Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography

In recent months there has been an explosion of interest in using the Web to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic information provided voluntarily by individuals. Sites such as Wikimapia and OpenStreetMap are empowering citizens to create a global patchwork of geographic information, while Google Earth and other virtual globes are encouraging volunteers to develop interesting applications using their own data. I review this phenomenon, and examine associated issues: what drives people to do this, how accurate are the results, will they threaten individual privacy, and how can they augment more conventional sources? I compare this new phenomenon to more traditional citizen science and the role of the amateur in geographic observation.     

Dehydration—Melting Experiments on the Khondalite Series,North Segment of Helan Mountain—I.Determination of Critical Melt Fraction

Dehydration-melting experiments were conducted on granulite and Al-gneiss,the two most representative rock-types of the khondalite series in the northern segment of the Helan Mountain.The critical melting fraction was determined to be 30% in volume,which is of great significance with respect to the P-T-t path of metamorphism and granite generation in the region.     

Comparative Planetary Space Physics

It has been 60 years since the space physics as new branch of geophysics started to grow in 1957 when the space age was opened by a small satellite called sputnik. The knowledge of Earth and planetary space has been significantly extended and deepened, but the questions we are facing today are more challenging. A consensus reached is that we have to regard the Earth (planet) as an integrated system including all spheres from the inner core to the magnetosphere, and we should try to investigate some questions standing on the ground of interdisciplinary study, especially those questions related to Earth’s (planetary) evolution. Space environment as the outer part of a planetary system, commonly exists in all planets but also exhibits strong diversity. Here, we introduce the short history of basic ideas and methods of comparative study, the advantages on understanding of some issues of global scale, and the prospect from comparative perspective.     

影响南极海洋石油烃低温降解菌希瓦氏菌NJ49生长和降解率的环境因素研究

以柴油为唯一碳源和能源,从南极海水海冰微生物资源库中筛选到一株石油烃低温降解菌希瓦氏菌NJ49,并对影响其生长和降解率的环境因素(pH、温度、盐度、营养盐和表面活性剂)进行了初步研究。结果表明:希瓦氏菌NJ49可作为低温海域石油烃污染生物修复的菌源,其生长和降解的最适条件为:初始pH7.5,温度15℃,盐度6%,摇瓶装量80ml,最佳氮源硝酸铵,最佳磷源为磷酸二氢钾和磷酸氢二钾的混合物,添加表面活性剂可促进希瓦氏菌NJ49的生长和生物降解率。     

Chemical composition of rock-forming minerals and crystallization physicochemical conditions of the Middle Eocene I-type Haji Abad pluton,SW Buin-Zahra,Iran

The Haji Abad intrusion is a well-exposed Middle Eocene I-type granodioritc pluton in the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic assemblage (UDMA). The major constituents of the investigated rocks are K-feldspar, quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, and minor Fe–Ti oxide and hornblende. The plagioclase compositions fall in the labradorite, andesine, and oligoclase fields. The amphiboles range in composition from magnesio-hornblende to tremolite–hornblende of the calcic-amphibole group. Most pyroxenes principally plot in the field of diopside. The calculated average pressure of emplacement is 1.9 kbar for the granodioritic rocks, crystallizing at depths of about 6.7 km. The highest pressure estimated from clinopyroxene geobarometry (5 kbar) reflects initial pyroxene crystallization pressure, indicating initial crystallization depth (17.5 km) in the Haji Abad granodiorite. The estimated temperatures using two-feldspar thermometry give an average 724 °C. The calculated average temperature for clinopyroxene crystallization is 1090 °C. The pyroxene temperatures are higher than the estimated temperature by feldspar thermometry, indicating that the pyroxene and feldspar temperatures represent the first and late stages of magmatic crystallization of Haji Abad granodiorite, respectively. Most pyroxenes plot above the line of Fe³⁺?=?0, indicating they crystallized under relatively high oxygen fugacity or oxidized conditions. Furthermore, the results show that the Middle Eocene granitoids crystallized from magmas with H₂O content about 3.2 wt%. The relatively high water content is consistent with the generation environment of HAG rocks in an active continental margin and has allowed the magma to reach shallower crustal levels. The MMEs with ellipsoidal and spherical shapes show igneous microgranular textures and chilled margins, probably indicating the presence of magma mixing. Besides, core to rim compositional oscillations (An and FeO) for the plagioclase crystals serve as robust evidence to support magma mixing. The studied amphiboles and pyroxenes are grouped in the subalkaline fields that are consistent with crystallization from I-type calc-alkaine magma in the subduction environment related to active continental margin. Mineral chemistry data indicate that Haji Abad granodiorites were generated in an orogenic belt related to the volcanic arc setting consistent with the subduction of Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust beneath the central Iranian microcontinent.     

