Contribution of Mangroves and Salt Marshes to Nature-Based Mitigation of Coastal Flood Risks in Major Deltas of the World

Nature-based solutions are rapidly gaining interest in the face of global change and increasing flood risks. While assessments of flood risk mitigation by coastal ecosystems are mainly restricted to local scales, our study assesses the contribution of salt marshes and mangroves to nature-based storm surge mitigation in 11 large deltas around the world. We present a relatively simple GIS model that, based on globally available input data, provides an estimation of the tidal wetland’s capacity of risk mitigation at a regional scale. It shows the high potential of nature-based solutions, as tidal wetlands, to provide storm surge mitigation to more than 80% of the flood-exposed land area for 4 of the 11 deltas and to more than 70% of the flood-exposed population for 3 deltas. The magnitude of the nature-based mitigation, estimated as the length of the storm surge pathway crossing through tidal wetlands, was found to be significantly correlated to the total wetland area within a delta. This highlights the importance of conserving extensive continuous tidal wetlands as a nature-based approach to mitigate flood risks. Our analysis further reveals that deltas with limited historical wetland reclamation and therefore large remaining wetlands, such as the Mississippi, the Niger, and part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra deltas, benefit from investing in the conservation of their vast wetlands, while deltas with extensive historical wetland reclamation, such as the Yangtze and Rhine deltas, may improve the sustainability of flood protection programs by combining existing hard engineering with new nature-based solutions through restoration of former wetlands.     

Hydrogeochemical Features of Thermal Waters of South Trungbo (Central Vietnam)

The results of studying the features of the hydrogeological structure and chemical and isotope composition of thermal waters from the central part of Vietnam that are characterized by intense manifestations of intrusive magmatism are presented. It is established that low–and high–thermal waters with temperature varying within 30–85°C are developed in the area under study. The value of total mineralization of the hydrotherms ranges from 0.05 to 10.05 g/dm³. It is assumed that the circulation of thermal waters that are different in temperature and chemical composition occurs at two levels. The regular change of the hydrotherm composition in the direction from mineralized chloride sodium, including with increased Ca content, to fresh sodium bicarbonate is revealed. The ratio of δ¹⁸O–δ²H isotopes indicates that the water component is based on meteoric water. In the coastal areas, there is an isotope shift towards the ocean waters, which is also confirmed by the hydrogeochemical data. The key factors for forming the chemical composition of the thermal waters in South Trungbo are their genetic type, the interaction processes in the “water–rock–gas–organic substance” system, and their equilibrium–nonequilibrium state.     

Estimation of commercial diamond grades based on microdiamonds: a case study of the Koidu diamond mine,Sierra Leone

This paper documents the application of a microdiamond-based approach to the estimation of diamond grade in the Pipe 1 kimberlite at the Koidu mine in Sierra Leone. A geological model of Pipe 1 was constructed to represent the distribution and volume of the dominant kimberlite units within the pipe. Bulk samples, along with representative microdiamond samples, were collected from these units at surface and were used to define the ratio between microdiamond stone frequency (+212 μm stones per kilogram) and recoverable macrodiamond grade (+1.2 mm carats per tonne; 1 carat = 0.2 g). These ratios were applied to a comprehensive, spatially representative microdiamond sample dataset and were combined with a spatial model of country-rock xenolith dilution within the pipe to estimate +1.2 mm recoverable grades. The resource estimate was reconciled with subsequent production results in the elevation range 160 to 100 m above sea level. Production results for each of the six 10 m benches covering this elevation range were compared to the estimated average grades for these zones in the pipe. For the five cases where most of the kimberlite mass on a given bench is represented in the production data, the results show a maximum discrepancy of 6% between predicted and reported production grade with no indication of any consistent bias. This indicates that, when supported by a sound geological model and suitable microdiamond and macrodiamond data, the microdiamond-based estimation approach can provide reliable constraints on macrodiamond grade, even in the case of geologically complex bodies such as Koidu Pipe 1.

     

敦煌造山带长山子地区变质演化及年代学研究

长山子地区位于敦煌造山带东北部,瓜州南部约100km处。该区主要出露一套中-高级变质表壳岩,主要岩石类型有长英质片麻岩、变泥质麻粒岩、高压基性麻粒岩、斜长角闪片麻岩。高压基性麻粒岩岩块、斜长角闪片麻岩岩块以构造透镜体或布丁(长度为0. 5~15m)的形式,被夹持于长英质片麻岩、变泥质麻粒岩组成的基质之中,呈现典型"基质夹岩块"的混杂带特征。高压基性麻粒岩、斜长角闪片麻岩、泥质麻粒岩中,普遍保留了二至三个阶段的变质矿物组合。进变质阶段矿物组合(M1)为石榴子石变斑晶中的细小矿物包裹体,变质高峰期矿物组合(M2)为石榴子石变斑晶和基质矿物,退变质阶段矿物组合(M3)主要为围绕石榴子石变斑晶边部发育的"白眼圈"状后成合晶。本区各类变质岩石均记录了顺时针型变质作用P-T轨迹,系典型俯冲-碰撞造山带变质作用特征。退变质阶段P-T轨迹属于西阿尔卑斯型,说明变质岩折返速率较快。变质高峰期(M2)属于中压变质相系,P-T条件分别为790~870℃/1.29~1.37GPa(高压基性麻粒岩)、680~685℃/0.89~0.97GPa(斜长角闪片麻岩)、860~880℃/0.90~1.14GPa(变泥质麻粒岩),它们之间存在大的差异。这说明,它们是形成于同一俯冲隧道内不同深度的变质岩石,在构造折返阶段才混杂在一起形成构造混杂岩。二次离子质谱(SIMS)锆石U-Pb定年表明,长山子地区变质杂岩记录了早泥盆世的俯冲事件(419~417Ma)。     

