Spatial and temporal variations of albedo on nine glaciers in western China from 2000 to 2011

This research demonstrates the spatiotemporal variations of albedo on nine glaciers in western China during 2000–2011, by the albedo derived from two types of datasets: Landsat TM/ETM + images and MOD10A1 product. Then, the influence factors of glacier albedo and its relationship with glacier mass balance are also analyzed by the correlation approach, which is frequently used in geostatistics. The paper finds that there are different spatiotemporal variations over the glaciers in western China: (1) For a single glacier, the albedo varies gently with altitude on its tongue and increases fast in the middle part, while in the accumulation zones, the albedo value appears in the form of fluctuation. This could provide a quantitative method to retrieve the snowline by determining the threshold albedo value of snowpack and bare ice. (2) For the glaciers in western China, the albedo decreases with distance to the center of Tibetan Plateau (TP). This may relate to the elevation of glacier, for the speed of glacier retreat highly depends on air temperature. (3) In the summer period, albedo on most glaciers declines over the last 12 years, and it decreases much faster in southeastern TP than other regions, for which air temperature overwhelms the black carbon concentration. In addition, the trend of glacier albedo in summer is greatly correlated with that of measured glacier mass balance, which implies that the long‐term albedo datasets by remote sensing technology could be used to monitor and predict the change of glacier mass balance in the future. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

River evaporation,condensation and heat fluxes within a first‐order tributary of Catamaran Brook (New Brunswick,Canada)

Stream temperature plays an important role in many biotic and abiotic processes, as it influences many physical, chemical and biological properties in rivers. As such, a good understanding of the thermal regime of rivers is essential for effective fisheries management and the protection aquatic habitats. Moreover, a thorough understanding of underlying physical processes and river heat fluxes is essential in the development of better and more adaptive water temperature models. Very few studies have measured river evaporation and condensation and subsequently calculated corresponding heat fluxes in small tributary streams, mainly because microclimate data (data collected within the stream environment) are essential and rarely available. As such, the present study will address these issues by measuring river evaporation and condensation in tributary 1 (Trib 1, a small tributary within Catamaran Brook) using floating minipans. The latent heat flux and other important fluxes were calculated. Results showed that evaporation was low within the small Trib 1 of Catamaran Brook, less than 0.07 mm day^?1. Results showed that condensation played an important role in the latent heat flux. In fact, condensation was present during 34 of 92 days (37%) during the summer, which occurred when air temperature was greater than water temperature by 4–6 °C. Heat fluxes within this small stream showed that solar radiation dominated the heat gains and long‐wave radiation dominated the heat losses. © 2015 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. Hydrological Processes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater recharge in an arid grassland as indicated by soil chloride profile and multiple tracers

Previous studies have shown that shallow groundwater in arid regions is often not in equilibrium with near‐surface boundary conditions due to human activities and climate change. This is especially the case where the unsaturated zone is thick and recharge rate is limited. Under this nonequilibrium condition, the unsaturated zone solute profile plays an important role in estimating recent diffuse recharge in arid environments. This paper combines evaluation of the thick unsaturated zone with the saturated zone to investigate the groundwater recharge of a grassland in the arid western Ordos Basin, NW China, using the soil chloride profiles and multiple tracers (²H, ¹⁸O, ¹³C, ¹⁴C, and water chemistry) of groundwater. Whereas conventional water balance and Darcy flux measurements usually involve large errors in recharge estimations for arid areas, chloride mass balance has been widely and generally successfully used. The results show that the present diffuse recharge beneath the grassland is 0.11–0.32 mm/year, based on the chloride mass balance of seven soil profiles. The chloride accumulation age is approximately 2,500 years at a depth of 13 m in the unsaturated zone. The average Cl content in soil moisture in the upper 13 m of the unsaturated zone ranges from 2,842 to 7,856 mg/L, whereas the shallow groundwater Cl content ranges from 95 to 351 mg/L. The corrected ¹⁴C age of shallow groundwater ranges from 4,327 to 29,708 years. Stable isotopes show that the shallow groundwater is unrelated to modern precipitation. The shallow groundwater was recharged during the cold and wet phases of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene humid phase based on palaeoclimate, and consequently, the groundwater resources are nonrenewable. Due to the limited recharge rate and thick unsaturated zone, the present shallow groundwater has not been in hydraulic equilibrium with near‐surface boundary conditions in the past 2,500 years.     

Modeling discontinuous rock mass based on smoothed finite element method

This paper aims at developing a method for modeling rock mass with preexisting multiple discontinuities within the framework of the smoothed finite element method (SFEM). The discontinuity is simulated by an interface element with zero thickness, the stiffness matrix of which are derived explicitly based on the SFEM. An elastic damage constitutive relation with residual strength is introduced in order to describe the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the discontinuities. The computation codes of the present method were developed. The present method has been verified to be a sound approach for modeling discontinuous rock mass, inheriting the advantages of the SFEM.     

