Simulation of site-scale water fluxes in desert and natural oasis ecosystems of the arid region in Northwest China

The study of water fluxes is important to better understand hydrological cycles in arid regions. Data-driven machine learning models have been recently applied to water flux simulation. Previous studies have built site-scale simulation models of water fluxes for individual sites separately, requiring a large amount of data from each site and significant computation time. For arid areas, there is no consensus as to the optimal model and variable selection method to simulate water fluxes. Using data from seven flux observation sites in the arid region of Northwest China, this study compared the performance of random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), back propagation neural network (BPNN), and multiple linear regression (MLR) models in simulating water fluxes. Additionally, the study investigated inter-annual and seasonal variation in water fluxes and the dominant drivers of this variation at different sites. A universal simulation model for water flux was built using the RF approach and key variables as determined by MLR, incorporating data from all sites. Model performance of the SVM algorithm (R² = 0.25–0.90) was slightly worse than that of the RF algorithm (R² = 0.41–0.91); the BPNN algorithm performed poorly in most cases (R² = 0.15–0.88). Similarly, the MLR results were limited and unreliable (R² = 0.00–0.66). Using the universal RF model, annual water fluxes were found to be much higher than the precipitation received at each site, and natural oases showed higher fluxes than desert ecosystems. Water fluxes were highest during the growing season (May–September) and lowest during the non-growing season (October–April). Furthermore, the dominant drivers of water flux variation were various among different sites, but the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil moisture and soil temperature were important at most sites. This study provides useful insights for simulating water fluxes in desert and oasis ecosystems, understanding patterns of variation and the underlying mechanisms. Besides, these results can make a contribution as the decision-making basis to the water management in desert and oasis ecosystems.     

Predicting the dependency of a degree of saturation on void ratio and suction using effective stress principle for unsaturated soils

The paper presents an approach to predicting variation of a degree of saturation in unsaturated soils with void ratio and suction. The approach is based on the effective stress principle for unsaturated soils and several underlying assumptions. It focuses on the main drying and wetting processes and does not incorporate the effects of hydraulic hysteresis. It leads to the dependency of water retention curve (WRC) on void ratio, which does not require any material parameters apart from the parameters specifying WRC for the reference void ratio. Its validity is demonstrated by comparing predictions with the experimental data on four different soils taken over from the literature. Good correlation between the measured and predicted behaviour indirectly supports applicability of the effective stress principle for unsaturated soils. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于光谱角匹配算法的水体信息提取研究

针对水体信息提取时,传统算法不能较好地解决山体阴影被误提为水体的问题,引入多用于高光谱数据处理的光谱角匹配算法,以Land-sat8 OLI(band1-band7)为数据源,以黄河小浪底水库周边区域为实验区,开展水体信息提取研究,结果显示:水体指数法和波段关系提取的结果中有大量的山体阴影信息,提取精度不超过30%,而光谱角匹配法提取结果受阴影的影响较小,提取精度在99%以上。     

基于OSTU算法利用新型水体指数进行Landsat数据自适应阈值水体自动提取研究

利用Landsat数据,结合NDWI与MNDWI提取水体信息的特点提出了一种新的水体指数NMWI,并结合OSTU算法自适应地确定最佳分割阈值,完成了对海洋、河流、湖泊和水库4种主要的典型水体信息的自动提取,均取得了较好的效果。     

External controls on the distribution,fabrics and mineralization of modern microbial mats in a coastal hypersaline lagoon,Cayo Coco (Cuba)

Active, carbonate‐mineralizing microbial mats flourish in a tropical, highly evaporative, marine‐fed lagoonal network to the south of Cayo Coco Island (Cuba). Hypersaline conditions support the development of a complex sedimentary microbial ecosystem with diverse morphologies, a variable intensity of mineralization and a potential for preservation. In this study, the role of intrinsic (i.e. microbial) and extrinsic (i.e. physicochemical) controls on microbial mat development, mineralization and preservation was investigated. The network consists of lagoons, forming in the interdune depressions of a Pleistocene aeolian substratum; they developed due to a progressive increase in sea‐level since the Holocene. The hydrological budget in the Cayo Coco lagoonal network changes from west to east, increasing the salinity. This change progressively excludes grazers and increases the saturation index of carbonate minerals, favouring the development and mineralization of microbial mats in the easternmost lagoons. Detailed mapping of the easternmost lagoon shows four zones with different flooding regimes. The microbial activity in the mats was recorded using light–dark shifts in conjunction with microelectrode O₂ and HS^? profiles. High rates of O₂ production and consumption, in addition to substantial amounts of exopolymeric substances, are indicative of a potentially strong intrinsic control on mineralization. Seasonal, climate‐driven water fluctuations are key for mat development, mineralization, morphology and distribution. Microbial mats show no mineralization in the permanently submersed zone, and moderate mineralization in zones with alternating immersion and exposure. It is suggested that mineralization is also driven by water‐level fluctuations and evaporation. Mineralized mats are laminated and consist of alternating trapping and binding of grains and microbially induced magnesium calcite and dolomite precipitation. The macrofabrics of the mats evolve from early colonizing Flat mats to complex Cerebroid or Terrace structures. The macrofabrics are influenced by the hydrodynamic regime: wind‐driven waves inducing relief terraces in windward areas and flat morphologies on the leeward side of the lagoon. Other external drivers include: (i) storm events that either promote (for example, by bioclasts covering) or prevent (for example, by causing erosion) microbial mat preservation; and (ii) subsurface degassing, through mangrove roots and desiccation cracks covered by Flat mats (i.e. forming Hemispheroids and Cerebroidal structures). These findings provide in‐depth insights into understanding fossil microbialite morphologies that formed in lagoonal settings.     

