Helium and neon isotopic compositions in the ophiolites from the Yarlung Zangbo River,Southwestern China:The information from deep mantle

The ophiolites from the Yarlung Zangbo River (Tibet),Southwestern China,were analysed for the con-tents of helium and neon and their isotopic compositions by stepwise heating. The serpentinites from Bainang showed a high 3He/4He value of 32.66Ra (Ra is referred to the 3He/4He ratio in the present air) in 700 ℃ fraction. At lower temperature,all of the dolerites displayed as very high 3He/4He ratios as ones investigated for hotspots. It was clear that the high 3He/4He ratio was one of immanent characterics in the magma source formed the dolerites,suggesting that there was a large amount of deep mantle fluids in these rocks. In the three-isotope diagram of neon,the data points from the ophiolites of the Yarlung Zangbo River were arranged along the Loihi Line. This is in agreement with the characteristics of he-lium isotopes,revealing that the high-3He plume from deep mantle had played an important role in the formation of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean. The helium isotopic compositions in the basalts were far higher than atomospheric value but lower than the average value of MORB,although there were various de-grees of alteration. The possible reasons were that basaltic magmas     

Deciphering the Holocene evolution of the St. Lawrence River drainage system using luminescence and radiocarbon dating

The St. Lawrence River is an important drainage route for eastern North American fresh waters. Following Late Pleistocene deglaciation, several fluctuations in base level have fine-tuned the evolution of the ancestral St. Lawrence. These fluctuations are hereby dated using K-feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and radiocarbon. The accuracy of the individual IRSL dates was achieved by properly correcting for thermal transfer and anomalous fading. For each site investigated, widely used statistical approaches in equivalent dose data have been used to establish which age model, the central or the minimum model, would be appropriate to define the “true” depositional age. The chronology of the succession of regional lake levels is based on careful mapping and dating of the regional dunes, beaches and deltaic sediments. A relative time-space evolution history could be drawn, from ca. 8000 years BP to the present time period. Three major fluctuations are documented for the middle to late Holocene. An unexpected finding, from the ages cluster diagram, is that there have been times in the recent past (ca. 1000–4000 years BP) when the river level was lower or at the same elevation as today. The potential for K-feldspar IRSL to accurately date the Holocene lacustrine evolution is critical in the St. Lawrence River modern drainage basin, an environment that might be negatively impacted over the next century.     

Dating of lower terrace sediments from the Middle Rhine area, Germany

Modern and known-age Pleistocene fluvial sediments were investigated by optical dating of quartz to test the suitability of the approach for dating deposits from the deeply incised Middle Rhine Valley. Samples from modern flood sediments revealed skewed distributions indicating different residual levels of equivalent dose (D_e) within the different aliquots. Nevertheless, a substantial number of aliquots from the modern deposits reflect D_e values close to zero. For the Pleistocene samples, optical ages are in general consistent with age control given by the presence of the Laacher See Tephra and radiocarbon dating. However, some samples overestimate the known age by a few thousand years when using the arithmetic mean. This is apparently explained by including aliquots in the determination of mean D_e where the optical signal was incompletely bleached at deposition. The most difficult issue in this context is identifying a suitable approach that can distinguish between the variability of D_e due to partial bleaching and microdosimetry. However, even when considering these limitations it appears that optical dating will by a quite suitable method to date Pleistocene sediments from such a complex fluvial environment, especially when focusing on a precision scale beyond a few thousand years.     

Characteristics of landscape information Tupu of the Yellow River swings and its subdeltas during 1855―2000

Based on the theories and methods of cartography on spatial pattern and temporal evolution in Geo-information Tupu (Carto-methodology in Geo-information, CMGI) and the quantitative measurements of pattern and process in landscape ecology, the methodology of landscape information Tupu in studying the swing process of the Yellow River (YR) over the Yellow River Delta (YRD) during 1855―2000 has been demonstrated. The main content includes (1) methodology of landscape information Tupu; (2) evolution process Tupu of YR rump channels; (3) evolution process Tupu of the 7 pieces of subdeltas in YRD during 1855―2000; (4) landscape information Tupu of the modern YRD and the current YRD; (5) landscape information Tupu of YR rump channels on the 7 pieces of subdeltas during 1855―2000; and (6) corridor-matrix landscape information Tupu by YR swings. The methodology of landscape information Tupu here is still primary but we hope that it could provide a new tool for exploring an integrated research on spatiotemporal approaches for landscape "pattern and process".     

