Monitoring thickness and volume changes of the Dongkemadi Ice Field on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (1969–2000) using Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and map data

Abstract

This paper presents the first measurement of multi-decadal thickness and volume changes (1969–2000) of the Dongkemadi Ice Field (DIF) in the Tanggula Mountains, central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, using multi-source remote sensing data. These include the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) acquired in February, 2000, a DEM generated by digitising analogue topographic maps from 1969, and Landsat ETM+ imagery from 2000. Digital glacier outlines and GIS-based processing were used to calculate an elevation difference map to evaluate the relative elevation error of these two DEMs over ice-free areas. This method was also used to identify regions of glacier elevation thinning and thickening corresponding to glacier mass loss and gain. Analysis of 67,520 points on flat grass and rock terrain surrounding the DIF, with a slope less than 25°, showed a mean elevation difference of –0.90 m and a standard deviation of 5.58 m. A thickness change error within ±6 m was estimated. Between 1969 and 2000, 76.51% of the whole DIF area appeared to be thinning while 23.49% showed thickening. The average glacier surface thinning was –12.58 m with a standard deviation of 18.29 m and the estimated volume loss was 1.17 km³. The standard deviation of volume change was 0.0006 km³ over the DIF. A thinning rate up to 0.41±0.194 m a^?1 or 0.038 km³ a^?1 for the volume loss was observed for the whole ice field, which seems to be evidence for the ongoing retreat of glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It was found that the spatial thickness change pattern derived from the remote sensing method was consistent with the thickness change results of the Small Dongkemadi Glacier (SDG) from field measurements. The estimated error of the annual thickness change rate was on the order of 5%. The relationship between elevation change and absolute glacier elevation over typical glaciers was also analysed, showing considerable variability. These changes have possibly resulted from increased temperature and decreased precipitation in this region.     

若尔盖铀矿田方解石稀土元素与碳氧同位素地球化学特征及其意义

方解石是若尔盖铀矿田与成矿最为密切的脉石矿物之一。方解石的REE地球化学特征研究表明,产于地层中的方解石、矿区中的方解石和含矿方解石具有明显不同的稀土元素组成特征,分别具有轻稀土富集右倾型、重稀土富集左倾型和相对平坦型的3种稀土配分模式。其中产于地层中的方解石明显继承了地层中岩石的稀土元素特征,而含矿方解石表现出与矿石稀土元素相似的特征。碳氧同位素显示地层中的方解石为海洋沉积碳酸盐岩的碳氧同位素组成特征;矿区方解石脉、含矿方解石脉的碳同位素组成明显表现为地幔来源的特点;而矿区方解石脉的氧同位素组成具明显的深部来源特征,含矿方解石脉的氧同位素组成表明在成矿过程中有大气降水的混入。若尔盖铀矿田的方解石主要为热液成因,其矿床成因类型属于典型的热液矿床,成矿流体主要来源于地幔。     

智能遥感卫星系统

：分析了当前遥感卫星系统存在的一些不足,论述了新一代“智能遥感卫星系统”的概念及其主要特点,对其 中自适应遥感成像和星上数据实时处理两个核心部分进行重点介绍,并对其涉及的关键科学问题和关键技术进行阐 述。设计了一套具有自适应成像和应用模式优化能力的智能高光谱卫星有效载荷系统。该系统由用于区域背景信息获 取的前视预判遥感器、用于地表详细观测的主遥感器以及星上数据实时处理和分析3部分组成。对智能高光谱卫星的工 作原理和流程进行介绍,并呼吁中国尽快围绕智能遥感卫星系统开展一些前沿性的科学理论和关键技术研究,以实现 中国在卫星遥感领域的跨越式发展。     

祁连山夏季地形云综合探测试验

2006年和2007年夏季在祁连山冷龙岭西段开展了地形云云量、云状、大气水汽、风场、雨滴谱和雨强等的综合探测试验,以分析祁连山地形云的特征。结果表明：①祁连山区夏季云量丰富,平均云量在6成以上。西南气流天气背景下总云量多达8成;②祁连山夏季无降水日大气水汽非常少,700 hPa以上层大气相对湿度大多在20%以下;③西南气流背景下祁连山南北侧山谷风的共同作用,气流昼间向山顶辐合,夜间向山谷辐散,当水汽条件充足时,极易抬升形成可以产生降水的地形云;④祁连山降水主要由小于1 mm的雨滴组成。     

鄂尔多斯盆地旦八油田延长组长3储层研究

三叠系延长组长3储集层灰色细粒长石砂岩储层物性差,属低孔、低渗储层.空隙以粒间孔、溶孔为主,且成岩作用控制孔隙结构.根据岩性、物性特征,把研究区储层分为四类:Ⅰ类好储集层,Ⅱ类较好储集层,Ⅲ类较差储集层,Ⅳ类非储层.     

