Acidities of confined water in interlayer space of clay minerals

The acid chemistry of confined waters in smectite interlayers have been investigated with first principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulations. Aiming at a systematic picture, we establish the model systems to take account of the three possible controlling factors: layer charge densities (0 e, 0.5 e and 1.0 e per cell), layer charge locations (tetrahedral and octahedral) and interlayer counterions (Na⁺ and Mg²⁺). For all models, the interlayer structures are characterized in detail. Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ show significantly different hydration characteristics: Mg²⁺ forms a rigid octahedral hydration shell and resides around the midplane, whereas Na⁺ binds to a basal oxygen atom and forms a very flexible hydration shell, which consists of five waters on average and shows very fast water exchanges. The method of constraint is employed to enforce the water dissociation reactions and the thermodynamic integration approach is used to derive the free-energy values and the acidity constants. Based on the simulations, the following points have been gained. (1) The layer charge is found to be the direct origin of water acidity enhancement in smectites because the neutral pore almost does not have influences on water dissociations but all charged pores do. (2) With a moderate charge density of 0.5 e per cell, the interlayer water shows a pKa value around 11.5. While increasing layer charge density to 1.0 e, no obvious difference is found for the free water molecules. Since 1.0 e is at the upper limit of smectites’ layer charge, it is proposed that the calculated acidity of free water in octahedrally substituted Mg²⁺-smectite, 11.3, can be taken as the lower limit of acidities of free waters. (3) In octahedrally and tetrahedrally substituted models, the bound waters of Mg²⁺ show very low pKa values: 10.1 vs 10.4. This evidences that smectites can also promote the dissociations of the coordinated waters of metal cations. The comparison between the two Mg²⁺-smectites reveals that different layer charge locations do not lead to obvious differences for bound and free water acidities.     

European Solar Telescope: Progress status

In this paper, the present status of the development of the design of the European Solar Telescope is described. The telescope is devised to have the best possible angular resolution and polarimetric performance, maximizing the throughput of the whole system. To that aim, adaptive optics and multi‐conjugate adaptive optics are integrated in the optical path. The system will have the possibility to correct for the diurnal variation of the distance to the turbulence layers, by using several deformable mirrors, conjugated at different heights. The present optical design of the telescope distributes the optical elements along the optical path in such a way that the instrumental polarization induced by the telescope is minimized and independent of the solar elevation and azimuth. This property represents a large advantage for polarimetric measurements. The ensemble of instruments that are planned is also presented (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A Simple Monte Carlo Method for Locating the Three-dimensional Critical Slip Surface of a Slope

Based on the assumption of the plain-strain problem, various optimization or random search methods have been developed for locating the critical slip surfaces in slope-stability analysis, but none of such methods is applicable to the 3D case. In this paper, a simple Monte Carlo random simulation method is proposed to identify the 3D critical slip surface. Assuming the initial slip to be the lower part of a slip ellipsoid, the 3D critical slip surface is located by means of a minimized 3D safety factor. A column-based 3D slope stability analysis model is used to calculate this factor. In this study, some practical cases of known minimum safety factors and critical slip surfaces in 2D analysis are extended to 3D slope problems to locate the critical slip surfaces. Compared with the 2D result, the resulting 3D critical slip surface has no apparent difference in terms of only cross section, but the associated 3D safety factor is definitely higher.     

中国海相碳酸盐岩层系油气地质特点、战略选区思考及需要解决的主要地质问题

中国海相碳酸盐岩层系油气资源量大,但探明程度低,是油气资源战略接替的重要领域。中国海相碳酸盐岩层系具有形成时代老、改造强烈、沉积中心与生烃中心不吻合、储层具有多样性且非均质性强、多烃源层、多期生烃、多期成藏、多期调整与改造等显著特点,与陆相碎屑岩层系有明显差别,又有别于国外海相碳酸盐岩层系。在对不同地区海相碳酸盐岩层系油气地质条件进行分析解剖的基础上,分别对四川盆地、中下扬子及滇黔桂地区、塔里木盆地、鄂尔多斯盆地、渤海湾盆地和青藏地区的海相碳酸盐岩层系油气勘探战略选区急需解决的地质问题进行了讨论。     

4-Dimensional Models of Deformation of the Earth's Crust and Earthquake Prediction

