Variable vegetation cover and episodic sand movement on longitudinal desert sand dunes

Longitudinal (linear) sand dunes of the Simpson and Strzelecki dunefields in eastern central Australia present a paradox. Low levels of activity today stand in contrast to luminescence dating which has repeatedly shown deep deposits of sand on dune crests dating to within the late Holocene. In order to investigate the nature of dune activity in the Simpson–Strzelecki dunefield, vegetation and sand mobility were investigated by detailed vegetation survey and measurement of rippled area and loose sand depth of dunes at three sites along a climatic gradient. The response of both vegetation and sand movement to inter-annual climate variability was examined by repeat surveys of two sites in drought and non-drought conditions. Projected plant cover and plant + crust cover were found to have inverse linear relationships with rippled area and the area of deep loose sand. No relationship was found between these measures of sand movement and the plant frontal area index. A negative exponential relationship between equivalent mobile sand depth on dune surfaces and both vascular plant cover and vascular + crust cover was also found. There is no simple threshold of vegetation cover below which sand transport begins. Dunes with low perennial plant cover may form small dunes with slip faces leading to a positive feedback inhibiting ephemeral plant growth in wet years and accelerating sand transport rates. The linear dunefields are largely within the zone in which plant cover is sufficient to enforce low sand transport rates, and in which there is a strong response of vegetation and sand transport to inter-annual variation in rainfall. Both ephemeral plants (mostly forbs) and crust were found to respond rapidly to large (> 20 mm/month) rainfall events. On millennial time-scales, the level of dune activity is controlled by vegetation cover and probably not by fluctuations of wind strength. Land use or extreme, decadal time-scale, drought may destabilise dunes by removing perennial plant cover, accelerating wind erosion.     

Petrology, geochemistry and the mechanisms determining the distribution of platinum-group element and base metal sulphide mineralisation in the Platreef at Overysel, northern Bushveld Complex, South Africa

Platinum-group element (PGE) mineralisation within the Platreef at Overysel is controlled by the presence of base metal sulphides (BMS). The floor rocks at Overysel are Archean basement gneisses, and unlike other localities along the strike of the Platreef where the floor is comprised of Transvaal Supergroup sediments, the intimate PGE–BMS relationship holds strong into the footwall rocks. Decoupling of PGE from BMS is rare and the BMS and platinum-group mineral assemblages in the Platreef and the footwall are almost identical. There is minimal overprinting by hydrothermal fluids; therefore, the mineralisation style present at Overysel may represent the most ‘primary’ style of Platreef mineralisation preserved anywhere along the strike. Chondrite-normalised PGE profiles reveal a progressive fractionation of the PGE with depth into the footwall, with Ir, Ru and Rh dramatically depleted with depth compared to Pt, Pd and Au. This feature is not observed at Sandsloot and Zwartfontein, to the south of Overysel, where the footwall rocks are carbonates. There is evidence from rare earth element abundances and the amount of interstitial quartz towards the base of the Platreef pyroxenites that contamination by a felsic melt derived from partial melting of the gneissic footwall has taken place. Textural evidence in the gneisses suggests that a sulphide liquid percolated down into the footwall through a permeable, inter-granular network that was produced by partial melting around grain boundaries in the gneisses that was induced by the intrusion of the Platreef magma. PGE were originally concentrated within a sulphide liquid in the Platreef magma, and the crystallisation of monosulphide solid solution from the sulphide liquid removed the majority of the IPGE and Rh from it whilst still within the mafic Platreef. Transport of PGE into the gneisses, via downward migration of the residual sulphide liquid, fractionated out the remaining IPGE and Rh in the upper parts of the gneisses leaving a ‘slick’ of disseminated sulphides in the gneiss, with the residual liquid becoming progressively more depleted in these elements relative to Pt, Pd and Au. Highly sulphide-rich zones with massive sulphides formed where ponding of the sulphide liquid occurred due to permeability contrasts in the footwall. This study highlights the fact that there is a fundamental floor rock control on the mechanism of distribution of PGE from the Platreef into the footwall rocks. Where the floor rocks are sediments, fluid activity related to metamorphism, assimilation and later serpentinisation has decoupled PGE from BMS in places, and transport of PGE into the footwall is via hydrothermal fluids. In contrast, where the floor is comprised of anhydrous gneiss, such as at Overysel, there is limited fluid activity and PGE behaviour is controlled by the behaviour of sulphide liquids, producing an intimate PGE–BMS association. Xenoliths and irregular bands of chromitite within the Platreef are described in detail for the first time. These are rich in the IPGE and Rh, and evidence from laurite inclusions indicates they must have crystallised from a PGE-saturated magma. The disturbed and xenolithic nature of the chromitites would suggest they are rip-up clasts, either disturbed by later pulses of Platreef magma in a multi-phase emplacement or transported into the Platreef from a pre-existing source in a deeper staging chamber or conduit.     

