Chinese Bio-oxidation Gold Extraction Technology Reaches International Advanced Level

In Liaoning, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, Sichuan, Anhui, Jilin and other provinces in China, there is a wide occurrence of metal quantity over 1000 tons of refractory gold ores, principally because of low gold recoveries and become ＂stay mine＂. Features of refi＇actory gold ores are： gold in micro-particles or a microscopic state that is wrapped in pyrite, presence of arsenopyrite and other sulfide minerals or disseminated in the crystal lattice of sulfide minerals; harmful impurity elements such as arsenic, carbon, mercury, antimony, copper with high content are closely related with the gold, and these elements affect the contact reaction between the gold and solvent extraction, making the recovery of the gold extraction process low. In the past 20 years, overseas countries have developed the application of the roasting oxidation method, hot acid （alkali） oxidation, bacterial oxidation and flash chlorination oxidation technology to solve this problem.Among these, biological oxidation has developed rapidly in the domestic market and gold enterprises abroad because of its low investment in infrastructure, low production costs, less environmental pollution, simple process and easy control, etc.     

Objective definition of rainfall intensity–duration thresholds for the initiation of post-fire debris flows in southern California

Rainfall intensity–duration (ID) thresholds are commonly used to predict the temporal occurrence of debris flows and shallow landslides. Typically, thresholds are subjectively defined as the upper limit of peak rainstorm intensities that do not produce debris flows and landslides, or as the lower limit of peak rainstorm intensities that initiate debris flows and landslides. In addition, peak rainstorm intensities are often used to define thresholds, as data regarding the precise timing of debris flows and associated rainfall intensities are usually not available, and rainfall characteristics are often estimated from distant gauging locations. Here, we attempt to improve the performance of existing threshold-based predictions of post-fire debris-flow occurrence by utilizing data on the precise timing of debris flows relative to rainfall intensity, and develop an objective method to define the threshold intensities. We objectively defined the thresholds by maximizing the number of correct predictions of debris flow occurrence while minimizing the rate of both Type I (false positive) and Type II (false negative) errors. We identified that (1) there were statistically significant differences between peak storm and triggering intensities, (2) the objectively defined threshold model presents a better balance between predictive success, false alarms and failed alarms than previous subjectively defined thresholds, (3) thresholds based on measurements of rainfall intensity over shorter duration (≤60 min) are better predictors of post-fire debris-flow initiation than longer duration thresholds, and (4) the objectively defined thresholds were exceeded prior to the recorded time of debris flow at frequencies similar to or better than subjective thresholds. Our findings highlight the need to better constrain the timing and processes of initiation of landslides and debris flows for future threshold studies. In addition, the methods used to define rainfall thresholds in this study represent a computationally simple means of deriving critical values for other studies of nonlinear phenomena characterized by thresholds.     

Multidate image analysis of forest degradation in Equatorial Africa

Abstract

In this paper we process diachronic SPOT satellite images acquired with different viewing angles in order to assess the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) spatial distribution over Brescia.

This urban area, located in Northern Italy, is subject to frequent visibility‐reducing smog episodes. AOT was calculated by using the Differential Textural Analysis (DTA) code on a satellite data series consisting by one pollution‐free and various pollution‐loaded SPOT images. The resulting maps showed the horizontal distribution of AOT with a resolution of 500 metres. These maps can be readily integrated with the results obtained by mesoscale modelling, ground measurements, and respond to local scale application requirements. Satellite AOT retrieval compared successfully with available AOT ground‐based measurements and with pollution measurements in the ambient air. In this study the use of diachronic multiangle SPOT imagery allowed us to analyse the effect of the viewing angle variation on AOT retrieval accuracy based on the contrast reduction method.     

SEDIMENT YIELD CONDITIONED BY GLACIATION IN A RURAL AGRICULTURAL BASIN OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO,CANADA

A sediment budget is constructed for the South Saugeen River, a sixth-order stream basin in southwestern Ontario. Input from eroding glacial embankments accounts for up to 68% of the fine (<63 μm) sediment outputs from the basin. Sediment derived from eroding alluvial banks in the main river contributes approximately 22% of sediment outputs and is approximately equivalent in magnitude to sediments stored in the floodplain. The remaining 10% is derived from sheet and rill erosion of uplands that have been modified by agriculture. However, specification of an appropriate sediment delivery ratio from individual fields to the low-order tributaries remains problematic. Small reservoirs confined by mill dams constructed around the time of land settlement in 1860 store about 3% of the basin sediment inputs. The results demonstrate the importance of downstream, non-alluvial (glacial) sediment sources and can be linked to the model of increasing specific sediment yields with drainage area found in several other river systems of Canada. The high frequency of tall glacial banks in several entrenched river valleys entering the Great Lakes in southern Ontario indicates that the model of dominantly agricultural sediment inputs needs to be adjusted for this region. [Key words: sediment budget, glacial conditioning, reservoir sedimentation, bank erosion, agricultural erosion, southern Ontario, Canada.]     

