Artificial neural networks and nonlinear regression techniques to assess the influence of slake durability cycles on the prediction of uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity for carbonate rocks

Understanding rock material characterizations and solving relevant problems are quite difficult tasks because of their complex behavior, which sometimes cannot be identified without intelligent, numerical, and analytical approaches. Because of that, some prediction techniques, like artificial neural networks (ANN) and nonlinear regression techniques, can be utilized to solve those problems. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the cycling integer of slake durability index test on intact rock behavior and estimate some rock properties, such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and modulus of elasticity (E) from known rock index parameters using ANN and various regression techniques. Further, new performance index (PI) and degree of consistency (Cd) are introduced to examine the accuracy of generated models. For these purposes, intact rock dataset is established by performing rock tests including uniaxial compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Schmidt hammer, effective porosity, dry unit weight, p‐wave velocity, and slake durability index tests on selected carbonate rocks. Afterward, the models are developed using ANN and nonlinear regression techniques. The concluding remark given is that four‐cycle slake durability index (I_d4) provides more accurate results to evaluate material characterization of carbonate rocks, and it is one of the reliable input variables to estimate UCS and E of carbonate rocks; introduced performance indices, both PI and Cd, may be accepted as good indicators to assess the accuracy of the complex models, and further, the ANN models have more prediction capability than the regression techniques to estimate relevant rock properties. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

四川广元上寺剖面长兴阶放射虫动物群演变及控制因素

对四川广元上寺剖面大隆组的放射虫动物群进行了详细的鉴定和丰度、分异度的统计。发现该放射虫动物群丰度和分异度均较低,以泡沫虫和内射虫为主,含少量十字多囊虫的分子;其丰度和分异度与长兴期海平面变化具有很好的耦合关系:放射虫丰度、分异度较大的层位对应于长兴早期和长兴晚期两次最大海侵事件发生的层位。相对长兴晚期而言,长兴早期放射虫的丰度和分异度较大,这与长兴早期水体相对较深有关。此外,有孔虫与放射虫丰度变化呈现很好的负相关性,这与它们不同的生活习性和水深的变化有关。分析表明:水深的变化是上寺剖面放射虫动物群演变的主要控制因素。     

基于遥感影像的大郑东新区景观格局现状分析

研究基于RS和GIS技术,以研究区的土地利用现状图和2009年3月5号SPOT 5卫星的10 m多光谱遥感影像数据为主要数据源,结合研究区近年来的社会经济资料和实地调查记录,在深入分析研究区景观生态格局时空演变特征的基础上,以ENVI4. 5和Fragstats 3. 3软件作为支持工具,从具体的景观生态空间,提取能够...     

Ecological quality assessment of small estuaries from the Portuguese coast based on fish assemblages indices

The importance of establishing the ecological quality of estuarine systems has been widely acknowledged and led to the development of several fish community-based multimetric indices. Nevertheless, a question rose about the accuracy of these tools when natural disturbance is acting upon the organization of the systems’ communities. Four multimetric indices were used to examine their ability to differentiate the ecological status of five small estuarine systems (southern Portugal), and also to test if they reflected the level of anthropogenic pressures. Fish assemblages from Mira, Odeceixe and Aljezur (in the Southwest coast), Gilão and Bensafrim (in the South coast) estuaries were sampled seasonally for one year, and anthropogenic sources of pressure were identified and quantified. We found that although the applied indices provided information on ecological condition differentiation among systems, they are unable to explain different classes of ecological status in systems with equivalent pressure levels.     

Estuarine ecological risk based on hepatic histopathological indices from laboratory and in situ tested fish

Juvenile Senegalese soles were exposed through 28-day laboratory and field (in situ) bioassays to sediments from three sites of the Sado estuary (W Portugal): a reference and two contaminated by metallic and organic contaminants. Fish were surveyed for ten hepatic histopathological alterations divided by four distinct reaction patterns and integrated through the estimation of individual histopathological condition indices. Fish exposed to contaminated sediments sustained more damage, with especial respect to regressive changes like necrosis. However, differences were observed between laboratory- and field-exposed animals, with the latest, for instance, exhibiting more pronounced fatty degeneration and hepatocellular eosinophilic alteration. Also, some lesions in fish exposed to the reference sediment indicate that in both assays unaccounted variables produced experimental background noise, such as hyaline degeneration in laboratory-exposed fish. Still, the field assays yielded results that were found to better reflect the overall levels of contaminants and physico-chemical characteristics of the tested sediments.     

中国南方地区水系沉积物中元素丰度

从中国南方12个省自治区230万km2面积上所采集的水系沉积物中按每1∶5万图幅一个组合样的密度组合成5 244件组合样,采用以ICP-MS、ICP-AES和XRF为主的先进的分析测试方法和严格的质量控制方法,准确测试了其中的76种元素。统计计算了中国南方地区76种元素的平均值,给出了中国南方地区水系沉积物中76种元素...     

