Controls on metamorphic equilibration: the importance of intergranular solubilities mediated by fluid composition

A dramatic demonstration of the role of intergranular solubility in promoting chemical equilibration during metamorphism is found in the unusual zoning of garnet in pelitic schist exposed at Harpswell Neck, Maine, USA. Many garnet crystals have irregular, patchy distributions of Mn, Cr, Fe and Mg in their inclusion‐rich interiors, transitioning to smooth, concentric zoning in their inclusion‐poor outer rims; in contrast, zoning of Ca and Y is comparatively smooth and concentric throughout. We re‐assess the disputed origin of these zoning features by examining garnet growth in the context of the thermal and structural history of the rocks, and by evaluating the record of fluid–rock interaction revealed in outcrop‐scale veining and fluid‐inclusion assemblages. The transition in the character of garnet zoning correlates with the onset of a synkinematic, simple‐shear‐dominated phase of garnet growth and with a shift in the composition of the intergranular fluid from CO₂‐rich to H₂O‐rich. Compositional variations in garnet are therefore best explained by a two‐stage growth history in which intergranular diffusive fluxes reflect differences in the concentration of dissolved species in these two contrasting fluids. Interiors of garnet crystals grew in the presence of a CO₂‐rich fluid, in which limited solubility for Mn and Cr (and perhaps Fe and Mg) produced patchy disequilibrium overprint zoning, while appreciable solubility for Ca and Y permitted their rock‐wide equilibration. Rims grew in the presence of an H₂O‐rich fluid, in which high intergranular concentrations for all elements except Cr enabled diffusion over length scales sufficient for rock‐wide equilibration. This striking example of partial chemical equilibrium during reaction and porphyroblast growth implies that thermal effects may commonly be subsidiary in importance to solubilities in the intergranular medium as determinants of length scales for metamorphic equilibration.     

Oxygen isotope speedometry in granulite facies garnet recording fluid/melt–rock interaction (Sør Rondane Mountains,East Antarctica)

In situ analysis of a garnet porphyroblast from a granulite facies gneiss from Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica, reveals discontinuous step‐wise zoning in phosphorus and large δ¹⁸O variations from the phosphorus‐rich core to the phosphorus‐poor rim. The gradually decreasing profile of oxygen isotope from the core (δ¹⁸O = ~15‰) to the rim (δ¹⁸O = ~11‰) suggests that the ¹⁸O/¹⁶O zoning was originally step‐wise, and modified by diffusion after the garnet rim formation at ~800°C and 0.8 GPa. Fitting of the ¹⁸O/¹⁶O data to the diffusion equation constrains a duration of the high‐T event (~800°C) to c. 0.5–40 Ma after the garnet rim formation. The low δ¹⁸O value of the garnet rim, together with the previously reported low δ¹⁸O values in metacarbonates, indicates regional infiltration, probably along a detachment fault, of low δ¹⁸O fluid/melt possibly derived from meta‐mafic to ultramafic rocks.     

Diffusive mass exchange of non‐reactive substances in dual‐porosity porous systems – column experiments under saturated conditions

Diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions within heterogeneous porous aquifers influences the fate of solutes. The percentage of immobile water is often unidentified in natural aquifers though. Hence, the mathematical prediction of solute transport in such heterogeneous aquifers remains challenging. The objective of this study was to find a simple analytical model approach that allows quantifying properties of mobile and immobile water regions and the portion of immobile water in a porous system. Therefore, the Single Fissure Dispersion Model (SFDM), which takes into account diffusive mass exchange between mobile and immobile water zones, was applied to model transport in well‐defined saturated dual‐porosity column experiments. Direct and indirect model validation was performed by running experiments at different flow velocities and using conservative tracer with different molecular diffusion coefficients. In another column setup, immobile water regions were randomly distributed to test the model applicability and to determine the portion of immobile water. In all setups, the tracer concentration curves showed differences in normalized maximum peak concentration, tailing and mass recovery according to their diffusion coefficients. These findings were more pronounced at lower flow rates (larger flow times) indicating the dependency of diffusive mass exchange into immobile water regions on tracers' molecular diffusion coefficients. The SFDM simulated all data with high model efficiency. Successful model validation supported the physical meaning of fitted model parameters. This study showed that the SFDM, developed for fissured aquifers, is applicable in porous media and can be used to determine porosity and volume of regions with immobile water. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient DEM‐based overland flow routing using integrated recursive algorithms

Two primary concerns in performing watershed overland flow routing are the numerical instability and computational efficiency. The stability of executing an explicit scheme has to be maintained by observing the Courant–Friedrich–Lewy criterion, which is adopted to confirm that the numerical marching speed is larger than the wave celerity. Moreover, there is another criterion of time step devised in previous studies to avoid back‐and‐forth refluxing between adjacent grids. The situation of refluxing usually occurs on flat regions. In light of this, the selection of a small time increment to honor both restrictions simultaneously is believed to decrease the computational efficiency in performing overland flow routing. This study aims at creating a robust algorithm to relax both restrictions. The proposed algorithm was first implemented on a one‐dimensional overland plane to evaluate the accuracy of the numerical result by comparing it with an analytical solution. Then, the algorithm was further applied to a watershed for 2D runoff simulations. The results show that the proposed integrated algorithm can provide an accurate runoff simulation and achieve satisfactory performance in terms of computational speed.     

