Contribution of magnetic resonance sounding to aquifer characterization and recharge estimate in semiarid Niger

To improve the knowledge of the regionally important Continental Terminal 3 (CT3) aquifer in south-western Niger, fifteen magnetic resonance soundings (MRS) were carried out in December 2005 in the vicinity of wells and boreholes. The output MRS geophysical parameters, i.e. water content and decay constants versus depth, were compared to hydrogeological characteristics, i.e. water table depth, total porosity, specific yield and transmissivity estimated from direct measurements, pumping tests and transient groundwater modelling. The MRS-determined parameters were then used to estimate the rates of groundwater recharge.Contained in poorly consolidated Tertiary sandstones, the CT3 aquifer's water table has continuously risen by 4 m in total over the past four decades. Additionally, a significant portion of this increase has occurred in the past decade alone, with an annual rise now ranging between 0.1 and 0.3 m depending on the monitored well. Increase in groundwater recharge due to land clearance and deforestation explains this situation. According to previous estimations, the pre-clearing recharge ranged from 1 to 5 mm per year in 1950–60 s, while more recent recharge rates (1990s–2000s) range from 20 to 50 mm per year. These recharge values are directly affected by estimated aquifer specific yield value, while the spatial variation of rates of water table rise can be attributed to large scale hydrodynamic heterogeneities in the aquifer. However, few field measurements were available to confirm these assumptions.The main results of this study are: (1) The water table depth and aquifer transmissivity are estimated from MRS output parameters with an average accuracy of ± 10% and ± 9% respectively. (2) The MRS-determined water content is linked to both the total porosity and the specific yield of the aquifer, but no quantitative formulation can be proposed as yet. (3) Using the average MRS-determined water content over the investigated area, i.e. 13%, the groundwater recharge rates can be estimated to be ~ 2 mm per year in the 1950–1960s (pre-clearing period), and ~ 23 mm per year for the last decade. (4) The variations in specific yield and transmissivity cannot explain by themselves the spatial variability of the rise of the water table. (5) The ranges in transmissivity and water content obtained from MRS are more realistic than the groundwater modelling outputs. Therefore, MRS could be used to better constrain the aquifer parameters in groundwater modelling with a dense site network.Finally, this work illustrates how MRS can successfully improve characterisation and transient multi-year groundwater balance of commonly found sedimentary aquifers, particularly when integrated with well observations and pumping tests.     

High-precision geoid determination in small areas: A case study in Doñana National Park (Spain)

Doñana National Park is an area of approximately 500 km² located on the SW coast of Spain that shows one of the greatest geoid gradients on the entire Iberian Peninsula, due to its peculiar tectonic characteristics. So, it is necessary to elaborate an accurate geoid model that can be used with GPS for precise surveying, since the existing ones are insufficient, due to their poor resolution and their limited adaptation to a small area with such a strong gradient. The least squares prediction method was tested in order to obtain the undulation from GPS/orthometric points. The results obtained were unsatisfactory because of the strong geoid gradient. In order to improve accuracy the remove-restore technique was used. Global geopotential model EIGEN-CG01C and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with a 25 × 25 m resolution and an accuracy better than 3 m were used. Thus, the final geometrical geoid obtained reaches the precision required by other disciplines (3 cm in any point within the Park). Particularly, the geoid model has allowed for the acquisition of a precision DEM that is essential to formulate a hydrodynamic model for the Doñana marsh functions.     

From the pore scale to the lab scale: 3-D lab experiment and numerical simulation of drainage in heterogeneous porous media

A well-controlled 3-D experiment with pre-defined block heterogeneities is conducted, where neutron tomography is used to map 3-D water distribution after two successive drainage steps. The material and hydraulic properties of the two sands are first measured in the laboratory with multistep outflow experiments. Additionally, the pore structure of the sands is acquired by means of image analysis of synchrotron tomography data and the structure is used for pore-scale simulation of one- and two-phase flow with Lattice-Boltzmann methods. This gives us another set of material and hydraulic parameters of the sands. The two sets of hydraulic properties (from the lab scale and from the pore scale) are then used in numerical simulations of the 3-D experiment.     

Seismic images under the Beijing region inferred from P and PmP data

In this study a new tomographic method is applied to over 1500 high-quality PmP (Moho reflected wave) travel-time data as well as over 38,500 high-quality first P-wave arrivals to determine a detailed 3D crustal velocity structure under Beijing and adjacent areas. Results of detailed resolution analyses show that the PmP data can significantly improve the resolution of the model in the middle and lower crust. After the PmP data are included in the tomographic inversion, our new model not only displays the tectonic feature appeared in the previous studies, but also reveals some new features. The Zhangjiakou-Bohai Sea fault zone (Zhang-Bo zone) is imaged as prominent and continuous low-velocity (low-V) anomalies in the shallower crust, while in the middle and lower crust it shows intermittent low-V anomalies extending down to the uppermost mantle. Furthermore, the pattern of low-V anomalies is different along the Zhang-Bo zone from the southeast to the northwest, indicating that there exist large differences in the dynamic evolution of Taihangshan and Yanshan uplifts and North China depression basin. Prominent low-V anomalies are visible under the source area of the 4 July 2006 Wen-An earthquake (M 5.1), suggesting that the occurrence of the Wen-An earthquake is possibly related to the effect of the crustal fluids probably caused by the upwelling of the hot and wet asthenospheric materials due to the deep dehydration of the stagnant Pacific slab in the mantle transition zone. The fluids in the lower crust may cause the weakening of the seismogenic layer in the upper and middle crust and thus contribute to the initiation of the Wen-An earthquake. This is somewhat similar to the cause of the 1695 Sanhe-Pinggu earthquake and the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in the region, as well as the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan and the 2001 Bhuj earthquake in India.     

