Diagenetic history and porosity evolution of Upper Carboniferous sandstones from the Spring Valley #1 well, Maritimes Basin, Canada–implications for reservoir development

Eighty-two core samples were collected from the Spring Valley #1 well which penetrates the Upper Carboniferous strata in the Late Devonian–Early Permian Maritimes Basin. The strata consist of alternating sandstones and mudstones deposited in a continental environment. The objective of this study is to characterize the relationship of sandstone porosity with depth, and to investigate the diagenetic processes related to the porosity evolution. Porosity values estimated from point counting range from 0% to 27.8%, but are mostly between 5% and 20%. Except samples that are significantly cemented by calcite, porosity values clearly decrease with depth. Two phases of calcite cement were distinguished based on Cathodoluminescence, with the early phase being largely dissolved and preserved as minor relicts in the later phase. Feldspar dissolution was extensive and contributed significantly to the development of secondary porosity. Quartz cementation was widespread and increased with depth. Fluid inclusions recorded in calcite and quartz cements indicate that interstitial fluids in the upper part of the stratigraphic column were dominated by waters with salinity lower than that of seawater, the middle part was first dominated by low-salinity waters, then invaded by brines, and the lower part was dominated by brines. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions generally increase with depth and suggest a paleogeothermal gradient of 25 °C/km, which is broadly consistent with that indicated by vitrinite reflectance data. An erosion of 1.1–2.4 (mean 1.75) km of strata is inferred to have taken place above the stratigraphic column. δ¹⁸O values of calcite cements (mainly from the late phase) decrease with depth, implying increasing temperatures of formation, as also suggested by fluid-inclusion data. δ¹³C values of calcite cements range from −13.4‰ to −5.7‰, suggesting that organic matter was an important carbon source for calcite cements. A comparison of the porosity data with a theoretical compaction curve indicates that the upper and middle parts of the stratigraphic column show higher-than-normal porosity values, which are related to significant calcite and feldspar dissolution. Meteoric incursion and carboxylic acids generated from organic maturation were probably responsible for the abundant dissolution events.     

Environmental impact assessment on water quality deterioration caused by the decreased Ganges outflow and saline water intrusion in south-western Bangladesh

 This paper deals with an environmental impact assessment of low water flow in the river Ganges during a dry period at the Khulna and Mongla port areas in south-western Bangladesh. Large-scale surface water withdrawal in India after commissioning the Farakka Barrage causes a drastic fall in the Ganges low-flow condition within the Bangladesh territory during every dry period. The average lowest discharge in the Ganges is 552 m³/s, which is about 73% less than that in the pre-Farakka time. This has caused the deterioration of both surface and groundwater quality of the study area. Salinity is the principal cause of water quality degradation in the area. Present observation shows that the surface water of the area is sulphate-chloride dominated, which signifies high salinity whereas the groundwater is categorized as of medium to high salinity. To maintain the Rupsa River's maximum salinity below 1000 μS/cm the discharge in the Ganges should be ∼1500 m³/s, whereas that at Garai basin is ∼10 m³/s. If this present situation continues it will be a crippling blow to the environment of the area in the long term. An integrated multidisciplinary approach to hydrogeological research is urgently required to salvage the area from further deterioration. Received: 9 August 1999 · Accepted: 8 March 2000     

基于MODIS/NDVI的新疆伊犁河谷植被变化

利用2000-2010年16 d合成的MODIS/[NDVI]数据,结合植被异常指数、趋势线分析和Hurst指数等分析方法,对新疆伊犁河谷植被覆盖的时空变化特征进行了分析。结果表明：（1） 伊犁河谷内植被覆盖随海拔增高而先增加后减小,最高植被覆盖区位于2 000～2 500 m的高程带;2000-2010年伊犁河谷各高程带内植被覆盖整体下降趋势明显,但海拔低于1 000 m的高程带除外。（2）受干湿环境影响,伊犁河谷全区平均被植异常指数最高值出现在降水最多的2002年,最低值出现在降水最少的2008年,但不同区域植被异常指数的变化存在较大差异。（3）伊犁河谷内植被覆盖增加和减小的区域分别占总面积的4.09%和19.34%,增加区域主要位于伊犁河两岸的平原区,减小区域主要位于乌孙山两端以及伊犁河谷周围海拔2 000 m左右的低山区域;变标度极差分析结果表明,伊犁河谷内植被覆盖年际变化呈现很强的持续性,未来一定时间内将保持现有变化趋势不变。     