江苏盐城地区一次持续雾-霾天气过程的综合分析

2013年12月上旬江苏盐城地区出现了一次历史罕见的持续重度雾-霾天气,利用盐城市常规气象观测资料、NCEP再分析资料(1°×1°)及环境监测中心站的污染物浓度资料等,对此次过程的环流背景、气象要素、大气层结特征以及动力条件、污染情况等进行了综合性分析。结果发现:12月上旬中高层冷空气势力弱,以纬向环流为主;低层弱的水平风场为雾-霾的发生发展提供了有利的环流背景;稳定的层结特征,近地面高强度的贴地逆温和持续较低的混合层高度是此次雾-霾天气长时间维持的重要因素;边界层内弱正散度及负涡度是此次雾-霾天气得以维持发展的动力因子;通过后向轨迹分型和火点监测资料分析发现:污染物的长距离输送在此次重污染天气的形成过程中起到了一定作用。最后,文中建立了能见度和PM_(2.5)浓度、相对湿度的非线性回归方程,对能见度的预报效果较好,为实际业务应用中雾-霾的预报提供了有利的依据。     

下扬子PTB界线深水相区粘土岩的火山成因研究及其对LPME的指示意义

全球,尤其是特提斯域二叠—三叠纪之交(PTB)剖面中普遍发育火山成因的粘土岩,对理解晚二叠世末生物大灭绝(LPME)的触发机制及相关基础地质问题具有重要意义。本文报道了在华南下扬子区新发现两条深水PTB剖面(皖南牛山和蔡村)的粘土岩工作,包括岩石学、矿物学和全岩地球化学等,填补了区域研究空白。研究结果发现,粘土岩主要由伊利石等粘土矿物,以及石英、岩浆锆石、长石等斑晶矿物组成。在地球化学上具有高K_2O、低Na_2O、相对富集大离子亲石元素(LILE)、相对亏损高场强元素(HFSE)等特征。据此,认为这些粘土岩为火山成因的钾质斑脱岩,其原岩可能为中酸性流纹英安岩,具有弧岩浆作用的源区背景。对比华南其他地区已发现的PTB界线粘土岩,发现它们成因类似,可能来源于古特提斯洋周缘陆陆碰撞,抑或是泛大洋俯冲潘吉亚大陆东缘(包括华南板块)所导致的长英质火山岩浆喷发,且具有多期多源性特点。PTB时期全球活跃的火山岩浆活动(包括镁铁质火山作用和华南地区火山灰所指征的长英质火山作用)可能是导致LPME的主要原因。     

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.     

历史数据和强化学习相结合的低频轨迹数据匹配算法

针对低频(采样间隔大于1min)轨迹数据匹配算法精度不高的问题,提出了一种基于强化学习和历史轨迹的匹配算法HMDP-Q,首先通过增量匹配算法提取历史路径作为历史参考经验库;根据历史参考经验库、最短路径和可达性筛选候选路径集;再将地图匹配过程建模成马尔科夫决策过程,利用轨迹点偏离道路距离和历史轨迹构建回报函数;然后借助强化学习算法求解马尔科夫决策过程的最大回报值,即轨迹与道路的最优匹配结果;最后应用某市浮动车轨迹数据进行试验。结果表明:本文算法能有效提高轨迹数据与道路匹配精度;本算法在1min低频采样间隔下轨迹匹配准确率达到了89.2%;采样频率为16min时,该算法匹配精度也能达到61.4%;与IVVM算法相比,HMDP-Q算法匹配精度和求解效率均优于IVVM算法,16min采样频率时本文算法轨迹匹配精度提高了26%。     

Hydrogen sulfide measurements in air by passive/diffusive samplers and high-frequency analyzer: A critical comparison

In this study, hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) measurements in air carried out using (a) passive/diffusive samplers (Radiello^® traps) and (b) a high-frequency (60 s) real-time analyzer (Thermo^® 450i) were compared in order to evaluate advantages and limitations of the two techniques. Four different sites in urban environments (Florence, Italy) and two volcanic areas characterized by intense degassing of H₂S-rich fluids (Campi Flegrei and Vulcano Island, Italy) were selected for such measurements. The concentrations of H₂S generally varied over 5 orders of magnitude (from 10⁻¹–10³ μg/m³), the H₂S values measured with the Radiello^® traps (H₂S_R) being significantly higher than the average values measured by the Thermo^® 450i during the trap exposure (H₂S_Ta), especially when H₂S was <30 μg/m³. To test the reproducibility of the Radiello^® traps, 8 passive/diffusive samplers were contemporaneously deployed within an 0.2 m² area in an H₂S-contaminated site at Mt. Amiata (Tuscany, Italy), revealing that the precision of the H₂S_R values was ±49%. This large uncertainty, whose cause was not recognizable, is to be added to that related to the environmental conditions (wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature), which are known to strongly affect passive measurements. The Thermo^® 450i analyzer measurements highlighted the occurrence of short-term temporal variations of the H₂S concentrations, with peak values (up to 5732 μg/m³) potentially harmful to the human health. The Radiello^® traps were not able to detect such temporal variability due to their large exposure time. The disagreement between the H₂S_R and H₂S_Ta values poses severe concerns for the selection of an appropriate methodological approach aimed to provide an accurate measurement of this highly toxic air pollutant in compliance with the WHO air quality guidelines. Although passive samplers may offer the opportunity to carry out low-cost preliminary surveys, the use of the high-frequency H₂S analyzer is preferred when an accurate assessment of air quality is required. In fact, the latter provides precise real-time measurements for a reliable estimation of the effective exposure to hazardous H₂S concentrations, giving insights into the mechanisms regulating the dispersion of this air pollutant in relation to the meteorological parameters.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测定水系沉积物中的铌钽锆铪

建立电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测定水系沉积物中铌、钽、锆、铪四种元素的分析方法。将样品与氢氧化钠、过氧化钠混合物放入高温炉中,熔融分解完全,用热水提取,过滤后弃去滤液,将滤纸及沉淀用酒石酸-盐酸溶液溶解,稀释至刻度测定。方法检出限(3s)为:LD(Nb)=0.08μg/g,LD(Ta)=0.04μg/g,LD(Zr)=0.5μg/g,LD(Hf)=0.04μg/g,精密度(RSD%,n=6)为:0.84%~4.21%。该测定方法具有灵敏度高、精密度好、分析速度快、线性范围宽、操作性强等优势。采用该方法对国家一级标准物质进行测定表明,其结果与标准值吻合。此方法已在实际地质调查样品分析中得到应用。