Geothermal potential evaluation and development prioritization based on geochemistry of geothermal waters from Kangding area,western Sichuan,China

Kangding geothermal area is located in the western Sichuan, belonging to southeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau. Similar to world-renowned south Tibetan and western Yunnan geothermal belt, western Sichuan has intensive surface thermal manifestations including boiling and hot springs. The emerging temperature of thermal waters ranges from 47 to 79 °C with total dissolved solids lying between 899 and 2550 mg/L. δ²H–δ¹⁸O isotopes indicate a meteoric source for the thermal waters and a significant positive oxygen-18 shift in the southern region. It is suggested that southern thermal waters experienced stronger water–rock interaction and are closer to thermodynamic equilibrium, which is also proved by the water type classification. The reservoir temperature calculated by empirical and theoretical chemical thermometry is 180–225 °C for the north and 225–310 °C for the south. Evidences of hydrogeochemistry, stable isotopes, geothermometry and radiocarbon dating indicate that southern region of Kangding area shows greater geothermal potential than the northern region. In addition, based on the hydrogeochemical modeling of mineral saturation, underlying problem of scaling is likely to occur in the study area. According to the results of reservoir temperature, south Kangding sub-district has greater potential in geothermal power generation and development than northern Kangding. Therefore, further exploration and drilling work should give priority to the south Kangding area.     

Swelling behaviour of expansive soil treated with fly ash–GGBS based binder

In this article, the potential of a binder developed by admixing fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) to stabilise expansive soils is evaluated. Laboratory tests included determination of free swell index, swell potential and swelling pressure tests of the soil/binder mixtures at different mixing ratio. The test results showed decrease in the swelling behaviour of the soil with increase in binder content. The percent swell–time relationship was observed to fit the hyperbolic curves enabling us to predict the ultimate percent swell from few initial test results. Addition of 1% of lime to the binder showed further improvement in reducing swelling. A good linear relationship is established between percent oedometer swell and modified free swell index (MFSI) for soil/binder mixtures without lime but the same has not been observed in the presence of lime. The compressibility characteristics of the soil/binder mixtures reduced nominally with increase in binder content but in the presence of lime, the compressibility reduced significantly. Binder used in this study has been found to be effective and economic to stabilise expansive soils with lesser amount of chemical additives such as lime.     

Spatio-temporal dynamics of heavy metals in sediments of the river estuarine system: Mahanadi basin (India)

Dynamics of heavy metals in the surface sediments of Mahanadi river estuarine system were studied for three different seasons. This study demonstrates that the relative abundance of these metals follows in the order of Fe > Mn > Zn > Pb > Cr > Ni ≥ Co > Cu > Cd. The spatial pattern of heavy metals supported by enrichment ratio data, suggests their anthropogenic sources possibly from various industrial wastes and municipal wastes as well as agricultural runoff. The metal concentrations in estuarine sediments are relatively higher than in the river due to adsorption/accumulation of metals on sediments during saline mixing, while there is a decreasing trend of heavy metal concentrations towards the marine side. The temporal variations for metals, such as Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni and Pb exhibit higher values during monsoon season, which are related to agricultural runoff. Higher elemental concentrations are observed during pre-monsoon season for these above metals (except Ni) at the polluted stations and for metals, such as Cr, Co and Cd at all sites, which demonstrate the intensity of anthropogenic contribution. R-mode factor analysis reveals that “Fe–Mn oxy hydroxide”, “organic matter”, “CaCO₃”, and “textural variables” factors are the major controlling geochemical factors for the enrichment of heavy metals in river estuarine sediment and their seasonal variations, though their intensities were different for different seasons. The relationships among the stations are highlighted by cluster analysis, represented in dendrograms to categorize different contributing sites for the enrichment of heavy metals in the river estuarine system.     

Changing depositional environment revealed from sediment components,west of “Swatch of No Ground”, northern Bay of Bengal