A discontinuous finite element suspended sediment transport model for water quality assessments in river networks

Suspended sediment plays an important role in the distribution and transport of many pollutants (such as radionuclides) in rivers. Pollutants may adsorb on fine suspended particles (e.g. clay) and spread according to the suspended sediment movement. Hence, the simulation of the suspended sediment mechanism is indispensable for realistic transport modelling. This paper presents and tests a simple mathematical model for predicting the suspended sediment transport in river networks. The model is based on the van Rijn suspended load formula and the advection–diffusion equation with a source or sink term that represents the erosion or deposition fluxes. The transport equation is solved numerically with the discontinuous finite element method. The model evaluation was performed in two steps, first by comparing model simulations with the measured suspended sediment concentrations in the Grote Nete–Molse Nete River in Belgium, and second by a model intercomparison with the sediment transport model NST MIKE 11. The simulations reflect the measurements with a Nash‐Sutcliffe model efficiency of 0.6, while the efficiency between the proposed model and the NST MIKE 11 simulations is 0.96. Both evaluations indicate that the proposed sediment transport model, that is sufficiently simple to be practical, is providing realistic results.     

Analytical solutions for advective–dispersive solute transport in double‐layered finite porous media

Analytical solutions for advection and dispersion of a conservative solute in a one‐dimensional double‐layered finite porous media are presented. The solutions are applicable to five scenarios that have various combinations of fixed concentration, fixed flux and zero concentration gradient conditions at the inlet and outlet boundaries that provide a wide number of options. Arbitrary initial solute concentration distributions throughout the media can be considered via explicit formulations or numerical integration. The analytical solutions presented have been verified against numerical solutions from a finite‐element‐based approach and an existing closed‐form solution for double‐layered media with an excellent correlation being found in both cases. A practical application pertaining to advective transport induced by consolidation of underlying sediment layers on contaminant movement within a capped contaminated sediment system is presented. Comparison of the calculated concentrations and fluxes with alternative approaches clearly illustrates the need to consider advection processes. Consideration of the different features of contaminant transport due to varying pore‐water velocity fields in primary consolidation and secondary consolidation stages is achieved via the use of non‐uniform initial concentration distributions within the proposed analytical solutions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

复杂地形城市多尺度气流对大气污染影响的研究进展

复杂地形城市一般建立在山地、丘陵、沿海地带。复杂地形下的大气污染传输、扩散机制是一个复杂的问题。本文依据城市地形地貌将复杂地形归类为河谷地形、三面环山临海地形、盆地地形、马蹄型地形和峡口地形。结合国内外对这五类地形下城市污染物传输扩散及污染形成机制的研究成果,介绍了不同地理位置、不同复杂地形城市多尺度气流相互或交替作用的特点及其对污染传输扩散的影响,期望能够为其它复杂地形城市污染形成机制研究和大气污染防治提供一些借鉴。     

Research of in-situ hydraulic test method by using double packer equipment

Double packer equipment for hydraulic test can be used to measure pressure of test zone directly, and it is frequently used to perform many kinds of hydraulic tests and take groundwater sample from borehole. The test method of this equipment mainly includes the test design, implementation, interpretation and synthetic analysis. By adopting the double packer equipment for hydraulic test, the parameter distribution of rock permeability along borehole can be acquired, as well as the connectivity, water conductivity and water bearing capacity of the disclosed structure and the chemical characteristics of the deep groundwater. It is a necessary method for the research and evaluation of the complex hypotonicity terrace site selection under geological conditions. This method is not only suitable for the geological disposal of high level radioactive waste, but also can be used in the site selection of underground facilities such as storage of petroleum and carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, it has a good application prospect in other hydrogeological investigation fields.     

Revisiting the death of geography in the era of Big Data: the friction of distance in cyberspace and real space

Many scholars have argued that the importance of geographic proximity in human interactions has been diminished by the use of the Internet, while others disagree with this argument. Studies have noted the distance decay effect in both cyberspace and real space, showing that interactions occur with an inverse relationship between the number of interactions and the distance between the locations of the interactors. However, these studies rarely provide strong evidence to show the influence of distance on interactions in cyberspace, nor do they quantify the differences in the amount of friction of distance between cyberspace and real space. To fill this gap, this study used massive amounts of social media data (Twitter) to compare the influence of distance decay on human interactions between cyberspace and real space in a quantitative manner. To estimate the distance decay effect in both cyberspace and real space, the distance decay function of interactions in each space was modeled. Estimating the distance decay in cyberspace in this study can help predict the degree of information flow across space through social media. Measuring how far ideas can be diffused through social media is useful for users of location-based services, policy advocates, public health officials, and political campaigners.     

全风化花岗岩地层中高固相离析浆液灌浆机理研究

全风化花岗岩地层稳定性差、遇水易发生崩解,工程上使用常规材料防渗加固注浆时效果较差。针对这一情况,依托湖南省郴州市莽山水库防渗加固灌浆项目,通过自主设计的全风化花岗岩地层注浆室内模拟试验装置,进行模拟注浆试验,实现了浆液在整个注浆过程中的扩散情况模拟,对不同注浆压力、不同位置点所取试样开展单轴抗压、抗剪强度及渗透率测试试验,对不同注浆压力下完整结石体取样观察,研究以全风化花岗岩颗粒为配方主体材料的高固相离析浆液在全风化花岗岩地层的防渗加固效果及浆液扩散模式。结果表明:该浆液在全风化花岗岩地层扩散过程中经历了渗透扩散、挤密压缩、劈裂扩展三个阶段,是一种复合注浆形式;以全风化花岗岩颗粒为主体的高固相离析浆液在全风化花岗岩地层注浆中效果显著,随着注浆压力提升,单轴抗压强度显著提升为原土体的3.25～13.67倍,抗剪强度在不同法向压力情况下提升为原土体的1.63～2.69倍,渗透系数从10?4 cm/s下降至10?5 cm/s甚至10?6 cm/s。