Carbon costs and benefits of France’s biomass energy production targets

Background

Concern about climate change has motivated France to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel by setting targets for increased biomass-based renewable energy production. This study quantifies the carbon costs and benefits for the French forestry sector in meeting these targets. A forest growth and harvest simulator was developed for French forests using recent forest inventory data, and the wood-use chain was reconstructed from national wood product statistics. We then projected wood production, bioenergy production, and carbon balance for three realistic intensification scenarios and a business-as-usual scenario. These intensification scenarios targeted either overstocked, harvest-delayed or currently actively managed stands.

Results

All three intensification strategies produced 11.6–12.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year of wood-based energy by 2026, which corresponds to the target assigned to French wood-energy to meet the EU 2020 renewable energy target. Sustaining this level past 2026 will be challenging, let alone further increasing it. Although energy production targets can be reached, the management intensification required will degrade the near-term carbon balance of the forestry sector, compared to continuing present-day management. Even for the best-performing intensification strategy, i.e., reducing the harvest diameter of actively managed stands, the carbon benefits would only become apparent after 2040. The carbon balance of a strategy putting abandoned forests back into production would only break even by 2055; the carbon balance from increasing thinning in managed but untended stands would not break even within the studied time periods, i.e. 2015–2045 and 2046–2100. Owing to the temporal dynamics in the components of the carbon balance, i.e., the biomass stock in the forest, the carbon stock in wood products, and substitution benefits, the merit order of the examined strategies varies over time.

Conclusions

No single solution was found to improve the carbon balance of the forestry sector by 2040 in a way that also met energy targets. We therefore searched for the intensification scenario that produces energy at the lowest carbon cost. Reducing rotation time of actively managed stands is slightly more efficient than targeting harvest-delayed stands, but in both cases, each unit of energy produced has a carbon cost that only turns into a benefit between 2060 and 2080.

     

Flood-prone area mapping using machine learning techniques: a case study of Quang Binh province,Vietnam

Natural Hazards - Vietnam’s central coastal region is the most vulnerable and always at flood risk, severely affecting people’s livelihoods and socio-economic development. In...     

Geological and geophysical studies of the Agoudal impact structure (Central High Atlas,Morocco): New evidence for crater size and age

Since the discovery of shatter cones (SCs) near the village of Agoudal (Morocco, Central High Atlas Mountains) in 2013, the absence of one or several associated circular structures led to speculation about the age of the impact event, the number, and the size of the impact crater or craters. Additional constraints on the crater size, age, and erosion rates are obtained here from geological, structural, and geophysical mapping and from cosmogenic nuclide data. Our geological maps of the Agoudal impact site at the scales of 1:30,000 (6 km²) and 1:15,000 (2.25 km²) include all known occurrences of SCs in target rocks, breccias, and vertical to overturned strata. Considering that strata surrounding the impact site are subhorizontal, we argue that disturbed strata are related to the impact event. Three types of breccias have been observed. Two of them (br1‐2 and br2) could be produced by erosion–sedimentation–consolidation processes, with no evidence for impact breccias, while breccia (br1) might be impact related. The most probable center of the structure is estimated at 31°59′13.73?N, 5°30′55.14?W using the concentric deviation method applied to the orientation of strata over the disturbed area. Despite the absence of a morphological expression, the ground magnetic and electromagnetic surveys reveal anomalies spatially associated with disturbed strata and SC occurrences. The geophysical data, the structural observations, and the area of occurrence of SCs in target rocks are all consistent with an original size of 1.4–4.2 km in diameter. Cosmogenic nuclide data (³⁶Cl) constrain the local erosion rates between 220 ± 22 m Ma^?1 and 430 ± 43 m Ma^?1. These erosion rates may remove the topographic expression of such a crater and its ejecta in a time period of about 0.3–1.9 Ma. This age is older than the Agoudal iron meteorite age (105 ± 40 kyr). This new age constraint excludes the possibility of a genetic relationship between the Agoudal iron meteorite fall and the formation of the Agoudal impact site. A chronolgy chart including the Atlas orogeny, the alternation of sedimentation and erosion periods, and the meteoritic impacts is presented based on all obtained and combined data.     

On the mode of propagation of light

Starting from the fundamental assumptions of the special theory of relativity which do not take into consideration gravitational effects the isotropic propagation of light and how to check experimentally the mode of propagation have been analyzed.