The chromite deposits associated with ophiolite complexes, Southeastern Desert, Egypt： Petrological and geochemical characteristics and mineralization

1 Introduction The association of massive Fe-Ni-Cu sulfides andchromite is a very unusual feature of podiformchromitites occurring in mantle tectonites of ophioliticcomplexes. It has only been described in theSoutheastern Desert, Egypt, where sulfides a…     

干涉合成孔径雷达（INSAR）复图像配准方法

合成孔径雷达干涉测量技术是使用图像中的相位信息来提取高精度的数字地面高程模型。精确的图像配准是合成孔径雷达干涉技术提取数字高程模型的关键步骤之一，配准质量将直接影响提取的地面高程的精度。配准按照其精度分为粗配准和精配准。文中采用基于幅度互相关函数法完成图像的粗配准。在粗配准的基础上，使用最小二乘配准算法进一步提高配准的精度。实际数据处理表明，配准精度能够满足INSAR数据处理的要求。     

基于复小波变换的SAR图像斑点滤波方法

斑点噪声的存在使得SAR图像的应用受到较大的限制.文中首先介绍了SAR图像斑点噪声模型以及几种常用的SAR斑点噪声抑制方法;然后对小波变换斑点噪声滤波方法进行分析,提出了基于二元树复小波变换的SAR图像滤波方法.实验比较表明,二元树复小波变换抑制SAR斑点噪声效果明显,较小波变换更具有优越性.     

岩石复电阻率Dias模型及其参数求取方法

Dias模型是众多描述岩石复电阻率的频散特性模型中的一种,它不但参数少,且可由这些参数导出具有特定物理意义的参数。针对Dias模型参数的求取及反演解的不确定性评价,这里提出了一种模拟退火阻尼最小二乘联合反演方法。该方法首先将参数求解空间离散化,利用模拟退火找到全局最优解区间,然后利用阻尼最小二乘法在解空间进行求解。该方法有效地克服了原来两种方法的反演速度慢、反演结果依赖于初值的缺点,并实现了对反演结果多解性的评价。研究结果表明,对于岩石复电阻率数据的处理解释,Dias模型的使用比传统的Cole模型及其变形更具有潜在的优势。     

风沙起电的风洞实验研究

利用大型风沙物理风洞实验装置 ,模拟铺沙地面在不同风速条件下对不同粒径的沙样和混合沙的起电电场、电位和荷质比作实验测量。结果表明 :存在风沙起电效应。风洞内电场多为负极性 ,最大电场达到 - 2 9kV·m- 1 ,导线电位可达 12 0mV。沙粒越细 ,起电越强 ,且随风速增加而增大     

近百年中国东部夏季降水的时空变率

利用中国东部25°N以北28个站1880-1999年夏季季降水序列,用旋转复经验正交函数（RCEOF）方法,研究了中国东部地区百年干湿的时空演变规律。结果表明,夏季降水空间变率大值区依次为:长江中下游地区、淮河流域、江南、华北、西南及东北。除西南外的5个关键区大体上反映了从6月到8月夏季雨带自南向北椎进所滞留的地区。旋转空间位相分布揭示了长江中下游地区、江南、东北的旱涝异常主要表现为驻波振动特征;而淮河流域、华北、西南地区显示出降水异常信号具有部分的行波特征。尤其第4空间模显示出旱涝异常信号从东北南部可沿着黄淮下游传到长江下游地区。对于近百年中国东部地区夏季于湿变化,长江中下游地区、淮河流域、华北及东北四个地区都存在20-25年时间尺度的周期振荡;长江中下游地区及华北地区都存在准60年时间尺度的振荡周期;东北地区主要表现出36年时间尺度的振荡周期;淮河流域存在明显的70-80年时间尺度的振荡周期;华北地区存在的11年时间尺度的振荡周期恰好与太阳黑子活动的11年周期相一致。在年代际时间尺度（包括次年代际时间尺度）上,长江中下游、淮河流域及华北地区的夏季降水的变化与太阳活动有显著的正相关。     

EXPERIMENTAL AND FIELD STUDY ON MINING-PIT MIGRATION

1 INTRODUCTION Because of the large quantity of sand and gravel in their beds, rivers have always been considered as a major source of sand and gravel for civil works. Acceptable quality, ease of extraction and economy are some of the reasons could be mentioned. Unfortunately, specific laws and regulations regarding the safe in-stream mining have not been provided for users and officials. What should be taken into account are the effects of over-mining of sand and gravel, which can cause …     

复杂介质结构中折射界面的哈格多恩原理波前成像

在城市活断层探测中 ,浅层结构常常表现为强烈的非均匀性 ,界面横向强烈起伏 ,层内速度变化较大 ,传统的基于平界面均匀层模型的折射资料处理方法不能适用。研究开发能应用于复杂介质结构中折射资料处理的方法就显得十分必要。文中基于惠更斯原理 ,用波前扩张法对波场作正演计算 ,根据哈格多恩折射波前成像原理 ,在lecomte算法和Hole有限差分计算程序的基础上 ,开发出 1种复杂介质结构中折射资料的处理方法与软件 ,并用此方法处理了福州城市活断层折射探测试验中在义序完成的 2条折射剖面资料。结果表明 :探测区浅层为 3层结构 ,分别为盖层、强风化层和基岩。基岩顶界面的埋深约为 5 8～ 5 2m ,盖层P波速度变化较大