Slumping and shallow faulting related to the presence of salt on the Continental Slope and Rise off North Carolina

Seismic reflection profiles and long- and medium-range sidescan sonar were used to investigate a salt diapir complex and area of slope instability near the base of the Continental Slope off North Carolina. Within the area of investigation three diapirs are bounded on their upslope side by a scarp 60 m high and 50 km long. The slope above the scarp is characterized by a series of shallow rotational normal faults. The bottom below the scarp is furrowed by slide tracks, which were probably carved by large blocks that broke off the scarp face and slid downslope leaving rubble and scree lobes.Extensive slumping in this area appears to be a result of uplift and faulting associated with salt intrusion, which has fractured and oversteepened the slope leading to instability and failure. Sharply defined slide tracks suggest that slope failure above the breached diapir complex is a continuing process, in contrast to much of the surrounding slope area where few instability features were observed.     

Computerized streamflow measurement using slug injection

Using current meters to estimate flows in fast mountain streams is difficult and inaccurate. The salt dilution method offers an easier and more accurate alternative. The method has been used for many years but is time consuming and messy because of the need to mix chemical solutions and measure chemical concentrations in the field. A computer program has been developed which uses a laptop computer to calculate the mixing length and the mass of salt needed. The program controls the conductivity measurements and calculates the streamflow directly in the field. The development of this program is described and examples are presented of the application of the method in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia.     

Comparative tolerance of two estuarine annelids to fluoranthene under normoxic and moderately hypoxic conditions

The tolerance of the oligochaete Monopylephorus rubroniveus and the polychaete Streblospio benedicti to sediment-associated fluoranthene was characterized under normoxic (>80% dissolved oxygen saturation) and moderately hypoxic ( approximately 50% dissolved oxygen saturation) conditions. Under both conditions, M. rubroniveus was highly tolerant of fluoranthene. Streblospio benedicti was considerably less tolerant of fluoranthene compared with M. rubroniveus. In addition, S. benedicti was less tolerant to fluoranthene under moderately hypoxic conditions, although no differences in sensitivity between the two oxygen conditions were observed based upon median lethal tissue residues. Bioaccumulation factors were higher for S. benedicti exposed to moderate hypoxia, suggesting that behavioral adaptations to compensate for the lower dissolved oxygen increased its bioaccumulation of fluoranthene. The results of the present laboratory study demonstrate that (1). changes in annelid tolerance to fluoranthene under varying oxygen conditions is a species-dependent phenomenon and (2). the differential tolerance of these two annelids to these combined stressors is consistent with their relative abundances in the field.     

Overburden deformation associated with halokinesis in the Southern North Sea: implications for the origin of the Silverpit Crater

Gravitational collapse in response to the creation of salt swells and diapirs is a common phenomenon within regions such as the Southern North Sea. Although collapse faulting and slumping of linear salt swell flanks has previously been documented, the existence of concentric collapse structures surrounding diapirs and isolated salt lows is a recently recognised feature. 3-D seismic data from the Southern North Sea demonstrates that concentric collapse faulting around both diapirs and subcircular salt lows is common. The recognition of concentric collapse structures formed in response to salt withdrawal, and adjacent inflation, provides an alternative mechanism for the origin of the proposed Silverpit impact crater.     

西藏扎布耶碳酸盐型盐湖卤水相化学研究

中国盐湖资源丰富,且水化学类型齐全。西藏扎布耶盐湖位于西藏高原腹地,该湖卤水水化学类型为碳酸盐型,已处于盐湖演化晚期,是一个固液共存的盐湖矿床,具有很好的工业开发价值。笔者分别在15℃、25℃下对该卤水进行了等温蒸发实验,研究了在此两个温度下卤水中各元素富集行为和盐类矿物析出规律。并通过讨论其与国内外碳酸盐型和硫酸盐型锂盐湖的卤水蒸发路径和矿物析出异同,指出扎布耶盐湖具有其独特的卤水蒸发析盐路径。在本实验中低温有利于卤水中锂的富集,而高温有利于硼的富集,碳酸锂和钾盐交叉析出,低温时钾的矿物主要为钾石盐,高温时主要为钾芒硝,高温有利于获得高品位的碳酸锂混盐。     

沼泽湿地环境演变研究回顾与展望——纪念中国科学东北地理与农业生态研究所建所50周年

沼泽湿地是地球表层功能独特的生态系统,在其形成发育、时空演化及分异等方面与其它生态系统存在明显差异。中国科学院东北地理所(原长春地理所)在沼泽湿地形成发育、时空演化研究方面有丰富的学科积累。1958年,中国科学院确定沼泽为该所的主攻方向,成为中国最早的专门性沼泽研究机构之一,至今已满50周年。50年来,几代科研人员为沼泽湿地环境演变研究工作贡献了他们的青春年华,取得了丰硕的研究成果。     

不规则网土壤测量在水系沉积物异常查证中的应用

在大兴安岭森林沼泽景观区,植被茂盛、土壤表层腐殖质发育,且通视条件差,运用传统的规则网土壤测量方法进行1/5万水系沉积物异常查证,工作周期长、劳动强度大;采用不规则网土壤测量方法进行异常查证,取得了快速评价异常、追踪异常源,缩短找矿周期的效果。     

Hydrodynamics of salt marsh creek systems: Implications for marsh morphological development and material exchange

Integrated ebb-aligned drainage systems are a feature of tide-dominated marshes, and are generally regarded as major conduits for material exchange. In north Norfolk, highly unsteady creek flows exhibit well-developed velocity and stress transients which result from the discontinuous nature of the tidal prism and the interaction of shallow water tidal inputs with hydraulically rough vegetated surfaces. Marsh morphological development is governed by a form-process feedback, in the sense that the marsh surface acts as a topographic threshold separating the depositional regime of below-marsh tides from the erosional (ebb-dominated) regime of over-marsh tides. Vertical marsh growth results in increasing intermittency of creek sediment transport. Furthermore, velocity transients are associated with large discharges which must be allowed for in material flux computations. Creek flux measurements are not in themselves sufficient to estimate total material budgets, since a large proportion of tidal exchange may take place via the marsh edge. Such studies should focus instead on direct measurement of marsh surface processes. These findings have relevance beyond this back-barrier setting to marshes of different geometry, occupying a broad range of the tidal energy spectrum.