Hydrogeochemical and isotopic evidences of the groundwater regime in Datong Basin, Northern China

Datong Basin is one of the Cenozoic faulted basins in Northern China’s Shanxi province, where groundwater is the major source of water supply. The results of hydrochemical investigation show that along the groundwater flow path, from the margins to the lower-lying central parts of the basin, groundwater generally shows increases in concentrations of TDS, HCO₃ ^?, SO₄ ^2?, Cl^?, Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ (except for Ca²⁺ content). Along the basin margin, groundwater is dominantly of Ca–HCO₃ type; however, in the central parts of the basin it becomes more saline with Na–HCO₃-dominant or mixed-ion type. The medium-deep groundwater has chemical compositions similar to those of shallow groundwater, except for the local area affected by human activity. From the mountain front to the basin area, shallow groundwater concentrations of major ions increase and are commonly higher than those in medium-deep aquifers, due to intense evapotranspiration and anthropogenic contamination. Hydrolysis of aluminosilicate and silicate minerals, cation exchange and evaporation are prevailing geochemical processes occurring in the aquifers at Datong Basin. The isotopic compositions indicate that meteoric water is the main source of groundwater recharge. Evaporation is the major way of discharge of shallow groundwater. The groundwater in medium-deep aquifers may be related to regional recharges of rainwater by infiltrating along the mountain front faults, and of groundwater permeating laterally from bedrocks of the mountain range. However, in areas of groundwater depression cones, groundwater in the deep confined aquifers may be recharged by groundwater from the upper unconfined aquifer through aquitards.     

Evaluation of petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation in shallow groundwater by hydrogeochemical indicators and C, S-isotopes

Biodegradation is one of the main natural attenuation processes in groundwater contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. In this work, preliminary studies have been carried out by analyzing the concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dominant terminal electron accepters or donors, as well as δ ¹³C_DIC and δ ³⁴S_SO4, to reveal the biodegradation mechanism of petroleum hydrocarbons in a contaminated site. The results show that along groundwater flow in the central line of the plume, the concentrations of electron acceptors, pH, and E _h increased but TPH and DIC decreased. The δ ¹³C_DIC values of the contaminated groundwater were in the range of ?14.02 to ?22.28 ‰_PDB and ?7.71 to 8.36 ‰_PDB, which reflected a significant depletion and enrichment of ¹³C, respectively. The increase of DIC is believed to result from the non-methanogenic and methanogenic biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon in groundwater. Meanwhile, from the contaminated source to the downgradient of the plume, the ³⁴S in the contaminated groundwater became more depleted. The Rayleigh model calculation confirmed the occurrence of bacterial sulfate reduction as a biodegradation pathway of the petroleum hydrocarbon in the contaminated aquifers. It was concluded that stable isotope measurements, combined with other biogeochemical measurements, can be a useful tool to prove the occurrence of the biodegradation process and to identify the dominant terminal electron-accepting process in contaminated aquifers.     

Geological features and hydrocarbon accumulation in the Xinken oil field, Tarim Basin

Recently,a large-scale Ordovician oil and gas pool has been discovered in Xinken,north of the Tarim Basin,and it has strongly heterogeneous reservoirs and complicated fluid distribution.Through analyzing oil,gas and water samples collected from this area,in combination of field production and testing data,this study reveals that the Xinken oil pool contains dominantly normal oil characterized by low viscosity,low sulphur,and high wax.It has a low content of natural gas,which presents typical characteristics of wet gas and is oil-associated gas.Oil-gas correlation shows that the oil was from the Middle-Upper Ordovician source rocks and the charge and accumulation of oil and gas took place in the Late Hercynian Period.Controlled by paleogeomorphology,sedimentary facies,ancient karstification,faults,and other factors in the Caledonian Period,the Ordovician carbonate reservoirs are dominated by dissolved pores,cavities and fractures.The reservoir body of fractures and cavities is distributed in the shape of strip and laminate along faults and excellent reservoirs are mostly in the range of 70–100 m below the top of the Yijianfang Formation.As a whole,the Xinken oil pool is a fracture-cavity pool controlled by interbedded karst reservoirs and is a complex composed of stacked karst fractures and cavities of various sizes.It contains oil in large areas horizontally,which is quasi-laminated in distribution,and the accumulation of oil and gas is controlled by the distribution and development degree of the Ordovician carbonate reservoirs.The study shows that this area has abundant resources and a great exploration potential for oil and gas.     