Application of organic petrology and geochemistry to coal waste studies

Coal wastes produced during mining activities are commonly deposited in nearby dumps. These wastes mostly composed of minerals and variable amounts (usually 20-30%) of organic matter start to weather immediately after deposition. Oxidation of the organic matter can lead to self heating and self combustion as a result of organic and mineral matter transformations. The degree of alteration depends on the properties of the wastes, i.e., the maceral and microlithotype composition of the organic matter and its rank.Alteration of wastes also depends on the heating history, i.e., the rate of heating, final heating temperature, duration of heating, and the degree of air access. Although air is probably necessary to initiate and drive the heating processes, these usually take place under relatively oxygen depleted conditions. With slow heating, color of organic matter particles changes, irregular cracks and oxidation rims develop around edges and cracks, and bitumen is expelled. As a result, massive and detritic isotropic and strongly altered organic matter forms. On the other hand, higher heating rates cause the formation of devolatilization pores, oxidation rims around these pores and along cracks, vitrinite-bands-mantling particles, and bitumen expulsions.Organic compounds generated from the wastes include n-alkanes, iso-alkanes, alkylcyclohexanes, acyclic isoprenoids, mainly pristane, phytane and, in some cases, farnesane, sesquiterpanes, tri- and tetracyclic diterpanes, tri- and pentacyclic triterpanes, and steranes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (mostly with two- to five rings, rarely six rings), and phenols. The compounds formed change during the heating history. The fact that phenols are found in dumps where heating has not yet been completed, but are absent in those where heating ceased previously suggests the presence of water washing. The organic compounds formed may migrate within the dumps. However, when they migrate out of the dumps, they become a hazard to environment.This paper is a review on transformations of organic matter (both maceral composition and reflectance and chemical composition) in coal wastes deposited in coal waste dumps. Immediately after deposition the wastes are exposed to weathering conditions and sometimes undergo self heating processes.     

喀斯特石漠化信息遥感提取的不确定性

我国西南喀斯特地区以石漠化为特征的生态环境退化严重,遥感是快速、大面积石漠化定性评价、关健指标定量提取必不可少的手段.在简述喀斯特生态地质背景复杂性的基础上,系统分析了目前喀斯特石澳化信息遥感提取在遥感数据源、提取方法、、精度验证、不确定性源等方面的问题,并提出未来石漠化遥感监测的重点研究内容.     

Seasonal Changes in Mayfly Communities and Abundance in Relation to Water Physicochemistry in Two Rivers at Different Elevations in Northern Peninsular Malaysia

A field study was performed at rivers in Gunung Jerai forest reserve(Kedah,Malaysia) to assess seasonal changes in mayfly community structure and abundance in relation to altitude and water physicochemistry.Rivers at lower(Batu Hampar River) and higher(Teroi River) elevations were visited through dry and wet seasons in September 2007 to August 2008.Monthly visits were made to 20 sites on each river,and water and aquatic insects were sampled using D-pond aquatic nets.Water was warmer,more acid,and more turbid in Teroi River during wet season.Ammonia was the only nutrient exhibiting significant seasonal variations(greater during wet season).Chemical oxygen demand content was higher in Teroi River where biochemical oxygen demand content was low during wet season.Species richness was higher in Batu Hampar River,but displayed seasonal variations only in Teroi River.Among the eight families encountered,Baetidae was the commonest.Baetid abundance was usually high during wet season,and those belonging to the dominant genus(Baetis) were more abundant in Teroi River.Heptageniidae was the second commonest family;its predominant genus,Thalerospyrus was more abundant in Teroi River during dry season.Caenidae,Leptophlebiidae and Oligoneuriidae were only found in Batu Hampar River where their abundances peaked during dry season,i.e.,Habrophlebiodes sp.and Isonychia sp.Ephemerellidae and Teloganodidae occurred only in Teroi River,with the first found only during dry season.Mayflies were recorded under very distinct physicochemical conditions,illustrating their potential usefulness for assessing water quality.Caenids,leptophlebids,oligoneurids ephemerellids and teloganodids seem to be particularly sensitive to temperature,acidity,turbidity,chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand,parameters that varied with river altitude.     

中国西北地区石羊河流域农业生态系统能值评价

通过能值方法分析了石羊河流域农业生态系统的资源环境基础和经济特征。结果表明,石羊河流域中下游凉州区和民勤绿洲的能值总投入呈降低趋势,能值投资率都偏高,生产成本较大;能值产出率低,对购买能值的利用效率不高;但能值自给率有所提高;环境载荷率高,农业生态环境所受压力较大,系统可持续发展指标表明两个绿洲经济系统极为不发达,属于消费型经济系统,并且人均可用能值和能值密度都呈降低趋势。