Tracing variability of run‐off generation in mountainous permafrost of semi‐arid north‐eastern Mongolia

The headwaters of mountainous, discontinuous permafrost regions in north‐eastern Mongolia are important water resources for the semi‐arid country, but little is known about hydrological processes there. Run‐off generation on south‐facing slopes, which are devoid of permafrost, has so far been neglected and is totally unknown for areas that have been affected by recent forest fires. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study applied artificial tracers on a steppe‐vegetated south‐facing and on two north‐facing slopes, burned and unburned. Combined sprinkling and dye tracer experiments were used to visualize processes of infiltration and water fluxes in the unsaturated zone. On the unburned north‐facing slope, rapid and widespread infiltration through a wet organic layer was observed down to the permafrost. On the burned profile, rapid infiltration occurred through a combusted organic and underlying mineral layer. Stained water seeped out at the bottom of both profiles suggesting a general tendency to subsurface stormflow (SSF). Ongoing SSF could directly be studied 24 h after a high‐intensity rainfall event on a 55‐m hillslope section in the burned forest. Measurements of water temperature proved the role of the permafrost layer as a base horizon for SSF. Repeated tracer injections allowed direct insights into SSF dynamics: A first injection suggested rather slow dispersive subsurface flow paths; whereas 18 h later, a second injection traced a more preferential flow system with 20 times quicker flow velocities. We speculate that these pronounced SSF dynamics are limited to burned slopes where a thermally insulating organic layer is absent. On three south‐facing soil profiles, the applied tracer remained in the uppermost 5 cm of a silt‐rich mineral soil horizon. No signs of preferential infiltration could be found, which suggested reduced biological activity under a harsh, dry and cold climate. Instead, direct observations, distributed tracers and charcoal samples provided evidence for the occurrence of overland flow. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of the Platinum-Group Elements and Gold in Twenty Rock Reference Materials by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) after Pre-Concentration by Nickel Sulfide Fire Assay

The platinum-group elements (PGE) and gold have been determined in twenty international rock reference materials by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after pre-concentration by a nickel sulfide fire assay. It was possible to achieve determination limits for a 50 g sample that ranged from 1 pg g^-1 (Rh) to 23 pg g^-1 (Au). Compared to published certified and recommended values for rock reference materials, the trueness of the method was found to be good. However, in some cases we observed large deviations for all elements in the sub 10 ng g^-1 range within individual reference sample splits. Our results show that the PGE and Au are inhomogeneously distributed in the reference materials analysed here, where they are present in low concentrations, using 50 g test portions.     

油气储运系统钢结构设备地震火灾效应研究

预防和减轻油气储运系统地震火灾危险性是防震减灾中的重要课题。本文论述了油气储运系统的地震火灾特征及防火要求，对钢结构的防火涂料在遭到破坏和平时情况下的抗火性能进行了对比分析，并应用有限元法对油气储运系统中典型钢结构设备在地震火灾荷载作用下的抗火性能进行了数值模拟。研究结果表明，防火涂料遭到强地震荷载破坏后，钢结构的抗火性能大大降低。     

Improved Platinum-Group Element Extraction by NiS Fire Assay from Chromitite Ore Samples Using a Flux Containing Sodium Metaphosphate

Many chromite-rich rocks contain relatively high concentrations of the platinum-group elements (PGE). In many cases, the phases carrying PGE occur as either platinum-group minerals (PGM) or as base metal sulfides in solid solution in sulfides. In some cases, such as the UG-2 unit of the Bushveld Complex, the PGM are occluded inside chromite grains. Chromites are notably difficult to dissolve in most fluxes and if the chromite contains some PGM the possibility exists that not all the PGE will be recovered during fusion. In this work, shortcomings in published methods of analysis based on the nickel sulfide fire assay procedure were investigated and a new procedure developed based on the addition of sodium metaphosphate to the fusion mixture. Optimum composition of the fusion mixture was found to be 10 g sodium metaphosphate and 9 g silica to 10 g sample, 15 g sodium carbonate, 30 g lithium tetraborate, 7.5 g nickel and 4.5 g sulfur to achieve complete dissolution of chromite grains. The new flux mixture was evaluated by the analysis of reference material CHR-Pt+ (which is known to contain PGM inside chromite grains) and no undissolved chromite grains were found in the glassy slag. Analysis of the nickel sulfide beads from this fire assay using neutron activation analysis showed similar results for Rh and Ru when compared with published conventional true (or accepted) values, while Au, Ir, Os, Pd and Pt values determined here were 10 to 30% higher than the corresponding published conventional true values. It was concluded that the addition of sodium metaphosphate improved chromite dissolution in the flux and appears to improve PGE recovery.     