Determination of discharge coefficients for a cross-flooding duct

Cross-flooding ducts are used to equalize asymmetric flooding and, thus, to decrease the heel angle of a ship in an emergency. The present design guidelines for cross-flooding arrangements involve uncertainties associated with the effect of variable structural factors. In this study, scale model experiments were carried out to determine discharge coefficients of a typical cross-duct, with a focus on the effect of structural components such as the girders, stiffeners, and web frame. Flow conditions and configuration of the components were varied in the experiments. The structural stiffeners in the cross-duct were found to notably increase the discharge coefficient whereas the effects of the web frame and the inclination of the duct at an angle of 7° were negligible. The experimentally obtained discharge coefficient values for the cross-duct were considerably lower than the corresponding values computed according to the generally used guidelines of the IMO Resolution MSC.245(83). This indicates that the geometrical properties of the girders in the cross-ducts need to be properly addressed to avoid overestimating the discharge coefficients. Overall, the experimental results formed an indispensable dataset for the validation and further development of CFD approaches.     

An installation system of deepwater risers by an S-lay vessel

Along with the consumption increase of the petroleum products,more countries have transferred their attentions to the offshore fields,especially the deepwater oil and gas reserves.For deepwater exploitation,the risers must be installed to act as the conduits connecting surface platforms to subsea facilities.In this paper,the typical risers sorted by different classes are introduced,and the correspondent installation methods are presented.By investigating the recent projects performed in the deepwater hot spots,and combining the challenges of HYSY201 for riser installation,a lifting device developed for assisting riser installation is proposed and detailed to satisfy the installation of deepwater risers in the LW3-1 Gas Field of in the South China Sea.Tests on both the functions and performances of such a new system exhibit the satisfaction of meeting all challenging requirements of HYSY201 for application to riser installation in waters up to a depth of in the South China Sea.     

Field measurement and scaled-down wind-tunnel model measurement of airflow field over a barchan dune

Airflow is measured over a barchan dune in the field and over a scaled-down model in a wind tunnel. The change of the flow speed over the stoss side is represented by the change of speed-up ratio. According to the field measurement, the wind profiles within 0-3m above the stoss can be divided into two segments. The lower segment, about 0.66 m thick, is the inner-boundary layer, within which the friction velocities derived from the wind profiles increase from the upwind inter-dune region to the upper stoss, and then decrease near the dune top. This change, together with the changes of airflow field, speed-up ratio and sand flux, is related to the morphological change and contributes to the stable shape and height of a barchan dune. In the wind tunnel, airflow varies in a similar way as in the field, with the speed-up ratios constantly higher than 1.0 and increasing along the stoss slope. While the segmentation of wind profiles also occurs in the wind tunnel, friction velocities derived from the wind profiles decrease along the stoss, indicating a very thin inner-boundary layer above the wind tunnel model where the detailed wind-speed change becomes difficult to measure using the present instruments.     

Nuclear field shift in natural environments

The nuclear field shift (NFS) is an isotope shift in atomic energy levels caused by a combination of differences in nuclear size and shape and electron densities at the nucleus. The effect of NFS in isotope fractionation was theoretically established by Bigeleisen in 1996 [Bigeleisen J. (1996) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118:3676–3680] and has been analytically measured in laboratory chemical exchange reactions. More recently, some isotopic variations of heavy elements (Hg, Tl, U) measured in natural systems as well as isotopic anomalies measured for lower-mass elements in meteorites have been attributed to the NFS effect. These isotopic variations open up new and exciting fields of investigations in Earth sciences. In this paper, we review the different natural systems in which NFS has been proposed to be the origin of isotopic variations.