FIRE EFFECTS ON SOIL HETEROGENEITY BENEATH CHAMISE AND REDSHANKS CHAPARRAL

The origin of soil heterogeneity found in Adenostoma fasciculatum and A sparsifolium chaparral was investigated in the Santa Monica Mountains, California. Possibilities were that geologic and genetic processes created inherent variability in surface soils, and/or that chaparral vegetation generated this variability. Fourteen soil properties were assessed under 17 pairs of the two shrub species before (1984) and after (1985) a wildfire. Hypotheses were that, although magnitudes of soil properties may change with fire, the inherent soil patterns would remain, while vegetation-influenced patterns might either be accentuated or obliterated. All but one of the 14 soil properties changed after fire, and 8 of these changed in the same direction for both shrub species. Different magnitudes of change, as well as opposite changes in 5 soil properties, led to an elimination of most spatial heterogeneity after fire. Eleven soil properties showed significant pre-burn differences between shrub species, while only 3 did so after fire. Vegetation influence was responsible for the spatial soil heterogeneity in the mature stand of chaparral, apparently developing over one regeneration period of about 40 years. With the obliteration of fine-scale soil differences during each fire cycle, soil heterogeneity cannot play a role in determining vegetation regeneration patterns. The creation of a more uniform substrate after fire, however, may favor sprouting over seeding strategies in postfire succession. [Key words: chaparral, fire ecology, soil properties, California.]     

Cool,wet conditions late in the Younger Dryas in semi-arid New Mexico

A thick alluvial sequence in central New Mexico contains the Scholle wet meadow deposit that traces upstream to a paleospring. The wet meadow sediments contain an abundant fauna of twenty-one species of freshwater and terrestrial mollusks and ten species of ostracodes. The mollusks and ostracodes are indicative of a local high alluvial water table with spring-supported perennial flow but without standing water. Pollen analysis documents shrub grassland vegetation with sedges, willow, and alder in a riparian community. Stable carbon isotopes from the wet meadow sediments have δ¹³C values ranging from ? 22.8 to ? 23.3‰, indicating that 80% of the organic carbon in the sediment is derived from C₃ species. The wet meadow deposit is AMS dated 10,400 to 9700 ¹⁴C yr BP, corresponding to 12,300 to 11,100 cal yr BP and overlapping in time with the Younger Dryas event (YD). The wet meadow became active about 500 yr after the beginning of the YD and persisted 400 yr after the YD ended. The Scholle wet meadow is the only record of perennial flow and high water table conditions in the Abo Arroyo drainage basin during the past 13 ka.     

China Output of Crude Oil Hits High in 2012

According to news from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation,the crude oil output in China for 2012 was expected to amount to 207 million tons,likely setting the highest record for domestic oil production. In 2012,crude oil output by the China Natural Petroleum Company (CNPC) climbed again after 17 years to the order of magnitude of 110 million tons,with an actual output of 110.33 million tons.Compared to the 2.79 million tons in the previous year,the figure has increased by 2 million tons for three successive years.The crude oil output produced by the CNPC comes mainly from three areas:the Daqing oilfield in Heilongjiang Province,NE China,which has produced more than 40 million tons for ten successive years;the Changqing oilfield in the Odors Basin in north Shaanxi Province,with an annual output of 22.62 million tons;and the Xinjiang,Tarim and Tuha oilfields in western Xinjiang Province,with a total oil output of 18.39 million tons.The domestic production of crude oil by the CNPC in 2012 was 43.185 million tons,with verified oil/gas reserves exceeding 800 million tons of oil equivalent.Currently,China's output for crude oil has not reached its peak and is increasing consistently.     

Metallic Reserves of Submarine Manganese Nodules to be Estimated and Harnessed Prudently: Evidence from China’s Jiaolong Manned Submersible

Since the discovery of oceanic manganese nodules during the expedition of the British ocean-going ship Challenger from 1872 to 1876,research and development for seabed manganese nodules have never ceased owing to the huge economic inducements. Manganese nodules are the black or dark brown,spherical or massive Mn-bearing ores,deposits of which are found on the sea bottom.The nodules are a mixture of silicate and insoluble potassium permanganates (also with sub-Ti,Fe and Na permanganates) that contain more than 30 kinds of metallic elements,among which those of greatest economic interest are Mn (27-30％),Ni(1.25-1.5％),Cu(1-1.4％),Co(0.2-0.25 ％),Fe,Si,and Al,with minor amounts of Ca,Na,K,Ti,B,H and O.     

Roof of the World

First Joint meeting of the Geological Society of China （GSC） and the Geological Society of America （GSA） Brought together by the GSA International Section Chengdu, China in 17-19 June 2013. The abstracts are available online and can be downloaded for free.     

Oxygen and Ethene Biostimulation for a Persistent Dilute Vinyl Chloride Plume

Contamination of groundwater with chlorinated ethenes is common and represents a threat to drinking water sources. Standard anaerobic bioremediation methods for the highly chlorinated ethenes PCE and TCE are not always effective in promoting complete degradation. In these cases, the target contaminants are degraded to the daughter products DCE and/or vinyl chloride. This creates an additional health risk, as vinyl chloride is even more toxic and carcinogenic than its precursors. New treatment modalities are needed to deal with this widespread environmental problem. We describe successful bioremediation of a large, migrating, dilute vinyl chloride plume in Massachusetts with an aerobic biostimulation treatment approach utilizing both oxygen and ethene. Initial microcosm studies showed that adding ethene under aerobic conditions stimulated the rapid degradation of VC in site groundwater. Deployment of a full‐scale treatment system resulted in plume migration cutoff and nearly complete elimination of above‐standard VC concentrations.