Planning and construction of Xiong’an New Area(city of over 5 million people):Contributions of China’s geologists and urban geology

China established Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province in 2017,which is planned to accommodate about 5 million people,aiming to relieve Beijing City of the functions non-essential to its role as China’s capital and to expedite the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.From 2017 to 2021,the China Geological Survey(CGS)took the lead in multi-factor urban geological surveys involving space,resources,environments,and disasters according to the general requirements of“global vision,international standards,distinctive Chinese features,and future-oriented goals”in Xiong’an New Area,identifying the engineering geologic conditions and geologic environmental challenges of this area.The achievements also include a 3D engineering geological structure model for the whole area,along with“one city proper and five clusters”,insights into the ecology and the background endowment of natural resources like land,geothermal resources,groundwater,and wetland of the area before engineering construction,a comprehensive monitoring network of resources and environments in the area,and the“Transparent Xiong’an”geological information platform that is open,shared,dynamically updated,and three-dimensionally visualized.China’s geologists and urban geology have played a significant role in the urban planning and construction of Xiong’an New Area,providing whole-process geological solutions for urban planning,construction,operation and management.The future urban construction of Xiong’an New Area will necessitate the theoretical and technical support of earth system science(ESS)from various aspects,and the purpose is to enhance the resilience of the new type of city and to provide support for the green,low-carbon,and sustainable development of this area.

Influence of underground space development mode on the groundwater flow field in Xiong’an new area

The degree and scale of underground space development are growing with the continuous advancement of urbanization in China.The lack of research on the change of the groundwater flow field before and after the development of underground space has led to various problems in the process of underground space development and operation.This paper took the key development zone of the Xiong’an New Area as the study area,and used the Groundwater modeling system software(GMS)to analyse the influence on the groundwater flow field under the point,line,and surface development modes.The main results showed that the underground space development would lead to the expansion and deepening of the cone of depression in the aquifer.The groundwater level on the upstream face of the underground structure would rise,while the water level on the downstream face would drop.The“line”concurrent development has the least impact on the groundwater flow field,and the maximum rise of water level on the upstream side of the underground structure is expected to be approximately 3.05 m.The“surface”development has the greatest impact on the groundwater flow field,and the maximum rise of water level is expected to be 7.17 m.

3-D geologic architecture of Xiong＇an New Area： Constraints from seismic reflection data

Studying the geologic architecture of the Xiong'an New Area will provide important basis for the evaluation of crustal stability, urban planning and infrastructural projects in this region, and it is also of great significance in exploring the occurrence of oil and gas, geothermal, hot dry rock and other resources. The stratigraphic system of the study area is established by using latest high quality seismic reflection and deep borehole data. Characteristics of the major faults developed in the study area are finely depicted with the method of structural analysis. Tectonic evolution of Xiong'an and adjacent areas is reconstructed by using balanced geological cross-section technique. The tectonic activity of the study area is discussed on the basis of the development of secondary faults and the distribution of active earthquakes across the region. This study demonstrates that Xiong'an New Area is located at the transfer zone of the central and northern Jizhong Depression. There are three regional unconformities developed in this area, by which four structural layers are sub-divided. Controlled by the Taihang Mountain piedmont fault, the Daxing fault, the Rongcheng fault and the Niudong fault, the structural framework of the study area is characterized by intervening highs with sags. This structural pattern has an important controlling over the reservoir characteristics, hydrocarbon accumulation and the distribution of geothermal resources and hot dry rock within this region. Rifting in this area began in the early Paleogene, exhibiting typical episodic character and became inactive in Neogene. The development feature of secondary faults along with the distribution of active earthquakes indicate that Xiong'an New Area has been in a relatively stable tectonic setting since the Neogene, while the Baxian Sag and other structural units to the east of it have obviously been in a rather active environment.

