Geostatistical analysis of arsenic concentration in the groundwater of Malda district of West Bengal, India

The problem of arsenic (As) poisoning in the upper deltaic plain of the Ganga-Bhagirathi river system in the Bengal Basin of West Bengal, India is an alarming issue. Four blocks (Kaliachak-1, 2, 3 and English Bazar) of Malda district, West Bengal were critically studied. Geomorphologically, the area exhibits three terraces: the present Youngest terrace (T₀-terrace), the Older Shaugaon Surface (T₁-terrace) and the Oldest Baikunthapur Surface (T₂-terrace). On the basis of numerous measurements, including As-content, pH, DO, specific conductivity and salinity, it was observed that maximum As-content beyond the permissible limit (0.05 mg/L, Indian standard) occurs within a depth range of 10–30 m with a non-linear distribution pattern. Variance test also found that a block effect was highly significant in an As-distribution pattern. Mean arsenic level of Kaliachak block-1 is 0.2253 mg/L, followed by Kaliachak-2 with arsenic level 0.1923, Kaliachak-3 with arsenic level 0.1755 and English Bazar with arsenic level 0.1324. The arsenious belt lies mainly within the Older terrace (T₁). The very recent flood plain deposits of silvery white, fine sands lying very close to the Ganga River margin do not contain significant amounts of As. Elevated As-concentration in the ground water was observed in alluvial sands, grayish white to brownish in color and occurring away from the Ganga margin. The Oldest terrace (T2) further away from the Ganga margin (e.g. English Bazar) and Barind surface contains less arsenic. Barind surface acts as a hard capping with ferruginous sands and lateritic concretions-chocolate, mottled and purple brown in color-occurring northeast of the studied area. Arsenic content of ground water in the same locality within a radius of ∼ 20 m varies within wide limits. Thus, it poses problem to delineate its distribution pattern. Such a patchy occurrence possibly could not be explained satisfactorily solely by geomorphology. Chemical analysis of aquifer clay samples of the cores shows a maximum Ascontent of up to 3 mg/kg, whereas the bulk samples (sandclay mixture) of the cores contain a maximum of 17 mg/kg As-value. Therefore, it is not always true that clay contains elevated As-value.     

Paleozoic tectonism on the East Gondwana margin: Evidence from SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology of a migmatite–granite complex in West Antarctica

The Fosdick Mountains migmatite–granite complex in West Antarctica records episodes of crustal melting and plutonism in Devonian–Carboniferous time that acted to transform transitional crust, dominated by immature oceanic turbidites of the accretionary margin of East Gondwana, into stable continental crust. West Antarctica, New Zealand and Australia originated as contiguous parts of this margin, according to plate reconstructions, however, detailed correlations are uncertain due to a lack of isotopic and geochronological data. Our study of the mid-crustal exposures of the Fosdick range uses U–Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronology to examine the tectonic environment and timing for Paleozoic magmatism in West Antarctica, and to assess a correlation with the better known Lachlan Orogen of eastern Australia and Western Province of New Zealand.NNE–SSW to NE–SW contraction occurred in West Antarctica in early Paleozoic time, and is expressed by km-scale folds developed both in lower crustal metasedimentary migmatite gneisses of the Fosdick Mountains and in low greenschist-grade turbidite successions of the upper crust, present in neighboring ranges. The metasedimentary rocks and structures were intruded by calc-alkaline, I-type plutons attributed to arc magmatism along the convergent East Gondwana margin. Within the Fosdick Mountains, the intrusions form a layered plutonic complex at lower structural levels and discrete plutons at upper levels. Dilational structures that host anatectic granite overprint plutonic layering and migmatitic foliation. They exhibit systematic geometries indicative of NNE–SSW stretching, parallel to a first-generation mineral lineation. New U–Pb SHRIMP zircon ages for granodiorite and porphyritic monzogranite plutons, and for leucogranites that occupy shear bands and other mesoscopic-scale structural sites, define an interval of 370 to 355 Ma for plutonism and migmatization.Paleozoic plutonism in West Antarctica postdates magmatism in the western Lachlan Orogen of Australia, but it coincides with that in the central part of the Lachlan Orogen and with the rapid main phase of emplacement of the Karamea Batholith of the Western Province, New Zealand. Emplaced within a 15 to 20 million year interval, the Paleozoic granitoids of the Fosdick Mountains are a product of subduction-related plutonism associated with high temperature metamorphism and crustal melting. The presence of anatectic granites within extensional structures is a possible indication of alternating strain states (‘tectonic switching’) in a supra-subduction zone setting characterized by thin crust and high heat flow along the Devonian–Carboniferous accretionary margin of East Gondwana.     

Reciprocality between biology and geology: Reconstructing polar Gondwana

The reciprocal nature of the relationship between historical geology (reconstruction models) and biology (constructing phylogenies) is discussed and the conceptual basis of such a relationship is examined through its historical development. Examples to illustrate aspects of the relationship are drawn from the Cretaceous breakup of polar Gondwana and the Cenozoic history of some of the resultant microcontinental fragments. A new mid-Cretaceous (circa 100 Ma) rift zone, separating the west Gondwanan Campbell Plateau, southern New Zealand, from the east Gondwanan Melanesian Rift is proposed, and biological and geological evidence for it is presented and discussed. It is also suggested that the Bounty Trough, Chatham Rise, and Hikurangi Plateau unit is incorrectly placed in reconstruction models, and it should be fitted outboard of the Melanesian Rift until its mid-Cenozoic attachment to the Campbell Plateau. It is concluded that both reconstruction modelling and phylogenetic analyses have much to gain through ‘reciprocal illumination’.     

