Target Deployment and Retrieval Using JIAOLONG Manned Submersible in the Depth of 6600 m in Mariana Trench

China''s 7000 m manned submersible JIAOLONG carried out an exploration cruise at the Mariana Trench from June to July 2016. The submersible completed nine manned dives on the north and south area of the Mariana Trench from the depth of 5500 to 6700 m, to investigate the geological, biological and chemical characteristics in the hadal area. During the cruise, JIAOLONG deployed a gas-tight serial sampler to collect the water near the sea bottom regularly. Five days later, the sub located the sampler in another dive and retrieved it successfully from the same location, which is the first time that scientists and engineers finished the high accuracy in-situ deployment and retrieval using a manned submersible with Ultra-Short Base Line (USBL) positioning system at the depth more than 6600 m. In this task, we used not only the USBL system of the manned submersible but also a compound strategy, including five position marks, the sea floor terrain, the depth contour, and the heading of the sub. This paper introduces the compound strategy of the target deployment and retrieval with the practical diving experience of JIAOLONG, and provides a promising technique for other underwater vehicles such as manned submersible or Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) under similar conditions.     

Global water vapor content decreases from 2003 to 2012: An analysis based on MODIS data

Water vapor in the earth′s upper atmosphere plays a crucial role in the radiative balance, hydrological process, and climate change. Based on the latest moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS) data, this study probes the spatio-temporal variations of global water vapor content in the past decade. It is found that overall the global water vapor content declined from 2003 to 2012(slope b = –0.0149, R = 0.893, P = 0.0005). The decreasing trend over the ocean surface(b = –0.0170, R = 0.908, P = 0.0003) is more explicit than that over terrestrial surface(b = –0.0100, R = 0.782, P = 0.0070), more significant over the Northern Hemisphere(b = –0.0175, R = 0.923, P = 0.0001) than that over the Southern Hemisphere(b = –0.0123, R = 0.826, P = 0.0030). In addition, the analytical results indicate that water vapor content are decreasing obviously between latitude of 36°N and 36°S(b = 0.0224, R = 0.892, P = 0.0005), especially between latitude of 0°N and 36°N(b = 0.0263, R = 0.931, P = 0.0001), while the water vapor concentrations are increasing slightly in the Arctic regions(b = 0.0028, R = 0.612, P = 0.0590). The decreasing and spatial variation of water vapor content regulates the effects of carbon dioxide which is the main reason of the trend in global surface temperatures becoming nearly flat since the late 1990 s. The spatio-temporal variations of water vapor content also affect the growth and spatial distribution of global vegetation which also regulates the global surface temperature change, and the climate change is mainly caused by the earth's orbit position in the solar and galaxy system. A big data model based on gravitational-magmatic change with the solar or the galactic system is proposed to be built for analyzing how the earth's orbit position in the solar and galaxy system affects spatio-temporal variations of global water vapor content, vegetation and temperature at large spatio-temporal scale. This comprehensive examination of water vapor changes promises a holistic understanding of the global climate change and potential underlying mechanisms.     

Polyaxial stress-dependent permeability of a three-dimensional fractured rock layer

A study about the influence of polyaxial (true-triaxial) stresses on the permeability of a three-dimensional (3D) fractured rock layer is presented. The 3D fracture system is constructed by extruding a two-dimensional (2D) outcrop pattern of a limestone bed that exhibits a ladder structure consisting of a “through-going” joint set abutted by later-stage short fractures. Geomechanical behaviour of the 3D fractured rock in response to in-situ stresses is modelled by the finite-discrete element method, which can capture the deformation of matrix blocks, variation of stress fields, reactivation of pre-existing rough fractures and propagation of new cracks. A series of numerical simulations is designed to load the fractured rock using various polyaxial in-situ stresses and the stress-dependent flow properties are further calculated. The fractured layer tends to exhibit stronger flow localisation and higher equivalent permeability as the far-field stress ratio is increased and the stress field is rotated such that fractures are preferentially oriented for shearing. The shear dilation of pre-existing fractures has dominant effects on flow localisation in the system, while the propagation of new fractures has minor impacts. The role of the overburden stress suggests that the conventional 2D analysis that neglects the effect of the out-of-plane stress (perpendicular to the bedding interface) may provide indicative approximations but not fully capture the polyaxial stress-dependent fracture network behaviour. The results of this study have important implications for understanding the heterogeneous flow of geological fluids (e.g. groundwater, petroleum) in subsurface and upscaling permeability for large-scale assessments.     

Mapping groundwater renewability using age data in the Baiyang alluvial fan,NW China

Hydrogeology Journal - Groundwater age has been used to map renewability of water resources within four groups: strong, partial, and rare renewability, and non-renewable. The Baiyang alluvial fan...     

Composition and sediment dispersal pattern of the Upper Triassic flysch in the eastern Himalayas,China: significance to provenance and basin analysis

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The paleogeography and basin type of Upper Triassic flysch (Langjiexue Group) in the eastern Himalayan Orogen are disputed. In order to shed new light on...     