Using multivariate statistical analysis of groundwater major cation and trace element concentrations to evaluate groundwater flow in a regional aquifer

Groundwater samples were collected from 11 springs in Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada and seven springs from Death Valley National Park in eastern California. Concentrations of the major cations (Ca, Mg, Na and K) and 45 trace elements were determined in these groundwater samples. The resultant data were subjected to evaluation via the multivariate statistical technique principal components analysis (PCA), to investigate the chemical relationships between the Ash Meadows and Death Valley spring waters, to evaluate whether the results of the PCA support those of previous hydrogeological and isotopic studies and to determine if PCA can be used to help delineate potential groundwater flow patterns based on the chemical compositions of groundwaters. The results of the PCA indicated that groundwaters from the regional Paleozoic carbonate aquifers (all of the Ash Meadows springs and four springs from the Furnace Creek region of Death Valley) exhibited strong statistical associations, whereas other Death Valley groundwaters were chemically different. The results of the PCA support earlier studies, where potentiometric head levels, δ¹⁸O and δD, geological relationships and rare earth element data were used to evaluate groundwater flow, which suggest groundwater flows from Ash Meadows to the Furnace Creek springs in Death Valley. The PCA suggests that Furnace Creek groundwaters are moderately concentrated Ash Meadows groundwater, reflecting longer aquifer residence times for the Furnace Creek groundwaters. Moreover, PCA indicates that groundwater may flow from springs in the region surrounding Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park, to a spring discharging on the valley floor. The study indicates that PCA may provide rapid and relatively cost‐effective methods to assess possible groundwater flow regimes in systems that have not been previously investigated. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2000—2015年伊犁河谷植被覆盖时空变化特征

利用2000—2015年的EOS/MODIS数据,采用趋势分析、Hurst指数、变异系数法对伊犁河谷植被时空变化及未来趋势进行分析,结果显示:空间分布上,伊犁河谷植被覆盖度呈北部、南部、东部偏高,西部、中部偏低的分布特征;时间变化上,2000—2015年,伊犁河谷植被覆盖度波动减小,减速为6.25%·(10 a)^-1;区域分布上,伊犁河谷植被表现为低波动变化,波动程度中等以及下占73.16%,波动程度高的区域占26.84%。未来预测表明,伊犁河谷植被覆盖呈退化趋势,其中,持续退化的面积占57.55%,持续改善的面积占13.51%。     

A Study of the Extended-range Forecast for the Low Frequency Temperature and High Temperature Weather over the Lower Reaches of Yangtze River Valley in Summer

Based on the observational data, the variations of Intraseasonal Oscillation (ISO) of the daily temperatures and its relationships to the high temperature in summer over the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley (LYRV) were studied for the period of 1979-2011. It is found that the daily temperatures over LYRV in May-August was mainly of periodic oscillations of 1525, 3060 and 6070 days, and the interannual variation of the intensity of its 3060-day oscillation had a strongly positive correlation with the number of days with daily highest temperature over 35 ℃ in July-August. Low frequency components of daily temperature in the LYRV, and the principal components of the Eastern Asian 850 hPa low frequency temperature, over a time period ranging from 1979 to 2000, were used to establish the Extended Complex Autoregressive model (ECAR) on an extended-range forecast of the 3060-day low frequency temperature over the LYRV. A 11-year independent real-time extended-range forecast was conducted on the extended-range forecast of low frequency component of the temperature over the LYRV in May-August, for the period ranging from 2001 to 2011. These experimental results show that this ECAR model, which is based on a data-driven model, has a good forecast skill at the lead time of approximately 23 days, with a forecast ability superior to the traditional autoregressive (AR) model. Hence, the development and variation of the leading 3060-day modes for the Eastern Asian 850 hPa low frequency temperatures and temporal evolutions of their relationships to low frequency components of the temperature over the LYRV in summer are very helpful in predicting the persistent high temperature over the LYRV at a 20 to 25 days lead.     

