A review of the geochemistry of methane in natural gas hydrate

The largest accumulations on Earth of natural gas are in the form of gas hydrate, found mainly offshore in outer continental margin sediment and, to a lesser extent, in polar regions commonly associated with permafrost. Measurements of hydrocarbon gas compositions and of carbon-isotopic compositions of methane from natural gas hydrate samples, collected in subaquatic settings from around the world, suggest that methane guest molecules in the water clathrate structures are mainly derived by the microbial reduction of CO₂ from sedimentary organic matter. Typically, these hydrocarbon gases are composed of > 99% methane, with carbon-isotopic compositions (δ¹³C_PDB) ranging from − 57 to − 73‰. In only two regions, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caspian Sea, has mainly thermogenic methane been found in gas hydrate. There, hydrocarbon gases have methane contents ranging from 21 to 97%, with δ¹³C values ranging from − 29 to − 57‰. At a few locations, where the gas hydrate contains a mixture of microbial and thermal methane, microbial methane is always dominant. Continental gas hydrate, identified in Alaska and Russia, also has hydrocarbon gases composed of > 99% methane, with carbon-isotopic compositions ranging from − 41 to − 49‰. These gas hydrate deposits also contain a mixture of microbial and thermal methane, with thermal methane likely to be dominant. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd     

Thermal convection of soil air on hillsides

Although diffusion is usually considered to be the main transport process for volatile constituents in the unsaturated zone of soils and other surficial materials, an alternative process of thermally driven convection may be significant, especially on hillsides and over irregular bedrock. Convection in this mode is driven by buoyancy forces arising from differences in soil-air density in a temperature gradient. For bodies with sloping boundaries, the conventional Rayleigh criterion is not directly applicable, so that flow of air is possible in a wide variety of situations. Numerical simulations for several simple cases show that air convection is expected within relatively permeable materials such as sandy soils, gravel deposits, and talus on slopes.     

华北蓟县元古界长城系串岭沟组岩石的古地磁再研究

华北蓟县剖面串岭构组5个点37个样品的热退磁再研究成果,获得极位为239.1°E和22.2°N,k=82,A₉₅=8.5°,落在已建立的蓟县元古界的视极移轨迹的常州组极和团山子组极之间连线附近,合理而可信.结果还表明测试的(次)火山岩与沉积岩是准同生的,可用作钻石U-Pb法测年对象.     

Thermal omens before earthquakes

IntroductionTopredictwherethedisastrousearthquakeoccursisoneofthegreatestproblemswhichconcernsthepublicmostandisdifficulttoresolvebythescienceandtechnologyoftoday.Inordertoresolvetheproblemandreducethelossofanearthquake,aseriesofobservationsystemshavebeeninstalledaroundtheworldtoattempttofindsomeomenbeforeaneanhquake.Butmostoftheearthquakepredictionsarefailedbecauseof"lookonewayandrowanother".Itshowsthatthecapabilityoftheobservationsystemofthestress-strainfieldandotherphysicparameterfields,whi…     

Meridian-scanning photometer, coherent HF radar, and magnetometer observations of the cusp: a case study

The dynamics of the cusp region and post-noon sector for an interval of predominantly IMF B_y, B_z < 0 nT are studied with the CUTLASS Finland coherent HF radar, a meridian-scanning photometer located at Ny Ålesund, Svalbard, and a meridional network of magnetometers. The scanning mode of the radar is such that one beam is sampled every 14 s, and a 30° azimuthal sweep is completed every 2 minutes, all at 15 km range resolution. Both the radar backscatter and red line (630 nm) optical observations are closely co-located, especially at their equatorward boundary. The optical and radar aurora reveal three different behaviours which can interchange on the scale of minutes, and which are believed to be related to the dynamic nature of energy and momentum transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere through transient dayside reconnection. Two interpretations of the observations are presented, based upon the assumed location of the open/closed field line boundary (OCFLB). In the first, the OCFLB is co-located with equatorward boundary of the optical and radar aurora, placing most of the observations on open field lines. In the second, the observed aurora are interpreted as the ionospheric footprint of the region 1 current system, and the OCFLB is placed near the poleward edge of the radar backscatter and visible aurora; in this interpretation, most of the observations are placed on closed field lines, though transient brightenings of the optical aurora occur on open field lines. The observations reveal several transient features, including poleward and equatorward steps in the observed boundaries, braiding of the backscatter power, and 2 minute quasi-periodic enhancements of the plasma drift and optical intensity, predominantly on closed field lines.     

三峡东区春季首次强降水的气候特征

应用１６年ＮＭＣ常规资料和卫星ＯＬＲ资料,分析了三峡东区春季首欠强降水的气候特征,其特点：以西路冷空气影响为主,与高原的对流系统有直接联系,从中南半岛向东北,经我国西南的低层暖湿空气输送带是春季强降水的必要条件。     

ISUAL探测器在青藏高原南麓地区对于红色精灵现象的观测分析

本文利用福卫二号卫星（FORMOSAT-2）搭载的高空大气闪电影像仪（Imager of Sprites and Upper Atmospheric Lightnings, ISUAL）于2004～2015年期间获得的数据，分析了青藏高原南麓地区（22°～30°N, 86°～98°E）观测到的多例红色精灵事件。通过与全球闪电定位网（World Wide Lightning Location Network，WWLLN）的观测资料进行对比，在分析了17次个例后发现对于大部分红色精灵事件，ISUAL给出的定位效果较好，与WWLLN的闪电定位结果偏差一般小于50 km，这与在北美及其邻近地区得到的结果一致。在此基础上，我们结合风云二号卫星的云顶亮温数据分析了青藏高原南麓地区红色精灵的母体雷暴特征，发现在青藏高原南麓地区除了中尺度对流系统外，小尺度对流系统也是这个地区产生红色精灵的主要天气系统。     

闪电定位资料在天山北坡强对流天气短临预警中的分析及应用

选用2013—2015年4—9月天山北坡短时强降雨和冰雹过程,及其前后对应的闪电定位资料进行研究。通过分析,发现两种强对流天气过程前后正、负闪均在一定范围内呈波动性变化,且均以负闪为主。两种强对流过程前后均有2次闪电突增现象,且都是第一次突增现象更具指导意义,突增现象发生在强对流天气开始前10～40 min不等,持续时间10～20 min,突增量在2～8次。可得出闪电极性和闪电突增在强对流短临预警中的阈值。     

地形效应校正的遥感地热异常提取

在山地复杂地形条件下,利用热红外遥感获得的地表温度分布显著受到地形的影响,真实的地热异常信息往往难以识别,热红外遥感应用于山区地热勘探受到极大限制。以广东龙川地热勘查区为研究区,初步探讨了山地环境中如何抑制地形效应,以有效提取地热异常。首先,基于Landsat ETM+遥感数据反演地表温度,分析坡向和坡度两个地形因子与地表温度的关系;然后,在此基础上,将研究区的地表温度按坡向分成3个子区(阳坡、过渡坡和阴坡),根据阳坡地表温度与坡向的线性拟合关系将其校正到水平坡度上;最后,结合地质构造分布和地表覆被情况,在3个子区识别了4处地热异常,并与已知地热点进行比较验证。结果表明:坡向分区和阳坡坡度校正能够有效抑制地形效应,提高遥感地热异常识别精度,为山区地热资源的预测评价提供新思路。