The Holocene Secche di Lazzaro phreatomagmatic succession (Stromboli,Italy): evidence of pyroclastic density current origin deduced by facies analysis and AMS flow directions

The edifice of Stromboli volcano gravitationally collapsed several times during its volcanic history (>100 ka–present). The largest Holocene event occurred during the final stage of the Neostromboli activity (∼13–5 ka), and was accompanied by the emplacement of phreatomagmatic and lahar deposits, known as the Secche di Lazzaro succession. A stratigraphic and paleomagnetic study of the Secche di Lazzaro deposits allows the interpretation of the emplacement and the eruptive processes. We identify three main units within the succession that correspond to changing eruption conditions. The lower unit (UA) consists of accretionary lapilli-rich, thinly bedded, parallel- to cross-stratified ash deposits, interpreted to indicate the early stages of the eruption and emplacement of dilute pyroclastic density currents. Upward, the second unit (UB) of the deposit is more massive and the beds thicker, indicating an increase in the sedimentation rate from pyroclastic density currents. The upper unit (UC) caps the succession with thick, immediately post-eruptive lahars, which reworked ash deposited on the volcano’s slope. Flow directions obtained by Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) analysis of the basal bed of UA at the type locality suggest a provenance of pyroclastic currents from the sea. This is interpreted to be related to the initial base-surges associated with water–magma interaction that occurred immediately after the lateral collapse, which wrapped around the shoulder of the sector collapse scar. Upward in the stratigraphy (upper beds of UA and UB) paleoflow directions change and show a provenance from the summit vent, probably related to the multiple collapses of a vertical, pulsatory eruptive column.     

海区前新生代残留盆地油气研究的综合地球物理技术

我国前新生代残留盆地油气资源的巨大潜力已为近年的一些勘探实践所证实,但是仍面临许多技术难题.本文介绍了近年在863计划支持下,针对残留盆地油气勘探难题所研究的一些方法与技术.其中包括针对我国海区残留盆地勘探目标的地震采集技术、基于弯曲射线的复杂构造叠前成像技术和残留盆地残余厚度提取技术等.这些技术已在我国海域进行了试验并取得了一定的成效.     

华北及邻区地壳上地幔三维速度结构的地震走时层析成像

利用华北及邻区475个地震台站的区域地震走时资料,反演了该地区的地壳上地幔三维P波和S波速度结构。地震走时的计算用近似弯曲射线追踪方法,三维速度模型的反演用LSQR算法。用检测板方法对走时数据进行成像分辨率分析,结果表明反演模型在水平方向上以0.5°×0.5°的节点分布,垂直方向上以1km、10km、25km、42km、60km为节点作网格划分是合理的。研究区域内,秦岭—大别造山带两侧的华北块体与扬子块体有不同的速度异常特征：华北块体地壳速度结构复杂,而扬子块体则相对简单。华北块体地壳内存在较明显的低速异常,而扬子块体则正常或高速异常。自中新生代以来华北块体地壳经历挤压到伸展的强烈变形,而扬子块体相对稳定。华北块体的构造活动依然强烈,表现为频繁的地震活动。华北地块地壳速度结构的主要特征是：①主要构造带（如燕山构造带、太行山山前构造带、汾渭构造带、郯庐断裂带以及秦岭-大别构造带）位于地壳上地幔的低速或高低速过渡区内;②在唐山及附近地区25 km、42 km和60 km深处连续的低速异常,可能意味着上地幔热的物质上涌,到达上地壳的下部后停止上升过程。     

原发纵隔胸腺弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤的CT诊断

目的：提升对CT诊断Med-Dlbcl的认识。资料和方法：女性7例,男性4例,年龄23～42岁,回顾性的分析11例Med-Dlbcl的CT征象。结果：11例Med-Dlbcl病例中,CT误诊为胸腺瘤9例,仅2例考虑到Med—Dlbcl的可能性。讨论：随着Med-Dlbcl的发病率在中国逐年上升,CT医师应该提升对该疾病诊断的认识。     

井间电磁测量的2．5维层析成像方法

利用正则化最小二乘反演方法实现了井间电磁测量数据的层析成像,对井间地层电阻率进行了重建。在成像算法中,我们假设了井间电磁的激发与接收采用电磁偶极子源,井间介质仅在二维（xoz）平面内变化。在数值模拟中,通过对构造走向（y方向）的Fourier变换,将三维电磁场问题转化为一系列二维问题,用等参有限元方法在波数域求解,使实际地层模型的处理得以实现。对于波数域中每个波数对应的电磁场方程采用等参有限元求解,并用高斯积分将波数域解变换为空间域电磁场。利用源与接收器电磁场的互易原理,实现了电磁场响应对电导率分布灵敏度的快速计算。针对正演模拟中源点的奇异性,我们采用具有一定面积的伪艿函数表达源电流分布,使数值解精度得到提高。用层状介质的解析解与数值计算结果的对比,验证了模拟算法的精度。用介质扰动产生的电磁场变化检验互易性定理计算灵敏度的有效性。对简单块状模型、斜向裂缝带模型及“大”字模型的模拟数据成像结果表明,本文介绍的层析成像方法是正确有效的。