Shallow Drilling of Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems Using the BGS Rockdrill: Conical Seamount (New Ireland Fore-Arc) and PACMANUS (Eastern Manus Basin), Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT

From September to October 2002, shallow drilling, using the submersible (5 m) Rockdrill of the British Geological Survey and the German R/V Sonne revealed critical information on the subsurface nature of two distinct hydrothermal systems in the New Ireland fore-arc and the Manus Basin of Papua New Guinea. Drilling at Conical Seamount significantly extends the known surface extent of the previously discovered vein-style gold mineralization (up to 230 g/t Au) at this site. Drilling the conventional PACMANUS volcanic-hosted massive sulfide deposit recovered complexly textured massive sulfide with spectacular concentrations of gold in several core sections including 0.5 m @ 28 g/t Au, 0.35 m @ 30 g/t Au, and 0.20 m @ 57 g/t Au. Shallow drilling is a fast and cost efficient method that bridges the gap between surface sampling and deep (ODP) drilling and will become a standard practice in the future study of seafloor hydrothermal systems and massive sulfide deposits.     

Applying Iterative Method to Solving High-Order Terms of Seafloor Topography

Abstract

We introduce an iterative inversion method to address the problems in high-order seafloor topography inversion using gravity data (gravity anomaly and vertical gravity gradient anomaly), such as the difficulty in computing the equation and the uniqueness of the calculation results. A part of the South China Sea is selected as the experimental area. Considering the coherence and admittance function of gravity topography and vertical gravity gradient topography, the inversion band of the gravity anomaly and vertical gravity gradient anomaly in the study area is 30?km–120?km. Seafloor topography models of different orders are constructed using an iterative method, and the performance of each seafloor topography model is analyzed against ETOPO1 and other seafloor topography models. The experimental results show that as the inversion order increases, the clarity and richness of seafloor topographic expression continuously improve. However, the accuracy of seafloor topography inversion does not improve significantly when the inversion order exceeds a certain value, which is related to the contribution of high-order seafloor topography to gravity information. The results show that the accuracy of BGT4 (inversion model constructed by the gravity anomaly) is slightly poorer than that of BVGGT4 (inversion model constructed by the vertical gravity gradient anomaly) in areas with complex topography, such as multi-seamounts and trenches, and the results are generally better in areas with flat seafloor topography.     

复式河道滩槽交互区水沙运动机理

滩槽复式河道是冲积河流中最为常见的一种形态,也是河流动力学研究最为重要的内容之一。以复式河道概化试验数据和水沙运动的区域性特征为依据,在提出滩槽复式断面主槽平衡区、滩槽交互区、滩地平衡区以及边壁区4个分区的基础上,将水流流态最为复杂的滩槽交互区进一步划分为对数流速区（内区）和非对数流速区（外区）,通过引入描写动植物生长过程的S型曲线,提出了内外区分界线的确定方法。以滩槽交互区横向分布公式为基础,通过线性假定和积分变换,给出了滩槽交互区内断面平均流速和含沙量的计算公式,并对不同分区内的流速和含沙量的差异性进行了比较分析。     

Sediments and water fluxes in a muddy coastline: interplay between waves and tidal channel hydrodynamics

Tidal channels are ubiquitous in muddy coastlines and play a critical role in the redistribution of sediments, thus dictating the general evolution of intertidal landforms. In muddy coastlines, the morphology of tidal channels and adjacent marshes strongly depends on the supply of fine sediments from the shelf and on the resuspension of sediments by wind waves. To investigate the processes that regulate sediment fluxes in muddy coastlines, we measured tidal velocity and sediment concentration in Little Constance Bayou, a tidal channel in the Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, USA. The tidal measurements were integrated with measurements of wave activity in the bay at the mouth of the channel, thus allowing the quantification of feedbacks between waves and sediment fluxes. Results indicate that the sediment concentration in the channel is directly related to the wave height in the adjacent bay during flood and high slack water, whereas the concentration during ebb depends on local channel velocity. Moreover, the sediment flux during ebb is of the same order of magnitude as the sediment flux during the previous flood, indicating that only a small fraction of transported sediments are stored in the marsh during a tidal cycle. Finally, very low tides, characterized by high ebb velocities, export large volumes of sediment to the ocean. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Statistical characteristics of flow as indicators of channeling in heterogeneous porous and fractured media

We introduce two new channeling indicators D_ic and D_cc based on the Lagrangian distribution of flow rates. On the basis of the participation ratio, these indicators characterize the extremes of both the flow-tube width distribution and the flow rate variation along flow lines. The participation ratio is an indicator biased toward the larger values of a distribution and is equal to the normalized ratio of the square of the first-order moment to the second-order moment. Compared with other existing indicators, they advantageously provide additional information on the flow channel geometry, are consistently applicable to both porous and fractured media, and are generally less variable for media generated using the same parameters than other indicators. Based on their computation for a broad range of porous and fracture permeability fields, we show that they consistently characterize two different geometric properties of channels. D_ic gives a characteristic scale of low-flow zones in porous media and a characteristic distance between effectively flowing structures in fractured cases. D_cc gives a characteristic scale of the extension of high-flow zones in porous media and a characteristic channel length in fractured media. D_ic is mostly determined by channel density and permeability variability. D_cc is, however, more affected by the nature of the correlation structure like the presence of permeability channels or fractures in porous media and the length distribution in fracture networks.     