The sediment cores of 20 cm length collected from 31 to 83 m range of water depth from the inner shelf of Bay of Bengal west of “Swatch of No Ground” were analyzed for grain size, organic carbon, total nitrogen, calcium carbonate and clay mineralogy. Grain size analysis revealed that the sediment size decreases from west to east within the study area indicating a possible direction of transport towards east parallel to the coast. The grain size also decreases with increasing water depth, i.e. north to south, indicating sediment contribution to the area of study from Hooghly and other local rivers. In the cores studied, illite was the dominant clay mineral which seems to be a product of glacial weathering under arid conditions with its source being the Himalayan region. The organic carbon content was low in the sediments and was attributed to low plankton production or intense oxidation processes. Low calcium carbonate percentage also supports the view of a low productivity in this region. Organic carbon increases gradually from west to east indicating its association with finer sediments and also indicates transport due to currents which drift the organic carbon away before it settles down within the sediments. Higher values relatively closer to the coast in the eastern side indicate additional contribution from Sunderban mangroves. The C/N ratio obtained indicates mixed source of terrestrial and marine for the organic matter in the sediments. Sedimentation rates available for deltaic plains and shelves off Bangladesh when adopted for the present area revealed that a 20 cm long sediment column was deposited in around 10 years. In most of the cores studied, a change in the trend of sediment components and organic carbon was observed at around 10 cm where grain size increases and organic carbon decreases towards the surface inferring that during the last 5 years, possible floods during NE monsoon or due to melting of ice in Himalaya are responsible for releasing additional water and material which brought a change in hydrodynamic conditions. The surface depletion of organic carbon indicates its dilution by the addition of coarser materials.     

Air-sea interaction over the tropical Indian Ocean during several contrasting monsoon seasons

Monthly mean anomaly fields of various parameters like sea surface temperature, air temperature, wind stress, effective radiation at the surface, heat gain over the ocean and the total heat loss between a good and bad monsoon composite and the evaporation rates over the Arabian Sea and southern hemisphere have been studied over the tropical Indian Ocean. The mean rates of evaporation on a seasonal scale over the Arabian Sea during a good and bad monsoon composites were equal (about 2·48 × 10¹⁰ tons/day). The evaporation rates over the southern hemisphere were greater during all the months. The mean evaporation rates over the southern hemisphere on a seasonal scale for the good and bad monsoon composites were 4·4 × 10¹⁰ and 4·6 × 10¹⁰ tons/day respectively. The maximum evaporation rates over the southern hemisphere were observed in August. The anomalies of wind stress, effective radiation at the surface and the heat gain over the ocean also exhibit large variations in August, as compared to other monsoon months.     

Phytoplankton productivity in the western subarctic gyre of the North Pacific in early summer 2006

We deployed a profiling buoy system incorporating a fast repetition rate fluorometer in the western subarctic Pacific and carried out time-series observations of phytoplankton productivity from 9 June to 15 July 2006. The chlorophyll a (Chl a) biomass integrated over the euphotic layer was as high as 45–50 mg Chl a m⁻² in the middle of June and remained in the 30–40 mg Chl a m⁻² range during the rest of observation period; day-to-day variation in Chl a biomass was relatively small. The daily net primary productivity integrated over the euphotic layer ranged from 144 to 919 mg C m⁻² day⁻¹ and varied greatly, depending more on insolation rather than Chl a biomass. In addition, we found that part of primary production was exported to a 150-m depth within 2 days, indicating that the variations in primary productivity quickly influenced the organic carbon flux from the upper ocean. Our results suggest that the short-term variability in primary productivity is one of the key factors controlling the carbon cycle in the surface ocean in the western subarctic Pacific.     

Mapping the change of coral reefs using remote sensing and in situ measurements: a case study in Pangkajene and Kepulauan Regency,Spermonde Archipelago,Indonesia

As elsewhere in Indonesia, local inhabitants in the Pangkajene and Kepulauan (PANGKEP) Regency, Spermonde Archipelago area and along the south-west coast of Sulawesi traditionally regard the coral reefs as their livelihood source. Since human activities as well as natural disturbances pose major threats to the coral reefs, these livelihoods may also be at risk. Currently, no comprehensive information on the status and condition of coral reefs in this area is available for this resource management. We determined the changes of coral reef habitat over a period of 20 years from 1994 to 2014 using a satellite Landsat multi-temporal image substantiated with in situ measurement data collected in 2014. The spectral value of coral reefs was extracted from multi-temporal Landsat imagery data, while the diffuse attenuation coefficient of water was obtained by using statistical analysis between the ratio of live coral cover and the spectral value of the visible bands. By using the unsupervised classification integrated with the data ground truth, it is stated that there has been a decline in live coral cover over a period of 20 years from 7716 ha in 1994 to 4236 ha in 2014, with a degradation rate of 174 ha/year. Based on the results, the ratio of the coral cover in the coral reef transects varied from the average of 24% for live corals to 96% for coral rubbles, implying the degraded status of coral reefs in the study area.     