The effect of wildfire on runoff and erosion in native Eucalyptus forest

Wildfires raise concerns over the risk of accelerated erosion as a result of increased overland flow and decreased protection of the soil by litter and ground vegetation cover. We investigated these issues following the 1994 fires that burnt large areas of native Eucalyptus forest surrounding Sydney, Australia. A review of previous studies identifies the fire and rainfall conditions that are likely to lead to increased runoff and accelerated erosion. We then compare runoff and erosion between burnt and unburnt sites for 10 months after the 1994 fires. At the scale of hillslope plots, the 1994 fire increased runoff by enhancing soil hydrophobicity, and greatly increased sediment transport, mainly through the reduced ground cover, which lowered substantially the threshold for initial sediment movement. However, both runoff and sediment transport were very localized, resulting in little runoff or sediment yield after the fire at the hillslope catchment scale. We identify that after moderately intense fires, rainfall events of greater than one year recurrence interval are required to generate substantial runoff and sediment yield. Such events did not occur during the monitoring period. Past work shows that mild burns have little effect on erosion, and it is only after the most extreme fires that erosion is produced from small, frequent storms. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

煤田火区环境影响综合评价指标体系与评价方法

在研究煤田火区对自然-社会经济系统影响的基础上,提出了煤田火区环境影响综合评价指标体系的构建思路,建立了煤田火区环境影响评价的一般性指标体系,包括5级32个指标。以内蒙古乌达煤田火区为实例,论述了煤火环境影响综合评价的实施过程。根据煤田火区特征,在一般指标体系框架内确定了23个评价指标,采用层次分析法与综合指数法相结合,建立了火区环境影响综合评价公式。评价结果表明,乌达煤田火区对环境的影响为较严重水平,与定性分析结果相符。     

火险等级评估方法与应用分析

森林草原火灾不仅严重危害到社会和人民财产安全,还危及到我国生态安全。火险等级评估作为科学防火的一个重要方法,可以为森林草原防火提供科学有效的决策支持信息。本文在已有相关研究总结的基础之上,针对火险等级评估方法和应用进行了如下分析。并定义阐述了火险等级评估研究中的相关概念;对火灾危险评估已使用过的指标进行了总结,简要分析了各类评估指标对火灾的影响;总结和分析了已有的火险等级评估方法;并介绍了针对我国北方四省森林草原生态环境特点简要分析了遥感反演指标的火险等级评估应用。     

甘肃省森林、草原火灾定量判识方法研究

利用EOS/MODIS资料分析了2002年12月到2003年5月发生在甘肃省的6次草原、森林火灾的火区、火灾影响区及环境的亮温关系,结果表明:火区、火灾影响区及正常环境区在20通道与31通道的亮温存在近似的临界值,即(T20-T31)/T20<0.08的区域为正常环境区;0.08<(T20-T31)/T20<0.093的区域为火灾影响区;(T20-T31)/T20>0.093的区域为火区。同时此方法对"4.15"迭部森林火灾进行定量分析表明:此方法对火灾不同区域的判识及火灾面积的估算有很好的效果,为火灾监测及火灾面积的估算提供了一定的参考依据。     

白云母、高岭石矿物中羟基的o同位素分析方法研究

羟基矿物内部存在两种位于不同结构位置上的氧原子硅氧四面体氧和羟基氧,二者之间的Ｏ同位素分馏可能比任何共生矿物对都大,是一种潜在的单矿物同位素地质温度计。单矿物同位素地质温度计较矿物对同位素地质温度计有很多优点。准确测量矿物中羟基的Ｏ同位素组成是建立单矿物同位素地质温度计的关键。本文介绍了一种精确测量白云母、高岭石矿物中羟基的Ｏ同位素组成的新方法火焰加热真空脱水氟化法。δ１８ＯＯＨ的分析精度达到０３‰,羟基氧的提取率达到９９％～１００％。实验证明羟基矿物在高温真空脱水过程中不存在Ｏ同位素动力学分馏,羟基水     

Atmospheric boundary-layer structure observed during a haze event due to forest-fire smoke

During a haze event in Baltimore, U.S.A. from July 6 to 8, 2002, smoke from forest fires in the Québec region (Canada), degraded air quality and impacted upon local climate, decreasing solar radiation and air temperature. The smoke particles in and above the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) served as a tracer and provided a unique opportunity to investigate the ABL structure, especially entrainment. Elastic backscatter lidar measurements taken during the haze event distinctly reveal the downward sweeps (or wisps) of smoke-laden air from the free atmosphere into the ABL. Visualisations of mechanisms such as dry convection, the entrainment process, detrainment, coherent entrainment structures, and mixing inside the ABL, are presented. Thermals overshooting at the ABL top are shown to create disturbances in the form of gravity waves in the free atmosphere aloft, as evidenced by a corresponding ripple structure at the bottom of the smoke layer. Lidar data, aerosol ground-based measurements and supporting meteorological data are used to link free atmosphere, mixed-layer and ground-level aerosols. During the peak period of the haze event (July 7, 2002), the correlation between time series of elastic backscatter lidar data within the mixed layer and the scattering coefficient from a nephelometer at ground level was found to be high (R=0.96 for z =324 m, and R=0.89 for z=504 m). Ground-level aerosol concentration was at a maximum about 2 h after the smoke layer intersected with the growing ABL, confirming that the wisps do not initially reach the ground.