Tephrostratigraphy and paleo-environmental implications of Late Quaternary sediments and interstitial water in the western Ulleung Basin, East/Japan Sea

Two piston cores, collected from the western Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea, were used to investigate the Late Quaternary tephrostratigraphy, lithology, and mineralogy of the sediments, as well as the elemental composition of both sediments and interstitial water, and their paleo-environmental implications. The cores show two lapilli tephra layers and one rhyolitic ash layer at the boundaries between sedimentary lithofacies units I, II, and III. These layers can be correlated with the well-known Ulleung-Oki (ca. 9.3 ka; boundary of units I/II), Ulleung-Yamato (ca. 25–33 ka), and Aira-Tanzawa (ca. 25.1 ka; boundary of units II/III) layers, respectively. These data suggest that the cores cover the period from the middle stage of marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 to the Holocene. In each core, a so-called dark laminated mud (DLM) layer in unit II commonly has high contents of Si and Al, suggesting that the DLM layer generally contains significant amounts of fine-grained silicates and/or aluminosilicates. In addition, these DLM layers are enriched in Fe relative to Mn, iron being predominantly bound in framboidal pyrite. The size distribution of pyrite in the DLM layers suggests that these have formed under anoxic (euxinic) conditions at times of reduced water circulation in the basin during sea-level lowstand (euxinic environment). The C/N ratios [5–12] suggest that sedimentary organic matter in the cores is predominantly of marine origin. Total organic carbon (TOC) contents increased shortly before Termination I. This could have been caused by an increased flux of marine organic matter in association with sea-level rise. The C and S values of units II and III (Late Pleistocene sediments; C: <2.0%; S: 0.5–2.1%) suggest a more euxinic environment than that of unit I (Holocene sediments; C: 1.0–3.5%; S: <1.0%). Concentrations of SO₄^2– in the interstitial water decrease with increasing burial depth, whereas CH₄ concentrations show the reverse trend. Therefore, it seems that sulfate reduction, probably related to microbial activity, predominates in the upper core sections (<5 m), shifting to methanogenesis in the lower core sections.     

Spectrophotometric determination of pH in seawater off Taiaroa Head,Otago, New Zealand: Full-spectrum modelling and prediction of pCO2 levels

Accurate measurement of seawater pH has long been sought by marine chemists (for example: [Dickson, A.G. 1993a. The measurement of sea water pH. Marine Chemistry, 44, 131–142, Dickson, A.G. 1993b. pH buffers for sea water media based on the total hydrogen ion concentration scale. Deep-Sea Research, 40, 107–118; Zhang, 1996; Tapp, M., Hunter, K.A., Currie, K. and Macaskill, B. 2000. Apparatus of continuous-flow underway spectrophotometric measurement of surface water pH. Marine Chemistry 72(2–4), 193–202; Friis, K., Koetzinger, A., Wallace, D.W.R. 2004. Spectrophotometric pH measurement in the ocean: Requirements, design and testing of an autonomous charge-coupled device detector system. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 2, 126–136]. Recently, such attempts have taken on greater significance as anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions may create rapidly changing oceanic pH. Spectrophotometric techniques have been accepted generally as the best for determination of seawater pH. Here we report a new technique using thymol blue as the indicator dye and fitting the entire spectrum from 400 to 900 nm rather than measuring the absorbance values at only two or three points in the spectrum. This full-spectrum modelling enables a reduction in signal to noise over other techniques. In the laboratory, we find with seawater samples a pH precision increase of five-fold “within” a sample and seven-fold “between” samples when comparing the full spectrum to the three-point method of analysis [Zhang, H., Byrne, R.H. 1996. Spectrophotometric pH measurements of surface seawater at in-situ conditions: absorbance and protonation behaviour of thymol blue. Marine Chemistry 52, 17–25].     

土地利用基础图件更新技术体系研究与软件系统构建

全面、现势的土地利用基础图件是一个国家摸清其土地资源家底,进行土地资源合理利用、规划和科学管理的基础和前提条件。本文从数据源、处理手段与采用的技术方法对土地利用基础图件更新的技术体系进行了研究,基于图件更新技术流程的三个主要环节对图件更新方法进行了系统分析和分类总结,继而提出了一套集RS/GIS/GPS技术于一体的图件更新技术方法与流程;同时依托具有自主知识产权的遥感数据处理平台CASM Im-ageInfo,将整个作业流程一体化,构建了适合我国具体国情的实用和可操作性强的土地利用基础图件更新软件系统,实现了土地利用基础图件的快速更新。     

