Permeable Reactive Barrier for Groundwater Pollution Remediation: An Review

As an in situ, simple and passive technology, Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) is becoming widely used in groundwater remediation. Based on its definition and development process, the development of PRB can be divided into two stages: The traditional zero-valent iron PRB before 2000 and the PRB composed of novel mixed media after 2000. With the rapid worsening of groundwater pollution, the increasing application of PRB and the rapid development of materials science, the development of PRB technology in future will be mainly focused on the investigation of mixed and novel media, the design of mixed PRBs, the combination of PRB technology with other remediation technology, and the long term monitoring and management of PRB projects.     

2D Self-Potential tomographies for studying groundwater flows in the Varco d''Izzo landslide (Basilicata, southern Italy)

A geoelectrical monitoring activity has been carried out to improve the geological and hydrogeological knowledge about the Varco d'Izzo landslide (Potenza, Basilicata, Southern Apennine, Italy), an active rotational–translational slide evolved in earth-flow. In this work we have focused on the Self-Potential (SP) method by applying three different SP measuring techniques and combining modern technologies for data acquisition and new methods for tomographic inversion. A SP map and three static SP tomographies have been carried out to better analyse the groundwater circulation system and to better reconstruct the geometry of the landslide body. In the accumulation zone, which is the area more exposed to the geomorphological activity, a new SP measuring strategy has been applied. This strategy, based on time-continuous 2D SP tomographies, helps identify water flow changes in subsurface by studying the time series of SP tomographic images. The analysis of time-dependent changes of water infiltration in near surface is the key to better understand the hydrogeological processes underlying the ground instability phenomena. The time-lapse analysis of tomographic images has allowed us not only to investigate the correlation between the temporal changes of SP signals and rainfall events, but also to quantify the range of these changes. The modification of the distribution of the SP source accumulation zones is associated with the dynamics of the groundwater flows. These preliminary results allow us to consider the SP tomographic method as a tool for geophysical monitoring of landslide areas and encourage to develop new measuring systems for near-real time applications.     

Complementing coal seam gas facies modelling workflows with decompaction based processes

Differential compaction plays a key role in influencing the palaeogeographic organisation of many depositional systems. In the Jurassic Walloon Subgroup, Surat Basin, Eastern Australia, the process of compensational stacking contributes significantly to the complex coal layer architecture and is documented in mine exposure, borehole and seismic datasets. Despite this understanding, current best-practices do not formally consider the mechanics of compensational stacking when populating palaeogeography facies in coal seam gas (CSG) reservoir models. To address this limitation, a hybrid modelling workflow was developed in which numerical rules representing the process of differential compaction are used explicitly to condition an iterative workflow containing traditional geostatistical facies modelling algorithms. The workflow is facilitated by a newly developed open source plugin which allows grid decompaction in Schlumberger PETREL™ 2015. Application of the workflow was tested in a CSG production area containing closely spaced wellbores and a 3D seismic survey. In this area, facies models were constructed using both traditional geostatistical approaches and the newly developed hybrid methodology. Comparison of these models suggests that facies models constructed via unconstrained geostatistical approaches often result in unrepresentative realisations, inconsistent with coal seam architectures as observed in seismic and outcrop. The hybrid geostatistical-forward modelling approach developed during this study was better able to reproduce complex alluvial stacking patterns, particularly with respect to coal seam amalgamation, bifurcation and washout.     

Integrated method of RS and GPR for monitoring the changes in the soil moisture and groundwater environment due to underground coal mining