Hydrogeochemical characteristics of groundwater and pore-water and the paleoenvironmental evolution in the past 3.10 Ma in the Xiong’an New Area,North China

The groundwater level has been continuously decreasing due to climate change and long-time overexploitation in the Xiong’an New Area,North China,which caused the enhanced mixing of groundwater in different aquifers and significant changes in regional groundwater chemistry characteristics.In this study,groundwater and sediment pore-water in drilling cores obtained from a 600 m borehole were investigated to evaluate hydrogeochemical processes in shallow and deep aquifers and paleo-environmental evolution in the past ca.3.10 Ma.Results showed that there was no obvious change overall in chemical composition along the direction of groundwater runoff,but different hydrochemical processes occurred in shallow and deep groundwater in the vertical direction.Shallow groundwater(<150 m)in the Xiong’an New Area was characterized by high salinity(TDS>1000 mg/L)and high concentrations of Mn and Fe,while deep groundwater had better water quality with lower salinity.The high TDS values mostly occurred in aquifers with depth<70 m and>500 m below land surface.Water isotopes showed that aquifer pore-water mostly originated from meteoric water under the influence of evaporation,and aquitard pore-water belonged to Paleo meteoric water.In addition,the evolution of the paleoclimate since 3.10 Ma BP was reconstructed,and four climate periods were determined by theδ18O profiles of pore-water and sporopollen records from sediments at different depths.It can be inferred that the Quaternary Pleistocene(0.78‒2.58 Ma BP)was dominated by the cold and dry climate of the glacial period,with three interglacial intervals of warm and humid climate.What’s more,this study demonstrates the possibilities of the applications of pore-water on the hydrogeochemical study and further supports the finding that pore-water could retain the feature of paleo-sedimentary water.

Linear trends in mean and extreme temperature in Xiongan New Area, China

On 1 April 2017 China established Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province, which was described as ‘a strategy crucial for a millennium to come＇. A point of interest for the public is to be aware of the historical climate change in this new area; however, results from previous global-scale or largerregional-scale averages provide relatively limited information because of the distinct regional differences in climate change. This study analyzes the changes in mean and extreme temperature in this area, based on homogenized daily temperature data for the period 1960–2016. The results show a significant warming in the indices of annual, summer, and winter mean temperature（Tmean）, maximum temperature（Tmax）, and minimum temperature（Tmin）. The linear rate of annual Tmean is 0.34 °C/decade. Temperatures on the hottest day, the warmest night, the coldest day, and the coldest night, every year, all show increasing trends, with the trends in the two nighttime-related indices being significant. An increasing occurrence of warm days, warm nights, hot days, and tropical nights, but a decreasing occurrence of cold days, cold nights, icing days, and frost days, are found, all of which are significant, except for the occurrences of hot days and icing days. A significant extension of the length of the thermal growing season is also found. The magnitudes of change in most of the temperature indices in Xiongan New Area are larger than those of the adjacent Jing-Jin-Ji and North China regional mean. These results could provide valuable information for policymakers, city planners, engineers, and migrants to this new area.

Land Subsidence in Xiong’an New Area,China Revealed by InSAR Observations

In 2017,China’s central government approved the national strategy to build Xiong’an New Area(XNA,100 km southwest to Beijing),which was announced as a"millennium strategy"and a"demo area"for a sustainable,modern,and innovative urban model.Xiong’an will draw in as much as$380 billion investment and is expected to help accelerate the development of the wider Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(Jingjinji)Area.In this paper,present subsidence in the XNA area is investigated using InSAR observations for the first time.The 24 SAR images acquired by European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellites during the period from June 2017 to July 2018 suggest that in the north of Xiong County,the subsidence rate reaches up to 90 mm/y,which is highly correlated with the exploitation of geothermal drilling.As the construction in the XNA area will significantly accelerate and its high-quality development,the InSAR findings could provide valuable information for future sustainable urban planning and underground infrastructure construction.

The Importance of Environmental English Public Signs to Xiong’an New Area’s Ecological Environment in China

With the establishment and development of Xiong’an New Area in China, more foreign industries and visitors will be attracted to come here. Investigations made in our study show that the environmental English public signs are very important. They can offer directions for foreigners who can’t understand Chinese well because they have these three functions: indication, suggestion and prohibition. In order to help Xiong’an New Area play its “eco card”, the translators are supposed to attach great importance to the translation of environmental English public signs.