Traditionally, when creating 4-D models of elastic offsets in the Earth's crust, the data from geodesic and GPS monitoring of offsets on the ground surface, earthquake catalogs, monitoring of the water level and radon content in wells, sea level fluctuations, as well as gravitational and magnetic fields, etc., can be taken as bases for information. In essence, the reason for creating a 4-D model of slow elastic deformations is to approximate the process by a set of plane deformation solitons (solitary waves). The parameters of a set of deformation solitons are obtained by a two-stage inversion. First, the parameters of the model are determined in a kinematic way by the use of a modified simplification of the method. Then, a calibration of the amplitude characteristics of the model is carried out in terms of elastic dynamic offsets. Taking Ural, Northern Tianshan, Greece, and China as examples, models for these regions are created on the basis of seismological, geodesic, deformation, hydrogeological, and     

利用GPS监测电离层不均匀结构探讨

利用上海地区GPS综合应用网提供的高时空分辨率的双频GPS观测资料,研究了该区域内一电离层不均匀体的产生、消亡过程.首先,采用Kalman滤波的方法改善双频伪距之差的观测精度,并利用参数估计的方法计算该时段内相应的硬件延迟.再根据电离层单层模型,利用GPS双频观测量、测站位置和GPS精密星历,求出GPS信号穿刺点的坐标和垂直方向电离层的电子含量;然后内插并获取其等值线图.等值线图随时间的变化表明,受等离子体湍流的影响,2003年9月8日北京时间9时40分左右在38°N、118°E左右产生了一电离层不均匀体,其尺度大约在50km左右,生存时间大约为5min.受地球重力场和高空风场的影响,该不均匀体向东北方向扩散.然后,利用大气扩散模型,按扩散方程计算分析了该不均匀体可能发生的电离层层区.理论计算表明,该不均匀体发生在电离层扩展F区,高度在350km左右.     

东坪式与正长岩类有关的金矿床成矿机理的同位素地球化学制约

东坪式金矿床产于华北地台北缘金矿成矿带的冀西北金矿集中区,构造上位于华北克拉通北缘深大断裂-尚义-赤城断裂的南侧。金矿床产于泥盆纪早期（386～410Ma）水泉沟正长岩杂岩体内及接触带附近,矿体分布受脆-韧性剪切断裂构造的制约。金矿成矿作用具有多期次的特点,成矿时代为燕山期（156～203Ma）。矿石类型主要为石英脉型、石英网脉＋脉旁钾硅化蚀变岩型和钾硅化蚀变岩型,具有典型的碱性岩金矿的金-碲组合,（含）金矿物主要为自然金、碲金矿和碲金银矿。流体包裹体的H、O及He同位素研究表明,成矿流体为以大气降水主的混合热液流体并可能存在深源流体的参与。矿床的S、Pb、Sr和Si同位素组成表明,金矿成矿物质主要来源于正长岩杂岩体,部分源于太古宙桑千群变质岩和燕山期花岗岩。因此,东坪式金矿是由燕山期伸展构造环境下热液流体在上涌地幔及岩浆活动的热驱动下对泥盆纪早期形成的正长岩交代改造的产物。     

观测应变阶在地震应力触发研究中的应用

对中国钻孔应变台网观测到的昆仑山口西MS8.1大地震的应变阶资料的研究结果表明:① 很多观测值与静力位错理论计算值不符合；② 北方地震较活跃地区的很多台站观测到异常大的应变阶，而南方构造运动较不活跃地区的台站虽然也观测到地震波动，但是应变阶不明显. 由此推断，地震的触发（可能是动态触发）作用对远场的实际地震应变变化具有重要影响. 也就是说，远场的构造活动（可能是断层活动）是否曾被地震触发，可能决定当地的应变场变化的主要特征. 进一步对昌平台1999年3月11日张北地震与1999年11月1日大同地震的观测资料对比分析表明:断裂带的分布情况对实际地震应变变化有直接影响. 这证明观测到的异常大的地震应变阶可能是地震触发了当地的断层活动的表现.      

Micromorphological-investigation on the Earth's Critical Zone

Soils, the Earth＇s Critical Zone, play a vital and fundamental role in the Earth＇s terrain eco- environment system and human life. Although the concepts of soil/quality and sustainable development have been introduced for decades, we are still failing to understand how well soils function and they need tobe cared and protected. We have been increasingly witnessing and becoming the victim of shrinking forests,