Flow processes and sedimentation in unidirectionally migrating deep‐water channels: From a three‐dimensional seismic perspective

Three‐dimensional seismic data were used to infer how bottom currents control unidirectional channel migration. Bottom currents flowing towards the steep bank would deflect the upper part of sediment gravity flows at an orientation of 1° to 11° to the steep bank, yielding a helical flow circulation consisting of a faster near‐surface flow towards the steep bank and a slower basal return flow towards the gentle bank. This helical flow model is evidenced by the occurrence of bigger, muddier (suggested by low‐amplitude seismic reflections) lateral accretion deposits and gentle channel wall with downlap terminations on the gentle bank and by smaller, sandier (indicated by high‐amplitude seismic reflectors) channel fills and steep channel walls with truncation terminations on the steep bank. This helical flow circulation promotes asymmetrical depositional patterns with dipping accretion sets restricted to the gentle bank, which restricts the development of sinuosity and yields unidirectional channel migration. These results aid in obtaining a complete picture of flow processes and sedimentation in submarine channels.     

The use of microstructures for discriminating turbiditic and hemipelagic muds and mudstones

The microstructures of turbiditic and hemipelagic muds and mudstones were investigated using a scanning electron microscope to determine whether there are microstructural features that can differentiate turbiditic from hemipelagic sedimentary processes. Both types of muddy deposits are, in general, characterized by randomly‐oriented clay particles. However, turbiditic muds and mudstones also characteristically contain aggregates of ‘edge‐to‐face’ contacts between clay particles with long‐axis lengths of up to 30 μm. Based on observations of the clay fabric of the experimentally‐formed muds settled from previously agitated muddy fluids, these types of aggregates, hereafter referred to as ‘aggregates of clay particles’, are interpreted as having been formed by the collision of component flocs in turbulent fluids. Furthermore, some aggregates of clay particles have ‘face‐to‐face’ contacts between clay particles; this is similar to face‐to‐face aggregates characteristically developed in fluid‐mud deposits that are commonly recognized only in turbiditic mudstones, indicating the possibility of a final stage of deposition under highly‐dense conditions, such as temporary fluid muds. In conjunction with earlier proposed lithofacies‐based and ichnofacies‐based criteria, aggregates of clay particles should be useful for the differentiation of turbiditic and hemipelagic muddy deposits, particularly with limited volumes of non‐oriented samples from deep‐water successions.     

The Molí del Baró-1 site,a diverse fossil assemblage from the uppermost Maastrichtian of the southern Pyrenees (north-eastern Iberia)

The Molí del Baró-1 site (north-eastern Iberia) has yielded one of the richest fossil assemblages of the continental upper Maastrichtian from western Europe. It includes abundant plant (charophytes, sporomorphs, angiosperm leaves, seeds and logs), invertebrate (mollusc shells, partial insect exoskeletons and eggs) and vertebrate (teeth, bones, eggshells) fossils. The fossil assemblage is composed of both parautochthonous and allochthonous remains that mostly deposited in a pool formed at the edge of a meandering river. Plant megafossil evidence suggest that at least three angiosperm species (a willow-like dicot, palms and a likely typhacean monocot) formed the plant community growing in this fluvial environment. Tooth remains indicate that crocodylomorphs were diverse (including atoposaurids, ziphosuchians and eusuchians) which together with small theropod dinosaurs likely consumed prey carcasses or scavenged near the depositional setting. Prismatoolithid eggshells also suggest the presence of nearby nesting area of theropods. On the other hand, hadrosauroids apparently dominated phytophagous faunas including lambeosaurines as well as more basal forms. The taxonomic composition of the Molí del Baró-1 site matches the expected for the timespan and environment and represents a relevant locality to know the diversity of the latest Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems in south western Europe.     

