Assessment of groundwater recharge processes through karst vadose zone by cave percolation monitoring

Recharge processes of karst aquifers are difficult to assess given their strong heterogeneity and the poorly known effect of vadose zone on infiltration. However, recharge assessment is crucial for the evaluation of groundwater resources. Moreover, the vulnerability of karst aquifers depends on vadose zone behaviour because it is the place where most contamination takes place. In this work, an in situ experimental approach was performed to identify and quantify flow and storage processes occurring in karst vadose zone. Cave percolation monitoring and dye tracing were used to investigate unsaturated zone hydrological processes. Two flow components (diffuse and quick) were identified and, respectively, account for 66% and 34% of the recharge. Quickflow was found to be the result of bypass phenomenon in vadose zone related to water saturation. We identify the role of epikarst as a shunting area, most of the storage in the vadose zone occurring via the diffuse flow component in low permeability zones. Relationship between rainfall intensity and transit velocity was demonstrated, with 5 times higher velocities for the quick recharge mode than the diffuse mode. Modelling approach with KarstMod software allowed to simulate the hybrid recharge through vadose zone and shows promising chances to properly assess the recharge processes in karst aquifer based on simple physical models.     

Ecometrics and the paleoecological implications of Pleistocene faunas from the western coastal plains of the Cape Floristic Region,South Africa

The Pleistocene ungulate communities from the western coastal plains of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) are diverse and dominated by grazers, in contrast to the region's Holocene and historical faunas, which are relatively species-poor and dominated by small-bodied browsers and mixed feeders. An expansion of grassy habitats is clearly implied by the Pleistocene faunas, but the presence of ruminant grazers that cannot survive the summer dry season typical of the region today suggests other important paleoecological changes. Here we use dental ecometrics to explore the paleoecological implications of the region's Pleistocene faunas. We show that the dental traits (hypsodonty and occlusal topography) of the ungulates that occurred historically in the CFR track annual and summer aridity, and we use these relationships to reconstruct past aridity. Our results indicate that the Pleistocene faunas signal paleoenvironments that were on average less arid than today, including during the summer, consistent with other lines of evidence that suggest a higher water table and expansion of well-watered habitats. Greater water availability can be explained by lower temperature and reduced evapotranspiration during cooler phases of the Pleistocene, probably coupled with enhanced groundwater recharge due to increased winter precipitation.     

The Wide Band Spectrometer on the SOLAR-A

The SOLAR-A spacecraft has spectroscopic capabilities in a wide energy band from soft X-rays to gamma-rays. The Wide Band Spectrometer (WBS), consisting of three kinds of spectrometers, soft X-ray spectrometer (SXS), hard X-ray spectrometer (HXS) and gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS), is installed on SOLAR-A to investigate plasma heating, high-energy particle acceleration, and interaction processes. SXS has two proportional counters and each counter provides 128-channel pulse height data in the 2–30 keV range every 2 s and 2-channel pulse count data every 0.25 s. HXS has a NaI scintillation detector and provides 32-channel pulse height data in the 20–400 keV range every 1 s and 2-channel pulse count data every 0.125 s. GRS has two identical BGO scintillation detectors and each detector provides 128-channel pulse height data in the 0.2–10 MeV range every 4 s and 4-channel pulse count data (0.2–0.7, 0.7–4, 4–7, and 7–10 MeV) every 0.25–0.5 s. In addition, each of the BGO scintillation detectors provides 16-channel pulse height data in the 8–100 MeV range every 4 s and 2-channel pulse count data (8–30 and 30–100 MeV) every 0.5 s. The SXS observations enable one to study the thermal evolution of flare plasma by obtaining time series of electron temperatures and emission measures of hot plasma; the HXS observations enable one to study the electron acceleration and heating mechanisms by obtaining time series of the electron spectrum; and the GRS observations enable one to study the high-energy electron and ion acceleration and interaction processes by obtaining time series of electron and ion spectra.After the launch the name of SOLAR-A has been changed to YOHKOH.     

Line features from Cygnus X-1 and the Crab nebula in the energy range 30–270 keV

A balloon-borne gemanium spectrometer was flown in an attempt to detect line-emission from Cyg X-1 and the Crab nebula in the energy range 30–270 keV. The experiment was carried out on 29–30 September, 1982. A line feature at 145 keV was observed from Cyg X-1. The intensity is (1.34±0.31)×10^–2 photons cm^–2 s^–1 and the width is 14.3 keV FWHM. From the Crab nebula, a weak line feature with 1.8 excess was found around 78 keV.     

