Plume and bloom: effect of the Mississippi River diversion on the water quality of Lake Pontchartrain

The opening of the Bonnet Carré spillway to prevent flood threat to New Orleans in April 2008 created a sediment plume in the Lake Pontchartrain. The nutrient rich plume triggered a massive algal bloom in the lake. In this article, we have quantified the spatio-temporal distribution of the plume (suspended solids) and the bloom (chlorophyll-a (chl-a)) in the lake using remotely-sensed data. We processed the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite data for mapping the total suspended solids (TSS) and chl-a concentrations. An existing algorithm was used for estimating TSS whereas a novel slope model was developed to predict the per-pixel chl-a concentration. Both algorithms were successful in capturing the spatio-temporal trend of TSS and chl-a concentrations, respectively. Algal growth was found to be inversely related to TSS concentrations and a time lag of ～45 days existed between the spillway opening and the appearance of the first algal bloom at an observation location.     

Phase Chemistry Study of the Zabuye Salt Lake Brine: Isothermal Evaporation at 15°C and 25°C

Zabuye Salt Lake in Tibet, China is a carbonate-type salt lake, which has some unique characteristics that make it different from other types of salt lakes. The lake is at the latter period in its evolution and contains liquid and solid resources. Its brine is rich in Li, B, K and other useful minor elements that are of great economic value. We studied the concentration behavior of these elements and the crystallization paths of salts during isothermal evaporation of brine at 15°C and 25°C. The crystallization sequence of the primary salts from the brine at 25°C is halite (NaCl) → aphthitalite (3K2SO4·Na2SO4) → zabuyelite (Li2CO3)→ trona (Na2CO3·NaHCO3·2H2O) → thermonatrite (Na2CO3·H2O) → sylvite (KCl), while the sequence is halite (NaCl) → sylvite (KCl) → trona (Na2CO3·NaHCO3·2H2O) → zabuyelite (Li2CO3) → thermonatrite (Na2CO3·H2O) → aphthitalite (3K2SO4·Na2SO4) at 15°C. They are in accordance with the metastable phase diagram of the Na+, K+-Cl?, CO32?, SO42?-H2O quinary system at 25°C, except for Na2CO3·7H2O which is replaced by trona and thermonatrite. In the 25°C experiment, zabuyelite (Li2CO3) was precipitated in the early stage because Li2CO3 is supersaturated in the brine at 25°C, in contrast with that at 15°C, it precipitated in the later stage. Potash was precipitated in the middle and late stages in both experiments, while boron was concentrated in the early and middle stages and precipitated in the late stage.     

构造沉降是控制近代洞庭湖演变的关键因素吗?——评《洞庭湖地质环境系统分析》

本文对以研究近代洞庭湖演变趋势为主要内容的《洞庭湖地质环境系统分析》的系列研究成果进行评论 ,认为采用“假设 -演绎法”研究洞庭湖演变得出的结论 ,依然建立在假设的基础上 ,并不可靠。文中还对该系列成果提出的“构造沉降是控制洞庭湖演变的关键因素”的论点和一些所谓的“构造沉降”表现及其计算数据提出质疑 ,认为近代洞庭湖的演变不是由内动力“构造沉降”控制 ,而是主要受入湖水沙条件变化、人工围垦湖滩和湖面———基面上升等外动力的作用和影响。     

论洞庭湖区钉螺孳生环境与生态灭螺防病

洞庭湖区的钉螺面积广布,血吸虫病流行,是我国血吸虫病流行最严重的地区之一,分析表明,血吸虫病是湖区的一大生态环境灾害;它的中间宿主钉螺孳生环境是入湖泥沙沉积恶性循环的结果,频繁的洪溃灾害,扩散了垸内钉螺;水利工程为钉螺的传播提供了多种途径,急需采取生态灭螺防病的科学对策。     

新疆赛里木湖的湖滩岩特征、时代及其对 MIS3阶段湖面变化的指示意义

在对西天山赛里木湖盆地进行第四纪地质调查与5万填图基础上,发现沿该湖泊的不同湖岸阶地上都不同程度地发育了可指示湖面变化的湖滩岩。水准测量结果表明,典型的湖滩岩最常见于高出现今湖面7.1~9.4 m和33.4~39.4 m的低、高两级湖积台地上。对湖滩岩样品进行岩石学和矿物学研究进一步揭示,湖滩岩主要由内碎屑、藻团块、陆源碎屑、胶结物和填隙物等构成,胶结物主要为亮晶方解石,夹少量文石,表明赛里木湖周边的湖滩岩为典型的方解石胶结砂屑砾屑岩。湖滩岩样品的U系年代测试结果表明,低、高两级台地上的湖滩岩主要形成于距今24.8±1.5 ka至27.6±1.5 ka和55.4±3.8 ka的晚更新世晚期,大致对应末次冰期间冰阶MIS3阶段早期和末期的相对暖湿气候阶段。湖滩岩及其测年结果指示,赛里木湖最近一期最高湖面出现在距今55.4 ka左右末次间冰阶早期,其后由于气候的干旱化,湖面整体处于逐步下降过程,在相对暖湿期间经历了多次湖面相对稳定期并形成湖滩岩。     

