The Sediment Source and Transport Trends around the Abandoned Yellow River Delta,China

Sediment source and transport trends are influenced by various hydrodynamic factors, and thus play important roles in sedimentary evolution and coastal stability. To examine sediment transport trends around the abandoned Yellow River delta promontory and its erosion mechanism, we employ empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis to study sedimentary characteristics and transport trends of the abandoned Yellow River delta in northern Jiangsu Province, China. The results showed that: (1) the main sediment source in the abandoned Yellow River delta is the submarine coastal slope and both sides of the abandoned Yellow River Delta; (2) the main hydrodynamics controlling sediment transport is the current that runs along the shore, coupled with waves, especially southward currents; (3) the sediment of the study area was redistributed under hydrodynamics; coarse sediments were eroded and broadly transported to the south. Therefore, it is concluded that the sediment sources and transport have important influence on coastal evolution: the sediment source area shows mass loss of deposits and erosion; deposits in the submarine coastal slope provide the source and were continuously eroded to provide materials to other places as a sediment source.     

A bi-modal model for Chinese cities: City size,car use and land rent

China is experiencing rapid urbanization and motorization. Urban transport congestion poses a challenge to the cities of China. Policies have been made trying to control the car use and the land use in Chinese cities without sound modelling researches. The existing literature on monocentric city modelling has shown that the parameters are critical for the outcome of the modelling. Following the Alonso-type monocentric model, this paper introduces a bi-modal model to simulate the city size, the distribution of land rent and the modal substitution in Chinese cities. We set the key parameters according to the recent available data of China′s cities, and re-explain the hypothesis of the model. Then we make a sensitivity analysis to reveal the impacts of key parameters on the Chinese cities. According to the results, we find that the wage, the price of car use and the agriculture rent have significant impacts on city size. The land supply for the private transport or the public transport has the strongest impacts on car use and the level of transport congestion. The total population of the city and the wage level have strong impacts on land rent. Some results are counter-intuitive, but explainable. We also discuss implication of these results for policy making.     

Two new species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cobitis</Emphasis> Linnaeus (Teleostei: Cobitidae) from southern China

Two new species of the genus Cobitis from southern China, C. hereromacula from the Luohe River in Guangdong Province and C. baishagensis from the Nandujiang River in Hainan Province, are described and illustrated here. C. hereromacula can be distinguished from its congeners by possessing the following combination of characteristics: absence of the second and third pigmentary zones of Gambetta; 13–16 oval blotches on the dorsum and 10–13 vertical, elongated triangular blotches below the midlateral line with more than 20 vertical dark brown bars between them; 6–7 narrow rows of dark spots on the caudal fin; a vertical oval spot smaller than the eye diameter on the upper part of the caudal peduncle; pointed mental lobes of the lower lip pointed with a slightly filiform tip; one slender and long needle-shaped lamina circularis at the base of the first branched ray of the male pectoral fins. C. baishagensis can be distinguished from its congeners by the fourth Gambetta zone being covered by 10–12 transverse elongated blotches; 4–5 narrow rows of dark spots on the caudal fin; a vertical blotch smaller than the eye diameter on the upper part of the caudal peduncle; males with a slender and long needle-shaped lamina circularis at the second branched pectoral fin ray in males; large scales with a slightly large focal zone; undeveloped mental lobes with a lower lip that does not end posteriorly in a filiform tip.     

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.     

New Ar‐Ar Isotopic Ages of the Southern Tianshan Mountains,Kyrgyzstan and their Geological Implications

正Objective The Late Paleozoic Southern Tianshan Ocean is usually considered to be the last-closed ocean in the Tianshan Orogeny.However,there is still no consensus if this is indeed the case.Blueschist,eclogite and ophiolite are present in the Atbashi Range,Kyrgyzstan,which are believed to be the relics of the Southern Tianshan Ocean.New data obtained through Ar-Ar isotopic analysis in this     