Strategic Explanation and Planning of Xiong＇ an New Area

Baiyangdian Technology Town initiated in 2015 is the pre -form of Xiong＇ an New Ar-ea which is both a national new area and a national special economic zone. Xiong＇ an New Areacan be regarded as an exploration of alternative mechanism of metropolitan space which fits the ruleof urban development. Xiong＇ an New Area is a national new area of the highest rank approved inthe process of National New Urbanization Plan. Therefore, the strategic positioning is supposed tobe fit in the new urbanization strategy and to have major leading and prototype functions in solvingthe problems of old style urbanization. Xiong＇ an New Area is to undertake great preas in preventingthe over gathering, which is a major task and principle of the planning.

Analysis of Air Pollutants in Xiong’an New Area Based on MATLAB Grey Model

The purpose of this paper is to study the air pollutants in Xiong’an New Area based on MATLAB grey model [1]. From 2011 to 2016, the results of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and inhalable particulate matter (PM1O) detected at monitoring points in the three counties of Xiong’an were analyzed. According to the national environmental air quality standard [2], the air quality in Xiong’an New Area was reasonably evaluated based on grey model in MATLAB. Judging from the weight of pollution factors in the model, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is the controlling factor of air quality in Xiong’an New Area, and the weight of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gradually increases. The main sources of the three pollutants were obtained by comprehensive data analysis, and a grey model was established according to the mass concentration of the main air pollutants, and the grey forecasting model was tested. The experimental results show that the model can be effectively applied to the forecasting of ambient air quality. On this basis, the present situation of atmospheric environmental quality in Xiong’an New Area and suggestions for improvement are obtained.

Can We Manage Coastal Area? Will We?——The Institutional Change of the Coastal Area Management of Taiwan

The Coastal Zone Management Act was finally promulgated in 2015,while Ministry of the Interior was asked to draft a coastal management act in 1991 by Executive Yuan.It was until the government’s lifting of martial law in 1987,vigorous activities started prevailing on coastal areas.And relevant legal documents were on sea reclamation for development in the 1980’s by Council of Agriculture.The approval of“Taiwan Coastal Area Natural Environment Protection Plan”showed an era of environmental protection in 1980s.However,it was surely not market driven,similar to land development,but some efforts by the administration systems.Through all the years,the efforts were put on drafting plans and these efforts were not quite sounding.The coastal disasters and further climate change caught the attention of relevant NGOs,scholars,politicians,and the society.At the critical juncture the government was made to react to outside demands.And then the Coastal Zone Management Act was passed by Legislative Yuan,establishing an integrated coastal management system in Taiwan.As such,it is proposed to look into this long process of the attempt with the concept of institutional change in order to understand this coastal environmental preservation and protection issue in a broader scope.

Selection of New Energy Development Models in Rural Jilin Province under Different Situations

Jilin Province’s vast rural areas are endowed with abundant new energy resources,which provide a fundamental condition for the development of new energy in rural Jilin.This paper will explore the various possibilities of new energy development in rural Jilin under the background of grid infrastructure construction,the deepening of electricity market reform,the modernization of agriculture and rural areas,and the transformation of energy.It will draw conclusions on the reasonable development models of new energy in rural Jilin under different scenarios,providing a reference for the development of new energy in rural Jilin and rural revitalization.

Spatial Distribution of Soil Salinization Based on GIS in Tianjin Binhai New Area

The distribution of soil salinization was investigated based on GIS and field sampling in Tianjin Binhai New Area. The results showed that the average soil total salt content was 0.818%, with an average pH of 8.43, and the average CI and Na＋ contents were 0.27% and 0.22%, respectively. Presenting zonal distribution feature, the soil total salt content increased gradually from west to east of Binhai New Area. Statistics on the distribution areas of different salinization degrees showed that the area of non-salinzed soils only accounted for 3.18% of the total area; with an area of 107.43 km2, mild saline soil accounted for 6.34% of the total area; the area of moderate saline soil was 173.51 km2, accounting for 10.24%; and the area of sal- inzed soils was 217.36 km2, accounting for 12.82% of the total soil area. The area of saline soils （total salt content 〉0.6%） was 1 142.8 km2, accounting 67.42% of the total land area in Binhai New Area. And the areas for the soils with total salt content of 0.6%-1.0%, 1.0%-1.5%, 〉1.5% were respectively 388.47, 411.82, 342.51 km2, accounting for 22.92%, 24.3%, 20.21% of the total area.