Simulation of interactions among multiple debris flows

Adjacent debris flows may interact in many ways: two or more concurrent debris flows may merge; one debris flow can run out over an existing debris flow fan. Such interactions may cause debris flow properties to change in the mixing process as well as more severe adverse effects than those caused by a single debris flow. This paper aims to investigate the interactions among channelized debris flows originated from adjacent catchments. Both concurrent and successive debris flows are considered. If several debris flows originate from different locations concurrently and merge, the volumetric sediment concentration (i.e., the ratio of the volume of solid material to the total volume of debris flow), C _v, is a good index to capture the mixing process of these debris flows. The change in C _v reflects where mixing occurs and the mixing degree. The debris flow properties (e.g., yield stress and dynamic viscosity) evolve in the mixing process and can be captured by the change in C _v. The debris flow with a larger volume dominates the mixing process, and the properties of the mixed debris flow are more similar to those of the larger debris flow. The inundated areas and runout distances of successive debris flows are smaller than those of concurrent debris flows of the same total volume due to the smaller scales of the individual events and blockage by the earlier debris flows. However, the deposit depth in the interacting part of the debris flow fans of successive debris flows can be much larger than that of concurrent debris flows, leading to more destructive cascading hazards (e.g., the formation of debris barrier lakes). The sequence of successive debris flows not only significantly influences the runout characteristics of the debris flows but also substantially affects the cascading hazards.     

渤海湾盆地渤中凹陷西南环古生界沉积微相及其对岩溶储集层的控制作用*

渤海湾盆地渤中凹陷西南环古生界深埋碳酸盐岩潜山天然气获得重大突破,钻井资料揭示该地区碳酸盐岩岩溶储集层具有很强的非均质性。由于沉积相是岩溶储集层发育的主控因素之一,因此文中根据岩心和薄片资料、测井相、微量元素和古生物特征等多种手段综合分析沉积相特征。结果表明,研究区现存奥陶系纵向上表现为1个较为完整的海退— 海进序列,主要发育开阔台地和局限台地2种沉积亚相,并可进一步划分为台内滩、滩间、潮下带和潮间带4种沉积微相。台内滩和潮下带微相横向分布连续稳定,水动力条件强,形成的储集层早期溶孔发育,且这2种沉积环境里发育的碳酸盐岩较纯净,经后期风化淋滤形成的岩溶储集层厚度大、质量好,因此是有利的岩溶储集层发育相带。该研究明确了研究区台内滩及潮下带的发育特征,对下一步油气勘探具有一定的指导意义。     

Effect of cutting depth and line spacing on the cuttability behavior of sandstones by conical picks

Various types of conical picks in different shapes are produced and widely employed on mechanical excavators. Depending on the mechanical and abrasivity properties of rocks, appropriate shape of pick is selected. In order to obtain maximum efficiency from the pick during excavation, the interaction between the pick and rock and the cutting mechanism play very important role. In this context, linear cutting tests were conducted by using a conical pick at the cutting depths between 3 and 18 mm and also at the various line spacings on sandstones exhibiting different mechanical properties. The results indicated that cutting depth and line spacing have significant influences on the tool forces acting on the pick, the ratio of normal to cutting force, and the specific energy. Accordingly, strong correlations and empirical models were developed. In conclusion, the empirical models proposed for estimating the forces and specific energy would be used for producing the conical bits and also designing the cutter heads of mechanical excavators on soft and medium-hard strength sandstones.     

Laboratory investigation of hydraulic fracture propagation using real-time ultrasonic measurement in shale formations with random natural fractures

The significance of natural fractures in unconventional shale hydrocarbon formations has opened new research frontiers in hydraulic fracturing. Among many of its unique contributions to gas production, the interaction between natural fractures and hydraulic fractures has long been experimentally and computationally investigated. Here, we experimentally investigated the evolution of the fracturing network with a self-developed ultrasonic testing system. Laboratory experiments are proposed to study the propagation of hydraulic fracture in naturally fractured model blocks that contain random micro-fractures. Our analysis suggests that the total fracture width obtained by ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) can reflect the dynamic evolution of the fracturing network. The nonlinear fracturing network evolution process is closely related to the variation of the total fracture width. It is suggested from the total fracture width that the maximum fracture network can be realized with greater natural fracture density, large injection rate, and smaller stress ratio. The study presents a better insight into the response of random naturally fractured shale formation under hydraulic fracturing treatment by analyzing the variation of UPV in real time.     

内蒙古丰镇市油篓山一带侏罗纪岩体的岩石学及地球化学特征

在1∶5万内蒙古察哈尔右翼前旗、隆盛庄、西官村及永善庄4幅区域矿产地质调查的基础上,对以油篓山为代表的侏罗纪岩体从岩石学、岩石化学、稀土及微量元素等特征方面进行了初步研究。采用富集系数来讨论元素富集成矿问题,侏罗纪岩体富集—强富集的元素有Ag、Pb、Zn、As、Sn、Sb、Hg、W、Bi和Mo,说明侏罗纪岩浆活动为成矿提供了含矿热液。岩石化学及地球化学特征研究表明,测区侏罗纪岩体属钙碱性系列的铝饱和—过饱和类型,显示为碰撞阶段岩浆作用产物; 似斑状花岗岩岩体稀土元素配分曲线向右陡倾,倾角较陡,说明轻、重稀土分离明显; 石英斑岩岩体稀土元素配分曲线右倾,倾角平缓,表明轻、重稀土未有明显分馏。