Provenance and paleogeography of the Mesozoic strata in the Muang Xai Basin,northern Laos: petrology,whole-rock geochemistry,and U–Pb geochronology constraints

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The Muang Xai Basin, located in northern Laos, is associated with the Simao, Vientiane, and Khorat Basins. The paleogeographic link of these basins has not...     

Estimation of critical state-related formula in advanced constitutive modeling of granular material

Different critical state-related formulas, for the critical state line and the critical state-dependent interlocking effect, have been proposed in constitutive modeling of granular material during last decades, which rises up a confusion on how to select an appropriate model in the geotechnical applications. This paper aims to discuss the selection of these critical state-related formulas and parameters identification. Three formulas of critical state line together with two formulas of critical state-dependent interlocking effect are combined to propose six elasto-plastic models. Drained and undrained triaxial tests on four different granular materials are selected for simulations. In order to eliminate artificial errors, a new hybrid genetic algorithm-based intelligent method is proposed and used to identify parameters and estimate simulations with minimum errors for each granular material and each model. Then, the performance of each CSL and each state parameter is evaluated using two information criteria. Furthermore, the performance was evaluated by simulating three footing tests using finite-element analysis in which the models are implemented. All comparisons demonstrate the incorporation of nonlinear critical state line combined with the state parameter e/e _c in constitutive modeling can result in relatively more satisfied simulated results.     

An efficient optimization method for identifying parameters of soft structured clay by an enhanced genetic algorithm and elastic–viscoplastic model

Soft structured clays usually exhibit complex behaviors, which can lead to difficulties in the determination of parameters and high testing costs. This paper aims to propose an efficient optimization method for identifying the parameters of advanced constitutive model for soft structured clays from only limited conventional triaxial tests. First, a new real-coded genetic algorithm (RCGA) is proposed by combining two new crossover and mutation operators for improving the performance of optimization. A newly developed elastic–viscoplastic model accounting for anisotropy, destructuration and creep features is enhanced with the cross-anisotropy of elasticity and is adopted for test simulations during optimization. Laboratory tests on soft Wenzhou marine clay are selected, with three of them being used as objectives for optimization and others for validation. The optimization process, using the new RCGA with a uniform sampling initialization method, is carried out to obtain the soil parameters. A classic genetic algorithm (NSGA-II)-based optimization is also conducted and compared to the RCGA for estimating the performance of the new RCGA. Finally, the optimal parameters are validated by comparing with other measurements and test simulations on the same clay. All comparisons demonstrate that a reliable solution can be obtained by the new RCGA optimization combined with the appropriate soil model, which is practically useful with a reduction in testing costs.     

Detecting the water depth of the South China Sea reef area from WorldView-2 satellite imagery

The accurate and efficient detection of the water depth of coral reefs through remote sensing imagery is crucial for navigation, marine engineering, and marine safety, among others. This study proposed a water depth inversion method that is processed using a two-step strategy. First, a log-dual-band ratio transform model is employed by combining blue, yellow, red, and red edge bands. Second, a multivariable linear regression model is constructed to determine water depth. The experimental study is conducted in a reef island in the South China Sea, and the WorldView-2 satellite data is used as the test data. Results demonstrated that the proposed method needs a few parameters in the model, and can effectively and reliably characterize the correlation between the spectral features and water depth.     

天山北坡城市群城市综合承载力评价

天山北坡城市群是新疆打造丝绸之路经济带核心区的重要载体和节点。以新疆“十二五”规划中天山北坡经济带所覆盖的12个城市为研究对象,从人口、生态环境、资源、经济、公共服务、交通等6个维度构建评价体系,运用改进的熵值法、变异系数等对2011-2013年天山北坡城市群城市综合承载力进行分析。结果表明:天山北坡城市群城市综合承载力空间分异明显且呈固化趋势;资源和经济是造成各城市综合承载力差距的主要原因;生态环境与资源为承载力首要制约因素且二者均超载严重;城市群生态-生产-生活承载力耦合协调度整体有所改善,但情况依旧较差。     

汶川地震山脚震害特征及机理分析1

汶川地震和以往地震现场震害调查表明,局部场地地形对震害的影响明显,其中,山脚房屋震害程度明显低于山顶和水平地表土层场地.针对这一震害特征,本文以汶川主震的地形效应观测强震动记录和人工爆破山体地形地震动观测记录为基础,通过数据分析,结合动力集中质量中心差分有限元法进行数值模拟分析,进一步揭示了山脚房屋震害轻微的特征不仅与其所在场地条件良好有关,更与山脚所处山体底部的几何位置直接相关.     

Failure time variation derived from R–S relation: the role of the static stress perturbation

In general, earthquake cycle related to earthquake faulting could include four major processes which could be described by (1) fault locking, (2) self-acceleration or nucleation (possible foreshocks), (3) coseismic slip, and (4) post-stress relaxation and afterslip. A sudden static stress change/perturbation in the surrounding crust can advance/delay the fault instability or failure time and modify earthquake rates. Based on a simple one-dimensional spring-slider block model with the combination of rate-and-state-dependent friction relation, in this study, we have approximately derived the simple analytical solutions of clock advance/delay of fault failures caused by a sudden static Coulomb stress change applied in the different temporal evolution periods during an earthquake faulting. The results have been used in the physics-based explanation of delayed characteristic earthquake in Parkfield region, California, in which the next characteristic earthquake of M 6.0 after 1966 occurred in 2004 instead of around 1988 according to its characteristic return period of 22 years. At the same time, the analytical solutions also indicate that the time advance/delay in Coulomb stress change derived by the dislocation model has a certain limitation and fundamental flaw. Furthermore, we discussed the essential difference between rate- and state-variable constitutive (R–S) model and Coulomb stress model used commonly in current earthquake triggering study, and demonstrated that, in fact, the Coulomb stress model could be involved in the R–S model. The results, we have obtained in this study, could be used in the development of time-dependent fault interaction model and the probability calculation related to the time-dependent and renewal earthquake prediction model.     

