dating results, we suggest that the main metallogenic age of the Shihu gold deposit is 120–127 Ma.     

岷江上游槽谷曲流段大型古滑坡成因与复活性分析——以松潘县元坝子古滑坡为例

岷江上游靠近分水岭部位的槽谷曲流河段,由于地壳抬升缓慢,河谷宽、岸坡缓,降雨量相对偏少,通常被认为发生大型滑坡的可能性较小。但通过笔者近年来的调查发现,在岷江上游红桥关至西宁关的槽谷曲流段两岸大型滑坡密集发育,且大多具有地震滑坡的特征,同时个别滑坡受后期江水冲刷、工程开挖等因素影响复活。文章选取其中较为典型的元坝子滑坡为例进行解剖,元坝子滑坡位于岷江曲流凹岸,长780 m,宽480 m,体积293×104 m3。通过地质分析、测年鉴定和数值模拟,认为该滑坡是历史地震引发的大型岩质古滑坡,其发展经历了斜坡裂缝、地震滑坡、河流下切和前缘复活等阶段。稳定性计算结果显示,目前滑坡整体天然工况下稳定性好,极端暴雨工况下欠稳定,受江水冲刷、降雨、融雪等因素影响,出现局部变形复活。建议应加强滑坡变形监测,避免整体滑动造成堵江、威胁成兰铁路安全。     

FLAC3D在边坡数值分析及位移监测中应用

以辽宁省岫岩县某山头边坡为例,通过槽探、钻探、大型剪切试验等多种手段,找出合理潜在滑动面。利用FLAC3D软件对该边坡进行三维数值模拟,分析应力应变关系,得出变形较大及应力集中区域,同时利用强度折减法得出边坡的安全系数,评价其稳定性。将从边坡后缘张拉裂隙上布设的位移监测点采集到的数据,与数值模拟结果进行对比分析,验证数值模拟的可靠性,为边坡抗滑设计提供依据。     

干湿循环作用下红土抗剪强度与微结构关系研究

针对云南红土型水库因水位升降引起库岸土体干湿循环的客观实际,研究干湿循环作用下库岸红土抗剪强度与其微结构的变化规律,揭示二者之间的内在联系,为研究红土型库岸失稳提供依据。通过红土试样的干湿循环试验,模拟水库蓄水和库水位反复升降引起的库岸红土干湿循环作用。结果表明:（1）在一定初始干密度条件下,红土的黏聚力、内摩擦角和抗剪强度均随干湿循环次数的增加而非线性减小,但在干湿循环次数约10次时趋于稳定。（2）干湿循环作用导致红土微结构发生变化。当初始干密度分别为1.2,1.3,1.4 g/cm3、干湿循环次数达10次时,试样红土颗粒数量降幅依次为45.4%,38.2%,35.7%;孔隙率增幅依次为52.6%,45.9%,40.4%;孔隙面积增幅依次为64.4%,58.2%,50.8%。（3）在干湿循环作用下,红土黏聚力与红土颗粒的定向度和平均圆形度呈正相关关系,相关系数R分别为0.985和0.923。内摩擦角与孔隙率和孔隙面积呈反相关关系,相关系数R分别为-0.936和-0.912。干湿循环作用导致红土微结构的改变,从而引起红土宏观力学性质的变化。     

包气带反硝化强度空间分布规律的整合分析

依据1970~2017年间发表的3955篇包气带反硝化强度相关论文,筛选出197组反硝化强度数据,利用整合分析,重点研究了包气带反硝化强度在典型生态类型（水平）和不同采样深度（垂向）的空间分布规律,识别了包气带反硝化强度的主控因素并研究其函数关系。结果表明:水平空间上,包气带表层0~0.5 m反硝化强度的分布特征显著,由大到小排序为:森林（8.03±0.21 mg/（kg·d））、农田（3.54±0.08 mg/（kg·d））、草地（3.38±0.12 mg/（kg·d））、湿地（2.32±0.23 mg/（kg·d））、沙漠（2.15±0.56 mg/（kg·d））。垂向空间上（6 m内）,各生态类型反硝化强度随深度的增加均呈“S”型变化规律。不同生态类型和不同采样深度下包气带反硝化强度的主控因素存在一定差异,主要为黏粒、有机质、全氮、硝态氮、有效磷,并给出了包气带反硝化强度与主控因素的回归方程。     

Groundwater sustainability and groundwater/surface-water interaction in arid Dunhuang Basin,northwest China

The Dunhuang Basin, a typical inland basin in northwestern China, suffers a net loss of groundwater and the occasional disappearance of the Crescent Lake. Within this region, the groundwater/surface-water interactions are important for the sustainability of the groundwater resources. A three-dimensional transient groundwater flow model was established and calibrated using MODFLOW 2000, which was used to predict changes to these interactions once a water diversion project is completed. The simulated results indicate that introducing water from outside of the basin into the Shule and Danghe rivers could reverse the negative groundwater balance in the Basin. River-water/groundwater interactions control the groundwater hydrology, where river leakage to the groundwater in the Basin will increase from 3,114?×?10⁴ m³/year in 2017 to 11,875?×?10⁴ m³/year in 2021, and to 17,039?×?10⁴ m³/year in 2036. In comparison, groundwater discharge to the rivers will decrease from 3277?×?10⁴ m³/year in 2017 to 1857?×?10⁴ m³/year in 2021, and to 510?×?10⁴ m³/year by 2036; thus, the hydrology will switch from groundwater discharge to groundwater recharge after implementing the water diversion project. The simulation indicates that the increased net river infiltration due to the water diversion project will raise the water table and then effectively increasing the water level of the Crescent Lake, as the lake level is contiguous with the water table. However, the regional phreatic evaporation will be enhanced, which may intensify soil salinization in the Dunhuang Basin. These results can guide the water allocation scheme for the water diversion project to alleviate groundwater depletion and mitigate geo-environmental problem.     

Characterizing groundwater/surface-water interactions in the interior of Jianghan Plain,central China

Hydrogeology Journal - Quantifying groundwater/surface-water interactions is essential for managing water resources and revealing contaminant fate. There has been little concern on the exchange...     

Landslides triggered by the 2016 Mj 7.3 Kumamoto,Japan, earthquake

The aim of this study is to establish a detailed and complete inventory of the landslides triggered by the Mj 7.3 (Mw 7.0) Kumamoto, Japan, earthquake sequence of 15 April 2016 (16 April in JST). Based on high-resolution (0.5–2 m) optical satellite images, we delineated 3,467 individual landslides triggered by the earthquake, occupying an area of about 6.9 km². Then they were validated by aerial photographs with very high-resolution (better than 0.5 m) and oblique field photos. Of them, 3,460 landslides are distributed in an elliptical area about 6000 km², with a NE-SW directed 120-km-long long axis and a 60-km-long NW-SE trending short axis. Most of the landslides are shallow, disrupted falls and slides, with a few flow-type slides and rock and soil avalanches. The analysis of correlation between the landslides and several control factors shows the areas of elevation 1000–1200 m, stratum of Q₃-Hvf, seismic intensity VIII and VIII+, and peak ground acceleration (PGA) 0.4–0.6 g register the highest landslide abundance. This study also discussed the relationship between the spatial pattern of the landslides and the seismotectonic structure featured by a strike-slip fault with a normal component and the volcanism in the study area.