Enrichment characteristics and risk assessment of Hg in bird feathers from Caohai wetland in Guizhou Province,China

Based on the analysis of the enrichment characteristics of Hg and MeHg in bird feathers from Caohai National Nature Reserve in Guizhou, the risks of Hg pollution to the birds from Caohai wetland have been evaluated. The total Hg content of bird feathers ranges from 40 to 5058 ng/g with an average of 924 ng/g. The content of MeHg is significantly correlated with total Hg (r = 0.68, p < 0.01), and the content are among 0.75 and 113 ng/g. The total Hg content in the birds feathers is significantly dependent on their feeding habits, which is mainly in accordance with the following rule: carnivorous birds > omnivorous birds that are mainly carnivorous > omnivorous birds that are mainly herbivorous. There are also differences in the Hg enrichment ability in the different parts of bird feathers, and the total Hg and MeHg content in the wing feathers are significantly higher than that in the other parts of feathers. The bioaccumulation coefficients of aqueous Hg and MeHg by bird feathers are 0.9 × 10⁴–112.13 × 10⁴ (mean value is 20.47 × 10⁴) and 0.47 × 10⁴–70.4 × 10⁴ (mean value is 9.52 × 10⁴), respectively. Although the whole Hg level in Caohai bird feathers is not too high, the Hg content in some carnivorous birds exceeds over or approaches the abnormal threshold when birds are breeding (5 μg/g), which indicates that the birds in Caohai wetland are faced with some risks of ecological Hg pollution.     

Distribution and geochemical significance of trace elements in shale rocks and their residual kerogens

There is a dearth of information about the distribution of trace elements in kerogen from shale rocks despite several reports on trace element composition in many shale samples. In this study, trace elements in shale rocks and their residual kerogens were determined by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The results from this study show redox-sensitive elements relatively concentrated in the kerogens as compared to the shales. This may be primarily due to the adsorption and complexation ability of kerogen, which enables enrichment in Ni, Co, Cu, and Zn. For the rare earth elements (REEs), distinct distribution characteristics were observed for shales dominated by terrigenous minerals and their kerogen counterparts. However, shales with less input of terrigenous minerals showed similar REE distribution patterns to their residual kerogen. It is speculated that the distribution patterns of the REEs in shales and kerogens may be source-related.     

U–Pb zircon age of the base of the Ediacaran System at the southern margin of the Qinling Orogen

Global abrupt climate change from Marinoan snowball Earth to greenhouse Earth, recorded as cap carbonate overlain on diamictite, had shed the first light on Cambrian bio-radiation. The most documented cap carbonate sections are typical with comprehensive δ¹³C negative values and ubiquitous sedimentary structures, such as tepee-like, sheet-crack etc., which are associated with successive glacial eustatic variation caused by isostatic rebound in shallow-water facies. Here we report a deep-water basinal cap carbonate section with strong negative δ¹³C values in the southern margin of the Qinling Orogen, Heyu, Chengkou County, Chongqing in China, which consists of massive dolostone with abundant carbonaceous laminae. However, it lacks the sedimentary structure as mentioned above and is overlain by thin-bedded silicious shales and cherts. A K-bentonite bed was discovered within the base of cap carbonates, about 0.7 m above the top of the Marinoan diamictite. Magmatic zircons that were separated from the K-bentonite bed yield a SIMS concordia U–Pb age of 634.1 ± 1.9 Ma (1σ, MSWD_CE = 0.31, Probability_CE = 1.000, n = 20). The age is in good agreement with previously reported TIMS U–Pb ages for the termination of Marinoan glaciation and provides a geochronological constraint for the Ediacaran successions in the Qinling Orogen.     

缅甸与莫桑比克红宝石的元素含量及紫外可见光谱学特征对比研究

采用镜下观察、激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱、紫外-可见吸收光谱等观察测试方法,对缅甸和莫桑比克红宝石的常规宝石学、包裹体、化学元素含量及紫外光谱特征进行了系统的对比研究。结果表明,缅甸红宝石在紫外荧光灯下呈现较强的红色荧光,内部含有互为60°夹角定向排列的短针状金红石、"糖浆状"构造等特征包裹体,具有低Fe、高V、高Ga的微量元素特征,紫外区吸收截止边小于320 nm,且694 nm处的荧光较强。莫桑比克红宝石在紫外荧光灯下荧光较弱,内部可见双晶面、无序排列的金红石和角闪石晶体等特征包裹体,具有高Fe、低V、低Ga的微量元素特征,紫外区吸收截止边在350 nm附近。上述性质可用作区分缅甸和莫桑比克红宝石的标志性识别特征。     

地质资料目录查询系统的设计与实现

地质资料目录查询系统主要针对地勘单位地质资料管理现状进行研究,采用VS2010开发环境,SQL Server2008、.NET4.0框架、B/S架构等关键技术.设计提供报告查询、报告录入、报告维护、服务器连接、用户管理五大功能模块,提高了地质资料整理与查询的效率,实现对地质资料进行科学化、信息化管理.     

