Late Pleistocene paleoclimatic history documented by an oxygen isotope record from carbonate sediments in Qarhan Salt Lake,NE Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Late Pleistocene paleoclimatic variability on the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (NE QTP) was reconstructed using a chronology based on AMS ¹⁴C and ²³⁰Th dating results and a stable oxygen isotopic record. These are derived from lake carbonates in a 102-m-long Qarhan sediment core (ISL1A) collected from the eastern Qaidam Basin. Previous research indicates that the δ¹⁸O values of lacustrine carbonates are mainly controlled by the isotopic composition of lake water, which in turn is a function of regional P/E balance and the proportion of precipitation that is monsoon-derived on the NE QTP. Modern isotopic observations indicate that the δ¹⁸O values of lake carbonates in hyper-arid Qaidam Basin are more positive during the warm and wet period. Due to strong evaporation and continental effect in this basin, the positive δ¹⁸O values in the arid region indicate drier climatic conditions. Based on this interpretation and the δ¹⁸O record of fine-grained lake carbonates and dating results in ISL1A, the results imply that drier climatic conditions in the Qarhan region occurred in three intervals, around 90–80 ka, 52–38 ka and 10–9 ka, which could correspond to late MIS 5, middle MIS 3 and early Holocene, respectively. These three phases were almost coincided with low lake level periods of Gahai, Toson and Qinghai Lakes (to the east of Qarhan Lake) influenced by ASM on the orbital timescales. Meanwhile, there was an episode of relatively high δ¹⁸O value during late MIS 3, suggesting that relatively dry climatic condition in this period, rather than “a uniform Qarhan mega-paleolake” spanning the ∼44 to 22 ka period. These results insight into the understanding of “the Greatest Lake Period” on the QTP.     

鄂西-黔中陆缘坻磷块岩迁移沉积及控矿(成矿)模型

鄂西-黔中陆缘坻是扬子地块东南缘晚震旦世陡山沱期磷块岩沉积成矿的构造古地理单元,其形态是向南东凸出的弧形,来自SE方向上升洋流抵达陆缘坻后,分成向NW和SW向两个方向洋流,磷块岩两个工业矿层随洋流方向发生有规律的迁移沉积,这在同一矿集区的不同矿段也表现出清晰的迁移沉积规律。由于陆缘坻本身古构造和古地形特点,决定了磷块岩成矿的具体位置,构成了不同的控矿模型,特别陆缘坻基底隆起迎向洋流的一侧是磷块岩大规模成矿的最佳地段,往往形成成群的大中小矿床,甚至形成超大型矿床。     

Damage Survey of Water Supply Systems and Fragility Curve of PVC Water Pipelines in the Chi–Chi Taiwan Earthquake

Substantial damage to water supply systems, including water delivery pipelines, water treatment plants, reservoirs, and water storage tanks, was reported after the 1999 Chi–Chi Taiwan Earthquake. This paper first summarizes the damage survey and then presents the results of seismic fragility analysis for underground pipelines. Construction blueprints of the water delivery pipelines and repair work orders of 11 townships and cities in the disastrous area were digitized into a Geographical Information System (GIS) for analysis and assessment. With the aid of the GIS system, we found that PVC pipes made up 86% of water delivery pipelines while steel, cast iron, ductile iron, PE and others took the rest. Therefore, this paper focuses on the fragility analysis of PVC pipes. Three different methods were applied to derive the fragility relations between the PVC water pipes having nominal diameters (approximately inner diameters) greater than or equal to 65 mm and earthquake intensity parameters such as peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity. The results were then examined with those of other countries. The discrepancy between our results and the empirical equation used by HAZUS, an earthquake loss estimation software developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency was not significant.     

