Factors controlling the spatial and temporal variability of dust emissions

New field measurement techniques are allowing researchers to better understand how surficial properties affect the temporal and spatial variability of dust emissions. In this paper we review the current understanding of the dust emission process and present new field measurements that examine how three surface properties： roughness, crust strength, and temporal changes of surface properties affect dust emissions. These data were collected using three unique measurement systems developed by our team. Roughness exerts considerable control on the entrainment threshold and emissions of dust from a surface. We have carried out a series of experiments designed to quantify roughness effects on aeolian sediment entrainment and transport in a shear stress partitioning framework. Our results show that the model of Raupach et al. （1993） provides very good agreement with available data to predict the amount of shearing stress on the intervening surface among roughness elements, relatively independent of their size and distribution. However, element size affects the aeolian sediment transport process beyond that attributable only to the reduction of surface shear stress caused by the roughness. Additional interactions of the elements with the saltation cloud appear to reduce the transport efficiency and potentially dust emissions as well. The effect of crust strength on dust emissions was assessed using a newly-developed pin penetrometer, which can measure crust strength in-situ. Previous researchers suggested that variation in crust strength even within a small area could lead to considerable spatial variability in dust emissions. Our measurements showed that crust strength is highly variable over a scale of centimeters. This variability may help to explain some of the observed scatter in field measurements of dust emissions for what appear to be homogeneous surfaces. Variability of dust emissions in time and space was also evaluated using a new instrument, the Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab （PI-SWERL） developed to measure dust emissions from soil surfaces.     

Hydrogeochemical controls on surface and groundwater chemistry in naturally acidic, porphyry-related mineralized areas, southern Rocky Mountains

In southern Rocky Mountains, catchments characterized by acidic, metalliferous waters that are relatively unaffected by human activity usually occur within areas that have active or historical mining activity. The US Geological Survey has utilized these mineralized but unmined catchments to constrain geochemical processes that control the surface- and ground-water chemistry associated with near surface acid weathering as well as to estimate premining conditions. Study areas include the upper Animas River watershed, Lake City, Mt. Emmons, and Montezuma in Colorado and Questa in New Mexico. Although host-rock lithologies range from Precambrian gneisses to Cretaceous sedimentary units to Tertiary volcanic complexes, mineralization is Tertiary in age and associated with intermediate to felsic composition, porphyritic plutons. Pyrite is ubiquitous. Variability of metal concentrations in water is caused by two main factors： mineralogy and hydrology. Parameters that potentially affect water chemistry include： host-rock lithology, intensity of hydrothermal alteration, sulfide mineralogy and chemistry, gangue mineralogy, length of flow path, precipitation, evaporation, and redox conditions. Springs and headwater streams have pH values as low as 2.5, sulfate up to 3700 mg/L and high dissolved metal concentrations （for example： Al up to 170 mg/L; Fe up to 250 mg/L; Cu up to 3.5 mg/L and Zn up to 14 mg/L）. With the exception of evaporative waters, the lowest pH values and highest Fe and Al concentrations occur in water draining the most intense hydrothermally altered areas consisting of the mineral assemblage quartz-sericite-pyrite. Stream beds tend to be coated with iron floc, and some reaches are underlain by ferricrete. When iron-rich ground water interacts with oxygenated waters in the stream or hyporheic zone, ferrous iron is oxidized to ferric iron, which is less soluble, leading to the precipitation of iron oxyhydroxides.     

Naturally acidic and metalliferous waters at unmined volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in the Bonnifield mining district, Alaska Range, east-central Alaska

The Bonnifield district hosts 26 tmmined volcanogenic massive sulfide （VMS） occurrences. Environmental geochemical samples of water and stream sediment were collected at several occurrences, concentrating on the two best-exposed and largest deposits, Red Mountain （RM） and Sheep Creek （SC）. Limited samples were also collected at the poorly exposed WTF deposit. The deposits are Late Devonian to Early Mississippian, and are hosted by felsic metavolcanic and carbonaceous schist members of the Totatlanika Schist or Keevy Peak Fm. Spring and stream waters at RM and SC have pH values commonly 〈3.5 （as low as 2.4 at RM and 2.5 at SC）, high conductivity （up to 11000 μS/cm）, and very high （Is to 100s mg/L） dissolved contents of Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Pb. Waters at RM are characterized by extremely high REE contents （summed REE median 3200 μg/L, n=33）. At both RM and SC, pyrite oxidation and dissolution produce low pH waters that interact with and dissolve bedrock minerals, resulting in acidic, metal-laden, naturally degraded streams that are mostly devoid of aquatic life. Ferricrete is common. In contrast, WTF barely produces a surficial environmental footprint, mostly due to topography and relief. RM and SC are well exposed in the areas of relatively high relief, and both exhibit extensive areas of quartz-sericite-pyrite-alteration. While WTF shares many of the same deposit-and alteration characteristics, it is concealed by tundra in a large, nearly flat area. Surface water at WTF is absent and outcrops are sparse. Even though WTF is roughly the same size as Red Mountain （both around 3 million tonnes） and has similar base- and precious-metal grades, the surficial geochemical manifestation of WTF is minimal. However, exposure through mining of the altered, mineralized rock at WTF potentially could initiate the same processes of pyrite oxidation, acid generation, and mineral dissolution that are observed naturally at RM and SC.     

