Coastal processes and environmental hazards: the Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Venetian (Italy) littorals

The Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Venice (Italy) coastlands have experienced significant saltwater contamination of the phreatic aquifer, coastal erosion, hydrodynamic changes and relative sea level rise processes due to natural and man-induced factors. These factors expose coastal areas to morpho-hydro-geological hazards, such as soil desertification, frequency and degree of flooding, littoral erosion, and the silting of river mouths and channels. Man-made interventions and actions, such as beach mining, construction of coastal structures and exploitation of aquifers without an adequate knowledge of the hydrology setting and an adequate management program, worsen these natural hazards. Uncontrolled human activity induces environmental damage to the overall coastal plains. The coastal plains play an important role in the social/economic development of the two regions based on land use, such as agriculture, horticulture, breeding, and tourism, as well as industry. Results of investigations on saltwater contamination, sea level rise and morphological changes recently performed in these two coastal areas are presented here.     

Biogenic origin of coastal honeycomb weathering

Honeycomb weathering occurs in two environments in Late Cretaceous and Eocene sandstone outcrops along the coastlines of south‐west Oregon and north‐west Washington, USA, and south‐west British Columbia, Canada. At these sites honeycomb weathering is found on subhorizontal rock surfaces in the intertidal zone, and on steep faces in the salt spray zone above the mean high tide level. In both environments, cavity development is initiated by salt weathering. In the intertidal zone, cavity shapes and sizes are primarily controlled by wetting/drying cycles, and the rate of development greatly diminishes when cavities reach a critical size where the amount of seawater left by receding tides is so great that evaporation no longer produces saturated solutions. Encrustations of algae or barnacles may also inhibit cavity enlargement. In the supratidal spray zone, honeycomb weathering results from a dynamic balance between the corrosive action of salt and the protective effects of endolithic microbes. Subtle environmental shifts may cause honeycomb cavity patterns to continue to develop, to become stable, or to coalesce to produce a barren surface. Cavity patterns produced by complex interactions between inorganic processes and biologic activity provide a geological model of ‘self‐organization’. Surface hardening is not a factor in honeycomb formation at these study sites. Salt weathering in coastal environments is an intermittently active process that requires particular wind and tidal conditions to provide a supply of salt water, and temperature and humidity conditions that cause evaporation. Under these conditions, salt residues may be detectable in honeycomb‐weathered rock, but absent at other times. Honeycomb weathering can form in only a few decades, but erosion rates are retarded in areas of the rock that contain cavity patterns relative to adjacent non‐honeycombed surfaces. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

渤海湾盆地石炭纪-二叠纪煤中基质镜质体飞行时间二次离子质谱研究

利用飞行时间二次离子质谱仪（简称ＴＯＦ－ＳＩＭＳ）对渤海湾地区Ｃ－Ｐ太原组和山西组煤中基质镜质体进行了对比研究,结果表明,在接收到的正二次离子中都含有一定的烯基和烷基碎片,这些脂族碎片离子的出现说明它们具有富氢及较好的生烃性质。同时,该仪器的实际应用结果表明,它对研究煤及源岩中有机显微组分的化学成分和结构具有独特的优势。     

小冰期结束以来贡嘎山海螺沟冰川退缩区土壤化学风化与发育过程

选择海螺沟冰川退缩区,对冰川退缩年龄分别为0年、30年、40年、52年、80年、120年的样点按土壤发生层分层采集样品,通过分析样品的化学风化速率及理化性质变化,探讨小冰期结束以来土壤发育过程及影响因素,并评估不同阶段土壤质量。结果表明,退缩区前40年样点中主要以碳酸盐风化为主,80年后硅酸盐风化作用增强。土壤长期风化速率随土壤年龄呈现升高-降低-升高的趋势,52年样点长期风化速率最低,为48.06 cmol/（m² ·a）,矿物组成和气候是影响土壤风化速率的重要原因。土壤的粒度组成以砂粒为主,多数样点占比约为80%~90%。随着土壤年龄增加,容重值和pH减小,pH从8.54减小到5左右;土层厚度、土壤有机质（SOC）及总氮（TN）含量增加,这些土壤理化指标的快速变化表明冰川退缩区土壤发育迅速。适宜的温度、充足的降水以及快速的植被演替可能是退缩区土壤快速发育的原因。模糊数学法计算土壤质量的结果显示,除了0年样点,其余样点土壤质量指数（SQI）均大于0.4,说明退缩区土壤质量状况整体属于中等水平,土壤肥力状况较好。研究结果有助于揭示土壤矿物风化过程和土壤发育的影响因素,理解土壤发育机制。

     