Age of the MGS5 segment of the Milanggouwan stratigraphical section and evolution of the desert environment on a kiloyear scale during the Last Interglacial in China's Salawusu River Valley: Evidence from Rb and Sr contents and ratios

The MGS5 segment of the Milanggouwan stratigraphical section in China's Salawusu River Valley records 8.5 sedimentary cycles consisting of dune sands alternating with fluviolacustrine facies or/and paleosols. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the distribution of Rb and Sr within the segment and paleoecological evidence (fossils), it appears that the observed sedimentation cycles mainly resulted from fluctuations between dry-cold and warm-humid climates, which indicates that the MGS5 segment experienced at least eight cold-dry and nine warm-humid climatic fluctuations. Of these, 12 cold–warm climate fluctuations correspond to DO20–DO25 and stadia 21–26 recorded by the NGRIP ice cores. Another five cold–warm climatic fluctuations that occurred during MGS5e correspond to five substages (5e1–5e5) recorded by the GRIP ice cores from Greenland. This kind of high-frequency climatic fluctuation on a kiloyear scale was mainly subject to variations in the strength of the East Asian winter and summer monsoons.     

Medieval Warming, Little Ice Age, and European impact on the environment during the last millennium in the lower Hudson Valley, New York, USA

Establishing natural climate variability becomes particularly important in large urban areas in anticipation of droughts. We present a well-dated bi-decadal record of vegetation, climate, land use, and fire frequency from a tidal marsh in the Hudson River Estuary. The classic Medieval Warm Period is evident through striking increases in charcoal and Pinus dominance from 800–1300 A.D., paralleling paleorecords southward along the Atlantic seaboard. Higher inputs of inorganic sediment during this interval suggest increased watershed erosion during drought conditions. The presence of the Little Ice Age ensues with increases in Picea and Tsuga, coupled with increasing organic percentages due to cooler, moister conditions. European impact is manifested by a decline in arboreal pollen due to land clearance, increased weedy plant cover (i.e., Ambrosia, Plantago, and Rumex), and an increase in inorganic particles to the watershed.     

Terraces Development and Their Implications for Valley Evolution of the Jinsha River Since Late Pleistocene near Longjie,Yunnan

The drainage evolution and valley development of the Jinsha River is an important issue constantly concerned by researchers in geology and geomorphology. Despite hundreds of years of research, there is a big dispute on the formation time and the evolution process of the fluvial valley. Fluvial terraces are very important geomorphic markers for studying the formation and evolution of the fluvial valley. Through field investigation combined with Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating, we confirmed that 5 fluvial terraces were formed, and then preserved, along the course of the Jinsha River near the Longjie, which are all strath terraces. Among them, T5 developed on the base rock, with an age of (78±12) ka; all T4~T1 developed on the lacustrine sediments, named Longjie Group by Chinese, with an age of (29±1.4) ka, (26±2.4) ka, (23±1.4) ka, (18±1.7) ka, respectively. Compared with the global and regional climate change history, the terraces are all the result of the river responding to the climate change. T5 formed at MIS 5/4, and T4~T1 formed at the period of regional climate fluctuation. The relationship of terraces and the Longjie Formation, combined with sedimentary characteristics analysis demonstrate that the Longjie Formation is landslide dammed lake sediment. The landslide and blocking events.seriously influenced the valley evolution, inhibiting the river incising, and making the valley evolution defer to the mode of “cut-landside-damming-fill-cut” in the period of Late Pleistocene. Synthesized studies of the terraces and the correlative sediments indicate that the formation of the Jinsha River valley may have begun in the late Early Pleistocene.     

Synergistic contribution of precipitation anomalies over northwestern India and the South China Sea to high temperature over the Yangtze River Valley

This study explores the characteristics of high temperature anomalies over eastern China and associated influencing factors using observations and model outputs. Results show that more long-duration (over 8 days) high temperature events occur over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley (YRV) than over the surrounding regions, and control most of the interannual variation of summer mean temperature in situ. The synergistic effect of summer precipitation over the South China Sea (SCS) region (18°-27°N, 115°-124°E) and the northwestern India and Arabian Sea (IAS) region (18°-27°N, 60°-80°E) contributes more significantly to the variation of summer YRV temperature, relative to the respective SCS or IAS precipitation anomaly. More precipitation (enhanced condensational heating) over the SCS region strengthens the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) and simultaneously weakens the westerly trough over the east coast of Asia, and accordingly results in associated high temperature anomalies over the YRV region through stimulating an East Asia-Pacific (EAP) pattern. More precipitation over the IAS region further adjusts the variations of the WPSH and westerly trough, and eventually reinforces high temperature anomalies over the YRV region. Furthermore, the condensational heating related to more IAS precipitation can adjust upper-tropospheric easterly anomalies over the YRV region by exciting a circumglobal teleconnection, inducing cold horizontal temperature advection and related anomalous descent, which is also conducive to the YRV high temperature anomalies. The reproduction of the above association in the model results indicates that the above results can be explained both statistically and dynamically.