Bringing GPS into harsh environments for fully automated deformation monitoring

Engineering projects that require deformation monitoring frequently utilize geodetic sensors to measure displacements of target points located in the deformation zone. In situations where control stations and targets are separated by a kilometer or more, GPS can offer higher precision position updates at more frequent intervals than can normally be achieved using total station technology. For large-scale deformation projects requiring the highest precision, it is therefore advisable to use a combination of the two sensors. In response to the need for high precision, continuous GPS position updates in harsh deformation monitoring environments, a software has been developed that employs triple-differenced carrier-phase measurements in a delayed-state Kalman filter. Two data sets were analyzed to test the capabilities of the software. In the first test, a GPS antenna was displaced using a translation stage to mimic slow deformation. In the second test, data collected at a large open pit mine were processed. It was shown that the delayed-state Kalman filter developed could detect millimeter-level displacements of a GPS antenna. The actual precision attained depends upon the amount of process noise infused at each epoch to accommodate the antenna displacements. Higher process noise values result in quicker detection times, but at the same time increase the noise in the solutions. A slow, 25 mm displacement was detected within 30 min of the full displacement with sigma values in E, N and U of ±10 mm or better. The same displacement could also be detected in less than 5 h with sigma values in E, N and U of ±5 mm or better. The software works best for detecting long period deformations (e.g., 20 mm per day or less) for which sigma values of 1–2 mm are attained in all three solution components. It was also shown that the triple-differenced carrier-phase observation can be used to significantly reduce the effects of residual tropospheric delay that would normally plague double-differenced observations in harsh GPS environments.

A bootstrap based space–time surveillance model with an application to crime occurrences

This study proposes a bootstrap-based space–time surveillance model. Designed to find emerging hotspots in near-real time, the bootstrap based model is characterized by its use of past occurrence information and bootstrap permutations. Many existing space–time surveillance methods, using population at risk data to generate expected values, have resulting hotspots bounded by administrative area units and are of limited use for near-real time applications because of the population data needed. However, this study generates expected values for local hotspots from past occurrences rather than population at risk. Also, bootstrap permutations of previous occurrences are used for significant tests. Consequently, the bootstrap-based model, without the requirement of population at risk data, (1) is free from administrative area restriction, (2) enables more frequent surveillance for continuously updated registry database, and (3) is readily applicable to criminology and epidemiology surveillance. The bootstrap-based model performs better for space–time surveillance than the space–time scan statistic. This is shown by means of simulations and an application to residential crime occurrences in Columbus, OH, year 2000.     

Estimating hydraulic conductivity using grain-size analyses, aquifer tests, and numerical modeling in a riverside alluvial system in South Korea

Hydraulic conductivity (K) for an alluvial system in a riverbank filtration area in Changwon City, South Korea, has been studied using grain-size distribution, pumping and slug tests, and numerical modeling. The alluvial system is composed of layers: upper fine sand, medium sand, lower fine sand, and a highly conductive sand/gravel layer at the base. The geometric mean of K for the sand/gravel layer (9.89?×?10^?4 m s^?1), as determined by grain-size analyses, was 3.33 times greater than the geometric mean obtained from pumping tests (2.97?×?10^?4 m s^?1). The geometric mean of K estimates obtained from slug tests (3.08?×?10^?6 m s^?1) was one to two orders of magnitude lower than that from pumping tests and grain-size analyses. K estimates derived from a numerical model were compared to those derived from the grain-size methods, slug tests and pumping tests in order to determine the degree of deviation from the numerical model. It is considered that the K estimates determined by the slug tests resemble the uppermost part of the alluvial deposit, whereas the K estimates obtained by grain-size analyses and pumping tests are similar to those from the numerical model for the sand/gravel layer of the riverside alluvial system.     

海拉尔盆地乌尔逊凹陷与松辽盆地孤店CO2气田含片钠铝石砂岩的岩石学特征

海拉尔盆地乌尔逊凹陷南屯组与松辽盆地孤店CO₂气田泉头组发育大量含片钠铝石砂岩。通过偏光显微镜、扫描电镜、茜素红-S染色、X射线衍射、电子探针与INCA能谱分析等,对含片钠铝石砂岩的骨架碎屑组分、胶结物与自生矿物、成岩共生序列等岩石学特征进行了系统研究。研究表明,含片钠铝石砂岩的岩石类型为长石砂岩和岩屑长石砂岩,粒度以细粒、细-中粒为主,分选差-中等。砂岩中胶结物主要为次生加大石英、自生石英、片钠铝石、铁白云石和粘土矿物。其中,片钠铝石最高可达砂岩总体积的22％在砂岩中或以放射状、束状、菊花状、杂乱毛发状、毛球状、板状等集合体充填孔隙,或呈束状和板状交代长石和岩屑。电子探针与INCA能谱综合分析表明,片钠铝石主要由Na、Al、O、C等组成。在含片钠铝石砂岩中,成岩共生序列依次为粘土矿物包壳-次生加大石英、自生石英、自生高岭石-油气充注-CO₂充注-片钠铝石-铁白云石。其中,CO₂注入前形成的自生矿物组合主要为次生加大石英、自生石英和自生高岭石,CO₂注入后形成的自生矿物组合主要为片钠铝石和铁白云石。     

电子政务空间信息服务应用模型的适用性评价

在总结国内外相关模型评价方法和分析电子政务空间信息服务应用模型的基础上,提出一种基于多层次、可扩展评价指标体系的适用度评价模型,并给出适用度计算的方法和流程。最后,以三种地震灾害评估模型在震灾评估中的应用为例对其进行基于适用度的模型适用性评价。