Mining affects the environment in different ways depending on the physical context in which the mining occurs. In mining areas with an arid environment, mining affects plants’ growth by changing the amount of available water. This paper discusses the effects of mining on two important determinants of plant growth—soil moisture and groundwater table (GWT)—which were investigated using an integrated approach involving a field sampling investigation with remote sensing (RS) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). To calculate and map the distribution of soil moisture for a target area, we initially analyzed four models for regression analysis between soil moisture and apparent thermal inertia and finally selected a linear model for modeling the soil moisture at a depth 10 cm; the relative error of the modeled soil moisture was about 6.3% and correlation coefficient 0.7794. A comparison of mined and unmined areas based on the results of limited field sampling tests or RS monitoring of Landsat 5-thermatic mapping (TM) data indicated that soil moisture did not undergo remarkable changes following mining. This result indicates that mining does not have an effect on soil moisture in the Shendong coal mining area. The coverage of vegetation in 2005 was compared with that in 1995 by means of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) deduced from TM data, and the results showed that the coverage of vegetation in Shendong coal mining area has improved greatly since 1995 because of policy input RMB￥0.4 per ton coal production by Shendong Coal Mining Company. The factor most affected by coal mining was GWT, which dropped from a depth of 35.41 m before mining to a depth of 43.38 m after mining at the Bulianta Coal Mine based on water well measurements. Ground-penetrating radar at frequencies of 25 and 50 MHz revealed that the deepest GWT was at about 43.4 m. There was a weak water linkage between the unsaturated zone and groundwater, and the decline of water table primarily resulted from the well pumping for mining safety rather than the movement of cracking strata. This result is in agreement with the measurements of the water wells. The roots of nine typical plants in the study area were investigated. Populus was found to have the deepest root system with a depth of about 26 m. Based on an assessment of plant growth demands and the effect of mining on environmental factors, we concluded that mining will have less of an effect on plant growth at those sites where the primary GWT depth before mining was deep enough to be unavailable to plants. If the primary GWT was available for plant growth before mining, especially to those plants with deeper roots, mining will have a significant effect on the growth of plants and the mechanism of this effect will include the loss of water to roots and damage to the root system.     

平湖地区ZST构造X井平湖组储层特征研究

以平湖地区ZST构造X井区有限的钻井资料为基础,利用岩石铸体薄片、扫描电镜、X-衍射等测试技术手段,对该井区平湖组的岩石学特征、粒度、储层物性等方面开展了系统研究。研究揭示：该储层的岩石类型主要为长石岩屑砂岩,属中孔中渗砂岩储层。平湖组储层物性受沉积环境和成岩作用的双重影响。沉积环境控制储层物性,潮间带和潮下带发育的潮道砂、砂坪是较好的储层;成岩作用对储层物性优劣起主导作用,胶结作用导致储层物性变差,溶蚀作用（长石溶蚀作用）改善了本井平湖组的储层物性。     

Interaction of Tectonic and Surface Geological Processes

1. Introduction to surface processesThe shape or morphology of Earth's surface is basically the result of the interplay between two competing forces - mountain building and erosion. Tectonic forces, driven by thermal energy from Earth's interior, cause the rocks of the crust to be folded, faulted and uplifted into high plateaus and mountain belts. As soon as uplift begins, the processes of erosion, driven by gravity, start to wear away the rocks. Masses of weathered rock move downhill under t…     

不同视角下InVEST模型的土壤保持功能对比

土壤保持是生态系统的重要服务功能之一。黄土高原是世界上水土流失最严重的地区,黄河中游地区是黄河泥沙的主要来源,继续开展黄河中游地区土壤保持研究,对于当地的水土保持、土地利用结构调整、退耕还林、生态补偿以及水库管理具有重大意义。以黄河一级支流无定河的源头(营盘山库区)为研究区,采用生态系统服务和交易的综合评估模型InVEST(Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs),从水文和土地利用两个角度出发,对研究区地块截留能力、输出能力和保持能力进行对比研究,重点探讨哪种角度的结果更科学合理,并进一步研究清淤情境下2010年营盘山库区的土壤保持能力及其空间格局特征。结果表明：① 基于子流域边界和土地利用边界的计算结果差异悬殊,水文学意义的子流域边界可以保证沉积物沿水文路径迁移过程的完整性,评价结果更科学合理;InVEST沉积物模型应该采用水文意义上的自然流域边界,而不宜将土地利用边界作为子流域单元进行评价。② 2010年营盘山库区在清淤情境下的沉积物截留总量为586482.60 t,输出总量为129868.61 t,平均输出量为12.93 t/hm²,保留总量为1559198.40 t,平均保留量为151.57 t/hm²。③ 地块的沉积物截留能力从上游至下游逐渐增强,而沉积物输出能力却刚好相反。无定河西侧支流的土壤保持能力比东侧支流偏高,两大支流平均土壤保持量低值区均出现在河流上游地区。     