Analysis on the land use and cover change in Tianjin Binhai New Area based on the remote sensing

This paper carries out quantitative analysis on the land use/cover （LU/C） change of 13anjin Binhai New Area in recent 10 years through using land use transition matrix from the three-stage LU/C classification maps of 2000, 2005 and 2010 drafted by means of the National Land Classification System of China based on Landsat TM satellite remote sensing image and the Tianjin Binhai New Area 1：50 000 relief maps. On this basis, the impact of such driving factors as the economy and population on LU/C is further analyzed. The results show that the area of the building land in Binhai New Area has increased significantly over the ten years, and the greenland, wetland, and shoals of high ecological value have been dramatically transformed into the building land and unused land for the development and construction, and the change is more significant in the later five years.

Study on the Spatial Pattern Changes of Land Use Based on Fractal Dimensions in Tianjin New Coastal Area

[Objective] The aim was to discuss the spatial pattern changes of land use in Tianjin new coastal area based on fractal dimensions.[Method] By dint of remote and geographic information system technology to obtain the data of urban land use in new coastal area from 1993 to 2008,the boundary dimension,radius dimension and information dimension of each land use type were calculated based on fractal dimension.In addition,the revealed land use spatial dimension changes characteristics were analyzed.[Result] The spatial distribution of each land use type in new costal area had distinct fractal characteristics.And,the amount and changes of three types of dimension values effectively revealed the changes of complicatedness,centeredness and evenness of spatial pattern of land use in the study area.The boundary dimension of unused land and salty earth increased incessantly,which suggested its increasing complicatedness.The boundary of the port and wharf and shoal land was getting simpler.The radius dimension of the cultivated land was larger than 2,which suggested that its area spread from center to the surroundings;the one in salty land and waters distributed evenly within different radius space to the center of the city;the one in other land use types reduced gradually from center to the surroundings.The information dimension value in the woodland and orchard land,unused land and shoal land was small,and was in obvious concentrated distribution;the spatial distribution of cultivated and salty land concentrated in the outside area;the construction area in the port and wharf spread gradually on the basis of original state;the spatial distribution of waters and residents and mines were even.[Conclusion] Applying fractal dimensions to the study of spatial pattern changes of urban land use can make up for some disadvantages in classical urban spatial pattern quantitative research,which has favorable practical value.

Concept Planning of Ecological Landscapes on Urban Fringes——A Case Study of Landscape Concept Planning of Shiling Area in the Eastern New District of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province of China

With Shiling Area of Eastern New District in Chengdu City as a background, concept design scheme was put forward from the perspective of ecological landscape through analyzing present development and ecological landscapes of the study area, applying philosophic thinking and Abstract concepts, and also combining with actual conditions of Chengdu, and meanwhile, concepts, orientation and functional structure of the eco-landscape concept planning were proposed. Key points of the planning were elaborated from 4 perspectives of spatial structure, traffic organization, spatial sequence and plant configuration to discuss spatial configuration of ecological landscapes on the fringes of Chengdu City, then further improve functions of ecological landscapes and quality of ecological environment, and put the concept planning into the construction practice of urban fringes.

Analyzing land use characteristics of rural settlements on the urban fringe of Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, China