Artificial neural network model for prediction of rock properties from sound level produced during drilling

In many rock engineering applications such as foundations, slopes and tunnels, the intact rock properties are not actually determined by laboratory tests, due to the requirements of high quality core samples and sophisticated test equipments. Thus, predicting the rock properties by using empirical equations has been an attractive research topic relating to rock engineering practice for many years. Soft computing techniques are now being used as alternative statistical tools. In this study, artificial neural network models were developed to predict the rock properties of the intact rock, by using sound level produced during rock drilling. A database of 832 datasets, including drill bit diameter, drill bit speed, penetration rate of the drill bit and equivalent sound level (L_eq) produced during drilling for input parameters, and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Schmidt rebound number (SRN), dry density (ρ), P-wave velocity (V_p), tensile strength (TS), modulus of elasticity (E) and percentage porosity (n) of intact rock for output, was established. The constructed models were checked using various prediction performance indices. Goodness of the fit measures revealed that recommended ANN model fitted the data as accurately as experimental results, indicating the usefulness of artificial neural networks in predicting rock properties.     

香港世界地质公园晚侏罗世荔枝庄组岩石组合及其成岩地质过程解析

中国东南大陆晚侏罗世地层普遍缺失,仅零星见于个别地区,香港新界东北的荔枝庄组即为其一。荔枝庄组出露于香港世界地质公园沉积岩园区的荔枝庄地区,自下往上由火山岩—沉积岩—火山岩组合而成,沉积岩中发育大型包卷层理和滑塌构造等典型沉积构造,是香港地区最具代表性的晚侏罗世火山—沉积岩系。通过实测地层剖面研究,确定其成岩过程大体上可划分为早期普林尼式火山爆发、中期破火山口湖相沉积和晚期普林尼式火山爆发三个阶段,以湖相沉积作用为主、火山喷发作用为辅;受晚期火山岩浆活动的影响,沉积岩层普遍发生硅化或炭化。荔枝庄组独特的岩石组合与形成的古地理环境,为探讨中国东南大陆中生代火山活动—沉积作用方式与成岩过程,提供了难得的研究实例。     

Preservation of coal-waste geochemical markers in vegetation and soil on self-heating coal-waste dumps in Silesia,Poland

Occurrence and distributions of geochemical markers on vegetation and in soils covering two self-heating coal waste dumps were investigated with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and compared with those of bitumen expelled on the coal waste dump surface. Presence of biomarkers, alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and such polar compounds as phenols indicate that components of self-heating coal wastes indeed migrate to soils and plants surface and their characteristic fingerprints can be applied in passive monitoring to investigate migration of contaminants from self-heating coal wastes. Moreover, results allow to discriminate between the Upper- and Lower Silesian coal basins, notwithstanding value shifts caused by heating. Mechanisms enabling the migration of geochemical compounds into soils include mixing with weathered coal-waste material, transport in gases emitted due to self-heating and, indirectly, by deposition of biomass containing geochemical substances. Transport in gases involves mostly lighter compounds such as phenols, methylnaphthalenes, methylbiphenyls, etc. Distributions and values of geochemical ratios are related to differences in their boiling temperatures in the case of lighter compounds but preserve geochemical features in the case of heavier compounds such as pentacyclic trierpanes.     

A note on “Origin of components in Chilean thermal waters” by

Risacher et al. (2011) have presented voluminous data on thermal waters of Chile that is quite appreciable; however, their work still falls short on several counts. The most notable shortcoming of the work is the presentation and treatment of data. The interpretations are based on questionable premises (viz., extent of seawater intrusion) and considerations (viz., using average chemical composition of rock types for geochemical modeling, considering volcanic rocks as the only rock type in contact with the geothermal fluids) and assumptions not always substantiated by facts (with proper references) could have been corroborated. Use of Cl/Br ratio for discrimination purpose is unconvincing, considering the uncertainty in the measurement of low (<1 mg/L) Br concentration.     

