Application of Numerical Modeling for Groundwater Flow System Analysis in the Akaki Catchment,Central Ethiopia

A three dimensional steady-state finite difference groundwater flow model is used to quantify the groundwater fluxes and analyze the subsurface hydrodynamics in the Akaki catchment by giving particular emphasis to the well field that supplies water to the city of Addis Ababa. The area is characterized by Tertiary volcanics covered with thick residual and alluvial soils. The model is calibrated using head observations from 131 wells. The simulation is made in a two layer unconfined aquifer with spatially variable recharge and hydraulic conductivities under well-defined boundary conditions. The calibrated model is used to forecast groundwater flow pattern, the interaction of groundwater and surface water, and the effect of pumping on the well field under different scenarios. The result indicates that the groundwater flows regionally to the south converging to the major well field. Reservoirs and rivers play an important role in recharging the aquifer. Simulations made under different pumping rate indicate that an increase in pumping rate results in substantial regional groundwater level decline, which will lead to the drying of springs and shallow hand dug wells. Also, it has implications of reversal of flow from contaminated rivers into productive aquifers close to main river courses. The scenario analysis shows that the groundwater potential is not enough to sustain the ever-growing water demand of the city of Addis Ababa. The sensitivity and scenario analysis provided important information on the data gaps and the specific sites to be selected for monitoring, and may be of great help for transient model development. This study has laid the foundation for developing detailed predictive groundwater model, which can be readily used for groundwater management practices.     

Trace element partitioning between apatite and silicate melts

We present new experimental apatite/melt trace element partition coefficients for a large number of trace elements (Cs, Rb, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Sm, Gd, Lu, Y, Sr, Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, U, Pb, and Th). The experiments were conducted at pressures of 1.0 GPa and temperatures of 1250 °C. The rare earth elements (La, Ce, Pr, Sm, Gd, and Lu), Y, and Sr are compatible in apatite, whereas the larger lithophile elements (Cs, Rb, and Ba) are strongly incompatible. Other trace elements such as U, Th, and Pb have partition coefficients close to unity. In all experiments we found D_Hf > D_Zr, D_Ta ≈ D_Nb, and D_Ba > D_Rb > D_Cs. The experiments reveal a strong influence of melt composition on REE partition coefficients. With increasing polymerisation of the melt, apatite/melt partition coefficients for the rare earth elements increase for about an order of magnitude. We also present some results in fluorine-rich and water-rich systems, respectively, but no significant influence of either H₂O or F on the partitioning was found. Furthermore, we also present experimentally determined partition coefficients in close-to natural compositions which should be directly applicable to magmatic processes.     

北京市PM_(2.5)中主要重金属元素污染特征及季节变化分析

利用2005年4月18日—2008年9月27日北京市中国地质大学(东门)采样点的PM2.5质量浓度变化与重金属Cd、Pb、As、Cu及Zn等污染特征,结合最新发布的《环境空气质量标准》(GB3095—2012),初步分析了近4年时间里北京市单点PM2.5的污染水平及主要重金属污染元素的变化特征,得出了一些有意义的认识。2005年春季—2008年春季期间PM2.5质量浓度为13.1～171μg/m3之间变化,平均浓度为65.6μg/m3,超过最新环境空气质量标准制定的PM2.5年平均浓度限值35μg/m3,北京市PM2.5污染形势依然严峻。奥运会及残奥会期间PM2.5的24 h质量浓度平均值为40.7μg/m3,没有超标。北京市PM2.5中的重金属元素含量及富集特征随着不同年份不同季节差别较大,典型的城市污染元素As在冬季质量浓度最高。对比环境空气质量标准的参考浓度限值发现,As元素的质量浓度在研究期间的年均值均超过了年平均浓度参考限值0.006μg/m3。化学分析结果显示人为污染是PM2.5中Cu、Cd、Pb、Zn、As重金属污染的主要来源,其中As污染需要引起足够重视。研究结果对于北京市大气污染防治具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Observational and modelling studies of Amazonia interannual climate variability

The interannual variability of climate in the Amazon basin is studied using precipitation and river level anomalies observed near the March/April rainy season peak for the period 1980–86, supported by satellite imagery of tropical convection. Evaluation of this data in conjunction with the corresponding circulation and sea-surface temperature (SST) anomaly patterns indicates that abundant rainy seasons in Northern Amazonia are characterized by anomalously cold surface waters in the tropical eastern Pacific, and negative/positive SST anomalies in the tropical North/South Atlantic, accelerated Northeast trades and a southward displaced Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over the Atlantic sector. Years with deficient rainfall show broadly opposite patterns.General circulation model (GCM) experiments using observed SST in three case studies were aimed at testing the teleconnections between SST and Amazon climate implied by the empirical analysis. The GCM-generated surface fields resemble the corresponding observers fields most closely over the tropical Pacific and, with one exception, over the tropical Atlantic as well. The modeled precipitation features, along the Northwest coast of South America, anomalies of opposite sign to the North and South of the equator, in agreement with observations and results from a different GCM. Similarities in simulations run from different initial conditions, but using the same global SST, indicate broad consistency in response to common boundary forcing.     