中国叠生型铁矿床成矿特征探讨

叠生成矿作用主要是指早期成矿作用被晚期成矿作用叠加、复合和改造。晚期成矿作用的性质常与早期成矿作用不同,也就是说,在早先己有矿床(或矿体、矿源层)的基础上,叠加复合了晚期成矿作用,即成矿时间上有先后、空间产出上有重叠、并对早先形成的矿床进行复杂的复合、叠加和改造,使成矿作用具有多样性、复杂性,并可形成大矿、富矿。铁矿床中叠生成矿作用广泛发育。按矿床或矿体产出和形成的地质特征,中国叠生型铁矿床可分为风化淋滤型、热液叠加改造型和热液叠加复合型3个亚类。风化淋滤型铁矿床在中国分布有限,规模不大,工业利用价值不大,因而中国的叠生型铁矿床主要是指热液叠加改造型和热液叠加复合型两个亚类。热液叠加改造型主要是指早期的铁矿床(或矿体、矿源层)经后期热液叠加改造,使早期的较贫铁矿床(或矿体、矿源层)成为较富铁矿床(或矿体),这是中国BIF型铁矿床中最重要的富铁矿类型,以鞍本地区弓长岭二矿区为典型代表。弓长岭二矿区铁矿,早期在新太古代形成条带状磁铁石英岩(2528 Ma,贫矿石),后期在古元古代,含矿热液交代改造贫铁矿形成富铁矿(1840 Ma)。热液叠加复合型主要是指后期脉型铁(或稀土元素等)矿床叠加在早期(沉积或其他成因)铁等矿床上而形成的矿床,如白云鄂博铁-铌-稀土元素矿床和黔西菱铁矿矿床。白云鄂博铁-铌-稀土元素矿床的形成与火成碳酸岩有关,在中元古代(1.3 Ga)左右,区内火成碳酸岩的侵位,在早期主要形成以岩浆熔离作用为主的铁-铌-稀土元素矿,晚期叠加了加里东期稀土-铌矿化热液脉。古陆边缘构造带或陆内活化带是形成叠生型铁矿床的有利构造空间,较大的地球化学块体,为形成多期、多成因的矿床提供物质来源,叠生型铁矿床的形成明显受构造的控制。叠生成矿是复杂地质过程的一种具体表现。热液叠加改造型和热液叠加复合型的叠生型铁矿床的形成是因中国独特的大地构造环境决定的。叠生成矿作用的研究,尚处在初步阶段。加强对叠生成矿作用的研究,了解其形成的地质背景、成矿机制、作用过程、控矿因素等,对发展矿床学研究,认识区域成矿特征和指导地质找矿具有重要的理论和实际意义。     

甘肃兰州盆地古近系泥岩的古盐度分析

兰州盆地位于青藏高原东北部,祁连山以东,黄土高原以西,古近纪出露地层为细柳沟组、野狐城组和咸水河组下段。作为青藏高原寒区、东部季风区及西北干旱区的交汇地带,兰州地区新生代环境研究受到越来越多的关注,因此有必要对其沉积环境进行研究。本文通过对兰州盆地黄羊头地区古近系进行分段采样,并对泥岩样品的主量元素、微量元素及X射线衍射进行测定,运用硼法、B/Ga值及Sr/Ba值等方法定量—半定量分析兰州盆地古近系沉积时的古盐度特征,同时结合风化指数CIA值的变化特征,综合分析古近系的沉积环境。研究结果表明兰州盆地古近系细柳沟组、野狐城组及咸水河组下段Adams法古盐度值为9.5‰～14.0‰,平均值为11.8‰;Couch法古盐度值为8.2‰～12.8‰,平均值为10.8‰,为内陆半咸水—淡水湖泊。Adams法古盐度值与B/Ga值具有良好的正相关关系,而Adams古盐度值与Sr/Ba值相关性不明显,主要由于地层中生物对Sr的富集作用,导致Sr/Ba值偏大,表明Sr/Ba值不适用于生物富集地层的古盐度恢复。环境研究认为细柳沟期,气候湿润,以冲积扇沉积为主,水体较浅,盐度值较大;到野狐城中期水体加深,变为湖相沉积,气候温暖湿润,盐度值降低,同时存在明显的干冷气候间隙,该间隙期湖盆蒸发量大于补给量,盐度值升高;从野狐城晚期开始湖盆逐渐萎缩,以滨湖相沉积为主,到韩家井期变为河流相沉积,至甘家滩期再次转为湖相沉积,盐度值先升高后降低,但整体风化程度明显降低,表明从野狐城组晚期开始气候逐渐变冷变干。