Benchmark on the numerical simulations of the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic evolution of tidal channels and tidal inlets

A correct understanding of the hydrodynamics and morphodynamics of tidal basins is of fundamental importance for the fate of the Venice Lagoon, Italy. If on one hand, the development of sophisticated numerical models is called for in order to reproduce the complexity of the mechanisms governing the morphodynamic evolution of many natural environments, including lagoons, on the other hand, a clear knowledge of the reliability and limits of the results provided by these models is crucial in order to establish the condition under which they can be safely applied. To this aim, researchers involved in numerical modeling in the framework of the recent Corila research programmes, agreed to perform an accurate comparison of results provided by three different numerical models, applying them to the test case offered by the experimental investigations performed under controlled conditions by Tambroni et al. (2005a). Here, we consider the following numerical models: (i) a 2D finite element hydrodynamic model coupled with a 2D finite volume morphodynamic model (5 and 3); (ii) a 2D finite element morphodynamic model (Ferrarin et al., 2008); (iii) a 2D depth-averaged model for the inlet region, coupled with a 1D model for the channel (Tambroni et al., 2005b). A first set of simulations concerns the fixed bed case and shows that all the models provide similar results: in particular, they are able to predict the observed free surface oscillations satisfactorily, while comparison with the measured velocity field is less satisfactory. Moreover, as far as the flow field at the inlet is concerned, the models describe accurately the potential flow into the channel during the flood phase, while they are not able to adequately reproduce the occurrence of the fine structure of the shear layers shed by the inlet edges during the ebb phase. This limit is related to the shallow water character of the models. As for the morphodynamics, the long term equilibrium configurations of the bottom of the channel and of the near inlet region show qualitative agreement with the experimental observations, although in this case the differences between the results provided by the distinct numerical approaches are more marked.     

信息渠道对城市居民迁居空间的影响——以南京为例

根据搜寻空间理论,网络渠道能够提供比传统渠道更多的住房信息,减少居民迁居过程中对原住房周边区域的依赖,从而扩大了居民迁居的搜寻范围。但是,与远程办公和住房选择关系的研究相比,学者较少关注网络渠道对居民实际迁居空间的影响。基于南京城区居民迁居活动调查数据,利用三维核密度和多项式逻辑回归模型,重点分析不同信息渠道使用者的迁居时空特征、信息渠道对使用者迁居空间的影响。研究发现,近年来网络渠道已经成为居民迁居过程中的主导住房信息获取方式,其使用者的迁居距离大于传统渠道使用者,丰富了现有关于ICT对居民迁居空间影响的学术研究,也为城市住房信息管理和住房空间规划提供借鉴。     

灌区节水改造渠道防渗衬砌形式的探讨

通过近几年灌区节水改造工程中渠道衬砌的实施,探讨了酒泉市几种有代表性的渠道衬砌形式的运用现状和存在主要问题,并提出了解决途径和措施.     

水汽吸收和下垫面发射率对晴空大气红外窗区遥感影响的综合分析

从数学上探讨了晴空大气红外窗区通道遥感陆面特性水汽吸收和陆面发射率的综合影响。首先,基于辐射传输方程推导出大气水汽含量和陆面发射率(ε)引起红外窗区通道遥感陆面亮温(Tg)变化的数学表达式,指出红外辐射在传输过程中水汽吸收衰减的影响主要是引起大气透过率的变化;分析了在高温高湿和低温干燥等不同地区,红外窗区通道的大气透过率所受到的不同程度的衰减,以及水汽吸收衰减和陆面发射率对不同的红外窗区通道的影响。此外,还建立了一个红外窗区通道遥感陆面温度与地面亮温差ΔT=(Ts-Tg,imax)与水汽含量变化Δq和陆面发射率ε的二元多项式拟合方程,进一步分析大气水汽含量和陆面发射率对不同的红外窗区通道遥感的影响;指出红外短波窗区通道不但受太阳辐射污染严重,而且受陆面发射率变化的影响激烈,特别是在寒冷干燥的亚北极冬季。最后强调,为了精确地反演陆面温度,最好采用热红外窗区通道;必须考虑大气订正,特别是在高温高湿区;同时应该考虑陆面发射率等因子的作用。     

Quantifying the influence of channel sinuosity on the depositional mechanics of channelized turbidity currents: A laboratory study

Here we present results from a suite of laboratory experiments that highlight the influence of channel sinuosity on the depositional mechanics of channelized turbidity currents. We released turbidity currents into three channels in an experimental basin filled with water and monitored current properties and the evolution of topography via sedimentation. The three channels were similar in cross-sectional geometry but varied in sinuosity. Results from these experiments are used to constrain the run-up of channelized turbidity currents on the outer banks of moderate to high curvature channel bends. We find that a current is unlikely to remain contained within a channel when the kinetic energy of a flow exceeds the potential energy associated with an elevation gain equal to the channel relief; setting an effective upper limit for current velocity. Next we show that flow through bends induces a vertical mixing that redistributes suspended sediment back into the interiors of depositional turbidity currents. This mixing counteracts the natural tendency for suspended sediment concentration and grain size to stratify vertically, thereby reducing the rate at which sediment is lost from a current via deposition. Finally, the laboratory experiments suggest that turbidity currents might commonly separate from channel sidewalls along the inner banks of bends. In some cases, sedimentation rates and patterns within the resulting separation zones are sufficient to construct bar forms that are attached to the channel sidewalls and represent an important mechanism of submarine channel filling. These bar forms have inclined strata that might be mistaken for the deposits of point bars and internal levees, even though the formation mechanism and its implications to channel history are different.