The objective of this paper is to analyze land use characteristics of rural settlements in urban fringe so as to provide references for optimizing the regional distribution of rural settlements, consolidating rural settlements, and coordinating urban-rural integrated development. The methods of spatial statistical analysis, buffer analysis, Ripley's K function, kernel density analysis based on GIS(Geographic Information System) were used to analyze the characteristics of scale, spatial differentiation and spatial patterns of the rural settlements in Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing Municipality of China. The fractal dimension formula was also developed to reflect fractal feature of the rural settlements. The results show that, the scale of rural settlements in Liangjang New Area takes on distinct characteristics of spatial differentiation along with changes in elevation, gradient, location, geohazards distribution, and the like. The fractal characteristic of rural settlements has obvious regional variations subject to the 6 factors of location in the Liangjiang New Area. Overall, the worse the terrain conditions are, the larger the fractal dimension values become. The better the locationconditions, the larger the fractal dimension values are. The spatial pattern in the township scale presents three kinds of distribution as being aggregated, uniform and random. In contract, the spatial pattern in the plaque scale displays a banding distribution from a general view with several aggregation zones centering on each town center. From the results, we can see that the characteristics of rural settlements in urban fringe are more complicated. For such kind of rural settlements in special regions, in the rural land consolidation more attention should be paid to improve the rural living environments and public services, as well as to promote the harmonious relationship between the urban and rural areas.

A New Type of REE Deposit Found in Clay Rock at the Top of the Permian Emeishan Basalt in the Yunnan-Guizhou Area

Objective A set of REE-rich clay rocks is formed at the top of the Emeishan basalt in the eastern Yunnan-Western Guizhou area,accompanied by Nb,Zr,Ga.It is a new type of REE deposit and has great resource potential.This paper introduces its metallogenic conditions and element occurrence states,discusses the genetic mechanism.

Research on the Harmonious Development of New Rural Communities under the Perspective of Balancing Urban and Rural Areas

On the basis of offering a definition of New Rural Communities (NRCs), the paper analyzes the values of New Rural Communities and argues that the construction of NRCs is able to contribute to the enhancement of the comprehensive agricultural production capability as well as the development of social productivity. Meanwhile the incomes of the rural residents can be boosted, which denotes the realization of a harmonious society where the achievements of China's reform and development are shared by each citizen. Moreover, the construction of NRCs facilitates the economization of land use and thus improves the overall living standard of the residents, while helping to cut the administrative cost and promote democracy at the primary level. This paper also points out various problems arising during the construction of NRCS in China: blindly following suit in accordance with the modes of the urban communities; lack of funds, which leads to the absence of the supporting mechanisms of NRCs; vague positioning and the ensuing shortage of impetus for continued development. Finally, the paper raises the corresponding measures and suggestions: first, based on reality, make overall planning and scientific arrangement; second, the government should play the dominant role while respecting the principal position of the rural residents and introducing the market mechanism; third, increase science and technology input and attach equal importance to economic and social benefits; fourth, broaden fund-raising channels while completing the supervision mechanism.

New Progress of Oil and Gas Research in the Tonghua Area, East of the Songliao Basin

The Tonghua region in the east of the Songliao Basin is a high-risk and blank area of petroleum exploration. The unrevealed key problems including the growth of source rocks, hydrocarbon generation potential and oil and gas source and the low exploration degree have constrained the further study of petroleum geological conditions and exploration deployment. Based on outcrop and core observations, geological section survey, trench exploration, high-precision gravity and magnetism and geological survey wells, this work discussed the basic geological conditions, main hydrocarbon source rocks, hydrocarbon generation potential and the oil and gas source.

Study on the Evolution of River Networks during Urbanization since the Development and Opening of Pudong New Area, Shanghai

Pudong New Area of Shanghai, as areform and opening front of China, holds the balancein economic development of Yangtze Delta and evenof China. After a large-scale infrastructure andfunction development in the past decade, it hasbecome "the miniature of modernization constructionin Shanghai" and "the symbol of reform and openingin China". But, due to the rapid urbanization andassociated environmental issues, rivers in the studiedarea remain seriously polluted and are alsodiminishing. Consequently this damages the featuresof the water village and investment setting in thePudong New Area. On the basis of analyzing the aerophotographs (1989, 1994 and 1999) and land usedata by Remote Sensing and Geographic InformationSystem, this paper illustrated that: 1) The river densityof the studied area has declined by 1/3 from 1989to 1999; 2) Since the development and opening oPudong, the river system has experienced twodeclining phases: rapid declining (1989-1994) andslow declining (1994-1999); 3) The fast urbanizationof land-use is a primary threat to the river systemwhich is particularly prominent within the Inner BelWay and in the developed zone of Pudong area.