Atmospheric hydroperoxides measured over a rural site in central Japan during spring: helicopter-borne measurements

Measurements of the concentrations of H₂O₂ and methyl hydroperoxide (MHP), O₃, and SO₂ over Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan were performed in March using a helicopter. H₂O₂ concentrations were higher at an altitude of approximately 2,400 m (8,000 ft). The H₂O₂ concentrations (< 0.8 ppb) in the spring were much lower than those observed during the summer observations. MHP was also higher in the high-altitude atmosphere. Lower concentrations of H₂O₂ were observed when high air pollutants were actively transported from Asian continent. The concentrations of H₂O₂ were mostly lower than those of SO₂; this condition is called oxidant limitation. If H₂O₂ concentration rises in cold months, the acidification of cloud water may be accelerated at high elevations in central Japan where air pollution is actively transported.     

Minor and trace element incorporation into branching coral Acropora nobilis skeleton

Chemical and isotopic compositions of the Acropora nobilis skeleton were analyzed at various spatial resolutions to investigate the mechanism by which elements are incorporated into the skeleton. Chemical and isotopic profiles along growth axes of axial and radial corallites did not show seasonal variation, with the exception of the δ¹⁸O profile of the axial corallite. Detailed observations of the skeletal structure revealed that the skeletal density increased with distance from the tip because secondarily precipitated aragonite (here called the “infilling” skeleton) filled pore spaces in the “framework” skeleton. Microscale element analyses revealed that main part of the infilling skeleton had lower Mg/Ca and higher Sr/Ca and U/Ca than the framework skeleton. At microscale, Sr/Ca and U/Ca were positively correlated with each other, and negatively correlated with Mg/Ca but only weakly. The results showed that the infilling skeleton differed significantly from the adjacent framework skeleton in terms of not only formation chronology but also chemical composition, and that the bulk composition was influenced by the infilling/framework skeletal ratio. In order to use the Acropora skeleton as a paleoclimate archive, the relationship between environmental factors and the chemical composition of each skeletal component needs to be established.     

华南地区中生代Cu (Mo) W Sn矿床成矿作用与洋岭/转换断层俯冲

华南地区是我国重要的金属矿产资源产地,除了发育大量的钨锡钼铋和稀土等金属矿产外,还有铜金矿床分布。本文通过对华南地区29个典型CuMoWSn矿床的时空分布及其与之有关的花岗质岩体的侵位年龄分析,探讨了与不同成矿类型有关的花岗质岩石的地球化学特征。本文认为华南地区10个典型的与Cu有关的矿床主要发生在180~170Ma、160~150Ma以及105~90Ma三个时期,而10个钨矿床主要集中于170~130Ma;4个WSn矿床集中于170~130Ma和120~110Ma;而5个Sn矿床则发育于170~150Ma、130~110Ma以及100~90Ma三个时期。Cu矿床主要与同熔型花岗岩有关,而Mo、WSn既与同熔型花岗岩有关,又与改造型花岗岩有关。在岩石地球化学上,与Cu(Mo)WSn成矿作用有关的花岗质岩石也表现出不同的地球化学特点,如,从Cu(Mo)矿床到WSn矿床SiO2含量有逐渐增大、氧化性逐渐降低、还原性逐渐增加以及分异演化程度有逐渐增高的趋势。与Cu(Mo)Au矿床有关的花岗质岩石具有较低的SiO2（60.3%~68.1%）,氧化性较高（Fe2O3/FeO=0.31~1.81）,分异演化程度较低（Rb/Sr=0.05~3.3）的特点;与Cu(Pb)(Zn)矿床有关的花岗质岩石具有相对较高的SiO2（73.3%~75.2%）,氧化性稍高（Fe2O3/FeO=0.68~1.74）,分异程度稍低（Rb/Sr=10.8~57.8）的特点;而与Mo矿床有关的花岗质岩石具有较宽的SiO2（67.3%~76.2%）变化范围,氧化性稍低（Fe2O3/FeO=0.68~1.74）,分异演化程度稍低（Rb/Sr=0.6~9.29）;与W矿有关的花岗质岩石的SiO2含量为69.9%~80.1%,还原性稍低（Fe2O3/FeO=0.19~0.76）,分异演化程度稍高（Rb/Sr=21.9~61.7）;与WSn矿床有关的SiO2为74.8%~78.7%,还原性较低（Fe2O3/FeO=0.08~0.59）,分异程度较高（Rb/Sr=10.8~139）;与Sn矿床有关的花岗质岩石的SiO2为64.8%~76.9%,还原性高（Fe2O3/FeO=0.01~0.58）,分异演化程度高（Rb/Sr=1~530）。在结合华南地区花岗岩类岩石的分布特征以及盆岭构造的特点,本文提出华南地区CuMoWSn矿床的成矿作用是不同时期大洋板块或者洋岭多阶段俯冲结果的新成因模型,即早侏罗世休眠的FarallonIzanagi洋岭俯冲导致早—中侏罗世Cu成矿作用;中—晚侏罗世活动的FarallonIzanagi洋岭和转换断层俯冲是中晚侏罗世Cu(Mo)(W)成矿作用以及多阶段WSn成矿作用的触发动力,而白垩纪Izanagi大洋板块俯冲则是白垩纪斑岩型CuWSn成矿作用的诱因。该模型的提出较好地解释了华南中生代大规模岩石圈拆沉—减薄—伸展的机制及其大规模成矿作用的动力。     

Thermoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance and optical absorption in natural and synthetic rhodonite crystals

Thermoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance and optical absorption properties of rhodonite, a natural silicate mineral, have been investigated and compared to those of synthetic crystal, pure and doped. The TL peaks grow linearly for radiation dose up to 4 kGy, and then saturate. In all the synthetic samples, 140 and 340°C TL peaks are observed; the difference occurs in their relative intensities, but only 340°C peak grows strongly for high doses. Al₂O₃ and Al₂O₃ + CaO-doped synthetic samples presented several decades intenser TL compared to that of synthetic samples doped with other impurities. A heating rate of 4°C/s has been used in all the TL readings. The EPR spectrum of natural rhodonite mineral has only one huge signal around g = 2.0 with width extending from 1,000 to 6,000 G. This is due to Mn dipolar interaction, a fact proved by numerical calculation based on Van Vleck dipolar broadening expression. The optical absorption spectrum is rich in absorption bands in near-UV, visible and near-IR intervals. Several bands in the region from 540 to 340 nm are interpreted as being due to Mn³⁺ in distorted octahedral environment. A broad and intense band around 1,040 nm is due to Fe²⁺. It decays under heating up to 900°C. At this temperature it is reduced by 80% of its original intensity. The pink, natural rhodonite, heated in air starts becoming black at approximately 600°C.     

Estuarine, barrier-island to strand-plain sequence and related ravinement surface developed during the last interglacial in the Paleo-Tokyo Bay, Japan

Recognition of sequence boundaries and transgressive surfaces (i.e. ravinement surfaces, RS) is now known to be of great importance in stratigraphy. The sedimentary features of deposits immediately above a transgressive surface are well exposed in the Upper Pleistocene Kioroshi Formation of the Kanto Plain in central Japan. The formation comprises mainly coastal and shallow-marine deposits (estuarine, barrier-island and the strand-plain systems) which accumulated along a wavedominated coast in the Late Pleistocene, i.e., the last interglacial to last glacial period. The Kioroshi Formation is bounded above and below by sequence boundaries that formed in the lowstand periods correlative to the glacial periods of oxygen isotope stages 4 and 6, respectively. A significant transgressive surface that was formed by landward migration of barrier islands during the transgressive interval, the ravinement surface (RS), is found within the deposits of the upper shelf environment.

This ravinement surface is characterized by the exotic nature of the overlying sediment veneer (pebbles, shells and scattered mud clasts) which is poorly sorted. The RS shows a very flattened erosional surface in the shore-parallel sense, and the gradient of the surface in shore-normal sense is calculated as 0.0021, where the syndepositional tectonic movement is revised. The RS commonly cuts through the lower sequence boundary. However, in the places where the river or tidal channel valleys incised, the valley-filling sediment shows a deepening-upward sequence recognized as a transgressive systems tract and the RS can be clearly distinguished from the lower sequence boundary.     

Acceleration phenomena observed by interplanetary scintillation at 0.1–0.3 AU

Interplanetary scintillation has observed high-latitude streams which show low speeds (400 km/s) within 0.3 AU and high speeds (700 km/s) beyond 0.3 AU. The foot points of these streams were located in the HeI coronal holes or at their boundaries. Since the IPS measurement is biased by one or several mechanisms, we investigated whether this acceleration phenomena could be caused by bias effects or not. Speed increase of more than 100 km/s is left without being explained by the bias effects.