黄河源区玛多县沙漠化成因与发展过程

通过分析黄河源区玛多县沙漠化的成因和过程,结果表明,玛多县沙漠化成因类型有三种,分别为固定沙丘/古沙丘活化、滑塌陡坎及风蚀斑块,其形成都与多年冻土退化相关.在固定沙丘或古沙丘分布区,冻土退化导致热融沉陷,形成沉陷坑,沉陷坑边缘形成拉裂缝或陡坎,使下伏松散沙露出.在斜坡上,冻土退化形成滑塌陡坎,使底层土壤从侧面暴露.在平坦的冲积平原,差异性冻胀和融沉导致草皮拉裂,形成积水坑洼,冻土退化导致土壤变干,土壤的底层暴露.下伏风成沉积物暴露后,遭受风蚀,形成侧向凹槽,致使上部土体坍塌,使更多的风成沉积物暴露,这些过程的不断重复,使风蚀坑、陡坎、风蚀斑块扩大相连,最终形成流动沙丘、风蚀劣地、戈壁等地貌.     

Experimental research on a new encapsulated heat-generating hydraulic fracturing fluid system

1 IntroductionFracturing plays an important role in increasingthe production and injection and enhancing the final re-covery of oil and gas. At present, the use of ahydroxypropyl guar gum, borate-crosslinked, hydraulicfracturing fluid systemhas become ext…     

南极菲尔德斯半岛古海蚀龛沉积的古环境记录

在西南极菲尔德斯半岛长城站地区发现有大量古海蚀龛 ,龛内保存有完整沉积剖面 ,通过对其中一个沉积剖面的粒度特征及元素组成的分析 ,确认该剖面是后期的湖相沉积 ,并据此恢复了距今 460 0年以来该地区古环境演化历史。结果表明 ,距今 40 0 0— 30 0 0年长城站区地表岩石化学风化作用较强烈 ,处于一个相对温暖的时期 ,这与湖泊沉积物、海洋沉积物等古环境记录载体的研究结果是一致的 ,证明古海蚀龛沉积可以作为研究南极无冰区和冰缘地区古环境演化历史的一种新的地质载体。     

天然热释光技术在南海东部表层沉积物油气潜力勘查中的应用

应用热释光技术对南海东部海域(13.00°~22.00°N、117.00°~119°30′E)42个站位的表层沉积物样品进行分析测量,结合气烃组合指标C1/(C2+C3)及甲烷碳同位素判别地表气烃的成因类型,并有效指示了海底深部油气藏散失引起的放射性异常,研究还发现热释光在不同沉积粒径中的测试剂量不同,结果为黏土质粉砂大于砂质粉砂;热释光也与部分化学元素含量有关,与稀土金属Nb、金属元素Zr呈显著正相关,与微量元素S、Ba呈负相关;天然热释光还与不同区块的沉积物酸解气烃甲烷、丙烷、异丁烷呈强烈正相关。数理统计分析结果表明沉积物的热释光和气烃的异常值完全吻合。     

Modeling diffusion advection in the mass transfer of water vapor through martian regolith

Diffusion advection is an effect in diffusive multicomponent mass transfer that occurs when the flux vectors of the individual components do not add up to zero. This can be a significant effect for the mass transfer of water vapor from subsurface ice or liquid reservoirs through porous regolith at martian temperatures and pressures. Ignoring diffusion advection and using Fick's law alone to calculate the flux under these conditions will result in an erroneously small value while using a measured flux to calculate a diffusivity will result in an erroneously high value. The inaccuracy in both cases increases with temperature. The literature contains several examples of erroneous treatment of this effect. The correct approach is well-known from other applications of mass transfer and takes diffusion advection into account in the appropriate amount regardless of the temperature and pressure and reduces to the simple Fick's law when conditions warrant. In this way, there is no need to decide under what conditions diffusion advection is or is not important. It can be used in the transition region to pure Knudsen diffusion in a fashion similar to that used with the more limited Fickian approach.     

地质微生物作用与油气资源

地质微生物作用与油气资源的生成、保存、破坏、开采和勘探的各个环节都有着密切的联系。微生物(细菌)本身不仅是良好的成烃母质,还是促使有机物转化为石油烃的主要营力。微生物作用使沉积有机质向更有利于生烃的物质转化,并使有机质中表征成熟度的一些指标在尚未受热成熟作用前就显示成熟特征。沉积环境中微生物的发育对有机质的贡献与保存有积极作用,细菌对有机质的降解也有利于有机质中成烃组分的保存与富集。微生物作用生成的天然气、煤层气和甲烷水合物在世界各地已成为有商业开采价值的资源。然而,微生物对已成藏的油气资源又具有破坏作用。储层中喜氧与厌氧菌的存在,不仅破坏石油储量,还使原油质量明显下降。