The Variability of the Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxies from the Pan-STARRS's View

By means of the data sets from the Pan-STARRS1 survey,we have systematically examined the relationship between the variability characteristics and the physical ...     

顶板诱导崩落模式选择时变数值分析

顶板诱导崩落是一种新的空区处理技术,其实施效果与诱导崩落施工路径、方法和顺序有关,同时矿岩体作为一种弹塑性体,具有非线性时变力学特征。运用时变力学的基本理论,建立了顶板诱导崩落的时变力学有限元基本方程。针对大厂铜坑矿92号矿体试验采场的地质特征,构建了顶板诱导崩落的时变力学有限元模型,采用多步骤开挖模拟两种不同顶板诱导崩落模式,研究两种不同工序的顶板塑性区发展、东西预裂与崩顶硐室的位移及其安全系数,分析了其对采场的综合效应。结果表明,先预裂后崩顶的顶板诱导崩落模式有利于顶板崩落诱导,并综合考虑诱导崩落效果与作业安全,建议采用先预裂爆破后强制崩顶的微差爆破一次成型工艺。     

Influence of environmental, root, and stand parameters on soil surface CO2 efflux in a Populus euphratica of desert forest in extreme arid region

Spatial variation in soil surface CO2 efflux was measured in a stand of Populus euphratica in the Ejina Oasis of desert riparian forest in the extreme arid region in northwestern China from April 2007 through October 2007.Measurements were taken with a gas-exchange analyzer linked to a soil-respiration chamber.The mean soil CO2 efflux in the stand was 2.71 μmol/(m2·s) during the growing season and 1.38 μmol/(m2·s) in the nongrowing season.The seasonal maximum (end of May through early June) andminimum (October) CO2 efflux were 3.38 and 0.69 μmol/(m2·s),respectively.The diurnal fluctuation of CO2 efflux was relatively small (< 20 percent),with theminimum appearing around 05:00 and the maximum around 15:00.Linear regression analysis showed soil-surface CO2 efflux to be most highly correlated with soil temperature (R2=0.435) and soil moisture (R2=0.213).When all variables were considered simultaneously,only soil temperature (R2=0.378),soil moisture (R2=0.147),and root volume density (R2=0.021) explained a significant amount of variance in soil surface CO2 efflux.Stand volumes were not correlated with soil CO2 efflux on our sites.     

The effect of biological soil crusts of different successional stages and conditions on the germination of seeds of three desert plants

Biological soil crusts greatly affect soil surface properties, which, in turn, may alter seed germination of vascular plants. We investigated the effects of two types of biological soil crusts (moss crust and algal crust) at different ages on the seed germination of Bassia dasyphylla and Artemisia ordosica. We also investigated the effects of crust conditions (living crust and dead crust) on seed germination of B. dasyphylla, A. ordosica and Eragrostis poaeoides. The presence of both algal and moss crusts significantly enhanced the germination of B. dasyphylla and A. ordosica compared with uncrusted soil. Crust age had no significant effect on the germination of either B. dasyphylla or A. ordosica for both moss and algal crusts. Germination of B. dasyphylla differed significantly between moss and algal crusts, but germination of both A. ordosica and E. poaeoides did not. Germination of A. ordosica, E. poaeoides and B. dasyphylla was significantly higher on living algal crust than on dead crust and uncrusted soil, while living moss crust enhanced the germination of both A. ordosica and B. dasyphylla but had no significant effect on E. poaeoides.