Petrology and geochemistry of the Karaj Dam basement sill: Implications for geodynamic evolution of the Alborz magmatic belt

The northeastward subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere beneath the Iranian block produced vast volcanic and plutonic rocks that now outcrop in central (Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic assemblage) and north–northeastern Iran (Alborz Magmatic Belt), with peak magmatism occurring during the Eocene. The Karaj Dam basement sill (KDBS), situated in the Alborz Magmatic Belt, comprises gabbro, monzogabbro, monzodiorite, and monzonite with a shoshonitic affinity. These plutonic rocks are intruded into the Karaj Formation, which comprise pyroclastic rocks dating to the lower–upper Eocene. The geochemical and isotopic signatures of the KDBS rocks indicate that they are cogenetic and evolved through fractional crystallization. They are characterized by an enrichment in LREEs relative to HREEs, with negative Nb–Ta anomalies. Geochemical modeling using Sm/Yb versus La/Yb and La/Sm ratios suggests a low-degree of partial melting of a phlogopite–spinel peridotite source to generate the KDBS rocks. Their low I_Sr = 0.70453–0.70535, ɛNd (37.2 Ma) = 1.54–1.9, and T_DM ages ranging from 0.65 to 0.86 Ga are consistent with the melting of a Cadomian enriched lithospheric mantle source, metasomatized by fluids derived from the subducted slab or sediments during magma generation. These interpretations are consistent with high ratios of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.43–18.67, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.59, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.42–38.71, indicating the involvement of subducted sediments or continental crust. The sill is considered to have been emplaced in an environment of lithospheric extension due to the slab rollback in the lower Eocene. This extension led to localized upwelling of the asthenosphere, providing the heat required for partial melting of the subduction-contaminated subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the Alborz magmatic belt. Then, the shoshonitic melt generates the entire spectrum of KDBS rocks through assimilation and fractional crystallization during the ascent of the magma.     

Methodological comparison for quantitative analysis of fossil and recently derived carbon in mine soils with high content of aliphatic kerogen

In mine soil, quantification of soil organic carbon (OC) derived recently from biomass decomposition is complicated by the presence of fossil (geogenic) C derived from coal, oil shale, or similar material in the overburden. The only reliable method for such measurement is ¹⁴C analysis (i.e. radiocarbon dating) using instrumentation such as accelerator mass spectrometry, which is too expensive for routine laboratory analysis. We tested two previously used and two new methods for recent C quantification and compared them with ¹⁴C AMS radiocarbon dating as a reference using a set of soil samples (n = 14) from Sokolov, Czech Republic: (i) ¹³C isotope ratio composition, (ii) cross polarization magic angle spinning ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (CPMAS ¹³C NMR) spectroscopy, (iii) near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) coupled with partial least squares regression and (iv) Rock–Eval pyrolysis. Conventional methods for OC determination (dry combustion, wet dichromate oxidation, loss-on-ignition) were also compared to quantify any bias connected with their use. All the methods provided acceptable recent carbon estimates in the presence of mostly aliphatic fossil C from kerogen. However, the most accurate predictions were obtained with two approaches using Rock–Eval pyrolysis parameters as predictors, namely (i) S₂ curve components and (ii) oxygen index (OI). The S₂ curve approach is based on the lower thermal stability of recent vs. fossil organic matter. The OI approach corresponded well with ¹³C NMR spectra, which showed that samples rich in recent C were richer in carboxyl C and O-alkyl C. These two methods showed the greatest potential as routine methods for recent C quantification.     

Particle mechanics modeling of creep behavior of rockfill materials under dry and wet conditions

Rockfill is an important construction material for infrastructure engineering, such as dams, railways and airport foundations, which display a long-term post-construction settlement. However, the main mechanisms for rockfill creep and weathering influence still remain poorly understood. Particle mechanics method is used to understand the rockfill creep process under dry and wet conditions. Different bond-aging models and wetting models that represent different degradation and weakening mechanisms are compared, in order to clarify the principle and secondary mechanisms for rockfill creep and weathering influence. The results show that rockfill aggregate breakage in terms of angularity abrasion is the main source for rockfill creep under dry state. Wetting can induce additional strain mainly due to the reduction of contact friction coefficient, i.e. lubrication, and the bond strength reduction just plays a secondary role in producing additional strain. The earlier the wetting occurs during rockfill creep, the more rapidly the rockfill becomes stable. The wetting–drying cycles can induce strain evolution in a ‘stepped’ way, which is in agreement with experimental observation. The practical implications from the modeling and the outstanding issues in this study are also discussed.