从成岩-蚀变特征探讨塔深1井白云岩储层成因

塔深1井钻遇的寒武系地层属于中寒武统阿瓦塔格组和上寒武统丘里塔格下亚群。阿瓦塔格组以灰色-深灰色粉晶-细晶藻白云岩为主,丘里塔格下亚群以灰色-浅灰色晶粒结构白云岩与残余亮晶结构白云岩为主。藻白云岩在阴极发光下以明亮的中等强度砖红色-桔黄色为主要特点,具有相对偏重的δ18O值(-6.3‰~-4.5‰,平均为-5.3‰,VPDB)、相对较高的稀土总量以及与正常海相碳酸盐岩相似的稀土配分样式。晶粒白云岩与残余亮晶结构白云岩在阴极发光下以偏暗的中等强度蓝紫色-砖红色为主要特点,具有相对偏轻的δ18O值(-9.2‰~-5.7‰,平均为-7.5‰,VPDB)、相对偏低的稀土总量、Eu正异常与重稀土明显亏损为特点的稀土配分模式。阿瓦塔格组和丘里塔格下亚群白云岩在上述岩石学特征和地球化学特征上的差异表明储层发育的成岩-蚀变过程存在差异。研究认为,埋藏较深的阿瓦塔格组优质储层的形成受多种因素控制,其中准同生期大气淡水作用下石膏结核的溶解及非稳定碳酸盐矿物的溶解奠定了基础,后期成岩改造及流体作用进行了强化,局部遭充填破坏。     

Numerical analysis of effect of baffle configuration on impact force exerted from rock avalanches

In mountainous areas, channelized rock avalanches swarm downslope leading to large impact forces on building structures in residential areas. Arrays of rock avalanche baffles are usually installed in front of rigid barriers to attenuate the flow energy of rock avalanches. However, previous studies have not sufficiently addressed the mechanisms of interaction between the rock avalanches and baffles. In addition, empirical design approaches such as debris flow (Tang et al., Quat Int 250:63–73, 2012), rockfall (Spang and Rautenstrauch, 1237–1243, 1988), snow avalanches (Favier et al., 14:3–15, 2012), and rock avalanches (Manzella and Labiouse, Landslides 10:23–36, 2013), which are applied in natural geo-disasters mitigation cannot met construction requirements. This study presents details of numerical modeling using the discrete element method (DEM) to investigate the effect of the configuration of baffles (number and spacing of baffle columns and rows) on the impact force that rock avalanches exert on baffles. The numerical modeling is firstly conducted to provide insights into the flow interaction between rock avalanches and an array of baffles. Then, a modeling analysis is made to investigate the change pattern of the impact force with respect to baffle configurations. The results demonstrate that three crucial influencing factors (baffle row numbers, baffle column spacing, and baffle row spacing) have close relationship with energy dissipation of baffles. Interestingly, it is found that capacity of energy dissipation of baffles increases with increasing baffle row numbers and baffle row spacing, while it decreases with increasing baffle column spacing. The results obtained from this study are useful for facilitating design of baffles against rock avalanches.     

Effects of mechanical layering on hydraulic fracturing in shale gas reservoirs based on numerical models

Generally, induced hydraulic fractures are generated by fluid overpressure and are used to increase reservoir permeability through forming interconnected fracture systems. However, in heterogeneous and anisotropic rocks, many hydraulic fractures may become arrested or offset at layer contacts under certain conditions and do not form vertically connected fracture networks. Mechanical layering is an important factor causing anisotropy in sedimentary layers. Hence, in this study, with a shale gas reservoir case study in the Longmaxi Formation in the southeastern Chongqing region, Sichuan Basin, we present results from several numerical models to gain quantitative insights into the effects of mechanical layering on hydraulic fracturing. Results showed that the fractured area caused by hydraulic fracturing indicated a linear relationship with the neighboring layer’s Young’s modulus. An increase of the neighboring layer’s Young’s modulus resulted in better hydraulic fracturing effects. In addition, the contact between two neighboring layers is regarded as a zone with thickness and mechanical properties, which also influences the effects of hydraulic fracturing in reservoirs. The initial hydraulic fracture was unable to propagate into neighboring layers under a relatively low contact’s Young’s modulus. When associated local tensile stresses exceeded the rock strength, hydraulic fractures propagated into neighboring layers. Moreover, with the contact’s Young’s modulus becoming higher, the fractured area increased rapidly first, then slowly and finally became stable.