Warning systems for natural threats

This paper is a somewhat revised version of the one previously given as a keynote lecture in the ECI Conference, ‘Geohazards: Technical, Economical and Social Consequences’. Some changes have been made to the original paper and the oral presentation: several of the figures and pictures illustrating the recent events have been eliminated, only one decision analysis example is shown and the review of literature on other warning systems has been expanded. Readers interested in the conference paper and oral presentation are referred to the website: http://services.bepress.com/eci/geohazards/     

Geochemical heterogeneity and isotope geochemistry of natural attenuation processes in a gasoline-contaminated aquifer at the Hnevice site,Czech Republic

The geochemical processes, water–rock interactions and stable isotopes distribution (δ¹³C of DIC and δ¹⁸O and δ³⁴S of \({\text{SO}}^{{{\text{2 - }}}}_{{\text{4}}} \)) were investigated in the gasoline-contaminated aquifer at the Hnevice site, 50  km northwest of Prague, Czech Republic. Diesel, gasoline and oil leaks originate from a large fuel storage area causing heavy contamination of the saturated and unsaturated zones in an area of about 0.7  km². Groundwater investigations were conducted using five multilevel sampler wells with emphasis on redox parameters and degradation by-products and a solid-phase study focused on iron speciation and determination of principal and secondary minerals. Based on the study of groundwater and solid-phase geochemistry, four different geochemical zones were described. Zone I is thought to be background consisting of an aerobic aquifer and the absence of reduced species in significant concentrations. Zone II is situated in the plume core with methanogenic, sulphate and iron-reducing conditions accompanied by ankerite and kutnahorite precipitates and significant depletion of the oxidation capacity of the aquifer. Zone III is a mixing (corona) zone, situated at the fringe of the plume with high biodegradation rates and Fe(III)-precipitants. In zone IV, reoxidation of Fe(II) minerals (with e.g. the occurrence of psilomelane and cornelite) is typical.     

新型饮用水除氟吸附剂研究进展

吸附法是目前饮用水除氟应用最广泛的方法,而吸附剂的特性是决定除氟成本和效果的重要因素。将工农业废弃物、天然矿物及生物制剂作为除氟吸附剂,可简化吸附剂加工环节,减少环境污染,降低除氟成本。基于对国内外新型除氟吸附剂研究现状的介绍,提出新型饮用水除氟吸附剂的后续研究应侧重预处理和使用后的处置方法,以及工业化应用理论基础研究,以寻求经济、高效的治理工艺,早日大规模应用于饮用水水处理中。     

Effects of natural gas condensate - water accommodated fraction on coral larvae

The toxic effects of the water accommodated fraction (WAF) of a natural gas condensate on the larvae of five brooding coral species of the Family Pocilloporidae were examined in short term (96 h) bioassays. Lethality was observed in some larvae of Seriatopora hystrix and Seriatopora guttatus upon exposure to high concentrations of the condensate WAF, while those of Stylophora pistillata, Pocillopora damicornis and Pocillopora verrucosa did not experience mortality. Furthermore, increasing concentrations of WAF produced either delayed or impeded metamorphosis for all species except P. damicornis. Growth of juveniles, exposed to different WAF treatments for 96 h during their larval/early juvenile stages, was measured after 30 d. Marked decrease in subsequent growth rate (polyp count) was observed for S. hystrix, S. guttatus and S. pistillata with increasing WAF concentration. The results showed differential susceptibility of larvae of closely related coral species to oil stress, with the following sensitivity ranking: S. guttatus>S. hystrix>S. pistillata>P. verrucosa>P. damicornis. Oil exposure during the planktonic, larval stage of susceptible corals can adversely affect survivorship, recruitment and/or subsequent colony growth, thereby having profound consequences for the abundance of these corals in space and time.     

Inversion of titanomaghemite in oceanic basalt during heating

We studied the change of magnetic behaviour upon laboratory heating of altered mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) samples in the age range of 16-35 Ma to determine the influence of titanomaghemite inversion on the thermal demagnetisation of natural remanent magnetisation (NRM) of these basalts. MORB samples were heated to successively higher temperatures and at the same time the temperature dependence of either saturation magnetisation or NRM was monitored continuously. After each heating step, hysteresis loops and remanent magnetisation curves between 10 K and room temperature were measured. With this procedure, it is shown that the dominant magnetic remanence carrier in our MORB samples is cation deficient titanomaghemite. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the titanomaghemite is gradually changing to a Ti-poor titanomagnetite as the final inversion product. During inversion, both the Curie temperature as well as the maximum unblocking temperature of the NRM are gradually increasing. We show that the paradox of unblocking temperatures above the Curie temperatures often observed for altered MORBs is an artefact of this gradual, heating induced inversion process.     

Improved lakeshore sediment microenvironment and enhanced denitrification efficiency by natural solid carbon sources

At present, the high level of nitrate in tailwater of wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs) has continued to cause serious environmental problems. In current study, wood chips and bark, serving as natural solid carbon source(NSCS), were applied to enhance the denitrification capacity of lakeshore sediment to remove superabundant nitrate in tailwater. The results show that NSCS had a positive effect on denitrification process for lakeshore sediment and increased the total phosphorus removal capacity...     