金沙江某库区东爷庙滑坡成因分析及稳定性评价

文章在对滑坡周界确定和滑坡体特征研究基础之上,从岩性条件、地质构造及地下水等方面详细分析了滑坡成因。该滑坡发生在侏罗系沙溪庙组(J2s)缓倾角红层中,地层岩性为河湖相紫红色泥质粉砂岩、泥岩和灰绿色粉砂岩互层,软硬相间,该套地层的岩性内在差异构成了滑坡产生的岩性条件。加上边坡呈顺向坡结构,顺坡向节理发育,坡角临空,岩体沿着软弱层发生滑移-拉裂破坏。通过对滑坡进行稳定性计算和分析,结果表明:该滑坡在天然状态、蓄水或地震等不利条件下,整体仍处于稳定状态,只是在相对较陡的滑坡体前缘和库水位附近地形较陡的局部部位,蓄水后可能会产生小规模失稳,但其方量不会太大,加上离坝址较远,所以不会危及工程安全。因此,通过对滑坡成因分析和稳定性评价,为工程建设和移民安置工作提供了重要的保证。     

2003年黄河第二次调水调沙试验效果分析

2003年8～10月,泾、渭、洛河和三门峡～花园口区间降雨持续50余d,黄河中游出现了历史上罕见的秋汛洪水。为扩大黄河下游河道主河槽的过洪能力,实现黄河下游主河槽的全线冲刷,同时,进一步探索三门峡、小浪底等水库水沙联合调度方式,深化对黄河河道、水库水沙运动规律的认识,黄委会于9月6日～18日进行了黄河第二次调水调沙。该文着重介绍了此次实验中黄河下游主要断面的水文泥沙过程,以及河道冲淤情况,认为花园口水文站来水量26．5亿m~3,冲刷量0．456亿t,整个下游河段基本为冲刷；下游主要断面主槽过洪能力增加幅度为150～400m~3/s,2500m~3/s流量相应水位降低0．04～0．23m,提高下游河道的输沙效率。     

乌鲁木齐河流域地下水水位监测网设计

文章阐述了乌鲁木齐河流域区域地下水水位监测网的优化设计。基于ARCGIS技术,运用水文地质学方法在叠加合成地下水动态类型分区图的基础上优化设计了区域地下水水位监测网密度;采用时间序列分析方法确定了地下水水位监测频率。首期施工安装了11个新的长期专门监测孔;对73个现有监测孔进行了维修并安装了孔口保护装置,安装了28套水位自动监测仪,初步实现了地下水水位的自动监测。     

三峡库区塌岸预测新方法——岸坡结构法

水库塌岸是三峡库区重大地质灾害之一。通过三峡库区数百段库岸的塌岸地质现场调查和预测分析的基础上,提出了类似三峡这种山区河道型水库的塌岸预测新方法——岸坡结构法(RBSM),并给出了详细的图解方法和预测步骤。同时,开展了二滩、宝珠寺和龚咀三个运行中的类比水库和三峡水库(139m蓄水)的塌岸预测检验,验证结果表明该方法适宜于三峡水库以及类似的山区河道型水库塌岸预测,从而为水库塌岸预测与防治工程提供重要依据。     

滇西北德钦地区金沙江奔子栏古堰塞湖的发现及意义

在川滇交界的云南德钦奔子栏一带的金沙江河谷两岸,发现了发育于第四级阶地之下的湖相纹层状粘土层,其下为边坡碎屑流堆积,表明该湖相层为滑坡碎屑流堵江所形成的。采用U系法测年,获得金沙江右岸湖相粘土层上部和下部的年龄分别为55.4ka±3.5kaBP和82.1ka±6.6kaBP,左岸湖相粘土层为122.0ka±12.4kaBP,表明该古湖发育于晚更新世早中期。孢粉分析结果显示,该湖相粘土沉积期间的古植被为以松为主的常绿针叶林,气候温和较湿。该古堰塞湖的发现不仅对于研究金沙江的河流发育史具有指导意义,而且对了解现代大江大河灾难性地质灾害的形成演化具有重要的参考价值。     

A preliminary case study of potential ceramic raw materials in the Aileu area of Timor Leste

The newly independent country of Timor Leste is located in the eastern half of Timor Island (Indonesian archipelago). Geological studies of the country’s mineral resources and extractive activities are practically non-existent. There is evidence of the exploitation of ceramic raw materials at outcrop level and two small brick kilns, nowadays inactive, in the Dili and Aileu areas. Near Aileu, there are light-coloured silt-rich deposits, interpreted as overbank deposits, interbedded with ancient river terraces (post-Pliocene) overlying metamorphic bedrock. These sediments are the subject of this study, which encompassed geological mapping and preliminary characterisation. Tectonically, the area is a graben, preserving alluvium and colluvium deposits. Five channel samples representative of the silt-rich deposits were collected. Semi-quantitative mineralogical analysis shows that the samples are made of illite, quartz and kaolinite clays, with accessory illite/vermiculite interstratified minerals and K-feldspar. The chemical data show agreement with the estimated mineralogical composition. The grain size distribution points to a silt-dominated assemblage. Most samples have a satisfactory extrudability but deficient moulding properties. After firing, the sampled raw materials form a final product with possible ceramic capability for whiteware production.