Benthic nitrate biogeochemistry affected by tidal modulation of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) through a sandy beach face, Ria Formosa, Southwestern Iberia

To investigate both the role of tides on the timing and magnitude of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD), and the effect on benthic nitrogen biogeochemistry of nitrate-enriched brackish water percolating upwards at the seepage face, we conducted a study of SGD rates measured simultaneously with seepage meters and mini-piezometers, combined with sets (n = 39) of high resolution in-situ porewater profiles describing NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, Si(OH)₄ and salinity distribution with depth (0–20 cm). Sampling took place during two consecutive spring tidal cycles in four different months (November 2005, March, April and August 2006) at a backbarrier beach face in the Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal. Our results show that the tide is one of the major agents controlling the timing and magnitude of SGD into the Ria Formosa. Intermittent pumping of brackish, nitrate-bearing water at the beach face through surface sediments changed both the magnitudes and depth distributions of porewater NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ concentrations. The most significant changes in nitrate and ammonium concentrations were observed in near-surface sediment horizons coinciding with increased fraction of N in benthic organic matter, as shown by the organic C:N ratio. On the basis of mass balance calculations executed on available benthic profiles, providing ratios of net Ammonium Production Rate (APR) to Nitrate Reduction Rate (NRR), coupled to stoichiometric calculations based on the composition of organic matter, potential pathways of nitrogen transformation were speculated upon. Although the seepage face occasionally contributes to reduce the groundwater-borne DIN loading of the lagoon, mass balance analysis suggests that a relatively high proportion of the SGD-borne nitrogen flowing into the lagoon may be enhanced by nitrification at the shallow (1–3 cm) subsurface and modulated by dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA).     

基于COSI-Corr技术的龙羊峡库区1987—2019年风沙输移特征及潜在入库量估算

风沙活动威胁着龙羊峡水库的安全运营,查清沙害来源和入库量对于防治水患和沙害具有重要意义。基于1987、1995、2003、2013、2019年的Landsat卫星影像,利用COSI-Corr技术监测了龙羊峡库区不同时空的沙丘移动特征,并重新评估库区近32 a的潜在风沙入库量。结果显示：（1）1987—2019年龙羊峡库区沙丘平均移动速率为5.81 m·a^-1,呈先加速（1987—2003年）后减速（2003—2013年）再加速（2013—2019年）趋势;沙丘移动方向在132.81°—165.82°范围内,与该区主风向一致。（2）近32 a向龙羊峡水库输送的潜在风沙量可达7.82×10⁷ m3（1.20×10⁸ t）。上风向塔拉滩潜在输送量为7.38×10⁷ m3（1.14×10⁸ t）,下风向木格滩仅贡献了0.44×10⁷ m3（0.68×10⁷ t）。（3）库区内风沙输移受风况、气候、植被等多种因素的影响,在未来全球变暖条件下,青藏高原的风沙活动将会持续发展,风沙入库量的长期累计效应将对水库安全构成严重威胁,必须引起足够重视。     

Do river deltas in east India retreat? A case of the Krishna Delta

The construction of multiple dams and barrages in many Indian River basins over the last few decades significantly reduced river flow to the sea and affected the sediment regime. More reservoir construction is planned through the proposed National River Linking Project (NRLP), which will transfer massive amounts of water from the North to the South of India. The impacts of these developments on fertile and ecologically sensitive deltaic environments are poorly understood and quantified at present. In this paper an attempt is made to identify, locate and quantify coastal erosion and deposition processes in one of the major river basins in India—the Krishna—using a time series of Landsat images for 1977, 1990 and 2001 with a spatial resolution ranging from 57.0 m to 28.5 m. The dynamics of these processes are analyzed together with the time series of river flow, sediment discharge and sediment storage in the basin. Comparisons are made with similar processes identified and quantified earlier in the delta of a neighboring similarly large river basin—the Godavari. The results suggest that coastal erosion in the Krishna Delta progressed over the last 25 years at the average rate of 77.6 ha yr^− 1, dominating the entire delta coastline and exceeding the deposition rate threefold. The retreat of the Krishna Delta may be explained primarily by the reduced river inflow to the delta (which is three times less at present than 50 years ago) and the associated reduction of sediment load. Both are invariably related to upstream reservoir storage development.