用天然地震探测青藏高原中部地壳、上地幔结构

从西藏南部的定日、嘎拉至青海铜铁山的天然地震探测剖面，实际路线长约２０００ｋｍ，布设了约１１０台便携地震仪，记录了数百次远震和近震事件，采用多种方法进行了资料处理与解释．依据ＳＫＳ，ＰＫＳ，ｐｓ等横波分裂特征计算的青藏高原中部上地幔的地震各向异性表明：研究区各构造单元内的地震各向异性有明显变化，发现上地幔各向异性快速波的偏振方向与造山带的走向不完全一致．在雅江缝合线、崩错－嘉黎、唐古拉山口、昆仑山口几条断裂带处南、北各向异性出现显著的差异，而金沙江缝合线和班公－怒江缝合线的南、北则没有明显的各向异性变化．由Ｐ波走时残差，利用层析技术反演了４００ｋｍ深度内的速度图像，可以看出近地表１００ｋｍ范围内速度的不均匀变化与地表划分的构造单元很吻合，进一步佐证了青藏高原是由不同时期的微板块拼合而成的认识．在青藏高原中部１５０ｋｍ深度以下发现了多处低速区．在金沙江缝合带下方约２００ｋｍ深度处有一长２５０ｋｍ以上、延伸１５０ｋｍ的低速体，推测可能是一地幔柱．利用ＰＳ转换波划分的界面，显示出青藏高原北部具有低速层和高速层交替出现的地壳结构．     

Measuring natural phytoplankton fluorescence and biomass: a case study of algal bloom in the Pearl River estuary

A moored optical buoy was deployed in the Pearl River estuarine waters for a 15-day period. A four-day algal bloom event occurred during this study period. Both chlorophyll a concentration and algal cell density (a proxy for biomass) changed dramatically before and after the event. The chlorophyll concentration at a 2.3 m depth rose from 5.15 mg/m⁻³ at 15:00 h on August 19 to 23.62 mg/m⁻³ at 9:00 h on August 21, and then decreased to 3.24 mg/m⁻³ at 15:00 h on August 24. The corresponding cell density ranged from 1.57 × 10⁵ to 1.76 × 10⁶ cells/L. We used normalized fluorescence line height (NFLH) and normalized fluorescence intensity (NFI) in order to determine fluorescence activity. Combined with the in situ sampling dataset, we were able to correlate natural fluorescence (NFLH and NFI) with chlorophyll a concentrations, and found correlation coefficients of 0.72 and 0.75, respectively. We also found correlations between natural fluorescence and cell density, with correlation coefficients of 0.71 and 0.65, respectively. These results indicate that applying continuous time series of natural fluorescence can reflect changes in biomass. This technique will prove extremely useful for in situ and real-time observations using an optical buoy. Although there are still problems to solve in the real-time observation of natural fluorescence in algal bloom events, we discuss the primary factors affecting fluorescence signals and suggest possible methods for mitigating these issues.     

基于自然伽马能谱测井资料的碳酸盐岩层序地层划分及其对古环境恢复的指示意义——以川东北LT1井下寒武统龙王庙组为例

自然伽马能谱测井资料在碳酸盐岩层序地层研究中具有较好的应用效果,Th/U和Th/K曲线的振荡趋势可为层序地层的旋回性识别提供依据。笔者等选取东北地区LT1典型井的自然伽马能谱测井资料为对象进行层序地层分析,结合岩芯碳氧同位素资料,探讨了沉积期古环境和相对海平面升降之间的耦合关系。结果表明,通过对自然伽马能谱测井资料进行INPEFA分析和Demy小波变换分析,可将LT1井下寒武统龙王庙组划分为1个三级层序和6个四级层序。INPEFA处理得到的Th/U_1曲线和Demy小波变换得到的Th/U_3_d8曲线可指示LT1井龙王庙组三级层序的相对海平面变化,Th/U_3_d6曲线与四级层序的相对海平面变化曲线相当。LT1井龙王庙组δ13C变化受三级层序相对海平面变化控制明显,最大海泛面位置对应ROECE碳同位素负漂移事件开始位置。结合龙王庙组δ13C变化和基于自然伽马能谱测井的相对海平面变化分析,认为ROECE事件可能与深部缺氧海水上涌和河流的持续输入以及风暴沉积带入的陆源碎屑物质有关。整体而言,LT1井龙王庙组沉积期古海水温度和古盐度的振荡变化趋势与三级和四级层序的相对海平面变化曲线（Th/U_3_d8和Th/U_3_d6）形态具有一定相关性,说明基于自然伽马能谱测井资料开展碳酸盐岩层序地层划分具有可行性,对沉积古环境恢复具有一定的指导和借鉴意义。     

贵州三叠纪自然遗产及世界地质公园申报

贵州三叠纪地质—古生物遗迹景观资源的特点是拥有六个世界之最:(1)全球最宏伟、演化历史记录最详尽的三叠纪浅海—深海过渡带;(2)全球保存最系统全面的三叠纪海陆变迁遗迹景观;(3)全球保存最好,研究程度最高的三叠纪孤立碳酸盐岩台地——大贵州滩;(4)全球最丰富多彩的三叠纪海生爬行类—海百合化石群;(5)全球最早、最大的三叠纪Tubiphytes生物礁;(6)全球最好的三叠纪深水遗迹化石群。这些遗迹景观是世界级的自然遗产,应加以保护并据此创建贵州三叠纪世界地质公园。