柴达木盆地东部烃源岩的生源与沉积环境

用色谱-质谱、稳定同位素质谱等分析测试技术，对柴达木盆地东部地区寒武系、奥陶系、泥盆系、石炭系和侏罗系岩样进行地球化学特征分析。从饱和烃生物标志化合物特征、正构烷烃单体碳同位素分布特征等方面入手，对该区的烃源岩的生源与沉积环境作了详细研究。结果表明，柴达木盆地东部地区古生界有机质多为菌、藻类生源，少数有陆源有机质混入（主要是石炭系）。有机质多为强还原环境的海相沉积，少数为海陆过渡相沉积。侏罗系在一些地区和层段并非典型的成煤环境，而是属于滨浅湖相，少数为半深湖-深湖环境，因此具有一定的生烃能力。     

河北秦皇岛斑鬣狗巢穴(灵仙洞)及斑鬣狗的集群死亡与埋藏

河北省秦皇岛灵仙洞发现了一批最后斑鬣狗化石,标本达上千件,至少代表了30个不同个体,包括3具骨架(其中骨架Ⅰ是世界上迄今所发现最完整的1具),还发现了一些其他哺乳动物化石,共计26属27种.根据动物群组成、地质地貌以及堆积物的综合分析判断,它的时代可能属于中更新世晚期至晚更新世早期.动物群的生态组合反映当时处于一个温热偏干、半封闭或开阔的山间草原而周边山上有树林的生态环境.标本(尤其是完整骨架)的保存为典型的原地埋藏,死后未受到包括斑鬣狗自身在内的动物干扰和破坏.斑鬣狗在动物群中占绝对优势以及幼年个体和粪化石的发现,表明灵仙洞是一处斑鬣狗族群的巢穴.与其他斑鬣狗巢穴不同的是:斑鬣狗的猎物稀少,鲜见斑鬣狗的活动痕迹,尤其是幼年斑鬣狗啃咬形成的特定产物“nibbling sticks”,这说明灵仙洞既非用于猎物遗骸的储藏,也非用于幼崽的抚养,而是一处共用巢穴,同时也表明灵仙洞的骨骼聚集与埋藏有着特定的成因和机理.     

Glauconites from the Late Palaeocene — Early Eocene Naredi Formation,western Kutch and their genetic implications

Glauconitic minerals are considered as one of the valuable input parameters in sequence stratigraphic analysis of a basin. In the present study glauconitic minerals are reported from subtidal green shale facies in the lower part of the Late Paleocene-Early Eocene Naredi Formation of western Kutch. On the basis of the foraminiferal assemblage the glauconite bearing beds are interpreted to have formed in a mid shelf depositional settings of an unstable marine conditions. XRD studies confirm the glauconite mineralogy of the green pellets and provide an estimation of glauconite maturity. Textural attributes of the glauconites confirm their derivation by different degrees of alteration of precursor feldspar grains. Because of the authigenic origin and autochthonous nature, these glauconites hold promise for understanding sequence stratigraphy of the Palaeogene succession of the western Kutch.     

辽吉东部层状混合岩的成因

辽吉东部的层状混合岩与上、下围岩始终保持整合接触,反映它的体系基本上是封闭的,没有外来组份的加入。其组构、岩石化学、微量元素和稀土资料等表明层状混合岩不足岩浆型的,而是重熔岩浆型的,其原岩是沉积变质岩。     

The effects of soil sand contents on characteristics of humic acids along soil profiles

It is generally accepted that the compositions and properties of soil organic matter (SOM) are influenced by many factors. In order to reveal the effects of soil texture on characteristics and dynamics of SOM and its sub-fraction, humic acid (HA), along two soil profiles, a yellow soil profile and a purplish soil profile, under the same climate and vegetation conditions were determined. Results indicate that the decomposition and humification degrees of SOM and HA of the purplish soils are higher than those of the corresponding yellow soils indicated by A/O–A ratios of HAs, TOCs and HA yields of bulk soil samples, nevertheless, the development degree of the purplish soil is lower than that of the yellow soil. The variations of E₄/E₆ ratios of HAs along the soil profiles indicate the overall molecular sizes of HAs decreased downward along the soil profiles. A/O–A ratios of HAs decreased downward along both the soil profiles indicate that humification processes decrease downward along both the soil profiles. Leaching of SOM shows significant effects on the distribution and characteristics of HAs in the yellow soil profile but the purplish soil profile, which is consistent with the higher hydrophobicity of HAs in purplish soils, shows that the distribution characteristics of SOM along the soil profiles are a complex result of the combination of soil texture and characteristics of SOM itself. The remarkably different sand contents are concluded tentatively as one of reasons to the different distributions and dynamics of HAs along the soil profiles, however, to profoundly understand the evolution and transport of SOM along soil profiles needs more researches.