Numerical Model of Two-Phase Flow in Dissolvable Porous Media and Simulation of Reservoir Acidizing

Mathematical model of porous media dissolution coupled with two-phase flow is proposed. The model is based on the conception of dissolvable porous medium with deformable mass-variable porous skeleton. Model can be used for simulation of coupled chemo- and hydrogeomechanical processes which are difficult to examine experimentally. Acidizing of calcite oil reservoir is used as an example of the process. Water solution of hydrochloric acid and oil are two fluid phases of the model with several components. Dissolvable porous media is treated as deformable mass-variable solid phase. Change in mass of the solid phase is caused by hydrochloric acid dissolving the calcite part of the solid phase. Dissolution is supposed to be congruent; kinetics is governed by the Nernst law. Software for numerical solution of the model is developed. It uses AmgCL parallel library for high-performance computing in order to deal with large algebraic systems on the each time step of calculations. The library uses algebraic multigrid methods for preconditioning and parallel iterative solvers. NVidia CUDA framework is used as a backend to perform GPGPU calculations, because it proved to be faster than OpenCL framework on this problem. Numerical experiments on the basis of data set from real reservoirs are conducted with the developed software. Good correlation between field and calculated data is achieved. Numerical experiments for different configurations of heterogeneous layer are performed. Acidizing of layers with highly permeable conduit and with random distribution of permeability is modeled.     

A comprehensive classification of anomalous circulation patterns responsible for persistent precipitation extremes in South China

Based on observational precipitation at 63 stations in South China and NCEP NCAR reanalysis data during 1951 2010,a cluster analysis is performed to classify large-scale circulation patterns responsible for persistent precipitation extremes(PPEs) that are independent of the influence of tropical cyclones(TCs).Conceptual schematics depicting configurations among planetary-scale systems at different levels are established for each type.The PPEs free from TCs account for 38.6%of total events,and they tend to occur during April August and October,with the highest frequency observed in June.Corresponding circulation patterns during June August can be mainly categorized into two types,i.e.,summer-Ⅰ type and summer-Ⅱtype.In summer-Ⅰ type,the South Asian high takes the form of a zonal-belt type.The axis of upstream westerly jets is northwest-oriented.At the middle level,the westerly jets at midlatitudes extend zonally.Along the southern edge of the westerly jet,synoptic eddies steer cold air to penetrate southward;the Bay of Bengal(BOB) trough is located to the north;a shallow trough resides over coastal areas of western South China;and an intensified western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH) extends westward.The anomalous moisture is mainly contributed by horizontal advection via southwesterlies around 20°N and southeasterlies from the southern flange of the WPSH.Moisture convergence maximizes in coastal regions of eastern South China,which is the very place recording extreme precipitation.In summer-Ⅱ type,the South Asian high behaves as a western-center type.The BOB trough is much deeper,accompanied by a cyclone to its north;and a lower-level trough appears in northwestern parts of South China.Different to summer-Ⅰ type,moisture transport via southwesterlies is mostly responsible for the anomalous moisture in this type.The moisture convergence zones cover Guangdong,Guangxi,and Hainan,matching well with the areas of flooding.It is these set combinations among different systems at different levels that trigger PPEs in South China.     

Precursory seismicity of the 1994 eruption of Popocatépetl Volcano,Central Mexico

Popocatépetl Volcano is located in the central Mexican Volcanic Belt, within a densely populated region inhabited by over 20 million people. The eruptive history of this volcano indicates that it is capable of producing a wide range of eruptions, including Plinian events. After nearly 70 years of quiescence, Popocatépetl reawakened in December 21, 1994. The eruptive activity has continued up until the date of this submission and has been characterized by a succession of lava dome growth-and-destruction episodes, similar to events that have apparently been typical for Popocatépetl since the fourteenth century. In this regime, the episodes of effusive and moderately explosive activity alternate with long periods of almost total quiescence. In this paper we analyze five years of volcano-tectonic seismicity preceding the initial eruption of the current episode. The evolution of the V-T seismicity shows four distinct stages, which we interpret in terms of the internal processes which precede an eruption after a long period of quiescence. The thermal effects of a magma intrusion at depth, the fracturing related to the slow development of magma-related fluid pathways, the concentration of stress causing a protracted acceleration of this process, and a final relaxation or redistribution of the stress shortly before the initial eruption are reflected in the rates of V-T seismic energy release. A hindsight analysis of this activity shows that the acceleration of the seismicity in the third stage asymptotically forecast the time of the eruption. The total seismic energy release needed to produce an eruption after a long period of quiescence is related to the volume of rock that must be fractured so imposing a characteristic threshold limit for polygenetic volcanoes, limit that was reached by Popocatépetl before the eruption.