Geological investigations at a high altitude, remote coal mine on the Northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan frontier, Karakoram Himalaya

The Northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan frontier is located one of the most remote, inaccessible, and inhospitable part of the Himalayan orogenic belt. In this region, two of the world's largest and most distinct mountain belts intersect; the Karakoram Himalaya (mainly in Pakistan) and the Hindu Kush (mainly in Afghanistan). Located at high altitude, in a remote part of Northwest Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan, tribal villagers began excavating a series of adits into the steep mountain slopes, beneath glaciers, to extract valuable coal and carbonaceous shale resources. These were discovered in 1996, by the villagers, whilst hunting, and may represent some of the highest mine workings in the world. Small-scale mining operations subsequently developed using rudimentary mining methods and the mine became known as the Reshit or Pamir Coal Mine.The coal deposits are sedimentary, highly disturbed and tectonised, having been subjected to multiple phases of orogenic crustal deformation. The coal occurs as discrete lenses, several tens of metres in their lateral dimension, between steeply dipping, overturned and thrusted limestone beds of Jurassic age. The coal provided a vital, alternative source of fuel for the villagers since the local, traditional fuel supply was wood, which had become severely depleted, and imports of kerosene from neighbouring China and Afghanistan were too expensive.The mining operations experienced severe problems. These included several collapses of mine entrances, the failure of the adits to intersect the coal-bearing zones, the potential threat of geological hazards, mining-induced hazards and harsh high-altitude operating conditions, particularly during the winter months. International aid was provided to assist the villagers and a geological investigation was commissioned to investigate the problems at the mine.The geology of Karakoram Himalaya is relatively poorly understood. Until recently the region was restricted to foreign visitors and large areas of this mountain belt are virtually unmapped. Existing geological and topographic maps are difficult to obtain or are unavailable due to the close proximity of political frontiers, national borders and security reasons. The mineral resource potential of this region is virtually unknown. Few western geologists have visited this area due to its inaccessibility and political constraints, being situated close the frontiers with China, Afghanistan, and the disputed Pakistan and India territory of Kashmir.The Pakistan and Afghanistan border, is once again, now closed to foreign visitors. The objectives of this paper are to document the occurrence of coal and carbonaceous shale, at high altitude, in the Karakoram Himalaya and to provide details on the geology, geological hazards, reserves and labour-intensive mining operations. These observations and information may provide the basis for future mineral exploration, mining-geology, mining-engineering, feasibility studies and engineering geological investigation in the Karakoram Himalaya.     

信息时代地图技术美的研究与实践

通过分析现代地图表现形式及存在的问题，探讨了信息时代地图制图技术美的含义和地图技术美的表现形式。并在技术美创新理念指导下，对利用计算机技术和图形图像处理技术来改进地图符号设计，提高地图表现力进行了一些理论探讨和技术尝试．同时也得到了一些有益的启示。     

视频对象分割及跟踪方法研究

讨论和分析了视频对象全自动提取及后续帧中的跟踪过程及采用的方法 ,对其算法、分割性能和结果进行了比较和评述。并结合Hausdorff和Snake跟踪器 ,对初始对象轮廓进行跟踪。结果证明 ,这种跟踪方法能有效地解决对象被遮挡和形变以及背景移动的问题     

Origin of layering in cumulate gabbros in the Oman ophiolite: Insights from magnetic susceptibility measurements in the Wadi Sadm area

Abstract   Magnetic susceptibility and the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility were measured on an 800-cm-thick succession of cumulate gabbro in the Sadm area of the Oman ophiolite. The section contained three distinct cumulate units. The susceptibility tends to decrease upward in each from a melanocratic layer (several tens of centimeters thick) to a leucocratic layer (a few meters thick). The susceptibility decreases in accordance with the decreasing number of magnetite grains, which are the alteration product mainly of olivine minerals. This suggests the cyclic downward accumulation of olivine in the cumulate gabbro. The apparent strain deduced from the patterns of magnetic and grain fabrics was the result mostly of simple shear, so that the layering of gabbro is understood to be formed primarily by a crystal cumulus process followed by simple shear deformation.     

Mineralogy and geochemistry of a Late Permian coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, China: influence from siliceous and iron-rich calcic hydrothermal fluids

This paper describes the influence of siliceous and iron-rich calcic low-temperature hydrothermal fluids (LTHF) on the mineralogy and geochemistry of the Late Permian No. 11 Coal (anthracitic, R_r=2.85%) in the Dafang Coalfield in northwestern Guizhou Province, China. The No. 11 Coal has high contents of vein ankerite (10.2 vol.%) and vein quartz (11.4 vol.%), with formation temperatures of 85 and 180 °C, respectively, indicating that vein ankerite and vein quartz were derived from low-temperature calcic and siliceous hydrothermal fluids in two epigenetic episodes. The vein quartz appears to have formed earlier than vein ankerite did, and at least three distinct stages of ankerite formation with different Ca/Sr and Fe/Mn ratios were observed.The two types of mineral veins are sources of different suites of major and trace metals. Scanning electron microscope and sequential extraction studies show that, in addition to Fe, Mg, and Ca, vein ankerite is the dominant source of Mn, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the coal, and the contents of these five elements are as high as 0.09% and 74.0, 33.6, 185, and 289 μg/g, respectively. In contrast, vein quartz is the main carrier mineral for platinum-group elements (PGEs) Pd, Pt, and Ir in the coal, and the contents of Pd, Pt, and Ir are 1.57, 0.15, and 0.007 μg/g, respectively. Sequential extraction showed a high PGE content in the silicate fraction, up to 10.4 μg/g Pd, 1.23 μg/g Pt, and 0.05 μg/g Ir, respectively. It is concluded that the formation of ankerite and quartz and the anomalous enrichment of trace elements in the No. 11 Coal in the Dafang Coalfield, Guizhou, result from the influx of calcic and siliceous low-temperature hydrothermal fluids.     