内蒙岱海湖岩芯碳酸盐含量变化与气候环境演化

内蒙岱海是位于东南季风区的西北边缘的内陆封闭湖泊,对气候变化十分敏感。本文根据对岱海湖泊岩芯的碳酸盐含量分析,结合湖泊沉积岩性特征、介形类化石以及其年代学研究,初步讨论了岱海距今近千年的气候环境演化过程,结果表明：９３０ａＢＰ—６７０ａＢＰ气候以温湿为主,６７０ａＢＰ—５４０ａＢＰ,气候以冷偏湿为主;５４０ａＢｐ—４９０ａＢ．Ｐ．湖泊急剧退缩,以冷偏干气候为主;４９０ａＢｐ—２７０ａＢＰ以凉干气候为主;２７０ａＢＰ－１５０温干气候;１５０年以来,湖区有效降水有所增加的温偏湿气候为主。     

千岛湖蚤状潘垂直分布格局及其季节与昼夜变化

2004年10月至2005年8月，对不同季节千岛湖蚤状潘的垂直分布情况以及昼夜迁移进行了研究。结果表明，蚤状潘在千岛湖分布广泛，春季和夏季蚤状潘主要分布在15-25m水层，而在秋冬季分布相对均匀，从表层到60m水深都有分布；比较了蚤状漫在不同季节的迁移现象，春季和秋季蚤状潘为夜间迁移模式，而在夏季和冬季虽然都存在迁移现象，但不同于常见的三种迁移模式。     

内蒙古河套地区陈普海子湖泊沉积物粒度特征及其环境意义

对河套地区陈普海子湖泊及其流域不同类型表层沉积物的粒度特征进行了分析,并结合放射性同位素210Pb测年,探讨了湖泊的沉积演变过程。通过主成分分析,对沉积物剖面粒度不同粒级组分含量进行了研究,分析了湖泊沉积物的物质来源,得到两个主控因子F1和F2,它们控制了湖泊沉积物近98.68%的粒度变化特征。研究表明,F1代表了以6.18 μm为众数粒径的次总体,主要受流水作用控制;而F2为以42.75 μm为众数粒径的次总体,主要来源于地表风沙作用。通过粒径-标准偏差方法,提取了湖泊沉积物中不同时期的环境敏感粒度组分,结果表明:在1996AD之前,流水作用所携带的细颗粒(μm)决定了沉积物的粒级特征,在1960-1985AD期间表现出风沙活动强烈;1996AD以来,由于人类开展了大规模的沙荒土地开垦,流沙活动强烈,流域风沙活动所携带的粗颗粒(14.1~224.35 μm)控制了沉积物的粒度组成。     

Lacustrine basin unconventional resource plays: Key differences

There has been a revival in hydrocarbon source rock characterization and development associated with growing interest in unconventional resources, where these fine-grained organic-rich rocks act as both source and reservoir. To-date, the exploration focus on shale reservoirs has been largely on marine systems. Lacustrine source rocks for conventional resources are geographically important, dominating regions such as China, Indonesia, and Brazil's resource-base. However, they have been generally untested for unconventional resources.There are a number of key differences in the nature of these hydrocarbon systems that should be considered when assessing whether lacustrine systems may represent future unconventional opportunities in areas where the conventional resource-base is dominated by lacustrine-sourced oil. Among the key differences between these depositional systems is the greater sensitivity to high frequency climatic variability within lacustrine systems. Lacustrine systems are highly sensitive to changes in the balance between precipitation and evaporation, which may lead to rapid changes in lake level, potentially exceeding 600 m. These changes in depositional conditions are geologically rapid and may occur over periods of thousands of years. Such changes can reduce the areal extent of potentially thick source rock intervals to only those portions of a basin where a permanent deep lake was present. Thus the core unconventional target area may be geographically limited compared with their marine counterpart. Although potentially areally limited, a review of many lacustrine source rocks suggests that their thicknesses are often significantly greater than marine source rocks. An examination of the more distal portions of lacustrine systems, where better source rock potential is present reveals that there is generally limited connectivity between source and conventional reservoir. In these settings, such as the Wind River basin (Waltman Shale), the hydrocarbons remain trapped within the shales, potentially leading to over-pressured hydrocarbon charged systems. Such conditions suggest that although areally limited, viable unconventional targets may exist, if suitable reservoir conditions are present. Finally, the character of the oils produced is different in these settings, with lacustrine oils being waxy and displaying different hydrocarbon generation and cracking kinetics. High wax oils display distinct flow characteristics, being more viscous, and may offer different production challenges than their non-waxy marine equivalents. Additionally, differences in their cracking kinetics may indicate that the timing of gas generation for shale gas plays may differ significantly from marine systems.