西秦岭北缘新阳—元龙韧性剪切带中花岗质糜棱岩黑云母40Ar 39Ar年龄及地质意义

西秦岭北缘新阳-元龙大型韧性剪切带是分划西秦岭造山带与祁连造山带的区域主构造边界,通过对其物质组成和构造特征的研究,结合两侧不同(洋-陆)构造环境下各类地质体的研究成果,重点对剪切带内花岗质糜棱岩中黑云母单矿物进行了~(40)Ar-~(39)Ar定年研究.在新阳镇和元龙北剪切带中分别获得(347.95±2.17)Ma (MSWD＝1.89)和(351.70±1.72)Ma (MSWD＝0.80)的坪年龄,分析确定其应为黑云母的冷却年龄,表明变形时代应在早石炭世早期之前;反映了最晚在早石炭世早期,该剪切带已横切秦岭与祁连造山带并发生强烈的右行走滑构造拼贴作用.     

江苏西南部晚侏罗世西横山组沉积特征及成因

江苏西南部晚侏罗世西横山组为一套粗碎屑岩—细碎屑岩及泥灰岩组成的陆相沉积岩，普遍含有火山物质。从地层分布、岩性特征、碎屑岩粒度统计分析表明，天生桥盆地和西横山盆地基本上是连续、贯通的，自东向西，由冲积扇相—河流相—湖泊相逐渐过渡，属于同一水中盆地中不同沉积相的产物。沉积物主要来自盆地东部，可能与“古茅山”隆起带有关。     

Geothermal Model of the Fore-Yenisey Sedimentary Basin―Transitional Structure between the Ancient Siberian Platform and the Young West Siberian Plate

Results of the investigation into the geothermal regime of the Fore-Yenisey sedimentary basin, formed during the collision and subsidence of the Kas-Turukhan microcontinent and the western margin of the Siberian craton in the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic are reported. It was established that the structural and geothermal conditions of the upper Precambrian–Paleozoic sections are similar to those in the western regions of the Siberian platform and are characterized by rather low geothermal gradients (12.5–25.5 °С/km). In the western parts of the basin, formation temperatures in the uppermost pre-Jurassic sediments are 50°С–85°С, decreasing eastward to 30°С–55°С. For the first time, the detailed geothermal model of the basin sedimentary fill was developed. This model allows predictions of the geothermal conditions of Earth’s interior.     

滇西变泥质岩的白云母b_0值及其构造－地层意义

据３３３个白云母ｂ０值，结合区域地层和构造的研究成果，提出：（１）原称昌宁－孟连变质带解体为西盟－勐统变质带（加里东期中压变质带）和澜沧双变质带的高压亚带，两期高压变质作用分别与海西－印支期的洋壳消减和陆－陆碰撞有关；（２）石鼓变质带是三个逆冲岩片的叠置，各岩片内岩石的变质作用各具特色；（３）金沙江洋盆为地块间小洋盆，其消减及嗣后的弧－弧碰撞可能不产生高压变质作用。在此基础上探讨了白云母ｂ０值在造山带研究中的意义。     

Relating petroleum system and play development to basin evolution: West African South Atlantic basins

Sedimentary basins can be classified according to their structural genesis and evolutionary history and the latter can be linked to petroleum system and play development. We propose an approach in which we use the established concepts in a new way: breaking basins down into their natural basin cycle division, then defining the characteristics of each basin cycle (including the type of petroleum systems and plays they may contain) and comparing them with similar basin cycles in other basins, thereby providing a means to learn through a greater population of (perhaps not immediately obvious) analogues. Furthermore, we introduce the use of the trajectory plot as a new tool in such an analysis. This methodology has been applied to the West African South Atlantic marginal basins between Cameroon and Angola, and we demonstrate that the similar tectonostratigraphic evolution of the individual basins along this margin has led to the development of similar types of petroleum systems and play (level)s. Consequently, we can make analogue comparisons among these basins in order to evaluate and predict the presence of potential, yet undiscovered, hydrocarbon accumulations in less well explored parts of the margin.     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE HINTEREIS AND VERNAGTFERNER

Abstract

Adequate water resources management at the basin level needs quality downscaling of climate change scenarios for application to impact assessment and adaptation work. This study evaluates the ability of a regional climate model (RegCM3) to simulate the present-day climate and regional water balance over the Niger River Basin (NRB). RegCM3 gives a good simulation of the NRB hydroclimatic features. The mean bias error for monthly temperature is 1.5°C, 0.3 mm d^-1 for rainfall, and 0.4 mm d^-1 for runoff. Moderate to high correlations (0.66–0.95) were found between the modelled and the observed variables. RegCM3-based water cycling indices were not statistically different from the observation. Seasonal moistening efficiency (m) ranges between 19% and 37%; 66% of the available atmospheric moisture over NRB precipitates between June and September, of which 21% originates from local evaporation. The result suggests that the moisture sink period is July to October with very high precipitation efficiency over the basin. The model reproduces the hydroclimatology of the NRB and hence is a suitable tool for further studies relating to the assessment of climate change impacts on river basin water systems.

Editor Z. W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor D. Hughes     

杭州西湖总磷动态变化预测

建立了西湖污染物分析和浓度变化的水质对流扩散模型,并利用该模型对西湖水体引水后７ｄ内总磷浓度的变化进行了预测,然后对预测结果作了较为详细的分析。