Structural Evolvement of Heating Treatment of Mg/AI-LDH and Preparation of Mineral Mesoporous Materials

Although hydrotalcite, or layered double hydroxides （LDHs）, is not a common mineral, it is an important material that can be easily synthesized in laboratory. In this study, structural evolvement and BET surface area changes of heat treated Mg/AI-LDH is evaluated by XRD, TEM and N2-BET analyses. The results indicate that the magnesium-aluminum LDH with carbonate as interlayer anion, periclase-like oxides was formed at temperatures of 400-800℃. Meanwhile, 2-3 nanometer mesoporous were formed during decomposition of LDH. However, the heat treated samples still preserve the morphology of the original LDH plates. Periclase-like formed from LDH heat treatment may re-hydrolyze and recover the structure of LDH. However, crystallinity of the recovered LDH is lower than that of the original LDH. This heat treatment will result in formation of （Mg, Al）-oxide nano-crystals and nanopores among the nano-crystals. When heating temperature exceeds 1000, the periclase-like （Mg, Al）-oxide is transformed into a composite with periclase （MgO） and spinel phases. The periclase can be re-hydrolyzed and dissolved in HCl solution. After acid treatment, the sample with a high surface area is composed of spinel nano-crystals and nanopores among them. Our results will provide a new and economic way to synthesize mesoporous materials through pathways of phase transformation of precursor materials with different composition.     

青藏高原植物形态和解剖适应性研究进展

与低海拔地区相比，青藏高原的太阳辐射、水分条件、氧分压、气温等环境条件都有明显差异，青藏高原的植物在细胞壁厚度、栅栏细胞层数、通气组织大小、异细胞数量和分布、表皮附属物类型等方面与低海拔地区的相比也有较大的不同。综述了在青藏高原特殊的生态条件下，植物在形态和解剖方面的适应性表现，分析了该领域目前的研究特点和存在的一些问题，并在全球环境变化背景下，对其发展前景进行了展望，指出了未来的发展趋势。     

根据相关条件判断季节的种种方法

1．根据气候特征 地中海气候，热带草原气候，季风气候等季节变化明显的气候类型能指示季节。例如，当罗马、洛杉矶、旧金山、雅典、塔兰托、马赛等炎热干燥时，或珀斯、开普敦、好望角、圣地亚哥多雨时，或南亚盛行西南季风时，尼罗河处于汛期，赞比西河处于枯水期时北半球为夏季，反之为冬季。     

台闽北部地区海岸阶地之对比

针对台湾海峡东岸台湾北部的海岸阶地进行调查研究，并与西岸福建东北部的海岸阶地进行分析比较；着重阐述台湾西北部4个海岸区域阶地的特性（阶序、分布、高度、崖差、构成等）及其变动情况（阶地抬升、变窄、延伸等）；通过推断形成年代、测算隆升速率等，探讨研究区域的海岸线变化与构造升降运动，结果发现：台湾岛的海阶变化不仅受到海平面变动的影响，尚受到区域性地壳隆升的控制；福建沿海地区受蓬莱造山运动的影响极小，海岸阶地的形成主要是受到数次海平面变化的影响；福建沿海的隆升速率由北向南逐渐减少，总体上低于海峡东岸台湾岛的隆升率（平均2mm／a）．该研究印证了：相对于台湾岛地区，福建沿海地区的地壳活动相对稳定，其海阶发育可能仅受到海平面变动的影响．’     

俄罗斯外汇收入并非只靠石油

日本《经济学人》周刊日前发表署名文章称，俄罗斯目前呈现的经济稳定和繁荣，明显依赖于出口牵引型经济增长，因而非常脆弱，也极其危险。文章说，俄罗斯的经常项目收支、外汇储备、财政状况等保持经济稳定的基本要素都受原油价格变化的影响。如果依照目前的经济模式走下去，俄罗斯将很难步入发达国家的行列。     

华南下寒武统镍钼矿层中铜铅锌矿物的发现及意义

华南扬子地块是我国古热水沉积成矿作用最为发育的地区之一,其热水沉积特性最早引起我国学者的关注。华南下寒武统黑色岩系中赋存多个与热水沉积成矿作用相关的大型、超大型重晶石矿床与N i-Mo-U-V多金属富集层。进一步研究分布在华南扬子地块黑色岩系中的金属、非金属矿床成因及其地球化学特征,对认识华南乃至全球晚震旦—早寒武世生物与环境演化有着十分重要的意义。本文对华南下寒武统镍-钼富集层矿石进行电子探针研究,识别出黄铜矿、黝铜矿等铜的独立矿物;闪锌矿等锌的独立矿物;方铅矿、白铅矿等铅的独立矿物。研究表明,在镍-钼矿石中这些矿物的发现为镍-钼矿层是热水沉积作用产物提供了直接的矿物学证据。