Black band disease as a possible factor of the coral decline at the northern reef-flat of Yongxing Island,South China Sea

Black band disease(BBD),characterized by the Cyanobacterial dominated pathogenic consortium,is thought to play a key role in the global decline of the coral reef ecosystems.The present paper originally documents a case of BBD from Yongxing Island(Xisha Islands,South China Sea),and further probes the reasons of this abnormal phenomenon.Prior to 2007,corals at northern reef-flat of Yongxing Isand were in healthy growth.Catastrophic coral mortality occurred between 2007 and 2008.The 16S rRNA gene sequencing and PCR amplification,with universally conserved primers,were applied to detect the contagious bacterial community of the microbial mat.The results demonstrated that six bacterial divisions constituted the clone libraries derived from the BBD mat,and that Cyanobacteria are the most diversely represented group that inhabit BBD bacterial mats,despite the fact that species in five others divisions(α-Proteobacteria,γ-Proteobacteria,Bacteroidetes,Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria) are also consistently diverse within the BBD mats of diseased coral.Other factors such as coral bleaching,typhoons,ocean acidification and crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks,are not primarily responsible for the coral mortality within such a short time interval.The disaster expansion of BBD associated with Cyanobacterial blooms is a more likely mechanism impacting these coral reefs.Excessive human activity enhances the eutrophication of the marine water of the reefal region and may result in occurrence of the BBD.     

Diagenetic fluid evolution and water-rock interaction model of carbonate cements in sandstone: An example from the reservoir sandstone of the Fourth Member of the Xujiahe Formation of the Xiaoquan-Fenggu area,Sichuan Province,China

Carbonate cement is the most abundant cement type in the Fourth Member of the Xujiahe Formation in the Xiaoquan-Fenggu area of the West Sichuan Depression. Here we use a systematic analysis of carbonate cement petrology, mineralogy, carbon and oxygen isotope ratios and enclosure homogenization temperatures to study the precipitation mechanism, pore fluid evolution, and distribution of different types of carbonate cement in reservoir sand in the study area. Crystalline calcite has relatively heavy carbon and oxygen isotope ratios(δ13C = 2.14‰, δ18O = -5.77‰), and was precipitated early. It was precipitated directly from supersaturated alkaline fluid under normal temperature and pressure conditions. At the time of precipitation, the fluid oxygen isotope ratio was very light, mainly showing the characteristics of a mixed meteoric water-seawater fluid(δ18O = -3‰), which shows that the fluid during precipitation was influenced by both meteoric water and seawater. The calcite cement that fills in the secondary pores has relatively lighter carbon and oxygen isotope ratios(δ13C = -2.36‰, δ18O = -15.68‰). This cement was precipitated late, mainly during the Middle and Late Jurassic. An important material source for this carbonate cement was the feldspar corrosion process that involved organic matter. The Ca2+, Fe3+ and Mg2+ ions released by the clay mineral transformation process were also important source materials. Because of water-rock interactions during the burial process, the oxygen isotope ratio of the fluid significantly increased during precipitation, by about 3‰. The dolomite cements in calcarenaceous sandstone that was precipitated during the Middle Jurassic have heavier carbon and oxygen isotope ratios, which are similar to those of carbonate debris in the sandstone(δ13C = 1.93‰, δ18O = -6.11‰), demonstrating that the two are from the same source that had a heavier oxygen isotope ratio(δ18O of about 2.2‰). The differences in fluid oxygen isotope ratios during cement precipitation reflect the influences of different water-rock interaction systems or different water-rock interaction strengths. This is the main reason why the sandstone containing many rigid particles(lithic quartz sandstone) has a relatively negative carbon isotope ratio and why the precipitation fluid in calcarenaceous sandstone has a relatively heavier oxygen isotope ratio.     

兰州新区建设用地生态适宜性评价

在地理信息技术的支持下,修正单纯的权重叠加法,采用潜力-限制性分析法分析了兰州新区建设用地的生态潜力和生态阻力,对其生态适宜性做出科学评价,得到兰州新区可用作建设用地的理想区域。结果表明：（1）兰州新区建设用地开发的生态潜力总体以一级为主,二级次之,三级和四级区所占比重较小;（2）一级生态阻力主要分布在新区南部山地,主要表现为地形复杂、工程地质条件差、地质灾害发生频繁等;（3）兰州新区建设用地生态适宜性达一级的面积所占比重最大,为39 425.91 hm²,占新区总面积的48.91%。三级适宜区面积最小,仅为6 513.2 hm²,占新区总面积的8.08%。对应于生态适宜性评价结果,兰州新区土地应用可划分为集中建设区、重点开发区、限制建设区和禁止建设区。其中,集中建设区和重点建设区应为兰州新区建设用地开发的理想区域。