Fault gouge analyses: K–Ar illite dating,clay mineralogy and tectonic significance—a study from the Sierras Pampeanas,Argentina

We introduce a method for the detailed interpretation of K–Ar illite fine-fraction ages of fault gouges from non-sedimentary host rocks. Ages are cross-evaluated with several independent parameters, e.g. illite crystallinity, illite polytype quantification, grain size, mineralogical observations, K–Ar muscovite and biotite host-rock cooling ages as well as low-temperature thermochronological data (AFT, AHe, ZHe). This interpretation approach is applied to a regional study in order to constrain the ‘deformation path’ of the Eastern Sierras Pampeanas in NW Argentina. In the course of this study, a large number of gouge-bearing fault zones were systematically sampled and analysed. Obtained K–Ar illite fine-fraction ages range from Devonian to Cretaceous times, documenting a long-lasting brittle fault activity in this region. Ages >320 Ma are synchronous with a period of intra-Carboniferous compressional tectonism, whereas Permo-Triassic ages are contemporaneous to a flat-slab subduction episode of the Farallon plate beneath the South American plate. Middle to Late Permian and Early Triassic ages as well as Early Jurassic to Middle Cretaceous ages correlate with extensional tectonics in this region. Additionally, K–Ar illite ages reveal a propagation of brittle deformation from north to south in the Sierras de Córdoba and San Luis. Data integrity and consistency with other chronometers and geological evidence show that the here suggested interpretation is valid and can provide a powerful tool to evaluate cooling and deformation histories. Despite of that, we could show that the reliability of fault gouge data strongly depends on the regional cooling.     

Impact of temperature on long chain diol and mid-chain hydroxy methyl alkanoate composition in Proboscia diatoms: Results from culture and field studies

Long chain 1,14-diols and 12-hydroxy methyl alkanoates are biomarker lipids for Proboscia diatoms and occur widely in Quaternary sediments. To determine the effect of temperature on the lipid composition of these algae, a new Proboscia sp. culture grown at 8 °C and Proboscia indica cultures grown at 18, 21, 24 and 27 °C were examined. The results were combined with lipid data from a P. indica culture and a Proboscia alata culture, grown at 20 and 2 °C, respectively, from previous studies. The data showed a strong relationship between long chain diol and 12-hydroxy methyl alkanoate composition and growth temperature, i.e. the chain length increases and the degree of unsaturation of long chain 1,14-diols decreases with increasing growth temperature. To determine the effect of temperature on Proboscia lipid compositions in natural environments, we also analyzed fossil long chain 1,14-diols and 12-hydroxy methyl alkanoates in surface sediments derived from Proboscia diatoms living in the water column of the eastern South Atlantic. The results indicate a significant relationship between sea surface temperature and chain length distribution of saturated long chain diols, but also suggest that the relative abundances of unsaturated long chain diols and 12-hydroxy methyl alkanoates in sediments are predominantly determined by factors other than temperature.     

Continental rift-setting and evolution of Neoproterozoic Sindreth Basin in NW-India

The Neoproterozoic Sindreth Basin, NW India, and its surrounding area represent a half graben structure situated between the undeformed Malani Igneous Suite (MIS) in the west and a corridor of coeval Cryogenian ductile deformation, anatexis and granite intrusion in the east. The main lithologies observed in the basin are conglomerate, fanglomerate, debris flow and lake deposits derived from a nearby continental provenance, intercalated with concurrent mafic and felsic lava flows. Based on geological traverses across the strike of the basin, we propose a three-fold classification comprising Lower Clastic Unit and an Upper Clastic Unit and a Bimodal (basalt–rhyolite) Volcanic Unit separating the two. Tilting due to basin inversion and faulting has been observed; however, the rocks are unmetamorphosed and show undisturbed primary sedimentary features. The stratigraphic record of the basin is characteristic for deposition and magmatism in a fault-related continental setting. Implications of the findings have been discussed in the context of Neoproterozoic crustal dynamics in NW India. This study provides conclusive evidence for a continental setting for Sindreth Basin evolution and contests the recent models of active subduction setting (either back-arc basin or accretionary sediments over a subduction zone).     

极端干旱条件下策勒绿洲引种植物水分生理特征研究

在塔克拉玛干沙漠南缘的中国科学院策勒沙漠研究站植物引种筛选实验区内,以3 a生文冠果、花棒和紫叶小檗为实验材料,研究三种植物经历持续干旱到短期复水过程中的生理生态响应。结果表明：（1）干旱复水后花棒和紫叶小檗的chla、chlb、叶绿素总量以及chla/b值均随土壤含水量的增加而显著增加,文冠果的叶绿素及其组分含量减少。水分变化对chla含量影响较大。（2）三种植物的MDA含量、SS含量在复水后并没有减少,而是显著的增加,文冠果的增加量最大;各物种的脯氨酸的含量降低,紫叶小糪减少的最多。（3）三种植物的清晨水势和正午水势随土壤水分含量的增加而降低,花棒和紫叶小檗的水势变化较小,水分亏缺迹象不显著。文冠果和花棒的抗逆性较强,而紫叶小檗对水分变化比较敏感。本研究结果可为研究区引种植物的适应性及防护林建设中的植物种选择提供理论参考。