Investigation of gas content of organic-rich shale:A case study from Lower Permian shale in southern North China Basin,central China

Measuring gas content is an essential step in estimating the commerciality of gas reserves. In this study,eight shale core samples from the Mouye-1 well were measured using a homemade patented gas desorption apparatus to determine their gas contents. Due to the air contamination that is introduced into the desorption canister, a mathematical method was devised to correct the gas quantity and quality.Compared to the chemical compositions of desorbed gas, the chemical compositions of residual gas are somewhat different. In residual gas, carbon dioxide and nitrogen record a slight increase, and propane is first observed. This phenomenon may be related to the exposure time during the transportation of shale samples from the drilling site to the laboratory, as well as the differences in the mass, size and adsorptivity of different gas molecules. In addition to a series of conventional methods, including the USBM direct method and the Amoco Curve Fit(ACF) method, which were used here for lost gas content estimation, a Modified Curve Fit(MCF) method, based on the 'bidisperse' diffusion model, was established to estimate lost gas content. By fitting the ACF and MCF models to gas desorption data, we determined that the MCF method could reasonably describe the gas desorption data over the entire time period, whereas the ACF method failed. The failure of the ACF method to describe the gas desorption process may be related to its restrictive assumption of a single pore size within shale samples. In comparison to the indirect method, this study demonstrates that none of the three methods studied in this investigation(USBM, ACF and MCF) could individually estimate the lost gas contents of all shale samples and that the proportion of free gas relative to total gas has a significant effect on the estimation accuracy of the selected method. When the ratio of free gas to total gas is lower than 45%, the USBM method is the best for estimating the lost gas content, whereas when the ratio ranges from 45% to 75% or is more than 75%, the ACF and MCF methods, are the best options respectively.     

Cyclic degradation and non-coaxiality of soft clay subjected to pure rotation of principal stress directions

Foundation soils are often under non-proportional cyclic loadings. The deformation behaviour and the mechanism of non-coaxiality under continuous pure principal stress rotation for clays are not clearly investigated up to now. In order to study the effect of pure principal stress rotation, a series of cyclic undrained tests on Shanghai soft clay subjected to cyclic rotation of principal stress directions keeping the deviatoric stress constant under the pure rotation condition were conducted using hollow cylinder apparatus. Based on this, the evolutions of excess pore pressure and strains during cyclic loading were investigated, together with the effects of the intermediate principal stress parameter and the deviatoric stress level on stress–strain stiffness and non-coaxiality. The result can provide an experimental basis for constitutive modelling of clays describing the behaviour under non-proportional loadings.     

Water resource development and protection in loess areas of the world: a summary to the thematic issue of water in loess

Loess is mainly distributed in arid and semiarid areas of the world, and water is essential and precious in the loess areas. Water is also an important factor inducing various geohazards and soil erosion in the loess areas. The thematic issue of Environmental Earth Sciences was edited to reflect the latest research on water and water-related themes in the loess areas of the world, especially on the Chinese Loess Plateau. This editorial introduced the background and initiative of editing this thematic issue, and it also introduced briefly the water environment projects currently underway on the Chinese Loess Plateau such as the grain for green project, the huge land creation project, and the sponge city project. The papers included in the thematic issue were also introduced to give readers a general understanding of their main research points. Finally, some suggestions to boost further water environment research in the loess areas were put forward. All the papers included in the thematic issue will scientifically support the sustainable socio-economic development in the loess areas of the world.     

Geochemistry of organic matter and elements of black shale during weathering in Northern Guizhou,Southwestern China: Their mobilization and inter-connection

Different from previous studies on effect of weathering upon geochemical variation along a single weathered profile, this paper provides a new methodology validated by comparing a weathered outcrop samples and their stratigraphic counterpart un-weathered core samples in a nearby shallow borehole. This outcrop and borehole penetrated the Ordovician-Silurian Wufeng–Longmaxi shales, located in the same anticline structure in the northern part of Guizhou Province, Southern China. The mineral composition, major, trace and rare earth elements (REEs) composition and Rock-Eval parameters of outcrop and core samples were analyzed and compared. Organic matter (OM) was observed in the microscope and extracted for elements analysis. The results show that short-term weathering still has significant influence on OM, mineral and elemental composition of black shales. The elements composition shows the outcrop profile was moderately weathered. The REEs compositions do not alter much during weathering process and the REEs composition and their relative ratios still are valid for rock origin determination. The OM, mainly composed by graptolite and bitumen, even entering the highly-over thermal maturity, is still sensitive to the weathering with a systematic loss 30–50% of TOC along the outcrop profile, which suggests that the OM consumption is predominantly controlled by weathering duration and the distance from the weathering surface. In turn, OM has significant influence on the trace elements transportation behavior during weathering. Some trace elements associated with the OM such as V, Cr, Th, U, Ni and Co, change significantly in their absolute concentration during weathering, but their relative ratios do not necessarily change too much and might be still reliable proxies for paleo-environmental determination. The mobility of shale minerals during weathering is in the following order: plagioclase?>?potassium feldspar and dolomite >pyrite and OM. Short-term weathering can also result in considerable transportation of elements and significant variation of minerals content in black shale, which may pose potentially high environmental and engineering risk in the regions rich in black shale.