Mercury in Eastern Kentucky coals: Geologic aspects and possible reduction strategies

Mercury emissions from US coal-fired power plants will be regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) before the end of the decade. Because of this, the control of Hg in coal is important. Control is fundamentally based on the knowledge of the amounts of Hg in mined, beneficiated, and as-fired coal. Eastern Kentucky coals, on a reserve district level, have Hg contents similar to the USA average for coal at mines. Individual coals show greater variation at the bench scale, with Hg enrichment common in the top bench, often associated with enhanced levels of pyritic sulfur. Some of the variation between parts of eastern Kentucky is also based on the position relative to major faults. The Pine Mountain thrust fault appears to be responsible for elemental enrichment, including Hg, in coals on the footwall side of the thrust.Eastern Kentucky coals shipped to power plants in 1999, the year the USEPA requested coal quality information on coal deliveries, indicate that coals shipped from the region have 0.09 ppm Hg, compared to 0.10 ppm for all delivered coals in the USA. On an equal energy basis, and given equal concentrations of Hg, the high volatile bituminous coals from eastern Kentucky would emit less Hg than lower rank coals from other USA regions.     

Optical properties of pseudovitrinite; implications for its origin

A set of Pennsylvanian coals from the North American coal basins, ranging in vitrinite reflectance from 0.65% to 1.75%, was examined, with special emphasis on the optical properties of pseudovitrinite. The results suggest that pseudovitrinite originates from the same material as telocollinite. Slits in the pseudovitrinite seem to have originated in situ due to low-temperature oxidation of woody material; their opening might have been facilitated by devolatilization during coalification. The dominant orientation of the slits is perpendicular to bedding. The intensity and orientation of the slits in pseudovitrinite could be important factors in predicting coalbed gas extraction from coal.     

Apport de l'imagerie satellitaire radar pour l'exploration géologique en zones arides

The potential of radar imagery in geological exploration was investigated at a study site in Mauritania (Akjoujt region). Compared with optical images, the results obtained show how radar imagery can help not only in detecting surface geological structures such as dykes and veins, but also mapping subsurface structures beneath a shallow layer of sand (palaeochannels). The mapping potential was found to be much better at long wavelengths than at short ones (L-band, compared with C- and X-band). As for optical images, their contribution is much more limited in the mapping of surface geological structures, and inappropriate for detecting subsurface structures. We conclude that spatial remote sensing enables the improvement of existing geological maps and the optimization of cartographic surveying. To cite this article: N. Baghdadi et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Dynamics of Saxothuringian subduction channel/wedge constrained by phase‐equilibria modelling and micro‐fabric analysis

Subduction and exhumation dynamics can be investigated through analysis of metamorphic and deformational evolution of associated high‐grade rocks. The Erzgebirge anticline, which forms at the boundary between the Saxothuringian and Teplá‐Barrandian domains of the Bohemian Massif, provides a useful study area for these processes owing to the occurrence of numerous meta‐basites preserving eclogite facies assemblages, and coesite and diamond bearing quartzofeldspathic lithologies indicating subduction to deep mantle depths. The prograde and retrograde evolution of meta‐basite from the Czech portion of the Erzgebirge anticline has been constrained through a combination of thermodynamic modelling and conventional thermobarometry. Garnet growth zoning indicates that the rocks underwent burial and heating to peak conditions of 2.6 GPa and at least 615 °C. Initial exhumation occurred with concurrent cooling and decompression resulting in the growth of amphibole and zoisite poikiloblasts overgrowing and including the eclogite facies assemblage. The development of clinopyroxene–plagioclase–amphibole symplectites after omphacite and Al‐rich rims on matrix amphibole indicate later heating at the base of the lower crust. Omphacite microstructures, in particular grain size analysis and lattice‐preferred orientations, indicate that the prograde evolution was characterized by a constrictional strain geometry transitioning into plane strain and oblate fabrics during exhumation. The initial constrictional strain pattern is interpreted as being controlled by competing slab pull and crustal buoyancy forces leading to necking of the subducting slab. The transition to plane strain and flattening geometries represents transfer of material from the subducting lithosphere into a subduction channel, break‐off of the dense slab and rebound of the buoyant crustal material.     

A bounding surface model for anisotropically overconsolidated clay incorporating thermodynamics admissible rotational hardening rule

A bounding surface model is formulated to simulate the behavior of clays that are subject to an anisotropic consolidation stress history. Conventional rotational hardening is revisited from the perspective of thermodynamics. As the free energy cannot be accumulated infinitely upon critical state failure, the deviatoric back stress must vanish. This requires the rotated yield surface to be turned back to eventually align on the hydrostatic axis in the stress plane. Noting that most of the previous propositions violate this restriction, an innovative rotational hardening rule is formulated that is thermodynamically admissible. The bounding surface framework that employs the modified yield surface is applied to simulate elastoplastic deformations for overconsolidated clays, with which the overprediction of strength on the “dry” side can be greatly improved with reasonable results. Other important features, including contractive or dilative response and hardening or softening behavior, can also be well-captured. It has been shown that the model can simulate three types of reconstituted clays that are sheared with initial conditions over a wide range of anisotropic consolidation stress ratios and overconsolidation ratios under both triaxial undrained and drained conditions. Limitations and potential improvement of the model regarding the fabric anisotropy at critical state have been discussed.